Back to Guadeloupe
     
     Subject: Log 03/06/00
     Date: Sun, 12 Mar 2000 19:16:01 -0500
     
     From: W2LSI@cho.win-net.org
     To: rudys03@ibm.net
     
     Jim Sutherland and Marilyn actually arrived ahead of schedule. They were waiting
     for us on the beach because the storm in the North Atlantic provided them with
     very high tail winds for their flight to Antigua. We all got a little wet fighting the
     dinghy through the surf...actually just a small wave surge...and made our way back
     to Boundless in Deep Harbor. It was a fairly active harbor with a lot of things
     going on. It was also a little rolly so we decided to spend their first night on board
     in Jolly Harbor. We had a great dinner on shore and their first night with us was in
     the quiet, flat waters of the harbor.
     
     The next morning (Wed. March 1st) we moved a couple of miles North to Five
     Islands Harbor. Just outside the entrance their are five small islands. There were
     several other boats anchored and room for hundreds more....it was a large harbor.
     There is nothing along the shore except several beaches and some rocks. We all
     explored one of the beaches and had a swim. Jim and Marilyn did some exploring
     on their own and must have run into a sand storm.....The dinghy had almost as
     much sand in it as the beaches!! The anchorage was quiet with a slight rock to sleep
     by.
     
     On Thursday March 2nd, we went South to English Harbor. This time we anchored
     in the outer harbor where we could swim and maybe even get a bit more breeze.
     The winds had been quiet most of the day and were projected to stay that way for
     most of the week! It was time for a passage! With the forecast of light East,
     Northeast winds and low seas the 42 mile trip to Guadeloupe should be a breeze.
     IT WAS!! We sailed almost the entire distance and averaged about 7 kts. The
     weather was near perfect for Marilyn's first passage. She did great! The only
     downside was exiting customs from Antigua. Faith and I breezed through, but Jim
     and Marilyn had to pay $20 each to get out of the country because they arrived by
     plane. This gave them the opportunity to look forward to another $20 each when
     they flew back from Guadeloupe and left for the US in only a few days.
     
     We arrived in Guadeloupe about mid afternoon. We didn't even try customs
     because they close before noon. Maybe they would be open tomorrow, Saturday,
     for us all to clear into the country. We hoisted our quarantine flag (yellow square)
     to let customs know we had arrived but hadn't cleared in. By rights we are
     "quarantined" and couldn't leave the boat until we had legally entered the country!
     Well, we were ready but customs was closed so we had our first meal on
     Guadeloupe. The island is entirely French with few English speaking people. We
     all weren't sure what we ordered but in the end we had another fine meal!
     
     We tried to go through customs the next morning but, as before, they were closed.
     We decided to start moving South once again. We also wanted to get some pictures
     of Boundless under full sail. We put Jim in the Dinghy with 2 cameras and sent
     him out of the harbor. The wind was 10-15 with no significant seas. Faith and I
     raised the sails and tried to look pretty from various places on the boat while Jim
     was zipping around trying to get everything right for some pictures. Not too
     difficult except that the wind shifted, the sun went behind the clouds and then the
     wind died. He took a bunch of pictures that we still haven't had the opportunity to
     develop. 
     
     Our next stop was Pigeon Island, just South a couple of hours. We wanted to
     snorkel and maybe dive in Jacques Cousteau's National Underwater Park. We did
     snorkel in water with 60-70 ft of visibility and saw many neat rock formations and
     some sea life but not enough to justify a dive trip the next morning. We anchored
     in a fairly protected cove, had dinner and left for Basse Terre the next morning. It
     was only another couple of hours South. Maybe customs in Basse Terre would be
     open!
     
     We also wanted to arrive in Basse Terre in time to see the first parade of Carnival
     in Guadeloupe. It starts on Sunday and ends on Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent.
      
     We arrived early in Basse Terre but we did not feel secure about the anchorage or
     the local marina. By the time we had lunch and got ourselves situated it was well
     past the start of the parade. We tried to get a taxi into town but because of carnival,
     nothing was available and Customs was closed. Would we ever be legal aliens? We
     swam around the boat in crystal clear water. We started to scrub the bottom of the
     boat because it was accumulating some  grass, barnacles and other assorted marine
     life. Faith prepared another great meal and we relaxed for the balance of the
     evening.
     
     On Monday morning, March 6, we left Basse Terre early in the morning for the 5-6
     hour trip around the Southern tip of Guadeloupe to Pointe-A-Pitre. Guadeloupe is
     shaped like a butterfly. We have been traveling along the West coast, the outside
     of one wing. Now we were going to turn the corner and travel towards the center
     of the island, where the two wings come together. It was another day of light and
     variable winds with flat seas. It was comfortable but we did burn some fuel! We
     arrived in Pointe-A-Pitre around noon as planned. Getting into the harbor took a
     little real navigating as the digital charts I was using were significantly different
     than the real world. The system actually said that Boundless was traveling down
     a road to get to the local marina but since we didn't have a trailer I knew it was
     wrong.
     Guadeloupe