Tonight we had our last supper with our guests aboard Dignity. Being Friday, it was of course curry. In order to get to the airport we’re back again anchored off Fort-de-France. It’s been a good day here as the strike is really and definitely over. The shops are open, in particularly the supermarkets. We’ve begun loading the boat with the provision that are cheap here: wine, beer and coffee.
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Our stay in Case Pilote ended up being quite short. All except for Helen did go ashore for a while but the charm of the ‘quaint fishing village’ was fairly limited. It was more of a fledgeling fishing factory with a bit of a town next to it. There was a pretty main square but that was about it. We therefore left in the morning and headed to the other side of the bay from Fort-de-France. We first tried anchoring in Trois-Islets but found the water to be murky and the bottom muddy and hard to anchor in. We ended up off Anse Matin, a touristy beach, around the corner. The water was clearer and allowed for some snorkeling. Later this morning we’ll be off to Fort-de-France so that our guests can leave early in the morning. We’ll do some more loading up of cheap French wine and will probably take a bus trip to visit the malls in the Industrial Zone. Most importantly we should be able to get an internet connection, catch up on the last weeks mail and upload all our pics. Since we bought the trolling line in Dominica we’ve had it out on practically every sail with no effect. Last night, on a whim, I threw over a hook on a line with a shrimp from dinner as bait and left it overnight. This morning we found what I think was a bar jack on the line. Excitement. Not the only excitement we had overnight. Around 2am, the only other boat in the anchorage, a 51ft charter boat, slipped it’s anchor caught ours and nearly bumped into us. We were awoken by a commotion and joined in the shoving to protect our boats. Fortunately there was no damage.
This evening we are anchored in Case Pilote, just down the road (or sea lane) from St Pierre. It’s a small fishing village with a couple of shops. Certainly not as picturesque as St Pierre but nice all the same. Yesterday afternoon Helen and I spent some time aboard Northern d’Light a Lagoon 420 owned by a Canadian couple: Dave and Linda. As always, it was nice to compare notes. They’re moving through the islands quicker than we are so there’s only a small chance of meeting again. Fingers crossed as they were a nice couple. Last night we ate ashore at L’Escapade. We all ordered steak dinners but they only had enough meat for four. They offered duck as an alternative for the same price. Jim and I played the gallant hero’s and forwent our steaks for similarly sized duck. Hard being a hero. This morning we all went ashore for shopping and sight seeing. Helen and I made two trips, the first including our formally checking back into Martinique. On each trip we picked up a number of cheap bottles of French wine. You can indeed get wine for under $3 a bottle here in Martinique now that the stores are open. We need to buy in a lot more before we leave. Helen and I walked up to a statue of the Virgin Mary which looked down on the bay and of course took a number of pics. Given that we haven’t had internet on the boat since Rodney Bay we are still unable to upload. A number of our passengers were getting desperate for their email so had to visit the internet cafe to catch up. And I thought I was bad. Tomorrow we’re off to the Trois Islets area and the following evening we’ll anchor off Fort-de-France so that our guests can leave early Saturday morning. Helen and I will then make our way to Rodney Bay where we’ve decided to catch up on our boat chores before exploring St Lucia in a bit more detail. All aboard are well. The weather is great and we’re having a good time. Long sail today from Soufrierre, St Lucia to St Pierre, Martinique. For the first 40 minutes we were in the wind shadow of St Lucia and had to motor initially. We then caught the wind and sailed most of the way. We were caught in a couple of squalls and had wind speeds up in the mid 30s. We arrived at St Pierre about 4:30. I went ashore immediately to check in. The customs is part of a restaurant which I found to be closed between 3pm and 6pm so I hope I can check in later. We’ve decided to all eat ashore tonight. We understand the strike is over so things should be open. Indeed, the supermarket was open so I was able to acquire 3 bottles of cheap French plonk. |
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