Jeremie, Matt's friend, who had sailed with me from the US to Peurto Rico, flew into Dominica and has joined us. He should be sailing with me for a month or two.

Time flys, when you're having fun! So the saying goes and here it applied. We have been in Dominica for close to 6 weeks, and have enjoyed it . We were here for Carnival, which was very vibrant. The streets of Roseau were packed with people drinking and generally having a good time. A few days prior, friends on Fair Winds and Banjo arrived, having spent a while in Martinique. It's always great to catch up. We had some great evenings ashore, at Sea World, supplying the fried chicken and fish and we brought the sides. This way, none of us were left with a boat to clean afterward. Good times.

All good things come to an end. And it was time for Matt to fly out. Very sad to see him off, but I'm sure he will be back soon enough. Miss you, Big One.
The four and a half months we spent together was was one of the best times I've ever had. Being able to spend time together like that doesn't happen to everyone. Fishing, snorkeling and partying were the name of the game.

We eventually let go of the moorings in Roseau and headed north to Portsmouth, having an easy sail. We had planned to sail to Les Saintes the following day but Ron, on Desperado, was concerned about his engine as it was smoking a bit. He managed to find a good mechanic there, had it checked out, and was given a clean bill of health. It seemed as if it needed to be run, under load, for a while.
Off to the Saintes the next morning. Another good sail. 15-20 knots on the beam with a 3' sea. We did up to 7.7 knots, which is a good speed but I'm sure I can squeeze a bit more out of her yet. In saying this, I don't like to put the rigging and sails under unnecessary stress. Unfortunately, early into the passage, I pinched a nerve in my back. Doing nothing out of the ordinary. By the time we got to Les Saintes, and took a mooring at Ilet a Cabrit, I could hardly stand up. So the past couple of days, I've been hobbling around, waiting for the muscles to relax. Not fun. It's happened before and will happen again, I'm sure.
We've now moved into the mooring outside the quaint little town of Le Bourge, Terre-De-Haut. Very French indeed. Fresh baguettes and great cheeses are the order of the day.

We stayed here for 8 nights in all. It's been great. Good walks, in good company, followed by good dinners! It's hard to beat. We then shifted over to a quaint anchorage on the western side of Terre de Haute. Very pretty here with lots of lobsters again. You might, at this stage, notice a bit of a lobster theme happening in my travels. Go figure!
We left there 2 days later for Marie Galante, which is 15 miles, straight in to the prevailing winds. We'd picked a good weather window and motored most of the way. Also caught a big barracuda. But I thought it was too big to be clear of ciguatera, so we let it go. Still looking for that elusive tuna. I haven't caught one for months.