Antigua to Guadeloupe

On the morning of the 29th we left Antigua to Guadeloupe. The winds were unusually light and from the southeast so we motor sailed upwind most of the way. At one point the wind picked up so we turned off the engine but the velocity died so we fired back up back to make our anchorage before dark. We passed Montserrat on the way and could see venting steam from its famous volcano. We saw several sailboats going both north and south. We arrived in Deshaies around 4:00. Guadeloupe is so large it produces its own thermals and the wind was actually coming from west when we arrived. The harbor is small and deep so there are mooring balls available but they are taken by local boats. We anchored in about 30 feet in the clearest water we have ever seen for an anchorage. Amy went for a snorkel on a reef near the boat. As night fell the wind switched to the southeast putting us close to a rock wall so we kept an anchor watch. At sun up we planned to launch the dinghy and check in but the wind swung to the west again. Rather than deal with a compact anchorage with many boats in close proximity swinging around with 150+ feet of rode, we decided to use this wind to go south. We sailed south until the forecasted SE wind appeared near the southern tip of the island. At this point we lowered the sails and motored head to wind to Ilet a Cabrit off Terre-de-Haut. We picked up a mooring, launched the dinghy, and checked in to Guadeloupe. More updates of this very interesting place to come!