Sail Away With Us: Antigua, Guadeloupe and The Saintes

Sargasso weed off Antigua

Back again and still weather watching.

Friday 17^th August we leave Montserrat and sail the 32nm to Antigua. Well that was another interesting one. Not only were we contending with ESE winds, but also tons more of the dreaded Sargasso Weed. Again it was clogging the rudders and props slowing us right down at times. It has been interesting reading in the local yachting papers and the different Islands newspapers, how it is impacting the Caribbean this season. The wild life such as turtles are having trouble reaching the beaches to nest, and the baby hatchlings can’t make it back to the sea. The fishermen are also finding it affecting their catches. No wonder, as we can’t troll a lure without it becoming entangled every few minutes.

Nelson's Dockyard

We arrive into English Harbour at 1400 and drop anchor in Ordinance Bay. Wow we have arrived in one of the most famous and historical harbours in the Caribbean. English Harbour, the historic home of Nelson’s Dockyard, to modern day and the famous Antigua Sailing Week which draws yachts and crew from all around the world. Well, where is everyone. The place is positively dead!! Nearly all the facilities are closed. Yes it is summer – the low season, but this is ridiculously low. We go ashore to check in with customs. They obviously want a short day as it is half an hour before closing, but we are told to come back tomorrow. We may wander around ashore, but not too far – really, thanks. Well there are plenty of opportunities to take photos with no one in them. Also we find the bank to top up the kitty with EC$ - that is the Eastern Caribbean dollar which is used on a few of the Islands we will be visiting.

Pelican

Antigua is one of the few Islands in the Caribbean blessed with so many sandy bays and protected anchorages. Apart from a hilly section on the southwest corner of the Island which rises to 1319ft, the Island has a more gentle undulating terrain with open plains and scrubland. We also found it to be dryer than its mountainous neighbours. It is believed to have been settled by the Arawaks about 4000 years ago. Columbus sighted it in 1493 naming it after a church in Seville, Spain. The British arrived in 1632 settling on the eastern side of the Island and planting indigo and tobacco. Later sugar plantations were developed. With this came slavery. In the 1700’s the English saw the potential to develop a Dockyard in English Harbour as it is so well protected. It was completed in 1789 and much of it still remains today after an incredible restoration project. Falmouth Harbour sits just to the north and was also very important for the British fleet. Nelson was stationed here in 1784. Not a happy posting for him as he did not get along with Governor General Shirley. When he left he was a sick man and took a barrel of rum with him, so if he died on route, his body was to be placed in it! Help I am sure the crew would have had other thoughts!

Nelson's Dockyard

The following morning after we are all checked in, we wander over to Falmouth Harbour. Most of the shops, bars and restaurants are closed for summer. We do find a coffee shop on the dock with a few yachties and the odd local. We join them for a relaxing morning.

Freeman Bay

Freeman Bay, English & Falmouth Harbours

The following morning we decide to move SHAMAL out into Freeman Bay at the entrance to English Harbour so we can swim in the cleaner waters here. Later we walk to the top of Shirley Heights which gives us a magnificent view over both English and Falmouth Harbours, plus over to Montserrat, and down to Guadeloupe.

St. John's

While there we also take the local bus across the Island to the capital St. John’s. An interesting trip. Life is a little more basic among the local population once you are away from the tourist and cosmopolitan side as you cross the middle of the Island. St. John’s does have a few restored old buildings which are now home to fashion and upmarket jewellery shops, but there are still a number of rundown buildings. The harbour here is more for commercial craft, and there is also a Cruise Ship terminal here. There was a great fruit and vegetable market, but we were surprised at how expensive the produce was. The big supermarket just outside of town was excellent.

St. John's Harbour

Our final day in Antigua is spent relaxing and swimming. We go ashore to check out, and download yet another weather forecast.

We up anchor before 0600 the following morning. Bye bye Antigua. For a change we have a lovely sail crossing the Guadeloupe Channel. From now on the sailing should be a lot more pleasant as we move down the Island chain in a more southerly direction. Winds are still ESE at 17-21kts, and seas are between 2-3mts with breaking tops. The sun is out, and the sea is that wonderful sapphire blue. We average 7kts on the 42nm crossing to Guadeloupe. Once in the lee of the Island we are back into variable winds. Sometimes losing it altogether, and then at another stage gusting up to 35kts coming off the mountains. We see a lot more yachts now at anchor in the coves and bays along Guadeloupe’s western coast. So there are still people out here enjoying the so far pleasant summer weather, but also moving south.

Guadeloupe. Actually this Island is made up of two Islands narrowly separated by a channel. The high volcanic, heavily forested half that lies to the west, is called Basses Terre, and the low limestone half called Grande Terre, lies to the east.

Calm waters in lee of Guadeloupe

Columbus sighted Guadeloupe in November 1493. The Spanish were the first to attempt to settle the Island in the early 1500s, but both times were driven off by fierce Carib resistance, and, by 1604 they gave up any claim to the Island. It was not till 1635 that the French arrived and claimed Guadeloupe for France. The English occupied it for a short time, but by 1763 it was back in French hands with the signing of the Treaty of Paris. The British did have another go amid the chaos of the French Revolution, but by 1802 Napoleon had sent troops to restore order. It has since had upheavals with hurricanes and general strikes, and today is heavily dependent upon subsides from the French Government.

Anchorage outside marina at Basse Terre

We are actually heading out to the Isles des Sainte, a small group of Islands lying about eight miles to the south of Basse Terre. Evening is approaching so we decide we will stop at Basses Terre – the capital, it has the same name as the Island. It is conveniently situated near the southern end of the Island. We drop anchor outside the marina alongside a number of other yachts.

The following morning we go ashore to check in. The Restaurant in the marina where one can check in online is closed until the 3^rd. September. Today is only 23^rd August. Plan B – we walk the mile into Basses Terre to check in there. After wandering the town for a while we give up and head back to the marina. The town is a little “tired” and does not have that French flamboyant feeling about it. We find the colourful markets, and a bakery for Alec to get some lovely fresh bread.

Markets, Basse Terre

Basse Terre

Once back at the marina we find the office, which looks all closed up, but in fact its occupants are only hiding in the air conditioned office, which we nearly freeze in. We have really acclimatised to the 30+ deg.c. temperatures these days. Well they have a computer for cruisers to check in here now. Great, that job is taken care of nice and quickly. We do find one restaurant open where we enjoy a coffee before heading back to SHAMAL.

Lighthouse, Les Trios Pointes

We move the boat just a couple of miles down to Les Trios Pointes, and drop anchor not far from the lighthouse. The following morning we are relaxing, and thinking about moving out to the Saintes, when a very dark raincloud appears over the cape. Let’s move out now, but light rain starts falling while we are rising the anchor. By the time we round the cape visibility is down to a couple of hundred metres. This is when an AIS really is helpful. This channel is a very busy one with ferries and the like buzzing back and forth. There is a squall line coming through, but we manage to keep just ahead of it once through the initial one. Once out at the Saintes we are back in the sunshine, and drop anchor off the village of Bourne Des Sainte, on the Island of Terre D’en Haut.

Great Coffee, The Saintes

Lovely Shops

Later we go ashore. This use to be a fishing village. They were settled in the 17^th century by Breton and Norman fishermen. The Saintes were never used for agricultural. Today the village now relies on tourism. Ferries are constantly bringing people across from Guadeloupe, and even Martinique. The village is small, but very quaint. It has everything you would want, on a small scale, and is lovely after the last ferry has left late in the afternoon. The streets and homes are cared for with that lovely French flare. I visited most of the shops, we found the restaurants reasonably priced, the coffee good, and yummy ice cream.

Closed Beach, Atlantic Coast

The Saintes

We anchored a little way out, to stay away from the mooring field where you can pick up a mooring buoy for a price. The waters in our bay were lovely. One morning we climbed the hill just to the north of town, to Fort Napoleon. Built in 1867 it has commanding views over the town and harbour, the surrounding Islands, and Guadeloupe. The Fort has been beautifully restored and full of interesting artefacts. We also walked across the Island visiting other bays. Sadly the beaches on the eastern side – Atlantic side – were closed due to the Sargasso weed clogging the beaches.