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| Aproaching Montserrat |
We departed Nevis as
planned but as the wind decided to veer to the south of east during
our passage thus it was not as fast as we had anticipated; after a
final short beat to windward we arrived in Little Bay, Montserrat, at
1800 only to find the bay well populated with boats. By 1830 we had
anchored in the next bay to the north, Rendezvous Bay, which offered
a more tranquil anchorage for the night; we were one of two yachts in
the bay.
The next morning I
awoke to the sound of my cell phone ringing; it was my brother
bringing the not unexpected news that my Aunt had passed away the
night before at age 96. She was the last of my parents generation and
like a third parent to us both; hence all of my plans went out the
window and the new question became how quickly could I get back to UK
to help arrange the funeral etc.
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| Departing Montserrat, the destroyed capital of Plymouth |
Guadeloupe looked the best option
and thus, without delay, we set off again, sailing close to the coast
of Montserrat to give us the best views of the devastation caused by
the 1995 eruption of the volcano before heading for Deshaies in the
north west of Guadeloupe. At the time of the Montserrat eruption I
was working in Directorate of Naval Operations in the Ministry of
Defence in London where we were monitoring the situation almost hour
by hour debating what resources could be made available in the event
that we were invited to undertake the evacuation of the island.
Personally I was very sad not to be able to visit the island after
such involvement in the past.
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| Anse Deshaies |
After a close fetch on
port tack we made the bay of Deshaies, in Guadeloupe, shortly before
sunset; we came to anchor in amongst thirty or so boats moored or
anchored in the bay. Deshaies is the most convenient port of
entry/departure for Guadeloupe for those arriving from, or setting
off to, the north and it is one of the best anchorages on this coast;
hence it's popularity. Shortly after arrival I was able to talk again
with my brother in UK to discover that the earliest date for the
funeral was 16th of May; it was now the 22nd of
April. (How those of the Jewish or Moslem faith manage to bury their
dead within 24 hours I do not know, this was the earliest date
available to us mere Anglicans!).
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| Anse Deshaies |
This put a rather different
complexion on the problem of my return; given the extended timescale
my brother was happy to make the majority of the arrangements solo
and so it was decided that I would fly back, nearer the date, on the
14th of May and we would accelerate the sailing programme
slightly to allow me to fly direct to UK from St Lucia. Hence it was
possible to visit Guadeloupe, Dominica and Martinique in the
intervening period.
As a result we spent
three nights in Deshaies, (during which the funeral arrangements were
mostly finalised), enjoying the ambiance of this rather sleepy and
very French coastal village. After this we set off southwards down
the west coast of Guadeloupe.
We planned to spend one night in the
anchorage at Anse a la Barque about half way down the coast and then
moving on to Pointe a Pitre the next day.
Fortunately I took the
precaution of telephoning ahead to the marina at Pointe a Pitre to
reserve a place only to be informed that there was a fishing
competition on and no places would be available for at least three
days. Flexibility being the essence of success we opted for a much
shorter passage to the
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| On the slopes of Soufriere |
Marina de Riviere Sens, just south of the town
of Basse-Terre, where there was space and hire cars available! The
marina is relatively small with a narrow and shallow entrance but we
were able to enter with 0.4m under the keel. Once inside we were
given a warm welcome by the staff and within 5 minutes were tucked
in, stern to, and ready for the next phase.
Next day we set off in
a hire car to see the parts of the island we were otherwise not going
to see, the Soufriere volcanic park, the eastern tip at Pointe des
Châteaux, followed by a return across the middle of the island,
through Point a Pitre, and across the width of the island of
Basse-Terre before turning south again towards the town of the same
name. The only downside of our revised plan was that it made the
Island of Marie Galante a 15 mile hike to windward and as such we
decided to forego a visit and head straight out to Les Isles Saintes
which were a much more comfortable port tack, close fetch, away.
Whilst in the marina we had met up with a US/French crew who were
also heading to Les Saintes and so we arranged to meet up again in
the anchorage at Anse a Cointe, on the island of Terre de Haute.
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| Baie de Chateaux, south eastern tip of Guadeloupe |
Little did we know that this rendezvous would also involve us in a
post engagement celebration onboard their boat after one of their
crew proposed on the beach at sunset and was accepted. A delicious
supper of crab pasta accompanied by plentiful wine!
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| Bourg des Saintes |
Next morning we gave
them a race from Anse de Cointe to the anchorage off Le Bourg des
Saintes, (the largest town on the islands) leaving L'Isle Cabrit to
starboard. Suffice to say we showed them a very clean transom! The
rest of the day was spent relaxing, (me still having to take it easy
with my back), and then the next morning we set off ashore for some
sightseeing and to check out of France in preparation for our
departure to Dominica. In the afternoon we sailed across to the
anchorage at Anse Fideling, on Terre de Bas, the larger but less
populated of the two main Saintes islands. We anchored in 5m well
into the bay and set up for the night, our only company was a rather
derelict boat moored in the centre of the bay which looked unkempt to
say the least. Here we spent a very tranquil night.
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| Petite Anse, Terre de Haut |
Next morning we sailed
off the anchor at 0900 and enjoyed a close fetch, port tack all the
way, to Prince Rupert Bay, and the town of Portsmouth, in Dominica.
By 1230 we were anchored off the Indian River (of Pirates of the
Caribbean fame). At 1430 we rowed ashore and by 1600 we were legally
in Dominica and enjoying a swift beer at a waterfront cafe. Not bad!
Dominica was missed by
hurricane Irma but suffered badly from the effects of Maria only a
week or so later. Only two years earlier they had also suffered a
direct hit by hurricane Erika. How unlucky can you be two direct hits
in two years by the worst storms in history! The devastation looks
the same as in the more northerly islands, roofs missing, houses all
but destroyed, but the recovery seems much slower.
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| Indian River, Portsmouth, Dominica |
Perhaps indicative
of the more limited resources available to the Dominican people, and
the fact that they were still struggling to recover from Erika! It
may also have something to do with the limited tourism revenue
available to Dominica.
Next day we set sail
for the anchorage at Batalie Beach where, on arrival, we discovered a
free mooring available, conditional on eating in the Sunset Bay Club;
a bar/restaurant and apartment hotel run by the mooring's owner.
Decision taken! Whilst ashore we also discovered that they had links
to a car hire company and would be very happy to keep watch on
Kurukulla for a day whilst we toured the island.
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| Kurukulla at Batali Beach, Sunset Bay |
It couldn't be more
convenient! The following morning the car was swiftly delivered and
we set off to visit the sights of the interior of the island. Driving
was an experience! No only were the ubiquitous potholes axle deep but
frequently sections of the roads are limited to single carriageway
where the other half has slipped away, bridges are either closed
requiring fording the river or are temporary “Bailey Bridges”
installed to bypass the bridges destroyed in the hurricanes. Obvious
progress has been made on the reconnection of electrical supplies but
significant quantities of the old wiring are laid out along the road
awaiting removal; one just hopes they are not live! Despite all this,
and the fact that 98% of the solar powered street lighting poles have
been destroyed by the hurricanes, there are teams of workers still
installing new street lights on many of the rural roads! Why?
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| Dominica waterfalls |
How
does this have priority when others have no roofs on their houses and
the lights already installed have proven to be unfit for purpose?
Someone somewhere has a very lucrative government contract which
needs to be looked at very closely!
All of that said the
waterfalls and tropical rain forests of Dominica are amazing. We
thoroughly enjoyed our ten hours driving around the island and the
people we met left a lasting impression on us, happy, cheerful and
very welcoming. By 2000 we were back at Sunset Bay Hotel, enjoying
another meal, before heading back to Kurukulla for the night.
The following morning
we returned the hire car keys and then sailed off the mooring heading
for the capital of Dominica, Roseau. As we sailed into Roseau Bay we
were greeted by Desmond in his very fast small boat. He offered us a
mooring for the night for 40EC$ (£10) and also volunteered to act as
a water taxi next morning to make the trip to Customs in order to log
out of Dominica. As we had already toured Roseau during our driving
tour the day earlier we opted not to go ashore again and dined
onboard. Desmond was good to his word and by 1030 we were cleared out
and on our way to Martinique, sailing sedately southwards to the
southern tip of Dominica. This was where the sedate bit ended!
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| North coast of Martinique |
From
here for the next 30 miles we were close reaching in 30knots of wind,
grey skies and lumpy seas. One of those days when as you thought you
had almost dried out the next wave unexpectedly jumped aboard and the
whole drying out process started again; still at least it was warm;
that is until the rain came! We finally motored the final hour into
Rade de Saint Pierre having lost all wind as we drew near to the
coast of Martinique. By 1630 we were anchored off the beach at Saint
Pierre and relaxing over a very welcome cup of tea at the end of a
trying day.
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| Cathedral at St Pierre, Martinique |
Next morning we opted
for a quiet Sunday, only rowing ashore at mid-day to check in to
France and visit the town. Saint Pierre is a small town with a
fascinating history. On 8th May 1902, almost 116 years ago
to the day, the entire town and all but two of its entire population
of approximately 28,000 people were annihilated by the eruption of
the volcano of Mount Pelée. Not only did the eruption destroy the
town and all it's people but it left the anchorage littered with the
sunken wrecks of the dozen or so ships that were anchored in the
roads at the time, only one vessel survived! Today what was once the
“Paris of the Caribbean” is a rather plain, 20th
century French town with several beachside bars and diving
establishments, tourism is mostly centred on providing diving
expeditions to see the wrecks in the very clear waters of the bay.
The following day we
rowed ashore again for fresh bread and a few victuals before setting
sail for Fort de France, the capital of Martinique.
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| Anse a l'Ane |
Our plan was to
anchor in one of the bays south of the capital and ferry across when
a weather window allowed. In the past three weeks we have become used
to planning around the frequent downpours and grey skies of the rainy
season! Thus it was that after a reach in very variable winds (5 -35
kts) we sailed into Anse a L'Ane dropping anchor, an hour before
sunset, in time for sundowners in this west facing bay.
From Anse a L'Ane there
is an hourly (if not better) ferry service over to Fort de France and
hence, next day, we decided to take the ferry across leaving
Kurukulla at anchor in the bay. Our primary purpose was to purchase a
St Lucia courtesy ensign before our arrival in the island which was
to be our next stop. What we had not realised before boarding the
ferry was that this midweek Tuesday was a bank holiday, Fort de
France was closed and empty! After two hours wandering the deserted
streets we caught the ferry back having decided that we had seen
enough of the town to last a lifetime. As the capital of somewhere as
famous as Martinique it seemed very run down and unattractive.
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| Fort St Louis anchorage, Fort de France |
Wednesday was spent at anchor doing minor maintenance with another
brief trip ashore for sundowners as the day came to an end. Thursday
morning we moved on to the anchorage at Anse Mitan, a mile north.
Nearby, in the marina at Point du Bout, was reported to be a
Capitainerie where we could register our departure from France and a
small chandlery which should meet our need for the St Lucia flag. By
1400 we had rowed ashore and set off to walk to the marina. The
Capitanerie was quickly found and was locked shut! It was another
bank holiday and only bars and restaurants were open! And the French
wonder why they have a problem with efficiency and productivity; two
bank holidays in a single week, mid week, with only one day
separating them ........ unbelievable. To add to our misery the
chandlery where we hoped to obtain the flag had ceased to exist.....
Our early morning
departure having been frustrated by bank holidays we eventually opted
for a second visit to Fort de France starting in the early morning.
At least we were certain that this day would be a “working day”
even if it was a Friday! We set off on the 0850 ferry with the
intention of a rapid turn around in Fort de France and the 1000 ferry
back. All went so well that we almost caught the 0930 ferry back, but
not quite.... Not to be downhearted, there was another at 1000. At
0950 the ferry to Pointe du Bout came in, Pointe du Bout being half a
mile walk from Anse Mitan. Purely by chance we discovered from the
crewman that the 1000 ferry to Anse Mitan would not be running,
“staff shortages”, surprise surprise someone had taken what the
Italians would call a “ponte” i.e. a day off to link the bank
holiday to the weekend! Thus it was that we caught the ferry to the
marina at Pointe du Boute and walked the half mile back, passing en
route the Capitanerie that we had tried to visit the previous day; it
was still closed!
We eventually departed
Martinique at 1200 on the Friday afternoon in a brisk easterly wind
with a forecast of 20kts occasionally gusting to 50kts.
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| Kurukulla at Rodney Bay Marina |
We sailed off
the anchor with two reefs in the main and the No2 genoa rigged on the
forestay running and reaching comfortably until we came out of the
lee of Martinique. From here it was a slightly different story!
The
seas were large and the wind 20 deg forward of the beam, just enough
so that whenever you felt you were about to dry out another wave
would break inboard and soak you again! Such fun! It seemed we had
experienced these conditions before somewhere! Fortunately the 50 kt
winds did not materialise, the worst we encountered being 30 kts. By
1630 we were safely in the lee of St Lucia and by 1700 anchored in
Rodney Bay amongst twenty or so other yachts. We radioed in to the
marina to inform them that, due to our late arrival, we would be
staying out tonight and arriving alongside the following day at 1000;
and that is what we did. By 1030 we were safely secured in the marina
and by 1130 legally in St Lucia, all ready for my flight back to UK
late the next day.
More about St Lucia and
the islands southwards in the next blog..........
