15:52.018N 61:35.150W Guadeloupe - Isles de Saintes

If Knot Y Knot
Patricia Day
Thu 25 Jan 2007 17:51

25 January 2007, Thursday

 

6.30 start.  Checked the stem bolts, still tight.  Put the sails up as soon as I was out of the bay.  A bit overkeen, it was raining in the East and it soon got to me.  1 reef in the genoa and bring the main down to the spreaders seemed a good idea as it was 18-23 knots.  The wind was fairly constant at 18+ and it was a good sail across.  The waves did not seem that big, but they were very strong and some came right over the sprayhood and got me at the back.  I set a course that was more E than I wanted and the current brought me back down to exactly where I wanted to be when I arrived at Iles des Saintes; islands are at the bottom of Guadeloupe.  I left the main up until a mile from the narrow gap and the genoa until a mile from the anchorage.  When I arrived the last boat was about to up anchor, so I decided to ask if there was a reason.  Tropical wave expected tomorrow, so not a good place to be.  I headed out the the anchorage on the other island.  There were boats anchored in other bays, but I like to stick to recommended anchorages, just in case. 

 

12.00 Got to the main anchorage, I took my time going round to see where there was, but there was not a lot of room and I ended up at the back near a little jetty.  Was I too near, well there was an American boat as close.  Anchored and it seemed to hold.  Had some lunch and 13.30 there was a lot of hooting.  Thought I should check and sure enough quite a big boat was coming for the jetty, he could have got past me, but needed room to manoeuvre so I had  to move.  The American boat had to move also.  So then we were going round and round trying to find another space, there are some very tempting spaces that are nearly big enough, but not quite and there are some buoys that the owner may come back to later in the day.  I anchored next to Nadezhda, I can spell it now I can see the name out the window.  The American boat ended up back where he had started, but further forward.  Let s hope that is it for the day.