St. Lucia to Antigua II

― St. Lucia

― Martinique

― Dominica

― Guadeloupe

― Antigua

After spending a few days in Soufriere, St. Lucia, cleaning the engine props of sea growth (I snorkel down and hang onto them while I brush them), washing bedding and clothes, and cleaning areas of the deck needing it as well as inside the boat, I sailed down to the village of Laborie. My crew companion, Jane, arrived the next day for two weeks of cruising.

She’s a 62-year-old sailor from Austin, TX, still running her IT company but looking to retire soon and had never been down to the Caribbean. So, even though she was used to lots of sunshine, as with most of my crews, the tropics were new for her. Now, this was supposed to be the dry season, and we both looked forward to that, but it turned out to be a rainy season this year—as the locals noted and were wondering what happened. I noticed last year that it seemed a lot rainier too, and I figure this is probably part of the global climate changes. Anyway, we got a lot of rain (and for the next 60 days)!

Regardless, we had stuff to see and do. So, we set out to see the sights: the Pitons hiking and falls, Diamond gardens and falls, the town, etc.

Petit Piton in the back

We went to a waterfall, Spyke, which I hadn’t seen before and was visited mainly by locals—when conditions were good. With all the increased rainfall, conditions weren’t the best, making the river and falls overflowing and the trail muddy and slippery. But we persevered and saw a wild tropical scene and waterfall. Mission accomplished!

Spyke Falls & River

 Next was a nice four-hour sail along the coast to Rodney Bay at the island’s north end. The big bay and city with many boat facilities and services is a popular landing spot for sailors crossing the Atlantic Ocean. It’s also a good place to stock up on groceries and leave from when making the passage north to Martinique, as we were doing the next day.

With a steady easterly tradewind of 18-22 mph, we averaged 8.5 knots speed and took only about 3 ½ hrs sailing time. Of course, as we got around the bottom of Martinique and closer to our protected anchorage, the wind dropped steadily for the hour it took to get to my favorite anchoring spot. Typical when getting to almost any anchorage.

We took some time to dinghy over to Saint Anne, a cute village around a peninsula corner, and to visit Le Marin and its big complex of marinas, services, stores, and hundreds of moored sailboats. Then at the end of the month, Jane left for home in Austin, and I got ready for my next crew companion.

February 1st, Karoline arrived at the Le Marin dock from a week’s sailboat charter she had made with a group of sailing club friends from the Portland, OR area where she lived. Whereas she had to share a boat two-thirds the space of my mine with five other people, it was now just her and me in lots more room and privacy—a whole hull for each of us. A big advantage of catamarans.

After another visit to Saint Anne, we left to stay at the popular but pleasant beach village of Grand Anse d’Arlet for a few days before setting out for the capital city of Forte-de-France. Again, I anchored us right off the middle of the city, a favorite place giving easy access to all that it offers close by. A couple of days later, we moved north along the coast to the peaceful beach village of Carbet, and two days later up to St. Pierre, another town I like because of its anchorage, ambiance, and history.

St. Pierre town

It was once the thriving capital of Martinique until 1902 when the looming Pelée volcano erupted and buried it in ash and pyroclastic flows. Recovery from devastation to buildings and an estimated 30,000 deaths isn’t easy and seldom happens completely. Hence, the rise of Forte-de-France.

Mt. Pelée and 1902 ruins

 Leaving St. Pierre after some good memories, we sailed 40 miles across the Dominica Straight between Martinique and Dominica where the Atlantic Ocean swells are forced through the somewhat constricted passage and the easterly tradewinds roll unobstructed from the Canary Islands and African coast. This combination makes the trip across the straight somewhat bumpy, shall we say. And it was a bit that way for us.

However, with the wind and waves generally on our beam—at right angles to our hulls and sails—we were able to make use of the wind to have enough speed to cut slightly into the swells without having them slow us down. Besides, having a catamaran with two hulls meant that when the windward hull was lifted by a swell or big wave, the leeward hull resisted that lifting due to its buoyancy and leveled the boat out more, making for a more efficient and comfortable ride. Whada ‘ya think? Do I like my catamaran?

So, after four fast hours, we arrived at the capital city of Roseau, which is no beauty but does try to do what is necessary for the people of the island. The buildings are a hodge-podge of new, old, historic, and deteriorating conditions. And the streets go every which way, definitely with no overall plan.

But the cruise ships do come, and the country, like St. Lucia, is trying to capitalize on tourism—though without the creeping over-commercialization that bothers me about St. Lucia. I can’t blame either island, however, because there’s not much else for a significant income. China does have lots of projects started and projected, but who knows if they will end up benefitting the island people, and not just some grafting politician or billionaire. A universal problem, it seems…

So, we spent a couple of days tied to a mooring ball from SeaCat Moorings, owned by a character named Octavius, who also does tours. Last year, I took a mooring and tours from him, and it all went very well. So, I knew the connection with him would work this time for us, too. We went to a couple of falls I liked and one or two that we couldn’t access now because of… Yep, the rain, which really hadn’t let up much since I first mentioned it about St. Lucia. But it did make for some different views of this very wild jungle island. (The glass is always half-full, in my mind.)

Outside a cafe where we ate lunch

Even a downpour at the beach, which Karoline enjoyed!

We then headed on north and stopped at Portsmouth for a couple of days. It’s a small town—like others that had a historic brush with being a capital at one time—and has a locally originated organization, PAYS, which is trying to coordinate the local tour guides and other boat-reliant services, such as the mooring ball field and a bi-weekly BBQ dinner, into something that will attract yachts and other tourists to use their services rather than relying on a government bureaucracy. So far, they seem to be doing well.

While attending a BBQ dinner, we made friends with an American couple who were renting a car the next day for sightseeing and wanted to know if we were interested in sharing expenses with them. Great idea, so it was on. We ended up seeing a couple more falls—no swimming due to rain—seashore sights, etc. It was a long day but it worked out well; a good way to end our Dominica stay.

No swimming today!

 We had a 3 1/2hr sail the next day, zooming along through one rain squall to the next which gave us lots of speed with a decent ride again. So much so, that the three other large sailboats that left Portsmouth at the same time we did—two monohulls and a catamaran—couldn’t keep up with us as we traversed to the Iles des Saintes in the nation of Guadeloupe. But who’s racing? (Well, anytime two boats are headed in the same direction, there’s always a race of sorts…) I’ve been there three times before and knew how to navigate in and where to get a mooring. In some strong winds, we finally got tied to a ball and could relax a bit. Of course, then the wind dropped to a gentle breeze, which we would have appreciated while tying up! Typical of the weather…

The main town of Terre-de-Haut is a pretty place with tons of shops for everything a tourist would like. And as the fast ferries from Pointe à Pitre on the big island arrive and disgorge their load of tourists and residents, the main vehicle-free street fills up fast. But, it is a town that services its residents and those of another couple of islands. So, it does have an authenticity about it that goes beyond the veneer of tourists.

Terre-de-Haut

We enjoyed looking around the streets to see what was there and enjoyed the availability of French food in the ice cream and pastry shops as well as the grocery stores where more was available than we’d had in the former English-speaking islands. However, even here a daily check was needed to see if anything new had come in on a supply boat—a given on all these island nations. As in Martinique, Karoline’s facility with French came in very handy. Now 60, she was born in Germany, studied French while living in Canada, and then came to the US for more schooling, work, and residency. So, German, French, and English are second nature to her (Italian and Spanish are “rusty,” she says).

We also walked to and spent most of a day at a very picturesque beach, Pompierre, where Karoline, as always, had to get in the water to search for whatever sea life she could find. And, like nearly every other island we visited along the way, there wasn’t much to see—bleached out, hurricane-ravaged, and over-fished. But she’s part fish, I swear, and wherever possible, she spends hours in the water just enjoying the sensation of floating about and still looking for whatever she can find that’s alive. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get in the water there since I damaged some skin on my arms while we were tying up to that mooring during the strong wind, but that’s life, and it’s healed well.

Leaving the Saintes, our next stop was the town of St. Francis near the easternmost tip of the big island of Guadeloupe. It’s a wind-blown anchorage but is much used by kite-boarders and other such enthusiasts. Karoline is one of those and wanted to take lessons for wing-foiling, something new for her, and she was able to do that. The location is also good for leaving to make the 70-mile passage to Antigua since the wind would be on the boat’s beam, the preferred angle as previously noted.

In the Saintes, we got to know the owner of one of those sailboats that couldn’t keep up with us, Thomas. He also went to St. Francis to get a good weather window for the trip to Antigua. Since the preferred wind direction was a few days off, we all rented a car for three days to do some sightseeing, as Guadeloupe is quite a large island and though it has a good bus system, it was much easier to have a car to do and see as we wished, especially the beaches and waterfalls.

Luckily, one day was particularly clear and sunny, so it was the day we visited the mountain forests and waterfalls we wanted to see.

Fish in the stream

Streaming a dream

Big fish in stream

That worked out as hoped, and we were all pleased. The other days were spent visiting some beaches and small seaside towns—and enduring some traffic jams. After all, it’s an overseas department and region of France, with a large population and a unique combination of modern French and traditional Caribbean cultures. It makes for an interesting and pleasant place to spend some time.

It was then time to set sail for Antigua. Thomas had hurt his back a bit earlier before we met him and recovery was a little slow. Since Antigua was the end of my cruising this season and I would haul the boat out there for storage during the hurricane season, I would just be anchored in Falmouth Harbor to get some jobs done and continue enjoying the warmth and being comfortable. After five weeks of cruising with me, there wouldn’t be much for Karoline to do or see. Thomas also had planned to join some friends on their boats further north in St. Martin, but his back recovery made it all more difficult. So, the best solution was for Karoline to help him sail his boat from St. Francis to Antigua and then on to St. Martin. She wanted to sail for a couple of weeks more anyway, and this was a good opportunity to do that.

So, that’s what transpired, and it was a good plan for all of us. Karoline is now in Toronto, visiting her parents, and I’m anchored in my favorite anchorage spot in Antigua. I’ll be getting canvas work done for a new helm station enclosure and installing new items for my hydraulic steering system, as well as doing needed jobs for when I haul the boat on the 6th of May. Then it’s back to Oak Harbor until next November when I return to cruise further north to the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, visiting islands on the way.

Sunset at St. Francis & Venus (the tiny white dot just above the long cloud by the left mast's top!)