South to France

Django is less orange than heretofore. Her forward cross beam was painted blue, her boot top (the line around her hulls at water level) was painted blue, her hulls have received a coat of blue antifouling paint. The only major bit of orange remaining is her bimini and it is not long for this world. Every seam looks like a dotted line just waiting to be torn along. We may be getting her a new bimini over Christmas and we’ve decided an undyed canvas (oatmeal or tan) would be nice. WW likes dark blue, dark green and red...all very hot in the tropics.

Upon arrival in English Harbour, flushed with the success of his engine repairs and his brilliant choice and installation of propellers, WW was grinning like a schoolboy. Of course, true to the cruiser’s rubric—while you are sleeping, your boat is breaking—he discovered the vang’s hydraulics had gone kaflooey. The vang originates at the base of the mast and attaches a short distance along the boom. While sailing, it holds the boom down; while at rest, it holds the boom up. Happily, it was the at rest bit that had gone. We moved the topping lift and our colours from the port stern pulpit to the end of the boom. Voila, boom up and who needs vang hydraulics?

Bright an early on Thursday, November 26, we were under way for Guadeloupe. We were able to do a bit of sailing but, for the most part, it was an upwind bash. Fortunately, there wasn’t much wind. We arrived in the evening, too late to clear in, so had our RPs followed by pork medallions sate (very good).

Our port of entry was Deshaies (pronounced Day-yay) in the northwest of the western part of the island. Guadeloupe is shaped like a malformed butterfly. The western part is Basse Terre and the eastern part is Grande Terre. Basse Terre is, of course, mountainous; Grande Terre is, of course, smaller than Basse Terre. Go figure. The two halves are joined by an isthmus that has la Riviere Sale running through the middle of it (I guess that means that they aren't attached after all).

We headed into Deshaies in the morning to clear in. To enter the town by dingy, you must go up a small and lovely river to a docking area.

Coming in to the Deshaies dinghy dock (around the corner and out of sight).

We climbed a long hill to the customs house where a sign (I love French red tape...they don't really believe in it) told us to go to the Pelican Cyber Cafe and clear in there. So down the hill we went, walked along the main drag and, within two minutes, were in the Pelican, at the computer terminal, clearing in.