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Anse Matin

by KC2RIY, on March 20th, 2009 (Martinique)

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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Category: Martinique | Here is my comment

Finally caught a fish

by KC2RIY, on March 19th, 2009 (Martinique)

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.

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Case Pilote

by KC2RIY, on March 18th, 2009 (Martinique, Northern D'Light)

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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Category: Martinique, Northern D'Light | Here is my comment

St Pierre, Martinique

by KC2RIY, on March 17th, 2009 (At Sea, Martinique, St Lucia)

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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Category: At Sea, Martinique, St Lucia | Here is my comment

Cul-de-Sac Marin

by KC2RIY, on March 12th, 2009 (Martinique)

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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Category: Martinique | Here is my comment
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