Snorkeling, Salty Sailing and the Saints

Snorkeling, Salty Sailing and the Saints

Monday 15^th and Tuesday 16^th April, 2024

Tax day began with completely overcast skies and rain.  We ventured to shore on a dual mission.  Mike was checking us into Guadeloupe, while Rod and I were to attempt some food shopping.  Unlike some places the check-in process was so speedy that Mike caught up with us at the grocery store.  We returned to the boat in another rain shower.  After a few preparations, we left the mooring and motored south along the coast to Pigeon Island, part of the Cousteau National Park. The skies continued overcast with bouts of rain.  We even put on our foul weather gear!

Once we had anchored in the bay opposite Pigeon Island, we had a major debate about the likely weather.  We settled finally on going to snorkel even though the light might not be great.  Once tied up to the dinghy mooring, we donned our snorkel gear and set off.  We were fortunate in terms of timing as the tour operators must have been on lunch break! The fish were numerous but other swimmers were scarce.  While there didn’t seem to be a lot of living coral, there were hundreds of fish.  Big schools were to be seen in the deeper areas and brightly colored specimens seemed to inhabit shallower areas around rocks.  The sun even came out, enhancing the brilliant colors.  

Upon our return, Cotinga was rolling side to side. Combined with intense heat from the emerged sun, I started to feel distinctly unwell.  We elected not to stay overnight in that location.  The next bay along didn’t seem to offer better protection from the swell, so we decided to carry on to Les Saintes.  The initial portion of the trip followed the coast of Guadeloupe.  Surprisingly the wind was from the west!  This was accompanied by some short period wind chop - right on the nose!  Finally, the trade winds prevailed. However, the wind direction from the south east was such that we very tight to the wind.  The motor was necessary.  Once out from behind the island, the seas were significant.  Although the open water section was less than 10 miles, it was far from easy, a very salty ride. We were lucky to find a free mooring at Isle de Cabrit and the sun set just ten minutes after we tied up. The entire crew was tired.

This morning, we went by dinghy to Terre d’Haut.  Our plan was to walk up to Fort Napoleon, followed by lunch at a restaurant we had enjoyed on an earlier trip.  Once again the walk up seemed quite daunting and pretty sweaty.  We toured the museum and the gardens.  Our lunch plan failed as there wasn’t a table available.  We wandered around the town and found another place to eat, which turned out to be good. 

After lunch a short hike took us to the Bay of Pompiers.  While this beach is one that Mike and I have visited several times, we have never gone swimming there!  Having planned ahead we had swimming gear with us.  The water was quite warm but still refreshing.  Once Mike had a sufficient number of goose bumps, we got out.  To our delight there were fresh water showers that were even more cooling!  We spent some time people watching before returning to town and the dinghy dock.  

It has been a quiet and relaxing evening aboard.

Gloria

15 52.375 N, 61 35.780 W

Late afternoon sky as we approached the Ilet a Cabrit mooring field at Les Saints

Cotinga at night swinging on the mooring

Not Frangipani, but a similar type of plant, photographed at Fort Napoleon

A panoramic view looking down from Fort Napoleon. You can see Dominica (our next destination) in the top left, and the main town of Terre d'Haut in the center, and Le Chameau (which we climbed a few weeks ago) on the right hand side.

Palm trees on the beach at Bay de Pompiers

Sunset from Cotinga, moored off Ilet a Cabrit

777

777

Saturday 13th - Sunday 14th April 2024

We left Jolly Harbor at 7 am, sailed for 7 hours at an average speed of 7 knots and arrived in Deshaies, Guadeloupe in the early afternoon. The passage was a little under 50 nm and our average speed was actually 7.2 knots, including the lower speeds as we motored out of the anchorage. We had a single reef in the main and full genoa, and we were flying! I had been monitoring the weather forecast for over a week and it seemed like conditions were likely to be quite fierce. As it transpired the winds moderated a little (16-20 knots) and were from the ENE, a perfect direction for us to sail south on a slightly aft of beam reach. The seas were also from the ENE and quite large (7 feet) with a moderate period (7 seconds) and both Gloria and I felt a little queazy for the first hour or two, despite wearing scopolamine patches. We may just be a little of practice, or we might have put them on a bit too late (immediately before departure). Rod,  has never been seasick (lucky b.....)! We did try fishing and hooked something early in the trip, but as Gloria stated … we practiced “involuntary catch and release”. In other words, when I started to haul it in, I could see it splashing, then it got off the hook … bummer! We saw several boats heading north from Guadeloupe, a more challenging direction under those conditions, requiring close reach sailing. We didn’t see any other boats sailing south, either by eye or on the AIS (automatic identification system). Actually for most of the journey the AIS system wasn’t working. We didn’t want to troubleshoot the problem underway in case we inadvertently lost all our electronic navigation, but as we approached our destination I realized that I had accidentally switched off the power to the AIS … nothing wrong with system, clearly something wrong with the me!

We picked up a mooring in Deshaies, squared away the boat and tried to complete immigration and customs check-in, but the harbormasters office had already closed for the weekend. We were all pretty tired, and after a dinner of chicken scampi over linguini we had an early night.

Today we packed a lunch and took the Dainty Dog to shore, and hiked over to the beautiful orange sand beach to the north. Our route out took us the easy way along the main road and down a dirt track. The surf on the beach was spectacular, but it put us off any ideas we had about swimming. Near the beach we found a display board showing a map of the area with an alternative “sentier” (footpath) back to Deshaies. Taking this alternative route back seemed like a good idea at the time, but actually involved a long and steep ascent up to the summit of the mountain to the north of the harbor, followed by an equally challenging descent back in to town. We did get to see some fine birds on the way - including the endemic Guadeloupe woodpecker and Lesser Antillean Crested hummingbird. The beer we had at the restaurant adjacent to the dinghy dock tasted particularly fine! We all had a late afternoon swim from the boat and Gloria cooked us a wonderful dinner known as “deconstructed stuffed cabbage”. 

Tomorrow we must check-in to Guadeloupe and then move on southwards.

Mike

16 18.476 N, 61 47.796 W

Cotinga sailing beautifully. Rod is a gifted helmsman and he kept us on a perfect course despite being swirled around by substantial waves

A passing vessel mid-way between Antigua and Guadeloupe

Gloria enjoying the passage!

A short video showing Rod at the helm as we travel south at 7+ knots. I think it gives a good impression of how much movement there was. Gloria is sitting on the downwind side of the aft seat (the best seat on the boat!), but she is hidden by the steering wheel and instruments.

A short video looking forward along the starboard side deck. Apologies for all the wind noise in both these videos... I do have a separate microphone with a furry cover to reduce wind noise, but I haven't learned to use it yet! 

They aren't called "cattle egrets" for nothing

A painted concrete gatepost - abstract

The awesome beach at "Grand Anse" (wide angle lens)

A closer view of the breaking waves (telephoto lens)

Rod shooting from under the shade of the trees

Lesser Antillean Crested Hummingbird

Back on Board Cotinga

Back on Board Cotinga

12 April 2024

Our two week trip back to the USA was excellent, but it all went by so quickly! The flight out of  Antigua was delayed by two hours and so we missed our connection in Miami and had to spend a night in a hotel. However, other than that, the travel went fine. We were relieved to find no issues with our house, apart from evidence of some mouse activity and an infestation of lady bugs. Having spent the last several months in the tropics, it was a bit of a shock to experience a Nor’easter storm with wind, sleet and snow. 

One major project we accomplished, with help from Gloria’s brother Rod, was to machine some Delrin (acetal) bushes to connect the autopilot radial arm to hydraulic ram. It was fun to see Rod working on his lathe and drill press, and the new parts fit perfectly. 

Whilst at home, we managed to complete our 2023 tax forms and submit them on line, only to realize a day later that we had missed out two key pieces of interest income. This caused me to have a minor meltdown. Our friend Lee was staying with us at the time and had the dubious honor of experiencing my ranting … sorry about that Lee! One of the items that we had missed was an interest payment from the IRS because they took three years to process our 2020 taxes and issue a refund! There is nothing that raises my blood pressure more reliably than the annual process of filing our tax returns. I don’t object to the paying of the taxes, it’s how complicated the system is that really drives me nuts! In fairness, it only took 15 or 20 minutes for us to go on-line and file an amendment, so it wasn’t such a big deal. 

We also worked our way through a lengthy shopping list of things that we wanted or needed for the boat. These included a replacement shower sump, new dock and dinghy davit lines, spare zincs (sacrificial anodes), new swim flippers (for Mike) and several food items from Costco. When we returned our two checked bags were overweight and we had to do some frantic re-shuffling at the airport. The food caused us a little anxiety upon arrival back in Antigua as we had blocks of cheese, cold meats and bacon, all of which should be declared upon entry, but we cruised right through customs with no issues.

We spent the majority of the visit catching up with some of our family and friends, which was great, but inevitably time passed too quickly and we didn’t get to see everyone that we hoped to. Still, that gives us something to look forward to when we return home in the summer.

One of the main drivers for making the trip home was to see the solar eclipse. Our friends Sue and Stew have a farm up in Vermont that was close to the path of totality and they had invited us up to stay for the event. We had a great time visiting them and seeing first-hand how much progress they have made with their property. They plan to grow asparagus, blackberries and hazelnuts, and are doing a ton of work to get this established. Their daughter Paige was also visiting and the five of us drove an hour further north to join their friends Randy and Stacy outside Montpelier. They had a 10 inch telescope and a solar telescope set up, and we had a wonderful afternoon watching the moon slowly move across the sun. The sunlight gradually declined and the quality of the light changed, becoming eerily grey. The temperature dropped significantly and in the final seconds the earth went dark. We were in totality for about 90 seconds and it was an amazing experience. To me it felt like being in a Sci-Fi movie where you look up and a huge mass has completely blocked out the sun. This is quite possibly the last full eclipse in the USA that we will have the opportunity to see in our lifetimes. We were exceptionally lucky that the skies were clear (more or less) and I am sorely tempted to try and see more eclipses in other countries.

Gloria’s brother Rod is joining us for the next couple of weeks as we make our way south. We met in Miami airport and shared the same flight back to Antigua. The plan is for Rod to fly back from St Lucia and there are many places that we would like to stop on route, more than we have time for in two weeks! Anyway, we are back on board and have mostly completed a long list of jobs ready for departure. We intend to leave the dock this afternoon, anchor outside Jolly Harbor and make an early departure tomorrow for Guadeloupe. It is likely to be a “salty” sail …!

Mike

This is a poster that I made from iPhone photos taken handheld through the solar telescope. Each of the shots taken throughout the progression were cropped square. The colors are not edited or enhanced, simply what my iPhone captured through the telescope. 

Below are five of the shots in their original (4x5) format. 

Tighter Than a Frog’s Arse

Tighter Than a Frog’s Arse

Tuesday 26th - Wednesday 27th January

This blog post will be mercifully short and sweet. It’s not been a particularly exciting couple of days, unless you have a special passion for boat cleaning! We have been getting ready for our forthcoming trip back to Sudbury and working through a list of jobs so the boat is in good shape when we leave and ready to roll as soon as possible after we get back.

One job on the list was to contact a diver to clean the bottom of the boat, check our zincs (sacrificial anodes) and replace as necessary. Wayne Emard had been recommended to us by Jolly Harbor marina and we worked with him on our previous stay at the marina back in December. Once we got settled on the dock we gave him a call and he showed up about ten minutes later to discuss what we need doing. The man is a character! He is known as “Red-Trini” to his mates (“Trini” because he comes from Trinidad, “Red” because … I have no idea … he seemed to think it was obvious!). He went into great detail about how everyone has nick-names around here. He told us Americans used to be called “Yanks”, but that is now viewed as disrespectful, so they are called “Money”. He said they may not all be wealthy, but that’s the perception. I asked him “What about Brits …what’s their nickname?” They are known as “Titus”, he replied. “Is that some connection to the empire”, I asked, thinking Antigua is a former British colony, maybe some connection to a Roman emperor ... No … it’s because they are “tight arsed and stingy …. tighter than a frog’s arse”. “Obviously not all of them”, he qualified! As well as fulfilling our diving needs, Wayne is also going to taxi us to the airport. He noted that in order to be successful he is willing to pick up any business … except selling drugs, or doing divorces! In the past he had been convinced he could do a better job than the prime minister, but rather than take on that job, a friend encouraged him to give up drinking. As you can tell, it was a wide ranging and entertaining conversation.

The marina has WiFi, and it’s actually pretty good. For the first time in six months, we were almost able to watch a film last night. It started out well enough, then, when we were half way through, it abruptly stopped. Attempting to reconnect to the Marina WiFi we were told that our ticket had expired. Aggghh. I thought it might be due to excessive data use, but it turned out that it was a timing issue, due to a misunderstanding with the marina on how long we were staying (1-day versus 3-weeks?!)  It was actually quite fortunate this happened because on clarifying the situation it transpires that we need a signed declaration from the marina of our docking contract, which I then had to take along to customs and immigration to be stamped, before we could leave the country.

Anyway, we plan to eat butter chicken and naan bread for dinner tonight and watch the rest of the movie. We will sign off from our blog for two weeks and start again once we return to the boat on the 11th April.

Thanks for reading and being part of our adventure

Mike

C-Dock at Jolly Harbor Marina. Cotinga is on the right, and the boat that was right next to us pulled out this afternoon, providing a much clearer view!

The view across from B-dock to the boatyard with travel lift and fuel dock (wide angle lens)

The same view now as a panorama created from four x 70 mm vertical format shots

Looking towards C-dock from the end of B-dock

Looking down B-dock with the individual power and water supplies for each slip

The Carpenter - Jones Valley Trail

The Carpenter - Jones Valley Trail 

Sunday 24th - Monday 25 March 2024

We spent Sunday hiking the excellent Carpenter - Jones Valley trail. Our departure from Cotinga was delayed by rain and as we left the boat it was still cool and cloudy. That lasted about ten minutes, but as soon as the sun came out the humidity sky-rocketed and it felt outrageously hot and sweaty. By the time we had hiked around to the start of the trail off Galleon Beach we were seriously having second thoughts. We sat on the rocks near the entrance to English Harbor and ate our sandwiches. We had no other plans and little energy to formulate alternatives and so we set off along the trail around the coast. With every footstep our mood changed; the views were incredible and we started to really enjoy the walk. The hike up the ridge towards Shirley heights was steep and hard work, but the incredible cacti that we saw along the way kept us entertained, and before we knew it, we had reached our high point. The hike down through the woods of Jones Valley was easier going and we stopped to look at the old gravesite and to take photos of the plentiful dragonflies. We didn’t get back to the boat until late afternoon, and we were quiet tired, but we both felt it had turned out to be a really good day. I am so glad that we didn’t bail out early.

(p.s the "AllTrails" app is excellent ... load up the map and route while you have connectivity and then you can follow the trail even when you are off-line) 

This morning was again showery, but we are in no hurry to get underway. It’s only about 12 nm from Falmouth back to Jolly Harbor and we didn’t want to arrive at lunchtime, when everything would be shut down. The showers eased up around 10.30 am and we were underway by 11 am. It was a pleasant, if somewhat rolly, downwind motor-sail (Genoa plus diesel) back round to Jolly Harbor. We pulled into the fuel dock and topped up our main diesel tank and then backed in to the slip in the marina that had been assigned yo us. This went perfectly, not least because we had the help of the harbormaster and his dinghy. It’s amazing what a difference it makes to have a dinghy with an outboard motor push against the bow to set up the correct angles … an inflatable bow thruster! 

The one thing that did go wrong today was our stove. We have not used our oven since leaving the USA, because it’s been really warm on the boat and who needs the extra heat. However, last night we wanted to warm up taco-shells and I tried to switch on the oven. I couldn’t move the knob at all. We decided to toast our taco-shells on one the top burners and address the faulty oven switch this morning. Well I managed to get a good wrench on the actual spindle (not the plastic knob) and snapped it right off. So there is no prospect of the oven working again. The unit is 25 years old and no longer in pristine condition so we have looked into replacing the entire stove. This would be easy in the USA, but likely to be much more expensive over here. We are considering three options: buying a replacement here in Antigua if we can get it here in time, buying one in the USA and carrying it back with us or just doing without an oven until we return to the USA next year.

Does anyone know whether you can turn up for a flight with an 80 pound box and treat it like checked bag?

Mike

The bouldery cliffs at the entrance to English Harbor

The Carpenter trail follows the edge of the cliffs to the ridge in the background, which is climbed to the top. There is a section where you can scramble down the cliffs and swim in a shallow pool on a ledge of rock above the ocean (known locally as Mermaid's Pool).

At the base of the ridge where the trail heads uphill. The cacti are impressive!

The top of one of the "Englishman's Head" cacti

The view down from near the top of the ridge (which is not itself particularly exposed)

A set of dragonfly photos taken whilst descending the Jones valley Trail ... from above

 A head on shot

As close as my macro lens would allow me to get

From the side

Motor sailing downwind in light winds using the genoa. We were too lazy to get the mainsail out (or to put away my shorty-wetsuit!)

Sneaking into Nelson’s Dockyard

Sneaking into Nelson’s Dockyard

Friday March 22^nd and Saturday March 23^rd, 2024

Working on the premise that the same amount of climbing must be accomplished on a walk whichever direction you take, I had a brain wave in the middle of the night.  If we walked our route counter clockwise, we would enter Nelson’s dockyard through the “back door” and avoid paying the National Park fee. I think Mike was slightly shocked!  But that’s exactly what we did. The route took us up onto a ridge with nice views first of Falmouth, then the ocean and finally down into English harbor and the dockyard. We were able to walk right out the gate of the dockyard with no problem.

Later in the afternoon, Mike wanted to go back to shore to take night-time photos of the boats and dock area.  He chose to repeat the walk that we’d done earlier in the day.  Thus, he snuck into Nelson’s Dockyard twice in less than twelve hours!

Backing up, I should report that we had a very busy day on Friday (March 22^nd).  In the morning, Mike worked on the septic hose of the forward head (what a joy).  I worked on cleaning of the galley cupboards, a project I’ve been doing a bit at a time. We went to shore to fill a gasoline jerry and collect our laundry.  The gasoline was no problem but the laundry was “in the washer”.  It would be ready by 2 pm.  We took a trip to the grocery store and acquired a few items.  

Our hope was to collect the laundry at 2 pm and take off for Falmouth.  Naturally, the laundry was not ready until about 3 pm.  Then it took a while to get the engine off the dinghy, secure the boarding ladder and “sling the hook”. We were underway by four pm.

Sadly, the wind was really on the nose, so it was motoring the whole way.  We got the anchor down before sunset and enjoyed some time sitting in the cockpit.  

Gloria

A panoramic view from the hills to the west of English Harbor showing (right to left) English Harbor, Nelson's dockyard and Falmouth.

English Harbor

A Canadian lady taking in the view after sunset on the Middle Ground trail

A flower on the top of a cactus that is known locally as "Englishman's Head Cactus"

English Harbor in full moon light as night closes in

Nelson's Dockyard

The end of the dinghy dock at Nelson's dockyard. Most of the yachts are docked "Mediterranean Style"

... and the one you've all been waiting for ... the septic hose from teh forward head. Mineral deposits have closed the internal diameter from 2 inches to ~ 1/2 inch. We clear this cement like gunk out by smacking the hose on a piling or something similar. This hose was last cleaned only 4 months ago!