Anse Canot

The anchorage in Le Gosier was also rough and rolly…. I had to teach online at 7am on Wednesday and that was a challenge! Even Starlink agreed as it kicked me out of zoom or froze several times. The plan was to leave for Marie Gallant after class, but we decided to head back to Bas du Fort (Pointe a Pitre) Marina and check out. We printed our clearance, headed to the bus and made quick business of clearing out of the country. We have 48hrs to leave — perhaps not enough to enjoy Marie Gallant 🤔.
We were back to the boat by 11:30 and immediately lifted the anchor to head towards our final destination in Guadeloupe. A 20nm sail. The wind was firm and we were enjoying the sail when suddenly I started to smell something burning. I called to Brian who was inspecting the fishing rod, and praying to the sea that he would catch a fish. We searched for the smell, me insisting that there was an issue and Brian not smelling it strong and not worried.
I went down below again, this time noticing water in the hallway aft (towards our bedroom). A strange place for it as it has cabinets on one side and the engine room on the other. I followed the water and found both the smell and source of water. In our rush to leave we had left the starboard portal open and water was spuming into the boat, soaking books and clothes and shorting out electrical circuits.
It seems that burnt wires will also neutralize (or overpower) the smell of diesel. Ahhh the adventures of sailing! ⛵️
I unplugged the Starlink and feared that it and the inverter were caput, but we had to wait untill we arrived to Marie Gallant to assess.
We found a beautiful little anchorage, Anse Canot, to host our tired souls. Once we arrived we hoped in the clear water for a swim and then got to work on the electrical. We sprayed dialectic contact cleaner into the outlets, and my computer which had fallen onto the floor in a puddle.
We tried sending power to one outlet which caused sparks and smoke. Then we made a quick decision to dismantle that outlet and route everything to the Starlink outlet we use. Once the connectors were on and crimped we tested it and voila… there was power. Amazing! Next test was plugging in the Starlink, and yet again it worked, as does my computer. Phew…
We were very grateful as it could have been much worse… only wet clothes and books, and the loss of an outlet we never use (as it is under the portal).
This morning was slow to wake up, drank coffee, wrote, read, had my Thursday chat with Ashlynn (and Vinnie), swam, relaxed and read more. I made a shepherds pie and we did a few boat chores and made water. Both of us exhausted and happy to be in this little paradise with only a handful of other boats. There are still swells, but the frequency is less and I should have no problem teaching my class.Read more