Early
I woke at 05:00 and puttered about making coffee, then downloading and editing the images from last night. I did get the dinghy ready and garage closed.
It is 06:50 now and I’ll make another coffee for the road and then get going. Mark sent me a message about the anchorage getting a bit rolly, so perhaps I’ll curtail the planned trip and stop in Deshaies after all.
Departure
I departed Antigua at 07:30 and am off to Guadeloupe now. It is 08:30 and I’ve done about 6nm and decided to try to see if the Starlink was still working. It is.
The conditions are perfect for sailing. There’s a long northerly swell that is hardly noticeable. Winds around 10 knots and almost no waves. Cumulus clouds are popping and I’ve got blues playing on the stereo.
The winds have picked up a bit and I’ve decided to head pretty much straight for my destination. I like to get 10 degrees upwind so that the final run in doesn’t turn into a bash if the winds shift a bit. But conditions are perfect right now.
Once close to Guadeloupe I had to start paying attention, as there are a lot of fish pots outside of Deshaies. I passed one which was 90% submerged, and managed to avoid another connected set. At least it is daylight and visibility is quite good.
Arrival
My prepared halyard with my “Q” flag for quarantine/customs and immigration loosened from the cleat and flapped around for the last hour, but I wasn’t going to leave the safety and comfort of the cockpit and waited until the winds died in the shadow of Guadeloupe.
The winds shifted and came from 180 degrees as I approached Deshaies. This happens on occasion in this anchorage. It makes for an interesting time when the winds shift back to normal in the later afternoon. I’m going to stay aboard until that happens. The holding here isn’t great and I’ve got 200 feet of chain out in 60 feet of water and am not sure if this will “grab” after the wind change. It would be sad if Zanshin were to drag and drift off towards Mexico.
Evening
I saw that Le Pelican was open until 19:30, so I decided to shower and change and head ashore. The shop is just a short walk from the dinghy dock and within minutes I’d entered my data into the computer system. I received the stamped and signed clearance form which meant I was officially legally ashore and in France.
I took a detour on the way back and went to the little local grocery store for emergency supplies to tide me over for dinner and perhaps also breakfast tomorrow.
On my way back from the store I saw a glorious sunset, a fitting end to a travel day starting in Antigua and then off to Guadeloupe.
