Antigua

Overnight sail to Antigua was the plan because at 60 miles away at our planning speed of 5.2 knots this would take 12 hours and we wanted to arrive in daylight. An issue, however, was the huge number of fishing pots around Deshaies, which we needed at least dusk light in order to avoid. Hence we decided to leave with an hour of light to clear the island and be safely in deep water by the time it was dark .We could always hove to if we arrived too early.
In the event, the winds were light so Scruffbag only had to hove to for a short time on the dawn watch and by the time I relieved him, Antigua was in sight.

We had chosen to go to Jolly Harbour because we wanted to replace one of the engine mounting arms which we think had cracked when we got the rope round the prop in Martinique. We had been told that the yard there was fast and was happy to work on cruisers where some ports would prioritise superyachts.
The anchorage was pretty but very crowded and a long way from the facilities necessitating a long distance tbh ride. The place itself was not to our taste, very artificial with lots of waterside homes complete with moorings, more like the US than the Caribbean.
It was easy enough to get buses though and we were close to the capital St John's. We were surprised at the relative poverty of the island compared to the flashy yachtie harbours of Falmouth, English Harbour and Jolly Harbour with superyachts ad associated expensive surroundings.

We did get to meet up with Scruffbag's Atlantic crossing crew, Matt and Rosie, in English Harbour as they were working on  large yachts in there. It was great to see them and they treated us to lunch.

We also hired bicycles and we cycled to a salt pond to see some avian life and then along the coast for lunch and swimming. Hard work in the heat.

The engine mounting arm was ably fabricated by Dave, the mechanic and we spent our first night since El Hiero, tied to a pontoon which was part of the yard. The good thing was that we were given the marina shower code as a result of this night so for the rest of our stay on the an homage we were able to sneak in for hot showers,  The book swap in Jolly Harbour was also welcome as the kindle remains relatively unused due to my love  for paper books.

We really wanted to go to Barbuda next and the  customs guy said that it would be fine to sign out of Antigua and then spend a few days a in Barbuda and he would ring and let them know we were coming because their immigration   department was not yet up and running post hurricane. We also had to take sufficient provisions as the island had few shops other than basics for locals as yet

Guadeloupe

We left Dominica with a reef in the main sail. Even though it was not that windy, we were old hands by now and we knew all about gusts. We started off using the autonomy but she was soon playing up in the ever present gusts so we hand steered.As usual the wind was to reward of the beam and ranging from a nice steady 15 knots or so to gusts of 25 plus. 

We had read that the anchorage near the capital, Based Terre, was folly but we wanted to visit the hypermarket to stock up on some French treats so we headed there. On entering the bay we found that the anchorage was fairly crowded but there were some free mooring buoys so we tried to pick one up. We did this ok but holding it snapped our trusty old boat hook. We had another but Richard, a lone Irish sailor on a buoy nearby, had spotted our plight and rowed over to help. Drinks on board on Saturday were in order and a new friend was made.

We enjoyed our time here, walking along the coast to the next town and swimming on a quiet beach near a fishing harbour complete with lots of resident pelicans and a couple of huge  iguanas.

We also managed to visit the supermarket and replenish stocks albeit accidentally paying 29 euros 50 each for two bottles of wine we had thought were 2 euros 95 each.

The taxi driver who took us back to the boat with our shopping agreed to take us the next day to the highest waterfall in the Antilles and to wait while we hiked then bring us back all for a very reasonable fee.

The waterfall was amazing but the walk to the top had to be abandoned after a lot of difficult climbing, mainly due to u suitable footwear. The book said the walk was for experienced walkers, which we are so why I chose to wear slip on plimsolls and Scruffbag sandals, which broke on the climb, is beyond me.A French couple joined us in abandoning the attempt, though we had probably completed three quarters of it.

After  Basse Terre, we wanted to go to Deshaies as a friend of ours, Jean-Lux had said he had seen the TV series, Murder in Paradise,which is set there and it seemed lovely. It was. The winds can apparently blast down the valley I to the anchorage, but we spent a week with very light winds. It was indeed lovely.

We walked along the local river and cooled off in crystal clear pools along the way with not a soul in sight. We went aboard the boat of ?Pam and Tom with their friend Yolanda and dog, McDuff, fellow OCC member who introduced us to the delights of chocolate rum and provided excellent conversation.

We walked uphill in the heat to the botanical gardens, though were sorry that they did not allow picnics. Still, this led us to walk to the old battery on the cliff, where we found solitude and picnic tables together with a good view of the bay and some old cannons.

We decided to indulge ourselves in a meal out before leaving for Antigua so we checked out a place serving Creole food and duly boomed in. When we arrived there were no other customers and a woman was sweeping any sort the floor. We noticed ants on our table so we moved. Still,we decided to stay and we had noted that most of the other restaurants in town were far from full. When we went to the toilet there were ants in the room and when we went to get served there were dead ants on the ultimate.(It was an all you could eat buffet). That said the food was excellent and there was lots of it so we were actually glad we had stayed. It was a fitting goodbye to this beautiful island.

Dominica

The forecast was 15 knots on the beam and what did we get? Well for the first 3 hours we got 15 knots on the beam and an enjoyable sail. However, this is the Caribbean so, of course, after that we got huge gusts forward of the beam, the autopilot couldn't cope. We had to hand steer. We had to put in a second reef. Ah well, at least we didn't ppget wet. We had intended to stay for a few nights in the capital, Roseau, and anchor in Prince Rupert Bay. However, as we sailed into the bay, we noticed a distinct absence of masts and we decided, since it was early in the day, that we would carry on to Portsmouth.

We had been told that boat boys would come out to meet us and our trusty and invaluable guide book written by Charles Doyle, told us that these men had formed an association called Portsmouth Association of Yacht Services and that we should use them should we need help. Sure enough, as we entered the bay we were approached by Albert who was a PAYS member. He asked us if we wanted any tours or taxis and we asked him to wait until we had anchored and then take us by water taxi to clear customs as it was along dinghy ride from the anchorage. This he did and we said we were thinking about a trip up the Indian River in a day or two so he could pop back the next day. The anchorage was very secure as it was patrolled by PAYS boats.

Next day we went ashore to look round the town. Dominica is the poorest of the islands we have visited and it was hit badly by hurricane Maria two years ago. A lot of rebuilding is taking place but signs of the devastation still remain and many of the houses still have roof coverings stamped with the words, "US AID".

Dominica is also an amazingly beautiful island with  a hoot lake, sulphur pools, rainforest, mountains and rivers. We took a trip up Indian River (a mangrove swamp where we saw iguanas, fish, birds, land crabs etc. with a verygood guide

P

A few days later we walked up a beautiful trail to the source of the Indian river. The walk was stunning with lots of flowers around. However, we were joined by a man in his seventies wearing Wellington boots and carrying a wrapped up machete with his dog. He talked to us,shared our water and then walked along behind us. We slowed down and let him pass then stopped for a picnic. As we were eating our sandwiches he appeared again from behind. Odd, we thought, but we offered him a sandwich, which he ate. He Spielberg little. We then walked on and again he followed us. When we reached the source of the river we turned back. He also turned back. Scruffy asked him What He was doing but he just mumbled. It was weird, not threatening but weird. When we got to the main road we turned towards town and so did he but then we came to a turbo g and he said"See you" and turned off. In hindsight we feel he probably just wanted company but it was disconcerting.

We had a great time in Dominica and went to the PAYS barbecue on the Sunday night for all we could eat food and all you could drink rum punch, very enjoyable

We also visited the nearby fort and walked along trails through the forest, giving us great views of the surrounding coast. Dominica was certainly a firm favourite and there was so much we didn't have time to see that we would love to return and see the boiling lake and the sulphur spring vs,to name but two attractions.

But we needed to head north and and Guadeloupe beckoned.