Check out at Deshaies

Sail Day… a 45 mile stretch. We had been at Fidel In Anse for a week. It was such an idyllic place — quiet, clear water, nice anchorage, & beautiful view. Time to move on and maybe connect with Nicolas and Marie, who days earlier were sailing from Florida to St Barts and lost their engine….. but after a couple days get it moving again.
We left early as we wanted to get in an “check out/ clear” the country (France/ Guadeloupe) before the small shop, the Pelican, closed. We had a wonderful day of sailing (motor off most of the time), although the wind was swirly in certain places along the coast and it rained some, but produced LOTS of rainbows (the Caribbean is full of them). I was at the helm and trying to pass the boat that beat us across Les Saintes Passage, and succeeded. Lorena’s autopilot is hooked into the iPad, so it is cool that I can take the iPad and sit anywhere and steer the boat!
When we went to turn the engine back on, it would not start. Brian had to return to jump starting it by tapping the wire to the battery (bypassing the solenoid. We also passed Nomad (Brian’s friend Leon) as chatted on VHS and took photos of him underway.
Leon is headed to the Grenadines and Brian was hoping he would be in Antigua over Christmas, as he will be staying to do boat repairs, even though he has an invite to spend the holidays with me. 🎄❄️
We had trouble anchoring in Deshaies, but once we finally set, we headed to town to check out. Brian wanted to buy me sandals (as the cork in my Berkinstocks are falling out), but I declined.
The check out process is always frustrating for him, I find it strange as they don’t stamp the passport. Afterwards we went to the grocery and stocked up (even bought duck breasts). Apparently the French subsidized the food on the islands so it is cheaper to buy here verses Antigua — and I found some gluten free cookies!!
Back to the boat for supper, watch the rest of Shakespeare and sleep!Read more