The Newest Adventure Begins

The newest adventure begins. We’ve been on board for over a week and we’ve completed several projects that had to be done before getting underway. Most important, we installed the new arch that will support the solar panel(s) over the bimini. We had it built in Bowling Green and we rigged a way to carry it on top of the car for the trip down. We got lots of strange looks from our fellow travelers on the interstate. Miracle of miracles, the installation went as planned. There was a minor mismeasurement and a minor miscalculation, neither of which caused a problem. Then, we replaced the propane stove with a new one. There was actually nothing wrong with the old stove, but its burners simply didn’t put out enough BTU’s for our culinary preferences. We also put up a new light fixture and a new spice rack in the galley. Peter built them at home and they went up without a hitch.
The biggest project was stowing all the provisions we brought for the trip; home grown potatoes, countless cans of tomatoes, soup and ingredients for Thai cuisine and Indian curry. Most important of all, the equivalent of 16 cases of wine and a few bottles of rum. The rum will probably be gone before we get to the Bahamas, but it’s cheap over there. While we had the lockers empty, Peter ran wires for the stern light and fished them through the arch.
Now, we’ll wait for weather. As soon as we get a few days of sunshine and temps more to our liking, we’ll head south. First, we’ll probably go to St Augustine, about 24 hours down the coast. We really like St A and may spend a couple of days there. On the other hand, we may rest up and head for Ft Pierce, another 24 hours down the coast. After that, Ft Lauderdale and maybe Miami. Everything, of course depends on the weather.

Ahhh! Back Home!

Ahhhhh. . . We arrived home to Springtime in Kentucky! As we drove North from Brunswick, GA trees and such weren’t quite as green but the picture that greeted us upon driving up into our yard was SUPER!!!! (see the sunset the night we got home)
Next day our second best sight was Lovely Lucette, our 110# wonderful Great Pyrenees.
The wonderful lady, Faye ,( who runs the local “Doggy Spa” (Doggy Days and Cat Nap Acres, outside Glasgow, KY we highly recommend her care for loved pets) keeps Lucette whilst we are gone. Seems our pooch (she was a rescue) is just a sweetie and everybody loves her. Our third and really most important best sight will be Saturday when our #1 and only best loved son will come for lunch for his (Friday) birthday!!! He, too, is a sweetie. I can’t believe he’s so grown up in many ways: he is 6’4”, looks wonderful in anything clothes-wise, (ladies, eat your heart out!!) is erudite and charming. Ok, just Mom talking. But truly can’t wait to see him! So, we are home! I want to thank all our family (especially my cousin, Walter from Alberta, Canada) and friends (esp.Kathy Jeidy, stateside) for keeping in touch even just a hi. Although we had a wonderful winter in tropical paradise, it does get just a bit lonesome so a word or two from home is always welcome after 3 ½ months away. And thank you to our neighbors, Martha and her son Josh for checking on the house while we were away. Thanks to everyone.

Guess this is it for the first part of 2009. Don’t know where or when our next adventure will be. Peter and I have always said that our 36 years of marriage has been one adventure after another. So we are looking forward to our next adventure together. Ciao and happy spring to all . . .

Goodbye, Paradise!

St. Lucia – Miami -- Brunswick March 2009.

Left ;( Paradise-St. Lucia on another bright, sunny, lovely 80* day. Won’t go into the yucky long, long lines in Miami. Got to our hotel (Airways Inn…)- we had checked in there on our way to Paradise and parked our car.
Then we went to the in-house Sports Bar!! (yes, us!) had a really good hamburger for my birthday meal !! Left bright and early the next a.m. Had to stop at Ft. Lauderdale at Sailorman’s, and at St. A at Sailor’s Exchange of course!!! Raced to our mail forwarding place in FL and got there just in time to pick up our mail (they are very good, by-the-way, if you need such a service. )
Then on to Brunswick, GA and our boat!!! (Now or Never! in case you forgot :) ) Got the few essentials aboard and went directly to Fox’s for pizza!!! We don’t eat out a lot, normally, but after a long drive, Fox’s has a GREAT thin crust cheese pizza!! And it’s become a ‘tradition’. Nice. Next night we were lucky that our neighbors Charles and Jo Ann (s/v Osprey) were aboard and joined us for drinks. Such nice people. Next night our old friends from s/v Nootka Dancer, John and Helen from Ontario (whom we met several years ago at BLM and hope to ‘buddy’ with to the Bahamas next winter) visited for a wonderfully long evening . . . Three ‘successful’ projects on our boat for Peter!! Stayed an extra day to complete all. A nice lunch with Charles and Jo Ann. Evening chats also. Gosh they are really nice and I want to thank JoAnn especially because her gentle encouragement and lovely compliments have done more for my flagging ego than ANYTHING. Thank you, lady! You sure did good, Charles, she’s one in a million and deserving of your cherishing. :) Then we sneaked away to a ‘local’ place for fresh raw oysters!!! Super!
So next a.m. very early we started our trip HOME! Of course our trip was lengthened because of our very EXPENSIVE!!!! stop at Harry’s/Whole Foods in Marietta just outside of Atlanta !!!! I offered to get a job to pay the bill . . . but what wonderful ‘stuff’ like veal chops, rack of lamb (for Matthew’s birthday lunch), lovely lamb chops, bright-eyed red snapper, even fresh smelt!! (don’t think the smelt compare to morning-caught ‘flying fish’ from, Castries, St Lucia, W.I. tho).
not to mention the cheese and olives :) Love it!!!! However, too many choices. Think Sherry (from Alesto II) would maybe understand :)

He said,

Since our last post, Al has left the boat and returned. He left shortly after we got back from Martinique. While he was gone, we got together with folks we had met at Rodney Bay. We invited Sue and Norman from Clara one night and Peter and Pat another night. They, of course, reciprocated. Sue and Norman have been coming to Rodney Bay for 18 years. She is English and he is Canadian, from Toronto. Both of them have done several transatlantic crossings. Norman has done two, single-handed in a 26 foot boat. Sue has done umpteen, both as skipper and as crew. On one crossing, she was on Breeze Away, the first St Lucian boat to participate in the ARC. The ARC is the Atlantic Race for Cruisers. The race departs the Canary Islands and finishes at Rodney Bay, St Lucia. It’s a big deal, 250 boats. Some people enter because they want to win, others simply because they want to experience the camaraderie. Sue and Norman have a busy social life when they are on the island, between golf and dinner parties and the like, Sue is very involved in charity projects which benefit the children of St Lucia.
Pat and Peter are on Aku Tiki, a 35 foot C & C, a Canadian boat. Pat is from Jamaica and Peter escaped East Germany (sneaking over the border at night ) before trekking around Europe as a young man. They met at the YMCA! Things were different 50 years ago. The YMCA was a safe and cheap place for a young man to stay when traveling. It sponsored social events and Peter and Pat met at a YMCA dance. At any rate, they have been coming to St Lucia for 14 years. They leave their boat there during hurricane season and spend several months a year on the boat. They met Sue and Norman years ago in Trinidad.
A couple of days before Al returned to the boat (he was gone for two weeks), other friends of ours, Lee and Sherry aboard the catamaran Alesto II, arrived at Rodney Bay. Peter went to college with Sherry. We met anew online on a sailing forum. Small world. At any rate, we saw Lee and Sherry last year in the Bahamas where Lee built a “lookee” bucket for Claudia. A “lookee” bucket is a 5 gallon bucket with a clear plastic bottom. It makes it possible to see under water without leaving the dinghy. It was nice to see them again. One of the nicest things about cruising is the people you meet and meet again and again.
When Al returned to St Lucia, we picked him up at the airport—an hour and a half away from Rodney Bay—driving on the left side of the road in a car with the steering wheel on the right side! When we came through Castries, the local fishermen had set up shop on the side of the road. They go out in their tiny boats at 4AM, somewhere between St Lucia and Martinique. When they return, they sell their catch on the side of the road. The tables are covered with Tuna, Red Snapper, Mahi-Mahi and several other lesser fish. We bought a small tuna for ceviche (recipe appears below), a beautiful red snapper (filleted before our eyes) for pan frying and a dozen flying fish. The flying fish are fantastic and apparently a local favorite. The fellow that cleaned them for us was amazing. He never laid them on the table while he manipulated his knife to split them and to remove the fins and bones. How he managed to keep all ten fingers is miraculous. At any rate, we seasoned the flying fish with salt and pepper, dusted them with flour and fried them in butter. A bit of lime juice and beurre noire finished them off.

We had hoped that the strike on Martinique would be over by the time that Al returned to the boat so we could return to the island. Alas, it was not to be. The back-up plan was to go down the coast of St Lucia to Marigot Bay and then to go to Soufrière and the Pitons to do some snorkeling. The weather was not cooperative. Winds in excess of 25 knots and heavy seas intervened, so we stayed put at Rodney Bay. The upside to this was that we ate at a couple of really fine restaurants. The Edge, just a short dinghy ride away—tie up at their dock, and for C’s birthday, Chic.
Since we spent a lot of time in Castries, we're posting several pix from the market and downtown Castries. It's really not a picturesque place, but it is very busy. Once when we were there, five cruise ships were in harbor. Some of the people from the cruise ships arrange for island tours and the like. Others wander around downtown Castries and go home to say they have seen St Lucia. Castries is very much like St John's, Antigua and Roseau, Dominica (Domineeca, remember!) and even a bit like Nassau, Bahamas. A bit run down, a little dirty, modernity mingled with the old, and very busy and very exciting.

She said,
Left strike-torn Martinique. Left, I might add, without French cheese, olives or sausage!!! Quel dommage!!! And quite a ride back to St. Lucia!!! “They” enjoyed it. I didn’t . So I guess that says I’m not a sailor! The wind was such that the jib got torn to shreds. It was just about dark as we got into Rodney Bay so we anchored out in the harbour. Came back to our slip the next day.
Al went state side. We had the A/C fixed. Dinked for groceries – no one had plain yoghurt (which we like with our curry)!! Very windy in squalls – 29 knts.
Did a lot of ‘socializing’ with new cruiser friends we met at dock. Our former neighbors from Dock C Sue and Norman (aboard s/v Clara) invited us for drinks. They have been based in St. Lucia for the past 14 years. She is very active in St. Lucia organizations doing for local kids. We have a lovely St. Lucian calendar the proceeds from which benefit local children’s funds. They also are instrumental in the local youth St. Lucia boating club. Norman has a fantastic music collection which he has organized and collated and he plays though his computer. On a subsequent visit, with the folks from s/v Silk Pajamas (Terry and Kristen) also aboard, Norman cranked up the party music and had everyone aboard dancing to the music. Our next door neighbors on Dock G (had 110 power) were Peter and Pat. (He’s from Germany, she from Jamaica – now from Toronto) Charming folk. We really liked them. Peter has had so many adventures, including escaping from East Germany in the dark of night. They invited us along to the famous Friday night “Jump Up” at Gros Islet” close by. What fun!! Our portside neighbors, aboard s/v Toot, were Marlene and Michael. They were there only briefly but I really enjoyed talking to her and most grand was able to trade books!!! Nice folks. Our earlier neighbors, s/v Sol y Mar, Pat and Dory were really nice friendly people. Our friends Lee and Sherry from the lovely Cat Alesto II arrived at Rodney Bay. (we had stayed in touch all winter following each other’s paths) It was really good to see them!! We had lunch with them and later met again and talked and talked about all of the adventures we both had!!! Super people!!

March 4th.
Al came back to Rodney Bay. He won’t be going back with us on the 18th as previously planned. His friend, Roy, is coming down on the 12th with his nephew and they will put the boat on the hard on the 17th and fly home on the 19th. We had hoped that the strike on Martinique would be over and we would go back, alas that was not to happen. So being flexible sailors we said ok we’ll take a hop down the coast of St. Lucia to Marigot Bay which James Mitchner described as “the most beautiful bay in the Caribbean” how could we go wrong? How, you ask? Weather. We waited and waited for a weather window for the trip south. No way, high winds and sizeable seas. So we just hung out and went to some excellent restaurants; notably The Edge just a dinghy ride away and for a special treat (for C’s birthday, thank you Al) to Chic !!!

Martinique, Part Deux

Our stay on Martinique was both dull and exciting. Because of the strike, we were unable to do virtually anything. On the other hand, the strike itself offered some entertainment. We had looked forward to shopping in a French supermarket and buying an assortment of cheeses, sausages and olives, not to mention good French bread. Accordingly, we made our way to the supermarket in Marin as soon as we could. Alas! We got there as it was closing. We returned the next morning but it was closed due to the strike! Well, eating out in France is not so bad. We made our way to Anse Mitan and our first stop was the 8 à Huit grocery store. The shelves were bare except for ketchup and mustard and the like.
Lunch was interrupted by a group of 10-12 rough looking young men who burst into the restaurant crying, “It’s closed now!” The restaurant staff all withdrew to a central part of the open air restaurant and closed themselves inside. Most of the patrons got up and left. We remained seated as did a French family with little children. The strikers didn’t bother them or us. Apparently they refrained from bothering the family because of the little children and apparently they avoided us either because they thought we didn’t understand or because our foreign-ness exempted us. At any rate, we remained seated until they left and paid our bill--those who left did so without paying.
The trip to Martinique was not a total loss. In the first place, we sailed past HMS Diamant which was the backdrop for numerous photographs of sailboats on our previous trip to the island 5 years ago. Claudia and I had stayed at a nice hotel in Diamant with a gorgeous view of le Rocher Diamant, a rocky outcrop that the British commissioned as a man-o-war during their rivalry with the French for control of the Caribbean. I took a lot of pictures as boats sailed past. Now, I was sailing past and presumably someone was taking pictures of me!
The anchorage at Anse Mitan also had special meaning. It was in front of the beach that Claudia and I had visited 35 years earlier. It was where we first saw cruisers sailing in, dropping anchor and dinghying in for drinks. “What a way to travel!” we said. Indeed, it is. Anse Mitan is also the source of one of our travel “treasures,” a large piece of brain coral that we found on that same trip.
We wanted to rent a car but the rental agencies either had no vehicles or no gas. So, we were basically stuck at Anse Mitan since there were no busses or ferries running. We were finally able to find a taxi to take us into Fort-de-France where we needed to go to get our exit papers. The entire city was closed! Shuttered! Except for pharmacies and bakeries. Apparently bread is considered as essential as medicine. Actually, the place where we had to go to check out was half open--its shutters were drawn, but there was personnel inside. Additionally, the city market was open and fresh fruits and vegetables were available.
On our way back to Anse Mitan, the taxi driver took us to a distillery that was open for the tourist trade. We learned a bit about making rum and bought some rum in their shop. Afterwards, we were disappointed to find the museum at Empress Josephine’s childhood home closed. It was closed the previous time we tried to visit 5 years ago.
A couple of days before we left Martinique, the people on one of the boats in the anchorage left for a weekend sail. Their anchor rode ran pretty close to our boat and they managed to drive over our anchor rode, catching it and wrapping the rope around their propeller. Fortunately, the daughter of the owner of the boat was a diver and lived nearby on the island. Still, it was a bit touch and go as she worked to separate our line from her father’s propeller shaft.
The day we chose to leave was supposed to have winds from the East or East-north-east at about 18 knots. The seas were supposed to be less than 6 feet out of the East-north-east. This would have been a beautiful trip as we were basically headed south. The wind, however, came at us from the Southeast and the seas were much higher than 6 feet. We’ve been in this part of the Caribbean for weeks and this was the first time we saw winds from the Southeast! We got back to Rodney Bay after sunset, anchored in 8 feet of water close enough to the Sandals resort to enjoy their music from the boat.
Back in the marina, there has been a steady stream of boats from Martinique. People are coming here to fill jerry cans with fuel and to go grocery shopping.

Martinique, Feb 12

Martinique

Feb 8, 2009

We picked Al up at the airport in Vieux Fort last Monday. We rented a car and drove down the East coast of St Lucia. Although the east coast was mountainous, it was nowhere near as steep as the west coast. There were very few hairpin turns and the road was in general plenty wide. What’s more, there were stretches of reasonably straight road.


Vieux Fort, true to the cruising guide description. is a busy town that hasn’t a tourist bone in its body.
We had a Creole meal at a pleasant little restaurant. We walked around town and strolled down the main street which was lined with women selling fruits and vegetables. One lady had fresh ginger and something we weren’t familiar with, so we asked. She didn’t know the English word for it and there was much discussion among the various vendors as to what it was called. Finally, someone identified it as turmeric root. Since they all knew its name in Creole, I asked for that, too and they were surprised and obviously pleased that I knew a bit of Creole. The name for turmeric root is ti gembré -- little ginger.
After meeting Al at the airport, we returned to Rodney Bay. We waited for a couple of days for the weather to give us a good opportunity to sail to Martinique. We left the marina and anchored in the bay in time for sunset and a great view of the Unicorn (known as the pirate ship).
It’s a real sailing vessel built many years ago in Europe and it used to carry freight between S America and the islands. It’s now an excursion boat and was also used in “Pirates of the Caribbean” and in “Roots.”
The sail across to Martinique was smooth and calm. Gentle six foot seas and enough wind to justify a reef in the main and a reefed genoa. We anchored at Marin and planned to check in the following morning. I may have already mentioned that the anchorage at Marin is very crowded. We found a spot that allowed plenty of room between us and the boats around us. There was however, a private buoy marking the anchor chain of a boat that was not there. It was pretty close to us and had there been a boat attached to it, we could not have anchored where we did.
We went into the marina the following morning to check in with customs. The customs office was closed due to a general strike on the island. So, we went to Mango Bay, had a croissant and coffee and got on the internet. Then off to the supermarket for provisioning. Provisioning on St Lucia was not a good experience and we were looking forward to French cheeses, sausages, olives, bread, wine, decent cuts of meat, etc. We got to the supermarket at 10 minutes before noon -- it closes at 12:30 on Sunday. That means that the employees go home at 12:30. So they don’t let customers into the store after 11:30. Oh well, tomorrow’s another day, Scarlett. I forgot to mention that we needed gas for the dinghy and there is a fuel dock within walking distance of the supermarket. Unfortunately, “pa ni essence” (no gas).

So, now it’s Sunday afternoon. It’s my birthday for cryin’ out loud. We’ve struck out at customs, we’ve struck out at the supermarket. What else could go wrong? We’re on the boat, we’re chillin’ (& some of us are napping) “Excuse me,” says the woman on a boat that pulls past us about 30 feet away. “That’s our anchor chain attached to the float just in front of your bow.” Now, this is a public anchorage. That means that anyone can anchor wherever there is room. The idea that anyone can claim “ownership ” to a particular place is nonsense. This would be like trying to claim a particular parking place by putting a sign on it whenever you go somewhere. Still, possession is what percentage of the law? The other boat proceeds to tie up to the anchor rode that they have left attached to a float. They are 15 feet in front of us and there is a disaster waiting to happen. So, we have to up anchor and move. We cruised around the anchorage looking for a likely spot and finally find a place a couple of hundred feet off the mangroves and in 12 feet of water. Shallow is always nice! All’s well that ends well and the new anchorage is quiet, pleasant and so much better than the spot where we were. (She said. We had a rhum to celebrate the new nice place!!

So, Scarlett, Monday arrives, we go into the marina to check in with customs. No problem. We duck into Mango Bay to get on the internet. No problem. We hop into the dinghy and go to the marina fuel dock for gas--”pa ni essence!” Oh well, we’ve still got a half gallon or so. On to the supermarket. The dinghy dock was crowded and people were lined up at the fuel station for gas. Oh boy. So, we stand in line and get 12 liters of gas for 32 euros (you do the math). We take off for the supermarket. “Odd,” Claudia said, “there aren’t any people with shopping carts around the dinghy dock.” Hmmm! The explanation was that there were no people shopping because the supermarket was closed due to the general strike! Currency exchanges closed, even ATM’s closed! Welcome to France! Well, tomorrow is another day, Scarlett.

What a Ride! 


We rented a car the other day and drove down the West Coast of the Island to Soufriere (means “puffer” in French). The town is near volcanic vents that “puff” occasional bursts of hydrogen sulfide. On our way to Soufrière, we drove through some of the most spectacular mountains and jungles we have ever seen.



She said: Boy, what a ride! I almost went into cardiac arrest at least several dozen times! The road was so narrow, mountainous, filled with hairpin turns, very steep drop-offs. Oh, did I mention that the steering wheel was on the right? And we were driving on the “wrong” side of the road? But it was so beautiful--breath-taking! (No pun intended J) Peter did a great job.

Our first stop was Marigot Bay, described by James Michener as “the most beautiful bay in all the Caribbean.”

His description must have been written years ago. Today, the bay has been developed as a tourist site. There are expensive shops and restaurants, a posh hotel and a small marina that is home to a fleet of “Moorings” charter boats. The bay is packed with cruising boats and more charter boats on mooring balls. The pretty little beach is cluttered with rental dinghies and hobies. The charm of a lovely, secluded bay is gone.
From Marigot Bay, our route took us over tortuous mountain roads with terrific views of coastal towns and culminated with an unbelievable view of St Lucia’s trademark twin Pitons


as we approached Soufrière. Before leaving Soufrière, we visited the Botanical gardens and Diamond waterfall. If one could see only one thing on St Lucia, or indeed the entire Caribbean, this would be it! A jungle of tropical plants punctuated by a riot of colorful flowers and climaxed by a stunning waterfall.
 
 
 
 

We went to Gros Islet again last night.   We joined Pat and Peter from the boat Aku Tiki for the evening. Peter is German and Pat is Jamaican and they live in Toronto except for the 4 or so months that they live on their boat. They’ve been cruising these waters for years. At any rate, they came by the boat at 8:30. It was already dark, of course and probably past our normal bedtime. Our visit to Gros Islet the other day revealed a quiet fishing village. All that changes on Friday night for the “Jump Up.”
Streets are blocked off, restaurants and bars, closed the rest of the week, spill out onto the pavement, makeshift bars are set up on card tables like lemonade stands.   Grills come out to prepare street food, chicken, fish, conch, food on a stick The festivities had begun by the time we arrived, but we left long before they terminated in the wee hours of Saturday morning. The streets were crowded with tourists and locals from all over the island. On every corner, music blared from speakers as big as Claudia’s RAV4.

Rodney Bay, Jan 23

 

We walked to Gros Îlet yesterday. It’s a small community just north of Rodney Bay. Like so many other places we’ve been, it’s a mix of fairly nice houses tucked between ramshackle houses. Many of the latter are no larger than a storage shed from Lowe’s. Sheep and goats were tethered along the streets (forget sidewalks!) anywhere something green was growing. Chickens--definitely “free range”--pecked at gravel bugs and scraps, chicks peeping along behind. Again, like so many other places we’ve been, there were tiny shops everywhere; some simply operating from an open window in a small room in someone’s home. Nearly everyone selling some kind of food stuff, fruit drink and beer. It is not unusual to see people buy just one bottle of beer that they proceed to drink as they walk down the street. That’s something we first noticed in the Bahamas last year. One thing that struck us about Gros Îlet was the number of people just sitting around. Unemployment must be a major social problem here--20% in 2003. Tourism and agriculture are significant parts of the economy and the manufacturing sector is one of the most developed in the East Caribbean. Agriculturally, the banana is the main cash crop while many other things are grown for local consumption--yams, manioc, taro and pumpkins.
 
You may have noticed that place names here, as on Dominica, are French. This island like all the others in the Caribbean were hotly contested by France and England for most of the 18th century with France seeming to dominate early on. Even though place names here are French, proper names are mostly English and English, of course is the language used in school, commerce and government. However, Créole is widely spoken by many--especially older and uneducated people. Créole is loosely related to French, but contains elements of English, Spanish and West African languages. The Créole that is spoken here is understood by the people on Guadeloupe, Dominica, and Martinique. It is similar to the Créole of Haiti and Louisiana, but not completely understandable there.

Roseau, Anchorage Hotel

She said: Just a few more words before leaving lovely, friendly Dominica. First off, many of the Dominicans have surnames that we think of as first names; Frederic, Peter and Paul. The most prevalent surname, however, is Joseph. We were told that a full 5 pages of the Dominica phone book is devoted to the surname of Joseph. Second - The last two nights that we were waiting for good weather we went to the Anchorage Bar (and hotel). There we met other cruisers and were charmed by the young, handsome bartender - Earl Joseph!! He made a rum punch that would knock your socks off and you wouldn’t even realize it!!! He gave me his secret recipe (which includes going to a cinnamon tree and shaving some fresh bark as well as picking up a fresh nutmeg from under the tree and grating it into the punch!!) So when you visit, I will make you an Earl Joseph rum punch. (But please don’t ask for the recipe, I promised him I wouldn’t give it away J )

St Lucia, Jan 21

We left Roseau on the 16th headed for St. Pierre on Martinique. The ride down between Dominica and Martinique (the first of the windward islands) was not bad. C thought it a bit rough, but the 6 foot swells were far apart and the wind was a consistent 15 knots. Lee had said a few days earlier that the weather may not have been the best, but it might not be too uncomfortable so we should go sooner. . We waited, though. We ran into a couple that we had met in the Saintes. They had set out for St Pierre even though the weather was not the best a few days earlier. They said that they have been doing this for 40 years and that this was the first time they had ever turned back. Glad we waited ,we definitely chose a good day to make the crossing.
We anchored in 12 feet of water at St Pierre (that meant that Lee only had to lift 12 feet of chain at a time instead of the 32 feet at a time that he hauled in at the Saintes!

She said: as a point of interest the 32 feet of chain probably weighs about 54 pounds--then there is the 35 pound anchor as well.

We cleared in, bought some fresh French bread and a bottle of the famous Martinique rum. We had a delightful supper at l’Escapade. Eating in France and the French Antilles is never a disappointment. It’s a shame that we couldn’t spend a couple of days at St Pierre. However, Lee had to be in St Lucia in time to catch a plane on the 19th.
So, we headed for Marin on the South Coast of Martinique. There, at least, if the weather turned bad, he could catch a ferry to St Lucia. There was very little wind and the sea was calm. We saw a huge pod of dolphins, the first on this trip. They were magnificent! The little ones leapt from the water and were obviously enjoying themselves.   We passed several small fishing boats on the way. It’s hard to believe that people venture forth on such craft, but seeing is believing. C and I had been to Marin before, but we didn’t recognize a thing! There were a gazillion boats in the anchorage--well, at least 400--but we found a likely spot. It seems there’s always room for one more. We had a bite to eat at Mango Bay, checked our e-mail and talked to folks back home on Skype and returned to the boat. P went in to town in the AM to clear out and returned with a fresh baguette and a couple of bags of ice. We had a bit of a problem raining the anchor--due in part to flukey winds and in part to peculiarities of the ground tackle on Second Wind. It didn’t help that transmission was in neutral when the helmsman thought it was in gear! At least we were again in shallow--15 feet--water.
 The ride across the St Lucia Pass to Rodney Bay was a bit difficult. The wind was fine--on the beam most of the way and the seas were not choppy. However, the 9 foot swells came on our stern quarter. First they would push the stern to starboard and then as they passed under the boat, she would round up to port. It made steering difficult. Once you got used to the rhythm, you could hold the course by feel, but it took a lot of effort at the wheel. The swells would lift the boat up and then lower it into a trough 9 feet below the crest. We saw whole boats a quarter of a mile away rise on a wave and disappear into a trough only to reappear riding the crest of another wave.


 

Rodney Bay is a first class marina and there are numerous shops and restaurants within walking distance. A bus ride to “the mall” costs $1.50 EC or about 50 cents US. The marina is not full but there are about 200 boats here that form a veritable forest of masts, Many of them have just completed the ARC, the race from the Canary Islands to St Lucia. Although there are several American flagged vessels here, boats from all over Europe predominate. Gregory comes by every morning in his flag festooned boat to sell fruit. I blew him away with my limited creole! 

We watched the presidential inauguration on TV today. It was exciting and gratifying. The TV at Scuttlebut (a bar and restaurant) was surrounded by a crowd from all over the world. When Obama took the oath of office, everyone cheered and when he gave his address, there was a standing ovation. One group even ordered a bottle of champagne! 

Under Way Again, Jan 15

Well, when we last posted, we were still in the Saintes, waiting for Lee. Internet access has been a sometimes thing. Sometimes, we could not connect to a wireless network, sometimes the wireless network was down and sometimes the wireless network was unable to connect us to the internet. At any rate, Lee finally arrived on the 6th of January. We immediately introduced him to the pleasures of the island--ti punch and people watching. Lee brought patch material for the dinghy, but unfortunately they were not up to the task. So, when the time arrived to leave, we hoisted the dinghy on board and lashed it to the deck. The Saintes were wonderful, especially the restaurants--we never found a bad one. Every meal that we ate out was very, very good and the three meals that we had a Les 3 Boats (Chicken George’s) were stellar. Georges prepares an excellent tartare de poisson (raw fish). La Case aux Epices also does a good tartare de poisson.
The trip down to Portsmouth was pleasant enough even though the seas were a bit trough. Four and five foot swells combined with wind chop made for a splashy ride as we came across the pass between the islands. As soon as we were in the lee of Dominica (pronounced doe-mee-nee-kuh with the accent on nee) Things smoothed out considerably. We anchored upon arrival at Portsmouth only to learn from one of the numerous yacht helpers that we should pick up a mooring ball. After clearing customs, we arranged for a river trip with Martin Carriere (Providence).
The trip up the Indian River was fantastic! Unspoiled jungle line the banks. It has been said that if Columbus returned to the Caribbean today, Dominica would be the only island he’d recognize--it has remained so unchanged. We enjoyed the river trip so much that we set up an all day car tour for the next day. We saw medicinal plants, exotic fruits on trees, bushes and vines, bay trees, cinnamon, nutmeg--all growing wild.

She says (we hiked to a bay still that is still in use that extracts bay oil to make bay rum - we also learned that Rose’s Lime Juice was first produced here as Dominica had perhaps the largest production of limes)

We saw gardens and banana and taro plantations. Agriculture is the backbone of the Dominican economy. We hiked into the caldera of a dormant volcano to see pools of water bubbling with hydrogen sulfide gas. Truly, Dominica is a magical place! Rainbows several times a day (of course, this means it rains every day! But it usually is light and lasts only a few minutes.)
Next stop Roseau. Roseau is the capitol of Dominica and much more populous than Portsmouth. There is a cruise ship at dock every day and downtown is crawling with tourists eager to buy souvenirs, duty free liquor and perfumes. We wandered around and had lunch at Guiyave, a pleasant upstairs restaurant with a balcony for people watching. Lunch was Creole fare and the Callaloo soup was excellent. Callaloo is the young leaves of the taro plant and tastes somewhat like spinach. It was the object of our quest and we were satisfied.
Roseau has turned out to be a weather stop. We’d like to continue down to St Pierre on Martinique as soon as possible. However, the winds between the islands is blowing 25-30 and the seas are running 9 feet. It’s hard to believe because here, in the lee of the island, the sea is smooth and the winds are gentle. Things are supposed to settle down a bit tomorrow and we hope to get underway.