On time like the bricklayers 21.45 stood my old friend Maik with his red travel bag in front of the gangway of our CESARINA. After a big "hello" we ended the evening with a beer in the cockpit. Before that, he quickly swapped the long trousers for a short one and deposited the shoes in our quarantine box on deck until the end of the journey. When it comes to warmth, flip-flops are absolutely sufficient. Since Maik is the last 24 Hours flew across the United States, to come here, he was of course finished and ready for bunk.
The next day was the first short trip to Iles Le Saints to get used to. Maik and his wife Sabine have been attending evening school in California for almost a year, to get her sailing license there. After the first few miles it was clearly visible, that it wasn't his first trip on a sailor. So I let him go almost the entire distance 24 Nautical miles the CESARINA steer and he apparently enjoyed his job very much. Despite or because of their size, it is sometimes not that easy, doing everything right. All maneuvers went well and confidence in my co-skipper grew. After all, I have hardly given the helm of my darling out of hand. In the end we found a brilliant anchorage and looked back on the exciting day, before we disappeared into the bunks late at night. Something like that is called a successful start.
The next morning the dinghy was taken to the beach at Bourg des Saintes, because we wanted to have a look around the island. The trip lasted a good five hours. We hiked to the western tip of Le Saints and felt like it, that the island is populated by free-range goats and dogs. On the water side, countless pelicans dominate the bays and hunt for fish in quite spectacular swoops. At the end it was then still the quite steep and long way up to the fortress "Fort Napoleon". Thank goodness hardly any of the crusaders will run up there on foot. So we had a lot of time and peace to enjoy the wonderful view over the island and the sea. At the end we bought some fresh tomatoes and some vegetables. To my great joy, Maik had given me, that he likes to cook and would also like to take on the job on board. Otherwise it would only have fried eggs during the week, Yogurt and beer from the galley given to J
We anchored at nine o'clock on Monday, because there was a trip to the west coast of Guadeloupe to Pigeon Island. Against 13:00 we dropped anchor about half a mile off the beach at Petit Malendure. The focus here is clearly on diving. In the village, a dozen diving centers offer excursions to the “Costeau Reef”. It was named after the famous French marine explorer Jack Costeau. Class, when people understand more and more, that it is much more sustainable, to earn a living with the beauty of nature, catch the last fish and destroy the reefs. So we booked a dive for the next day. Maik is a very good diver and we were both very surprised by the beauty of the underwater world in the warm and crystal clear water. Countless different types of coral and colorful tropical fish made the dive an impressive experience. Unfortunately, the pictures with my new wide-angle lens didn't turn out so well, because I had unfortunately forgotten to let the air out of the cavity of the camera housing and the lens. Will not happen to me again.
But that wasn't the only highlight of the day. We decided, Sail to Falmouth Harbor / Antigua overnight. The wind should turn north from Thursday until the end of the week and then we would have had a hard time, to get to Antigua by Saturday, so that Maik can reach his plane. The weather forecast predicted very weak winds and so we expected a journey time of eleven to twelve hours for the route of 55 Nautical miles. Shortly after dark we anchored and set sail. Good, that we had practiced these maneuvers again and again before, because at night every move should be perfect. Maik steered the CESARINA out of the bay and then headed north. A night trip for a novice sailing enthusiast could hardly have been more impressive than that night. The starry sky was overwhelming and the CESARINA glided gently through the water. Since you don't see much, the ears suddenly turn into eyes and address the senses in a completely different way. The wind freshened up and out of the planned 5 Cruising speed knots were then 7,5 to 8,5 Knot speed. For me it is always a great feeling to feel, how much security and strength our CESARINA conveys. Apparently Maik felt the same way, because he just couldn't find rest. Trust in him meanwhile let me sleep deeply and soundly in the bunk for an hour, completely relaxed. In other words, he had passed his probationary period J
The unexpectedly high speed resulted, that we were standing in front of the entrance to Falmouth Harbor at two-thirty at night. The manual expressly warns against entering the bay at night. Shallows and unlit objects mean a risk that should not be underestimated. If I hadn't been here before, I wouldn't have made the passage either. After a short time we were safely anchored and we were soon able to go pounding with peace of mind.
On Thursday we took the local bus to St. John and took a tour of the city. We also visited the local museum. The sad story of slavery in particular bothered us both. How cruel people can be. When I think of the current situation in Germany, where the many deeply inhuman posts about refugees appear on Facebook and the like, I am particularly ashamed. That afternoon I wished, that exactly the comrades should get an idea here on site, how well we are in Germany. But I'm afraid, that would be "spoken in the wind".
On Friday we sailed towards Jolly Harbor and dropped anchor in Deep Bay. I would know, that the SY LONI 3 would also be here with Eckhard and his wife Loni. We sailed across the Bay of Biscay together and have kept in touch ever since.
Because of our draft of 2.60 m, we had chosen an anchorage in deeper water and I was a few hundred meters across the bay to the anchorage of the LONI 3 swam. Eckhard had created a sundowner to welcome them, who had it all. After a further 3 I was still drunk for hours. Even after swimming back on board, I was still dizzy. When Eckhard does something, then he does it really thoroughly. The next day I found out, that 80% rum was involved J Cheers!
The week went by quickly and on Saturday around half past twelve Maik was already sitting in the taxi to the airport. We had a good week and he was able to soak up some sun for a few days and at least forget about his company for a while. I would prefer to use our guests' smartphones purely for “self-protection”, who come here to relax on board, close it in the safe or deactivate the email function.
In any case, I'm really looking forward to my dive on Monday morning with “INDIGO Divers” and to Katja's return on Monday afternoon J