Report From French West Indies

    REPORT FROM LES ILES DE GUADELOUPE

This is the first posting of the 2012-2013 winter cruising season. Avec une peu de chance vous aimez cela!

We returned to Grenada on Nov 18, 2012 to release the Charlotte D from her summer storage ashore and to re-commission her for another winter cruising the Eastern Caribbean.

The boat survived the summer wet season in clean and dry condition. Happily, no hurricanes approached Grenada. Nevertheless, before the boat could go into the water, there was plenty of routine maintenance. First, there were two muddy birds' nests to remove, one in the rigging and another inside the overturned dinghy.

Peter installed bearings and seals for the KISS wind generator, raw water pump for our Perkins propulsion engine, serviced the outboard (including impeller for the cooling pump), replaced filters for water maker and domestic fresh water, and rebuilt the seawater pump for deck washdown.

We found our puller was inadequate to remove the propeller, so we contracted the boatyard to pull it, before we carried on with removing the prop shaft, cutting out the worn cutlass bearing and inserting the new. The stuffing box was re-packed and the shaft coupling rejuvenated by tapping new holes for the set screws.

The forward head (toilet) refused to pump, so Peter knocked it down for cleaning and renewal of interior rubber parts.

Catherine finished the construction of three shade tarps that she began in Nova Scotia. She made new sunbrella covers for the cockpit table, sailing dinghy mast and boom, and grab rails.

We reinstalled two furlers and bent on their sails on a calm day before launch.

Catherine buffed the large windows of the main cabin and the entire topsides of the hull, so the Charlotte D was looking “spanky”. She applied anti-fouling paint to the underwater parts of the hull before installing hull and prop shaft zincs, protecting us from marine growth and electrolysis.

The Charlotte D was finally launched on Nov 30, 2012 and re-commissioning continued afloat at anchor in Prickly Bay. We were becoming acclimated to the heat and did benefit considerably from daily swims. The pace of work was eased by regular attendance at local Happy Hours! We bent on the remainder of the sails, and improved ventilation by adding mushroom vents for the forward and lazarrete hatches.

Catherine applied multiple coats of varnish to coaming cap rail and companionway sliders.

 

The helm chair that Peter constructed of local hemlock in Nova Scotia was reassembled and put into service.

On Dec 15 we were finally ready to go cruising!

From Grenada we bypassed St Lucia and sailed direct to Le Marin, Martinique. 

We enjoyed our first sunset andsunrise at sea during this leg of 160nm over 33 hrs.

The stop at Martinique was supposed to be a brief one for fuelling and provisioning with French delicacies at the supermarket with it's own dinghy dock, but our cranking battery was not holding it's charge (one year old Exide, be forewarned). We purchased and installed a new cranking battery and checked out the alternator (all OK there). We also purchased a lovely fishing rod with roller guides to replace the rod we were not allowed to include with our checked baggage from Miami.

On Dec 19 we departed Martinique for the next leg of 110 nm. We motorsailed north along the west coast of Martinique before crossing the channel to pass the east side (windward) of Dominica.

  

Peter was eager to use our new fishing rod,so installed the Penn Senator 9/0 reel found in a pawn shop in North Carolina and GOT TO IT!

We began our visit to Les Iles de Guadeloupe, L'Archi Perle des Antilles, at St. Louis, Marie-Galante. This is a wonderful anchorage where the sun perpetually rules on the threshold of the Eternal August of the Tropics. The anchorage is lightly populated with boats well-spaced, and calm enough for dinghy sailing.

Check it out on Google Earth at 

15 57.400' N 061 19.280' W.

The economy of Marie-Galante is mostly agricultural, with sugar cane foremost.

The town of St. Louis is small and sleepy, but with everything that this cruising yacht would want, including beachfront eating and drinking establishments.

There is no hysteria associated with Christmas or New Years, so we had a serene stay, having reached that happy age where one can be idle with impunity.

L'age de la retraite ou rejuvination.

We swam in the warm, clear ocean and walked on the beach every day.

We did our best to contribute to the local economy!

Finally, on Jan 01, 2013 we departed Marie-Galante for the 15nm sail to St. Anne, Guadeloupe, which has one of our favourite beaches. In fact, Catherine has selected this beach to spend her decrepitude.

We found the anchorage at St Anne too rolly for an extended stay, so after beach time and a little provisioning, we were on our way on Jan 03 for the 8nm hop to the anchorage behind L'ilet du Gosier for shelter during a period of squally weather with unusually strong ENE trade winds.

Check out this lovely place on Google Earth at 16 12.100'N 061 29.600'W

From this anchorage there are two beaches available, one on the mainland of Guadeloupe and the other on L'ilet du Gosier. 

The island is a park with covered picnic tables and plenty of hammock trees. There is a BBQ restaurant with delicious Creole lunches. Most days the beach is populated with vacationers ripening their apricot thighs and peaches on the sunny sand. Peter is delighted with the European custom of topless swimming and sunning. Catherine feasted her eyes on the fit young men running on the beach.

The mainland beach is the waterfront of the sizable town of Gosier.

Naturally, we patronized the beachfront patisseries and restaurants, where we found interesting cuisine in beautiful locations. 

Voila!

In Gosier we enjoyed long sightseeing walks.

One day we chanced upon a funeral procession of about 100 mourners walking slowly in the main street bearing the mortal remains of their beloved grand-mere to the church. There was a saxophonist walking near the head of the procession. A 20 block section of the main road was closed to vehicular traffic, causing no discernible negative reactions among the stalled drivers. In fact, it was all polite, calm patience. A lesson for us. It was an amazing sight, but we felt photographs were not appropriate for that somber occasion, so my inadequate description will have to suffice.

There is a group of enthusiastic swimmers, aged 18 to 80, that crosses the anchorage near dawn every day for the round trip to L'ilet du Gosier, without regard to the weather. They shame our laziness and strengthen our resolve to be more active.

Click on the videobelow to see them in action.

In a public park, there is an interesting “water sculpture”. Click on the second video for a sample.

When aboard at anchor we are occupied with an endless series of boat projects, reading, knitting, studying French, and Catherine playing fiddle, banjo and harmonica; all enjoyable and hopefully retarding decay of the brain. Canadian, and US, newspapers are read online, but we must admit that broadsheet is less relevant now than sailcloth.

After 7 days we departed Gosier on Jan 11 for the broad reach south 25nm to Les Saintes. 

 Ca va tres bien ici!

 Our experiences in The Saints will be the subject of our next blog posting.

“Yea, foolish mortals, Noah's Flood is not yet subsided, two thirds of the fair world it yet covers.”

Herman Melville, “Moby Dick”

Peter and Catherine, aboard S/V Charlotte D, in warm salt water.