Malendure Beach, Guadeloupe

The beach on the mainland of Guadeloupe opposite Pigeon Island is quite picturesque and it is full of dive shops and scuba rental places catering to the many tourists wanting to experience the Jacques Cousteau underwater park.

There is a wharf there so I visited there in the morning to get some wifi, dispose of my trash and fill up my water jug.

After doing some grocery shopping at the Carrefour nearby i went back out to Parrot island for more snorkeling and was again blown away by the multitude and diversity of fish. This time I deliberately left my camera behind because I wanted to experience nature without the element of technology. Taking photos is great in that it records memories but there is no device that can come even close to the real live experience. It is impossible to convey that experience in any video. Take a parrot fish for instance. You HAVE to see one up close to appreciate their beauty. They almost glow with a blue green florescence. For about 5 minutes I was mesmerized by a huge lobster, walking across the sea floor. Can you imagine what it is like swimming inches behind a turtle with a shell more beautiful than anything Leonardo da Vince could ever paint? I actually enjoy the gadget side of cruising because it gives me something to do other than just being there. But this "being there" is ultimately the reason why I do this. You just have to be reminded of it every now and then.

Pigeon Island, Guadeloupe

I took some video of my snorkeling adventure here and swimming with turtles has now been crossed off my to do list.

Iles des Saintes to Pigeon Island

I had a great sail with blue skies, flat seas and just 10 knots of breeze. I had south east winds pushing me along for a couple of hours, until I got into the shadow of Guadeloupe and then the winds switched to north west so I had a beat to windward for the last hour. I anchored off a small beach on the mainland just a mile from Pigeon Island.

This place is quite picturesque and I have already seen a few turtles swimming around the boat so I am looking forward to some serious rest and relaxation over the next few days.

Iles des Saintes

After clearing into Guadeloupe in a cafe next to the waterfront, I had a look around town.

It was crowded with tourists who had caught one of the many ferries over from the mainland.

The church is in the center of town with a huge cross on the hillside behind it.

A stiff walk will bring you to historical Fort Napoleon overlooking the harbor.

The nice sandy beach had a lot of boats anchored close to shore.

Right now I am getting my boat ready to sail up the western side of Guadeloupe to a place called Pigeon Island made famous by Jacques Cousteau.

Dominica to Iles des Saintes

Yesterday's  easy 4 hour sail out over open water in light easterly winds of 10 knots allowed me to reach along at a good 5 knots in calm conditions. The weather forecast actually had a southern component to it so I was hoping to be able to use a spinnaker, but it only appeared as I was approaching Le Saintes. I didn't go ashore when I got here, because I was a little tired from all the sun and also from the fact that when I backed down on my anchor the first time it did not hold so I had to anchor again. Now we are talking 40 feet of water, a manual windlass and a 45lb anchor (20kg) with all chain rode. Phew! Because it was late in the day, all of the moorings had been taken up except for the ones on the other side of the harbor and I was headed there when a boat in a good anchoring position on the south side, decided to up and leave so I grabbed it.

It looks like a pretty little town, with all red roofs and a church with a giant cross. There is a fort here that I hope to hike to for exercise. I never sleep as well at night when I spend the entire day on the boat compared to when I get off and do some walking.

I have to launch my dinghy and head the half mile to town to clear in. It costs just 4 Euros and takes 5 minutes to enter your details on a computer at a boulangerie next to the wharf.

Sewing an outboard cover

Most owners who care about their outboard motors seem to put covers on them and I had thought about using an old T-shirt but didn't like the look. I've seen fancy neoprene covers for sale but they are not available here in Dominica, so I set about making my own with left over material from other projects.

I had some material left over from when I covered my diesel jugs that had a hem in it.

I had kayak bungy cord from Walmart that I threaded through this hem with a pencil that had a hole in the end for the thread.

It took a couple of hours all up and I like the fact that it looks a little unprofessional in the end so it doesn't become a target for thieves.

I am about to leave Dominica for Le Saintes just 20 miles north of here in light south winds that are going to be great to try out my new to me spinnaker. These islands are part of Guadalupe which in turn is a French territory so I am looking forward to experiencing the European lifestyle again for a couple of weeks. As always, you can track me at

http://share.delorme.com/PeterRyan

Toucari Bay, Dominica

Most of the time here in the Caribbean, the wind is out of the east, but every so often, a front will roll through and the winds will clock from the east to south, to west, north and then back to east again. Prince Rupert Bay where I am anchored is protected from all but the west wind and when a cold front came through yesterday, this Bay became an open roadstead with the west wind.  When the waves from deep water approach a shallow Bay, they become much larger and yesterday we had 6 footers for most of the day. There wasn't any sleeping to be had and when daylight rolled around, I joined three other boats for a walk to Toucari Bay about 2 miles from here.

We caught a taxi there and took shelter from an hour or two of rain at a restaurant on the beach called "Make it Real."

Rice and lentils which they call beans, fried plantains, salad, mahi-mahi and a rum punch is standard here in the islands.
It is a gorgeous Bay with lots of fruit trees and a fisherman mending his nets on the shore.

The beach was beautiful.

The walk back passed a great rock face.

A piece or two of candied ginger for dinner to help settle my stomach so I could sleep over night on the boat.