Guadalope and Stuff

Hi all - well, thought we would give you an update since we left Antigua and headed south. We left Jolly Harbour about 6:45 in the morning after raising our mainsail while still at anchor. When conditions permit this makes things so much easier, expecially for me (Griff) as I do the sail raising. What normally happens is we motor out of whatever anchorage we are at and when we are clear, we head the boat into the wind and raise the mainsail. We have to head into the wind so that there is no wind pressure on either side of the sail. Otherwise the pressure makes it extremely difficult if not impossible to get it all the way up (the foregoing instruction sponsored by "Learning to Sail - the Fun Way to Live").

Anyway, conditions were such that we could raise it at anchor so we did and then headed south. Our course, once we cleared Jolly Harbour, was 181 degrees magnetic, which is almost due south (magnetic of course), The wind was 15-20 knots, mostly east and the seas were from the ESE , varying between 0.5 and 1.5 meters most of the day. We did run into a couple of squalls that brought the wind up quickly but we were able to be proactive about it and make the appropriate sail adjustment before we got hit. Except for the squalls, it was a wonderful day for sailing.

After averaging a bit over 5 kts/hr we arrived at Deshaies, Guadaloupe, at about 15:30 (3:30 PM for landlubbers!) Although there were quite a few boats already here we were able to find a nice spot and the anchor held in about 20 ft of water. We rested!

Guadaloupe is actually part of France, not like other islands that are under the protection of their mother countries, and of course everyone speaks French. As far as understanding them, we both have the basics from school but it is a bit difficult. No worse, however, than trying to understand some of the dialects spoken in supposed English on some of the other islands!! It is almost a language of it's own and spoken as fast as it is, it reminds me of trying to understand a Cape Bretoner who spent lots of time in Newfoundland.

Deshaies is a small fishing village with quaint streets, small shops and houses, and a church with a bell that rings every hour and half hour starting before 6 in the morning. The town pretty well closes down from noon to 3 but the people are helpful and friendly. We had to wait a day to clear customs as it only open for 1 hour Monday, 1/2 hour Tuesday and 1 hour Wednesday. We cleared today (Tuesday) in the 1/2 hr opening between 16:00 and 16:30

We spent the day at a really georgeous botanical gardens after walking 1.4 km straight up to get there. It was well worth the walk however, as you may be able to tell by the pictures. We saw a lot of different plants, some hummingbirds, parrots, macaws and finches, and many, many flowers. After lunch the finches landed on our juice glasses and ate the sugar that was on the rims. We also saw a humungous black bee - it was at least an inch and a half in diameter. It would not stay still long enough to get a picture.

Finally, it looks like we may be staying here a few extra days as there is a weather system coming in that will bring 15-25 ft seas and winds 25-30 kts. While we could sail in it, since we have the time, we choose to avoid battling the elements.

Take Care All