Monday 30 December 2019

After a delightful evening with UK mates and their token American in-law (wonderful company despite being a yankee) we were off like a herd of turtles at O dark too-early. Managed to depart the bay full of yachts and shoals without incident.
Cul-de-sac de Marin is a major sailing area on Martinique, chock-a-block with moored and anchored boats, containing excellent restaurants, bars and chandleries, one of which was even open Sunday. It's usually an obligation to spend as much money as possible in every such cruiser toy store we can find, but used admirable restraint to get away with only a three euro door latch which we didn't need.

Following a burst of Christmas wind over, oddly enough, Christmas the Windward Caribbean has now gone uncommonly tranquil. Latest GRIB (Grievous Response with Inexcusable Balderdash) shows the merest zephyr. In addition, we spend most of today in the lee of two, too large islands. Adding insult to injury, wind is from the northwest which is particularly eccentric. Following a stealth layover tonight, arriving in the dark at Point Crabier or possibly off Portsmouth in Prince Rupert Bay (which would be somewhat less covert), tomorrow may favor us with slightly better and more open sailing up to Point-a-Pitre, Guadelupe. It's also a shorter passage so expect to get in before duanes closes at 1730. May reprise a previous year or two and set alarm clock for 2345 to catch year end feu d'artifice before having a wee lie-down after dinner.

To starboard is St. Pierre off the northwest coast, which was the "commercial, cultural and social center of Martinique" until Mt. Pelee erupted in 1902 and melted a fair portion of it. For political reasons no evacuation was ordered after an initial eruption of ash covered the town two weeks earlier. Most of the thirty thousand inhabitants were turned into crispy critters and, although the town was rebuilt, major activities moved south to Fort de France. During a stopover in 2009, a hundred and seven years later, enjoyed exploring the many burned out ruins that still remain. Pleased to report that unlike in Pompeii none of the unsightly, deceased former population were in evidence.

Jack & Jan