10 November Iles des Saintes, Guadeloupe

It's a Sunday lunchtime arrival for us in Les Saintes, the small group of islands south of the big island of Guadeloupe and it is quiet. There are more free mooring balls than moorings with boats on them and we are able to have our pick of the field at our favourite Ilet de Cabrit site.

We left Grenada at 8am on Friday morning which was a week later than we had originally planned but it was the first time the weather forecast showed enough wind to sail. The forecast also showed some rain. However, the forecast was wrong. We were able to sail until sunset and then the rain clouds formed on the horizon and the wind eased. By midnight we were motoring past St Lucia in heavy rain with lightning and thunder behind us. At dawn with 70nm to go to Dominica the rain had passed and the wind had filled in together with a lumpy bumpy cross sea. It was not an easy motion and for the first time ever Polly was sea sick. I heard her yowling downstairs and arrived to see her puking on the carpet in the pilot berth. She felt better. I had to clean it up.

preparing for arrival in Dominica

We arrived into Portsmouth Bay on the NW end of Dominica at 5pm, 33 hours after departure after a lovely day 2 sail (why couldn't it have been like this on day 1?). We were surprised to find that more than half the mooring balls managed by PAYS had gone. PAYS member Elvis, yes he is alive, showed us to a ball and told us that whilst hurricane Beryl destroyed Carriacou and the Grenadines the westerly swell reached far up the island chain. Big waves slammed the bay breaking moorings and putting a yacht and a big fishing boat on the beach.

This happened four months ago and it doesn't appear that the Professional Association of Yacht Services who earn income from renting the mooring balls to visiting yachts have any plans to reinstate the lost moorings.

We had one quiet night in Dominica and next morning completed the last 20nm of the passage into Guadeloupe where we plan to stay until January, first a month in the Saints and then a month in the marina in Pointe a Pitre.