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 |
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.
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.
