At anchor at Tank Bay, English Harbour, Antigua.

Did a little Wi-Fi. Geez, doing Facebook is a pain at the best of times (it puts a huge performance drag on my laptop, for some reason), but doing it through a flaky Wi-Fi connection and with a "sticky" trackpad really sucks.

Packed my suitcase. Put the sails in the cockpit. Recaulked the base of the mainmast. Brought various buckets and jugs from deck into cockpit. Turned off engine intake through-hull. Turned off wind-generator; if I thought a hurricane really was coming, I'd climb the mizzenmast and take the blades off.

Just as I showered on the stern deck at noon, a big rainsquall came through, with cold rain that felt like hail.

Dinghied ashore and disposed of two bags of garbage. Then went looking for someone to give me a dinghy-ride. First boat I went to, "Shakwe", obliged. Back to my boat, hoisted and locked the dinghy and locked up the boat, and then the guy from "Shakwe" arrived and gave me a ride to shore. Walked up to the Dockyard entrance and started waiting for a bus.

In a couple of minutes, a taxi guy arrived, and talked me into taking his taxi to the airport. Cost EC$50 (US$18.50) instead of the EC$80 Simon had said, and the driver said it was because business was so bad. Ended up happy I took the taxi; the drive was longer than I expected, I didn't have to haul my bags from one bus to another, and it was almost 1:45 by the time I got through ticketing and security, for a 2:50 boarding for a 3:35 departure. So the two-bus hop would have cut it a little close, maybe. Flight left early, too.

In hindsight, might have told the taxi driver a little too much about my boat being unattended and me being gone for 3 weeks. But I did tell him someone would be watching it (not true). And it's locked up with grills on the hatches and a cable through the outboard.

Had to pay an EC$70 (US$28) departure tax.

Hard to get an AC outlet for my laptop inside the airport: the outlets were either dead, had no chairs near them, or had chairs full of people. Eventually got an outlet just as my flight started boarding.

Smooth flight to Miami, with an empty seat next to me. Carried baby stroller for the lady in the window seat, as we walked about a mile through the airport to Immigration. Then to baggage claim, and as we waited, it occurred to me that I haven't seen this many women in a month or two. Through Customs, then turned the baggage in again, through security, and to the gate. Clustered around a power-pillar with three other laptop-users, and updated my log file.

This really is interesting; the women here are just fascinating to me. I've been isolated too much on the boat the last couple of months.

Smooth flight to Philly, arriving before midnight. Got my rental-car right at 1:00, and at my brother's townhouse by 2. A quick shower (heaven!) and into bed. I think I had a little too much caffeine today; I wasn't tired while driving here, and it took a while to get to sleep. Boat's at anchor at Tank Bay, English Harbour, Antigua; I'm in NJ/PA.

Good timing: I've missed a stretch of really hot weather. Was 102-103 degrees here a few days ago.

Ahh, FIOS internet access, TV, and NPR. Nice.

To Walmart et al to buy some stuff. Bought a couple of garden-solar lights (less than $4 each at Home Depot, couldn't resist), USB mouse, USB speakers, solar shower, clothing.

I've been thinking of buying myself a new laptop for Christmas. Saw some Compaq laptops in Walmart for $400 or so, which seemed unbelievably low to me. And they're quite a bit better than my current 6-year-old laptop, of course.

Going through the paper mail that has accumulated in the last 5 months or so, found a notice about a 401K account I'd forgotten I had (thought I'd transferred and closed all of those accounts when I retired). Maybe I have paperwork on it on the boat somewhere. It was a confusing situation where I'd worked for company A, which got acquired by company B, which got acquired by company C, then I quit, and later company C got acquired by company D. And in there, some of the companies switched from one 401K firm to another, so I had paperwork from 5 or 6 different 401K accounts. Anyway, nice to have extra money I'd forgotten about.

Argh ! Bought the wrong type of speakers for my laptop. I want ones that connect to only the USB port, getting power and audio from there, since the analog audio part of my laptop died a while ago. But most speakers say they are "USB" on the box without telling you if the audio comes through USB or headphone jack.

Drove Mom down to DC to see her brother in the hospital (he's in bad shape). Stayed at her sister's place, then back north the next day. Had one of my two-day headaches while coming back and the next day, sinus and tension and what-not.

Ordered some things online: 3M 101 caulk, Kevlar gloves.

Returned the laptop speakers to Walmart and bought a "laptop speaker bar" at Best Buy.

Received the Kevlar gloves; they don't feel as plastic-y as I expected, they feel like knit cloth gloves made with dense thread.

Ordered two 36-LED swivel-type lamps for my cockpit (Kaper L26-0068; total $66 plus shipping). Had a hard time ordering; the web site is "unmaintained", their dealer list is inaccurate, and they didn't respond to email. So I called them, got probably the head of sales, and placed the order directly.

As of 7/19, a tropical Low has started up off the north coast of the Virgin Islands (maybe explaining the rough weather my friend Mark saw there a day or two ago). Predicted to head WNW (so no threat to my boat in Antigua) and not quite get to hurricane strength.

Had a nice lunch and chat with my friend Stacy, who bought a Krogen 42 trawler in Norfolk a few years ago.

Went to the beach at Belmar NJ; nice. Temperature going to be 100 tomorrow.

About a day-and-a-half before flying back to the boat, I called Kaper and asked "where are my LED lamps and why hasn't a charge appeared on my credit card ?". Turns out their computer ate the order again (it ate it once the first time I was on the phone with them), and they didn't have my address and phone number written down on paper. So I gave them that info again and the lamps will arrive in NJ a week after I'm back on the boat.

New ATM card didn't arrive before I left. Boat's at anchor at Tank Bay, English Harbour, Antigua; I'm in NJ/PA.

Up at 2:30, to the airport, and sitting at the gate by 4:15 for a 6 AM departure. Free Wi-Fi !

Hmmm, on Friday the wind will be ENE 20, great for going S to Guadeloupe, but the waves will be 8 feet from the E. Probably best to wait until next week.

Cold on the airplane. Woman next to me asked for a blanket, and was told "we don't give out blankets, but I can sell you one for $8" ! Cold in Miami airport too. No free Wi-Fi. But lots of pretty women.

Arrived in Antigua; nicely hot here, around 85 degrees and bit muggy. Through officialdom, and looked for a taxi. Tried to beat the official rate by calling the driver I had three weeks ago, but one payphone had the handset ripped off and the other had a jammed coin-slot. A porter tried calling a friend of his, but he wouldn't beat the official rate. So I had to pay US$31 for a taxi-van to English Harbour; not too bad for such a long trip.

Boat's afloat; that's a good sign ! Into the bar/club next to my boat, and they're demolishing the place and moving across the harbor. Got a dinghy-ride from Simon (AKA "Boo") within 10 minutes or so, just 100 feet out to my boat; arrived at 3:45. Simon arrived about 15 minutes ahead of me, after flying back from the UK; too bad we didn't share a taxi. Unlocked the boat, opened hatches, checked it out, and everything looks fine !

I noticed that Simon left his boat hanging on just one anchor while he was out of town. But I'm sure he has several buddies here who would put out more anchors for him if a hurricane threatened.

Replaced the galley water filter.

PB-crackers for dinner.

Hoisted the jib and mainsail.

Still, muggy evening with a few mosquitoes, but not too uncomfortable.







At anchor at Tank Bay, English Harbour, Antigua.

Turned on the refrigerator and loaded it up with as much stuff as I could.

Wind started blowing hard after 10 or so.

Into the dinghy. Brought the third and fourth anchors in near the bow. Onto the bow, and pulled the lines in and then hoisted the anchors up. Washed everything off a little. Disconnected the anchors and connected the lines behind the chains on the primary and secondary anchors. Stowed the anchors on the stern deck. Rolled up the lines onto the reels in the chain locker. Sweaty, messy work.

Did a little Wi-Fi. Not sure if I want to go to Guadeloupe tomorrow or wait until Monday. Don't want to go on the weekend because officials may be closed, at one end or the other. Wind is a little better tomorrow, but waves are 7-8 feet from E instead of 6 feet on Monday. And I still have to get anchors up, and scrape the prop. Maybe buy some food. I think I'll go Monday. [Later realized that means I'd check out on Monday afternoon and go on Tuesday morning; doubt the officials here are open on Sunday.]

Put on my new Kevlar gloves, and they're a bit too tight (I'm sure I ordered extra-large, but there's no size shown on the tags on the gloves). Into the dinghy, and tried to raise the second anchor, by following the chain out from the bow. But the chain seems to be snagged on something on the bottom, about 30 feet from the bow. Couldn't get it to budge, lifting from the dinghy. So I'll have to try it from the bow, using the weight of the boat, tomorrow.

Dinghied ashore, walked to the grocery store in the Yacht Club, and got a few groceries. Hot afternoon, and the place is pretty dead. As I saw yesterday, passing by in the taxi, there are very few boats anchored in Falmouth Harbour; good thing I didn't leave the boat here and have to try to bum a dinghy-ride over here. Back to the boat without any dawdling.

Added water to the batteries. Got battery-acid in an anchor-rode cut on my fingertip; stung like hell until I washed it out.

Shaved, gave myself a major haircut, and showered on the stern deck. Felt good.

Chicken-onion-cabbage-rice and a rum-and-coke for dinner. Ate on the foredeck. At anchor at Tank Bay, English Harbour, Antigua.

Windy and gusty. Rainsquall at 6:30.

Started the engine, and it started and ran fine. Took about 45 minutes to raise the second anchor, in windy conditions with the chains twisted around each other, and first the chain snagged on something and then the anchor well fixed. There's definitely a snag down there; the primary chain caught on it too, briefly. Maybe more than one snag.

Swinging a little close to Simon's boat now, on one anchor with a little NE in the wind. Might have to raise anchor and move this afternoon.

After lunch, took another 45 minutes or so to stow the primary anchor rope, then the secondary chain, disconnecting the anchor, untwisting the chains, and then reconnecting the anchor.

Did a little Wi-Fi. Hmmm: tropical storm "Invest 90" has suddenly appeared, projected to pass over here as a category 1 hurricane in about 5 days. The forecast could change completely, but I'd better keep an eye on this. And it complicates my plans to go to Guadeloupe; I probably could get there a day or two ahead of the storm, but then might have to look for a hurricane hole right away, and be in trouble if anything went wrong and I couldn't get to one.

Finally had an attack of common sense: dinghied ashore and went to the port office and asked about their Sunday hours. Open until 4, but they might sneak out early, so I'd better get there by 2:30 (that's what they told me). No overtime charges.

Disposed of a bag of garbage. Back past the boat, and walked over to the Falmouth side. Exchanged half a dozen books at the snack bar bookshelf. Got a couple of groceries, and back to the boat. Hot.

Salad and tuna-salad sandwiches for dinner.

Wind stalled out after midnight, and it got warm and buggy.

Around 3:30, I went out on deck to find that the tiny bit of wind was from the NW, a direction that has me closest to Simon's boat. If the wind strengthened, we'd collide. I debated starting the engine and moving away, but the engine startup would have jolted everyone nearby out of their sleep. Watched the boats and the wind off and on for the next 45 minutes or so, and finally we got some NE wind, the boats moved apart, and I could relax. At anchor at Tank Bay, English Harbour, Antigua.

Did some Wi-Fi. Frustrated trying to get info about "Invest 90": as of 10:15 AM, wunderground still showing data from yesterday at 2 PM.

Another attack of common sense: why sweat at night ? Had a Caframo fan, but a while ago it fell over and the blades shattered (pic). So got out a spare fan, built a little platform for it (pic), and put it next to my berth; will use it tonight.

Had thought of moving to the other, cleaner end of the harbor and snorkeling under the boat today. But decided to stay here tonight, for better Wi-Fi and to keep my spot in case that hurricane keeps coming here. So started the engine, moved the bow over, and put the second anchor down with 40-50 feet of chain. Ended up only 15-20 feet further from Simon's boat, but that's enough for comfort, and now I have a chain to pull on in the middle of the night if I need to move away from him. And I shouldn't move toward him in light NW wind anyway.

At noon, "Invest 90" has disappeared from wunderground ! Maybe I caught them in the midst of an update. [Still no info at 1:30.]

Dinghied over to the fuel dock, to get 10 gallons of diesel, as a cushion for the trip to and around Guadeloupe. But they're closed: summer hours are MWF 8-4. So back past the boat, and walked over to the gas station on the Falmouth side, carrying a jug. Got about 5 gallons of diesel for around US$17. Schlepped it back to the dinghy and out to the boat. Hot.

Did Wi-Fi at 3. Blog entry from 2 PM says "Invest 90L" has gotten disorganized and NHC is no longer generating forecast tracks for it, so that explains that. Wind/wave forecast looks good all week except for Thursday, when it gets wacky. But should be safe on west coast of Guadeloupe. And lighter conditions there than on Antigua.

Chili and a rum-and-coke for dinner. Ate out on the foredeck to beat the heat.

Ashore, a convoy of cars blaring horns arrived around 7; maybe it's a wedding party ?

Loud music ashore from 11:30 to 4 AM; a big party, with a DJ and dance lights. Only about 200 feet from the boat, so it was inescapable. Didn't bother me too much, but kept me awake much of the night. At anchor at Tank Bay, English Harbour, Antigua.

Windy. Did some Wi-Fi, but had trouble getting connected. Looks like that storm is "organized" again, now called "Invest 91". Finally got some 8 AM Sunday info: most models have it going N of the NE Caribbean (us) 3-4 days from now, but not far N of Anegada. One model has it going S of here, maybe between Dominica and Martinique. Intensity now going up to 90 MPH, which is what, category 2 ? Wind/wave forecast not changed much, except the weird wind on Thursday will be a lot lighter than forecast yesterday. Waves a bit higher than I'd like for crossing tomorrow (E 7 near Antigua, E 6 near Guadeloupe), but that's what comes with moderately strong wind. So I think I'll head to Guadeloupe tomorrow early AM.

Added 1/2 quart of oil to the engine.

Started engine at 10:10, and started raising anchors, in fairly stiff wind. Paused halfway to chat across to Simon, who was curious to know where I was going. He hadn't heard about the hurricane. Got the anchors up and motored out to the SE end of the harbor. Anchor down by 10:40 at Freeman Bay, English Harbour, Antigua. A little too close to a mooring float, but I'm too lazy to move (may regret it if that float gets snagged on my prop). Wind swirling unpredictably as usual in this spot. Some whitecaps out in the open water, but the waves don't look too huge. A little rolly in here, as expected.

No free Wi-Fi here.

Sure enough, within 20 minutes that mooring float was twisted around the painters to the hard dinghy, and the force was bending the big U-bolt the painters are tied to. Launched the inflatable dinghy and untwisted the mess.

After an early lunch, went snorkeling under the boat. The amount of growth on the hull is impressive, a result of a hull overdue for bottom-painting and a mangrove anchorage with stagnant water and plenty of nutrients. Scraped about 2/3 of the hull, and the prop and rudder and the bottom of the hard dinghy. Spent about 75 minutes doing it, and got lots of wriggling little brine shrimp all over me.

Dinghied ashore before 2, and disposed of a bag of garbage. Then to the port office by 2, fearing a dollar-intensive check-out procedure. But I was amazed: instead of charging me $12 for the last 4 days of port fees, the guy said "no charge, everyone says Antigua is too expensive". And there was no mention of the $50 embarcation (departure) fee, despite big signs about it. I had to pay it when I flew out on July 8. Maybe it only applies to departure by commercial service ? I didn't bring up the subject, and got my departure clearance without paying a dime. Nice !

I mentioned the hurricane to them, and asked if they could access a 2 PM update on the internet. The Customs guy tried, and said wunderground said "no tropical activity". From the bad angle I had on his computer screen, it didn't look to me as though he was looking at wunderground. None of the officers had heard of the storm.

Wanted to sit on the shady, breezy second floor of the officer's quarters and read my book, but they've taken in the chairs. So back to the boat.

At 3:45, I was below, using the laptop, when a sudden squall caught me with all hatches open and clothing drying on the lifelines and the cockpit coaming. Had to dash to bring everything in and close up.

Checked engine oil. Cleaned engine intake strainer, which had lots of seaweed in it, then couldn't get it closed again. The wingnut on top has always grabbed by just a thread or two (a dangerous situation; could sink the boat if it lets go), and now I guess the washers have swelled and it won't grab at all. So I carved a new washer out of thin gasket stock, and that fixed it. Might try a different nut, later.

Watched the boat pass over top of that mooring float a few times, and decided I really didn't want to have a problem when I try to leave tonight. At 4:50, raised anchor and moved 100 feet or so.

More rain.

Salad and cheese-and-crackers for dinner.

More rain at 6:35. Squalls keep coming over. Not a good sign for going to Guadeloupe. At anchor at Tank Bay, English Harbour, Antigua.

Up at 1:45 AM, and wanted to leave around 2. But just as I had everything ready and the engine running, a big squall came over and it started raining heavily. Tried to wait it out, but after 10 minutes it had eased a bit but not stopped. Put on my foul-weather jacket and raised anchor in the rain. Then unfurled mainsail and jib. Motored out, watched landmarks carefully to make sure I don't hit the small reef or the rocky fort. Not a problem: I looked it over this afternoon and evening, and noted the landmarks. Out of harbor by 2:30, and motor-sailing S.

By 2:45, engine off and sailing S, making 3.5 knots or so. Waves not as bad as I feared, but they're substantial, and coming from the E, so it's going to be a rolly trip. Keeping the sails full of wind should slow the rolls.

Squalls coming through every half-hour or so, and I'm worried that one of them might be strong enough to blow out one of my sails or cause something to fail. Not a chance of furling the sails for each squall: I can't really see them coming, there're too many of them, and the boat is rolling heavily, so going on deck to furl the mainsail would be dangerous. I settle for turning the boat somewhat downwind and running with the wind from each squall, to try to minimize the pressure on the sails. Boat speed getting up to 6 knots in squalls, and 4 to 4.5 otherwise.

Feeling queasy around 4 AM; too much rolling, not much of a horizon to look at, and I have to check the compass frequently. The boat usually stays balanced and steers itself, but the seas knock it sideways every now and then. A bit of a moon tonight, but the clouds are covering it most of the time.

First light at 5:15, and my queasiness starts to ease a bit.

At 5:45, sunrise behind clouds.

Around 6:45, a big, slow ship passed about 5 miles ahead of me.

At 7:10, I can see the outline of Guadeloupe ahead of me, Antigua behind me, and Montserrat off to the W.

No more squalls after that point, until arriving at the harbor, although I got the wind from a couple of squalls that missed me. Often sailing at 4.5 to 5 knots or more, which is nice.

At 7:30, ran engine for a minute, to circulate the transmission fluid. The prop and shaft are freewheeling as I sail, and doing that for long periods of time at high speeds can damage the transmission.

Start approaching Guadeloupe. As usual, feels like I'll never get there; the last couple of hours crawl by.

Around 10:45, I start getting some shelter from the island. And I notice that the main painter for the hard dinghy has parted (again).

At 11:35, I'm at the harbor, and I start the engine and furl the sails. As I start in, a big rainsquall comes down from the hills and into the harbor.

Find a spot, and lower the anchor in the rain. Done by 11:55 at Deshaies, Guadeloupe.

Well, that was a good trip ! About 9.5 hours to cover about 43 NM, so averaging about 4.5 knots, and I sailed the whole way. Mostly on a beam reach. I relearned something I knew: my boat likes more wind than I'm comfortable with. On a beam reach in 18-20 knots of wind, it performs decently (as long as nothing breaks).

Start picking up all of the stuff that fell off the shelves during the trip. And it starts pouring rain. Hot inside the boat, I'm sweaty and tired and sticky, and I can't open any hatches. And I need to go ashore to check in with the officials.

Well, the rainsqualls keep coming and coming. Every time one finishes, I go on deck to stow stuff and start launching the dinghy, and within a minute or two the next squall is arriving. Crazy ! Finally I slow down, make some lunch, and sit eating and reading, waiting out the rain. The officials here are supposed to be pretty casual; they won't mind if I can't get ashore right away.

A little before 2, there's a gap between squalls, and I launch the dinghy and head ashore. The little fishing-boat-harbor is packed with boats and has no dinghy dock. I go up a nasty brown little "river" and tie up there, next to another dinghy and various local skiffs. I trudge up the road to where Customs is supposed to be, and follow a sign to "Bureau de Douane". I'm surprised to find them open; both guidebooks say you may have to try multiple times to find them open.

Just a one-page form to fill out, no money to pay, and soon I'm done. I joke about the rain, and the woman officer says it's supposed to rain like this all week ! Then I ask if they know anything about the tropical storm / hurricane, and they call the head guy out of the back room. But all I get from him is a torrent of French, and then some English saying "go to the internet cafe in town and go to the French Met office web site". Thanks.

Of course it's raining again when I leave. Down to the dinghy, out to the boat, and it stops raining long enough to let me hoist and stow the dinghy. One of those days with low grey clouds preventing much solar power, and no wind for wind power. And the boat is humid and drenched. But I'm here, and all is well !

Dumped 10 gallons of rainwater from buckets to jugs and tank. Could have dumped more; didn't empty all of the buckets, and didn't worry about spilling a couple of gallons.

Four other sailboats here, and three of them look like occupied cruising boats. Half a dozen other boats, and the fishing-boat harbor is full of small boats. But the town looks pretty small. A few more sailboats came in before dark. One catamaran anchored too close in front of me, but when I talked to them, they said they weren't staying there. An hour later, they moved further out.

At 3:30, rain followed by sun, and it stayed fairly sunny for the rest of the evening. But we're surrounded by high hills, so a squall can appear quickly and surprise us.

Realized that the snorkeling yesterday gave me some welts where things bit me, and some open scrapes on my feet where the fins chafed me (forgot to wear my snorkel-socks).

Cornedbeef-noodle and a rum-and-coke for dinner.

Heavy rain at 11, and again around midnight.

Found a little bit of English-language radio after midnight, but most stations are French. But once away from the hills here, I might be able to get more English-language stations. At anchor at Deshaies, Guadeloupe.

Feeling a bit tired and headachey. Weather grey and damp. Rain at 6:30 and 8:20.

Got a little free Wi-Fi. Position of boat and shore antenna required that I sit on forward part of cockpit with laptop on my lap and one hand holding Wi-Fi antenna out the door, an awkward position. But it worked. Found that the storm is now TS Colin, is tracking a bit further north than when I last looked at it, and is not forecast to become a hurricane any time soon. No threat to me here. Looks like weather here is going to be strange for next week or so, starting tomorrow: light wind of 10 knots or less, from many directions.

Frequent rain from 10:45 to 2:30 or so.

Dinghied ashore around noon, and walked through the town a bit. A couple of internet cafes (€8 for a day of Wi-Fi at one place, €2 for 90 minutes of Wi-Fi at another). Didn't see where you could check in or out, but most of the signs (all in French only) were Greek to me. The gas station sells diesel, and had rack after rack of butane tanks; wonder if getting a propane refill on this island will be difficult ?

Got €70 at the ATM at the Post Office, apparently with no fee charged. Found the Spar "supermarket", which is small but well-stocked. Prices about the same as on Antigua, unfortunately, but they had a few special sales going. And this is a small town; probably cheaper in the bigger towns. Bought some "chipolatas" (sausages); I saw that word in a Harry Potter book and was able find out nothing about it on the internet, and now I have some. Would have expected to find them on a British island, not a French one. Bought €26 worth of groceries, including some 100-proof local rum for &euro6.50/liter. Found out you're supposed to bring your own bags, so I had to buy one.

Got rained on as I got near the dinghy, waited out the worst of it under a roof for a minute, then got rained on some more as I went out to the boat. Ended up hot, sweaty and wet, and it's still raining so I can't open up the boat. But there was enough breeze to cool me off in the cockpit.

Dumped 4 gallons of rainwater from buckets to tank. Could have dumped more.

Bailed out the hard dinghy, which had 5-10 gallons of nasty algae-ridden water in it.

Weather clear and sunny and breezey in the late afternoon, again.

Nice light, so I took a picture of town from the boat: pic (big).

Salad and cheese sandwich for dinner. Not sure what kind of cheese I bought today; I think it's more of a "cheese-like processed food substance". But it does have an artificial rind on it, and it tastes good.

Couldn't get my anchor light to light. Fortunately, years ago I got tired of climbing the mast to fix it, and brought it down and put it on a wire so I can hang it from the boom or inside the pilothouse. So it will be easy to work on. At anchor at Deshaies, Guadeloupe.

Woke to find the fresh-water pump running constantly, and dry. There's a very slow leak in the intake side of the water system somewhere; usually I leave the power to the pump turned off. The running doesn't seem to have damaged the pump, but it's not intended to run for long periods of time, and not dry.

Sunny and light wind from SW this morning; atypical, as forecast. Maybe that means we won't get the rain today ?

Did a bucket of laundry.

Did Wi-Fi.

By noon, wind blowing fairly hard from SW, keeping dark clouds over the island from coming over us, mostly.

Fixed the problem with the anchor light: loose wire on the socket I was plugging it into.

Couldn't get any Wi-Fi in the afternoon.

Spaghetti and a rum-and-coke for dinner.

A bit rolly in the evening: swells from SW, then wind stalled and very light from SE. At anchor at Deshaies, Guadeloupe.

Loafed all day, reading and computing. Did a little Wi-Fi. Light wind from SW.

A couple of small sloops sailing around in the late afternoon (pic).

Salad and cheese sandwich for dinner.

Some time after midnight, the typical wind-flow came back, and the wind blew fairly hard from the E for the rest of the night. At anchor at Deshaies, Guadeloupe.

Wind blowing pretty hard by 9.

After lunch, dinghied out to the NW corner of the harbor and did some snorkeling. A pleasant swim, but not very good snorkeling: mostly rocks, very little coral, some fish, pretty deep water.

Got a tiny bit of flaky Wi-Fi.

Dinghied ashore and went to the small supermarket. Went a little too early; town stays mostly closed from 12 to 4. Poor selection of very high-priced bread in the store; maybe I'm supposed to go to a bakery instead ? Got some groceries and back to the boat.

Chicken-onion-cabbage-carrot-rice and a rum-and-coke for dinner. Ate out on the foredeck. At anchor at Deshaies, Guadeloupe.

Wind blowing hard again this morning.

Got a bit of flaky Wi-Fi.

Engine start at 9:45, and anchor up by 9:55. Out and sails unfurled and sailing by 10. Wind very variable, shifting direction from NE to E to SE and strength going up and down, caused by the hills on the island. Boat speed from 3 to 5 knots. Very small swells, from the stern, mostly. Pleasant.

About 4 miles down the coast, the wind faded quite a bit, and speed dropped to the 1.5 to 2.5 range, in not quite the direction I wanted to go. Totally becalmed a few times. Several sailboats motor-sailed past me. Waited it out, had an early lunch, and eventually got some bursts of strong SE wind that let me sail about 4 knots in a good direction. But down to 2.5 between nice times.

Eventually neared a point NW of Pigeon Island, and the wind was blowing straight from the harbor. Engine start at 12:45 and furled the sails, and motored in, crossing behind a sailboat that had been gaining on me (pic). Arrived around 1:20, and the harbor is rolly and full of moorings and moored boats. Did a loop around for 15 or 20 minutes, and ended up back at first spot I saw. Anchor down by 1:45 at Anse Malendure (Pigeon Island), Guadeloupe.

No free Wi-Fi here.

Noticed that the GPS antenna on the pilothouse roof has come loose. Might have been knocked over by the boom; maybe the topping lift has stretched a little.

Rain at 2:30 and 4:20; squalls coming off the island pretty frequently.

Salad and tuna-salad sandwiches and a rum-and-coke for dinner.

Light rain from squalls much of the night. Rolling not too bad until 4 AM or so, then it got worse. At anchor at Anse Malendure (Pigeon Island), Guadeloupe.

Pretty rolly this morning. Uncomfortable.

Engine start at 11:25, anchor up by 11:35, and motored out to Pigeon Island. Wanted to pick up a mooring ball in the lee of the island, to get shelter from the swells, but the only one there is very close to the rocky shore. So tried for a more-exposed ball on the W end of the island, missed the first try, picked a ball a little further in, and got it. Done by 11:55 at NW corner of Pigeon Island. Can see bubbles from SCUBA divers next to the boat.

Lowered the dinghy, into the water, and went snorkeling. As expected, deep and rocky here, and little coral. Few fish, but they're bigger than usual. Pretty exposed and rough here. Did a fairly quick snorkel and back out. As I washed up, started getting rained on.

Engine start at 12:35, slipped the mooring, and motored south. Almost no wind. Down the coast and into the only available harbor. It's smaller than expected, and the only water not full of moorings for small skiffs is 40 feet deep. Found some 10-foot-deep water along one edge that has me swinging too close to one unused mooring float; with luck, it will remain unused tonight. Swinging close to a rock shore, too. Anchor down by 2 PM at Anse a la Barque. Not much here but a main road passing by. Sucks, but it's the only shelter on this corner of the island.

Some swell coming in, so if I get sideways to the harbor entrance, I roll.

Chewing over a choice: do I want to leave very early tomorrow to get around the SW corner of the island and up into the middle ? Or leave at 8, say, stop at Basse Terre and spend a night there ? Or even backtrack to Deshaies and end up going to the north side of the island ? I need to provision up at a big supermarket; Basse Terre has a couple of those. But it has almost nowhere to anchor, and no shelter at all; I'll be rolling all day and night. If I go north back to Deshaies, I'll have to go through the river that splits this island in two, before I get to the big city (Pointe a Pitre) and good shopping. Finally I decide: leave early, don't stop at Basse Terre, go up into the middle of the island. A shame to skip Basse Terre, it sounds like a nice place, but maybe I'll take a bus to it later.

Several weak rainsqualls during the afternoon.

Eventually had the bright idea of waiting until almost dark, and then grabbing onto the nearest mooring, which looks pretty sturdy. That will keep me from swinging into boats or shore if a sudden wind comes up.

Chili and a rum-and-coke for dinner. At anchor at Anse a la Barque.

Grey and threatening rain. Retied the main topping lift. Engine start at 5:45, anchor up by 5:50, unfurled sails, motored out. No wind.

Almost ran over a long net three fishing-skiffs were putting out; had to be about 1/3 of a mile long, with few floats. They waved me off just in time.

Raining and grey. Kept raining all the way down the coast. Boat making 4.8 knots for some reason; must have half a knot or more of current in my favor.

Turned the SW corner of the island, Pointe du Vieux Fort (pic), at 8:10, and now there's wind, as expected. Motor-sailed for another 15 minutes or so, making 3.8 knots, but not in the direction I want to go. The wind is straight on the nose from the direction I want to go. So I furled the mainsail and motored, making about 3 to 3.2 knots.

Saw several ferries going back and forth between Guadeloupe and Iles des Saintes. One passed very close to me.

A long slog up the coast. Weather got nicer, wind easing a little, and sunny.

Saw a couple of sailboats far off on the horizon. Not much traffic today, here.

Tried to get some drive-by Wi-Fi as I rounded Pointe de la Capesterre, but I'm really fairly far out. Connected to two signals briefly, but one was for-pay and the other was too faint to work.

Last 6-8 miles pretty rolly; beam-on to the swells, and not enough wind to keep the mainsail full. Really almost no wind; most of the apparent wind is coming from the boat speed.

Last 1-2 miles pretty confusing: the terrain doesn't match the chart in my guidebook. Supposed to be a tiny island (Caye a Dupont) off to the E, with a wreck and a yellow marker on the N end of it. I see a wreck, a lot of shoals running to the S, and a yellow marker on the S end of the shoals. Supposed to be two biggish islands (Ilet Fortune) to the W, with shoals S of it. I see one biggish island with shoals to N and S of it, and a yellow marker N of the shoals. And the depths I'm seeing as I head up E of the W island don't match the charted depths.

So I trust my eyes and the depth-sounder, and turn in N of the shoals N of the W island. A lot deeper here than charted, and there's a red buoy that's not on the chart. But I nose into shallow water, and put the anchor down by 1:50 at Ilet Fortune.

Nice here: calm, quiet, lots of room, far from land so it shouldn't be buggy. And the nearest town, Goyave, looks like it might be more interesting than I expected: about a dozen 40-foot sailboats anchored around it. One trawler and one motorboat anchored out here at Ilet Fortune; I don't see how they threaded their way into their positions. But I'm happy right where I am; no need to get in close.

Surprised to find a couple of Wi-Fi signals here; I'm pretty far out. But nothing free.

Various skiffs coming by, taking people between Goyave and Ilet Fortune, for swimming and whatever. Some of them came very close by making big wakes; annoying. There's a marked channel into Goyave; that's not on the chart.

Salad and cheese-and-crackers for dinner.

Slept like a log; very nice anchorage.

Heard a little BBC radio in the early AM; nice. Haven't been able to get it since leaving Antigua. At anchor at Ilet Fortune, Guadeloupe.

Fairly grey morning, with huge rain-squalls passing north and south of me. Dramatic views of the storms hitting Basse Terre (the volcanic island that forms the west part of Guadeloupe) and Pointe a Pitre (the main city, on the east island). But no way to get a decent photograph of them.

Had planned to go ashore to Goyave this morning, but ended up loafing instead. Rain at 11:25.

Cut the GPS antenna mount down a bit, sanded it, and glued it back onto the top of the pilothouse roof. Can be lower now that I moved the solar panels to the other side a couple of years ago. Antenna seemed to work even lying on its side.

Dinghied in to Goyave, following a channel marked with sticks. There's a channel marked with big official metal buoys, but it's in close to the mangroves and I don't like the color of water in it. Makes a weird turn, too. Almost looks like the buoys have drifted in there from other places.

Found an empty spot in the marina and tied up. Lots of teenaged boys loitering around and looking at me curiously; hope nothing happens to the dinghy. The "marina" turns out to be more of a fishing-boat station, like the one in Parham, Antigua. No office, no fuel dock, no facilities except storage lockers and fish-cleaning tables.

I walk across the street and dispose of two bags of garbage. Then start walking through town, hauling my laptop in a heavy bag. It's hot, and there's nothing interesting in sight. Just houses, one closed-up grocery-type store (it's still siesta time), a couple of bars. Maybe all of the good stuff is up over the hill and half a mile inland. So my list of possible errands evaporates: wanted to get cash, gasoline, groceries, do Wi-Fi. I sit in a park for a few minutes, fire up the laptop, and get no free Wi-Fi. Back to the dinghy and the long ride back to the boat. All I accomplished was to dispose of garbage.

Occasional rain from 5 to 6:30.

Chicken-onion-carrot-rice and a rum-and-coke for dinner.

Heavy rain from 6:45 to 7:30, with some pretty good lightning. Wind is from the S.

Light rain from 7:30 to 8:30 or so, with wind from SW, which is putting me aground. Not a problem; the bottom here is grassy and sandy and firly soft. But I didn't expect wind from the SW.

Out on deck at 10. Very light wind from NE, so I walked around the deck, trying to see if shifting my weight would let the boat slide off ground. It's very lightly grounded, wobbling and bumping. But soon the wind was back to light from the SW, so I gave up. Saw a couple of shooting stars; must be the Perseides. At anchor at Ilet Fortune, Guadeloupe.

Very light wind from SW again, and I'm lightly aground.

Dumped 9-10 gallons of rainwater from buckets to tank, and 5 gallons from buckets to jug.

Engine start at 7:10, and easily slid off the grassy/sandy bottom and into deeper water. Anchor up by 7:15, unfurled the mainsail, and motored NE. Should have bailed out the hard dinghy; it has 10-15 gallons of rainwater in it, and it riding pretty low in the water. But the swell is on the beam, and conditions are very mild, so it should survive a 5-mile tow.

Easy trip up to the city, with a bit of a roll, and not enough wind to keep the mainsail filled and stop the roll. Had to dodge a couple of fast ferries coming out of the harbor as I went in. A few circles in the anchorage I wanted, finding the water a little deeper than I hoped. But had anchor down in 23 feet of water by 8:50, at Pointe a Pitre, Guadeloupe.

As I circled, I noticed that a moored boat seemed to be sinking. As I anchored near it, I saw a couple of guys, including maybe a Coast Guard officer, are aboard it with a pump. Pic.

No free Wi-Fi.

Dinghied ashore into the big Marina Bas du Fort to see if I could get oriented and accomplish a few errands. First stop was a very nice fuel dock. Unfortunately, the fuel truck was delivering fuel, so the pumps were off for 10 more minutes or so. I waited for a while, then realized it was going to be a zoo when the pumps came back on: 4 or 5 boats at the dock waiting for fuel, and 2 more circling, waiting for a spot at the dock. Decided not to bother them with my 1-gallon, non-French-speaking order today.

Dinghied down the north side, looking for the Champion supermarket and a nearby dinghy-dock. Couldn't find either. Back out to the middle, and saw a dinghy-dock at the Capitainerie; I'd missed it first time through. Docked there, wandered a bit, and eventually found the supermarket (of course the entrance and big sign are on the road side, and no sign on the water side). Fairly nice supermarket, but not nearly as big as a USA supermarket. They even had some items on sale. A bit of a hitch at the check-out: I was supposed to weigh and tag the produce down in the produce aisle. I went to do that, came back, and turns out I had pressed the wrong button for my bananas (they sell at least 3 different kinds). But the check-out lady was patient. The usual oddities: they didn't seem to carry any peanut butter, no Diet Coke in cans, no jars of chopped garlic, etc. Lots of expensive mystery items, labeled only in French; I'm sure they're all delicious.

Back to the dinghy, and back to the boat. Didn't see an ATM or internet place ashore.

Added some more glue to the GPS antenna mount on top of the pilothouse roof.

Bailed out the hard dinghy.

Bit of an interesting harbor here; has a containership port on one side (pic), main city and hotel complexes north of me, several floating dry-docks in the cove where I'm anchored (pic), and the big marina-and-boatyard complex SE of me. Sunken ship in the cove where I'm anchored (pic). Freighter came out past me just after noon (pics).

Dinghied ashore again in the early afternoon. Fuel dock was empty, and I got some gasoline, but I had sticker-shock. This morning, I read "€0.90/liter" off the gasoline pump. Which seemed a bit expensive: at 3.8 liters/USgallon and US$1.32/€, that's US$4.51/USgallon for gasoline. So I'd been thinking that I made the wrong choice; I had been trying to decide whether to fuel up in Antigua or wait until Guadeloupe, and all of the internet-searching I did would not reveal which place had cheaper fuel prices. Well, it's Antigua, where gasoline was about US$3.50/USgallon, I think.

But wait, there's more ! Turns out the €0.90/liter price is the non-taxable price, the price you get if you've checked out and are leaving the country. The with-tax price is €1.36/liter ! That's US$6.82/USgallon ! Taxable price for diesel is €1.19/liter, or US$5.97/USgallon. Ouch !

Had to buy some gasoline; I'm running low. Bought €10 worth, or about 1.5 USgallons. Might be able to avoid buying diesel here, but probably will have to buy some. Ugly.

Over to the Capitainerie, and walked down to the shopping area. Found an ATM and got €140. Found an internet cafe (with book-exchange) next to the ATM, closed for lunch. Looks like internet costs €4/hour, which is US$5.25/hour; another ouch ! Cheaper if you sign up for a week or a month, and it's possible I could get access right from the boat; will have to look into that. Saw several restaurants that advertised free Wi-Fi, but a drink in them costs a minimum of €3. Still might be worth it.

Back to the Capitainerie. Stopped in and looked at a big rack of tourist-brochures, but everything is in French. Back to the dinghy and back to the boat.

Light rain from 4:20 to 5.

Salad and cheese sandwiches and a rum-and-coke for dinner.

Heavy rain from 5 to 5:35.

A freighter went out past me just before dark.

Heavy rain from 2:15 to 2:30. At anchor at Pointe a Pitre, Guadeloupe.

One freighter went out past me before dawn. One came in at dawn, and another came in at 6:30. Pretty busy port.

Feeling a little headachey this morning.

Dinghied ashore around 9:45. Went deep into the marina complex, which turns out to be even bigger than I thought. All the way to the back, to the Aquarium. Tied up the dinghy on a mudbank and walked out to the street through a locked parking lot for the aquarium.

Followed directions from a guidebook, to go to a megastore, but at first I thought I must be going the wrong way. The directions had me walking on the shoulder of a big highway, with 2-3 lanes of traffic in each direction. But I kept going, got to the first exit, and the megastore was right there.

Got inside, and it's a mall with a dozen small stores (banks, pharmacy, jewelry, shoes, McDonald's). And then the Cora megastore, a huge supermarket. Went in and shopped, and got a little frustrated. Can't buy anything heavy, such as soda, or anything refrigerated, because it's a hike back to the dinghy. Can't find jars of garlic. One brand of peanut butter and it's very expensive. Bought some Nutella to try as a substitute, but it's basically cocoa and sugar and milk. What's a good substitute for peanut butter ? Bought some crackers and other snacks, as much as I felt I could carry. Checked out, walked back to the dinghy, and back to the boat. Hot.

Freighter went out past me as I ate lunch (pic). Another came in around 12:20 (pic).

Still no free Wi-Fi here.

Fast ferry went out (pic).

Usual afternoon dark rainclouds are coming over at 1:15. I'm not going to lack for water on this island. Meant to do laundry this morning; all of my buckets and jugs are full, and I think the water tanks are nearly full.

Dinghied ashore around 3. Disposed of a bag of garbage. Asked at marina office about bridge opening times. Asked about propane refill, and got a flat "no". Went to internet place and found they don't open until 3:30. Book-exchange is in place next door, which doesn't open until 4. Sat down and fired up the laptop, thinking I might get free Wi-Fi from a nearby restaurant, but all of the Wi-Fi signals had security on them.

Then the internet place opened up, so I went in there. Turns out to be €3/hour if you use your own computer. But all of their outlets are French-type, and they didn't have a French-USA adapter. I should have anticipated this. Around the corner to the chandlery, then to an electronics shop, but neither of them had the right kind of adapter.

Back to the dinghy. Stopped at the fuel dock to ask about propane, but no luck there either. Back to the boat.

Feeling a bit depressed. I think the isolation is getting to me: no internet, weather info, radio, conversation for over a week. Now I'm worrying about high fuel prices, and running out of propane. I consider backtracking to Antigua (not appealing), or heading down to Dominica (but no good anchorages there, no hurricane holes, and guidebook says propane is a little awkward to get down there too). Reread the guidebook about getting propane here, and it's not as negative as I first read it to be; there's a place over in the industrial area N of the commercial port where I probably can get it. Getting there might be a chore; best by dinghy, probably.

Chicken-onion-cabbage-carrot-rice and a rum-and-coke for dinner. Adding to my depression: the chicken I bought on sale turns out to be chicken wings (the package was mostly opaque, and who knows what is French for "wings"), and the store-brand diet cola I bought is awful. But getting food and alcohol into me and reading a couple of funny books made me feel better. Ate some chocolatey cookies I bought this morning, too. And I should focus on the positives: nothing serious broken on the boat, lots of facilities and anchorages here, close to a good hurricane hole. The fuel thing is just money, the propane and electrical things are solvable. And the people here are nice, they just don't speak a lot of English. At anchor at Pointe a Pitre, Guadeloupe.

Big freighter came in before dawn; I like to watch them go past. Would be nice to know a little more about what they ship in and out of here.

Feeling a little headachey this morning; took a pill.

Did a bucket of laundry.

A little windier this morning; maybe the tradewind is coming back. Wind's been pretty light the last week or so.

Dinghied up to town. Turns out to be a pretty interesting place. Some sailboats anchored here, all looking unoccupied, and a couple looking derelict (pic; note lack of mast, and presence of pelican). No problem docking the dinghy along a seawall, although a hundred cockroaches fled my approach. Past a smelly fish-market area, where people buy fish straight from fishing-skiffs.

To the Tourist Office, where the nice people gave me a couple of maps and directed me to a place where I could buy a power-outlet adapter. Found the store and bought an adapter-set for €6. Walked down to the (empty) cruise-ship docks, and back along another street. Nice outdoor spice-and-trinkets market, but I didn't see any jars of garlic, and I still don't know the word for garlic [found out: it's "ail"]. Lots of bottles of strange liquors, many with pickled vegetables in them; couldn't figure out if they were mixers for drinks or what. Fair number of pretty women on the streets.

Back to the Tourist Office to ask about propane. At first, the guy said "any gas station", but I pointed out that was for butane or CNG (probably butane). I asked about Sodexgaz, a place the guidebook said was on the industrial side of the harbor, and the guy showed me where it was on the map. It's actually SW of the commercial docks, and on the outside of the peninsula, not inside the harbor. But I couldn't figure out if he was saying you have to go there by boat, or you can't get there by boat. It's on the waterfront, so I'm going to try it on Monday.

Walked S out of town, looking for a couple of businesses shown in the guidebook. But I don't think either of them exists any more. A hot walk through some pretty low-rent streets. Back to town, into the dinghy, and back to the boat. Feeling a bit more cheerful today.

I'm anchored near the "Lights And Buoys" department. At 12:50, a helicopter arrived, carrying an old buoy (pic). Made quite a racket. Left an hour later, carrying nothing.

Found I had a spare one-use propane bottle aboard; is it a 1-pound or 2-pound bottle ? Good enough for several weeks at least, for me.

Dinghied ashore to do internet. Did an hour of Wi-Fi for €3. Connection a bit slow, but part of that was my laptop trying to download/update four things simultaneously. Weather looks fine: no tropical storms, and nothing unusual for here. Lots of email to go through.

Email from my friend Ed on "Angel Louise" said: "We thought that Guadaloupe was most difficult, more foreign to Americans than other French spots". And: skip the Rivier Salee (which starts at N end of town here); too buggy. I had been planning to go through there, to get to the N side of this island, but maybe I won't bother.

He also said some other things I had been thinking: from here, skip Dominica, go to Martinique, then to St Lucia, skip St Vincent, go to Bequia, and on south.

But still lots of good anchorages to see up here, before heading south. And hurricanes are a factor. Riviere Salee here is a good hurricane hole. Martinique has a couple of decent hurricane holes. The rest, no good holes until you supposedly get south of the hurricane area.

After internet, went next door to exchange half a dozen books at the book-exchange in the laundry. Friendly young woman there spouted a lot of French at me before realizing I didn't understand it. Her English was halting, but we chatted a little. She says she's been here 10 years, and still hasn't learned Creole, the other language here.

Back to the boat. Starting to get some weekend idiots zooming around in fast boats.

Salad and tuna-salad sandwiches for dinner. At anchor at Pointe a Pitre, Guadeloupe.

Two loaded container-ships came in, in quick succession, around 6:30. They left again in the evening, after dark, one loaded and one empty. And a gas-tanker went out in midday (pic).

Did a small bucket of laundry.

After lunch, dinghied ashore. Looked around for a shady place to sit and read a book, but didn't find anywhere very good, so didn't stay too long. And there's not much activity in the marina; I thought there would be more on a weekend. To the small supermarket and got some groceries (including garlic powder), and back to the boat.

Chicken-onion-cabbage-couscous and a rum-and-coke for dinner. At anchor at Pointe a Pitre, Guadeloupe.

Added water to the batteries. Cleaned engine intake strainer.

Lots of motorboats zooming around, making wakes.

Salad and cheese sandwiches and a rum-and-coke for dinner.

Pretty nice fireworks over town at 8:20; I think today is a holiday, Assumption Day. At anchor at Pointe a Pitre, Guadeloupe.

Low, dark clouds and threatening rain all day. Decided to postpone the dinghy-ride to see about propane.

Rain at 9:40. At 1, lightning over town. Heavy rain and strong wind from 2 to 2:15 or so.

Chili and a rum-and-coke for dinner.

Ran engine for 30 minutes to charge batteries. At anchor at Pointe a Pitre, Guadeloupe.

Lots of low, dark clouds again this morning, but not as thick as yesterday. By 10 or so, pretty windy, blowing the clouds away.

Got ready to take the propane tank over to the commercial side of the harbor, in search of a refill. But when I unlashed the damned thing and shook it, it still had 3 or 4 pounds of liquid in it ! I keep thinking it's about to run empty, but I'm always wrong. Maybe it's a perpetual tank; I should patent it. Guess I'll just keep cooking until it absolutely runs dry. Lashed it down again.

Dinghied ashore and walked to the big megastore, Cora. Partly just to get off the boat and do something, but also because I really do need to provision up a bit. Got a lot of cereal and snacks and a few other items. A lot of hot walking, to and from. Back to the boat after noon.

Wakes seem to have gotten worse in the last day or so; maybe our angle has changed. Every now and then a ferry comes by and the boat rolls wildly.

Fuel level 6.25 inches at engine hour 4680.

Around 3:30, dinghied ashore to do internet. Noticed that ketch ("Euros IV"), that someone had been pumping out when I arrived a week or so ago, is sinking again; looks bad (pic).

Disposed of a bag of garbage. Into the Capitainerie to ask about busses to Basse Terre and going up the volcano on Basse Terre, but the usual woman wasn't there and the woman covering for her spoke very little English. (Later realized that the name of the volcano is "La Soufriere"; should have asked about it by name.) I had been thinking of reporting that "Euros IV" was sinking again, but it's not moored in their area, and someone already knows it's in repeated danger of sinking, I'm sure. And we just weren't communicating.

To the ATM, and got some cash. To the internet place, and did an hour of Wi-Fi for €3. Weather looks good for heading east down the coast tomorrow and for the next week or so. Went next door to the laundry, and exchanged half a dozen books on their bookshelves.

Hadn't planned on doing groceries, but if I want to leave tomorrow, I should shop now. So I went in and got a few items; didn't have my bags with me, or I would have bought more. Back to the dinghy and back to the boat.

Stowed everything, looked out around 5:30, and that ketch has sunk ! Pic. A shame.

Salad and cheese sandwiches and a rum-and-coke for dinner. At anchor at Pointe a Pitre, Guadeloupe.

Still, muggy morning.

Dumped 5-6 gallons of rainwater from buckets to tank.

Engine start at 8:15. Took a while to get the anchor up, in 24 feet of water (so I'm lifting about 50 pounds when pulling chain, and 95 or so when the anchor comes free). Anchor well stuck in the bottom, and definitely had dragged from the spot I initially had put it down. Finally got it up by 8:35. Unfurled mainsail and motored out.

Straight into the light wind, and a brief motor E along the coast. Into anchorage, avoiding a swimmer, and anchor down by 9:30 at Ilet du Gosier, Guadeloupe.

So this is where the action is ! Lots of boats here: maybe half a dozen cruising boats (such as pic), 8 or 10 local boats moored, and 6 or 8 day-boats. Swimmers on the beaches on the small island and the main island. A small ferry operating between islands. Nice breeze, and only a little roll getting around the reef.

No free Wi-Fi.

Rain from 11:20 to 11:50.

Fairly rolly in the afternoon, with light wind from E. But then the wind moved to N, and the rolling stopped.

Quite a crowd of swimmers on the small island in the later afternoon; place is very popular.

Chicken-onion-cabbage-rice and a rum-and-coke for dinner.

All afternoon, and even at dusk, people have been swimming from the main island to the small island and back. Must be at least 150 yards each way, which doesn't sound like a lot, but it is.

Nice night; got a little rolly in the early AM for a while, but not too bad. At anchor at Ilet du Gosier, Guadeloupe.

People swimming out from main island to small island at 6:15; people here are swimming fools !

Around 9:30, launched the dinghy and headed for the main island, maneuvering around swimmers in the anchorage. The guidebooks say there's a dinghy-dock on the main island here, but it doesn't exist any more. Saw a small beach, E of the main beach, that looked like a possible landing. But I don't like landing on beaches; my dinghy is too heavy to drag far enough out of the surf by myself. Went W the whole length of the big swimming beach, to the W end of town, to look on the other side of a big breakwater. But no way to land there. So back the length of town, and landed on the small beach I first saw. Dragged the dinghy up as far as I could, put the anchor well inland, and hoped the surf doesn't come up and fill up the dinghy while I'm gone. Should be fine; very calm today.

Walked inland, and this town is hilly. Disposed of a bag of garbage. Hot walk up and then down to the swimming beach. Had planned to explore town a bit before buying groceries, but was surprised to find a small warehouse-type food store right next to the swimming beach. I thought this was a tourist-type town, and expected to find small stores and high prices. So I went in, loaded up with food at good prices, and back to the dinghy. No problems there, struggled a bit to drag it back into the water, and back out to the boat by 11 or so. Surprised it's so late; felt like I was ashore for 15 minutes.

In early afternoon, dinghied ashore to the island (Ilet du Gosier). Anchored in water a bit deeper than I expected, and got wet over my waist; guess I'll find out if my camera still is waterproof after all of these years. Wandered about, wishing I'd brought my sandals; enough pieces of coral and such to hurt my tender feet. Nice picnicing areas, a snack bar, and a nice lighthouse (pic). The lighthouse looks really cool at night, since the whole top of it glows with red light, and the rotating light is red also.

Back to the boat. Had planned to go snorkeling later, but since I'm already wet, might as well go now. Rinsed off the camera and left it aboard, grabbed my snorkeling gear, and off to the reef.

Quite a bit nicer snorkeling than I'd expected ! The anchorage here is all grassy and sterile, and I'd expected the same on the reef. But there are plenty of fish, and some decent coral heads. A couple of big schools of medium-sized fish, and a huge school of small fish. Water is warm. As I was snorkeling, it started raining, with big, cold raindrops. I kind of enjoy that sensation, getting rained on while snorkeling. All the hatches and ports on the boat are closed, but my hat and glasses in the dinghy are getting wet.

Back to the boat, and snorkeled underneath briefly to see if prop and hull need scraping. They're fine; just some grassy growth. Wow, the water right here is very warm, as warm as I've ever swum in.

Washed off the gear and showered with a little light rain still falling.

Nearby sailboat has a badly damaged jib-sail (pic).

Salad and cheese sandwiches and a rum-and-coke for dinner. Bought several kinds of cheese today; the one I'm eating tonight is labeled "Carre Ambassador", so I don't know what type it is. Maybe that means it's sort of an ad-hoc variety ? Seems quite nice to me. At anchor at Ilet du Gosier, Guadeloupe.

Still and warm morning.

Camera still works, so it survived yesterday's dunking. It's supposed to be okay down to 5 meters, but you're also supposed to have the gaskets changed every year (for $50 to $75 !). Got it 3.5 years ago and haven't ever changed gaskets. But I don't take it snorkeling any more.

Dinghied ashore around 9:30, and it's hot already. Walked a couple of blocks uphill to the top of the bluff, then E for a while. Nice-looking place, with some interesting buildings. Found the "Superette" and bought some groceries. Stopped at an overlook to take a few pictures (pic; arrow points to "Magnolia"), then back to the dinghy and back to the boat. Hot.

Recaulked the base of the mainmast.

Hot afternoon.

Added a shackle at the foot of the mainsail, to try to fix the problem with the topping-lift and the out-haul. Often, I haven't been able to get the out-haul tight enough to take the strain off the topping-lift. Can't ease the topping-lift, because that will make the boom too low when not sailing. Will see if this fixes the situation.

Spaghetti and a rum-and-coke for dinner. Opened the 100-proof bottle, and it's got a kick ! At anchor at Ilet du Gosier, Guadeloupe.

A big freighter (actualy, a tanker, I think) has been anchored a couple of miles outside the Pointe A Pitre harbor entrance for about 4 days now; must be waiting for a cargo or something.

Sailboat came in and anchored uncomfortably close alongside me. There is a stereotype about the French, that they anchor too close, and I think there's some truth to it.

The small ferry-skiffs are really roaring through the anchorage today, milking the big weekend crowd. And much of the time they're roaring through the narrow gap between me and the sailboat near me; I think they consider this their "channel".

Started getting windy in the afternoon; wasn't in the forecast I got several days ago. But I'm getting no internet, VHF WX, marine SSB, or English-language commercial radio here, so I'm in the dark.

Fortunately, the too-close sailboat left after a couple of hours.

Topless woman on a powerboat anchored here.

Used some glue to try to fix a boat-hook mount in the rigging. Doubt it's going to hold; I need something to prevent a wired-on ring from sliding down a vertical wire in the standing rigging. Probably need to use epoxy.

Cabin-cruiser came in around 5 and anchored too close in front of me. There's plenty of room here; they didn't have to pick that spot. What if the wind flips during the night ? We'd collide; I have a lot more chain out than they do. I'd like to leave tomorrow morning; will be awkward if they're still there. Hope they're not staying the night.

Salad and Camembert cheese sandwiches for dinner.

Bummer: that cabin-cruiser right in front of me is staying the night.

Startled around 8 to hear anchor-chain rattling near me. A sailboat came in after dark and anchored near me, but fortunately ended up behind me a decent distance.

Around 9 PM, a huge front came through, with lots of wind and rain until 9:15, then wind after that. And everyone's anchors held fast.

At 10:30, a big squall with plenty of wind and rain.

Stayed very windy, and often rolly, all night.

At 2:30, plenty of rain and wind and some lightning and thunder. At anchor at Ilet du Gosier, Guadeloupe.

Rainy and very grey, with fair amount of wind. Rain at 6:45, 8:05, 8:35. No swimmers this morning, maybe because of the weather, and also because it's Sunday ?

That cabin-cruiser parked over my anchor left before 8:30. A relief.

Changed my mind back and forth about what to do today. I'd like to head E, to some new anchorages. Every time the wind eases and the sun comes out, I think of going E. But then the wind pipes up again, it gets rolly in here, and I know the next couple of anchorages aren't well-protected from the E. So I decide to stay here. Then I think of going W back to Pointe A Pitre tomorrow, mainly to do some internet. Or maybe I could find an internet place here. If I went back to Pointe A Pitre, also could try to go by bus to Basse Terre, but would be nice to have clear weather for that.

Finally decide to stay here today, and see what tomorrow looks like.

Dumped 5-6 gallons of rainwater from buckets to tank and jug.

Feeling headachey all afternoon.

Launched dinghy and went for a snorkel around 2, but it's a bit windy and rough, lots of particles in the water, and reduced visibility. Still had a nice snorkel.

Chicken-onion-carrot-rice and a rum-and-coke for dinner.

Big crowd on the island today, and it took until after dark for the skiff-ferries to get everyone back to the main island. At anchor at Ilet du Gosier, Guadeloupe.

Still undecided about what direction to go today. Some periods of light wind, then longer periods of strong wind, which is bad for going E.

Still no free Wi-Fi here. Getting windy again. Watched a very small sailboat motoring E, and going up and down a lot.

Engine start at 8:10. Took some work to get the anchor up in windy conditions; bow kept blowing off. Up by 8:20, unfurled the mainsail, turned off the engine, and sailed downwind. Additional shackle on the mainsail seems to work well, but will get a better read on it next time I go upwind.

Sailing into harbor by 9:15 or so. Wind died a bit near the marina entrance, so I started the engine and motored in. Did a couple of loops, trying to find a place with shallower water than last time, and closer to town so smaller ferry wakes, maybe. Got closer to town, at least. Anchor down by 9:35 at Pointe a Pitre, Guadeloupe.

Got some free Wi-Fi ! Turns out there's a TS Danielle, but it will be going well N of the Caribbean. Wind here will get light again on Wednesday and stay light for a while; I'll go E again then.

Whoops ! Just found out my web site host deleted my site for some unknown reason; this happened once before, with no explanation before or after. And of course this time it seemed to happen just as I went incommunicado for a week or so. [I notice that some readers seem to assume "log file not found" means "boat sank" or "decided to stop blogging". Much better to assume "Wi-Fi hiccup" or "web host service screwed up again".] [Site got restored within an hour of notifying them.]

Did some more Wi-Fi.

Nice mural on abandoned water-tank nearby (pic).

Salad and salami-and-cheese sandwiches and a rum-and-coke for dinner. At anchor at Pointe a Pitre, Guadeloupe.

Dinghied ashore to town around 9. Disposed of two bags of garbage. Walked around a bit, to see the place. Nice cathedral, built mostly of wood inside. Couldn't find the Match supermarket the guidebook talked about. Tourist Office guy gave me a map and marked all of the supermarkets on it for me. Went to EcoMax; not as nice as the one in Gosier, but prices pretty good. Back to the dock, just in time to see a big fishing boat coming in and wanting to tie up right where my dinghy was. They eased my dinghy aside very nicely; no damage. If I'd been there 30 seconds earlier I could have had it out of their way. Back to the boat.

Put away the groceries, cooled off for a few minutes, then decided I might as well do some more grocery-shopping. Dinghied around to the N side of town, where a big "Super U" is supposed to be, but no way to get ashore there: it's all fenced-off docks for ferries and cruise-ships and Customs. So back around to the S side. Walked up to the main street along the E side of town, then N up to the "Super U". Prices not too super, bread selection pathetic, but got a bunch of stuff. Lots of people and shops along the busy main street, so that was interesting. Back through town, into the dinghy, and back to the boat. Hot.

Did a little Wi-Fi in the afternoon, but no wind and lots of grey clouds, so I had to conserve electricity a little.

Chili and a rum-and-coke for dinner. At anchor at Pointe a Pitre, Guadeloupe.

Did a little Wi-Fi. Two tropical storms active, but both forecast to go N of Caribbean.

Engine start at 9:15. Anchor not up until 9:30 because I had to wash mud off the chain as I raised it. Unfurled the mainsail and motored out.

Light conditions, as forecast. But as I neared Ilet du Gosier, a big front/squall came through and rained on me for a while, and put some stronger headwinds in place. But no problem. Motoring with the mainsail up, almost straight into the wind, making about 4 knots. That freighter/tanker is still anchored out here.

A lot of exhaust fumes inside the boat; something must be wrong with the engine exhaust system. And engine running about 5 degrees hot by the end of the trip.

Up to anchorage, dodging fish-trap floats, and rolling quite a bit as I turned sideways to the swells and headed in. Anchor down by 11:40 at Petit Havre, Guadeloupe. A bit rolly here, as I feared, but I'll stick it out for one night. No other boats here. Hoped to do some snorkeling today, but it's very grey.

Started raining at 12:35, and kept going until after 2. Some strong wind and periods of very heavy rain. Not at all what I expected. But I guess I read the weather info just to get wind and sea info; I don't look at the cloud/rain info.

Hard to air out the boat, to get rid of the engine heat and the exhaust fumes, when it keeps raining. Getting very little solar power and no wind power.

Rain again from 2:15 to 2:40, more from 2:45 to 2:50, light rain from 3 to 3:05.

Dumped 6 gallons of rainwater from buckets to tank. Spilled a bunch, and didn't empty the buckets on the port side of the boat.

Light rain from 4:05 to 4:30, then heavy rain until 4:40.

Salad and jelly-and-crackers for dinner.

Very heavy rain from 7:05 to 8:25.

More rain most of the night, including very heavy rain from 11:30 to midnight or so, with some strong lightning over land. A deck-leak down the side of my berth is irritating me, but other than that and some water down the mainmast compression post, the boat is pretty tight. Rain finally stopped around 4 AM. At anchor at Petit Havre, Guadeloupe.

Very still morning, everything drenched, fairly cloudy but sunshine peeking through. No wind.

Got a little English-language radio from Antigua, through a lot of static. And a little reception of Chris Parker's weather, through static. Apparently hurricane Danielle is threatening Bermuda as a category 3 or 4, TS Earl behind it will skim N of the NE Caribbean as a category 1 or 2, and a third storm is forming up behind them.

More rainwater in buckets than I know what to do with. Dumped some into jugs and the water tank, but that's just about full, I think.

Got a very brief shot of free Wi-Fi. Good to see the hurricane info graphically. Got the local weather info and it's supposed to be nice today, and pour buckets again tomorrow.

Dumped some more rainwater into the water tank.

Some nice sunshine by 9:15 or so. Put my bedding out on the foredeck to dry it and let the sun disinfect it. Checked the engine exhaust and found the bolts holding the manifold to the block have worked loose again; tightened them. Cleaned the engine intake strainer; a little seaweed in it. Bailed 30-40 gallons of rainwater out of the hard dinghy.

Looked to find the source of the deck-leak into my berth, and I think it's coming from this stanchion-base: pic. I've struggled before with this thing, and its counterpart on the other side of the boat. Mounted sideways into the toe-rail, always loose. And after spending half an hour removing interior wood down below, you still can't get at the bolts/nuts inside the toe-rail. And both of them are in the low spots on deck, where water pools. I think today I'm going to let the sun dry it off, then slather caulk on the outside of it.

Hot, humid morning without much air moving. Enough work for now.

After lunch, slathered caulk on the outside of that stanchion base.

Around 3, went snorkeling. Visibility not so great, water a little rough, and much of the reef here is flat and grassy and uninteresting. But the tip of it, rounding into deeper water, had plenty of nice fish. Pleasant.

Chicken-onion-carrot-mushrooms-rice and a rum-and-coke for dinner. Hot on the boat; with sun to the W and very light wind from the S, it's hard to find shade anywhere. At anchor at Petit Havre, Guadeloupe.

Sunny, clear morning.

That anchored freighter/tanker is gone.

Eyeglass frames came apart a little: one of the hinge-screws has frozen and then sheared off. Put the stub of the screw back in, but I don't see any way to get the sheared-off end out to make a proper repair. Too tiny to drill it out. Occurs to me that I don't have an eyeglass-repair kit aboard (I think), and I should get one, but it wouldn't help me with this problem anyway.

Heard a bit of Chris Parker's weather; sounds like TS Earl is coming a little close for comfort, might bring 35-knot winds to the islands 80 NM north of me.

Dumped last 8-9 gallons of rainwater into the water tank.

Got a little Wi-Fi. Info on TS Earl confirmed. Local forecast says we'll get some SW 22 and SSW 20 wind on Monday, with gusts to 27, I assume as a result of TS Earl.

Engine start at 8:55, anchor up by 9. Unfurled the mainsail and motored out. Motored E, straight into the wind as usual. Exhaust leak is fixed. 3 miles up the coast, dodging fish-trap floats.

Into harbor, and anchor down by 10:05 at Sainte Anne, Guadeloupe. Looks like a nice place. Maybe on Sunday afternoon I'll move over to the W side of the harbor to get shelter from that strong wind forecast for Monday.

Couldn't get any free Wi-Fi.

A little before 2:30, boat rolling too much for comfort, so started engine, raised anchor, and moved in closer to the reef. Moved 100-120 feet or so to Sainte Anne, Guadeloupe, and the rolling got a little less, but still not very good. Moving to W end of harbor wouldn't solve it either, because there's a second entrance over there, and the SE wind we have today would let the swells right in over there.

Salad for dinner.

Developed a headache, and it made for a miserable evening and night. Hot, humid, rolly, headachey. Miserable.

Pretty strong rain at 12:15, for 15 minutes or so. Afterward, wind slowly cycled around the compass over an hour or two, making me nervous: I'm pretty close in behind the reef, and strong N wind would put me on it. But the wind stays very light. At anchor at Sainte Anne, Guadeloupe.

Still feel like crap: headache, and taking pills.

Alarming news about TS Earl on Chris Parker at 7: storm is at latitude 15.7, which is S of my latitude, and moving W. Supposed to turn to WNW and then NW, but very uncertain when it is going to turn. Sounds pretty likely to hit St Martin and Virgin Islands or just N of them, which means some chance it could turn late and come right here ! Sounds like it could arrive Monday, and is moving a bit slowly, so could be strong and slow to pass over. I think I'd better head for shelter.

Couldn't hear Chris Parker's weather at 8:30 to see if there was any update.

Decided to see this place briefly, since I'm here. Dinghied ashore and walked around. Disposed of two bags of garbage. Nice waterfront walk, town square and cathedral. Lots of traffic, even at 9 on a Saturday morning. Plenty of people at the ATMs, getting cash to start their day. Beach starting to get going. Lots of shops, and lots of tourist-type shops.

Into a grocery store and got some food, but as usual their sliced-bread selection is pathetic and expensive. Went next door to a bakery, but I don't see anything resembling sliced bread, I'm hot and headachey, and the bags of rolls that caught my eye are hard as rocks. The place seems to deal mostly in pastries and baguettes, and I think you're supposed to eat a baguette within an hour of buying it. I want something I can keep in my fridge for a week. Don't want to deal with the language thing with a line of customers behind me. So I give up and drop out of line before getting to the front. Buy some bananas at a sidewalk stand, and back to the boat.

Still can't get any Wi-Fi here, to see about TS Earl. Right, I'm out of here.

Engine start at 10:40. Anchor up, unfurled sails, motored out, engine off, started sailing by 11. Almost no wind. Sailed at 1 to 1.5 knots for a while. At 11:25, started engine and motored. Conditions so calm that at times I can see the bottom at 21 feet down, while cruising past.

Headache felt quite a bit better after some lunch. Hot day, especially when the wind from astern matched my boat speed, leaving me with no breeze, and exhaust fumes.

Into harbor just ahead of a small freighter. Anchor down by 1:55 at Pointe a Pitre, Guadeloupe. No wind and just enough rain to make me keep the hatches and ports closed; sweltering, and I need to ventilate the boat to get the engine cooling down so it doesn't make the boat hot all night. Soon the rain stopped and a slight breeze came through, from the S.

So, now I'm 3/4 mile from a decent hurricane hole (the Riviere Salee), and I should be able to get some Wi-Fi here.

No free Wi-Fi at 3.

Light cool breeze from NE, and the sky has cleared; nice.

I notice a construction crane in town (pic), and wonder if they secure it if a hurricane approachs. Wondered the same thing in Gosier; there's a crane there too. I notice that this crane seems to swing with the wind; it's not fixed in position. Maybe the wind passes right through the open lattice of a crane and doesn't affect it too much ?

Got a little Wi-Fi just after 5, and got the 5 PM forecast from wunderground. Will have SW and SSW 20 wind here Monday, gusts to 24. TS Earl will pass N of here on Sunday; Guadeloupe will be just outside the area of storm-force winds. Looks good. Could have stayed put, but not worth the risk.

Spaghetti and a rum-and-coke for dinner. Ate on the foredeck in the breeze; nice.

But: Heard Chris Parker's weather at 7, and he disagrees a bit with the official NHS prediction. NHS says center of Earl is at 16.5N latitude; Chris says it's somewhere S of there, between 16.0 and 16.5. Since I'm at 16.13, that's important. Chris says Earl will track a little more S and W of the official predicted track, passing just N of Barbuda. Earl is traveling at 20 knots now, but will slow to 10 knots and intensify rapidly. Guadeloupe should see N 30+ wind on Sunday evening, then SW and S 20-30 wind on Monday.

Nice, calm harbor; slept well. A bit warm in the evening, as usual. Headache almost gone; still took a pill after dinner. At anchor at Pointe a Pitre, Guadeloupe.

Very grey morning; light wind from N or NNE.

Heard Chris Parker's weather at 7 through a lot of static. I think he said center of TS Earl is at 16.9N 56.9W; still says it will pass near N tip of Barbuda. Watches and warnings come down through Antigua; Guadeloupe is first island with no watch/warning. Looks like St Martin / Anguilla will get a direct hit; wind there will go either N - W - S or N - E - S, so choosing a spot in the Lagoon in St Martin would involve guesswork. For Guadeloupe, expect this afternoon N 30 wind, then W 30 then SW 30 tonight/tomorrow, with plenty of squalls.

I'm in deepish water (20+ feet), and a bit of an exposed position for N/S wind right now, and on a lee shore for W 30 wind, so it's time to move further up the harbor.

N 15+ wind suddenly started at 8:15.

Couldn't get any Wi-Fi.

Engine start at 8:30, and anchor up by 8:35 after a good cardio workout. Motored N up the harbor. Saw a sailboat coming N behind me, but he turned off to anchor in that cove off the S end of town, which is not great for W wind.

One trawler up where I was heading, but he left and headed S. No other boats seem to be sheltering; either they don't know about the storm or don't think the wind will be anything unusual. Could be right.

Anchor down by 9 at Pointe a Pitre, Guadeloupe. Fine spot: about 4.5 feet deep (my draft is 3.5) and soft mud. Lots of space around me. Should be great for N - W - SW wind, okay for everything else.

Couldn't get any Wi-Fi. Tried several times until midafternoon.

At 11:20, catamaran "Gecko Loco" came past me and anchored to the NE of me. A little too close to the channel, in my opinion. They're right on the edge of it, and in W wind they'll be in the middle of it. But that's their business.

Light rain at 11:40; heavier rain at 12:30. Very grey and fairly dark.

By 1:45, blowing NNW 25+.

At 3:05, band of low dark clouds came down from N, with lightning and N 30+ wind, followed by heavy rain and soon totally grey skies down to ground level.

By 4, N 35+ wind and heavy horizontal rain. Two big lightning strikes within 1/4 mile. Around 4:25, visibility less than 200 yards.

By 4:45, wind eased and gone NW, but still plenty of rain. Wind soon increased again.

At 5, wind WNW 15-20.

Salad and salami-and-cheese sandwiches for dinner.

At 5:30, wind N20-25 and heavy rain.

Starting around 6:30, wind and rain eased a little, then up and down for rest of evening and night.

Heard Chris Parker's weather at 7. He said at 5 PM (I think) center of TS Earl was at 17.6N 59W, which is about 100 NM NNE of me. Pressure is 978, and Earl will intensify to category 3 or 4. Will pass maybe 30 NM north of Barbuda and then maybe 30 NM north of Anguilla, but hurricanes "wobble" up to 30 NM from side to side as they travel, so ... At anchor at Pointe a Pitre, Guadeloupe.

At 4 AM, wind now SW 25, and soon SW 15. A bit rolly; somehow there's a chop coming up the harbor from the SSE.

At 4:45, wind is S 15-20. Raining off and on.

At 6:45, wind S 20+; by 7:30, S 25 or so.

Couldn't hear Chris Parker at 7: all static.

At 7:40, heard some English-language FM radio, maybe from Antigua. Seemed to say that hurricane Earl's center was about 50 miles ENE of St Martin and moving NNW. So St Martin has avoided a direct hit, which is good since Earl now has central wind-speed of 105 MPH, which I think is category 3.

At 8:30, very grey, rain, low clouds, wind W 15.

Wind wandering from S to W and back, 15 to 20, frequent light rain.

Still no Wi-Fi here. Surprising, since I'm across the river from lots of apartment-blocks north of town, maybe 300-400 yards away. You'd think someone there would have a free Wi-Fi going.

At 10:25, blowing S 30 or so, and wind-generator started sounding funny. Blades look fine, but no output, and I think the thermal breakers in it have tripped, the first time since I installed it. Started working again 10 or 15 minutes later. Happened a couple more times during the day.

Wind blew hard all day, around the 22-25 knot range, from S and slightly SSW. Some sunshine from 2 on, but still plenty of grey. Turned off the wind-generator to give it a rest. Was able to open the hatches to get wind through and start drying out the boat.

Added water to the batteries.

Catamaran left a little before 5. Seemed to dawdle quite a bit on its way down the harbor.

Wind easing down to 15-18 range. No rain all afternoon.

Chicken-onion-cabbage-mushroom-rice and a rum-and-coke for dinner.

Couldn't hear Chris Parker at 7: all static.

Still no Wi-Fi here. At anchor at Pointe a Pitre, Guadeloupe.

Warm, humid, and just about no wind. So the gnats are out, from the mangroves near by.

Couldn't hear most of Chris Parker's weather at 7. Sounds like Earl is a strong category 4 hurricane, central pressure down to 931 mbars, passing 30-40 miles N of the Virgin Islands.

Lowered the dinghy and pumped up the tubes. Bailed about 40 gallons of water out of the hard dinghy.

Engine start at 7:50, anchor up by 7:55, and motored down the harbor. Looks like several boats, including a Navy/police boat, sheltered in that cove at the S end of town, which seems too exposed to S and W, and probably deepish too. Anchor down by 8:20 at Pointe a Pitre, Guadeloupe.

Couldn't quite get Wi-Fi here. And I've gotten it on this spot before.

Dinghied ashore to do internet.