Our departure didn’t go quite as planned. Wind from the NE – practically on the nose: there was no way we intended commencing the journey with winds on the nose and an uncomfortable passage between the islands. Instead, we continued northward under the protection of the islands until day break.

Due to the islands making their own weather, it was a ‘little’ wet and rocky. With winds ranging from 0 – 28 knots, the sails were reefed. A leak we had been attempting to find since crossing the Aussie Bight has at long last been found: a couple of nails in the rubbing strake at long last showed their heads.

The early hours saw us make the decision to pull into Guadeloupe where we would have a good day’s rest and recommence fresh.

This morning we motored into a marina in Guadeloupe near Bailiff, where Bob hopped over the side with sikaflex and proceeded to close the space along the seam between the rubbing strake and the hull – hopefully that stop gap will see no more water pushed inside. Now, was is an island placed on our bucket list: lush, green covered hillsides beckoned the visitor!!

With the rising of the sun, the wind dropped until waters were oily calm. One had difficulty distinguishing sea from sky.