A sail too far. Limping to Guadeloupe

The outline of the many islands that make up the Virgin group took along time to fade into the distance.   Cerulean was moving through the water well, but we were not making great speed over the ground.   I like to continually play with the sails to make sure we are making the best speed possible, but could not seem to get Cerulean moving as fast as I expected.   Then, just as the sun was getting low in the sky, our forward, and largest jib, started flapping, confusing me for a second, before I realised it was falling down.   A shackle attaching the top/head of the jib to the furler swivel, had broken, leaving the swivel at the top of the mast and the sail in the water.    Steve and I rushed forward and, in fading light and bumpy seas, pulled the sodden sail back on board.   Fortunately, as we have two jibs, we were able to continue sailing with our smaller Staysail up while we worked out what to do next!    We stowed the big jib in the forward cabin until we had better conditions for Steve to go up the mast to retrieve the swivel and halyard.     Our speed slowed even more and we bounced along, going an average of 4knots with the wind turning more southerly, so causing us to head further south than we wanted.    At this rate we would end up in Trinidad, but we kept positive and hoped the wind would go more easterly, or northerly for a while so we could make up some ground before having to tack.

During the night we experienced a number of squalls with the winds suddenly increasing from 17knots to 30knots with very little warning in the darkness of the surrounding sea and sky.   The boat and hydrovane managed the sudden changes in wind strength beautifully and, with full main and just the staysail out, we continued making steady progress towards the Eastern islands we had sailed past so quickly a couple of months earlier on our way to Antigua.   It soon became clear that what we thought was going to be, at most, a two day sail, was going to turn into a three day one as we were heading further south than we wanted and the winds dropped, making our progress painfully slow as the strong Westerly current was pushing us back another 2knots.   We decided to turn on the engine and, as the seas had flattened out considerably, Steve ventured up the mast so we could hoist the yankee again.    We had been experiencing a worrying noise coming from the prop shaft when the engine was in gear and recently this noise had become much louder.   While in St Martins, with the help of Mike from Zen Again, we traced the cause of the grating noise and had been nursing the offending part, hoping we could make it back to Grenada so we could fix the problem when we had the boat out of the water in a couple of months.    Steve had already started researching the required parts so in the meantime, we were trying to limit the use of the engine and keeping the revs down to as low as possible when we had to use the iron sail!

As we turned on the engine, we could hear that things were getting worse and the increase in noise was only matched by our growing concern as we were forced to turn off the engine and sit in no wind as we drifted further away from our preferred destination.    Fortunately we could see rain clouds ahead, and with the rain came squalls again, which turned out to be our friend, as we followed the clouds for a while and our speed increased.   At 3am on the third night, we were about 20NM off the coast of Montserrat when we tacked again, hoping the wind would back to the north, as forecast, so we could head straight for Guadeloupe.   As we progressed further south, our wishes were granted and the green hills of Guadeloupe were a welcoming sight as we gathered speed, heading towards the middle of the island.   Due to the high mountains, there is often a wind shadow to the west of the island and, when we were about 5NM away, the wind died completely.    We reluctantly turned on the engine, keeping the revs very low, and tried calling our friends, Mike and Nicki, on Zen Again, (who were already in Guadeloupe) on the off-chance they could a) hear us and b) have their radio on.    We were in luck and it was wonderful to hear Mike’s voice, directing us to their anchorage in Bouillante.  We later discovered they had only just turned on their radio after seeing us approaching on AIS. 

Bouillante is a small village with palm trees along the waterfront, nestled under high, tree covered hills.   A thermal power station in the south of the bay, provides a constant plume of steam and, with it, a faint smell of sulphur as warm thermal waters pour out into the anchorage, much to the enjoyment of locals who crowd the small bay at the weekend to enjoy a hot bathe in the already warm sea!

It took us a couple of attempts before the anchor gripped and then, once we were happy the anchor was solid, we tried, and failed, twice to check in to Guadelaupe – once taking the bus about 15 miles south to the capital city, Basse-Terre but could not find customs or immigration, or anything open for that matter.   The Town Hall, police station and most shops were closed so we returned from our failed mission with only a sim card and data to show for our effort.   The next day was Saturday so, together with Mike and Nicki, attempted to get a bus to Deshaies, about 15 miles in the opposite direction.   Once again we failed, as no buses were running and Bouillante does not have any taxis so we returned again to our boat, still flying the yellow Q flag to show we had not cleared customs yet.  

Back at the boat we called our “go-to” amazing friend and general hero, Richard, in the UK to pick his brains about the horrible grating noise we were getting when the engine was in gear.   After a lot of discussion, video conferencing and explaining, the resulting diagnosis found our situation to be even worse than we had feared, and we were advised to avoid using the engine at all cost.   I’m sure it’s not hard to imagine how we felt.   After spending so much work, time and money to ensure we had a reliable engine, we were now left with our worst case scenario of having no motor due to issues with our aquadrive thrust bearings, which essentially is a universal joint that connects the propellor shaft to the engine.   If this fails it could be catastrophic and, in effect, permanently damage the boat.   The risk was too great to even think about pushing our luck any further, but we had a number of issues to consider – whether we could get the required spares for a part that was already nearly 30 years old; if it was possible, how long it would take to have them delivered to the Caribbean; whether there was anyone with experience who could fit the parts, or at least oversee our work; and finally what the alternative was if we could not find the parts.    One thing was certain, we were currently anchored in one of the most isolated bays in the whole of Guadeloupe and, on talking to friends who are from the island, we realised we needed to get closer to where all the marine services are based – on the other side of the island in Pointe a Pitre.

On Monday morning, still not having checked in to the country, we waited for the sea breeze to arrive before sailing off our anchor and left the bay with Zen Again following close behind.   We headed to a group of islands at the very south of Guadeloupe, called Les Saintes, where we had been told it would be easier for us to access Pointe a Pitre due to regular ferry services with the mainland.   Once again, the sail took longer than we had anticipated as after about 5NM the wind died completely, spent about 10 minutes spinning around in every direction and then filled in from the west, which was where Mike and Nicki were, so they shot ahead of us as we, frustratingly sat becalmed for another 10 minutes! When the wind set in, we found we could not point as high as Zen Again so had to tack several times before getting a course into the channel which was scattered with fishing buoys. We arrived in Terre de Haut, the main island in Les Saintes, as it was getting dark and slowly tacked up the narrow channel towards mooring buoys that filled the bay in front of the attractive small town.   Luckily Zen Again had gone ahead and kept us informed of available buoys as we slowly edged our way towards them.   Mike guided us to a buoy and was there to help us secure our lines, which was a huge relief!   It was a few days later that we realised how lucky we were to have found a free mooring buoy as they were in hot demand and, in the week we were there, we never saw another empty mooring buoy in the evening. Maybe our luck was starting to change……

The next morning we, at last, checked in to the country and were able to drop our yellow Q flag, flying the French flag from our starboard spreader.   Checking in was the easiest yet, as it is all computer based and self service, so we completed the on-line form in an agents office, printed it off, had it stamped and signed and we were done!   No requirements to show papers, covid certificates, insurance or even passports.   Boom!

The islands of Les Saintes are the battle grounds of the biggest naval conflict fought by the English and French in the Caribbean in 1782.  The result was the building of a number of fortifications around the coast of the islands which still dominate the hillsides.    The islands are small but very popular with day trippers who clog up the narrow roads with electric bikes and golf carts so walking along the roads can be dangerous as they silently creep up behind you!   Iguanas and goats rustle through the fields and tiny colourful humming birds draw nectar from the many and varied colourful flowers that grow along the roadside.   The island was one of only a very few in the Caribbean which was not used for slavery as the poor soil was considered unviable for sugar plantations.

After exploring some of the island, our next task was trying to source the spare parts we desperately needed so we could use our engine again.   We carry a number of spares, but replacement thrust bearings are not a commonly needed item and, until they started to make a terrible grating noise, we had very little knowledge of what they were!   Now we knew more than we ever thought we’d need to know – every day being a school day!    We called in as much help as we could, asking advice and assistance from a number of different sources, trying to cover as many angles as possible.   In a moment of desperation, we had a look at eBay and, much to our surprise, there was an exact, brand new, full replacement for sale in the UK for a fraction of the price we would be able to pay normally and only slightly more than getting just the parts we desperately needed.  We checked with Richard in the UK who spent some time researching, checking measurements and then negotiating with the vendor on our behalf.   Less than 24hrs after first seeing the listing, we had bought the part and it was on its way to Richard so we could arrange for it to be transported to the Caribbean.   For once we felt the boat repair Gods were smiling down on us!

Easter had arrived, and with it came an email from a company who had agreed to fit the new part which they said we could have couriered directly to them.  They informed us they would need three full days to do the work and have the boat hauled out.   Although we were desperate, we were not that desperate, so after mulling over our options, we decided to continue on our journey south, without the engine.   As the boat was being hauled out in Grenada in about six weeks, it was a cost we could not warrant and, in addition, felt it was unnecessary as we were convinced the work could be done while we were still afloat.   We are a sailboat, after-all, so we would just make better use of the sails and allow extra time if the wind died…….!

We left Guadeloupe on Easter Monday, checking out using the on-line system from a shop in the centre of town.   It was very simple, but a little frustrating that we had to complete the exact same form as when we’d arrived with no ability to just access the original form and update our departure details.    Anyway, with the risk of being called a whinging pom, the system was much better than others we have experienced so I won’t knock it!

Just before 8am we hoisted our mainsail and sailed off the mooring buoy, with Zen Again closely following behind us.   It had been windy in the anchorage for two days and, once we were away from the shelter of the islands, the wind and seas picked up and we were soon crashing through the waves making good speed.   Cerulean does love these conditions and gave us a comfortable, if not a little wet, 4hr sail to Dominica.    As we rounded the final headland to Portsmouth, the main anchorage on the island, the wind dropped completely, spun in every direction and then, eventually, arrived with such force we were pushed right over on our side!   We sailed into the wide harbour, negotiating fishing buoys and boats as we tacked towards the town where our friends on Ruffian were already anchored having arrived a few days earlier.    We were welcomed to the bay by some helpful guides who suggested we pick up a mooring buoy, but on hearing we had engine issues, gave us “permission” to drop the anchor close to a fishing jetty. The bay was surrounded by tall hills covered in beautiful thick forest with the small colourful houses of Portsmouth strung out along the waters edge.    Ever since planning our time in the Caribbean, Dominica was top of the list of places we wanted to explore and we were excited about being here, reunited with good friends, knowing that fun adventures lay ahead of us.