Martinique – Aboard Dignity (Lagoon 420) Blog

Martinique / St Lucia (part 1) track

steve — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 20:34:20 +0000

And here are the tracks for our recent days in Martinique and St Lucia (for the first time). As before, the entry and exit into the section are coloured red. I have coloured the section of the trip with our guests in yellow.

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Back in Rodney Bay

steve — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 16:51:28 +0000

After a very gentle crossing we are now back in Rodney Bay, St Lucia. We’ve anchored fairly close to the marina inlet to minimize distances to travel to and from the shops. Having said that it’s a bit busy round here with personal watercraft, etc. so we may end up moving in a few days.

When we left Martinique the seas were very, very calm, almost flat. We did get enough wind to sail most of the way but very little regeneration as the boat speed was quite low. We’ve set ourselves just the one boat chore today which will be to clean the deck and surrounds. We have quite a few things to do over the next few days so we’ll keep today fairly light before getting stuck into things.

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We’re looking forward to spending some time in one spot and hopefully getting to know a few more of the local transients.

I have eaten three bananas today and we’re going to have banana flambee for desert this evening. We gave a bunch to the guy who came around trying to sell fruit.

Grand Anse d’Arlet (bananas, bananas, bananas)

steve — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 21:19:38 +0000

This is our last stop in Martinique. The winds were very light this morning but we sailed anyway as there was no rush. We anchored fine first time quite close to the dock. The beach is quaint but touristy. The beach front provides plenty of restaurants of which we availed ourselves to rid our wallets of our remaining euros. Checking out took about a minute as I had the files ready.

On our way onto land we popped by a British boat called Tiger Frightener to drop off some bananas. When we were back in Marin we managed to acquire a box of bananas off the back of a lorry for 2 euros. Despite placing the bunches in various parts of the boat they are becoming ripe mostly at the same time. We had hoped they would ripen while our guests were here. While we were able to send them home with a few we still have far too many. Tiger Frightener are also off to St Lucia so we may well meet up with them in a couple of days.

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Provisioning

steve — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 21:23:44 +0000

We were up early this morning (4am) to drop our guests ashore for their taxi to the airport. They didn’t have to wait long so at least that part of their journey went well. Having got up neither Helen nor I could go back to sleep so we’re feeling a little tired.

Today has been all shopping and provisioning. We first took a bus to the Galleria Mall outside of Fort-de-France. It very much felt like being back in the USA. We had a list of things to look for. We walked all around the mall and then all around the adjacent area. In the end, we did manage to find a network cable for a reasonable price in a Home Depot like store but nothing else on our list was to be found.

This afternoon we’ve made a couple of trips to the local supermarket to load up on what’s cheap here : cheese, beer and wine. We have quite a lot now on the boat which should last 2-3 months if we’re sensible.

Tonight we’re going to relax, watch a bit of TV and probably go to sleep early. Tomorrow morning we’re off to Grand Anse d’Arlet where we’ll stay a day before heading of to St Lucia on Monday. Plan still remains to stay in Rodney Bay for a few days and do some boat chores and our taxes (yach). Then we’ll head down the coast and see some of the places we recently passed by.

Last Supper

steve — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 00:23:04 +0000

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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Anse Matin

KC2RIY — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 11:50:00 +0000

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.

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Finally caught a fish

KC2RIY — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 11:00:00 +0000

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.

Case Pilote

KC2RIY — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 21:24:00 +0000

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.

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St Pierre, Martinique

KC2RIY — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 21:10:00 +0000

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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Cul-de-Sac Marin

KC2RIY — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 20:59:00 +0000

A day packed full of excitement. First order of the day was to replace the 2A anchor light with the 0.2A LED anchor light that Bob brought with him from the USA. I got the job of being hauled up the mast on the genekar halyard. Having got to the top I realized I couldn’t quite reach the top due to the pulley being a foot or two from the top of the mast. Fortunately I had brought the digital camera to take pictures so I used to to take pics of the top and to view them on the screen.

I managed to take the cover off but the bulb broke when I tried to remove it. We used the main halyard to haul up a couple of pairs of pliers. In order to see what I was doing I had to pull myself to the top of the mast with my arms, cling to the mast with legs and one arm while working with the pliers. Scary stuff. I tried this several times but all I succeeded in doing was mangling the base of the old bulb and tiring myself out.

On the way down I spent a bit of time taping up the radar cable, a long overdue task. While up there I did take some pics looking down which I’ll post when we’re next on the internet.

After breakfast I went up again, this time on the main halyard. I’d also fashioned some stirrups in case I wanted to stand up. Also taken was some WD40 to help unstick the base of the old bulb. This time success came quickly. We now have a low amp anchor light in place. Can’t wait til this evening when we can turn in on and look at it.

Helen then took everyone to the town to shop while Simon and I prepared the dive gear for a quick splash. Once the rest were back on the boat we assembled a party to go out. Bob and Sharon were to go snorkeling while Simon and I took our dive gear. We dinghied about a mile to a spot indicated by our dive book. The dive and the snorkel were successful and a lot of fun.

Back on the boat we had lunch then moved Dignity into the ‘cul-de-sac’ and anchored close to Marin. We’ve been ashore to look around. Simon, Bob & Jim have been left to look at the internet. Helen and I picked up some shopping and I’m using this time to blog and catch up on a beer.

Because of the continued northerly component of the wind there’s a good chance we’ll sail to St Lucia tomorrow. If we do end up in Rodney Bay Helen and I have decided to go for a curry shoreside. There is an ad in our four year old guidebook for an Indian Restaurant. It could just still be open.

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