We have been busy aboard SeaSparrow, over a month ago we headed from the lovely little island of Montserrat to the metropolis of the Caribbean, Guadeloupe. The butterfly shaped island of Guadeloupe is really two islands separated by a salt water river, ironically, the smaller of the two islands is called Grand-Terre (Large-Land) and the taller of the two Basse-Terre (Low-Land). The west coast of the island contains many anchorages and to the south there are a several little islands, which make up a lovely cruising ground to sail and explore. We would have loved to sail slowly around the island, but since we were running late for our first guests aboard SeaSparrow, we headed straight down the coast of Guadeloupe and up to its center to the town of Point-a-Pitre. Once we had our guests on board, however, we were able to fit in a fun filled 12 days of exploring Guadeloupe, The Saintes (small set of French islands south of Guadeloupe) and Dominica (the island south of The Saintes). Then we had another adventure filled 12 days with our second set of guests, Eryk’s mom, Barbara, and niece, Evva. Since then we have been getting back into our routine of homeschooling and boat work, but not without some fun, meeting new friends, hiking up a volcano, and not to mention Eryk and Tia even managed to get some surfing in.
We had a fabulous visit with the Plourdes, but unfortunately it did not hold a lot of sailing. On our way to Montserrat we ripped our jib (the foresail on the boat), so once into Guadeloupe we needed to drop our sail off at a sail maker for repair. Due to their busy schedule it meant we would be without a sail for over a week, which in turn meant we would not be able to sail with the Plourdes. That being said, we were determined that although they wouldn’t get to experience what SeaSparrow could do under sail, we would not let that stop our fun. Since we had two working motors (one of which was brand new) this just meant we would motor to all the locations we would have otherwise sailed to, sometimes raising the mainsail for a little motor sailing. The Plourdes have volunteered to write a guest blog post to give you the ins and outs of their cruising experience, so stay tuned for the guest edition of the “It’s About the Voyage” blog. You should get the skinny of all the fun and even the some of the unexpected aspects of cruising aboard SeaSparrow.
By the time our second set of guests arrived, we had a better idea of what the island of Guadeloupe and its surrounding islands offered and with our jib repaired we were able to give them the full sailing experience. Starting from Pointe-a-Pitre, we briefed Barbara and Evva on life on SeaSparrow, did some provisioning, topped up water and fuel and we were off to a beautiful little spot called Ilet de Gosier. This little island is positioned just slightly off Guadeloupe, only 30 minutes from Pointe-a-Pitre, and is so close that locals and visitors take a little ferry across the channel to enjoy this palm lined beach for the day. With some decent snorkeling and a little beach bar that makes a mean coco punch, it is a popular spot. 
From there we moved to Marie-Galante a much larger island within a 3 hour sail of Guadeloupe. The anchorage in Marie-Galante has breathtaking turquoise waters and on land some nice hiking trails for bird enthusiasts. We could have stayed in Marie-Galante much longer, but as luck would have it the weather was perfect for getting into Petit-Terre, which is a must see location. The challenge is that the entrance to the anchorage is only viable in certain wind/wave conditions and should not be attempted otherwise. This tiny uninhabited island is surrounded by coral reef with a narrow unmarked entrance through shallow water (7 – 8 feet) which gets breaking waves when wind and waves pick up. SeaSparrow has a four foot draft leaving only 3 feet of water between our keels and the bottom. Most monohulls we have spoken to have about a 7-foot draft and therefore won’t attempt a visit to Petit-Terre. Needless to say this makes it very nerve-racking getting into this island, but with some pinpoint navigation we had no issues and once we had picked up a mooring ball, Eryk and I could sigh a big sigh of relief, that was until it came time to leave again.
During out two day stay in Petit-Terre we enjoyed taking in all the wild life around the island, including rays, baby sharks, squid, iguanas and a wide variety of tropical fish. Then once we left Petit-Terre, sailing to Saint-Francois, a town back on Guadeloupe, Eryk started to notice water shooting up in the air some distance out. He immediately re-checked the charts to ensure this was not a unexpected reef between the two pieces of land. Confident it wasn’t a reef he was further reassured by the sight of a humpback whale launching itself through the air followed by an immense splash. In fact, it seems there were two or three whales as they started to jump repeatedly one after another leaving everyone on our boat screaming in excitement at each splash down, until eventually they made it to our boat and passed under the boat still visible to everyone aboard. This memorable experience left us feeling blessed by our life aboard SeaSparrow. We wrapped up our visit with Barbara and Evva with a few nights back in The Saintes. Having been there once before with the Plourdes, we decided to moor just outside of the main town. The Saintes are a set of mountainous islands surrounded by deep blue clear waters with a little town with white houses with red roofs tucked into a valley in the middle of one of them. Walking through town gives a feeling of a quaint European town with gorgeous little shops and cafes where one can pick up delicious fresh baguettes and even better gelato ice cream. The surrounding islands, less inhabited leave lots of places to enjoy hiking and some of the best snorkeling we have encountered to date, sometimes located just 10 feet from the boat. Life in The Saintes is simple and beautiful.
After delivering our guests back to Guadeloupe for their flights back to Canada, we could get back to our old routine, but not really. Eryk and Tia finally picked out their Christmas presents, a set of surfboards. Now armed with their boards they were itching to find a nice surf break. Guadeloupe did not disappoint as on Eryk’s birthday we moved over to an anchorage called Le Petit Havre on the south side of Guadeloupe. A short dinghy ride from the boat led them to a beautiful surf break. Having been years since the last time they were able to hit the surf they spent the majority of their time for the next couple of days in the sun and surf. I think Eryk’s would say it was his best birthday yet!
Now, positioned back in The Saintes we are ready to celebrate our third birthday in about 3 weeks, Hugh turned 11 a few weeks prior and now it was Owen’s turn to celebrate a birthday as he turned 8. However, we spent Owen’s birthday under sail not wanting to lose a day of good wind, as we headed south to Dominica. Logistics forced our hand again and we had to leave Guadeloupe simply to fill up our propane (cooking gas) tanks. We didn’t want to run out and not be able to make a cup of coffee in the morning!! Unfortunately, Guadeloupe only supports the French system for propane tanks, which then means we need to leave if we want to be able to cook our meals. That being said, we loved Guadeloupe so much we were planning to return to enjoy a little more, however, once positioned here in Dominica, the lure of exploring the next island was irresistible so on we sailed to Martinique.
