Leaving a country you’ve come to love is always a difficult decision, but we were keeping an eye on the number of weeks we had left, the places we still wanted to see, and the time we expected it would take to cover the distance. After discussing our options, we decided to move on our continuing good weather. We pointed the bow almost due south towards the Saintes, a group of islands which are still a part of Guadeloupe. So, we weren’t really leaving Guadeloupe, just touring another part.
Sailing south to the Saintes put the wind directly on our beam, albeit at almost 20 knots. Ocean Angel made very short work of this trip, and we reached the anchorage shortly after lunchtime.
The most popular anchorage in the Saintes is the bay of Terre-de-Haut. Anchoring is forbidden here unless all the moorings are taken, and there’s a bunch of moorings. Upon arrival, we were given a brochure explaining all the rules and regulations, and politely told that we must take a mooring unless we wished to anchor well outside the mooring field, out in the middle of the ocean somewhere. I’ll tell you from first hand experience that this bay is a horrible harbor anywhere outside the first row of moorings. We rolled and pitched miserably in this bay; if you ever sail to the Saintes, do your utmost to find an inner mooring. Otherwise, move on to one of the other anchorages. But, is it worth the effort to stay here? Absolutely.