The CCA/NYYC Guadeloupe Cruise

The raison d’etre for much of our season this year was the CCA/NYYC Guadeloupe Cruise. We spent months planning for it (as cruise chairs) and working our way toward Deshaies, Guadeloupe, where the festivities would begin,

On March 16, planning turned into reality and despite the mooring balls all being occupied and the anchorage in Deshaies being quite full, eventually 9 of the 13 boats that signed up for the cruise, found anchor room in the harbor, as they began to show up that afternoon. (We were already there on a mooring ball and 3 other boats arrived the next day.) As boats arrived, we delivered check-in clearance papers for many of the boats, that were secured by our local yacht concierge service so the crews could go ashore and get acquainted with the town. 

Roel Hoekstra and John Folks’ boat, Mary Lee, brought down our intended crew (former boat partners, Jeff & Kathy) but unfortunately, they had been on board less than a few hours when we had to evacuate Jeff with a 103.7 temperature. It was an ordeal trying to get a taxi and speak with doctors, none of whom spoke much English, but we eventually got them to a doctor and released (with a Denge diagnosis) to a relatively comfortable hotel. 

The next day, the 3 additional boats arrived, crews spent time repositioning their boats to get a mooring, swimming, walking around town or the beach, and taking island tours while we delivered Jeff & Kathy’s bags to shore, as they had to bow out of the cruise to get more rest for Jeff.

That afternoon, our kickoff event was held at Le Jardin de Botanique; including private tours, cocktails & buffet dinner. The gardens were a hit (although they seemed a bit less lush than the last time we were here in 2020) and the venue for the buffet was spectacular; in the outdoor restaurant overlooking a waterfall. Food was good and drinks were plenty, and I think everyone had a pretty good time.

 

On March 18th, the plan was for the fleet to sail to Pigeon Island and enjoy snorkeling in the Jacques Cousteau Park but the weather was a little rough and some boats decided to head straight to Isles des Saintes (our final destination). Others, including Billy Ruff’n, decided to head toward Pigeon and evaluate conditions. On the way, Billy Ruff’n had a fire drill when Andrew noticed our dinghy motor hanging off the dinghy! We quickly went into problem solving mode and got the jib rolled in and slowed the boat while Andrew climbed in the dinghy. We hoisted our 200 lb motor onto the big boat while underway in chop… quite a feat that we will never be so lazy to have to do again!! Normally, we hoist the motor before getting under way but it seemed a short trip and mild conditions (at the start). Live and learn.

Billy Ruff’n, MaryLee and Bermudian Escape spent the night near Pigeon, in the more protected Bouliante Bay and enjoyed swimming in the hot spring, eating local fare on shore with workers from the nearby geothermal plant that day and getting together on the boats for evening activities. 

The following day, the rest of us headed off to Isles des Saintes to join the fleet. Arriving around 11:30, there were no mooring balls available off the main town and the anchoring behind the mooring field was deep so the 3 amigos (Billy Ruff’n, MaryLee and Bermudian Escape) were able to secure moorings off Ilet Cabri, the small island just across from the main town. After settling on our moorings, we went in town for lunch at Cafe de La Marine, right off the dinghy dock on the water, where we found at least half of the other CCA/NYYC cruisers enjoying marinated fish salad, tuna tartar, and lobster risotto, along with the soothing sound of the clarinetist playing “La Vie en rose” on the beach and taking collections in his hat from the restaurant goers... so very French!

After lunch, we walked around a bit with Kate & Roel, provisioned some and returned to the boat to see a printed envelope with an invitation to cocktails sitting in our cockpit. In 5 yeas of doing this live-aboard thing in the Caribbean, this was a first. I guess because we were cruise chairs, we had the honor of being invited to join Bob, and his partner Greg, on board their beautiful 96 foot sailing yacht, Altair, along with small group of CCA/NYYC cruisers including the Commodore and Vice Commodore of the CCA. It was the highlight of our cruise so far. We were received by the boat captain, who took our painter and valeted our dinghy. We boarded the boat and were offered a glass (not plastic) of wine, and proceeded below to violin music coming from the mahogany wood and oriental rug clad main salon, bedecked with a gorgeous Chihuly glass sculpture! We toured the engine room and learned about the 1500 gallon water tanks, 2500 gallon fuel tanks, 8 battery banks, etc, from the very young but highly qualified captain. It was amazing and we were thrilled to be included.

On March 20, the last day of our cruise, we organized an impromptu barbecue lunch on Ilet Cabrit. Crew arrived by dinghy with their own lunch and something to put on the fire pits that we had set up. Some folks walked up the hill to the fort for the view of the harbor. Others swam or snorkeled off the beach. Everyone seemed to enjoy the spur of the moment gathering, including Casey, one of the captains, who took his lunch in the water.

That evening, we had our closing dinner at Ti Kaz La, a fabulous restaurant on the beach. It would have been perfect if the municipality hadn’t forbidden tables on the beach since we couldn’t fit everyone in the restaurant at a table. Instead, some chairs were lined up in the sand but, one of our most enterprising participants took the bull by the horns and stuffed chairs around the tables until everyone had a place to sit. Once the buffet was served, we started the food line with those that had the make shift seats and ended with our table. Because no one understood that the first round of food were appetizers, people filled up their plates and we didn’t get any of the highly anticipated octopus, lobster tail salad and tuna tartar, appetizers but we made do with being first in the main course line and enjoyed our fair share of Tahitian fish, beef fillet, shitake salad and penne rigate salad.

Once the paid for drinks ran out (probably around 20:00) and before dessert came, we got music & dancing going and even the serving staff, who were being asked to accommodate this wild bunch, were dancing in the restaurant with us! In the end, I think everyone enjoyed the food and fun and I believe we managed to pull off a successful cruise.

The end of planning for Guadeloupe - the fun begins tomorrow!

So, the main reason we came back to the Eastern Caribbean this year is because our dear friend, Roel, volunteered us to organize a Guadeloupe Cruise for the New York Yacht Club (NYYC) and the Cruising Club of America (CCA). Our entire sail plan has been focussed on 1) getting as many friends and family to join us in these islands (that we have enjoyed so much going on 5 years now) and 2) getting to Guadeloupe by mid March. We’ve succeeded on most counts!

After leaving our buddy boat friend in Isles des Saintes, we motor-sailed to Pointe a Pitre, in order to get a mechanic to look at our ongoing engines issues. We were lucky enough to get a slip at bas du Fort Marina, where Fred’s Marine shop is located and we were able to get an appointment with Fred. The Harbor master helped us med moor where we were squeezed (literally with inches between boats) next to our friend, Mark on s/v Tonic. We had to deploy the big ball fenders in order to maintain our friendship!

The marina has two marine shops, a variety of other technicians, lots of restaurants, a grocery store, a pastry shop and some retail shops, most with very reasonable prices. I took pictures of all the menus so we could choose what to eat from the boat. We had some excellent pizza-to-go that first evening. 

The next morning Fred arrived and within a couple hours he had put new seals in the generators’ leaky water pump, replaced bad gaskets in the fuel system, and tested & confirmed that our main engine charging voltage was appropriate. The low readings we are getting from the panel may still be an issue but all of the engines systems are running well. Here’s Fred, a very nice and capable guy, with cool looking glasses (that, if you look closely, you’ll see they have one circular lens and one square)!

The next day, Andrew picked up a new EPIRB that was being programmed for us (since the old one’s battery died) and I picked up breakfast from the boulangerie for the second day in a row! We washed the boat, filled the tanks with water and Andrew got his hair cut (using Google translate to provide instructions in French), so that we would be prepared to leave for our next destination.

Sailing the next day was mostly downwind, not our favorite angle unless we can get the chute out but there was too much wind for that. Instead of going to Basse Terre, as originally planned, we anchored in Bouliante, as a possible alternative when our cruise visits Pigeon Island nearby. It was a well protected anchorage with a hot springs generated by a geothermal plant, but otherwise, unspectacular if it weren’t for the double rainbow hovering over it!

On March 14th, we arrived around 9:30 in Deshaies, to check out the venue at our first stop for the NYYC/CCA Cruise. There were 5 mooring balls available and plenty of anchoring room. By the afternoon, all the balls were taken and there was less anchor room. The next day, we cleaned the inside and backside of the boat and prepared the quarters for our guests that will be joining us on the cruise. Tomorrow, 13 boats, with 60 cruisers altogether, will converge on this place and we are hoping & praying for some turnover!!

 

Buddy boating with Jay/Joe

Our new buddy boating friend, Jay (on s/v Hurah), will now and forever more be known as Jay/Joe! Since our friend, Dana on Pathfinder, introduced him as Joe, I couldn’t get it right even when Jay introduced himself as “J, as in the letter, ya know”. We are working closely on the Guadeloupe Cruise with another Jay, the Commodore of CCA, so it’s been convenient to have a nick name for the new Jay! Andrew suggested J/J, which is convenient for blog writing.

In any event, we continued to discuss plans with Jay/Joe as we are working our way north, but he decided not to go when we were ready to head off to Dominica. We prefer to sail in 15-20 knots (even if the seas is a little rougher) to motoring in a calm seas, so we left J/J (who is single handling, by the way) in St. Pierre for the 5 1/2 hour sail to Roseau. It was sporty at first (20-25 knot winds, 6-8 foot seas), until we got past Martinique and then it settled into a rather nice sail on the beam. When we got into the lee of Dominica, the wind dropped out entirely and we motored in to pick up a mooring from Sea Cat and stayed overnite; leaving the next morning.

We had an easy 3 hour trip in the lee of Dominica to Portsmouth, the next day. Arriving before noon, we were assisted with the mooring by Alexis from PAYS (Portsmouth Association of Yacht Services) and rigged the dinghy to take our papers into customs. The really friendly, multi-lingual and helpful gal (Val) at the PAYS office said they could check in for us for $100 EC (or $30 USD, which is probably 10x what it would cost us to do it ourselves), but gave us time to go to the outdoor market and grocery store for some desperately needed supplies. We didn’t find half of what we were looking for so when we got back to the boat and Danny came by in his kyack, we were happy to purchase some fresh papaya, apricot and bananas. 

While running the generator the day prior, we had heard a ticking noise that didn’t sound good so we were using the motor 2x per day to recharge our weak batteries. Fortunately, we were able to get the very able (and one armed) mechanic named Igna, to come look at it our first day in Portsmouth. Igna was delivered to our boat by a helpful friend, hopped aboard more adroitly than many I know with four limbs, and after a quick listen and inspection, told us we were either 1) low on oil, 2) had a clog in the oil system or 3) had a more serious problem. Andrew had checked the oil and knew we were a half quart low, so he filled it up and that seemed to have fixed the problem. Phew!

The best new discovery about Portsmouth this year was Whitney at Maford House Cafe. After paying one of the PAYS guys to take us to a better grocery store and 2 unsuccessful visits to ATM’s before we found one that worked, we found Whitney. She is a refreshingly friendly, Canadian who has had various restaurants in Dominica for 27 years. At the Cafe, she makes fresh bread, cheese cake, etc. and she promises the best fish & chips on the island, which she delivered to us in the pleasantly shaded beer garden out back.

As mentioned, our buddy Jay/Joe chose to make a long trip in one day from St. Pierre, Martinique to Portsmouth, Dominica, in order to avoid the forecasted heavy seas but as the sailing gods would have it, he had a rougher sail than we did. Fortunately, he arrived safely on our second day. We went over for coffee on his boat the next morning and discussed plans for moving on to Guadeloupe, while he generously allowed me to use his Starlink; internet capabilities I have sorely missed since our Wi-Fi puck hasn’t worked since Martinique.

That afternoon, Jay/Joe joined us on the Indian River Tour, where we were rowed by Alexis past the Pirates of Caribbean movie set, through the jungle like vegetation to the rum bar at the end, where Alexis showed us the local crab and made a bird out of fronds for me. That evening, we caught up with friends we’ve been chasing all over the Caribbean (Sue & Denny and their crew Linda & Bob on s/v Evening Star) at Madiba’s for dinner.

The day before we were to leave for Guadeloupe, Jay/Joe did an island tour, Andrew cleaned the boat and I went over to Jay’s boat to use Starlink for a Medicare enrollment conference call. Yes folks, I’m that old! That evening, we enjoyed a PAYS barbeque, where we ran into friends from Trinidad and sat with a sailing couple from Philadelphia (of all places).

On March 8, we were off to Isles des Saintes, Guadeloupe and actually buddy boating with our new found friend, Jay/Joe. After a bit of motoring, we had a great sail with 15-20 knots of wind, 2-4 foot seas and best of all, we caught a yellow fin tuna! 

We arrived in Les Saintes before noon and surprisingly found four moorings available. After we picked up our mooring ball, we launched our dinghy and helped Jay/Joe pick up his ball. He was close enough for us to use his Starlink from our boat!

That afternoon, we took Jay/Joe to town and showed him where to find the grocery store, boulangerie and the butcher, all the key ingredients for a stay in the French islands. We all bought supplies and went back to our respective boats for a quiet evening. 

The next day, we took Jay/Joe to Isle de Cabri for a hike to the top of the fort for the view of the harbor. It was a bit overcast and we couldn’t see the mainland like you would on a clear day but it was magnificent anyway. Afterward, we snorkeled nearby and saw lots of pretty little fish, coral and sea fans.

That evening, Jay/Joe, Andrew and I had dinner at Au Bon Vivre on Terre den Haut to celebrate our buddy boating venture. We all ordered the chef’s surprise, which was 4 courses including a dorado sushi served with gazpacho, tuna in a yogurt soup, red snapper with mashed potatoes & candy onion and a lastly, Carmel flan with a cookie for dessert, that I ate too fast to get a pic! The flavors and portions were perfect and I’d have to say, it was the best meal I’ve had in the Caribbean this season; a fitting finale to our buddy boating venture with Jay/Joe.

The next morning, as we were leaving for Pointe a Pitre, where we’ll begin preparations for the NYYC/CCA Guadeloupe Cruise, Jay/Joe sent over this lovely picture of Billy Ruff’n at the end of a rainbow!

Catching up with friends in Martinique

The sail from St. Lucia to St. Anne, Martinique, must have been classically good or uneventful because I have no notes from it. I would have to check Andrew’s log. In any event, we arrived in St. Anne on 2/24 to hundreds of boats in the harbor, some said between here and nearby Le Marin, there were thousands! (All those little white sticks in the picture above are masts!!) We checked in at Bou Bou bar, which couldn’t have been easier, except that the computer program is all in French, and my French is getting better, but still a challenge. At least we got to have drinks while checking in and the bar tender was super helpful and friendly.

We discovered our friends, Edwin & Karen (s/v Frog’s Leap), were in Le Marin and met them for lunch (raw meat cooked on a stone at L’Annex), and afterward helped them bend their mainsail back on the mast. That’s what sailors do for fun!

The next day, we took the dinghy back on a wet 3 mile ride back to Le Marin to find a Digicel store where we could get a SIM card for our Wi-Fi puck (our version of internet access while trying to avoid the expense of Starlink)! Apparently, the French islands no longer support this technology and we are running out of data on our phones every other day. Looks like Starlink may be in our future!! 

After stops at the boulangerie (for quiche) and the grocery store, we swung by Frog’s Leap at the dock. Edwin was up the mast trying to get his tricolor working and Karen was on a headset below keeping an eye on him.

The following day, we took the dinghy into St. Anne for a visit to another boulangerie (this time for sausage croissant and a baguette) and a stroll through the outdoor market, where we bought shrimp, spinach & fish fritters from one vendor and some passion fruit jam from another. We also made reservations at La Dunnette for dinner that evening with Lawrence & Cindi (s/v Bermudian Escape). Lawrence is from the well known Trimingham family of Bermuda and has signed up for the Guadeloupe cruise we are organizing in March. We hadn’t met them yet and had a really enjoyable evening hearing about Lawrence’s family history in the islands and other sailing stories.

On Feb 28th, Karen & Edwin rented a car and invited us to join them on a road trip to Jardin de Balata and Habitation Clement. The first stop was the botanical garden, which was really nice (but not the best we’ve seen in the islands). The pictures speak for themselves:

The second stop was a rum distillery, which includes a 16 hectare sculpture garden and the former private residence (now open to the public) of the proprietor, who is best known for having hosted Presidents Bush and Mitterrand on this property in the 1990’s. Some more pics to tell that story:

On 2/29, we left St. Anne for Anse du Ford, a small bay about 15 miles up the western coast of Martinique. We had planned to buddy boat with a solo sailor and Salty Dawg named Jay, on s/v Hurah, but his anchor got stuck and we had to proceed without him. The bay had room for about 4 boats due to all the snorkelers and swimmers coming from the busy beach on shore. We settled in to the only remaining spot and after snorkeling to check the anchor, we rowed the dinghy in for lunch.

That evening, we were one of two boats remaining in the bay and with the recent assault on two sailors, we decided to practice one of our safety measures and locked ourselves in the boat. 

The next day, we coordinated our sail to St. Pierre with Jay (s/v Hurah), who had found a diver to unwind his anchor chain and help him raise his anchor. He got an early start and caught up with us just outside our anchorage. We had a nice sail, in sight of each other, and arrived in St. Pierre at roughly the same time. We happened to anchor in front of our friends Dana & Lisa (s/v Pathfinder), who Jay also knew, so that evening we had everyone over for drinks on Billy Ruff’n. 

Andrew and I went to town to make reservations for the gang at our favorite restaurant the next day, and found not only was it permanently closed but nothing was open for dinner that evening (a Saturday night)! Since there were cruise ships in the harbor, we figured all the shops and restaurants open up in the daytime and close at night when the ships leave. Instead, Lisa & Dana were our hosts for drinks on Pathfinder that night, where we took this pic:

Since Andrew and I have another island to go, provisioning to do and a generator to fix before we get to Guadeloupe for our cruise, we left Martinique the next day to continue our way north.