The Saints

We woke up at 6:00 this morning and were underway by 6:20, sipping coffee along the sheltered coast of Guadeloupe. It was so calm that we motor sailed most of the way, all the time cleaning the boat and doing a bit of laundry. It would seem that any white t-shirt that Laurie owns either has coffee or red wine on it, so it was a clorox kind of day!

As we putted along, we heard two boats talk to each other, one of which was telling the other that the wind was absolutely wild beyond Guadeloupe. We took heed and tucked things away and strung laundry inside while we approached the end of the island. Good thing we took heed, within an hour, we were crashing into giant waves which delivered its share of salt water. Our goal is to get to Point a Pitre, and if you take a look at the map of Guadeloupe, you'll see that it is a butterfly shaped island,
and one of the largest in the windward and leeward islands in the Caribbean chain. We had approached the island from the north and have sailed the length of the island to get to a small group of islands called "The Saints", which are a part of Guadeloupe. Tomorrow, we will sail upwind all day, northward in a northeast wind, to get up to the butterfly's crotch to the capital city. On Saturday, Doug and Jeanne Chown from home will be arriving and we have arranged to meet them at the marina in Point
a Pitre. A couple of weeks ago, we were alerted that Guadeloupe was on strike, which included food, gas, taxis, and almost everything other than essential services. Because the airport is approximately 5 miles from the marina, we have been a little tense about how to pick up our guests. Carrying luggage for 5 miles through areas with political tension seemed the only answer until we heard only 2 days ago that the strike is now over!! Yeah!! So, you can see we're back on track and should be where
we're supposed to be by Saturday and a taxi should help Jeanne and Doug get from the airport to us. They will be flying out of St. Lucia on February 23rd, so we'll have a nice trip down the islands, visiting along the way.