It’s a beautiful day here in Dominica with bright sun that just peeked out following a parade of rain squalls beginning overnight.  This view, and it is impressive, to say the least, was completely obscured by rain and fog until a few moments ago.

As this illustrates, In Dominica, with some parts of the island getting 300″ of ran each year, we are securely within the “islands that kiss the clouds”.  This harbor, Portsmouth Dominica, is on the very north west part of the island and while it is wide open to the west, like most harbors in the Windwards, it is wonderfully protected from the strong trade winds and waves and as the wind comes out of the east for about 99% of the time.

Dominica isn’t highly developed like so many islands with only a small tourist trade.  With the exception of cruiser ships that visit, the island only has about 600 hotel rooms as so many were wiped out in the hurricane a few years ago.

For those who visit however, the island has beautiful rain forests and we were told 365 rivers.  There are also many miles of well maintained hiking trails to explore.  It’s a beautiful country.

While this island is not on the radar of your general tourist, it is very popular with cruisers and here in Portsmouth harbor there are dozens of boats visiting at any point during the season.

I will say that the locals are very focused on cruisers and do a lot to encourage them to visit.  Years ago this was not a spot that many visited but a group of locals got together and formed PAYS, the Portsmouth Association of Yacht Security and now the harbor is one of the safest in the Caribbean.   They organize tours and twice a week host barbecue parties with all you can eat chicken and rum punch.  They also host a week long event Yachtie Appreciation Week.

Our run from Les Saintes was a VERY bumpy 25 mile run on a very close reach, with with plenty of spray flying over the decks.  Not Brenda’s favorite!

We had decided to leave come to Portsmouth as we learned that the trade winds would be peaking near 30kts for perhaps a week or longer and we, along with a half dozen other boats that we are “buddy boating” with decided that it was time to move on, so here we are.

Yesterday we spent the day ashore with a dozen of our cruiser buddies to go on a tour of the island, something that we had not done before.  It included a visit to a tiny family run chocolate factory, a hot spring as well as a swim at the bottom of a waterfall, aptly named The Emerald Pool.  I’ll be writing about all that in the next day or two.  It was a great day.  I even was able to purchase a few tropical hardwood boards cut from trees that came down in the hurricane from the owner of the chocolate factory.

We have also enjoyed time at a local restaurant run by a couple that split their time between Texas and here in Dominica.  Co-owner, Toni makes terrific rotis, a sort of Caribbean burrito with chicken and potatoes wrapped in a tortilla.  The actual recipe can vary a lot and sometimes the chicken inside includes bones and all.  I’m here to say that they were great.  No bones.

The day before we headed here a bunch of our cruiser friends met on the beach in Les Saintes for a pot luck cookout.  Everyone brought something to share.  Our contribution, purchased at one of the terrific groceries on the island, were delicate little lamb tenderloins.   Brenda made a wonderful marinade for them and they were quite a hit hot off the grill.

This is the group of cruisers that we are traveling with.  It does seem that cruisers tend to move around as a sort of flock. And, speaking of “flocks”, I spied this growing family when I visited the local bakery to pick up come baguettes the other day.  I can’t imagine chickens wandering around a restaurant in the US.  And, of course, where there a chicks, there are roosters.  The views along the beach are very colorful  with homes and boats are painted bright, happy colors.
Nearly every morning, beautiful sunrises.  
We see flags from many countries.  Do you know where this one is from?  Flags that are black and white are very rare.   I believe that only two countries have flags that are this color.   Double gold stars if you know the name of both countries or, and this is a hint, the flag of a region of a particular country. A few days ago, I went ashore to check out the tiny town here in Dominica and was impressed with the locally made baskets.  In the interest of full disclosure, I was also looking for ice cream.  Success on both counts.  Brenda and I returned to the shop the next day.  She ended up buying an exquisitely made one at another store.  Along with all that she does, Brenda is also a very accomplished basket maker.

Brenda liked this tiny shop on the beach.  That makes at least three Brenda’s in Dominica as I ran into a fellow cruiser a few days ago also named Brenda. Anyway, I expect that we will be here in Dominica for at least a week the trades are up and it’s even rougher in the ocean than it was when we arrived here from Les Saintes, with seas running at nearly 10′.  When the weather router, Chris Parker, describes conditions as “very salty”, Brenda, in particular, feel that it’s best to stay put.

I guess that’s about it for now so stay tuned for more scintillating details from Pandora and her crew as we make the best of things while we are pinned down by the trades.

And, yes, it’s a beautiful day here in Dominica.

We have entered our second “week in France”, first in Deshais and now in Les Saints, both a part of Guadeloupe, the first island to the south from Antigua.

Brenda and I visited France, the one “across the Pond” back in September, when we flew, not sailed, across the Atlantic, rented cars and moved from hotel to hotel for two weeks including a week with our son Christopher and his partner Melody.  It was a great trip and while we were “in France” it’s a lot different than being “in France” aboard Pandora now.

Now that we are “in France” again, our schedule is pretty loose with no deadlines to speak of except perhaps keeping a wary eye on the weather so we don’t end up having to move south when the wind and seas are up.  So far, it’s been very calm and we are enjoying the tranquility, warm water and balmy temperatures.

Each day is much the same as the one before with a leisurely start to the day with morning starting at sunrise, coffee and a baguette or croissant followed by a look at the news in the US, depressing, with all the wrangling in Washington.  After that, Brenda generally knits, weaves or works on her book and sometimes practices here new ukulele, which she hopes to master, somewhat, by the end of the season.  I think that she is making great progress although she doesn’t see it that way.   Most days, we fit in a morning swim before getting serious about our chores, such as they are and usually an afternoon swim and perhaps another before dinner.  Of course, it takes more than a few laps around Pandora to work off that morning croissant.

Our cockpit looks a bit like a greenhouse including a few tiny orchids that we smuggled into Antigua, buried deep in our luggage.  They love it here, like we do, and have burst into bloom. Pandora’s hard dodger can be a bit hot when the winds are calm which is almost never and offers a welcome respite from the strong tropical sunshine.    Brenda took this shot, while I made coffee down below, as we made our way south along the west coast of Guadeloupe on our way to Les Saints the other day.   In the lee of the island the waters are very calm and the wind, not so much. The view of Deshais from our stern shows how tiny the cove really is, with a lone sailboat just peaking out,  more of an indent, than a harbor. And the mountains of Guadeloupe in the morning haze to the south were beautiful.  Here in Les Saintes we spend some time most days hunting for groceries, a rewarding effort as there is a remarkable selection of wonderful French food to choose from, and many places to purchase fresh bread, kaiser buns, and terrific cheeses.  Of course, who can resist a nice little rose wine for less than ten euros.   In the US these shops would bill themselves as “gourmet” but here high quality is just expected.

And, speaking of great food, today we purchased a bag of Lamb Chops from New Zealand.  Some of our cruising friends are planing a beach cookout and we will bring them along to toss on the grill.

This tiny cluster of islands are very popular with tourists from France who fly directly to Guadeloupe and take the short ferry ride here.  When the ferries arrive each morning they disgorge hundreds of tourists that turn the tiny village from sleepy to bustling in moments, only to melt away as they take shuttles to the inns and hotels scattered throughout the island.The waterfront is so charming with a very convenient dock to pull up our dink. The waterfront looks like a tiny little village on the Mediterranean. Every view better than the last. The muraledesign on this building near the town landing says it well. There are plenty of reasonably priced places to enjoy a terrific French meal.  Last evening we went out for dinner with our friends Mark and Lynn from Roxy and had an amazing dinner of fois gras and lamb chops.  Yum.

Fresh food is abundant here and some of the homes have lush gardens. Papayas so big you could never finish even one. Our first stop after leaving Antigua, before Les Saintes was Deshais, a tiny fishing village on the Northwest coast of Guadeloupe.  The harbor can be pretty rolly with a wrap-around swell and the swell was up when we arrived.  Fortunately, the swell dropped after a day and made for a pleasant visit.

The town, more of a village, and smaller than the town here in Les Saintes, is very quaint, a sort of French shabby chic.The town dock can be a bit tricky when the surf is on, as it was during our visit so we took our dink down the little canal on the Deshais river.   We were told that the week before we arrived the waves were breaking at the mouth of this canal. The swell in the harbor can be so bad that they have to remove the top of the dock to keep it from blowing off with the waves crashing against the shore.   Even when it’s calm, the town dock can be a bit of a challenge to land on. You can walk a short distance up the river and swim in one of the small pools between the cascades on the river, more of a stream, actually.  The water is a bit milky and I expect that is because the water leaches out of limestone springs.    As it is coming directly down from the mountains I doubt it’s polluted.  After this I went in for a swim.  It was chilly but what a change of pace.  Fresh Water!The main street in town is lined with colorful restaurants and shops. We had a terrific meal, French of course, here with some cruiser friends. Each restaurant is more charming than the next.   This particular one is featured in the TV series, Death in Paradise.  Buildings on the waterfront are beaten up from time to time in storms.  I guess this one hasn’t been repaired quite yet.  Fishing is a big part of what goes on in Deshais and every evening and into the early morning before dawn we were rocking and rolling as the fisherman headed out and returned with their days catch.
And, of course, where there are fish there are pelicans looking to find a way to prove that their “mouth can hold more than their belly can.”   I was just happy that they weren’t killing time waiting for their next meal aboard Pandora.Brenda and I spent a day with some friends from a boat Billy Ruffin and toured the nearby botanical gardens, one of the best in the Caribbean.  The view from the visitors center is first rate.
They have a large collection of koi that are always ready for a handout. All of these fish, and there are hundreds of them, are up to two feet long.  While the gardens are mostly focused on plants, there are a number of birds to enjoy including these beautiful parrots that live in a large open air aviary that you can enter and see up close. And who doesn’t like flamingos?This big macaw, seeming to challenge “what you lookin at?” And, of course, lots of plants and flowers, far too many to show here. These puffy flowers show up before the leaves on this tree.  They are 10′ puffs of pink against a perfect blue sky. I love the contrast of the red roofs, a signature style here, against the clear blue tropical sky and even bluer ocean. From the edge of the property, a view of the boats in the harbor.   That’s Pandora, third from the right. Pandora up close. So here we are in Les Saintes, one of our favorite spots to spend time.  We’ve taken a mooring for a week but it looks like we may have to make a run to Martinique soon as the winds are likely to pick up quite a bit and we need to be there or in St Lucia in a few weeks when we hope that the new compressor for our fridge will arrive and none too soon as it’s sounding worse each day.  I sure hope that it doesn’t give up the ghost before the new one arrives.

For now, however, there’s plenty of great food to keep our fridge, as long as the compressor holds up, well stocked.  It’s great to be back in France again.

Can I have another baguette?  Why not…

We are still here in Deshais, Guadeloupe and this morning were visited by a turtle that has been keeping us company over the last few days.  He’s/She’s about 18″ long. There is a bit of a swell coming into the harbor so we had a somewhat rolly night but the sun is out and it’s a beautiful day.

I am in a little cafe as I write this and spied this little heron as I came ashore.  Yesterday Brenda and I rented a car with some new cruising friends and toured the island of Guadeloupe.   We had lunch in an excellent French restaurant along the way and visited a rum distillery but the highlight of the day was a hike into the rainforest to view Les Chutes de Carbet a spectacular double waterfall with a total combined vertical drop of nearly 600′.

To get there we drove up an impossibly winding narrow road with dozens of switchbacks along the way, some so narrow that two approaching cars could not pass at the same time.   Once we arrived at the entrance to the park, we noticed a number of emergency vehicles lined up.  It wasn’t until later that we saw someone being carried out on a stretcher.  She had obviously fallen somewhere on the trail.   I’ll admit that did give all of us pause and I was extra careful along the way. Near the parking area was an overlook to give us an idea of what we were going to see, the spectacular double falls in the distance. The path we took was labeled as easy and was very well maintained with pavers and wooden walkways the entire way.  However, because of the constant wet from rain and mist, it was still slippery. Everywhere you turned, something was growing, from tiny moss and ferns to trees hundreds of feet tall. It seemed like every branch had something growing on it. Some of the ferns were 40′ tall with fronds that stretched 8′.The path followed the stream up to the falls. The top of the mountain, some 4,000′ tall, was shrouded in clouds and mist. After walking up and down, down and up, we arrived at the overlook with the water crashing down from the lower falls in the distance.   What a view.
There was a little bird looking at us, perhaps hoping for a handout. I am always on the lookout for orchids and didn’t see any.  That’s not unusual as they generally grow high up in the forest canopy, hundreds of feet up where the light is bright but hard to see from the forest floor.

However, a few days ago, I went for a short hike near the harbor and did see some vanilla orchid vines.  They were not in flower but I am pretty sure that ‘s what they are.  This particular species grows pretty close to sea level, not high up in the mountains.   The vines can grow hundreds of feet long and are the source of “vanilla beans”.  The island mountains are so steep and there is only a single road that runs around the perimeter of the island, with what seems like hundreds of switchbacks and winding curves that follow the coastline.   Driving these roads can get tiring after a while as it’s more like a slalom course where going more than 30 kph is tough.

Along the way we visited a distillery, billed as the Musee du Rhum.   It was a bit odd, I’ll admit, to be tasting their wares at 10:00 in the morning. A charming building. Including a mix of new and old.  I swear that I only had a tiny taste.As a museum, they had a very eclectic mix of stuff in their collection.    A number of ship models including such unrelated designs as a Mississippi steamer, Christoper Columbus’s ships and, well, an odd mix.  Along with some life size dinosaur models, both outside and in, they had a huge collection of bugs in frames. Tiny ones all lined up behind glass. Butterflies of all kinds. And lots that I’d hate running into at night. Some bigger than you’d want to imagine, about 12″ long.  To make matters worse, they are the sort that flies, I expect. Of course, everyone’s favorites, horned beetles. Ask yourself, what museum is complete without a collection of sand, all carefully labeled?After the tour of the collection, all I could think of was someone saying “what in the world are we going to do with Dad’s collections?  Have a tag sale?  No, wait, let’s open a museum! Any better ideas?”

Anyway, it was a wonderful, if long, day and a great way to get a feel for what Guadeloupe has to offer.

And, now we have replenished our rum stores aboard Pandora.  Yum.

That and a walk in the woods.  Perfect.

In the summer of 1926, when he was 78 years old, Captain Nat Herreshoff launched what would be his last schooner, the 64′ on deck, Mary Rose.

What sweet lines if the word “sweet” applies to such a powerful sailing yacht. And even more beautiful under a full press of sails.
Mary Rose has had a number of owners over the years including Hugh Hefner, who used her as a set for a 1959 issue of Playboy.  She was called Gallant at that time. Mary Rose is very likely in way better shape these days than the “bunnies” that spent time aboard her nearly 60 years ago.

There have been some bad moments in her past as she was badly damaged in the hurricane of 1938.  Fortunately,  she was rebuilt to sail another day, unlike so many yachts that were lost in that terrible storm. Today she lives a somewhat less exciting life full time in English Harbor, Antigua where I spent time aboard with her owner Gerald.   I had been admiring Mary Rose for a number of years as she swung on her mooring off of the Admiral’s Inn and had wondered how I might get aboard for a look. As luck would have it, Gerald is a member of the Royal Navy Tot Club of Antigua and Barbuda, a group that I am a member of and have written of many times.   

I approached Gerald and we spent some time talking about his schooner and fortunately he agreed to host me for a tour.   We set a time to meet.  I was thrilled.

As we approached, her “royal” pedigree shows with the graceful curve of her bow. Gerald keeps here in Antigua full time and stores her, during the hurricane season, in what might be best described as concrete bunker designed to withstand hurricane force winds.   It is in her cocoon that a long list of off-season chores are done to keep her looking new as she prepares to enter her second century.

So, where should I begin?

Perhaps a good place to start is in the cockpit with her lovely wheel and binnacle.    Note the nod to the modern, her lovely brass lamp has been refitted with an LED bulb.
And the original builders plaque commemorating her as design #954.How about these beveled port lights, original of course. And, as you would expect, beautiful deck hatches, worthy of any proper yacht.  Her hardware, and it’s all original, has been refurbished over the years. The goose neck, with it’s interesting vertical bar is worth noting.  When the sail is hoisted, the boom raises up to the top of the slide. Gerald was proud to show me the recent scarf joints on the boom where there had been some decay.  It was beautifully done with perfect hairline glue lines. Everywhere lovely leather covers for shell blocks and covering whatever hardware might mar the decks, varnish or paint. I was taken by what must have been a very innovative piece of hardware on her mast track to hoist the storm sail. One departure from the original designed to make here easier to sail short handed, was the addition of a boom-kin.  Of course, Gerald consulted with experts at the Herreshoff museum in Bristol RI where he sits on the board of directors.   It’s a lovely addition and surely Capt Nat, always the innovator himself, would have approved.  This change made it possible to remove one of the two sets of running backstays, an important simplification. And, on the pointy end. As you head down below.  What a banister and the classic “Herreshoff interior” white panels with varnished wood trim.
Wonderful glazing on the interior cabinets  in the main salon. And a commemorative print when she was launched way back when.   However, no sign of that 1959 cover shot. A very nice, functional galley.  Of course, with the modern conveniences of generator and refrigeration to keep things civilized when cruising.
It’s clear from the stuff stored in the forepeak that she is a yacht that is used and not some sort of static museum piece. Beautiful restored hardware in the two heads complete with modern heads. A very nice master cabin although I expect it is a bit stuffy in the tropical climate. All and all, Mary Rose is a proper yacht with a caring owner and it is clear that he is committed to bringing her into her second century in grand style.

The very last schooner launched by the Wizard himself.

If you are interested in learning more about this remarkable yacht, check out her website from which I borrowed some of the photos in this post documenting her early history.

I am told that there are some great videos on YouTube but they appear to be blocked here in Guadeloupe.

After more than three weeks in Antigua we headed off to Deshaies, Guadaloupe yesterday,  a bumpy and fast 50 mile run south to the next island.    This tiny harbor is a popular spot with cruisers and yet, when the wind is up, can be a tricky place to anchor, with winds that can really whip down off of the mountains overlooking the harbor.

It can also be quite unpleasant with a nasty wrap-around swell that can make it really rolly.   Aren’t I making it sound just so great?

In fact, the town dock can be so bumpy that the decking is sometimes removed to keep it from being blown off by the waves.   When I went in to clear Pandora yesterday I found the dock “topless” only an open framework and no deck to walk on.  I had to find another way ashore.

The clearing in process here is such a contrast to Antigua with it’s multiple stops and  fees, just so English.   Here you just visit a local T-shirt shop, fill out a one page form on a PC and you’re done.  As a point of comparison, when I checked Pandora out of Antigua the bill for two months in the harbor, not counting mooring fees, came to $250US.  These fees were in addition to our mooring and dockage fees.  By contrast, my fees yesterday, clearing into Guadeloupe came to a total of $4 Euro.   “Nope, we don’t charge a lot.  Just go buy some of our French wine and cigarettes.  What you don’t smoke.  It’s never too late to start!”

Anyway, we are here in Deshaies and it’s lovely. The village is impossibly charming with a little French bakery and loads of, you guessed it, French restaurants to choose from.   As we got here fairly late yesterday, we ate aboard and enjoyed a bottle of rose, some French cheese and cured meats that I purchased in a charming little shop.  Yum!  No, make that Triple Yum.The harbor can be crowded and arriving late in the day we had to anchor fairly far out in 40′ of water.  It was a bit rolly but this morning we were able to move in closer and it’s much more settled.  At 25′ deep you can clearly see the bottom.  Schools of pilchards or sardines, swim around the boat as well as dolphins and turtles.  It’s quite a spot.  Sorry, no photos.  Have you ever tried to take a photo of a dolphin or turtle.  Good luck catching them at the perfect moment.

Oh yeah, it’s wash day.  Well at least the whites that I hand washed in a mix of ammonia and water.  It works very well and brightens up dingy grey items a bit.
There isn’t much wind right now as the trades are low which is a good time to visit.  Interestingly, while the trades are always from the east, this harbor has an onshore light westerly wind, a sort of Station Wagon effect, where the wind blows over the mountains and curls around 180 degrees in the lee of the island.

This means that when you approach an island that is mountainous the wind will abruptly shift 180 degrees within a few miles, an odd experience.

We will likely be here for a few days or longer and then may head back to Antigua to await the arrival of our new compressor for the fridge.  The old one is still working but I fear that each day may be it’s last.  Fingers crossed that the new one will be ready to ship before the old one is kaput.

Not sure about our next destination, Antigua or somewhere to the south, but getting the new compressor unit installed will be fairly easy in Antigua as opposed to somewhere else where I don’t have any contacts.    I guess that will depend on how long it takes till the new unit is ready to ship as I don’t want to spend all season in Antigua, as nice as it is.

If we do head back to Antigua we are looking forward to a reception like this that greeted a recent arrival from the Talisker’s Whisky Atlantic Challenge rowing race. “Welcome back, Bob and Brenda.  We are so happy you are back!  We missed you so much!”They would be waving American flags, I’d expect.   “Here they come!  I see them coming into the harbor.  Yes, It’s Pandora, I see them, both Bob and Brenda are aboard!  YES!!!”“No wait, it’s only a little rowboat.”Never mind.   For now, it’s great to be somewhere that is “just so French”.  Can I have another baguette?