Our stay in Martinique at an end ( an enjoyable time with 2 weeks spent with a visit from our fiends Danny and Sally ), we set off just after first light bound for Dominica in a flat calm sea. With a forecast of 15-20kts we were semi hopeful of a decent passage, we should have known better. The wind rose to 20-25kts and the seas although not massively high seemed to be sending waves of all shapes and sizes from all directions, and so it was that we endured our 30 degree wash, another unpleasant trip. Making good time and with a much flatter sea behind the island we pressed on to Portsmouth with a pretty decent sail for once, Then we entered the final bay and with a final flourish the winds gusted up to 30 kts before we finally tied up to the luxury of a fixed mooring.
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We have been having a great time in Martinique
There is a lot to see on the island and we have explored quite a lot of it with Danny and Sally who have been with us for the last 2 weeks. A hire car transported us to faraway places for a couple of days, visiting a lovely garden, a Rum factory and a tour through the mountains. Other days have been spent swimming and snorkelling in the many bays on the west coast. Evenings have been spent mainly on board with alternating chefs creating a variety of dishes accompanied by the odd bottle or 2 of wine!!
Check out the new album for pics of our time here
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take care and happy sailings x
On Friday a brief 1hr trip to the West took us to Ste.Annes, a lovely small holiday town. Typically French with boulangerie, etc etc we explored the coastal path with Danny & Sally before returning for the obligatory beers. Today we moved across the bay to and around to Grande Anse d` Arlett, which has now calmed down after initially being very gusty, allowing us all to have a swim.
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We moved on up to Martinique today. An 18-20 kt wind pushed us along into the NE swell and into Marin, a large sheltered bay with hundreds of yachts at anchor.
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Love to you both. It looks fabulous.
Ger
Ger
After leaving Soufrierre and anchoring in Rodney Bay we treated ourselves to a few days in the marina to be able to sit still and do a few jobs without bouncing around. Whilst there we had a brilliant Indian meal at Razmataz with our friends Jenny and Glen from the yacht Wandering Star. Yesterday ( Sunday ) we moved out and anchored off Pigeon Island where the Brits had a fort to keep out the French during their battles over the Caribbean Islands, ideally sited overlooking Martinique to the north. We did the morning climb up to the fort today and had a good look round the ruined garrison. The Picture shows Betsy and Wandering Star peacefully at anchor just off the beach Check out the new St Lucia Album
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We left Bequia at 06.30 on Monday. The crossing from Bequia to St Vincent was pretty rough with more wind than forecast ( mental note listen to forecast and double wind strength ). After a quiet trip up the leeward coast of St Vincent we entered the anticipated wind acceleration zone at the top of the island, it wasn`t too bad and we waited for the wind and waves to decrease as we moved further north towards St Lucia..........well they didnt, they got worse and it rained, eventually it all got calmer as we approached St Lucia, all bar one last downpour and wind gust before we eased up beneath the massive Pitons to a mooring at Soufierre. This morning we did a tour to the volcano, which is still active and took in a mud bath ( brilliant ) in a hot pool before going on to the beautiful gardens and waterfall at Diamond Falls. It rained all morning but we thoroughly enjoyed our trip out. This afternoon we thought we would take a gentle cruise up the leeward side of St Lucia to Rodney Bay at the northern end.........wrong, you guessed 20-30kt winds on the nose and heavy rain... what is going on. Entered Rodney Bay in 25kt winds wishing we had stayed in Soufierre only to anchor in 10kt winds which apart from a few gusts has remained fairly constant ever since Heard from fiends we met there is a great curry restaurant in town so its on our `must do` list Hope to add some photos soon once we get wi-fi access
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