May
Tues
1st
Early
start, leave Falmouth for Deshaies Guadeloupe. The sail
is
brisk to start and tails off as we get to the north of
Guadeloupe
where we just miss a succession of tropical
storms
and finally catch one full on. Visibility is down to 50m
again
for about an hour before we arrive in Deshaies bay. We
arrive
too late to check in so must stay on the boat overnight.
Wed
2nd
Check
in, have a walk around the town and head for the
botanical
Gardens by bus. 80 cent for two of us, but 31€ for 2
entry
fees. The place is huge with a cemented path around
the
flora. Flamingos, macaws and parakeets, koi, and vast
quantities
of flora from around the world all growing prolifically.
They
have the weather for it! We then go by bus to St Pietre.
It
is a dump and a complete waste of time as the bus drops
us
at a terminal outside the town; so we get on and go back to
Deshaies.
Still at least we have seen part of the island. It is
just
like many parts of France with the architecture, road signs,
street
lights etc. looking familiar. Just as the previous
occasion
anchored in Deshaies the wind drops and we all
spin
round in the bay. The anchor watch alarm is constantly
going
off and late at night we end up re-anchoring in the
middle
of the night. Finally get some rest.
Thur
3rd
Sail
to Pigeon Island bay. Only 10 miles so it is quite relaxing.
Anchor,
go ashore to check out Pigeon. Just a couple of
beaches
with black sand and a load of tourists from France.
Several
shacks with dive shops souvenirs and a bar. It is
possible
to go on a glass bottom boat or hire kayaks. So quite
a
busy little place. The main road is just behind the beach with
buses
to the north and south of the island. The highlight for us
being
that there is a good French supermarket about 2 Km
away.
Fri
4th
Trudy
dives off the boat to discover a huge barracuda lurking
between
our hulls. He seems to have decided this is a good
place
to stay.....all day. It rains and we get chance to test our
new
rain catching system and in about a half hour we have
collected
40 litres. Enough for nearly three days! We decide
to
stay in Pigeon for another day as we expect southerly
winds
followed by no wind during the next week. If we head
south
too early we will have to pay 13€ per day to sit out the
lull
in Isle de Sainte as anchoring is not allowed there and we
will
need to check out from Guadeloupe before heading
further
south.
Sat
5th
We
set off for Anse de la Barque as the pilot says it is easy to
get
in and well sheltered from the roll. When we arrive there
are
6 yachts there and it is full! We could only anchor in more
than
12 metres; so we set off again to look at Basse Terre. It
is
a wide open bay which does not look sheltered but would
do.
However we have a 2 knot current running with us so
decide
to go on to Isle de Saintes. When we get there the
place
is quite empty; there are over 50 moorings and about
ten
yachts moored. For a Saturday night it is very quiet.
Sun
6th
We
wake up to drizzle and 100% cloud cover, we have a
good
internet connection so download a “grib” (weather) file.
We
will have little or no wind, in the wrong direction for at least
a
week. If you go to the UGRIB web site you can download
weather
information, from around the world, in the
professional
format with isobars, wind arrows and an estimate
of
rainfall. Very useful. There is a lagoon cat moored beside
us
called Pussy Cat, perhaps Pussy Catcher would have
been
a better name! We walk around the bay checking out all
the
bars and restaurants, most are closed.
Mon
7th
We
head for Trudy's preferred restaurant, we are the only
couple
having lunch, that is apart from the eight Firemen!
Trudy
has trouble concentrating but reminds me of the bar
near
St Martin airport runway. Where a girl walks in with such a
brief
bikini that it looks like she is naked from behind, with her
bum
covered in sand, and from the front it is only a couple of
square
inches different. Weather looks to be changing so we
should
get some wind tomorrow, so we check out for 1€ plus
33€
for three nights mooring.
Tue
8th
Throughout
the night we get horrendous thunderstorms and
torrential
rain but when we wake up the wind is moderate and
in
the right direction. So we dodge between the rocks and
islands
of Isle de Saintes and head south for Portsmouth
Dominica.
We have a brisk sail close hauled with a moderate
sea.
This allows us to explore the best angle on the wind to
maximise
our VMG (velocity made good) or the best angle to
close
on Portsmouth bay. When we arrive we are debating
whether
we should use Eddison and his team again or use the
first
boat boy to see us in to the bay. In the end we meet
Alexis
from SeaBird a mile off shore and he takes to the best
mooring,
i.e. the closes to Big Papas bar. His first words are
“welcome
to paradise” which is a bit corny but reminds us
what
a laid back island this is. We clear in by dinghy about 2
miles
away. Everyone is gorging on mangoes that are back in
season.
We meet “Crosna” who reminds us that the buses
here
are more comfortable, quieter and safer than other
islands.
Wed
9th
Late
start as we are putting off cleaning the bottom, I squeeze
into
my wetsuit get in and start scraping. Out rudders are still
pristine
with no growth at all. The rest of the hull is a mass of
weed
and barnacles. I only stay in for an hour but Trudy
carries
on for two.
Sat
12th
Take
a bus to Calibishie, a resort village on the north of the
island,
somewhere we had missed on our last visit.
Sun
13th
Barbecue
night where the boat boys serve food and rum, we
meet
Olivier and Vivien from Maryanne and Wili and Mark
from
Liahone, and Chuck and Barbara from a Trawler. They all
agree
that seeing the hurricane season out in Trinidad is the
best
option.
Mon
14th
Mark
and Wili invite us to a hog roast on June 9th at Black boy
and
Debbie’s in Saltwhistle bay Mayreau.
Tue
15th
Head
south to Roseau, meet Desmond a boat boy we have
met
before and get a mooring outside the "Drop Anchor" a
new
restaurant, closed Monday and Tuesday!
Wed
16th
We
get a tour to Trafalgar Falls, Titou Gorge, Botanical
Gardens
and Sulphur Springs. Craig is our guide and is very
helpful,
He swims with us through the Titou gorge to show the
two
waterfalls up river. This gorge is very narrow, between
11/2
and 3 meters wide, covered by rain forest and is almost
completely
dark until you get site of the waterfalls. A totally
awesome
experience. He also takes us over man sized
boulders
to swim under the Trafalgar falls.
Thur
17th
anchor
up and try to check in at St Pierre but they are closed,
4
hours early! It s another bank holiday. We get asked to
move
as the ferry is coming in and we get a god place miles
from
anyone; that night a yacht rides forward on its anchor by
about
100m, so he must have at least 50m of rode out, far too
much.
When we wake him he tells us we should move as we
were
too close and he had done 7 Atlantic crossings! Trudy
says
NO. I guess he didn't realise how far he had moved as
he
spent the next hour dropping a second anchor and ended
up
back where he started about 100m from us, hardly close!
Fri
18th
Try
to check in at St Pierre but the electricity is off, we are
sent
to Fort de France down the coast, luckily we were going
there
anyway! We have a tough sail and hold the full lot up
until
seas get large in 27 knots, We have never before reefed
this
late so she obviously copes with more canvas than we
first
thought. 2nd reef goes in at 30 knots, and third shortly
after
as seas are getting biger and we are getting gusts to
35kts.
We end up having to motor directly into the wind whilst
avoiding
a tug with a 400m tow; a huge rubbish container
destined
to be emptied at sea I fear. We arrive under the fort
and
anchor up. we are a short walk from the centre of town,
quite
handy! Also there is a park in full view of the boat where
concerts
are held. Check in at SeaServices, it is free!
Throughout
the evening we listen to the band that sounds
much
like Michel Jarre.
Sat
19th
Walk
around the markets, they are the best we have seen
since
Grenada. Music from the stage is Latin American /
Creole
mix with a female vocalist.
Sun
20th
Techno
music in the bay.
Mon
21st
Take
ferry to Pointe de Bout have a wander and visit
"Manureva"
restaurant, an expensive place so we just have a
beer.
Today is another bank holiday as Martinique is
celebrating
the abolition of slavery this day in 1848.
Tue
22nd
Set
off to Grand Anse D’rlet.
This
is a small resort bay with a couple of restaurants, shops and bars.
We are in no rush so stay a couple of days. We had planned to leave
here, check out and head directly south to St Lucia, but change our
minds as Trudy has found a yacht for sale in Le Marin that would suit
us well. There is a small café “Le P’ti Bateau” that is
licensed to check yachts in and out. This system is on all the French
islands and is very convenient.
Fri
25th
Leave
late under sail but end up motoring due to lack of wind and arrive in
Le Marin and park up in a no anchor zone. (along with all the French)
about 2 pm. This is a very busy bay with 600 slips all filled and a
further 80 moorings all taken.
Sat
26th
Martinique
is a good place for all things French so we stock up on pates, cheese
and wine. It is also a good place to buy and sell catamarans and we
have found a new cat that looks very interesting.
Sun
27th to 31st
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