After the Christmas winds died down, we decided to say goodbye to Deshaies and head south to explore more of Guadeloupe.
Pigeon Island
Our first stop was Pigeon Island. The reef and sea life inside the Cousteau Nation Park is protected, meaning that anchoring and fishing is strictly forbidden. We anchored in the nearby cove for a couple of nights. We broke out the dive hookah and went exploring underwater. The water was the clearest we’ve seen since the Bahamas and the coral formations were just breathtaking. We hardly even noticed that it was raining buckets the entire time we were out. We dove until our flippers gave us blisters, then returned to the boat for another rolly night. Even though the winds had calmed down, it would be a few days before the seas followed suit.
Les Saintes
People always ask us to name our favorite spot we’ve visited and we always struggle to answer. We loved the beaches, fishing, and clear water in the Bahamas. We loved Puerto Rico’s diverse ecosystems and colorful culture. We loved the nightlife, food, and exchange rate in Luperon, Dominican Republic. And most recently we fell in love with the baguettes, culture, and quaintness of the French Caribbean. Everywhere we visit has something special to offer. But if someone asked me to choose where I would make my home, I would without a doubt choose Terre De Haut, Guadeloupe (though I would have to learn some French).
Bourg des Saintes is an adorable, picturesque town on the island of Terre De Haut. Quaint restaurants and shops line the clean streets. And the red roofed homes all decorate their balconies with lovely flowers. The town is usually lively except during siesta hours. And there’s no shortage of tasty food and good wine. The bakery turns out the best baguettes we’ve tasted yet. It’s important to stock up in the morning, because they will sell out by the afternoon. It is nearly impossible to wander the streets without a smile on your face. It was love at first sight and we were excited to be in such a beautiful place for Christmas.
While everything on land was picture perfect, it was a different story in the anchorage. By the time we arrived on Dec 23rd, the anchorage was almost full. So we had to grab a mooring in the back of the field. The northern swell wrapped around the island causing us to rock aggressively back and forth. At this point we were really getting tired of the Christmas winds and northern swell. If we hadn’t already made plans for a cruiser’s Christmas potluck, we might have sailed away to find better protection. But we wanted to spend Christmas with friends, so we stuck it out.
Preparing food Christmas morning was downright comical. Or at least it would have been if I wasn’t too sleep deprived to see the humor. Nothing was safe inside the boat. I set the mixing bowl down for 2 seconds and it was on the floor, luckily landing upright so the cookie dough was saved. Even though we have a relatively large galley, the working space isn’t meant for two. But we needed four hands that morning. While I washed, chopped, shredded, and stirred, Rob held down the bowls, trays, and pots, desperately trying to keep our Christmas dinner from falling on the floor. Somehow we managed to turn out our Christmas dinner contributions: spinach and artichoke dip, roasted potatoes, and chocolate chip cookies along with some escargot we picked up at the market.
Brian and Megan on s/v Landlocked graciously offered to host us on their catamaran. Earlier in the day, they snagged a calm spot close to shore and I almost teared up a little bit when I stepped on their boat. It was such a relief to no longer be rocking. It was heavenly. Ben and Quinn from s/v Wanderlust and Kai (a young captain on a racing boat that does charters across the Atlantic) also joined us and we spent the afternoon swapping cruising stories. We stuffed our faces with ham, lamb stew, and yummy deserts until the sun was setting. It was time for us to return to our rolly boat for the pups, but we were grateful that we got to spend Christmas with new and old friends.
All I wanted for Christmas was for our boat to stop moving and I finally got it the following day. We were up early and when some boats started leaving the front of the anchorage (including s/v Landlocked), we rushed in to grab their spots. Both Wanderlust and Kairos picked up mooring balls in flat clam water and finally got some much needed rest.
Now that we were no long sleep deprived, we were ready to explore the rest of the island. We hiked to the old Napoleonic lookout tower on top of Le Chameau for some spectacular views. The island is truly stunning and we decided that Bourg des Saintes is the most picturesque town we’ve seen this entire trip. After walking around the tower ruins, we started hiking back down the mountain and ran into some baby goats out for a stroll with their mother. I honestly don’t know who was more obsessed with them, me or Jaela. Their adorableness perfectly matched the setting.
We also rented a scooter one day and toured all of the beautiful beaches. Plage de Pompierre was a beautiful, long white sand beach lined with palm trees. Visitors can take the walking path from town, so this beach gets a lot of traffic. We watched waves crash onto the shore at Plage de Grande Anse. The water was too rough to swim here, but we had the beach all to ourselves. Plage de Rodrigue was a beautiful, small secluded beach as was Plage de Crawen. Plage du Pain de Sucre had the most beautiful calm water, but also the largest crowd. Terre de Haut has a beach that’s perfect for everyone.
While we could have stayed in Les Saintes for another week (or maybe forever), Kairos needed some TLC. So on Dec 30th, we set sail for Marina Bas Du Fort in Pointe-a-Pitre.
Marina Bas Du Fort
It wasn’t the most comfortable sail to Pointe-a-Pitre, but we’ve seen far worse. In addition to real showers, easy dog walks, and laundry facilities, we were also looking forward to getting some boat projects knocked out. For the previous two weeks, we had been cruising without our main fridge (only a mini-fridge), quickly deteriorating batteries, a deflating dinghy, and a bilge pump that couldn’t be trusted in automatic mode. As we were entering the channel to the marina, Rob started winching up the centerboard and we heard a loud crack. The centerboard cable had broken and snapped back towards the cockpit. Kairos is equipped with a centerboard in her keel which can be raised or lowered with a cable that runs to our cockpit. Sometimes, like in the shallow waters of the Bahamas, it’s nice to have a shallow draft. Other times, it’s advantageous to have a deeper draft, like when we want to point higher into the wind. Our normally 4’8” draft was now 8’10” and there was no way to lift the centerboard.
We stopped at the fuel dock on our way into the marina and explained our situation. Luckily, the marina could accommodate our new draft. At Marina Bas Du Fort, boats are wedged between each other, docking stern-to with bow lines attached to a mooring ball. This was our first experience docking in this configuration, but the marina aids by controlling the bow of the boat with a powerboat. Prior to docking, they told us to line the sides of our boat with all of our fenders. Only problem was that we were down to just one fender after losing our others when the Christmas winds hit Deshaies. Luckily for us, the boats that we were about to sandwich ourselves between had plenty. However, new fenders was our first of many purchases at the marine store.
Although the town of Pointe-a-Pitre was only a 30 minute walk away, we never made it over there. The marina area had everything we wanted: several marine stores, a plethora of restaurants, a well stocked grocery store, and of course a baguette shop. We decided to celebrate New Year’s Eve with dinner and drinks. As soon as we stepped off our dock, we realized we were very under dressed. It appeared that the waterfront area was the place to be for New Year’s Eve and everyone was dressed to the nines. After returning to the boat to change (I knew I packed that little black dress for a reason), we found a place that would except two more for dinner. We rung in the New Year while eating seafood and sipping Rose. It was actually a great spot to celebrate and when we returned to the dock we found some rowdy cruisers still partying. Of course we joined in.
With the weekend over, it was time to get to work. Though our progress sometimes felt painfully slow, we were able to complete a lot of work during our one week stay:
- Replaced Refrigerator Pump and Hose
- Replaced Engine Water Pump Belt
- Spray Painted Refrigerator Compressor
- Replaced Windlass Switch
- Patched the Dinghy
- Tightened Anchor Platform
- Rewired Mini-fridge
- Replaced Bilge Pump Switch
- Battery Replacement and Upgrade
- Replaced Centerboard Cable
- Hot Knifed Fraying lines
- Serviced the Outboard Engine
- Gave Away Old Dinghy
- Cleaned Deck, Cabin, and Laundry
It’s crazy to think that one year ago, we moved onto the boat and became liveaboards for the first time. In a way it seems like a lifetime ago. We often laugh thinking back about our greenhorn selves. How clumsy we were the first time we anchored or how disastrous our first dinghy ride was. We’ve come a long way, but I’m amazed how much we are still learning about sailing and about our boat. We could live another 20 years aboard Kairos and she would still be teaching us knew things. The marine environment can be harsh and takes its toll on both the boat and the crew. It’s what makes this experience so challenging. But it can also be beautifully magical. There have been ups and downs, but it has always been an adventure. And we are grateful for the experience.