Guadeloupe - Murder in Paradise and Hot Rivers

16.07.93N  61.46.360W

30 January 2023

5190 miles since leaving Sandwich.

Before I start here are a few more arrival in Antigua pictures courtesy of Shaun.

Taken by Helen as we arrived in Jolly Harbour Antigua

We have had a very relaxing and thoroughly enjoyable week doing not a lot besides soaking up the sun and taking it easy. After dropping Jan and Hannah of we stayed at Deshaies for 2 nights and unlike the television series there was not a single murder which means that the TV program ‘Murder in Paradise’ must be a drama and not a warts and all fly on the wall documentary as I initially thought.

Taking the Kids / Hippies ashore for the last time.

On the second night we were joined by a very big catamaran called YGO (hmmm) in the crowded anchorage. Cats aren’t my thing but this one did look very impressive even if the obligatory blue lights under the water were a bit tacky, if you’ve got it flaunt it I suppose. We were worried for a while when it blasted music out of the back at two billion decibels, and I thought oh no here we go all night party coming up on the pleasure yacht next door, but the crew quickly adjusted things and the music stayed internal. I must admit though it had one hell of a sound system on it as the music was not only very, very, loud but it was also amazingly crystal clear, until it was muffled by the crew that is. They even moved out of our way when it came time to pull the anchor up the next morning, so I have decided that they are thoroughly decent chaps all round and they are welcome to invite me aboard the very next time we meet up. Our OCC flag attracted our first impromptu club meeting on the first night at Deshaire when Tim and Gayle popped by in their dinghy on the way to the beach to walk the dog. I did suffer from dinghy envy a bit as they have a very robust nesting tender and a big outboard which zooms them around the bay in style unlike our little inflatable and 3.5 hp outboard which put puts us around at an almost sedentary pace. In fact later in this tale they could be seen towing each other around the bay flying above the water on a wake board which looked very James Bondish as it lifted them a meter out of the water. Anyway I digress; They own another ketch, a Trintella called Wild Bird and have been sailing the Caribbean for several years now while away from home in Shropshire near to our daughter’s house. How do I know so much about them? Well, we invited them over for sundowners of course. They were heading south the same us for a few days and we arranged to meet up in Pigeon bay 9 miles down the coast the following afternoon.

Taking selfies now coz we haven’t got any friends.

Up early(ish) Norma and myself soon had Spectra ready to go and we headed out into a gentle 12-15 knot northerly breeze. Foresail, Mizzen stay sail was all we needed to keep us over 6 knots all the way there. It would have been better if I had turned the engine off but the batteries were low and we needed to make water so I left that on tick over and we made about 150 litres on the way down as well as getting the batteries back over 90% charged. On that subject the solar panels while doing their very best are still not providing enough to make us self sufficient from the scourge of the internal combustion engine but we do have a cunning plan. Once Tony has come over and had his holiday in February we will head up to St Martin and buy another two solar panels. This will be an easy fit and should then give us enough power to go for days on end without starting the engine or generator. Well that’s the plan anyway, I will keep you updated on how that pans out.

Pigeon bay inlet and a rainbow to welcome us in

Pigeon Islet was soon sliding past our stern as we entered a very pretty bay and dropped anchor. Launching the dinghy we found the hidden entrance to a tiny small boat harbour next to an industrial estate and went shopping. Sheer bliss three supermarkets to choose from, all with lots of produce and at reasonable prices. Well as reasonable as they get in the current climate but certainly much cheaper than Antigua. We stocked up with the maximum amount that we could hope to carry back to the boat dock and staggered out of the shop. We hadn’t even gone five paces before a nice man offered us a lift in his car back to the dock. Damn I could have brought one more slab of beer if only I had known. Anyway, we got back to the dinghy dock and almost got into the dinghy but a small café on the shoreside with a bench under a palm tree that I’m sure had our name on it somewhere beckoned us over and we really were honour bound to have a couple of beers before getting in the dinghy. Liquidly refreshed we loaded up, helped a young lady with a rope around her propeller and then put putted back to Spectra. By the time we got back to the boat Wild Bird had arrived, and the anchorage was getting a bit bouncy with a short sharp chop working its way into the bay. We decided to go another 2 miles south around the headland into Anse de Bouillante and that is where we have been anchored ever since. Night number three is just starting, and we are going over to Wild Bird for reciprocal sundowners. This does sound rather boozy but we are heading over at 1800, we will be back on Spectra before 2000 I am sure and probably in bed by 2100 as we have now fully converted to Island time. Up with the sun and to bed shortly after it goes to be-by-bend-ioes.

Next morning now and my prediction was correct, we had a nice evening aboard Wild Bird, put the world to rights, made a fuss of their dog and were back aboard Spectra before 2100. All of this was accompanied by steel drums and gospel singing drifting across the bay from the beach near the hot river, all of which created a very nice atmosphere all round. I have mentioned the Hot River a couple of times which probably needs some explanation. Over on the southern side of this bay is a brightly painted industrial complex that has a regular puff of steam coming from it and the whole bay has a distinct smell of sulphur hanging in the air. On closer inspection you find a small gulley with roasting hot water gushing out of it and a regular small crowd of people gathered in the water nearby taking advantage of what nature has provided. Being a volcanic island Guadeloupe is blessed with several natural hot springs and the Hot River is a big one. The small industrial complex uses this free hot water to convert the heat into electricity and the locals use the river to bathe in and ease the troubles of the day. A bridge structure over the entrance forbids entry further up the river, not that you could get much traction against the strong flow, and a temperature gauge fixed to it tells you how hot the water is. When we went for a dip the temperature was a steady 38 degrees which was lovely. You could work your way along the rocks at the edge of the river and then push yourself into the main flow. You get shot out of the gulley like a pea from a pod and swept along for at least 30 meters out to sea before you can regain your footing. It’s not often you feel the cold water when swimming in the Caribbean, but you certainly do when you get spat out of the Hot River and meet the normal sea temperature. The water is very sulphurous, and you soon feel like you have been chewing on a pumice stone for breakfast. Taste aside it does wonders for the mossie bites and sun burn, my skin is now as smooth as a baby and I look at least 10 years younger, honest. The whole area is volcanically active, in fact, as you snorkel around the bay you often see streams of bubbles coming up from the seabed. Swimming directly over the bubble stream the water temperature changes by a good 10 degrees which is rather nice for a warmup.

Par Boiled human anyone?

Saturday is busy day at the Hot River

With all of these advantages it would have been rather churlish not to spend some serious water time and clean Spectra’s bottom. Actually, the underside was pretty clean with only a light covering of a moss like growth which brushed of simply by running your hand over it. What was not so easy to get off were the goose barnacles which had taken up residence on the boot line near the rudder. I think this area stays wet enough for them to thrive while it is not antifouled being above the water when we are stationary so that they can get a good grip. And boy did some of them have a good grip. It took about an hour to finally scrape the little blighters off using the deck scrubber and a wooden spatula (don’t tell Norma). Spectra is now as clean below as she is above. All of the bits and pieces that I scraped from the hull attracted a school of fish who enjoyed the ala carte menu and I was also joined by a curious turtle for a while which is a bit life less ordinary for sure.

Spectra at anchor looking rather pretty.

We are about to get the boat ready for sea as we plan to move south again today into a little bay called Anse Petite (clues in the title). This is only about 5 miles south of here and by all accounts is quite isolated but it will make a for a new vista before we head south yet again to Basse Tere the capitol of the Island…….. More on that later.

Next stop Petite Anse