No 10: Passages 2025 – Our sail to and time in Curacao.

As I write this final blog entry for this year’s sailing season, I am sitting in a cool air-conditioned room in a lovely hotel here in Curacao after spending the past week preparing Passages for storage in the boat yard.

 But first……. While we were in Le Marin, Martinique attending to a few boat issues before moving from the mooring ball to the anchorage in St Anne, we decided to take a bus trip to Les Trois–Ilets. This

was where the Empress Josephine, Napoleon Bonaparte’s first wife was born. The bus system in Martinique is reliable, comfortable and cheap, making it easy to get around. While in St Anne, we caught the bus several times into Le Marin for grocery shopping and to sort out the repair work on our boom. Les Trois–Ilets (Three islands) is a picturesque town with the L’Eglise Notre Dame de la Bonne Delivrance (Our Lady of Good Deliverance) being the main focal point of the town. This is apparently where Josephine’s parents were married, 1761, and she was baptised in 1763. We enjoyed walking around the centre of town and down to the small harbour where a few yachts were anchored. It was quite pretty with lots of flowering bushes and shrubs along the roadside and walkways. The bus trip there and back was also quite pleasant as we enjoy seeing different parts of the countryside and island. 

As planned, we moved back to the St Anne anchorage on the Tuesday after the Easter weekend and started making the final preparations for our longest sail of the year to Curaçao. Our plan was to leave for Curaçao on Friday 25 April, after lunch time. Well like many times in life, things don’t go according to plan. Mel had noticed that the calibration of the GPS to the chart plotter and the autopilot wasn’t correct. To re-calibrate it, one needs very calm and flat conditions, so as we were leaving the entrance to Le Marin and about to enter the anchorage at St Anne, Mel started the calibration. We thought after we had completed it that it was a rather short exercise compared to previous times. It was only as we were setting sail towards Curaçao

Mel relaxing during our sail.

on the Friday afternoon, that we realised things were not right. We tried to recalibrate the autopilot about 4 -5NMiles from the anchorage but realised it was not coming right. After a few minutes of deciding on what we should do, we put the engine on and motored back to St Anne’s anchorage. We wanted to leave on the Friday as we were keen to arrive in Curaçao on the Tuesday, 29th as opposed to the Wednesday, 30th as we knew Thursday 1 May and Friday 2 May, were public holidays in Curacao. Despite us checking on the internet, we were not 100% certain what official agencies would be open for checking into Curaçao over the two days of public holidays. We knew the marina would be closed but we were unsure about Immigrations and Customs. In many countries, Customs and Immigrations are open 24/7. Some places are known to charge over time fees, but we also knew there would be no charges in Curaçao. Anyway, before we put the anchor down, we spent quite a while re-calibrating the electronics. This time, everything was much better than before. Thank goodness. So, after a restful night’s sleep, at 6.00am on Saturday 26th April, we started the 500NMiles (plus) sail to Curaçao. 

 

We spent four nights at sea, only seeing 4 huge container ships the whole time we were out there. The closest ship was 2 NMiles away from us. The wind speed wasn’t as predicted but was much lighter. The swell was comfortable despite us going downwind. We flew the spinnaker. Mel was really excited about that. We’ve had the spinnaker since we bought Passages, and it would appear that it had NEVER been used before. Mel had spent quite a bit of time making sure all the lines and blocks for the spinnaker, were in place on the boat, so when the opportunity presented itself, Mel was keen. I wasn’t, as I am never comfortable when Mel needs to go forward on deck, and we are in the middle of nowhere. It is a common requirement to go on deck when sailing downwind, for example to put the whisker pole up to stabilise the genoa, or to hoist or lower the spinnaker if the opportunity presents itself. During the sail, we also had to contend with currents. One worked slightly against us while another was with us and made us speed along. Like everything, you win some and loose some – ying and yang. 

We eventually arrived in Willemstad, Curaçao on Wednesday 30th May at 11.00am ish and arrived at the marina just after 12.00. We had to radio the port control to have the small, floating foot bridge opened for us to enter the harbour area. That was a rock star moment for us, as there are many restaurants along the waterfront. As I was directing Mel around the opening of the bridge, lots of people were watching the whole procedure. I waved…. and Wow, did I get a response. My short moment of fame! 

At the dockside waiting for us, was Dave and Monica from sv. Evy. They had only just put their boat, Evy, into the boat yard for storage and were waiting for us to arrive. They had been watching our progress on NoForeignland. It was lovely to be met by familiar faces and to have them help with the docking of Passages after our long sail. 

So…... for the next 6 days, we have washed and cleaned almost every part and surface of Passages. She was hauled out of the water on Tuesday 6 May and is now in the boatyard where she will be for the next few months. BTW…... we stopped Starlink at the end of April – the Wi-Fi at the marina and here at the hotel is not great but is manageable. We are spending the next 3 days enjoying the sights of Curaçao. The heat is quite a challenge so thank goodness there is a pool here. In the marina and boat yard, it was quite exhausting! Even the cold water in the showers was not cold so you felt you couldn’t cool off. The aircon on the boat struggled to work as the seawater temperature was 30 degrees and the cooling water pump relied on the seawater to cool itself as well as the aircon.

 Anyway…. Here is some information about Curaçao: It is part of what is commonly known as the ABC islands – three of the western most islands of the Leeward Antilles in the Caribbean Sea, Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao. These islands are along the north coast of Venezuela and are well outside of the Atlantic

Ocean hurricane belt, although with climate change, one never knows! Let’s hope it stays like this, hence one of the reasons why we have sailed here, so Passages is safe. Fingers crossed. The ABC islands are also known as the Dutch Antilles and are very different in their own way. Although these islands have strong Dutch roots, there are also strong Spanish and African influences. Curaçao is the largest of the three islands with its capital, Willemstad known for its distinctive UNESCO listed Dutch colonial buildings that line the waterfront of its historical district. The oldest synagogue in the Americas is in Willemstad – Mikve Israel – Emanuel synagogue. 

So, we will close off the blog for the next few months as we prepare to head back to Australia. We’ve had a successful sailing season – we have achieved what we set out to do and met some wonderful people along the way which always makes our time so much more enjoyable.

 Until next time – Take care and keep safe.

 Best wishes always. Mel and Caryn

Where Passages will stay for the next few months.

Some sights of Curacao - the street art is beautiful and very colourful.

No 9: Passages 2025 - Preparing for Curaçao in Martinique.

 

Le Marin, Martinique.

While I am writing this blog entry, we are bobbing around on a mooring ball in Le Marin enjoying the gentle breeze which keeps everyone cool.

There is an attachment on our boom that has been problematic for a while and Mel is keen to get it fixed, along with our navigational light that has been damaged. Mel would also like to make a few adjustments to the fittings for the whisker pole and the boom brake. All important parts of the boat that make for a safe and comfortable sail when we are going downwind (the wind is behind the yacht) and puts less stress on the various boat parts.

We moved to the mooring ball from the anchorage in St Anne, on Friday 11 April, as the many marine companies are only prepared to come to boats that are in the Le Marin mooring field. We were amazed

Another view of Le Marin.

at the number of boats that were in the mooring fields when we arrived in the area of the fuel station to meet the boat that would take us to our designated mooring ball. Although we have been on the mooring ball for 4 days at the time of starting this blog entry, I still watch to see how the boats swing when the wind changes direction as we are so close together. Most boats have their fenders out but the boats around us have not touched. It is quite amazing although most of the boats where we are moored, are the same length or under Passages length of 40ft/12,65m.

Before we left the anchorage in St Anne, we said ’Au revoir’ to Dave and Monica on Evy as they were leaving for Curaçao early Saturday morning – 12 April. They arrived safely in Curaçao late afternoon, Tuesday 15 April. We had been tracking them on No Foreignland and Marine Traffic. We will most probably meet up with them in Curaçao before they leave for Canada, as they are also putting their boat, Evy, into the same boat yard as we are putting Passages.

I do not have much news: In preparation for our sail to Curaçao and then preparing Passages for storage, I have been sorting, cleaning tidying up cupboards, cooking, and freezing meals for the next few weeks.

St Annes church
from the dinghy dock.

I have been touching up the stainless steel so when we are in the marina in Curaçao, it will be easier to clean Passages.

As mentioned earlier, Mel has been terribly busy sorting out, several things on Passages. In between, we have met up with a couple we met in Portsmouth, Briget and Mike on Nyneve. They were the couple that won the Portsmouth/Mero Fun Boat race. They are slowly making their way down to Grenada for the hurricane season.

Another couple we have met up with on occasions, Ed and Donnell on Ibis, are having extensive work done on their boat here in Le Marin. They have planned to be here for the next two months before heading south to Trinidad for the hurricane season.

As for our plans, well….. we planned to be in Curaçao by the end of April. We have a booking for the marina from 29/30 April to 6 May when Passages is to be hauled out and placed in the boat storage yard for a few months. We will be flying from Curaçao to Amsterdam on 9 May for a planned three-week holiday, travelling to the following places: Amsterdam, Berlin and several places in Poland including visiting the town where Mel’s great grandparents lived before, they were transported to and murdered in Auschwitz – a place called Bytom. We will spend time in Krakow, visiting Auschwitz and Schindler’s factory, before heading to Warsaw for a few days and then back to Perth.

I will write one more blog entry of our last week in Martinique, waiting for a pleasant weather window, our sail to Curaçao and our time in the marina there, preparing Passages for storage.

So…. Until next time – Happy Easter. Take care and keep safe.

Best wishes always.

Mel and Caryn

The restaurant we went to with Briget and Mike - Nyneve - Zanzibar.

Yole - the type of boat found in the Caribbean

 -

The people on the Yole hang out - literally on poles to keep the boat stable. It was fascinating to watch. Most afternoons, we can see from the cockpit, these boats going out for a sail.

No 8: Passages 2025 - Dominica and Martinique

 

Portsmouth - Rupert Bay, Dominica.

In Portsmouth, Dominica, there is an organisation called PAYS. Yes, it does sound a bit ominous – but it stands for Portsmouth Association Yacht Services. It was formed in 2005 in Portsmouth by a group of young guys who were eager to make a living out of the many yachts that anchored off Portsmouth. Security is one of the sailing communities’ priorities, as dinghy theft and boat boarding in a few Caribbean countries is a grave issue. Like most things, one bad apple affects many. Originally, the ‘boat boys’ as they have often in the past been referred to, would paddle out to a boat as it was entering the anchorage, and offer their services. Their services included cleaning of your boat, security, car hire, tourist information, etc. You would then pay them for the services provided.

We have been in several Caribbean countries where this is still happening – the boat boys paddling out

Overlooking Ruperts Bay,
Portsmouth, Dominica.

to the boats, and it can be quite dangerous, especially if the rowed boat capsizes. PAYS was established to bring about some control and order along with safety for all.

Every Sunday and Wednesday evening during the sailing season, the PAYS guys put on a beach BBQ, and most of the proceeds goes towards PAYS. Many people/sailors will make sure they are in Portsmouth for at least one of these days to enjoy the BBQ (and plenty of Rum Punch). PAYS has also built a nice dinghy dock which has access to their offices and the primary areas of Portsmouth.

We arrived in Portsmouth, Dominica on Friday 21 March and made plans to attend the Sunday BBQ, which we did. We also heard that we were in Portsmouth for the PAYS annual yachting festival 2005 – 2025, which was starting on Saturday 22 March and running through to the following Sunday. They had

organised a number of activities, so Mel and I thought we would support them as best we could while in Portsmouth. One of the activities was a Fun Race to Mero. Mero is another town 11Nmiles south from Portsmouth, along the coast of Dominica. It also has a lovely bay for anchoring in but there is not a dinghy dock. PAYS of Portsmouth are trying to help establish a MAYS – in Mero. This year/2025 was the third such Fun Boat Race. We thought it would be a bit of fun, knowing full well that Passages would never come anywhere in the top three positions as Passages is a cruising boat. She is not designed to go fast like the Dufour’s, Bennetto’s or Jeanneau’s, as she has a full keel, unlike the boats mentioned that are lighter and have fin keels.

Third Annual PAYS (Portsmouth Association of Yacht Security) Dominica Yachting Festival - Caribbean Compass

We attended the pre-race meeting on the Monday evening and realised that there were only four participants in the race, Passages being one of the four. We were also told that the Fun race involved returning to Portsmouth the following day/Wednesday and that ONLY three of the four yachts were returning – Passages being one of them. SO, either way Passages would come third!!!! OR last! Go Passages!!!!

We received our instructions and race procedures, so at 9.00 am, Tuesday 25 March, Passages took part in her first (and only yacht race). Mel’s competitive and racing spirit came to the fore. We had to sail close-hauled with the wind coming from forward of the beam, meaning that dear Passages did not stand a chance of keeping up with the other three boats. IF, however, the wind was coming aft/from behind the beam, there was a possibility that Passages could keep up with them, as we have a 130% genoa. Passages managed to reach the Point of Portsmouth Bay, first and then everything changed from then.

In normal circumstances, we would never have chosen to sail in the weather conditions we found

ourselves in. We experienced gusts of over thirty knots of wind at times. When we eventually arrived at Mero, it was pouring with rain and we were at least ¾ hour behind the last boat, BUT who cares.

One of the boat boys came to collect us from Passages to take us onto land as the beach was extremely challenging to land a dinghy on, that is why MAYS are keen to raise funds so a dinghy dock can be built. A dinghy dock can be a deal breaker for yachties to anchor in an anchorage as it is not always easy to beach a dinghy.

Some of the
festivities in Mero

That night, Tuesday evening, a BBQ was organised and quite a few speeches were made by dignitaries from the Ministry of Tourism. The boat that was not returning to Portsmouth the following day, Wednesday, received their special plaque.

Wednesday morning, we set off back to Portsmouth, with three boats in the race. This time the wind conditions were much better, and we had a good sail.

That evening, we attended the Wednesday night BBQ, where we received our plaque, a prize for coming third and our photo taken for the Caribbean compass.

For coming third 😊, we received a $50 US voucher from one of our favourite restaurants called the Purple Turtle. Back in 2014, when we had to find free Wi-Fi, the Purple Turtle had one of the fastest and most reliable Wi-Fi in Portsmouth. At times, using our special antenna, we could even get Wi-Fi on the boat. How things have changed now that we have

Starlink.

On Thursday evening, we had an enjoyable meal at the Purple Turtle. Compliments of the 3^rd Portsmouth to Mero Fun Race

We enjoyed Portsmouth and it was so pleasing to see how they are embracing sustainability and trying hard to look after the environment. I know in my blog entry in 2014, I was shocked at the amount of litter found on the streets. It was pleasing to see how clean most of the streets looked now. Hurricanes are an unpleasant fact for Dominica and often put a damper on their infrastructure. Along the beach front were a small number of remnants of Hurricane Beryl 2024 and Hurricane Maria 2017. It is a tricky situation to be in as we discussed with several Dominicans while we were in Portsmouth. China is helping to build their new airport, which will encourage Dominicia’s tourist industry and of course with the current political situation in the U.S.A. makes for an interesting and at times worrisome topic of conversation for the region. BTW. Dominica imports fuel from Venezuela and has close ties with Cuba for their health system. I will not elaborate any further and just leave it like that.

 We were keen to stay for a few more of the yachting festival activities, but the weather looked good for us to sail across to Martinque on the Friday.

Roseau, Dominica.

Going back a bit, on the Monday – 24 March, we caught the local bus down to Roseau, the capital of Portsmouth. Roseau has changed since our visit in 2014, and I have been in a bit of a quandary as to whether progress is good for a country, at the price of losing its authenticity. Roseau has changed their whole waterfront area to cater for the HUGE cruise ships. It looks more like parts of Florida than Dominica. The authentic markets are slowly being replaced with cookie-cutter style shops and the Caribbean vibe is slowly disappearing.

Anyway, back to Friday – we left lovely and friendly Portsmouth, Dominica early on Friday morning as we knew we had at least 52NMiles to sail to one of my favourite destinations, St Pierre, Martinique.

We had a reasonable sail although this year we have done so much upwind/close-hauled sailing, it is quite unbelievable! It is not very comfortable, and most cruising sailors do not enjoy it at all. In this part of the Caribbean, comfortable beam reaching or downwind sailing used to be the norm. However, as I have said MANY times, anyone who is a ‘Climate Change’ sceptic, needs to spend some time sailing as the weather patterns have changed. We have also experienced days on end of high winds and gusts of 26/27 plus knots of wind. None of the weather models seem to know what is going on either.

We arrived in St Pierre, Martinique, just before 5.00pm and took a mooring ball next to Dave and Monique on their boat Evy.

It felt so good to be in St Pierre, a place we had visited on three previous occasions: Once in 2014 with our friends Ivo and Mira (sv Fata Morgana), then twice in 2018 – once on Passages, on our way up to

St. Pierre and Mont Pelee

Dominica, and the other time by car with our friends, John and Linda, who once owned the sailboat ‘Blue Moon’. We were in one of my other favourite places, St Anne’s with Blue Moon in 2018 and we hired a car to drive around the island. We stopped off for lunch in St Pierre and then went to the main Rum distillery – DEPAZ to try their rum.

FYI – St Pierre is often referred to as the ‘Little Paris of the Caribbean’ and is famous for the huge volcanic eruption of Mont Pelee on 8 May 1902, killing everyone except a prisoner who was in the jail’s dungeon and causing 386 ships to be destroyed in the bay.

Some fishermen close to the
mooring balls, St Pierre.

We spent three wonderful days on the mooring ball enjoying St Pierre. It felt great to relax a bit after our hectic time in Portsmouth. We managed to catch up with some household chores and with some friends Mel had met while in Brunswick, Ed, and Donnell on their boat Ibis. They are heading south and to spend time in Trinidad, although the current political situation there is a bit of a worry at present.

On Monday morning, we left lovely St Pierre and headed south towards our last destination in the East Caribbean, St Anne. St Anne will be where we will leave from as we sail to Curaçao. Before anchoring

Anse Dufour.

in St Anne, we decided to spend one night in one of the lovely anchorages along the way, thus breaking the sail from St Pierre to St Anne. We anchored in a small bay called Anse Dufour. It was lovely as we could see the twinkling of the city lights in Fort de France, Martinique’s capital city but we also experienced the seclusion of the small bay. One of the fishermen did come out insisting we move as they put their nets out where we had anchored. We got the message across to him that it was far too late for us to move now but we would be gone before 7.00am the following morning, which we were.

On Tuesday morning, April 1, we sailed towards St Anne, sailing past the infamous Diamond Rock. Diamond Rock played a strategic role in the 19^th century between the French and the English.

The Rock that Served in the Royal Navy - Atlas Obscura

The sail started off well with about 20 minutes of downward sailing and some beam reach sailing, then as soon as we passed Diamond Rock, my goodness the wind came howling out from the SE, which meant once again we were close-hauled. The swell was also very choppy and although many boats were motoring, we know that Passages does not manage close-hauled motoring very well especially if there is a swell. As I have said many times, she is a heavy boat so needs wind to slice her way through the water. We sailed, tacking multiple times as you can see from our track on NoForeignland.

While we were sailing and tacking across the bay towards St Anne, we noticed that a fish trap had got caught somehow on the boat. The fishermen tie big two litre coke bottles onto their traps so in many areas, you are dodging plastic coke bottles. Somehow in our sail and while we were tacking, we must have gone over one which caught our rudder. The way Passages’ hull and rudder are designed, it is unusual for a trap to get tangled in our rudder (compared to fin-keeled boats), as was this case, it is still possible.

When we but arrived in St Anne and we were trying to anchor in 25 knots of wind, this became a significant issue as the engine stopped. The bottles and rope had got caught in the propeller while anchoring. Mel immediately dropped the anchor to secure us while I got the fenders out as we were

What was caught
around our propeller.

drifting quite close to another boat and their occupants were not on board. Thankfully, the anchor held, and we ended up a suitable distance behind the other boat. This gave us the opportunity to sort out the rudder and propeller as Mel had to dive to cut everything away. After about half and hour, we were free of all the bottles and ropes, we then managed to re-anchor in a more suitable place. There is never a dull moment. Phew!!!

So here we are in St Anne, a place like St Pierre, which I really enjoy. The anchorage is HUGE, the waters are lovely and clear, and we see turtles and the odd dolphin on a regular basis. There is a good dinghy dock with access to many facilities. At the moment, we are a bit boat bound as the wind has been howling twenty-one plus knots since we arrived and according to the weather forecast, will continue to until the weekend. The swell in the anchorage is quite bad so any dinghy ride would not be enjoyable. It would be a very wet and bumpy ride. In the meantime, as mentioned earlier, we are making plans for our sail to Curaçao and our eventual return to Perth. We have a few chores to do like replacing our main navigational light which seems to have been damaged by someone (we do not know when or by whom). It looks as if someone has bumped us, so we need to buy a new one as it is an essential part of the boat for sailing during the night. Luckily, Le Marin, the main town 2NMiles from St Anne is the largest yachting centre in the Caribbean, so we should be able to sort it out easily. There are a few other things that Mel would like to work on before our long and final sail for this year’s sailing season.

So…. Until next time – take care and keep safe.

Best wishes always.

Mel and Caryn

 

👉St Pierre

As promised, the missing video link from the previous blog entry. 😀

 👉Josephines Fort

 

No 7: Passages 2025 - Malendure and Iles des Saintes Guadeloupe

The main town of Iles des Saintes.

Where is the time going to? We are starting to ‘worry’ about our remaining time and where we still would like to sail to and spend time, as we know this will be our last time in the East Caribbean. We will start making our way west towards Curaçao in a few weeks time and then onto Columbia at the start of next year’s sailing season and possibly the Panama Canal. We have become prisoners to the weather, as our aim is to only sail when the weather window meets our easy sailing conditions.

We find that once we are settled in a comfortable anchorage without too many dramas, we often stay about two or three days longer than what we originally planned.

Pigeon Island (Jacques Cousteau
established reserve)

This happened in Malendure and later in Iles des Saintes. In Malendure, the anchor was firmly set, and most people had been sensible keeping a suitable distance from us and other boats when they anchored, and the weather was good.  Our friends, Monica and Dave on Evy were anchored nearby. We met up with them and walked along the coastal road, enjoying the many shops and restaurants along the way.  Another couple we had met in Deshaies, Wendy and Nick on Paper Moon, also spent some time close by but they were keen to sail further south.

While in Malendure, we went snorkelling around Pigeon Island (Jacques Cousteau established reserve) and all was good in our environment until Tuesday evening. My goodness, we did not know where the awful swell came from, but Tuesday night was one of the worst nights we have had on Passages. We hardly slept as we were rocking and rolling at angles of more than 30 degrees. We mentioned in the morning that it would have been easier to pull up the anchor and sail off, in the direction of the swell, for 3 hours and then sail back. At least we would have had 3 hours sleep each while the other was on watch. Anyway, on Wednesday morning we decided it is time to move on south along the west coast of Guadeloupe. We left Malendure at about 9.00am and decided to have an overnight stop at Vieux Fort, which is on the SW tip of the mainland of Guadeloupe. When we arrived there, the boats were rocking and rolling to the same degree as we had the previous night, so we decided to sail on to Iles des Saintes. Our friends on Paper Moon, Nick and Wendy, had been in contact with us and had told us that the mooring balls were only 13 EU per night. We decided to try to get a mooring ball in one of the mooring fields closest to the town. Our sail to Iles des Saintes was enjoyable. Yes, we were beating into the wind as we were heading SE and the winds were blowing from the SE, so we had to tack several times. (As can be seen on NoForeignland). When we arrived at Iles

Ilet a Cabrit

des Saintes, we motored around the main mooring fields but couldn’t find an available mooring ball. On previous occasions, we had anchored there at two different spots but this time we wanted to spoil ourselves and take a mooring ball for a change. As we entered the Iles des Saintes area, we noticed that along one of the smaller islands, Ilet a Cabrit, mooring balls were available, so after failing to find a ball in the main field, off we went to Ilet a Cabrit. Well, 9 days later, we eventually released Passages from the mooring ball. It was such a wonderful and relaxing experiencing. We were quite far from the main dinghy docks and shops, but not much further than what we would have been if we had anchored. While there, we met up with Nick and Wendy on Paper Moon for a drink in the town before they left Guadeloupe. Dave and Monica on Evy joined us later, tying up to one of the mooring balls and like us, ended up staying longer than planned. We dinghied into town a few times during our stay. Iles des Saintes is such a pretty place and is considered to be more European than Caribbean, although there is no mistaking the Caribbean flavour. There are lots of colourful buildings and the flowers are so vibrant and plentiful.

At Ilet a Cabrit (our mooring ball spot), the snorkelling was outstanding!!! There was a HUGE aquarium just off our boat with many reef fish and superb corals. Every morning, we would watch the pelicans swoop down for their breakfast. We woke up to birds chirping away and the bleating of kid goats wanting their breakfast. We enjoyed the walking trail on the island up to Fort Josphine. There was the odd swell during the day from the ferries motoring between islands, but it was nothing like we would have had if we had of been on a mooring ball closer to town. We had intended to leave Guadeloupe after being in Iles des Saintes for 5 days, but the wind died on us and was in the opposite direction of what we would have liked. It was south and even at times southwest and we were heading south. Normally the prevailing winds are easterlies, but they have been inconsistent. As mentioned earlier, we are prisoners to the wind, so the first opportunity to sail south only arrived on Friday 21 March, which we took to Dominica.

The sail was fast….. we are not sure what any of the weather prediction models were referring to when they said there would be gusts of up to 20 knots and the average wind speed would be 15/16 knots from an easterly direction. My goodness, there were gusts of 28 knots, average windspeeds of 19 knots and all from a SE direction, so once again we were close hauled and Passages managed to reach speeds of 8.7 knots when the Admiral – Me said this is not fun, we must reduce sail. BTW – we were not on full sail, so I was keen to reduce sail even more so we could slow down a bit and not be healing over between 15 – 30 degrees. We knew we had plenty of time to reach Portsmouth, Dominica as it was only 21 Nmiles from Guadeloupe.

So here we are in Portsmouth, Dominica on anchor.  Dominica is often referred to as “the land of many rivers” or “the land of many rainbows”. It has been made popular because the film ‘Pirates of the

The anchorage in Portsmouth, Dominica.

Caribbean part 2’ was filmed in and around Portsmouth – the Indian River and on a few of the beaches along the eastern side of the island. The last time we were here was in 2018, when we stopped overnight, on our way from St Pierre, Martinique to Deshaies, Guadeloupe. In 2014, we spent over a week anchored here, enjoying the many trails, hikes and waterfalls found in this lovely island paradise. (See link below of our time in Dominica 2014).

 We are not sure how long we intend staying in Dominica. All we know is that time is running short, as we intend being in Curacao by the beginning of May.

So….Until next time – take care and keep safe.

Best wishes always.

Mel and Caryn

Our blog entry from 2014 on Dominica.

Passages: Dominica

 

Some photos of the town of Iles des Saintes.

Passages on the mooring ball.

Malendure, Guadeloupe

P.S. I know this blog entry is a few days late. We have been rather busy in Dominica, as can be seen on NoForeignland.com . I will explain more in the next blog entry.😎

PLUS - I have been struggling to load a video so will try to add it onto the next blog entry.😞