We had a few essential things to do in Martinique. The first and most important was to get another high pressure hose for the water maker. So off we went across the very bumpy water to Le Marin. I honestly don’t like bumping over the waves at speed, being thrown all over the dinghy, but we had to go fast otherwise we would have got wet!
After checking in, we dropped the pipe off at the shop and were told we could fetch it the following day. Island time kicked in and it wasn’t ready the following day! Two days later were able to fetch the new one with the fittings attached. Now we can make water without taking half the boat apart to make the hose fit!
We need to replace our dinghy. Andrew has tried several times to fix the leaks but the South African dinghy made out of PVC is just not suitable for the Caribbean sun! They are expensive, think small second hand motor car expensive. They were more expensive in Le Marin than we had seen online in St Martin, so we held off and continue to pump Mr Pump-a-lot every time we need to use it. Andrew glued the cones again for the umpteenth time and it has worked to a degree. But we still have a slow leak.
We have not eaten bread since leaving South Africa, so the first thing Andrew bought was a baguette.
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| Baguette and Camembert |
We had planned to spend Christmas in Martinique but once again the weather dictated our plans.
I have said before that Andrew keeps a close eye on the weather, especially the wind. We realised that there was going to be good wind before Christmas, but afterwards the wind would die for at least five days. We didn’t want to be stuck in Martinique for that long, so we decided to head out.
Andrew and Ian decided at about 10am that we should leave that day. Of course it was a mad scramble to get everything ready before leaving. We had to check out of Martinique at Snack Boubou and buy a few essential things at the shop (wine, cheese, the obligatory cabbage).
Once everything was stowed away properly, we were finally ready to leave. At noon we upped anchor and set off, raising the sails as we went. It was about 23 nautical miles to Saint Pierre which is a town at the top of Martinique. We had very good sailing with an easterly wind. We only had to motor sail a bit when the wind dropped on the Leeward side of the Island.
We arrived in Saint Pierre at around 16:30. Watched the sunset, made supper and fell into bed. Saint Pierre is an interesting town. They had a volcanic eruption in 1902 which destroyed most of the town, killing more than 30 000 people. The ships that were in the harbour at the time of the eruption couldn't get away fast enough and all sank creating a no-go-zone of shipwrecks below the water. Although there were quite a few boats anchored in the safe spots, it was big enough for us to find a place to drop anchor for the night.
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| Mount Pelée |
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| Saint Pierre |
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| Coast road |
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| Gumbar and the volcano |
The following morning, we woke early, ready for the long sail to Dominica. We left St Pierre at 6:30 am as we had 54 nm to cover before we arriving in Dominica. We had a lovely sail across the channel which was 24 nm and took 4 hours. Unfortunately, the wind dropped on the Leeward side of the island, and we had to motor sail all the way up Dominica until we got to Portsmouth at 4pm. It was a very, very long, noisy day. After supper we fell into bed, exhausted.
Bloodied but unbowed, as my grandmother would have said, we awoke at first light and started making our way towards Bouillante Bay in Guadeloupe.
We often have to avoid fish traps, but that morning we had to avoid a large branch that was floating in the water.
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| Flotsam |
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| We also have to avoid the big ships! |
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| No wind so the screecher comes out! |
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| The clouds look painted in the sky |
We had mis-timed the wind dropping, as it was light again, and once again we had to motor sail but this time we had to motor all the way. We arrived in Guadeloupe at 14:30 and dropped anchor with relief.
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| Merry Christmas |
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