Part 1 of the cruise report with Sint Maarten and St. Barth can be found here!
The offshore part of the journey begins the next day: 75 miles of night sailing from St Barth to Antigua. This is necessary because the route cannot be completed in daylight and the charter fleets prohibit night sailing close to land. You are not allowed to call at harbours or bays in the dark. The night trip must be applied for in advance and the skipper must provide proof of sufficient sailing experience. The plan is to start in the afternoon, sail through the night and arrive at first light in the morning.
Squalls and torrential rain
And it won't be easy: the easterly trade wind has been blowing persistently and, above all, unexpectedly strongly from the south-east in the Leeward Islands for days. As our cat doesn't get much height in the waves, it's going to be a long cross. We set off in the last light and then switch from holiday to wake-up mode. In shorts and a T-shirt, everything feels comfortable. But then come the first 30-knot squalls with torrential rain.
Arrive, seek shelter under the bimini-cake stand combination, set sail. The gusts are no longer easy to recognise in the dark. The wind picks up and the first jackets are brought out. If you sail too high, the cat gets stuck, too low and you give away valuable height. The first people get seasick. This is what blue water sailing can be like.
Falmouth Harbour: Antigua at last
And then, after a lonely start shortly before Antigua, we are suddenly surrounded by boats. More and more navigation lights appear, the AIS reports plenty of yachts. We are in the rearguard of the popular Caribbean 600 race. They are fighting their way to the finish line in Antigua, just like us. At first light, the time has come to enter Falmouth Harbour.
It's teeming with hot racers, from maxis and Volvo racers to Class 40s, everything is at the start here. Or at the finish line. We catch a free buoy. First shore leave. Clearing in at English Harbour. Everything is more bureaucratic there than on the chilled-out French islands with a European background.
Caribbean serenity is required
The officials sit behind glass panes, with icy expressions, harsh in tone, happy to keep you waiting. Used to the borderless life in the EU, it feels strange, but that is also part of blue water sailing in the Leeward Islands: officials are respected here. Caribbean serenity is required. The inhabitants of the island have that.
Everything seems to run at a more leisurely, slower pace here. The island is so different from the French. Live reggae music emanates from the bars, laughter and friendly smiles everywhere. The smell of marijuana wafts here and there.
English Harbour: Just like in Nelson's time
And Antigua has so much more to offer: the ancient and beautifully restored British naval base. English Harbour with Nelson's Dockyard is probably the most beautiful harbour in the Caribbean. English-style stone houses, the old sailmaker's shop, the rigging workshop and dockyard form a small village that gives an impression of what it was like in Nelson's time.
Today, instead of square-rigged sailing ships, one mega yacht lies next to the other, their masts so high that they have to carry red lights to warn off air traffic. And so, like the sailors 300 years ago, we spend happy days.
Anchoring in the beautiful, uncrowded bays such as Carlisle Bay, attending the obligatory Sunday evening steel drum and reggae party on the mountain at Shirley Heights, as generations of Caribbean first-timers have done. Nelson had to discipline his crew before deserting to paradise. We deeply sympathise with the disobedience back then.
Another blow to Guadeloupe
And yet the second leg is on the cards, around 45 miles to Guadeloupe. Heading south, which allows at least one nice berth. Our destination for clearing in is sleepy Deshaies in the north-east. We only stay one night because tomorrow is a special day: Carnival. Instead, we sail along the beautiful west coast of Guadeloupe.
The mountains rise steeply in front of the palm beaches, culminating in the volcanic cone of Soufrière with its rainforest. Snorkelling off Pigeon Island in the protected Jacques Cousteau Reserve, where the variety of colourful, trusting fish will simply flatten you.
At the end of the cruise to the Îles des Saintes
The next archipelago goes by the beautiful name of Îles des Saintes. With plenty of wind, we bolt onto the buoy in Terre-de-Haut. This is where we really understand the blue water sailors: the place is beautifully situated at the foot of a curved mountain range. Palm beaches, flowers, the old Fort Napoléon at the top of the mountain, from where the view is breathtakingly beautiful.
The dream beach in front of the basalt columns on the sugar loaf of the Pain du Sucre rock. A nice beach promenade. Good restaurants and bars. A rum speciality shop. The French patisserie on mainland level with fresh croissants and baguettes is reached by dinghy in the morning. You simply lose yourself. The days flow by, the trade wind blows coolingly down from the mountain.
At the end of a cruise through the Leeward Islands, thoughts turn to buying a boat and crossing the Atlantic? Get out completely? Sabbatical? Run away with the charter yacht? Marvellous dreaming. But who knows?
Part 1 of the cruise report with Sint Maarten and St. Barth can be found here!
Area information: Leeward Islands
Precinct
The islands up to Guadeloupe belong to the Leeward Islands. The distances here are greater than in the BVI or Grenadines, for example. Travelling with Air France from Paris to St. Martin and Guadeloupe. In February, in the high season, the flight costs 1,400 to 1,600 euros. If you fly in the low season and book early, you can get there for around 1,000 euros.
Charter
We were travelling with a new Lagoon 42 from the French-German charter company VPM. The boat was extremely well equipped with solar panels, watermaker, freezer, air conditioning and generator. The Lagoon costs between 4,150 and 7,980 euros, depending on the season. Bases: St Martin, Guadeloupe, Martinique. One-way usually costs extra (vpm-yacht charter.com). Bookings via the German charter agency Barone Yachting (barone.de).
Currency
Always have euros with you on the French islands and US dollars on all others. Credit cards are accepted in many places. Harbours & anchorages Good marinas in St. Martin, Antigua and Guadeloupe (Pointe-à-Pitre). Often good buoy fields in bays, fees range from 16 euros (Îles des Saintes) to around 50 US dollars, partly payable at the harbour office (Gustavia, Antigua), partly at the cashier with the boat (Îles des Saintes). There are almost always anchorages, often right next to the buoy fields. Do not damage any corals! Local nature conservation regulations.
Buoyage
The lateral system B applies: coming from the sea, the buoyage is the other way round, i.e. red buoys on starboard, green on port. Shoals are well buoyed on the French islands. This does not always apply to Antigua, so watch out for shallows, especially in the south and east.
Wind & Weather
Trade winds from easterly directions between 10 and 20 knots. Caution: Squalls, gusts that usually move in with dark clouds, briefly bring strong wind increases and heavy rain. Reef with foresight!
