Anse Deshaies, Deshaies, Guadeloupe

Another early start to make our next leg north, again using our day hopping to take us to the North West corner of Guadeloupe a small fishing town called Deshaies. It was not the most inspiring of sail either being in a dead calm in the lee of the island or picking up a lumpy swell if standing off to get more wind. Sailing to windward is not a favourite for either of us, so a steady wet pounding day lightened only by me rigging the speakers so we could listened to music on the way. As the saying goes Gentlemen do not sail to windward and we are both looking forward to getting to Antigua where we can bear off the wind again to head west toward to the British Virgin Islands. The coast of Guadeloupe is quite heavily populated and had highways etc worthy of mainland France. However, due to an early start we made it to Deshaies by early afternoon and I went ashore to get our fresh baguettes for our salads which we now have for every meal, enjoying good fresh produce for a change.

Deshaie had a small harbour and a little estuary where a good dingy dock has been installed but it is not the most beautiful of towns, there were a number of disgruntled looking people hanging around the streets and the graffiti all around the town with the same slogan which unfortunately my school French lessons could not decipher but evidentially related to the recent unrest. There were other signs written on cardboard plaques covering another apparently government building the only word of which I could understand was town hall, but suggested that the dispute was not yet entirely settled. However, the local Spar the only shop in town was still well stock and I got our fresh goods and went back to the boat. There were quite a few more arrivals that evening, some arriving at some pace into a crowded anchorage after dark with varying degrees of skill at anchoring and we were happy to stay onboard.