17:00.96N   61:46.37W

 

Distance Run  42 nm

 

Tuesday 8 to Sunday 13 July 2014

 

On Tuesday we cleared out of Guadeloupe ready for a departure the next day to Antigua only to find when we checked the weather again that the ‘perfect weather conditions’, which we had been monitoring for days had turned into anything but.  Lots of wind, from the wrong direction and shed loads of rain meant we decided to postpone until the weekend. 

 

Having already cleared out we are supposed to leave within 24 hrs.  There probably wouldn’t have been a problem in Guadeloupe if we exceeded this as they seem pretty relaxed but Customs and Immigration in Antigua would want to know what had happened in the several day gap since we checked out of Guadeloupe.  The distance is 42 miles which is easily done in a day so they might suspect we had been hanging around illegally in Antigua for a few days.  It’s not worth the risk so we played by the rules and checked back in to Guadeloupe on Wednesday.

 

We spent the next few days starting preparations for shutting down the boat for the hurricane season.  In turn we emptied the bunk cabin (aka ‘The Shed’) and the forward cabin (‘Shed 2’) of all the clobber and cleaned all surfaces with soap and water followed by a repeat wipe down with a vinegar and water solution.  The vinegar is said to be effective in combatting the growth of mould in the humidity of a closed boat.

 

A couple from an American boat came over in their dinghy to say hello one morning on their way into Deshaies for breakfast.  They returned from shore about 20 minutes later in disgust ‘you can’t get any breakfast in Deshaies, we went to the boulangerie and asked for eggs they looked at us as if we were mad.  Not even any hash browns or anything’.  Oh really, what a surprise that you can’t get scrambled eggs from the bakery, we thought – but did not say.  They have been cruising the Caribbean for 10 years and yet still don’t seem to have picked up that most of the islands are not ‘like home’, least of all the French ones!  When we went ashore later we saw a couple of breakfast menus so we don’t know where they tried – there are only about 5 places in Deshaies so it doesn’t take long to check them out.  Anyway they were clearly very frustrated and angry about the whole thing.

 

On Saturday we cleared out of Guadeloupe again and as the winds settled down on Sunday we left during the morning to sail to Antigua.  The wind angle was good and we had a decent sail, arriving in English Harbour about 4 pm.  We jumped into the lovely clear sea for a swim soon after anchoring amongst 4 other boats.

 

 

The quiet bay in Deshaies before we left for Antigua:-