Report from Marie Galante, Guadeloupe

This is our seventh posting about our 2011-2012 cruising season.

We sailed from Antigua to Marie Galante on February 16 and 17. This was a 90 nm passage over 17 hours. We were treated to a GREEN FLASH at sea. There was no moon until 0230 am,  so the stars and phosphorescence were spectacular. Dolphins accompanied us most of the way.  At night we hear them "blow" near our boat and then see their trails in the phosphorescence.  Brilliant!


We put in at Grand-Bourg for the formalities of Customs and Immigration, but did not remain there because the anchorage outside the too small harbour had much roll. The anchorage at Saint-Louis was much calmer and is, in our opinion, more scenic. The water was so crystal clear that we could see starfish under our boat in the moonlight.  Check it out on Google Earth at 15-57.4'N 061-19.2'W.





Saint-Louis has every amenity one could require. There are beachfront eateries on the small but attractive beach. Patisseries are open early. There is a good size grocery. Rental cars and scooters are available. ATMs are functional. There is a tourist information office. There is even a fresh water hose on a mooring in 10 feet of water managed by Jacques of Le Baleine Rouge, a nice waterfront eatery.  Recommended!




Marie Galante is a French island, a part of France actually. European settlement dates from 1648, after the French vanquished the resident Amerindians. Slaves were imported, and sugar cane and rum became, and remain even after the slave revolt, central to the economy of Marie Galante.

We visited several windmills originally used for crushing sugar cane.






The Bellevue distillery was interesting because we could walk into the plant where informational displays described the details of the process of making le rhum agricol (rum made from sugar cane).





Of course, we did not miss the le rhum degustation on the way out. It was interesting that at the start of their lunch break, the distillery workers also attended the rum tasting area for a couple of shots. We did not observe anyone swirling it around and spitting it out!   So, it's clearly drinking rum, not just degustation.  We did our share!





Marie-Galante has beautiful long beaches devoid of beachfront resorts. Most tourists are housed in low key guesthouses.



Marie Galante is not a mountaneous island, but has many interesting geological features, including this sort of sink hole just at the ocean's edge.





 Our visit coincided with an important island festival, highlighted by the Ox Cart Parade. These are majestic animals and the carts are highly decorated. We understand the importance of this event for the local culture, but we did not enjoy what appears to us as harsh treatment of some of the animals. There was use of whips and pulling on reins that passed through nose rings. More reasons for all of us to be happy we were not born as oxen!


 




The ox cart festival includes, naturally, much music and creole dancing. Click on this video for a small sample of le bele (appele aussi "bel-air" suivant la francisation du mot creole).



 Fortunately, we shared the anchorage at Saint-Louis with some old and some new cruising friends. There were the required Happy Hours aboard the “Charlotte D” and aboard “Cat Tales”, to guarantee that the sun set properly.





We enjoyed beach walks and midday meals in the creole restaurants with like-minded cruising friends.




There was lunch out every day of our visit here, just to be sure we got a good sampling of the island's offerings.


 


We sailed away from Marie-Galante on February 22 for the 105nm passage to Martinique. This was our first visit to Marie-Galante and hopefully not our last!




Peter and Catherine aboard S/V “Charlotte D”


“Il est sage pour d'etre simple.”


Book Of The Week, “The Tao of Pooh”, Benjamin Hoff, Penguin, 1983

Report from Charlotte D in Barbuda

This is our sixth blog posting of the 2011-2012 winter cruising season.


We arrived in Barbuda after a 33 nm sail from the North Sound of Antigua. Barbuda is part of the county of Antigua and Barbuda. Check out http://www.treasureislands.com/ and  http://www.barbudaful.net/ 




Fellows cruisers aboard S/V “Tiger Lilly” had proceeded us, so there was the rare opportunity to get pictures of the “Charlotte D” underway and anchoring. Thank you.


  



"Tiger Lilly" was fortunate enough to have boated a sizable mutton snapper inbound to Barbuda and generous enough to share it with us. Thank you again.




There are so many things to do aboard a cruising sailboat!







 On Barbuda “Life is a Beach”. Nearly the entire shoreline is occupied with beaches. The so-called “Eleven Mile Beach” seems endless and to walk it's length is a magnificent hike. Check it out on Google Earth at 17-39.4N 061-51.5W.

 

This beach features a distinct pink tint, especially at the surf line, due to high concentration of small fragments of pink shells.





The Barbuda OutBar has a delightful location, with cold beer, few clients and stunning view. They offer food too. We will be back!





The 11 mile beach is the usual starting point for visits to the Frigate Rookery. Catherine and I did not visit there this time, but happily obtained pictures from “Serafina of Maldon” (Rob and Sara) and  from “Cat Tales” (Laurie and Dawn), which we include here with their permission. Thank you.












 One could stay anchored off the 11 mile beach indefinitely if it were not for the periodic occurrence of ocean swells propagating south from low pressure systems passing well to the north. These swells can be 2 to 4 m (7-13ft) in height and sweep directly into the anchorage. This makes living aboard impossible and prevents landing a dinghy on the beach. So, as the swells approached we moved to the south end of Barbuda, where we found another beautiful beach near Cocoa Point. There is even better protection from ocean swell at the anchorage near Spanish Point.


From Cocoa Point we hiked the interior 16 km (10 miles) to Codrington. This is the one town of Barbuda and where most of the 2000 residents live. There are 7 churches for 2000 residents. I guess so all can attend at the same time.





In Codrington we rented bicycles from Jonathon. www.barbudabiketours.net This allowed us to do further inland exploration.



There is abundant “wildlife”, much of it introduced by Codrington; duck, guinea fowl, pigeon, deer, turtle, donkey and horses, stocked for hunting. The donkey and horse are free range. The humans all dwell inside fences.





Many residents have delightful vegie and flower gardens.





We biked to the ruins of the Highland House (Codrington's Estate).





There are attractive ruins of old fortifications.





We found the very large trunk of a tree on the south coast, like nothing that grows here. Came across the ocean from where?





It is clear that the slump of tourism has hit hard in Barbuda. Many resorts are closed, including the K-Club and Palmetto Beach Hotel. The Cocoa Point Lodge and the Lighthouse Bay Resort are open, but seem nearly devoid of guests (we saw more staff than customers).


Many restaurants are also closed, including Jackie's Wa O'moni's Best, but there is still Uncle Roddy's. This is a 5 km (3 mile) walk or bike ride from the Cocoa Point anchorage, but well worth the effort. Roddy makes a “wicked good” rum punch, the beer is ice cold and  he is an excellent cook. Furthermore, the beach front location is perfect and we found him a very pleasant gentleman.





The Palm Tree Restaurant and Bakery is a wonderful meeting place.





The street food venders seem to be surviving better than establishments with greater overhead. We particularly enjoyed “The Jerk Man”. He served us venison stew with green salad, macaroni pie, peas and rice. He also offers fish, chicken, conch and tortoise.


Food markets are restocked on Friday when the ferry arrives, so go on that day for fresh fruit and vegies.


The island of Barbuda was privately owned from the earliest colonial times by the Codrington Family, beginning 1685, who used it to supply their sugar plantations in Antigua with food and slaves. When slavery was ended, the freed slaves were still trapped, because all land was privately owned and they were left with no land, no jobs and no law. Eventually, Antiguan law was applied. Land was not distributed but rather held communally. As explained to us by residents, land cannot be bought or sold, only leased (something like “a dollar and other considerations, 99 years”). When a home, business, or even large resort is built, the structures are owned but not the land. Consequently, all construction is paid in cash, because banks are not eager to issue unsecured loans for building on vacant leased lands. This has very much limited development and certainly has prevented “McDonaldization”.


On February 13 we departed Barbuda for the 33 nm sail back to Antigua for brief stop at Nonsuch Bay before continuing on to Marie Galante, Guadeloupe. Enroute we boated a 30 cm (12”) jack (keeper) and a 75 cm (30”) barracuda (released).







Once offshore we deployed the skirt lure made by Tom of “Tiger Lily”. This was a very productive lure. It hooked the only fish trap pennant on our route. This stripped the line from the reel and broke the rod holder. So we lost overboard the lure, line, rod, reel, and rod holder, all due to our failure to keep a sharp lookout and secure the normal tether to the rod. “No shortcut goes unpunished.”


Peter and Catherine aboard S/V Charlotte D.


“Some die to go to Heaven. Better to stay alive and enjoy Heaven On Earth.”
Ogden Nash.