Nick W.

Head winds until we got to the Windward passage on day 5. Wind speed everything from 3 - 20+ knots. Heading N to NNE across the trades after passing between Cuba and Haiti was pleasant though we had little wind at times. As we approached Bermuda the weather deteriorated and we had head winds up to 18 knots. The last few hours were exhilarating sailing close hauled in 18 knots.

Wind E-ESE 16 knots, 2 m sea at times. A couple of rain showers passed within a few miles but we had none. We were close hauled for part of the passage but in the end managed to clear Man O’ War point easily. Having cleared the point we could see many boats in the anchorages behind so decided to head for Stingray Banks. Got there and found the whole bay deserted! Perhaps they know something we don’t? Anchored in 5 m on sand.

There was little wind in the shadow of Basse-Terre but afterwards we had a beam reach with winds of 12-18 knots. There were scattered clouds and the a 1.5-2 m swell in open sea. We anchored in Mosquito Cove in 2.8m with 20m of rode.

Wind East 12 knots, sea calm, scattered clouds. We had a few rain squalls pass with wind speeds up to 20 knots. Around Vieux-Fort the wind veered SE for a while before returning to around East and fading as we moved N along the coast. We anchored at Bouillante Bay on sand in 10m with 45m rode.

Wind was 20 knots, gusting 30, from the East. Sea was moderate and visibility good. We weighed anchor and set sail with 2 reefs in the bay. Close to Domenica we were becalmed a couple of times in the wind shadow. But further from land we had a strong breeze and were sailing at upto 8 knots. About halfway through the crossing we encountered a 2-3 knot current setting to the west. The wind moderated to 15 knots around 15:00 and we were crabbing across the stream doing 6 knots. We passed through Passe Des Dames and headed for Anse Fiddling where we took down the sails. The anchorage was already full so we motored to Terre de Haut and took a mooring bouy off Fond Curé.