Back in Antigua

Our sail from Guadeloupe to Antigua was to say the least – uneventful. For the first 2 1/2 hours the wind struggled to stay above 10 knots and with all sails up we maintained a reasonable 5 to 6 knot speed.  Unfortunately it did not stay – the wind dropped to 5 knots and coupled with a full 4 to 5 foot ocean swell, we rolled too much to keep the sails full. Furled the genoa and the staysail and left the main up to soften some of the rolling – fired up the engine and motor sailed the rest of the way to Falmouth Harbour, Antigua.

Made the hike to English Harbour to clear in through Customs and Immigration. Interesting that it costs 4 Euros to clear into the French Islands and here in Antigua it is US$85! Still a small price to pay for everything the island has to offer. 

Antigua is really a yachting island and we were about to get a taste of what that would look like for December! As we sat at anchor in the bay, motor yachts and sailing yachts of all sizes and styles arrived and tied up to the docks at Falmouth Yacht Club and Antigua Yacht Club. It turns out that from December 4^th to 8^th it is Antigua Charter Yacht Show. An industry event for the brokers who recommend and sell charter vacations on these yachts. WOW is an understatement. A few pictures are really the only way to get an impression of what the event looks like.

 

This one is for Marc T

For Seb and Pascale...

A BEAUTIFUL J Class yacht

I even tried to get a picture of what it looks like at night with all the lights on but a boat at anchor makes a poor platform for a tripod night shot ….

If you can’t be pretty ….. you better be useful! No so sure about that!

Not the Belle of the Ball

Well just when we thought the all the big yachts had arrived …… when we awoke this morning someone had shown up in the night and dropped anchor just outside Falmouth Harbour – Just to show that she was still the most impressive of the group in town! Queen Mary 2.

Queen Mary 2

Deshaies to Les Saintes

Well we left Deshaies in the rain and overcast skies – a first for us this season - it is still hot and humid though! The shoreline of the western side of Guadeloupe is pretty even without the sunshine. There are beautifully green fields of sugar cane on the hillside – all part of the rum distilleries in the area of Basse-Terre and Riviere Sens.

Fields of sugar cane for the Rum factory

Doesn't get better than this!

Yet again, as we approached the end of the main island of Guadeloupe, the wind started to pick up and within a few minutes we had a great 15 knot wind to sail the remaining 10 miles or so to Les Saintes. But as you know – when the wind comes up often is is not from the direction you need ….. so our little 10 mile destination after completing 4 tacks was  15 miles but ever so pleasant.

Life is good....

It is so nice to see that any damage from hurricane Maria was not substantial. There remain a few yachts up on the beach and some of the palm trees are looking a little bare but new fronds are growing well!

Pain du Sucre

The pleasures of Les Saintes are all still open for us … Maryse made a priority to get to Robbe Staeck (yup it is spelt that way!) – she has been soooooo waiting to pick up some of their pâté. Life is good.

Maryse's sister and brother in law head out for Martinique  onboard Rodignard. 

Maryse has been busy pulling out items from storage that I never knew we had on board… well HoHoHo time on board Ambition!

Oh Christmas Tree Oh Christmas Tree

The ONLY snowflakes for us!

Tuesday it was the end of the line for one sailboat that was blown aground in Maria – when all was said and done, the backhoe won. The sailboat was carted off in pieces to the dump. A sad day for any boat owner.

Wednesday was a day that our plan was to hike up to the Fort Napoleon. Well this plan was put together last evening with friends over accras and wine. This morning at 7:30 it became abundantly clear to me that the plan was made with some important and critical information lacking ….This cruise ship arrived in the bay.

Wind Surf

Twenty minutes later this cruise ship arrived in the bay….

Well I am guessing that there may be just a few more folks at the fort and in town than we expected today! Even getting a wifi connection will be a challenge today!

Then last but not least this Pirate ship showed up …. So now the plan is to find my black eye patch and pirate hat because it will be easier to join them than fight them!

Arrrrgghhhh!!

We will hike to the fort tomorrow! 

Our plans are to leave Les Saintes on Friday Nov 30 to return to Deshaies and then on to Falmouth Harbour, Antigua on Saturday. The weather forecast for Sunday afternoon and all of next week is for North-east winds 15 to 20 knots and sea swells to 10+ feet, which would mean an uncomfortable upwind sail to Antigua and we try to avoid that kind of sailing as much as possible.

Next stop will be to fly back to Montreal to see family and friends for Christmas ........please no snow storms or bitter cold ......