Hard Sail to Marie Galante

After a week in The Saints, it was time to head east to Marie Galante. This was going to be the hardest easterly sail we did with my parents, but we'd done it a couple of times already, and thought it would be manageable.

After breakfast, we put up sails inside the bay, and motored South through Passe du Sud, between Terre de Bas and Terre de Haut. I had intended to continue South through Passe des Dames, between La Coche and Grand Ilet. But the wind through the Passe du Grande Ilet looked like it would be sailable, North of Grand Ilet, so we went for it. This turned into a horrible slog, into a strong current and big swell. The swell got squeezed through the Passe du Grande Ilet, making for a very uncomfortable ride.

I won't say my mother enjoyed it, but I think she forgave us, on condition that we don't do something like that again. Some anti-anxiety medication, and a few sea shanties until the medication kicked in, went a long way to easing the voyage.

Once we were out of the saints, we tacked North. Then, behind Marie Galante, the wind changed and we decided to just motor the rest of the way to Saint Louis, rather thank tacking across the bay, all afternoon.

In our previous visits to Marie Galante, we'd anchored in the Anse Canot / Anse de Mays area, but hadn't visited the town of Saint Louis itself. It turned out to be a beautiful and friendly little town. We walked the beaches and bought local head scarves.

Navionics Track