The next island north of Martinique is Dominica, but two things caused us to pass it by. First, the weather forecast for heading north looked great, so we could stay on the windward side of Dominica as we sailed north towards Guadeloupe. And second, Guadeloupe has the advantage of being another French island, with the associated promises of fresh baguette and good restaurants. Dominica will have to wait.
Oso was underway at daybreak, and 70nm later the windlass lowered the anchor onto the sandy bottom in the lee of Marie Galante, Guadeloupe’s southeastern most island. This is the spot where Christopher Columbus made landfall on his second voyage to the New World, and he named it after one of the seventeen boats in his fleet – rumor has it that he’d run out of saints to name islands after.
Today, Marie Galante has a couple sugar cane processing plants in dubious condition, a few small rum distilleries, and a decidedly sleepy and slow-paced feel. In other words, it’s a perfect spot to for us!
