All the Rest of 2015, then South 2016!

OK, I admit it.  I lost posting momentum.  There, I admit it. So lets just summarize the whole rest of the year with a few highlights, and move on . . . .


April in Antigua and Barbuda: Awesome!







We watched the Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta:

We visited the Donkey Sanctuary!

Robert and Sally visited for a week! Lots of fun with them:

Barbuda was spectacular--the highlight of which was the Frigate Bird colony:

In May, Pratique got hauled in Jolly Harbour for a fresh coat of bottom paint.  When I got back to Jolly, Hank joined me for the Spring, 2015 return trip to RI.  We took the boat to Nanny Cay to meet our new crew Mike Vohs and Greg Neely.  Fantastic trip home with the other Salty Dawg Rally boats. 


We spent the summer in our new apartment in Providence, enjoying the city for the first time. Fast forward to October and it was time to move south again to Hampton VA for the fall SDR rally.  We spent a leisurely 3 weeks to go from Barrington to Hampton via the Long island sound and New York City, then up the Delaware and through the C&D canal for a really nice week in the Chesapeake. 


November 1 we departed once again from Hampton to Virgin Gorda, BVI.  This time more than ever having a great crew was crucial because I had some kind of pneumonia/bronchitis that would not quit.  Thanks to Hank, Tim Metcalf and Sam Dickson for making the trip happen! 

Sam

Hank

Tim

So that brings us back to the Virgin Islands to begin 2015-2016 season in the Caribbean! I flew home
for the Thanksgiving week, then Susan and I returned to Nanny Cay to throttle up and out. Trouble was, the throttle mechanism failed! So we quickly learned to manually push the cable to get into forward gear. No worries, as a new throttle was to arrive soon and we were able to enjoy December in the Virgin Islands--which will have to wait for the next post!


Happy New Year!

Isles des Saintes

On the way to Antigua we stopped back in Iles des Saintes. This time we picked up a mooring in Bourg des Saintes. The main island Terre-de-Haut is perfectly sized for a golf cart tour.

Wonderful views can be had when visiting Fort Napoleon, and the museum and the gardens are also great.

View from Fort Napoleon

Pratique off the port bow of the big ship

We also realized we were low on gasoline for the dingy engine, so we figured we'd bring the gas canister with us in the golf cart.  First chance we would get, we'd fill her up for the rides to come.  So for future generations of visitors we are, like others before us, presenting our albeit belated "Words to the Wise."  Fill up before you get to Les Saintes.

We quickly learned that the only fuel available is on the east side of the Baie de Marigot, on the north end of the island. So we took the golf cart to the small village at the head of the bay, and started asking questions of the locals.  My French did not fail me, and it wasn't long before I was able to ascertain that there was a trail through the woods that led to the Marina.  "Great, let's go," I told Susan.  The local suggested that I wait for a scheduled boat to arrive around noon that would shuttle my tank to the marina for me and then return it same time the next day.  But I had a "better plan" which was to walk the trail to the pumps and then take the fore-mentioned boat as a ride back.  So off we went.

"Don't follow us to the gas station.  We don't know where it is"

"Ou se trouve l'essence?"

Half hour or so in to the hike, with the steep slope of the trail going down to the water to the left, I was happy to be carrying an empty tank, and excited to know that I'd be avoiding the hike back with a full tank in tow by getting a boat ride back.

Then we hit a dead end:

"OK, who put the chicken coop here?"

Dead End

So we turned around and hiked back down the trail and found it again.  Time to get moving, since I didn't want to miss the boat ride back, or have to wait for a two hour "closed for dejourner" to end.

Almost there! Hope that isn't the ride back!

Ha!  Made it!

Indeed, I was able to fill up as advertised!  And our ride back was right on schedule, so we did manage to avoid the hike back with a full tank!

On the ride back I mentioned to Susan that this experience was reminiscent of a blog I thought I had read a long time ago.  So later that afternoon I Googled it, and sure enough Skip and Maddie had published one of the more descriptive posts of a similar (but less productive) experience on their blog.  Fortunately for us, notice the pump on the left is, at least in 2015, standing!!

Part III: Dominica

Dominica was as far south as we had planned for this season, so when we dropped anchor in Portsmouth we experienced a definite sense of accomplishment.  This beautiful, lush island is another Leeward Islands "don't miss."

Here are our Top Five Dominica highlights:

#1.  Portsmouth and the PAYS:   Like other cruisers before us, we were told about the local guides who are members of a very well organized group called PAYS (Portsmouth Association of Yacht Services).  They do a great job of introducing themselves by sending one of their guides on their brightly painted wooden boats, often before you have even dropped anchor! Knowing of their m.o. in advance was helpful, as was knowing that you really cannot go wrong with any of them!  And in fact when the boat ahead of us was greeted, but we weren't (yet), I felt a bit like how it was as a kid when choosing sides for basketball:  "Isn't someone gonna pick me now?"  But it wasn't long before we were greeted by Alexis, who by the end of the week had helped us with local trip planning, shopping, getting fresh water, and just generally making us feel welcome and safe.

Portsmouth, with Dominica's natural beauty as a backdrop

Future guide in training?  "The wifi is better over there"

Easy water fills!

                                                                                .


#2. Trip up the Indian River.  No motors allowed, so one of the PAYS takes you up river for a scenic half-day round trip.

Up the creek without a paddle, at least not by us!

Witches Hut from the Pirates of the Caribbean

Tied up at the rum bar up river. 

#3.  Rain forest hike:  Another of the guides took a group of us on a half day hike into the Syndicate Rain forest and to the Milton Falls.  A pretty easy hike and well worth the effort!

Red Sox Nation is everywhere!

Milton Falls

#4.  Hike up into Cabrits National Park and Fort Shirley.

Fort Shirley

Protecting Portsmouth since the 18th Century!

Ruins of cannons deeper in the forest

Looking north back towards Guadeloupe

#5.  The market in Portsmouth:  First we tied up at the dock and were greeted with some lovely Caribbean lobsters.  I much prefer eating the Maine variety, but these Caribbean lobsters were going to be someone's meal

In town, the market was in full swing:

Yummy salted fish treat

It wasn't easy leaving Dominica, but it was time to start back north.

On the way back north to Les Saintes

The Rest of The Season--Part II Guadeloupe

We finally caught up with our friends Skip and Maddie, in Deshaies, Guadeloupe.  Over the past few years Skip has become our "cruising guru" and he has taken us, like others before us, under his wing.  Thanks, Skip!

Visiting Deshaies was the first time I felt truly down island, since geographically Guadeloupe is in the lower half of the Leeward Islands.  And Deshaies was the perfect mix of quaint French small village exploration, hiking, restaurants and site seeing.  Another gem!

Skip and Maddie took us for a half day hike up the Deshaies River, which was beautiful.  We stopped at a swimming hole for a brief cool off, and marveled at the lush vegetation

Maddie, Skip and Me along the stream bed

We really enjoyed the hike, but never found the elusive falls at the top.  So that night I again explored the stream, but this time at one of the waterfront restaurants with an internet connection. There I found another blog, written better than ours, and by a dog, no less.  And with lots more pictures. Felt a bit like the canine protagonist. Here it is, but please come back to us afterwards! 

Now that you are back, time to describe another gem.  The Jardin Botanique de Deshaies.  Worth both the 45 minute hike up the road to the south of town, and the price of admission. Realizing that we didn't take enough pictures the day before, we made up for it at the Gardens:

Koi Pond

Feeding Frenzy!

Nectar for the lorikeets

Make sure to share!

Who's turn is it?

Deshaies, on the way back from the Gardens

Deshaies Sunset

We made stops with Saralane along the west coast of Guadeloupe to visit the Cousteau Underwater Reserve at Ilet Pigeon, and then Les Saintes.  Then we crossed over with Skip and Maddie to our next stop, Dominica:

Saralane escorts Pratique south!