So, I am a bit behind. We came up the coast of Dominica to Portsmouth and spent the night. As usual, we picked up one of the moorings in the North end of Prince Rupert Bay, managed by the guide association, for which we pay 26 EC (US10) per night. The moorings are in good shape, and
the guides patrol the area at night. Our feeling is we should support this operation and feed some cash into the local ecomonomy. Other cruisers are not of the same mind, and want to anchor for free, in the midst of the moorings, feeling there rights to free access to the ocean bottom are being violated by the placement of moorings in their anchorage. One such fellow, of the french persuasion, had placed his anchor almost directly upon the mooring to which we were directed by a rather irate guide, who cast several well chosen words in his direction as he passed up our lines through the loop on the mooring tether.
I realised we were being used as a pawn in this political gambit when said skipper arrived half an hour later to ask if we would move, as he was planning to leave shortly after sunset, and our boat lay directly on top of his anchor. Explaining that we had just finished paying for assisitance in our present placement, I gently reinforced the guide's position. The upshot was that the skipper of the offending yacht was reduced to fetching up our lines in the repositioning effort, which he managed with some difficulty.
As intended, we passed a quiet night before the sprint for Pointe a Pitre the next day. We were blessed with a decent wind direction and were able to have a pretty good sail in a fairly strong breeze.
Point a Pitre is the commercial and industrial heart of Guadeloupe. There is a large container port opposite the entrance to the large marina in the Lagon Bleu. We pulled up outside the marina entrance and dropped anchor in time to clear customs and find a grocery store. After a rum punch with the last of our Dominican rum, we went ashore for dinner at one of the many restaurants in the marina.
Our plan is to cruise up the south east coast, Le Gosier, Ste. Anne and St. Francois before rounding the souteastern tip of Guadeloupe and head NNW for English Harbour. The distances are not large, but the wind and sea are dead on the nose. Although very pretty, with swaying palms and lovely beaches, these towns are not of much interest. We travelled over the weekend, Le Gosier on Saturday, but we were anchored in the lee of the island and no shore leave opportunity, by Sunday in St. Anne, little was open ashore. Even in St. Francois on a Monday afternoon, everything was shut up tight. It is interesting that almost all commercial establishments along this coast, which is in the tourist center of Guadeloupe, close for two full days a week.
Tuesday we rose early for the bash down the remainder of the coast and thence up the windward side of Guadeloupe to Antigua. I had twice calculated the distances involved. The first time, I figured the distance at over 50 miles. The second time, I made an error and came up with only 30 miles from the southeast tip up to Antigua. We set off at about 8:00, anticipating reaching the turning point sometime after 9:30. The seas off the cape were treacherous, heaving and chaotic. Added to the East wind induced seas, which carromed off the rocky cliffs at the cape in a back chop, there was a large NE swell coming down out of the North Atlantic. By the time we had set sails and settled in to the broad reaching course, it was 10:00. Now video game we use for navigation had a bead on English Harbour and K annouced we were going to be late arriving. We were doing a respectable (and comfortable) 5.5 knots, which over 30 miles should get us in well before sunset. Only trouble was, the distance had grown back up to 50 miles.
Of course, there was a solution, involving a bit more carbon dioxide off gassing, but neccessary in the event. With 17 knots of wind and one engine, we pushed Django's speed to 7 knots, setting an ETA English Harbour of a little after 5 pm, all things remaining equal. Well 7 knots is not as comfortable a ride as 5.5 knots, but there you are. We pushed hard all day, and as we passed the North-east corner of Guadeloupe, wind and current moved against us. Still about 30 miles to go, so on went engine number two. I like our new props, they drive very well. At 2300 RPM with the current against us and less wind more abeam, we were able to maintain our VMG at 7 knots to within the last 7 miles of Antigua. In the end, a line of squalls forced a reduction of sail, and produced a radical wind shift against us. Heavy rain doused the boat nicely, but our wonderful progress was dented. In any case, we managed an entry into the Harbour 10 minutes before sunset, and the anchor was down and set within minutes after. It was a hard push, and Django's fastest passage over that sort of distance. Quite exhausting.
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