Ian Clayton

Quick boulangerie visit into Deshaies then motored off south in next to no wind towards Isles des Saintes. Sadly never made it; engine warning alarm came in, engine shut itself down and we ended up dropping the kedge anchor outside the only marina on the west coast of Guadeloupe as the main anchor needed the engine running. Ended up being towed into the marina fuel dock where a mechanic and then the Volvo Penta specialist were unable to resolve the issue, whatever that was!! Finally, after 30 hours stuck where we were, Dream Yacht Charters took over the boat, taxi’d us to Pointe-a-Pitre and then put us on the ferry to Martinique the next day. Sadly not the end to the cruise that we had planned.

Mixed sail down to Guadeloupe, plenty of time in up to 17 kts of wind, punctuated with motor-sailing when the wind eased. Saw a couple of whales breaching in the distance. All going well till the wind dropped to nothing and the fuel tank ran dry. Spent 90 minutes drifting, trying to get useful technical support from Dream Yacht Charters until I figured the fuel supply from the second tank and the unusual isolation valve which had thoughtfully been left closed. Finally made it back to the “Death in Paradise” area of Deshaies in the dark, after a cracking sunset ready for a well-earned anchor beer!

Selected day from Antigua Sailing Week 2024. Fun time had all week by the crew sailing on “Braque”. Race Day 4 had apparent wind gusting into the 20’s. “Braque” was consistently at the front of the Bareboat 1 fleet from start to finish, gathering a series of 7 firsts and 3 seconds to finish first in class (of 9 boats) and first overall bareboat (21 boats). Fun sailing and some fun partying afterwards! Thanks to KH&P Yachting for facilitating the charter and special mention to skipper Tim for some outstanding helming and leadership skills!

Motor sail back to Trellis Bay with a snorkel stop at Marina Cay - best snorkelling in 3 years visiting. Swell was much bigger again than yesterday !

Night out on Willy T’s on Norman Island, after a selection of cocktails at Pirates Bight - wild!! Early morning start, motoring up to The Baths….. not early enough it would seem, based on the queues of cruise ship tourists snaking through the rocks. Interesting work getting the crew in and out through the surf, with a decent north swell running. Popped into Spanish Town Yacht Harbour for visa renewal purposes and then high-tailed it round to North Sound, VG for a late lunch at Nova and then finally back to pick up a mooring at Bitter End.

Overnight in Cane Garden Bay, became rather rolly so pretty happy to leave. Motored down to Sopers Hole and dropped the crew off for brunch while C&V hung around when we couldn’t find any mooring balls. Motored off to The Indians for a fabulous snorkel, then into Norman Island for the night.

Little hop day - White Bay for the crew to dinghy in for a painkiller at The Soggy Dollar, motor round to Little JVD to check out The Bubbly Pool, lunch at Foxy’s Taboo and then a drink at The B-Line Bar. Finished up crossing over to Cane Garden for the night. Lovely, calm, warm & sunny day 😎

Lovely sail/ motor sail along the north coast of Tortola and offlying islands. Quick stop at Sandy Cay so the crew could have a taste of their very own tropical island!!

After a fun day in a couple of mini mokes driving round Anegada had a lovely sail all the way down to North Sound, VG. Single reef in, sea far smoother than the passage up.

Excellent meal at Cooper Island overnight, visit to the coffee shop and boutique first thing then sailed off the mooring all the way up to the Anegada Channel entrance. Upwind all the way, with 2 reefs in, wind gusting to 30 kts and SOG up to 7.5 kts. What a cracking sail ⛵️😎🤗