14/5/2011
We left Nevis a tad disappointed, and beat our way down to Monserrat, the volcanic island that blew its top in 1995, when Mount Soufriere erupted and buried the capital, Plymouth. Conditions became harsh on the island and people left such that the population is down to 4500 today, from the 11000 before the eruption. The volcano still bubbles away and smokes, but is generally quieting down. There is still a 2 mile exclusion zone around the volcano, and yachts sailing too close on the downwind side risk ash on their decks, and burn holes in their sails! We anchored in Little Bay, never intending to go ashore. A mistake which we will rectify next time we pass, as we would like to do the full island tour. When we left the next morning, we went around the top end of the island to make for a better point of sail to Deshaies, Guadeloupe. This route took us past the lava runs, and ruins, which are a stark reminder of nature’s destructive power. 
We have also come to realize that the crew of Sheer Tenacity are like Salmon….. always swimming upstream! As one heads north after hurricane season, the prevailing winds are NE… and we beat! By the time we head back south before the next hurricane season, the prevailing winds have switched to SE,…. And we beat!! This is all due to the movement of the north Atlantic High (or Azores high), which moves up and down with the seasons.
We have also come to realize that the crew of Sheer Tenacity are like Salmon….. always swimming upstream! As one heads north after hurricane season, the prevailing winds are NE… and we beat! By the time we head back south before the next hurricane season, the prevailing winds have switched to SE,…. And we beat!! This is all due to the movement of the north Atlantic High (or Azores high), which moves up and down with the seasons.
As a result of all our beating, we have learned new tricks to enable us to point so much higher, (35-40degs to the wind), despite our extra wide spreaders. Sheeting in the staysail like a blade, (using the lazy sheet to achieve the correct shape), and feeding a second sheet between the shrouds to an inner track, on a reduced genoa.(to stop it chafing on the spreaders). And so we completed another 42 mile beat to Deshaies, before popping 20 miles down the coast to Pigeon Island, and the Jacques Cousteau National Park. 
Earlier that morning, we had heard a Pan Pan, but couldn’t understand the details. Along the way, we sailed through a mess of wreckage and diesel, before coming across the wreck of a trawler, “Caribbean Rush”, on the rocks. This was the Pan Pan! The previous day we had listened to a Mayday rescue, 20 miles off Dominica, co ordinated by Guadeloupe Maritime Rescue, in English.
There is so much more to see on this fascinating French Island, that we are determined to swat up on our French before we come this way again! Whatever one thinks about French attitudes, you just have to admire their checking in systems, anchoring freedom, the best dinghy docks in the Caribbean, their well stocked supermarkets, with all the lekker goodies, such as cheeses, wines,
salamis, sausages, bagettes, plus top rate medical and maritime rescue facilities.
The next day we worked our way down to the bottom of Guadeloupe, to stop over at Les Saintes, once again with stiff beat! Anchoring behind the Ille Cabrit, we were to
witness our third maritime drama in as many days. The big black square rigger anchored next to us was having a crew member airlifted off by helicopter. Cigatura poisoning, we learned later. The Les Saintes area is super little group of French islands (part of Guadeloupe).They are very unspoilt, and Bourge, the main town in the island group, is a quaint little village with 
boutiques, eateries, superettes with a continental feel. Never having had crops like sugarcane, cocoa, grown there, they therefore never had any slaves there either….with the result that the population is relatively tiny, mostly white, and very French! We enjoyed some of the cleanest water, and best snorkeling ever, until Mary was stung by sea wasps! Despite this, we are determined to spend a whole lot more time here next year, trying to parlez a leetle more Francais !
Earlier that morning, we had heard a Pan Pan, but couldn’t understand the details. Along the way, we sailed through a mess of wreckage and diesel, before coming across the wreck of a trawler, “Caribbean Rush”, on the rocks. This was the Pan Pan! The previous day we had listened to a Mayday rescue, 20 miles off Dominica, co ordinated by Guadeloupe Maritime Rescue, in English.
There is so much more to see on this fascinating French Island, that we are determined to swat up on our French before we come this way again! Whatever one thinks about French attitudes, you just have to admire their checking in systems, anchoring freedom, the best dinghy docks in the Caribbean, their well stocked supermarkets, with all the lekker goodies, such as cheeses, wines,
salamis, sausages, bagettes, plus top rate medical and maritime rescue facilities. The next day we worked our way down to the bottom of Guadeloupe, to stop over at Les Saintes, once again with stiff beat! Anchoring behind the Ille Cabrit, we were to
witness our third maritime drama in as many days. The big black square rigger anchored next to us was having a crew member airlifted off by helicopter. Cigatura poisoning, we learned later. The Les Saintes area is super little group of French islands (part of Guadeloupe).They are very unspoilt, and Bourge, the main town in the island group, is a quaint little village with 
boutiques, eateries, superettes with a continental feel. Never having had crops like sugarcane, cocoa, grown there, they therefore never had any slaves there either….with the result that the population is relatively tiny, mostly white, and very French! We enjoyed some of the cleanest water, and best snorkeling ever, until Mary was stung by sea wasps! Despite this, we are determined to spend a whole lot more time here next year, trying to parlez a leetle more Francais ! 
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