December 24th, 2000
We are returning to already visited places to meet up with Jérôme's family. Firstly, we sailed back to Guadeloupe and arrived to Deshaies for Christmas eve. This was a short stop as the following morning we were scheduled to continue towards Les Saintes, a small archipelago just south of Guadeloupe . The trip took us a whole day, but it shure was worth it. Les Saintes are one of Guadeloupe's most popular tourist destination because of their beauty and tranquilness. Only 1500 people live on these islands and live off tourism (much more developped than on Barbuda) in a very relaxed atmosphere. We anchored Zipolite at the foot of Fort Napoleon constructed during the Colonial Era, and were ready to rest for a while.

As we were getting comfortable with our new location, it was already time to head back north to catch up with L'M de Cassiopée, Jérôme's elders' boat. We caught up with them in Deshaies, where we stayed just long enough to install a solar panel on top of the Bimini. This adjustment will permit the batteries to charge continually. On the morning of the 29th of December, Zipolite left for English Harbour, Antigua. We caught up with our e-correspondence and managed to get a few decent pictures of the bay. 2 days later on Green Island, we stepped into the 21st Century in a very unusual way; we fell asleep at 10:30PM. On this long trip, time has not much relevance to us, and we often have to remind ourselves what day it is. We learn to live with the rythm of the sun, as there is little to at night in most places we visit.


On Green Island, we did not miss the occasion to take some nice photos, being such an amazing place. As usual, there are no kitesurfing or windsurfing pictures, because when the wind blows, we are too busy sailing. The scenery shots however are amazing, as you can see for yourself. On one side of the island the waves crash against the steep cliffs, while on the other end is a huge lagoon protected by a coral reef where ships can anchor. After a few days, the trade winds totally died down. Add to that the fact that about 15 boats were anchored in the bay, many of them huge millionnaire yachts. There was no way we could fly our kites in this maze of ships, so we decided to leave the scene... We sailed to Falmouth Harbour, located right next to English Harbour, where we had a splendid sunset view of Montserrat and it's dangerously active volcano that was spewing ash clouds into the atmosphere.

From Falmouth harbour, we sailed to the western side of Antigua, where we stopped in Five Islands Harbour for a few days, waiting for the right weather window to sail to St.Barths. There, we met fellow Canadians Mike and the crew from Antigua Helicopters that were operating out of Jolly Harbour. They flew over our anchored boat like maniacs several times, landing on the beach, to fine tune their newly repainted chopper. It was quite a spectacular sight I have to say.
 

On January 11th, the weather was perfect for the long crossing to Gustavia, St.Barths. Along the way, we reeled in a beautifully coloured Mahi-Mahi that tasted as good as it looked. We did not stay long in Gustavia, because the boat was continually rolling at night and we could not sleep. Soon we headed to St.Martin, stopping in Orient Bay, Grand Case, and finally Marigot. The wind was absent, so we took advantage of the calm waters to snorkel in different locations, such as Rocher de la Baleine on Fourche island, later on Tintamarre island, and finally at the foot of Crol rock in Grand Case. As usual, the water was crystal clear so we could dive down to 5 ot 7 metres without a problem, in the middle of this maze of fishes swimming around beautiful corals.

We were stuck in Marigot for a few days, because we were waiting for spare parts to arrive for our sailboat. We took advantage of the time to rent a scooter, stock up on food, and check out the planes landing at Juliana Airport from closer. The wait was getting long, so on the 22nd of January we decided to sail 6 miles north of Anguilla, to a desolate place called Prickly Pear Island. There, windsurfing was picture perfect with 15-25 knots every day, in a lagoon surrounded by a coral reef, and only a few charter sailboats around. Check out the few following photos; they are worth a thousand words.

While our 3 day stay at Prickly Pear, we were noticing an interesting fact about the trade winds. It seems that on some days, the wind blows even stronger at night, for some unknown reason. On the second night, we woke up to 30+ knots of wind, choppy waters, in total darkness, with nobody around for miles, and surrounded by sharp corals that could end the life of our sailboat in minutes. Believe me, seeing Zipolite rock from side to side in this mess was one scary experience. I must have woken up every hour to assure myself that we were not drifting.

Speaking of which, I notice that fairly little has been written about our life on the sailboat so far, yet it is just as interesting as the trip itself.

Most things we do seem so beautiful on these pictures, but there is also a nastier side to it. For one, those freak windstorms at night are just one example. It's nothing like being in the safety of your house or car. In a boat, you hear and feel everything. The waves throwing the boat around, the wind howling past the mast and cables; if the weather gets ugly, it can often be scary. Yet, it's mostly imagination as good ol' Zipo has never moved an inch from where we carefully anchored it...

On clear nights, we often take a few minutes to admire the beautiful sky full of stars, something that is impossible in a bright city. Above us, Orion, Cassiopea, the Pleiades, and all the other constellations are there every night to greet us. The following day, as morning rises, we wake up to another beautiful Caribbean day, and get ready to explore some new island, a new windsurfing or snorkeling site, or just relax...

Next on our plan: The Virgin Islands, starting as soon as our new depth sounder, rigid water containers, and working navigation lights are installed.