Back in France (Martinique)
21 March 2010
We left Bequia around 4pm and headed for Martinique on Thursday. The winds were supposed to be 15kts out of the East with 3 foot seas but they ended up being more ENE 20kts with 5-6 foot seas. This made for yet again another WET windward beat. We made very good time, however with 1 reef in the main and a pretty small section of the head sail out.
Other than being a wet and loud passage it was pretty uneventful. We saw some big (maybe) whale pass in front of the boat between Bequia and St. Vincent with a very long, very narrow and pointy dorsal fin; we looked in our books and still have no idea what it was, but it was about 25-20 feet long. Also, around midnite as we approached the Pitons of St. Lucia we noticed that one of the Pitons, Petit Piton was on fire.
Since Herb does not sleep very well on the single over night passages, Frank ended up on watch for a few more extra hours; Frank still got 4 hours of sleep to Herb's 2. So, needless to say we were both very tired when we dropped the hook in front of the Club Med beach in Saint Anne. We took about an hours nap then dinghied the 2 miles into La Marin to go check in before they closed at noon. We were going to eat a nice greasy burger at Le McDonalds, but could never figure out where it was, so instead we had a pizza and a few beers at Mango Bay. While sitting there, Robert and Carol from Moondance saw us and came and sat with us for a bit to catch up. They have been trying to head South, but with all the ESE winds they gave up at St. Lucia and came back to the land of wine, cheese, and bread to wait for better weather. They just have to be in Grenada by May as they are expecting company. We told them to not rush south then since we know they only carry 17 gallons of water and have no watermaker and we told them that no matter how creative they are at finding water, they will be paying a premium for it in St. Vincent and the Grenadines as this drought continues.
We got back to the boat around 3pm and planned on taking a couple hour nap. Next thing we knew, it was 8pm! So we both just ate a sandwich and went back to bed sleeping until 7 am the next morning!
We are planning on moving over to the anchorages of La Marin tomorrow morning so that we will be closer to the big grocery stores and will stock up on beer, wine, and food before continuing North possibly on Thursday. The winds are supposed to be 25-30 knots with 8-10ft waves over the next few days so we are just going to hunker down here and watch for a weather window to continue North.
This morning while sitting in the cockpit drinking coffee and reading we noticed 2 of the local square sail wooden Martiniquen sailboats, called Yoles, racing in the distance. Next thing we knew they were headed straight for our anchorage at St. Anne. The boats are probably about 30-35 feet long but very narrow. The huge square sails are hoisted up and out from huge bamboo poles. Most of the people on board the boat are for rail meat to hang way over on the windward side of the boat so it will not tip over as they do not have a keel (and often tip over). The men that hang out over the windward rail do so on huge pieces of wood or bamboo wedged under the gunwale of the sailboat that stick out about 6 feet from the boat for the men to sit or hang from. Not only did these 2 sailboats come towards the anchorage, but they were racing THROUGH the very crowded anchorage. Oh, we forgot to mention that the guy steering the sailboat is doing so with a huge oar like rudder about 7 feet long that rests on top of the transom and sticks out behind the boat into the water. Well they weaved their way through the anchorage, tacked and weaved their way back out, first passing feet from our stern, then next passing feet from the bow. You could hear them screaming instructions (we think) at each other in french (or creole) and when gusts hit the boat the men that ride the ballast poles would frantically dive out towards the end with some holding on with just their arms wrapped around the end and there feet dangling in the water! It was quite the thing to be able to see. Frank commented on how it would be fun to do that, Herb told him to go have fun!
Steven and Taryn from Synchronicity arrived this evening and we went over there after dinner for drinks and to catch up on what we all have been doing over the last 2.5 months since we saw them last. It was great to catch up with them. We had a few drinks and some cookies and before we knew it was after 1AM! We have not stayed up past 1am since we have been on the trip (other than while sailing).