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!