Guadeloupe and a meeting with the Leopard

Currently at anchor in a place called Deshaies.  Again its a place we stopped at on the way south last year.  We were due to leave yesterday but the weather was so nice we decided another day relaxing on the boat was called for.  Then in the afternoon it started blowing up, lasting all night and it is still averaging around 25kts this morning (Sunday 16th Feb).  As we are in no particular hurry we will probably sit here for another day, get some school done and see if it calms down a bit.  Am sure the weather for the crossing would be fine especially as we will be on a broad reach but we have the time.

Deshaies Bay when the wind is not howling

After Les Saintes we changed our plans a bit and sailed up to a place called Pigeon Island off the west side of Guadeloupe so that Sam could get another dive in at the Cousteau Marine Reserve.  He is really starting to get into his diving and this is a pretty good place to learn.

After Pigeon Island we came back to Deshaies.  This place is known to be a bit of a wind funnel and the trade winds hitting the other side of the island seem to dump wind into this bay every now and then hence the situation described above.  Otherwise though the bay is really sheltered and at times completely calm and in those times its really beautiful.  Since being here last time we learned from Heather that this is where they film a BBC/French TV series called “Death in Paradise” which we have been watching so we have had a look around at all the landmarks.

The police station for "Death in Paradise"

We decided to hire a car and have a bit more of a look at the island for a day.  Main reason was to see Pointe-a-Pitre across on the other side but all in all it turned into a bit of a drive around the island.  We had plans of stopping off along the way and seeing a few of the other sights.  First stop was going to be the 350ft high Carbet Falls on Mt Soufriere however we seriously underestimated the undertaking.  When we got to the trail head we were at almost 1600m up in the rainforest and it was wet and cold and we were inadequately dressed and would have got completely soaked and filthy.  Discretion being the better part of valour we decided against it.  We were also pushed for time and it seemed to be a particularly popular attraction judging by the amount of cars at the end of the road.

We carried on to Pointe-a-Pitre trying to find a beach on the way but the eastern side beaches were pretty ordinary so we had to give that a miss.  We did manage a nice lunch in some small coastal village.  The roads around the island are good due no doubt to the French investment and there are even a few stretches of motorway.  All the roads seemed to converge at P-a-P, traffic intensified and suddenly it was like being in a big city anywhere in the world.  P-a-P is a big town probably one of the biggest we had seen since Santo Dominica in the DR.  The guidebooks had said it was worth a look but we should have listened to Pete and Claire who were not that impressed with it when they came through last year.  The town has some interesting buildings tucked away behind the modern developments but everything is at some stage of dilapidation.  The most interesting thing we found was a mall on the outskirts where we managed to get a few things.

Old theatre in Pointe-a-Pitre

Old Pointe-a Pitre

Guadeloupe is a great island but you would need a lot more time to explore it and do it justice.  The French influence and investment is huge.  There is a lot to see and do and we only really scratched the surface although it was fun to get out and have a look around and experience some of what the island has to offer.

So now we are just waiting to make the crossing to Montserrat.  Funniest thing happened this morning though…..

A large racing charter boat pulled into the bay yesterday called Leopard 3.  The boat is very impressive at 30m long with a 49m mast.  This morning Scott got up and was looking at the internet to get some information about the boat, the design etc and read that the skipper was a guy called Chris Sherlock.  Turns out this is the same Chris Sherlock who Scott shared a house with in Lilly Street when he first arrived in Fremantle about 25 years ago.  Chris was always big on sailing and now he skippers this impressive boat at various venues around the world.    There was a charter onboard at the time and they had to head south but we managed to hook up for a few minutes and catch up before he left.  He is looking well, has been very successful and seems to be enjoying life which is good to see. Its amazing after 25 years you can just get straight into a conversation as if its only been a few days since you last saw someone.  But more amazing is reflecting on the chance of the meeting - after 25 years we both end up at the same spot at the same time for less that 24hrs - what is the probability of that!

Chris Sherlock - who would have thought?!

Leopard 3

Hopefully we will get away to Montserrat tomorrow and continue north.  Luckily we have school to keep us occupied today!