January 14 Wednesday

We are leaving tomorrow for Les Saints a small island group south of and part of Guadaloupe. We had filled up with water and gas yesterday and this morning we were going to the IGA grocery store. After listening to Chris Parker’s weather we got ready to go, but it kept raining so we didn’t start until after 10AM. We loaded up the dinghy and set the course for the government dock on the other side of the bay at least 1.5 nm away. We were lucky as it was not too windy so we could go directly and not hug the beach to keep the waves small. We tied up the dinghy and walked the 1/2 mile to the IGA. We had a list and got most items but no butter or whole chicken were found. On our way back to the dinghy we got caught in the rain. Lorraine had a poncho so we stopped and hid under her poncho. The rain soon stopped so we got to the dinghy, loaded our purchases and motored back to Changes. On the way we stopped at Seaquel to talk to Andy and Sally. It started to rain, so they invited us aboard. While there Andy got Jeffery, the President of PAYS and the one who organized this last BBQ a to come to his boat. The subject was a trip the a Carib village but it was too expensive for us. We eventually got back to Changes and Lorraine put the groceries away. It was lunch time and Lorraine cooked a pork roast with a rice mix in the pressure cooker and brussel sprouts. After this excellent lunch I cleaned up and put the leftovers away.
We took a nap, then Vision Quest (Rick and Peggy) dropped off a thumb drive with photos for Lorraine to download, then Bob and Jeanne (Walkabout) came over to talk about leaving and getting the dinghies on the foredecks. Both our friends are leaving about 6-630am as they are worried about getting a mooring ball. In the past, they have filled up fast. It started to rain AGAIN so we stayed down below. Later around 4:39 PM we had to get the dinghy up on the foredeck. We use the halyards to lift up the outboard motor and the dinghy. Lorraine has done this enough now so it is smoothly accomplished. It started raining again. It has been raining on and off so many times since we’ve been here that it’s “What another rainbow? We’ve had enough rainbows.” We’ve had as many as 4-5 a day when the sun is right. Tells you how much rain we’ve had lately.

The sun was going down when we got done and the ratchet straps in place holding the dinghy down. The sky was clear on the horizon so we were treated to a nice green flash.

Phil