24th Feb
Well the boat is very quiet and empty yet again. Everytime someone leaves there is a huge void and it takes ages before the feeling goes away. To shake the feeling of Jo’s departure we did not linger in Rodney Bay. We headed to Martinique. We had to go ashore at Fort de France to do the customs bit and having been buffeted around mercilessly on anchor there we knew we needed to move on swiftly. So we crossed the bay and anchored in Anse Mitan which was lovely and very sheltered. It is a holiday place and quite quiet. There are few ferries that run hourly services back and forward to Fort de France but overall there was not a lot happening.

26thFeb

Next day we headed for Dominica. It was to be a longish day but we did get a good motor sail in flatish seas which made the journey very pleasant. There were quite a few other boats around as well. The channel between the two islands is one where the pilot and sperm whales can often be spotted. We however had no such luck. We did however get to spend a short time with 5 dolphins who swam and jumped in front of the bow for a while. The we spotted a turtle on two separate occasions. They are very solitary creatures really. One of them was very large and we reckoned had to about 60 years old given its size.

Dominica is very beautiful from the sea. It has lots of high rising hills and quite lush vegetation. It has 7 or 8 volcanoes and there is evidence of them all around. We stopped at Roseau which is one of the few anchorages on the island. Most of it is a nature conservation area/national park and this is very limiting for the sailor. You can’t dive without official divers with you etc. Anyway we picked up a mooring just outside the town. The boat man who had helped us told us that the customs office was being renovated and that we had to go out beyond where the cruise liner dock was to the banana dock. No problem we thought. Hah ha. 2 buses a longish walk and a lot of help from a local youth finally saw us at the place. Then it was a full search of bags, pockets etc before we were allowed to pass into the banana dock and onto customs. Once there the chap was lovely and very helpful. He kept saying – no problem . Oh really pal! The journey back allowed us to be hit with a sensory overload. The cruise liner which had been in the dock was leaving and it was as if the town gave a big sigh of relief and went crazy. Traffic was gridlocked in tiny narrow streets and junctions. People were walking out into the traffic and getting hooted and honked at. Lorries were offloading supplies and every bar and café seemed to be belting out Rasta music. We eventually found a little café upa back stair which had a lovely balcony that over looked the mayhem. Once we got a cuppa down us we were able to sit back and enjoy some people watching it was fun.

We got safely back to the boat and agreed that we really are becoming very insular and that coming back to the UK will be a shock to the system if we can’t handle little towns like Roseau. Later that evening the guy from the boat beside us arrived with an offering. He had caught a fish (talk about rubbing salt in the wounds) and it was too big for them to eat it all. He had filleted it and was giving us a huge lump of it. Delighted at the gift we had it sautéed and it was scrumptious.

Next day we went further up the coast to a place called Portsmouth. It was originally to be the capital of the island but apparently people kept catching malaria due the swamps close by and so Roseau was chosen instead. Portsmouth was a bit more orderly and certainly less chaotic than Roseau. We ventured down the main street, did some shopping at the fruit market and then visited the local supermarket. Here we met two delightful ladies who were busy watching the horror stories from Chile. They began chatting with us about the state of the world and all the disasters etc. Eventually we got on to lighter topics and spent a lovely half hour blethering with them. Encouraged we went to a local café for lunch which was interesting but not nearly as much fun as the ladies in the supermarket had been.
On the way back we stopped at the Dive school (Crabbits) for a coke. We had tied up to their lovely new wooden dock so it was the least we could do. There we met Helen from Colchester. She was a lovely lady who blethered while we had our drinks and gave us some of the local chat. All in all a good trip ashore followed by a peaceful nights sleep (once the karaoke finished of course) gave Dominica the thumbs up for a return visit.. There is apparently an Indian River trip into the swamp and mangogroves which we will try and do. Also a trip into the rainforest and national park is good.

GUADELOPE: Isles de Saints

We left bright and early on Sunday morning and headed towards a set of Islands on the way to Guadelope called Isles de Saintes. They are French and we had it on good info that they were well worth a visit. We had another great motor sail over and again as the water was quite calm we ventured through a rocky passage into the islands. It has been quite interesting to have so little swell after the many months of big swells. The boat actually goes really well in smooth water and creams along with just the gib at times.

28thFeb

Isle de Saints is very lovely and again a place we shall revisit. The water is so clear, swimming and snorkelling are a pleasure. We had just dropped the anchor and made lunch when John noticed that another boat had come in and dropped their hook close to an anchored catamaran. Two bites into our BLT’s and we noticed that the catamaran had taken of and was floating towards another boat. We jumped in to the dinghy and headed to it. Boarded it and had to fend it of from the other boat which had gotten its bowsprit tangle in its side (messy). Trying to find out where the anchor chain etc was was tricky as the boat was all locked up. We shouted to another boat and asked them for help. Eventually an American arrived and then another couple whom we had seen in various places. The English guy was great and between the 3 of them they managed to drop more chain and get the boat to hold. This was just as well as it was heading towards a shoal. We left the boat as secure as we could and headed back to our own. Cold BLT’s but at least the boat was safe.

1st March (can’t really be can it?)
Next day we took a long walk once ashore and explored a bit of the area around the bay. Then we headed to Guadelope. To cut a long saga short we ended up at the north end of the island in a place called Deshais where we can clear customs. We arrived late and dropped the anchor well away from everyone else. All seemed well and we headed to bed. Around 2 in the morning there was a bump. We or the other boat had drifted and they were fending us of. Bit of an eyeful as we leapt about relaying the anchor etc but eventually all was calm again. When we checked this morning with them there had been no damage to either boat – thank goodness.

On the way here we passed the Cousteau national marine park. You are not allowed to anchor in it but can dinghy across and snorkel of the rocks around Pigeon Island. Hopefully we will get the chance to do that later on in our trip. For now it is about getting to Antigua.