A Tale of Two Chemists: Les Saintes – An unexpected reunion Sat 17th

Les Saintes – An unexpected reunion Sat 17^th – Sun 18^th March

We got an early start from Portsmouth, Dominica because we heard that the moorings at Bourg de Saint are in heavy demand and by lunchtime may be completely occupied. It was a pleasant sail of about 18 miles and we arrived at Les Isles des Saints shortly before 11 am. Our concerns became reality when couldn’t see a single free mooring and anchoring is banned in the main harbor. We tried to ask a French boat if they knew of any free moorings and they told us they planned to leave in 5 or 10 minutes … a miracle! We circled the departing boat and immediately moved in to pick it up the mooring as they left. Another boat appeared as we were on approach; we thought they might think we were leaving and so indicated we planned to take this mooring. Gloria was at the helm and it was a tricky pick up but she did an awesome job. However, just as I was about to hook the mooring ring the other boat started shouting that they had been circulating the harbor for an hour. We were in the middle of the operation so we carried on but felt a little bad for apparently jumping ahead. The other boat left saying it was OK as we had seen it first and we saw that they did find another mooring a little while later, but I don’t think we made any new friends there!

We knew our friends Shan and Ted (North Star) were in the harbor and Ted came over to say hello. What we didn’t know was that four boats from the ARC1500 rally were also in town – Tony and Susan (Spindrift), Nigel and Susan (Taiko), Richard, Rafaela, Sebastian and Matthew (Numada) and Marge and Tom (Belize Magique) –so it turned into an unexpected reunion. We checked in at immigration on Saturday afternoon and then met up with all but Belize Magique for dinner in the evening. Then on Sunday evening we had Tom and Marge and their two friends Rob and Carolyn over for dinner on our boat. It was great seeing everyone, comparing notes on where we have all been and discussing plans for the future. Taiko, Numada, Belize Magique are all heading south to spend the summer in Grenada (or leave their boats there), south of the hurricane belt. They will then carry on cruising for a second year. Spindrift are heading north to join the ARC Europe rally which leaves from Tortola (I think) on May 5^th for Bermuda, the Azores and then Portugal. We have been doing some rough planning and realize that if we want to get to Marsh Harbor in the Abacos by the end of May then we have ~1100 miles to cover in a little over six weeks leaving Antigua around April 11^th. So we are going to need to get our skates on!

Les Saintes are a group of small islands that are part of Guadaloupe and just south of the main island. From what we have seen so far, they are every bit as lovely as people said they were. Bourg de Saints, the town on the main island Terre de Haut, is an attractive seaside town with lots of restaurants, decent supermarkets and ice cream! It’s busy because it is has ferry terminal that sees a lot of traffic from Pointe-a-Pitre and Basse Terre on the mainland, but it’s quiet in the mornings and late afternoon when all the day-trippers have left. You can rent scooters or electric cars (golf cart type) but we think you should be able to walk pretty much everywhere. We took a hike across Terre-de-Haut on Sunday morning to the Baie to Pompierre on the east coast, only a mile or so away. It was a nice walk and spectacular bay with a sandy beach and palm trees. The bay itself is protected by a couple of small island that you can swim across to, although we hadn’t brought swim suits or towels.

We plan to spend several days here in the Saints before heading north up the west coast of Guadeloupe to check out at Des Haies and then on to Antigua, ready to meet our friend Bridget who flies in on April 3^rd.

15^o 52.2 N, 61^o 35.0 W