Author: Will

Our longstanding French family friends were going to be on holiday in Guadeloupe in mid-February, and having looked at the charts we saw that it was possible for us to get up to Guadeloupe in time to see them. We had planned to explore further north along the coast of Martinique, but seeing a large weather front coming we decided to set off for Guadeloupe two days early – and we were very glad we did!

The wind was supposed to be southerly (i.e. coming from the south), therefore behind us and pushing us steadily north. Unfortunately the weather system started to come through about 12 hours earlier than expected and the wind turned northerly, meaning we were sailing into the wind. This gave us an uncomfortable journey, which with the swell made the sea state very rolly and slowed us down to 3 knots. Having left Martinique at 8 pm on Wednesday 7th February, we arrived in Guadeloupe at 3 pm on Thursday 8th February and anchored in a sheltered area to recover from our trip, just before the heavens opened.

We were there just in time, as the band of weather passed through the islands on the night of Thursday 8th February, with extremely strong winds causing carnage. Many boats dragged their anchors. One boat was blown onto the rocks at Les Saintes islands off the south of Guadeloupe, and many fellow sailors helped the owners to carry their belongings off the boat and safely to shore. Another boat, which we know from the ARC+ rally fleet, was dashed on the rocks in Dominica and was damaged beyond repair. It shows how quickly things can go wrong in these unpredictable conditions.

The following day brought calm, albeit very wet weather again, and we were able to venture ashore to explore Pointe a Pitre, Guadeloupe’s colourful capital city. We met up with our French friends Sophie, Gilles and Estelle during the week, both at their hotel and on our boat when we took them for a day sail along the south coast.

The middle of February is also carnival time in Guadeloupe, with processions each day leading up to Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) all over the country. At Pointe a Pitre on Dimanche Gras we saw the colourful costumes of the carnival parade with many carnival troupes dancing in time to drums, blowing conch shells and cracking whips to chase out bad spirits. On Ash Wednesday, an effigy of the carnival king Vaval is burned and black and white costumes are worn instead of colourful ones to mark the end of the carnival.

In Guadeloupe we also met up with our friends from Swedish ARC+ family boat Lady Ellen. Together we explored Pointe a Pitre, visiting the aquarium and a very interesting UNESCO museum dedicated to the memory and history of the slave trade, which aims to raise awareness and promote discussion about its repercussions.

Lady Ellen cooked us a delicious Swedish meal of meatballs with lingonberries and ‘brown sauce’, (a very rich Swedish take on gravy), onboard their catamaran. Another evening we had dinner ashore and were also joined by American/Canadian ARC+ family boat Cupid as the three boats were by chance in Guadeloupe at the same time.

On our last night in Guadeloupe we anchored in a bay close to our French friends’ hotel, and dinghied around the headland into the bay of their hotel James Bond style, tying up at the dock and stepping ashore for dinner. The chart shows that Valent was the only boat anchored in the huge bay that night. (There was a reason – it was not the most comfortable of nights).

To get to Guadeloupe in time to coincide with our French friends being there, we had had to sail straight past the island of Dominica. As we didn’t want to miss it out, our next plan was to sail back south to Dominica and spend a while exploring this beautiful natural island. After that we would come up the west coast of Guadeloupe, to continue our journey north – Guadeloupe part deux.

After Saint Lucia we headed north again, to Martinique. A beautiful three hour sail between the islands in sunshine and good winds took us to Sainte Anne’s bay, where many other boats were anchored.

It is amazing how many family boats you meet when sailing, with children aged from babies and toddlers right up to teenagers. Apart from those who crossed the Atlantic with the ARC and ARC+ rallies, many more boats followed across independently afterwards and are now travelling in the Caribbean. There are kids’ boats WhatsApp groups in lots of the islands which organise activities together, plus one large WhatsApp group for the whole Caribbean – Nauti Kids!

Martinique feels rather like being in the south of France, with road signs, police sirens and post boxes all just as if you were in France. We had a lovely French meal with a creole twist one night in Sainte Anne, and then continued along the coast anchoring in a succession of picturesque bays, coming ashore by dinghy for walks and geocaching.

In Martinique we caught up with our American/French friends on ARC boat Saltair, who we had got to know well in Las Palmas when Valent and Saltair were there for a few weeks prior to the ARC departure. Together we anchored in Anse Dufour, a small bay with very clear water, where we snorkelled over a coral garden with many turtles swimming. We enjoyed a dinner and a games evening together in a quiet bay with just us, Saltair and one other boat anchored overnight.

One day when we were travelling along the coast near the capital city, Fort de France, we were contacted by the French MRCC (Marine Rescue Coordination Centre) asking for our help to investigate a report of a life raft which was drifting unattended. As we were the closest passing boat (who was listening to their VHF), they asked us to check if we could see any people or debris in the water. We diverted course to get closer to the life raft which was still over a mile away. Through binoculars we could see its bright orange triangular shape, but nothing in the water around it, and in fact it was inside the container port very close to a large merchant vessel. With a patrol boat close enough to take over the investigation, the MRCC stood us down and thanked us for our assistance. The life raft must have inflated by accident and drifted away, and luckily was not being used in an emergency situation.

Meanwhile around this excitement normal boat activities also continued, with meals to be cooked and schoolwork to be done, which sometimes coincided with Will working on the generator. As the generator is still not charging our batteries well enough, we bought a small portable petrol-powered generator in Martinique which we are now using to charge our batteries whilst in anchorages.

On our last night in Martinique we and Saltair also caught up with our Swiss friends from ARC boat Gian, a very friendly and hospitable couple who are well known to all the ARC family boats. It’s great to keep crossing paths on different islands with other boats from the rally, who after all the shared experiences are old friends now.

After Martinique it was time to head north again, this time to Guadeloupe, for a rendezvous with some friends from France and to experience the carnival.

We stayed in Saint Lucia for almost two weeks, firstly in the marina at Rodney Bay, and afterwards at anchor in the bay itself. Being in the marina enabled us to fully charge our batteries, catch up on washing, supermarket shopping and everything needed to keep the boat running. We even bought a new dinghy to replace our old one, which kept deflating and was condemned (as old PVC and beyond economic repair) by the dinghy repair shop.

Saint Lucia is a definitely a damp island. There was lots of rain due to its mountainous terrain, and each day brought a mixture of sudden downpours and strong sunshine. We were on the alert to close all hatches and take in the washing at the start of each downpour, only to open the hatches and start again when it was over.

On the drier days we went out exploring, and had a fun hike up Mount Pimard to the south of Rodney Bay. This involved an element of climbing using ropes, which the girls predictably loved.

Another day took us on a hike to Pigeon Point, where along with our friends from Epiphany we climbed up to Fort Rodney for a spectacular view back over the bay and up towards Martinique.

One day we went on a tour of the island, taking in a clearer view of the Pitons, and a mud bath followed by a dip in the hot thermal pools to wash it off with. Sophie found the water far too hot and much preferred the cool waterfall we visited afterwards.

Being in the marina also allowed us to meet up with our ARC+ and ARC friends more easily. With Epiphany moored beside us and Rum Cat on the next pontoon, the girls were never short of company at the marina swimming pool. The kids had a movie night on Valent, complete with popcorn, and we also caught up with our friends on ARC boat Easter Snow, who we had first met in Gibraltar. All in all, Saint Lucia was a very sociable place to spend time.

by Sophie

When we were in Tobago Cays, we did lots of snorkelling. It was amazing!

At Petit Bateau, I saw a ray among the coral reef, only a few metres off shore. It was incredible! It was the first ray I had ever seen in the wild, and the closest I have ever got to one.

At Petit Rameau, which is a turtle sanctuary, I saw lots of huge starfish, each around half a metre in diameter. There were also lots of small rays close to the seabed, when you got into slightly deeper waters. We also saw three turtles. One larger one and two smaller ones. They would dive down to the bottom and then come up for air. They were beautiful.

In Petit Byahaut, St Vincent, there were some interesting shapes of coral. There were some large ones that looked like giant leaves, and some curved ones that looked like brains, but my favourite were the yellow tubes. There were lots of small clusters of them, dotted all over the bay. They looked like straws, or chimneys, stuck together in a bunch and painted yellow.

Back in Tobago Cays, in the section of the reef near Jamseby, there was a pufferfish. It was blue around the edges with some greenish brown in the middle. I followed it through the seagrass for a bit, before it turned into deeper waters.

There was so much more to see at Tobago Cays and the other islands, but these were my favourites.

On the 8th January, we crossed back overnight from Barbados to the Grenadines, where we first spent a couple of days in Bequia in order to check in, before heading down to Tobago Cays. We met up with our friends on English/Swiss family boat Epiphany and had a lovely few days with them paddleboarding/kayaking between the small islands, snorkelling and enjoying the clear water and plentiful sea life. Sophie will write a separate blog post about what she saw on her snorkelling trips.

The winds were very strong at Tobago Cays, although the islands are protected by a horseshoe reef, and while we were there another boat whose anchor was not properly dug in to the sand started to drag its anchor along the sea floor. It was lunchtime, and the first we knew about it was the strange vision of a boat appearing alongside, an unknown boom flashing past the saloon and an unexpected noise. The dragging boat had brushed our bow and started to move quickly down the starboard side of our boat – with the anchor not digging in, there was nothing to stop it from drifting fast in the direction of the nearest island. Luckily we had the dinghy tied on to this side and it worked very well as a fender and stopped the boat causing any serious damage. The boat’s owners were not on board to do anything about it, so acting quickly Will stepped across from our boat to theirs. Luckily they had left the key in the engine so he was able to start the boat and take control of the steering before it hit anything else. Will was just working out how to raise the dragging anchor when the rather shocked boat owner came back by dinghy, climbed back onboard and together he and Will raised the anchor and got the boat back under control. The boat owner and his crew were relieved to find that we had sustained no damage in our close encounter, and after driving back to the anchorage Will jumped overboard and swam back to Valent. The yacht departed giving profuse thanks and Will settled down to enjoy the rest of his lunch.

After all that wind, it was time for us to make progress further north. Together with Epiphany we set off for Saint Vincent, with the wind and swell quite strong between the islands, and after a lively passage we arrived at a tiny bay, Petit Byahaut, where we stayed overnight. The bay was so small that as well as putting our anchor out from our bow, we used a long rope to tie our stern to a palm tree on the beach, to stop the boat from swinging around.

A couple of hours’ sail up the coast of Saint Vincent the next day took us to Chateaubelair bay, where we were met by a very friendly local, Kemroy, who looked after us during our stay. Our purpose for stopping in Chateaubelair was to visit Saint Vincent’s active volcano La Soufriere, which last erupted in April 2021. At 6.30 one rainy morning we started our trip, going by dinghy to the black sand beach caused by volcanic ash. The hot ash had forced its way through the rocks to make a path from the volcano down to the beach, and guided by Kemroy we followed this path up the mountain, seeing lush green vegetation turn gradually to sparse and broken branches and finally to dark grey volcanic rocks with no greenery as we climbed higher. After three hours we reached a ridge which led up to the summit, at 4,048 feet (1,234 metres) where swirling clouds and strong gusts of wind made the last part of the climb perilous. After a while the clouds cleared and you could look down into the volcano’s crater, where a lake filled with rising steam was visible.

It was interesting to hear from Kemroy and other locals about their experience of the previous volcano eruption. One lady told us that they received warnings of an upcoming eruption in December 2020, and she had her bag packed and ready, but nothing happened for a few more months. In February 2021 Kemroy could see the edge of the crater glowing red and everyone started to worry, but the Seismic Research Centre which monitors the volcano didn’t give orders to evacuate until 8th April 2021. On that day, the lady we spoke to told us that everyone had to run down to the water and get into boats which were leaving the island as quickly as possible. She was not allowed back to her house for a year, and there is still evidence in the town of buildings destroyed by the weight of the hot ash, with no money to rebuild them. This lady had lived through the previous eruptions of 1979 and 1971, but she told us that she always comes back because Saint Vincent is home.

Another natural feature of Saint Vincent is its waterfalls, and we visited the Dark Falls waterfall with our friends from Epiphany on a much less challenging walk the following day, where we were able to swim in the cool freshwater pool.

After Saint Vincent it was time to continue our progress further north to Saint Lucia. The weather was rainy and cloudy for our passage, and the journey between the islands was marked by considerable swell with the boat slamming into the waves and some gusts reaching over 30 knots of wind. We were pleased to see the Pitons coming into view, although they kept disappearing behind the rainclouds.

We are now in Rodney Bay marina, Saint Lucia, where we’re staying for around a week. We need to get our dinghy repaired/replaced (the seam split on Boxing Day in Bequia), give our batteries a full charge, and see if our generator can be salvaged. We’re catching up with our friends on Canadian family boat Rum Cat, who were also with us in Barbados, along with Epiphany who are moored alongside us. Adding in a couple of other boats from the ARC and ARC+ rallies, it’s a sociable place to stay.