December 10, 2007
St. Pierre, Martinique to Bourg Des Saintes, Les Saintes
Mileage: 87.2 miles
Time: 12 hours 47 minutes
Average SOG: 7 mph
3:02:39 AM 5.2 mi 1:00:06 5 mph 314° true N14 44.616 W61 10.665
4:02:45 AM 6.9 mi 1:00:03 7 mph 333° true N14 47.763 W61 13.982
5:02:48 AM 6.7 mi 1:00:00 7 mph 333° true N14 53.067 W61 16.828
6:02:48 AM 6.9 mi 1:00:07 7 mph 333° true N14 58.257 W61 19.538
7:02:55 AM 6.7 mi 1:00:00 7 mph 338° true N15 03.580 W61 22.288
8:02:55 AM 7.1 mi 1:00:07 7 mph 342° true N15 09.000 W61 24.513
9:03:02 AM 7.0 mi 1:00:04 7 mph 343° true N15 14.833 W61 26.427
10:03:06 AM 7.1 mi 1:00:03 7 mph 344° true N15 20.641 W61 28.279
11:03:09 AM 7.1 mi 1:00:00 7 mph 344° true N15 26.574 W61 30.072
12:03:09 PM 7.3 mi 1:00:01 7 mph 345° true N15 32.540 W61 31.806
1:03:10 PM 7.6 mi 1:00:04 8 mph 341° true N15 38.684 W61 33.570
2:03:14 PM 7.2 mi 1:00:15 7 mph 351° true N15 44.952 W61 35.827
3:03:29 PM 2.1 mi 0:46:43 3 mph 61° true N15 51.168 W61 36.805
3:50:12 PM N15 52.046 W61 35.187
Maggie and Paul, ISLAND TIME, invited us over for cocktails and snacks…although Maggie’s email read, “In Bourg des Saintes, tucked up in the north corner. Want to have cocktails and nipples on our boat tonight?” To which we replied, “Um…um…is that NIPPLES or NIBBLES…or are we nibbling nipples? Just thought we would ask” J As always, it was wonderful to see them again, catch up and while away the time with hours of laughter.
December 11, 2007
We had planned to have Paul and Maggie board for dinner, but as we started to exercise again this morning (UGH!) decided to go out instead. Those plans foiled by the soggy weather and incredibly rolling harbor, everyone decided to stay in for the day.
December 12, 2007
A motor scooter road trip with Paul and Maggie was a hoot! Closed when we were last here, we finally saw the inside of Fort Napoleon. Lunch at Le Touchmaba (?), over the hill next to Customs and across from the cemetery, afforded us a chance to try out our French which rewarded us with a perfect meal. Back in town, after returning the scooters we drank cocktails until the sunset, followed by pizza at La Mambo. It was a wonderful day.
December 13, 2007
Les Saintes to Basse Terre, Guadeloupe
Mileage: 13.2 miles
Time: 1 hour 56 minutes
Average SOG: 7mph
10:17:23 AM 2.5 mi 0:30:07 5 mph 297° true N15 52.021 W61 35.211
10:47:30 AM 4.7 mi 0:30:07 9 mph 304° true N15 53.004 W61 37.231
11:17:37 AM 4.1 mi 0:30:11 8 mph 320° true N15 55.259 W61 40.715
11:47:48 AM 1.1 mi 0:25:56 3 mph 359° true N15 57.970 W61 43.099
12:13:44 PM N15 58.966 W61 43.115
The rolling harbor at Bourg Des Saintes was finally more than we wanted to take. We weighed anchor. 22-knot winds, with only the Genoa deployed, we were often moving above 8 knots. It was an exhilarating sail with spray in the cockpit and a case of wine air-born, landing with a thud on the counter top in the salon. Thankfully, no bottles broke. J The anchorage off the Basse Terre Marina is much calmer, which should afford Steve his first good nights sleep in three days.
December 14, 2007
Basse-Terre to Ilets A Goyave, Guadeloupe
Mileage: 15.3 miles
Time: 3 hours
Average SOG: 5 mph
11:08:08 AM 2.0 mi 0:30:10 4 mph 309° true N15 58.961 W61 43.124
11:38:18 AM 3.2 mi 0:30:02 6 mph 328° true N16 00.050 W61 44.515
12:08:20 PM 3.1 mi 0:30:07 6 mph 344° true N16 02.379 W61 46.024
12:38:27 PM 2.9 mi 0:30:08 6 mph 352° true N16 04.959 W61 46.779
1:08:35 PM 2.6 mi 0:30:05 5 mph 5° true N16 07.452 W61 47.149
1:38:40 PM 0.4 mi 0:30:05 0.9 mph 55° true N16 09.655 W61 46.938
2:08:45 PM 17 ft 0:00:29 0.4 mph 28° true N16 09.866 W61 46.621
2:09:14 PM N16 09.868 W61 46.620
We actually sailed again today. Winds were variable, gusting to 25 knots. Ilets A Goyave appears to be a nice little town. Steve has gone ashore to do recon J With Deshaies only 10 miles further up the coast, perhaps tomorrow we can snorkel in the Jacques Cousteau marine park at Pigeon Island.
Dinner at Le Rocher de Malendure was, as the name suggests, very French. I ordered Noix St. Jacques, sea scallops in passion fruit sauce. The first time to see a scallop with roe sack attached, I was reluctant to take a bite. Not all that bad, and something I would order again. Steve ordered Langouste Grillee, served with seasoned oil for dipping…palatable, but not worth ordering again. (We heathen Americans prefer our lobster drenched in melted butter…) We would have better enjoyed the fondant chocolat, similar to the well-known lava cake served in the USA, were it served warm with a scoop of ice cream. (We are so American!) Overall, dinner gave us a chance to get off the boat.
December 15, 2007
Ilets A Goyave to Deshaies, Guadeloupe
Mileage: 11.1 miles
Time: 1 hour 49 minutes
Average SOG: 6mph
10:53:10 AM 3.5 mi 0:30:01 7 mph 333° true N16 09.879 W61 46.615
11:23:11 AM 3.7 mi 0:30:03 7 mph 347° true N16 12.553 W61 48.054
11:53:14 AM 2.9 mi 0:30:04 6 mph 10° true N16 15.657 W61 48.780
12:23:18 PM 0.5 mi 0:19:46 2 mph 64° true N16 18.118 W61 48.331
12:43:04 PM N16 18.318 W61 47.897
We moved to Deshaies this morning. It was a bit squally, winds gusted to 34 knots and we were up to 9.6 knots SOG with only the Genoa deployed. WHEEE!!!!
Entering the bay at Deshaies, Steve exclaimed, “Well, THIS does not look good.” Known to funnel the wind, we entered a wind tunnel into the bay, full of white caps trying to exit. Anchoring in a steady 30 knots of wind in a crowded harbor is never fun, but we hooked well. With gusts from squalls well above 30 knots and the waves hitting hard, we deployed more than a 7-1 rode to depth ratio. Let us hope all those boats entering after sunset set their anchor as well…and anchor far from us J
We plan to leave for Antigua around 5 AM on Monday. We have decided it is much nicer getting a bit of sleep, rising early and then making a passage…not nearly so tiring.
Sailing adventures aboard a PDQ Antares 44i 