by steve, on March 7th, 2009 (
At Sea, Dominica, Martinique)
We left Roseau at 7am this morning heading for St Pierre, Martinique. The forecast was for NE winds which we didn’t see until 8nm south of Dominica. It was slow going for the first 2 hours but when the NE winds kicked in we had a flying sail to Martinique arriving at St Pierre around 12:20. We didn’t stop as a casual glance over the anchorage made it clear it was untenable. We later learned that everyone had cleared off at the crack of dawn as it had got quite rolly around 2am. We therefore sailed around to Fort de France to get some protection from the NE winds which are due to go further to the North over the next few days.
There were a number of boats anchored in Fort de France but we managed to squeeze into the anchorage and here we are settled. I walked round to the customs but found them closed. The guy on the gate said to come back tomorrow at 9am. I do wonder if they’ll be open but I may try.
Walking the half mile back to the dinghy dock I decided to check out the town. There were a large number of people milling around in red tee-shirts, clearly the aftermath of a demonstration. All the shops I saw were shut bar one little cafe. All the cash machines that I walked past had been smashed too. So it looks like the strike is very much on here. Fingers crossed for our guests who are arriving next week.
Fishing was not successful. In fact, something chewed up and bit right through my wire leader. So we must have had something for a bit. We never noticed. So we’re down one lure. Better luck next time.
Not sure what we’re going to do now. There are a few things to do on the boat and still plenty of books to read.
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