Once again, we are anchored in the bay off Pointe a Pitre, having left the marina on Saturday, and tried the anchorage off Isle Gosier. This is very pretty, but we are in the grip of winds that are largely Easterlies, sometimes with a bit of South in them, and the both wind and swell ran around the island and gave us a very unpleasant night. We and most of the other boats there decided early in Sunday that discretion was the better part of valour and made an exit to somewhere quieter. For us, this was back where we anchored on arrival in Guadeloupe, for another couple of nights while we decide on timing and route northwards.

The winds look to be from this direction and pretty strong for the best part of the coming week, so we will probably take the safe option of the passage between Grande Terre and Basse Terre, to put us in the protected bay to the north of Guadeloupe, before timing our passage to Antigua when we are comfortable that the weather will be reasonable.

Swimming and Snorkelling

Since we came back to the Caribbean, we have been looking for better snorkelling gear, since the masks we have were bought before we understood that the fit is critical. Both of them leak like sieves, and render the exercise pointless.  Likewise one of the wet suits is too small for me, and squeezing into it means that it is impossible to breathe. Getting out of it is even harder, and needs a strong and willing partner!

We had searched around to little avail until we found an excellent dive shop and chandlery close to the marina here. Even with their vast stock, it took a long time to find a mask that fitted Ali perfectly, but finally one stuck to her face like glue! A couple of good snorkels, flippers and reef sandals, and we no longer have an excuse for staying out of the water. We had planned to try them out inspecting the hull today, but it is blowing a near-gale here and the boat is yawing and pitching a bit too enthusiastically for comfort – having had the stern bang me on the head in calmer conditions than these, we will postpone the pleasure once more….

Watergaw