The Saintes – Sand, sea and more forts

We left Dominica and had a lovely sail north to the cluster of French islands know as The Saintes.

Sailing out of Prince Rupert Bay, Dominica

Glad we left one reef in the main sail, as the wind built as we crossed the channel to The Saintes

Especially as we have our chart plotter back 'on-line' — Especially as we have our chart plotter back ‘on-line’

I do not even let sailing interrupts my siesta — I do not let anything interrupt my siesta

It was not long before The Saintes came into view dead ahead

We sailed on through the south channel into the waters surrounded by the group of French islands called The Saintes

The human's had to keep a keen eye out as there were a lot of fish traps in the bay — The human’s had to keep a keen eye out as there were a lot of fish traps in the bay

Luckily they did not hook into any of the fish traps, but they did hook into a huge Great Barracuda. Unfortunately they did not get a picture of it. They had to let it go as they are not edible, especially the large ones. It was our biggest fish yet!!!

We were lucky enough to find one of the few remaining coves in the Saintes where you can still anchor. The rest, including the main harbour front, are full of mooring buoys that are 11 euros a day.

We anchored in the small sheltered bay behind the Pain de Sucre (sugar-loaf) hill

You know my priorities. Of course it has a nice beach to play on

Turns out it is also a great place for snorkelling

I never need an excuse to get my 'paws' wet and investigate — I never need an excuse to get my ‘paws’ wet and investigate

It was a very healthy reef with lots of coral and fish. This guy is called a trumpet fish

These yellow and black striped fish are called Sergeant Major

Yellow tube coral and feather duster worms living together

A sand diver waiting around for prey to come near

Then we were lucky enough to be visited by a turtle

You can see by his slender head and hooked beak, this is a Hawksbill turtle

We even found a rarity. A Spider conch. Do not worry we refrained from eating him and left it to breed

There are also lots of hikes on the islands. We have been up to Napoleon’s Fort and down to the beach on the Atlantic side of the island. Both times the humans forgot to pack the camera for me.

If you are not into hiking, snorkelling or the wildlife….

There is always the main town. But remember this is a French island, so everything has ‘Parisian air’.

There are lots of shops to buy 'nice' things — There are lots of shops to buy ‘nice’ things

A port to bring in all the tourists from the 'big island' Guateloupe — A port to bring in all the tourists from the ‘big island’ Guadeloupe

That helps to bring in trade to support a big variety of restaurants

But it also means they all want to see the whole island before the next ferry out

So the 'scooter trade' is booming. Everyone seems to boat along the narrow streets with rented scooters — So the ‘scooter trade’ is booming. Everyone seems to boot along the narrow streets with rented scooters

Luckily it is a ‘fair’ hike down to our little cove outside of town. So all is quiet there.

Strong winds are passing through our area, so we will hang out here a bit before heading further north to Guadeloupe.

Hope all your holiday preparations are going well!

One thought on “The Saintes – Sand, sea and more forts”

Steve
December 13, 2013, 8:34 pm

Still looking fantastic out there – now the bad weather is back I can begin to get suitably jealous again; I have not even got some Ashes success to distract me!

You take good care – keep ’em safe Quinny.

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