We enjoyed a relaxing morning on the boat before heading to Pigeon Island on the leeward side of Guadeloupe.  The area off of the southern tip of Guadeloupe can have strong winds that whip around the mountains.  So, we are always cautious in this area.  Winds averaged 22-24 knots with gusts up to 30 knots about ¾ of the way up to Pigeon Island.  Our sail was quite sporty and a lot of fun.  We were flying (as much as a Lagoon 42 can fly).  We arrived at Pigeon Island late afternoon, anchored, and settled in for a relaxing evening. 

On 3/7/24 we left our anchorage as soon as we could spot fish pots, which was around 6a.  We maneuvered the boat around several of them.  We also had to avoid a turtle that kept sticking its head up in front of the boat to see what we were doing.  Along the sail we spotted two dolphins playing in the water.  One even jumped out of the water!

We were able to sail from Guadeloupe to Jolly Harbour, clear customs, and enter the marina all on March 7.  That meant that we were able to relax in the evening and start cleaning the boat right away.  Life is so easy in the marina, with unlimited electricity and water. And we are in close proximity to restaurants, the grocery store, gas, laundry, and other shops.

This was supposed to be our last full day in Les Saintes before we started heading towards Antigua.  Even though I worked out first thing in the morning, I really wanted to go ashore to spend a little more time exploring the island.  So, we dinghied into town and headed towards Grand Anse Beach to look at it. 

We next went to a lookout above Basse a Terre. 

Finally, we walked to the Baie de Pompierre because it looked so inviting when we looked down on it from Fort Caroline.  There were more people on the beautiful Pompierre beach, but it was still not very crowded.  Families picnicked there and children ran around playing while wild goats and chickens roamed the park-like area. 

We picked up our last patisseries (the same kind as before), cleared customs out of Guadeloupe, and returned to the boat.

We woke up early and left Pointe a Pitre’s anchorage as soon as there was enough light for us to spot fish pots.  Unfortunately, it is was a rainy morning and we sailed through several squalls.  We even had to reef the jib once.  We made it safely to Les Saintes around 10a and surprisingly were able to secure our boat to the same mooring ball that we have enjoyed the past two times that we were here.  The anchorage was extremely calm, especially given the conditions from the northerly swell.  (That is why Steve picked this anchorage.) 

Yesterday was Sunday, and many of the stores were closed.  We needed to get cash so that we could pay the gentleman who sails around collecting mooring ball fees for the evening.  We tried to go to the patisserie to buy some desserts, but they were unfortunately closed.  So instead, we got some chocolate ice cream and sat on a street bench eating it while people watching.  It was a relaxing afternoon.  Once we returned to the boat, the sun shone brightly and the water glistened a sparkling green.  It was gorgeous outside and a picture-perfect afternoon.

We were up early and sailed to Pointe de Pitre, Guadeloupe.  A northerly swell was coming in and we believed that the anchorage would offer us some protection, which it did.  Again, we had to carefully watch for fish pots.  There were many mooring balls to choose from and we picked up one that was off of a small island and protected by a reef.  For being in the largest town on Guadeloupe, it was actually a fairly pretty anchorage.  However, if we looked to our side, we saw the industrial part of the anchorage. 

Three large, powder-blue cranes towered over the bay loading and unloading containers from cargo ships. 

We could also see the slave museum from our anchorage, which was a large, modern, silver building. At night colored lights changed and were lit up, which was quite pretty in the night sky.

After lunch we dinghied into the main marina in Pointe a Pietre.  This is supposed to be Guadeloupe’s yachting hub and we were anxious to see it.  The marina was packed with boats.  Boutique shops and restaurants lined the interior of the marina, making it easy to purchase whatever we needed.  Unfortunately, part of the marina smelled like sewage (apparently where the American-powered boats go).  We were glad that we opted to stay on a mooring ball in the bay.  Even in the bay, the water was cloudy and snorkeling was not good.  But at least it was a pleasant location.

We were moored in the perfect location to watch the sailing and windsurfing classes.  Kids sailed mostly in front of our boat, but an occasional one or two ended up behind us.  It was great fun to watch so many small sails zoom back and forth in the bay.

On Saturday, 3/2/24, we decided to dinghy into the marina (and lock up our dinghy) so that we could walk to the slave museum.  We had heard that petty theft is frequent in town so I purposely did not take my camera.  Town was run down and in certain places smelled like sewage.  We walked past a university and then took a left down a street towards the museum.  The museum’s grounds were well laid-out and manicured.  It was quite a relaxing and peaceful place.  Some young guys were rollerblade dancing on the cement, which was unique to see.  As we went to enter the museum, the door was closing.  I looked around and a sign was put up saying that there was a last-minute closure of the museum.  So, we couldn’t visit it after all.  We did walk all around the building and saw lots of building walls covered with what we could call graffiti art.  I’m not sure if the locals would call it graffiti or murals. 

Once we returned to the marina, we of course went into the bakery.  They didn’t really have great patisseries there.  However, I got a pain au chocolate (one of my favorites) and Steve got some other breakfast-like danish.  And, we purchased the best baguette that we have had in the islands.  It was a little denser than most baguettes and tasted amazing!

Today we sailed over to Sainte Anne, which is a bay on the southeastern side of Guadeloupe’s mainland.  This appears to be a vacation spot, as many tourists are walking up and down the road along the shore.  Shops and restaurants line the beach.  It is a very busy area, as approximately a dozen kids are taking windsurfing lessons right in front of our boat. 

Other individuals are wing boarding, sailing sunfish sailboats, and whizzing by on hobie cats.  In the distance we can see kite surfers.  There is plenty to watch.  All of this sailing is taking place in this bay because it is well protected by a reef.  So, the water is calm, clear, and a beautiful turquoise color.  Unfortunately three other boats ended up anchoring in this little area, which made us extremely nervous.  We hung fenders out on both sides of the boat in case the boats hit one another.  We were lucky and the wind kept us blowing away from each other.

After exercising and recharging Spring Tradition’s batteries, we decided to head into Saint Louis to do some provisioning.  They moved the floating dinghy dock from last year and it is chaotic now.  Last year the dinghy dock was by itself, away from the main dock.  Now it is tied up below the main dock and there are steps leading to it.  That part is terrific.  The floating dock itself is damaged with many of the tiles smashed in.  The crazy part was that there were so many dinghies tied up to it that we couldn’t fit ours in.  We ended up three deep and had to crawl over other dinghies to get to the dock.  Luckily the water was fairly calm so we were able to do this without too much trouble.

It is about a half a mile walk to the grocery store.  It felt good to take a walk.  On the way back, we of course stopped at a local patisserie and purchased some gorgeous-looking desserts.  We tried two of them tonight and they were good.

Today we woke up tried to get our boat untangled from the mooring ball that we were tied to.  We put two different ropes on the ball to help ensure that we are well secured.  Unfortunately, in the current and wind, the ball got twisted around and the lines were tangled.  Usually we can pull them free but this time we couldn’t.  Steve ended up jumping into the water to untangle the lines.  By the time he had gotten back on the boat and changed out of his swimsuit, the lines had tangled again.  Luckily, a nice French sailor was snorkeling passed and helped us.  Finally we were off. 

It took us about four hours to sail from the Saintes to Marie Galante.  We both were at the helm looking for fish pots.  Fishing is a common livelihood of the locals in Guadeloupe.  We couldn’t believe it, but we found some fish pots in 650 feet of water.  Luckily Steve picked a good line to sail and we only had to alter course a few times.    It was a hot, hazy day for sailing.  While we didn’t encounter any squalls, we had to get about an hour and a half away from Marie Galante to be able to see it. 

The main anchorage, just off of the town called Saint Louis, is a wide-open bay.  There are probably 50 or so boats anchored throughout the bay.  While the water is nice and clear, there isn’t much to see below.  We stayed on the boat this afternoon and are looking forward to going into town tomorrow.  As we recall, they have a fairly good grocery store and I need to do some provisioning.

After a day on the boat, we decided to go into town to take a walk to a different part of Terre de Haute.  We walked past the airport and Grand Anse Beach.  This area was fairly rural and several houses had goats enclosed in fences. 

The houses here were nice and had private yards.  As we continued to walk, we came to Plage de Roderigue.  This was a nice little cove where some people were snorkeling. 

After our walk, we stopped in at a local boulangerie (bakery) and I finally was able to purchase a pain au chocolate, which is croissant-like bread with chocolate chunks inside.  It was delicious.  Of course, we also purchased a baguette, which was fresh and tasty. 

In the afternoon we jumped overboard and went snorkeling.  While the snorkeling wasn’t fantastic, it was fairly good.  We saw two large Caribbean lobsters.  I also saw two brown eels with spots on them, called Sharptail eels.  The first one was fairly small and seemed to be having a blast playing with some fish.  The second one I saw was a little larger and was swimming in my general direction, though not directly towards me.  That is when I decided it was time to return to the boat.  It was an enjoyable snorkel.

We decided to go for a hike today to see Morne Morel, Fort Caroline.  So, we took the dinghy to town and started walking.  It took us a moment to find the correct street to walk on, but we eventually found it.  The trail was quite steep at the beginning.  However, it leveled out a bit once we got to the top of the hill.  We traversed wooded trails, scrambled over rocks, and walked on dirt paths. 

The views from the top were beautiful and we were able to see several different bays. 

We took a different trail back down to town and ended up at Marigot Beach. 

We made it back to the boat before the rain.  (Actually, it rained while we were in the grocery store, but we avoided it.)  It was a good workout and we really enjoyed stretching our legs and seeing a different part of Les Saintes.

Today we left around 6:30a and motored the whole way.  There was only approximately 3 to 4 knots of wind in the lee of Guadeloupe, which wasn’t enough to fill our sails.  And, it can get sporty off the southern tip of the island, going from no wind to high wind where you need to reef your sails.  Both Steve and I were at the helm for most of the trip, as we had to watch for fish pots.  They are hard to see, especially when sailing into the sunlight.  We narrowly avoided one fish pot and easily navigated around many others.  We arrived at Ilet a Cabrit around 10:30a and were able to pick up a mooring ball.  The mooring balls are no longer being maintained, unfortunately, which means Steve had to carefully inspect ours to make sure that it would hold us.  We know this anchorage and the wind will spin us around the ball day and night.  There wasn’t a painter on the ball, which meant that we had to attach directly to the ball itself instead of a lead line.  We snagged it on the first try and were attached to our new home for the next couple of days.

The water here is a beautiful turquoise green color.  Last year there was good snorkeling so we are hoping the same is true this year.

Around 11a we dinghied into Terre de Haute, the main town/island in Les Saintes.  And, we cleared into Guadeloupe.  On the way back to our dinghy (it was in the opposite direction actually, but who is counting), we stopped at the main patisserie in town.  We picked up some dessert and a baguette.  The choices were limited since we arrived so late.  And, a cruise ship is anchored in between the islands.  Hopefully what we purchased will taste great.