11-29 Trois Islet

Pos: N14deg32.8min/W061deg02.3min. Fortunately,we're not in a hurry or on a schedule. The weather around here has been challenging. We had a great sail from Rodney Bay to Martinique, but changed our destination from St Pierre to Trois Islet. Why? The weather was predicted to change radically as a low pressure system formed nearby and the trough was tracking directly overhead. Trois Islet affords really good protection, and winds were forecast to go southwest to west, which, indeed they did. Torrential rains and wind to 40 knots came through. We had no problems at all. Can't say the same for those boats anchored in St Annes; lots of drama. Boats dragged; one boat went aground; same story in Rodney Bay. The westerly swell was 3-4' there, hitting the fleet with standing waves and making for a really horrible night. We were thinking of heading up to St Pierre, but a secondary low is forming nearby the first one, and the weather experts aren't quite sure what's going to develope; the next 24 hours should clarify the situation. Meanwhile, we had a lovely game of dominoes aboard sv Gosi (Tom & Barbara) along with Bill & Tracy of sv Zephyr. Good times, dreary weather; patience, grasshopper...

5-10 Anse Chaudiere

Pos: N14deg28.86min / W061deg04.85min. Yesterday morning we left Roseau for St Pierre, Martinique. Actually, we almost didn't leave Roseau as we couldn't get our mooring lines untangled. At 0530, I called Greg, who graciously came out to help. It took him about 20 minutes to unwind the Gordian Knot and we were off. Without his assistance, we would have had to launch the dinghy or leave our lines on the buoy, neither a good choice. Winds were ESE 20-25, gusts to 32, and we anchored in St Pierre before 1400. This morning, some fishermen woke us at 0530 yelling in rapid French that we were too close to their nets (we understood their sign language…). Actually, we were nowhere close to their nets…Also, we had anchored in the same spot two times previously, and there were no nets around when we anchored yesterday. Whatever…maybe these guys didn't have their second cup of joe or something. At least Sue couldn't blame me for waking her up early…blame the fishermen! As compensation, we had a fast sail to here. Wind was ESE 8-20, seas flat, and we barreled along at 6.5-7.9 knots (…couldn't get that 8.0 figure). So, we're anchored in 20' and if the weather forecast holds, will depart for St Lucia tomorrow. At this junction, I should note that the weather predictions haven't been particularly accurate…

Mar 8 - Update

At 0830, we went to Sea Services, a nearby chandlary-boutique. Of note is that you can check in/out here using their computers. After, we took the 420 bus from the main bus station here out to the Galleria Mall to check it out. Unfortunately, we missed our exit and ended up spending an extra 30 minutes riding around! Just another way to see the area... Once at the mall, we found it to be quite similar to any large mall in the States. We should also note that our drive revealed a tremendous amount of road and building construction going on, surely providing for high employment around here. At anchor, it's been peaceful so far, as the front we're expecting will arrive tomorrow. Anchoring drills are still taking place, with boats anchoring too close to one another, a few raised voices, a few gestures, but no real drama. Life in a crowd.
Pic: We found great free internet at the Schoelcher Library; quite an impressive building! The library was first built in France back in 1889, then shipped piece by piece to the island as an exquisite monument to Victor Schoelcher the French abolitionist writer from the early 19th century.

Mar 6 - Bye to Ty and Hanne

We walked the town and located a few places Sue and I would come back to this coming week, such as the laundromat, fish market, the Carrefour store, the Leader Price store, various bakeries (have to get those baguettes and pain a chocolats), and the check-out building. With high NE winds expected, no one will be moving around going north; we can think of worse places to spend a week. The live band music on the waterfront is playing Cuban salsa and other music; a nice change from the extremely loud, aggravating crap they played at Gros Islet in St Lucia. We enjoyed our last sundowners (for a while!), and Ty downloaded all the underwater (and above water) pictures he took onto his storage card. It was with regret that I hoisted his heavy backpack to him in the dinghy, and we all took the short ride to the dinghy dock. Finding a taxi wasn't a problem for them to get to the airport at 7pm. As usual, we like to keep our good-byes short, so it was hugs and bye. Safe travels! Love you and it was a great visit!
Pic: You'd never know Hanne was a rookie at snorkeling...not anymore. Another natural fish in the water!

Mar 5 - Fort de France

Pos: N14deg36.00min / W061deg04.19min. We motored across the bay to the FdF anchorage, just under Fort St Louis. High NE winds are forecast for the next 5 days or so, and we felt it afforded great protection. Also, Ty and Hanne depart tomorrow, so we were all set for them to pack and get ready for their return to Antwerp. We anchored in 18' mud, and enjoyed the high energy ambiance of being in the heart of the city.
Pic: The company we'll keep anchored here. Fort Saint Louis on the hill had it's start in 1638.

Mar 4 - Anse Dufour

Pos: N14deg31.60min / 061deg05.42min. We moved over to find better snorkeling and were well rewarded. The walls on both sides of the bay are rich with fish (small) and decent color in the coral. Turtles were plentiful, Hanne spotted a flounder, and there wasn't much roll, at least most of the time! A recommended stop.

Mar 2 - Anse Mitan

Pos: N14deg33.5min / W061deg03.4min. We had a nice sail in light 8-10 knot SW (yes, SW) winds south to Anse Mitan, arriving at 1400 hours. Initial snorkeling reports are disappointing; we'll report after more exploration.
Pic: We celebrated Hanne's birthday aboard. CHEERS!

Mar 1 - And then there was rum...

So much of the history of the islands in the Caribbean is related to rum. Being history afficionados, we walked a few kilometers to the Depaz Rum Distillery, enjoying the beautiful grounds and incredible machinery involved. I wasn't going to mention it, but yes, I did buy a bottle of VSOP. Come on...any distillery begun in 1651 gets my attention...On the snorkeling side of things, it's not been that impressive here, so we're planning on moving to Anse Mitan in the morning.
Pic: Checking out the working water wheel at the distillery.

Feb 28 - St. Pierre

Pos: N14deg43.9min/ W061deg10.8min. After a lovely sail from Grand Anse, we anchored in 43’, then re-anchored in 15’, finally finding the shallow shelf that fronts the bay. There are lots of boats here, and everyone spins around on anchor, so maneuvering room is necessary. Mount Pelee is in the distance, and the vista is lovely. We had a pizza night, with Ty getting creative in the galley, and plan to explore the small town of St. Pierre in the morning.
Pic: Arriving to the anchorage with Mount Pelee in the background. It destroyed the city and killed over 30,000 people when it blew in 1902.

Feb 25 – Grand Anse d’Arlets

Pos: N14deg30.2min/ W061deg05.3min. This past evening had a charter boat with a loud and obnoxious group raising an unholy racket until the early morning hours. Horrible. We raised anchor early and went to mooring #43, which turned out to be a really good move. Not only was it a lot quieter, but we didn’t have nearly the roll that the boats who had anchored or took moorings on the north side of the bay had. The snorkeling was good, and Ty’s taken a lot of underwater pictures. We found reliable internet at a small bar/restaurant on the north side of the road next to the fish market (can’t remember the name).

Feb 24 - Anse Chaudiere

Pos: N14deg28.9min / W061deg04.9min. We motored to Marin and dinghied to the Leader Price dock to provision there and at Carrefour. After, we sailed to Grand Anse d’Arlets.

Feb 23 - Ste. Anne, Martinique

Pos: N14deg25.7min / W061deg53.4min. We enjoyed a lovely crossing back to Martinique in 18-23 knot winds, entering Ste. Anne without tacking, and checked in at Snack Boubou, getting more accustomed to the French keyboard in the process. Of course, having Hanne here to translate and help out is a huge plus. In the evening, with clear sky overhead, we viewed the International Space Station streaking overhead (at about a 45 degree angle)- how cool is that?!
Pic: Hanne is a natural. She and Ty got their share of the helm on a good days run.

Jan 17 - Update

Along with 3 other boats crews, we hiked around to Point Saline; return being about 10 km (6 miles). The bays nearby are beautiful and, of note to those interested, we walked by one of the several clothing-optional beaches. The next day, we tied our dinghy to sv Maia, and hitched a ride to Le Marin, which gave us a chance to explore the area and shop at the chandleries and Leader Price, the local large grocery aside from the Carrefour, which we didn't go to. The marina at Marin holds about 700 boats, and along with those yachts anchored, there must be over 800-900 boats around this bay. There's also a haul-out yard and all the technical support services most yachts would need. Too bad hurricanes come this far north....At night at anchor, the loud music still vibrates through the boat, especially on weekends. There are daily rain showers, but the wind has been quite modest for the last few days.

Jan 15 -Sainte-Anne, Martinique

Pos: N14deg26min / W060deg53min. We stored the dinghy early morning and motored over to the fuel dock to top off, having previously been told that the fuel in St. Lucia was the least expensive to be found. We cast off the lines at 0845, put a single reef in the main, put up the staysail, and unfurled about 1/3 of the jib. Wind was ENE at 15-20 knots and there was a 1-1.5 meter swell from the NE which slowed us down a bit. Overall, it was a wonderful trip, and we tacked once to lay the expansive anchorage at Sainte-Anne, having to motor the last 3 miles as the wind was directly on the nose at that point. We anchored amongst the large fleet of about 200 boats in about 20' water. All's well and we're looking forward to clearing in tomorrow and brushing up on our French.
Pic: Partial view of the anchorage in front of Ste. Anne. Buoys mark the prohibited area closer to shore.