Guadeloupe and Montserrat 2017

Guadeloupe and Montserrat 2017

1/20/2017 We motorsailed from St. Pierre to the north end of Martinique while making water. Then we cut the engine and sailed across the channel on a beautiful beam reach with the winds 10 to 12 and making between 5.5 to 6.5 knots. We had all three sails up and it was a sunny day with a cool breeze. One of our best sails yet! We took a mooring from Sea Cat in Rosseau, Dominica and were assisted by “Mr. Bean.” He took Greg in to Customs to get us checked in and then got our propane bottles filled right away as we let him know we were leaving in the morning. Great service and reasonable charges for propane refills.

1/21/2017 We left the next morning and sailed to Portsmouth, Dominica but had to motorsail a good part of the way. On Saturday, we had drinks with Richard and Brigitte from Cloud Nine and met a Danish couple on S/V Amanda.  On Sunday, we snorkeled with Fred and Jo (S/V Caribbean Dream) around the point but the water was not very clear and we saw few fish. We attended the weekly PAYS BBQ and met Bob and Anita from S/V Discovery. 

Sunset in Portsmouth, Dominica

At the PAYS BBQ

Doing the YMCA with Fred

1/24/2017 We headed out to Marie Galante with Discovery and Cloud Nine accompanying us. None of us had been there before. We had flukey winds until we got past the north end of Dominica and then a great beam reach sail with the first reef in the main and the jib up. We made 6.5 to 7 knots with the seas 4 to 5 feet. We sailed to Grand Bourg on Marie Galante because that is where you have to check in. However, they had put up No Anchoring signs in the harbour (though the Doyle guide had said we could anchor in there) and the docks were all taken by boats that were tied alongside rather than moored stern-to as they were supposed to be. So we left and sailed on to St. Louis a bit farther north. After we anchored, we all took a bus back to Grand Bourg to check in (it was still before 4:00) but no one was in customs. Brigitte, who speaks more French than the rest of us as she is from Belgium, got the phone number for customs and we decided we would call them in the morning before trying to go check in because they are supposedly closed on Wednesdays. They called the next morning at 0800 and the guy was there and said to come right away because he would be leaving soon. Greg and the other crews went back on the bus to get us all legally checked in. 

Old church in Grand Bourg, Marie Galante

A Boulangerie and Patisserie in Grand Bourg

We also found Dawn and Laurie on S/V Cat Tales whom we had met in St. Anne and Jim and Christine on S/V Ullr were in St. Louis and we snorkeled with them and Bob and Anita one day around the point in Anse Canot. It was a bit disappointing as there weren't many fish nor coral.

Not sure what these mushroom looking things were

One of the few fish we saw

We rented a car with Bob and Anita one day and toured the island. We saw the Gueule Grand Gouffre which is a large hole in the rocks where the water sprays up and hiked a bit near the Chapelle St. Therese. We visited the Moulin Bezard, an old windmill for grinding sugar cane for making rum and then visited the Bellevue Distillery and tasted rum and bought some rum, some chocolate rum and some molasses. On our way back down the eastern side of the island, we visited the Maison d’ Indigo, which is a shop where the owner dyes cloths using indigo and other natural dyes. She gives workshops and classes where you can dye your own items too. She spent quite a while explaining the process to us and Liz Ann bought a nice silk scarf died with indigo. We stopped in Capesterre and had lunch and then went to the beach in Grand Bourg. A long but fun day. 

An abandoned sugar windmill

The Gueule grand Gouffre

With Bob and Anita at Gueule Grand Gouffre

Hiking along the north coast of Marie Galante

This pig was quite content to lie in the shade and let us walk by

The Moulin de Bezard: a windmill for grinding sugar cane to make rum

The sugar cane gets mashed and the juices extracted

Part of a former slave home

Tasting the rum at Bellevue distillery. The chocolate rum was wonderful!

Anita and Liz Ann at the Belllevue windmill ruins

Another day we hiked to the Poisson distillery, also known as the Pere Labat distillery after the priest who had started it a long time ago. We didn’t like their rum so much but the tour was interesting. We found a new Super U grocery on our way back to the anchorage and stocked up on some supplies.

On the road to the Labat distillery we were passed by this ox drawn wagon

Anita, Liz Ann and Dawn walking to the distillery

Sugar cane being fed into the press

 

The juice being squeezed out

Vats where the rum ferments

We also hiked a trail called the Source de Sentiers which was shaded and not difficult. The original trailhead has been closed off as the land is now apparently private. We got directions from a nearby local as to where to go to start the trail. 

Wonder if this ox/cow skull was a warning?

Dawn spots a calabash tree. These gourds are carved to make bowls, lampshades, etc

A house being built using two old shipping containers from 18 wheelers.

A chicken farm on our hike

1/31/2017 After a week, we decided to head to Pointe-a-Pitre on Guadeloupe. The island of Guadeloupe is shaped roughly like a butterfly with Pointe-a-Pitre at the bottom of the central body.  Once we we were out of the shadow of Marie Galante, we had a brisk sail most of the way to Pointe-a-Pitre with 15 to 18 knots of wind. There were some squalls nearby but we skirted most of them. The wind was on the beam but then went to about 150 degrees and we started an uncomfortable roll. We were moving fast (6.8 knots at the highest) and made it to P-a-P in about 4 hours. We got a hit on the fishing line on the way and it was jumping high out of the water. Looked like a marlin. But it got loose, so once again, no fish. We anchored to the west of P-a-P off Ile de Cochon in about 28 feet of water with good holding. S/V Caribbean Dream, Baidarka and Silverheels III were also there. Cloud Nine came over with us but they took a slip in the marina as they are going home for a week or so.

While in Pointe-a-Pitre, we explored the town including the farmer’s market for some fresh veggies and some fish. We toured the Memorial ACTe or “Slave Museum” which is more than about slavery and is a very fascinating and well done museum with audio guides (in English) that were very helpful.

Memorial ACTe Museum

Old building in Pointe-a-Pitre

The Market

An old home turned into a museum

Lynn on Silverheels III would run every morning and stopped and bought fresh baguettes for all of us and delivered them to our boats. What a gem! She also led us on our bus trip to the big Carrefour grocery and mall. 

One day we went with Richard and Brigitte in their car and toured the coast and had lunch in a little place north of Des Haies where they film part of the British series, Death in Paradise. We’ve seen several seasons and find it very entertaining.

Looking out over Guadeloupe from Morne Louis, about a half mile high

The lady at the Maison de Cacao explains the making of chocolate That is a cocoa (or cacao) pod in her hand.

Looking out over the beach where Death in Paradise is filmed from our lunch restaurant

Lunch with Richard and Brigitte

 

We rented a car with Fred and Jo and went to the coffee museum and to the volcano trail. We walked the trail up to the base of the volcano which took longer than we had planned. We hadn't brought a lunch and Fred and Jo were waiting for us at the beginning of the trail so we didn't hike the 1 1/2  hours farther to get to the top of the volcano. Save that for another time!                                

Trail map for the Soufriere (volcano)

The easy part of the trail

At the base of the volcano

all the various types of coffee at the museum

Some beautiful coffee grinders and coffee pots

The processing area

We took the bus to St. Anne, Guadeloupe and spent a day on the beach there.

We also had delicious chicken enchiladas on Caribbean Dream one evening.

2/11/2017 We left Pointe-a-Pitre and headed up the west coast of Guadeloupe. We had a great sail out of P-a-P on a beam reach, making 5.5 knots. The winds moved aft and picked up to 18 knots as we neared Les Saintes and we were on a broad reach making 5.2 to 5.8 knots. Asa we turned the corner near Vieux Fort, the winds became variable the rest of the way up the coast. We made anywhere from 4.8 to 6.2 knots heading north.  We anchored in a little bay called Petite Anse just north of Anse a la Barque. There were about 6 other boats in the bay.

2/12/2017 We left the next morning and motored 3 hours to des Haies while making water.

2/13/2017 The next morning, we upped anchor about 0700 and headed to Montserrat. We had a weather window with low seas/swells and not too much north wind which we needed to anchor in Montserrat in order not to roll horrendously. A half hour after we left, the engine was overheating so we shut it down and cleaned the strainer and re-started the engine. The temperature stayed in the green the rest of the way to Montserrat. We know we have to replace the mixing elbow and exhaust and a friend is sending us one in St. Martin, so we will have to wait until we get there to replace it. Hopefully, the engine doesn’t give us any more trouble but we suspect that is the cause of the hoses coming off and the overheating. 
We had a great sail to Montserrat and the wind speed and direction even cooperated so we could fly the spinnaker. We went up the East side of Montserrat and got a good look at the volcano and the difference between the southern and northern ends of the island.

The Soufriere Hills volcano near the southern end of Montserrat

A great spinnaker sail

The northeastern part of the island

We called the port authority in Montserrat when we arrived, about 1630, and were told we could not anchor in Little Bay because they were expecting a freighter to come in. So we anchored just north of there in Rendezvous Bay. We inspected the engine when we got anchored and found the impeller on the raw water pump was missing 2 fins. Greg replaced the impeller and found the remnants in the hoses and removed them. 

Our anchorage area

We checked in the next morning and had the most pleasant customs/immigration experience of any island we’ve visited thus far. The people were very friendly and happy to see us. We took a tour of the island with Joe Phillips. We got to see the old AIR Montserrat recording studio that had been used by such famous groups as The Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney, Elton John, etc. The studio closed after Hurricane Hugo destroyed most of the structures on the island. We toured various parts of the island and Joe had his i-pad which he used to show us pictures from before the volcano eruptions and afterwards so we could compare to present day conditions. The eruptions began in 1995 with a major one in 1996 causing the evacuation of Plymouth, the capital. Eruptions continued, sending out steam and ash over the next 2 years. Ash would wash down the hills and cover the towns whenever it rained. Plymouth was covered almost completely after Hurricane George in 1998. Eruptions have continued since, the worst being in July 2003 thus far. Boats are not allowed to anchor near the south end of the island and until recently, you had to sail down the west side (the winds blow from the east and therefore, you would get ash blown onto the boat if you sailed down the west side.) The Montserrat Volcano Observatory has a pictorial and video history of the volcano and maintains a watch on the status of the volcano. They were going up in their helicopter while we were there. 
We also stopped at Luv’s Sea Island Cotton shop. They make cotton fabrics from the local cotton which is very silky. The ladies weave the cotton into scarves, blouses, placemats, etc. They are beautiful designs and silky soft. We got some pretty placemats for home.

Beautiful artwork on the walls in the town

Greg drinks from the fountain that guarantees his return

The helicopter preparing to take off for study of the volcano

Looking out over the town of Plymouth covered in ash in the distance

The volcano and the swath of destruction

The town covered in ash

An evacuated and abandoned apartment outside of Plymouth that we visited. The smell and the sight of the remains of people's lives was reminiscent of Katrina to me and I got so emotional I had to leave.

The volcano continues to vent steam and occasionally ash.

Even though we had a “good”window, the anchorage in Montserrat was very rolly so we headed out the following morning for Antigua.