​After spending seven wonderful days exploring Antigua’s eastern and southern harbours and beaches, last Thursday we decided it was time to move further north. Our plan was to spend Christmas and New Years in St. Martin.  This decision, however, meant that we would be moving along alone.  Our friends on Rode Trip were still waiting for their engine water pump to be installed so they wouldn’t be moving north until after Christmas at least. Other friends on Bitty Rose and Hop Drop would also be moving towards St. Martin before New Years but would be setting out from Antigua a few days after us. Kemana, Caretta and That’s It were already ahead of us in either St. Martin or Puerto Rico.

Last Wednesday we cleared out of Antigua and then moved Wild Horses from its spot on a harbour mooring ball to the anchorage just outside Jolly Harbour’s entrance.  This would be a perfect place to leave at first light to make the 32 nautical mile trip to Barbuda, Antigua’s sister island.  Together, they form the country of “Antigua and Barbuda”.  We were excited to get to see this small and very flat island known for clear, beautiful water and is home to a large colony of frigate birds.
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The next morning, we were underway.  Well, almost.  We had a slight delay when our anchor windlass decided to not work, preventing us from lifting our 88lb Rocna anchor.  Mike quickly found a loose wiring connection, fixed it and we were back in business.  Surely this was our one glitch for the day.

As it turns out, this was far from the truth.

The passage to Barbuda was a windless one, which meant motoring the whole way.  Our first glimpse of Barbuda was surprising.  It is flat as a pancake and pretty sparse!  Such a contrast from mountainous and lush Antigua.  We motored into the Cocoa Point anchorage slowly and carefully, avoiding the many reefs scattered about.  It was an easy feat as the water was clear and blue.

Next on deck was to get Ocean to shore.  We piled into the dinghy and started to head towards the shoreline.  Hmmm, strong breakers at the nearby beach looked very ominous.  We dinghied further south to where the shoreline was calm but there were “private property” signs there.  Yeesh.  We doubled back and started heading north again, towards the one and only beach bar.  Surely people can land their dinghies here?  Right?  Well, it didn’t look good there either.  There was a mooring ball slightly away from shore that we contemplated attaching the dinghy to but it would require a fairly sporty swim in for all three of us, especially with the crashing waves at shore. Finally, we thought we saw a calmer section along the shore line, just 10 metres away, and motored the dinghy towards it.
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We were wrong about the calmness.  Very wrong.  It was a catastrophe.  The dinghy swung violently sideways as it got caught up in a large breaking swell and then it flipped.  I was underwater and scooped out behind the dinghy. Ocean had made a premature jump out of the dinghy before the flip (she is so smart) and when I found my way to the surface of the water, I could see her playing onshore with some of the debris from our capsized dinghy.  Where was Mike?  Trapped under the dinghy.  I helped him get the dinghy off him and then we got it righted.  We were shaken but still had to secure the dinghy from being pummeled in the breaking swells.  Out of nowhere, a gentleman (who we later found out was the beach bar owner named Enoch) came along and, without asking, started to help us pull the dinghy onto the beach and then rushed to secure everything being swept into the ocean that had fallen out of our dinghy.  He did this even though our large dog was running free around him.  He did this even though he was working.  He did this even though it was difficult. He even brought us a 2-gallon jug of his fresh water to wash down the salt and sand drenched engine.  Wow.

We had a moment to catch our breath and assess our situation. The important part was all three of us were safe and with minimal injuries. We had all our gear, including our wallet and phones and nothing had been damaged.  Um, scratch that.  We had an engine that had been submerged in saltwater. We knew it wouldn’t start and although we had our oars, we knew that rowing the half mile to our boat in the swell was not doable.  We needed a tow.  The bartender assured us that someone would be coming to his beach bar before dark.  But, for over an hour, no one came.

Finally, our heroes arrived.  A small dinghy loaded down with six people approached the same shoreline where we capsized.  Surely, they would suffer the same fate?  Nope.  They had the landing process nailed.  Three young people in their 20s jumped out of the dinghy, swam to shore and awaited the dinghy they just left. They waited for a big swell to crash and then the race was on. As the dinghy approached the shore, the last three people jumped out and swam while the three on shore rushed out and secured the dinghy.  All six then pulled the dinghy onshore.

Oh, that’s what we did wrong. 😉

There was no hesitation from the dinghy’s captain when we asked for a tow.  “Yes!  I will do it right now!”  Mike had previously rowed our dinghy out to the beach bar’s mooring so the three of us needed to swim out to it, in the crashing waves.  Mike and I had no issue with this but we worried about Ocean.  She had her lifejacket on but could she negotiate the crashing waves and strong swell?  Our heroes had an answer for that.  They offered to put her in their dinghy so she wouldn’t have to swim.  Great!  Except Ocean did not like the idea of Mike and I swimming away from her while some strangers took her elsewhere in their dinghy. Out she jumped!  But her attempts to swim to us failed as she struggled to negotiate the crashing waves.  Once again, our heroes leapt into action.  Two strong swimmers from the group grabbed the handle on her lifejacket and guided her through the waves and swell to us waiting in our dinghy.  They then tread water while pushing her up and over the dinghy gunnels. Wow!!

After being towed to our boat, we gave the engine a fresh water rinsing, removed the spark plugs, oiled the cylinders (clearing it of any water) and got pounds of sand out of the housing.  Still the engine would not start. We knew we had to get the engine properly serviced immediately or our almost new engine would be trash. We couldn’t remain in Barbuda, with its very scarce services and amenities.  We had to go back to Antigua.  Our friends on Rode Trip, still in Antigua, had secured us an engine mechanic who could take care of our engine as soon as we arrived back there.  They also offered us the loan of their dinghy for use over Christmas. They are currently at a dock so the dinghy wasn’t being used.  Amazing!

At the end of the day, we know we were lucky.  Lucky to have suffered no injuries.  Lucky to have great sailing buddies who never hesitate to assist however they can.  Lucky to be in a world where complete strangers will go out of their way to help you without hesitation.  A big thank you to Rode Trip, to Enoch (the bar owner at Barbuda) and to the crew on Inukshuk, our towing heroes.

Merry Christmas indeed!

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​When we arrived in Les Saintes, Guadeloupe (a small set of islands to the south of mainland Guadeloupe), we knew the Christmas winds would be blowing for about a week.  This didn’t damper our spirits at all as our anchorage was in Terre-de-Haut, a very lively island with lots of great restaurants, shops, beaches and hiking.  We were not going to be bored!

​First on deck for Wild Horses, and our boat buddies Rode Trip and Caretta, was a hike up Le Chameau, the highest point on Terre-de-Haut at 309 metres.  At the very tippy-top of Le Chameau is “La Tour de la Vigie”, an unmaintained small fort built in 1843 to protect French interests in the islands. This fort stands a slight bit higher than the terrain so it was our focus as we trekked slowly up the mountain.  Although it only takes about 90 minutes to get to the top of Le Chameau, it was a seriously steep trek up.  We started with 6 hikers and 1 dog and ended with just 4 hikers making it to the top. It was definitely not the right terrain for a dog, so at about the halfway point, Mike and Andrea (from Caretta) decided to forgo the hike and to take Ocean back down the mountain.  No worries, the rest of us continued to the top while the three of them had a lovely stroll down to the main town to await our return.

​The trip up was strenuous and required a few rest stops but we were treated to gorgeous views of Terre-de-Haut once we reached the summit.  The fort is very small and in serious disrepair but it was still captivating, especially knowing that it was built to house 15 soldiers.  Those are some tight accommodations!

A few days later, we did a second hike to another fort on the island.  Fort Napoleon also requires some uphill trekking but stands only 130 metres above the anchorage. This would be a far easier hike and much more dog-friendly!  Fort Napoleon is a large fort with expansive grounds, a botanical garden and, within its stone walls, it houses rich tributes to the island’s history and culture.  Unfortunately for us, the fort closes in the early afternoon and we had arrived too late.  Although we enjoyed the view of the outside of the fort, we would have to tour the inside another day.
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We were at Les Saintes for a total of nine days and thoroughly enjoyed all the great restaurants and shopping that this little harbour village had to offer.  The town and surrounding areas are very walkable and charming.  In fact, there are very few cars driven about.  Instead, people get around by walking, or by using scooters and golf carts. Yes, there was still “traffic” but at a much slower pace 😊. We even decided to get into the golf cart game ourselves!  The crews from Wild Horses, Rode Trip, Caretta and Don’t Panic, piled into three golf carts and did a one-day self-guided tour of Terre-de-Haut.  It was an inspiring trip which took us through the twisty, narrow and mostly “one way” village streets and to several of the rugged coastlines.  

As much as we enjoyed Les Saintes, our weather window for travelling further north had arrived by Thursday. We weighed anchor at 0800 to start our 32 nautical mile trip to Deshaies, in the north east corner of mainland Guadeloupe.  We again travelled with our buddy boats Caretta and Rode Trip.  Kemana also joined us on this leg of the trip, having arrived in Les Saintes a few days prior.

We were only going to be in Deshaies for one night as the forecast was for a great day for crossing the big gap between Guadeloupe and Antigua.  We were excited about our upcoming day of travel but it was also a sad time for us.  We were saying good bye to our long-time boat buddies on Caretta.  We had been travelling with them, almost in lock step, since Luperon, Dominican Republic, a whole 9 months ago. We were continuing on to Antigua while they would be going to St. Kitts, an island where it is extremely difficult to take a dog. Although tears were shed, we have plans to meet up again, somewhere down the line in the New Year. We will miss them!
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The next morning, Wild Horses, Kemana and Rode Trip headed towards Antigua together.  The wind was light and variable, making for a very frustrating sail.  Still, the sky was clear and the sea wasn’t rolly so we considered it a great day on the water.  

​Clearing into Antigua was easy – Customs, Immigration, Health Authority and the Port Authority are all housed together, just a short dinghy ride from our mooring ball.  Although we had things lined up for the Veterinarian to clear Ocean in at the same time, a veterinary emergency came up so her clearing was postponed to the following afternoon. The delay wasn’t a concern as we were advised by the Vet that we could take her to shore for short trips to do her business; however, he stressed that we should make sure that Customs did not see her on shore.  No problem!  We are okay with sneaking her to shore!

By the end of the weekend, all three of the Wild Horses’ crew were cleared in and we were ready to explore Antigua! We are looking forward to all that Antigua has to offer!  Happy Holidays from our whole crew!

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Wild Horses has made some miles over the past week.  We left Le Marin on the south coast of Martinique and moved along to Fort de France, a big and bustling city at the south end of the Baie de la fort de France, Martinique. We had seen only a small fraction of this great town when we were here last Spring.  Indeed, way back in late June, we stayed only one night, having decided to make the leap from there to Grenada in one big 24-hour trip in order to get out of the path of Tropical Storm Bret.
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We were thrilled to be spending several days in this anchorage.  The city is very walkable, with historic sites, well-stocked markets, delicious paninis, baguettes, cheeses and lots of people and activities.  It was also decked out for the holidays which was wonderful to see. With our daytime temperature still reaching 29 degrees most days, it can be hard to remember that we are actually in December and just a few short weeks from Christmas.  Hearing some Christmas tunes in stores and the sparkle of Christmas lights out in the street and at the harbour front was just what the doctor ordered.  We thoroughly enjoyed this harbour town but we needed to keep moving.  We are hoping to be in St. Martin, at the top of the Eastern Caribbean island chain, for Christmas and New Year’s.

​We left Fort de France on December 2 and sailed north along the coast to our final anchorage in Martinique, the town of St.Pierre.  We were looking forward to spending a few days here exploring the ruins from the 1902 volcano eruption that destroyed much of the town.  Unfortunately, our plans were waylaid by cruise ships. The one town dock was off limits for landing dinghies while the cruise ship was in town so we were left to beach our dinghy in order to access the town. Although it sounds like an okay option, the surf was up for most of our time in St. Pierre so that meant the dinghy got pounded as we tried to land it. We also had to carry the dinghy up to higher ground to get it safely away from the surf.  This is no small feat as our dinghy and motor weigh close to 160 pounds.  My back aches just thinking about it!  The worst of it, though, is that there was no where to lock the dinghy on the beach.  Theft isn’t rampant in Martinique but we also didn’t want to make ourselves an easy target. That meant that we could only do quick trips in town so that the dinghy wasn’t sitting unattended for a long time.  Sigh.  There would be no big tours of the ruins this time around.

On Monday, December 4, we weighed anchor and sailed away from Martinique.  This was a sporty sail to Dominica! We had full sails out in almost 30 knots of wind, which had us moving very fast. Our trip to Dominica was expected to take us just under 7 hours.  We made it there in 5 hours.  We were flying! 
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We were happy to arrive at the anchorage but we knew it would be a short visit.  Last Spring, we had spent several days in Dominica and got to explore a bit of the southeastern town of Roseau and the northeastern town of Portsmouth.  This time, we decided to only stay one night total, choosing the southern anchorage near Roseau. The first of the strong Christmas winds were forecasted to start blowing in a few days and they looked like they would stay strong for a good week. We, along with our boat buddies Caretta and Rode Trip, decided to try to get to Les Saintes, Guadeloupe ahead of the strong weather.  In Les Saintes, we could hike, shop, dine and explore, all within easy walking distance of the dinghy dock.

At 0615 on Tuesday December 5th, Caretta and Rode Trip weighed anchor and started their 37 nautical mile journey to Guadeloupe.  An hour later, Wild Horses also left the anchorage (we had to take Ocean into shore first). The first half of the trip had us motoring along the east coast of Dominica.  The wind was down, just 5 knots, and its direction changed often due to the land effects. We would have preferred to sail but it was impossible with these conditions.  But that all changed as we neared the top of Dominica.  We got a call on the VHF from Rode Trip, warning us that the wind was up in the gap between the islands, reaching 35 knots at times. Some minor squall activity had also been forecasted and we were definitely seeing it start to form.  Armed with this information, we decided to start sailing with reefed sails, letting only 70% of the sails out.  We were glad we did!  It was a wild three hour ride with the strong wind whipping up the seas from 6 to 8 feet, broadside to Wild Horses, and a few small squalls dousing us with rain.  We rode up and down the waves, getting our decks soaked from ocean waves while the rain continued to pelt us. All was under control but it wasn’t entirely comfortable. 

Seeing the islands of Les Saintes grow bigger before us as we got closer and closer to them, was a relief.  Another call on the VHF had us learn that Caretta had made it safely into the anchorage.  Shortly thereafter, Rode Trip also confirmed they were also okay and in the anchorage.  Just then, another squall ran over us, making the islands invisible. It was very unsettling to be about to make our entrance into the group of islands and then to have them disappear just minutes later.  Thank goodness for electronic navigation!  Our chart plotter made it easy to stay on course so we continued on our way, with fingers crossed that things would improve before we got to the crab pot littered entrance way of Les Saintes. Thankfully, luck was with us.  The rain slowed and our visibility improved, just in time.  We dropped our sails and worked our way through the islands.  We had made it.  We were tired and ready for a beer, as were our boat buddies. As soon as we finished our clearance process, we found a great cafe and all seven of us (including Ocean!) said cheers to the challenge and success of the day. We were proud, tired, and happy. All crew and all boats had weathered the wind and storms of the day and come out without a scratch.  Well, not quite, the crews were sporting a few boat bruises to mark the experience!

We are looking forward to exploring this beautiful French town and maybe resting on our laurels a little bit.  I think we have earned it 😊.

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