Our sail to Barbuda was enjoyable and we were able to sail most of the way.  I struggled a little with seasickness because I didn’t take any medication and I’m out of ginger chews.  Several boats were sailing in the same direction on the same day and we could see them spread out all around us.  We were actually thankful for that. 

Approximately half way to Barbuda we noticed three small fishing boats closing in on us.  They seemed to be chatting over the radio emergency channel 16, but they were difficult to understand.  Steve asked me to stay inside and he started staring the closest boat down.  As soon as he did that, the boat pulled away from us and moved on.  We are not sure what they were up to and it would have been incredibly odd for them to communicate via the emergency channel if they were planning something nefarious.  Anyways, the crisis was averted and we enjoyed the rest of the sail. 

We arrived in Barbuda and anchored off of the beach close to Codrington Lagoon.  There were a half a dozen boats there along the long, uninhabited beach.  The water sparkled turquoise and the sand glistened in the sunshine.  It was breathtakingly beautiful.  Steve wasn’t excited about taking the dinghy into town, so we enjoyed the view and sailed to Coco Point the next day.

We sailed up to the Jolly Harbour area on 3/18/24 and anchored off of Jolly beach.  It is really pretty there with the gorgeous turquoise-colored water.  We enjoyed the evening and slept well.

This morning, 3/19/24, we woke to quite a bit of chop.  We dinghied into Jolly Harbour to get some provisions.  Then, after lunch, we took the boat to the fuel dock and filled up the gas tanks before heading to Dickinson Bay, which is a little further north than Jolly.  This is the bay where the Sandals is located, so it is ideal to people watch.  They have a floating bar in the water, which was packed with vacationers having a lot of fun.  Tomorrow we are getting up early and heading to Barbuda.

On Sunday, 3/17/24, we decided to head to Green Island.  We hadn’t been there in a while and so we thought we would visit it.  The water in Falmouth Harbour was crystal clear and we could clearly see the bottom.  On our way out, I saw two turtles and Steve saw a ray.  I hated to leave that beautiful water, but it was time for our next adventure.  We arrived in Ricketts Bay mid-morning and found a good place to anchor.  The water was relatively calm, but cloudy.

It turns out that our new friend, Rick, was anchored in Ricketts Bay as well.  It was great to see him and his boat guest, Bruce.  They decided to go into Nonsuch Bay to wing board on the day that we arrived.  We dinghied into the bay and tied up to their boat.  Both Steve and our friend, Rick, winged while I chatted with Rick’s friend, Bruce, and took pictures.  The wind was steady, but not too strong, and the waves were flat.  So, it was a picture-perfect day for the sport. 

Falmouth Harbour is always pleasant on Saturday afternoons.  A band was playing in the restaurant at Pigeon Beach and we could hear it clearly from our boat.  Locals and tourists frolicked in the water.  And people were snorkeling all through the anchorage. 

From our boat we were also able to clearly watch the boats leave Falmouth Harbour.  It is fun to watch them exit the channel and head out to sea.

We have spent a wonderful week in the marina getting the boat cleaned, provisioning, and relaxing.  We bumped into a friend we met a couple of weeks ago and went out to dinner with him and his guest last night.  It was an enjoyable evening sitting at a table, overlooking the water, enjoying fun conversation, and eating pizza. 

Today we worked hard to complete the boat chores that we had planned while in the marina.  Tomorrow we are heading back to Falmouth Harbour.  Hopefully the water will be calm there and we can get a good spot in front of Pigeon Beach.  It will be nice to get into the water again.

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.