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.