Off To France For The Groceries

Le Marin, Martinique
14 28.0'N 65 52.5'W

One of the many good aspects of sailing in the Caribbean is the diversity of cultures and with that their food specialities. Make sure you buy enough curry paste in Trinidad, meat is excellent and affordable in Grenada and Ste-Lucia, wine, cheese and pâté are ridiculously cheap and abundant in Martinique.

So, after a superb sail across, our next stop had to be Le Marin in Martinique to get all the French goodies for Christmas. The best part of our stay were the two nights leading up to the main provisioning operation where one must sample wine, cheese, saucisson, paté, etc and choose which one will get to fill every one of the boat lockers and fridges. A few head aches and kilos around the waist later we could make educated decisions on what to buy…

We didn’t spent much time visiting Martinique this time but we will be back very soon and hope to cruise extensively on this stunning island (maybe eating saucisson and baguettes washed down with a glass of wine). We’re on our way to Antigua to catch up with friends who will be holidaying there over Christmas, so we need to take all the weather windows we can.

St Lucia

Rodney Bay, St Lucia
14 05.4N 60 57.8W

We arrived in Saint Lucia after a "boisterous" sail in plenty of wind and large seas. Once in the lee of the island we had to motor and lead to engine failure (blocked filters) about 5 miles from the coast, making it interesting to say the least, I sailed the boat in the evry light winds while the competent and by now experienced mechanic on board found and fixed the problem while underway. It cost us the first place in the race but a very small price to pay all things considered!

Our first stop was Marigot Bay. Well protected anchorage and it must have been very pretty before foreign investors made it look exactly like Soper’s Hole in the BVI or any place where a marina/hotel concept with souvenir shops took over. How special is it to buy some Craptree and Evelyn body products or a Ralph Lauren polo shirt in St-Lucia? Couldn’t we buy this also in London, Montreal, Sydney or even Joliette? Oh well, I suppose it’s a good sign, we’re not getting a spiritual lift from retail therapy anymore…

The next day we moved to Rodney Bay situated north of the island. Another sheltered anchorage with a nice lagoon not unlike the one in St-Martin but prettier. The place is a safe heaven for sailors with most of the repair services within easy reach.

We took a taxi tour of the west coast of the island with 3 other boats which was good fun. We saw bubbling mud pools at Soufriere and the high point has to be the amazing Pitons, two beautiful mountains now part of the word heritage list.

The Tobago Cays

The Tobago Cays
12 37.9N 61 21.4W

Paradise! We have just passed a few days in the Tobago Cays, the sun has returned and we were finally at our 3rd attempt able to explore this fabulous spot.

The Cays are a collection of sand islands and a small barrier reef, so the anchorage is sheltered in most conditions. The cays themselves are stunning, the picture postcard Caribbean islands, and as the area is a park the underwater life is superb -clear water, coral and fish life. The small island in the photo is called Petit Tabac and gained fame in the "Pirates Of The Caribbean" movie as the place Jonny Depp is marooned with Keira Knightley - I am sure Pirates sufferred worse fates in reality.

The snorkeling has been superb, there are huge numbers of turtles here and we also saw several nurse sharks slumbering the days away - we have uploaded some photos on the album for you to see.

We are meeting friends in Antigua for Christmas so we will up anchor and head north reasonably quickly, we hope to spend next hurricane season here rather than in Trinidad so the remaining dive and snorkel sites will have to wait.

Josette Comes To Visit

Bequia, Grenadines
13 00.6N 61 14.6W

Just spent a great week with Josette in the Grenadines despite some truy dreadful wet rainy weather. Poor Josette's week in the tropics to excape Montreal winter had 6 days of rain and wind, plus a northerly ground swell making some of the anchorages untenable.

The Grenadines cover an area about 25 miles long by 10 wide and have lots of great anchorages, clear water and sandy palm strewn beaches. It's very similar to where we were in the Bahamas last year and quite different from the rest of the Antilles.

Despite the bad weather we managed to get plenty of snorkelling in and a few rum cocktails, even if the cards also got more of a work out than normal.

The forecast is for better weather next week so we will head to the Tobago Cays before moving north.

A Dingo Ate My Baby!

The Grenadines
12 46.5N 61 21.4W

After something of a fishing drought we were getting desperate so we tried a new trick having been told that spraying WD40 onto the lure attracts fish as it is made from fish oil – old wives tale we thought but it seems to have worked! We were delighted to hear the reel squeal shortly after and know we had a decent fish at last.

The next surprise was that after the initial run we had an easy fight to get it on board despite sailing at good speeds. Then we found out why, shark attack! The back half of the poor thing was gone so it wasn’t able to swim too well. Despite losing a big chunk of the fish we still got a lot of meals out of it and hopefully more to come now we have found yet another use for WD40.

Tim's 40th & Carriacou

Sandy Island, Carriacou

12 28.9N 61 29.1W

So sadly I finally hit 40 years old, the good news is that I did it in the perfect tropical setting and that while so many of my great friends weren't there, I did have enough to share several beers and a lot of laughter.

Sandy Island is about as near to tropical perfection as you can get, nothing but sand, clear water and palm trees with some great snorkeling and diving all around.

We celebrated my birthday with a beach barbecue on the island, Linda made a fabulous cake for me, and we sat round the fire having a drink or two and reflecting on a life well lived to date.

We stayed here for nearly a week taking full advantage of the superb calm weather, after a lovely sail up from Grenada. We finally got our dive gear wet again and best of all didn't have to fix anything for a few days.

Sadly that all changed when we went to Clifton to clear customs for St Vincent, as we dropped the anchor among coral reefs in a tight spot and 2o knots of wind, the gear box packed up, or more accurately reverse did! We managed to get the anchor down and after investigations discovered that the 6" long metal dip stick that is supposed to be welded to the inside of the oil cap is no longer there ie it has fallen into the depths of the gear box! Getting it out involves dismantling half the boat and removing the engine so we decided to manage with sails and no reverse for a week or two. However a vigorous sail seems to have dropped the offending metal into the sump and the gears now work as before - sadly we still need to get it out we think as a long term fix!

Repairs Again!

Clarks Court Bay, Grenada
12 00.5N 61 44.1W

A frustrating and expensive week!

First thing Monday our outboard starter locked up and after a bit of an investigation I decided it was beyond me (well actually after the loud boing and bits of spring flew out of it), so off to the Yamaha dealer to get that fixed. Then the water maker pump began leaking, so order a new part freighted in from the USA, strip the pump down and rebuild it. Next the generator water pump gave up, replace that and then during a routine trip up the mast I find the real credit cruncher!

When we were in Trinidad we had a horrendous day of rolling in the marina and our rig had hit another one a few times (this is a video taken that day at the marina opposite the one we were in, we had even less shelter than these boats it was absolute hell! http://www.svkiva.com/video/trini_storm.html).

I finally went up the rig to check the damage expecting to find none. Instead the main cap shroud had a nice gouge out of it and required replacing (not bad damage but not what I want to trust to hold up our 68' mast in a blow). So yesterday it was back up the mast, remove the stay, take it to the riggers to get a replacement made and then up the mast again to reinstall it. Typically the anchorage got rolly for the first time in a week while I was up the rig, so a few bruises and aches today - BUT a nice new shiny stay and a lovely big credit card bill!

Back In Grenada

Clarks Court Bay, Grenada
12 00.5N 61 44.1W

We left Tobago last week and had an incredible sail across to Grenada. The wind was just strong enough, the angle perfect and every squall (and there were many) passed either passed in front or behind us - we are bound to pay for it one day! We made the 75 mile trip in 10 hours, hitting 9 knots for a while as Matsu tore along.

We have spent a great week here so far. We really liked Grenada during our brief visit on the way south and we instantly felt at home on our return. The people are incredibly friendly, the island not dominated by tourism, the landscape rolling and green.

Last time we only got to anchor in Prickly Bay so we are keen to try some others out this time. First port of call was Clarks Court bay for the work boat regatta, we passed a great day in the cockpit watching the boats sail around.

We will spend a few weeks here while the hurricane season fades away, the anchorages are safe and well protected barring an Ivan style direct hurricane hit. We have a couple of minor things to do, service the engine etc plus explore more of this wonderful island and then we will be all set for the new season and sailing north.

All By Ourselves

Englishman's Bay, Tobago
11 17.3N 60 40.3W

If you listen to the tourists, the Caribbean is crowded and ruined, and you should have been here 10-20 years ago, so we are not quite sure how we have just managed to spend a whole week in this perfect bay completely by ourselves!

The bay has a huge white sand beach at its head that is lined with palm trees and cliffs on the other 2 sides. Under the cliffs is fringing reef for great snorkeling and diving (we even found a lobster) and the whole bay is calm and well protected!

The only drama for us here was watching Hurricane Omar form to our west and then back track east for a few days before it finally set off towards the Virgins. Never any real danger, but added spice to checking the morning emails as we tracked its progress.

So what do you do in a deserted bay for a week, nothing much and it was great. Reading, swimming, snorkeling, diving and having an afternoon nap or two and suddenly the week was gone!

We moved back to Store Bay yesterday and then drove right round the island today exploring some of the bits we have missed with our sailing. Great water falls and rainforest, but in a country that takes a few hours to drive round we knew we had already seen the highlight.

We will clear customs tomorrow and head up to Grenada, a passage of 75m.

That's More Like It!

Store Bay, Tobago
11 09.4N 60 50.6W

After 3 months living on a boat in the Caribbean without a swim this is more like it!

We left Trinidad at first light and discovered that we had such a huge ball of barnacles on our propeller that we couldn't motor! So after studiously avoiding getting wet in diesel coated Chaguaramas Bay during our long stay, I had to don mask and snorkel and jump over the side for 20 minutes of chipping barnacles off - all before my coffee and toast.

The rest of the trip was superb, despite dire predictions of 2 knot counter currents and head winds we had a superb sail in flat calm water and gentle winds, making the whole trip on one tack straight into the bay here. The anchor was barely down before our first swim!

Since then we have had a snorkel on the reef and then 2 days of lashing rain and thunderstorms as a "tropical wave" passed over head. Today though is sunny and warm so back in the sea.

First impressions of Tobago are that it is gorgeous - clean, friendly people and lots of white sand. We have two friends coming for a couple of days and then we will head off to explore the island a bit more.

Cricket & Chilling In Grenada

Prickly Bay, Grenada
12 00.0N 61 44.6W

We have spent a great 10 days in Grenada - another fabulous sail beam reaching at speed to get here, and then a lovely anchorage to stay in once arrived.

Grenada is wonderful, the people perhaps the friendliest yet. and St Georges the capital full of interesting life to watch go by. If we stay with the boat we have all the marine facilities we need, or we can get a $1 bus into town and go to the markets for fresh fish, meat and vegetables. Further inland we have superb hiking in the rain forest, or if we want a day on the beach we can have that too.

We did a fabulous walk up in the hills a few days ago, hiking through an old plantation and rainforest to some falls, where after yet more walking and scrambling we were able to dip in for a cooling swim.

We have also had a great day out at the one day cricket - the cricket itself was tedious but our fellow fans in the Posse Stand danced, sang and drummed the day away and more than made up for it! It was the cliched West Indies crowd in all its glory and we (yes we!) are looking forward to the England tour next year.

We are off to Trinidad overnight tonight where we will be spending hurricane season.

Laying Back In Bequia

Bequia, Grenadines
13 00.1N 61 14.6W

Our migration south continues and with hurricane season fast approaching we have been going at quite a pace, and we are now in our 4th country of June!

All this sailing is quite tiring though and one has to rest from time to time, and there are few places better for that than Bequia, as this local fisherman clearly demonstrates.

As we will be coming back to visit these islands next year we have carefully chosen which paradises to enjoy on the way. We sailed straight past the main island of St Vincent without stopping. There have been several recent "pirate" attacks in Chateaubelair, an otherwise perfect anchorage located mid island with access to all the best walks on the island, so we decided to let the authorities settle the crisis before visiting.

Bequia is the northernmost and largest island of the Grenadines, and has everything to offer - a safe and calm anchorage, clear turquoise water to swim in, a beautiful beach, a colourful fruit & veg market tended by cool Rastafarian dudes, a pub showing Euro 2008 football, WIFI on the boat, what else does a cruiser need?

Not sure where the week went but Tim's guitar playing is getting better and Linda has added a few local fruit/vegetables to her favorite recipes so it was not all sunshine, swimming and sundowners!

Next stop Grenada, the islands of spices.

The Pitons, St Lucia

The Pitons, St Lucia
13 51.3N 61 04.0W

Another excellent sail sees us on our way from Martinique to St Lucia. We have a last trip ashore in the morning to stock up on pain chocolat and baguettes as we are leaving the French West Indies now and won't be back for 6 months or so. Part of us is excited at real local cuisine, and quite a lot of us isn't!

The sail is perfect, one of the problems we have encountered so far sailing in the Caribbean is that the passages between islands are fast and great sailing but as soon as you get behind the islands, you lose the wind because of the huge mountain ranges, and have to motor to the anchorage. For no reason that I can see this didn't happen with St Lucia and we manage to sail right down to the anchorage at the Pitons.

As we sail in the view is truly spectacular, and in combination with great sailing on flat water gives us one of those wow moments.We pick up a mooring right under the cliffs and perilously close to a coral reef, that makes for great snorkeling but a nervous nights sleep.

Sadly the need to get south means we will miss St Lucia this season, and carry straight on through to the Grenadines tomorrow, but barring a St Pierre style volcanic event it should be here next year!

HMS Diamond Rock

South Coast Of Martinique
14 27.0N 61 02.7W

Strange lumps of rock in the Caribbean part 2!

Following on from Redonda here's Diamond Rock, a British Naval War Ship. Paraphrased Wikipedia entry below.

In 1804 Commodore Sir Samuel Hood, aboard HMS Centaur and aided by calm weather, was able to run lines ashore and hoist five cannons to the summit of the Rock. Fortifications were hastily built, and the position supplied with food and water for a garrison of twenty men under the command of Lieutenant Maurice, Hood's 1st lieutenant. The Royal Navy garrisoned island was officially commissioned as a Man-of-war HMS The Fort Diamond.

For 17 months the newly commissioned ship harassed the French fleet on it's way to and from Fort De France, and then on his voyage to Martinique in 1805, Admiral Villeneuve was ordered by Napoleon to recapture Diamond Rock. A French-Spanish combined naval force of sixteen ships attacked the garrison on Diamond Rock. The garrison's stone water cistern had cracked, due to an earth tremor, so they were without water and short of food. After a fierce bombardment, they surrendered to the superior force on June 3rd, 1805.

A more romantic version is that the French floated barrels of rum ashore and then captured the rock from the drunk garrison!

Volcano!

Sainte Pierre, Martinique
14 44.5N 61 10.7W

As you can see from the photo we are anchored under a stunning volcano off a quaint little town of about 5,000 inhabitants. After exploring ashore we found out the incredible story of this place and the 1902 eruption of Mt Pelee the volcano.

On 7th May 1902 St Pierre was a city of 30,000 inhabitants, with a cathedral, an 800 seat theatre, wide boulevards etc etc. It was the largest city in the French West Indies and known as the Paris Of The Caribbean.

By 8am on the 8th of May, all but one person was dead and the town completely destroyed, after the side of Mt Pelee exploded and a cloud of superheated toxic gas swept over the town with a force equivalent to 40 Hiroshima bombs.

The only survivor was a prisoner in solitary confinement at the town gaol, which is sighted under a cliff and one of the few buildings not completely destroyed. He was found 4 days later by rescuers and later toured with PT Barnum as a sideshow displaying his burns.

The town museum has a few artifacts from the explosion, most notably the molten and bent remains of the cathedral bell, the harbour has the wrecks of about 20 ships that were in harbour on the day of the explosion, and a few stairways and the foundations of the theatre remain in town - that's it, everything else vanished.

If you want to see a photo of the town post explosion take a look at http://picasaweb.google.com/Richmond.Volcanology/MtPelee