Martinique and on – 9th December 2008

We left Marin on Tuesday morning to head further north.   We enjoyed our stay.  We met a nice American couple sailing on a Catamaran named El Gecco.  Neal is a South African who is famous for being the first black single hander to race around the world.  He has many stories to tell, but  the most amazing thing was that he knew a Russian seaman that we met probably 15 years ago in the Elephant Boat Yard called Victor and his wife Ludmilla.   He was an ex KGB man and he defected having built his own boat.  His dream was to race the O Star to America, and we gave him our old sails from a boat that we had at the time and you would have thought that he had been given the earth.  

 

Neal told us that Victor is fine and is working in the US but his wife unfortunately did not make it as she was refused entry to the US on a permanent basis and she was sent home.  There was no way that Victor could follow her and I believe that she died in Russia.  Very sad, but what an amazing co-incidence.  Neal has sailed with Victor.  Such a small world. 

 

To continue,  we  found a beautiful anchorage called Grand Anse D’Artlet.  It was secluded and quite beautiful.  The buildings ashore were as always a little ramshackle but the water was crystal clear and very tempting for a plunge off the back of the boat.  There were turtles feeding on the sea grass.  Wonderful.  We stayed there overnight and in the morning when more boats came in, we decided to move on.     Our intention was to go to Fort de France, the capital city of Martinique.    Not being a city girl, I took one look at the landscape and my heart sank.    It was a sprawling commercial port with a big cruise ship dock and the most depressing cloud cover you could ever not want to see.  Fortunately my thoughts must have transferred to both Paul and Glyn and it was a unanimous decision to change tack and leave the bay to see if we could find something a little less busy.    

 

We found another quieter anchorage at St Pierre which had a clear indication of hurricane Omar which hit the islands in October.  It showed the destruction that this immense force could cause.  A very strong town dock made of solid teak, very well constructed, was devastated and you could see that it was because the sea surges were so strong that the force of the water underneath the structure tore it apart.   The wood was lifted at amazing angles.   It is unclear how long it will take to put that right.  St Pierre is famous for it’s destruction in 1902 when the Caribs were run out of the island and the last ones were said to have put a curse on the settlers that they would suffer a volcanic eruption.  The story goes that indeed in 1902 the volcano erupted and the village was destroyed along with its inhabitants.   The replacement buildings appear to have used some of the old walls in the reconstruction.    The rain clouds collect over the tall volcano and this causes precipitation, or rain to you and me.  Once again some fantastic rainbows.  However I did not come to the Caribbean for rain, and so we headed off.

 

Next stop was Dominica.  We headed to the north of the island to a  bay called Portsmouth.  A lot had been said about this island, still considered UK and I can believe that because it did nothing but rain it must be true. Big clouds built over the mountains and dropped the rain on us in the bay.  I took more lovely rainbow pictures, but I won’t bore you with those.  Certainly Portsmouth is nothing like its name sake in England.  It was vying for capital city status in years gone by, but as it was swamp land, yellow fever and malaria put pay to that hope.  I must say that problem has now been cured.  Good job we had our vaccinations though.  Big Papa’s beach restaurant with a pool hall upstairs was interesting.   Big Papa lived up to his name and anyone who argued with him must have needed his head tested.  He was a big man.  The hurricane had caused immense damage to the beach side but he had put it back into order and was up and running again.  There were loads of large commercial ships blown ashore and there they will remain until they turn to dust.   

 

Both Martinique and Dominica are called “islands that brush the clouds and you can see why.  But they were very wet, which they say is not the norm, but I don’t believe that.

 

On to Guadeloupe and in the first instance to Iles des Saintes.  During this crossing between the islands we were reminded of the extreme weather conditions to be found in the Caribbean which is sometimes not for the faint hearted.  I really don’t know why I am here sometimes.   Out of nowhere we were presented with a squall with 35 knots of wind and heavy (very cold) rain.  We tried to get a couple of reefs in the main having shortened our head sail, but it was so strong that we lay ahull for a few minutes whilst the worse went through, completed the reefing (just in case) and went on our way.   Needless to say the winds died considerably and so we knocked out the reefs, pulled out the Genoa and we started blowing.    We had sufficient wind which was just as well because unbeknown to Glyn and I, Paul had an idea that he had a problem with the engine as we had been experiencing some air ingress into the diesel system.  In the anchorage it proved that he was right (again).  No engine and so we impressed the audience with an anchoring under sail.  I must say that we impressed me as well.  Top marks Paul and Glyn.

 

Isles des Saintes was a beautiful French village, immaculately kept and pretty painted houses and shops filled the main street.  From the bay you could see the two churches and a cross signified the cemetery high on the hill.  A lovely place for a couple of days stay, but it was a very exposed anchorage and that resulted in a couple of rather bumpy nights.   

 

Glyn said that he would like a bit of life ashore over the Christmas period and suggested Antigua, where he had spent 2007 Christmas.   Although the passage could have been unpleasant if the northerly winds persisted we said that we would give it a try and we headed off to Guadeloupe as an interim stop.  Once again we avoided the town of Pointe A Pitre and settled on an anchorage in the estuary called  Ilet

du Gosier.  This was signified by a big lighthouse which until recently was lit by Kerosene but has now been updated.  It marks an isolated island surrounded by reefs. 

 

We then took the bull by the horns and set off for the 80 mile hike up to Antigua tracking along the south coast of Grande Terre (Guadeloupe comprises two islands Base Terre meaning low land and Grande Terre meaning large land.  However Base Terre is mountainous and threatening and Grande Terre is flat.  Must be some reason!   The two islands are separated by a River which is capable of taking a yacht with a draft of 2 meters.   As we draw 2.2 meters, we opted for the longer passage around the island.  It appeared that we would be favoured with an easterly wind and for a while this was indeed the case.  However probably three quarters of the way up the east coast the wind and the current made it impossible to sail a productive course which resulted in our trusty engine  coming to the rescue.  I can hear the die hard sailors saying no, not the engine, but when you have a passage to make it is the most sensible way of keeping up a good passage time.

 

The trip to Antigua takes you past Montserrat, which is still erupting.  We passed it at the closest point just on sunset, and it was an amazing sight.  In the glow of the orange sky you could clearly see the smoke and lava dust falling into the sea.  Whilst the view to us was an amazing experience, to those remaining on the island which was there home, it must be soul destroying.  I have included a picture of Montserrat at sunset, yes another Caribbean sunset, but this one is with a difference. 

 

One small thing to boast about on the way up is that we caught a splendid Mahi Mahi, aka Dorado.  It was about two and a half feet  long and must have weighed about 5 or 6 kilos.  Glyn impressed again and filleted it in the cockpit in readiness to cook when we got into Admiralty Bay.

 

 

It was about 8 o’clock on Friday evening, when we got into the bay and the chore was to find a good  anchorage for the night.  However once again an hour out of the bay and the engine stopped, once again as a result of air in the diesel.  We did not worry however.  Paul picked up his spanners etc and headed down to the engine room and as if by magic after a few turns of the starter, it was alive and well.  With a promise to finally fix this problem in the next day or two, we headed in and anchored safely.

 

Glyn went below to cook our fresh fish, well part of it.  It was delicious.  The rest of it was put in the fridge to delight the palette another day.  Probably on Saturday.   A good day was had by all.   We are now safely ensconced for Christmas and looking forward to a bit of Christmas spirit.

 

Must go now, have to post this update and get ready for cocktails on an American boat this evening.  

We wish you well and if we don’t update the blog this side of Christmas may we wish everyone who takes the trouble to read it a very happy Christmas  time and a good new year.  Hopefully the pound will prosper against the euro and the dollar, so that we can feel a little more positive.   Thanks Mr Brown!!!

 

Love to you all and be safe

 

Helen and Paul