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!!