And the Saintes Come Marching In

Iles des Saintes, Guadeloupe Leeward Islands

Once we got cleared out of Guadeloupe, we headed South to “The Saintes”. As has come to be the norm, the wind picked up just as we came to the Southern tip of the island, causing some excitement as we scrambled to reef the sails and get the Berkeley East back under control. The sail between the islands was pleasant, but we arrived to find that the mainsail would not furl into the mast. After a few tense moments, we found that one of the vertical battens (a 50′ piece of carbon fiber that supports the mainsail running into a pocket from the boom to the top of the sail) had come apart and was jamming in the mast opening. We pulled the batten out and the sail finally furled nicely into the mast.

Isle des Saintes is a small group of islands that are part of Guadeloupe. In contrast to the surrounding islands, the Saintes are small and very dry. The islands have been French since colonized. They support a small fishing community and tourists, who come over from Guadeloupe for the day. We anchored off of Terre D’en Haut and the only town (Bourg des Saintes). The town is clean, quaint and, as with most of the French islands, has great food. We are learning to enjoy a croissant for breakfast at the patisserie/cafe’ with a Coca-Cola Light.

We are slowly learning about the European way of life (everything closing down for a long lunch) the hard way. This lesson was reinforced by a hike up to the fort overlooking the harbor in the mid-day sun, only to find it closed. Oh well, it was off to the seafront restaurant and bar for a quick drink with our friends and traveling companions from Cambio.

While the island comes to life as the ferry boats arrive from Guadeloupe, we found the late afternoon the best to tour the island, as the tourists leave and the quite charm of the town returns.