Provisioning

The only reason we stopped in Martinique was to go food shopping. Now that isn't an insult to the island. We've been there four times, rented cars and toured around the place. It's a lovely island and well worth spending time in. No, this time we wanted to get further north. But it's one of the best places to provision the boat. Visions of pates, cheeses and french bread danced in our heads as we crossed the twenty mile stretch of open sea between it and St. Lucia. Happily it was a beautiful day with comfortable seas.

We anchored in Anse Mitan, one of the oldest resort communities on the island and presently looking a bit worse for wear. They evidently sustained damage during the last hurricane as a good portion of the waterfront we remembered from past visits was gone, the Pontoon Restaurant and Marina for example. The big high rise hotel was dark at night but showed signs that it will be rebuilt.

After lunch we walked over to the charming "Creole Village" where small shops and cafes surround a small square to have a cup of coffee. That's Scott there in the photo at the top. Then we took the ferry from the Point over to Fort de France (the second photo shows us entering the harbor at Fort de France)and attempted to find the bus/publico which would take us to one of the huge Carrefour supermarkets (hypermarche), either in Dillon or at the Galleria. It wasn't easy as one taxi driver followed us trying to get us to go with him (for thirty euros). Finally we located the big bus that went to Dillon at the far west end of the huge parking lot in front of the ferry docks. Fifteen minutes later it dropped us off there (just after you pass under the highway). This is a cruising provisioners dream with a department store and pharmacy included.

We had a big list of groceries but were constrained by how much the two of us could carry back to the ferry - so no wine. First on the list were cheeses and pates, several kinds of each. Then long life bread in a variety of styles. In Bonaire and Curacao you can buy a huge variety particulary french and italian types, but here think ethnic. Clearly the boulangeries have legislated that people must buy fresh - so no french bread or rolls, or croissants. Instead we bought pita bread, Naan, panini with olives, Durum and M'Semmen (last two were flat breads for wraps), and guava filled rolls (photo above left). These had dates to be used by from 4/3 to 4/10.

We use UHT milk regularly but also love UHT heavy cream and cooking cream which isn't available everywhere. Here it's in every size - see the photo above right opposite the huge christophenes (so good raw in salads, steamed or gratineed). The fruits and vegetables looked very great although I had a trip to the open market planned for the following day so we only bought a few "foreign veggies/fruit" like brocolli and apples. I splurged on two rib eye steaks and some lovely pork chops as well as the two packages of lardons we find so useful. Why don't they have them in the States I've always wondered?

In the end we each had two heavy bags to carry but it shouldn't have been far. Unfortunately we took the wrong bus into Fort de France and ended up 10 blocks from the water. Then of course we missed our ferry for Anse Mitan (our dinghy was right on the other side of that dock so we didn't want to go to the Point). Still sitting on the bench waiting for forty minutes wasn't that miserable. Luckily we knew from a past trip that the ferry stops first at another harbor or we would have been more concerned at the route it was taking.

The next day I took the dinghy in and left on the ferry two seconds later, managing the lock up in record time. This time I wandered around downtown before doing my shopping. The third and fourth pictures above show the view right at the waterfront in front of the ferry - McDonald's front and center. The poster shown here displays what the french get on their burgers - real Parmesano Reggiano! Also above is the cathedral on the park not far away.
The market itself is mostly tourist souvenirs during the week, but there are at least four or five vegetable fruit stands with good supplies. There were also fresh flowers and enfusions of every kind of fruit with rum. I was able to buy fresh local eggs, potatoes, carrots, yams, pineapple, mangos, celery (in the Caribbean it's mostly leaves
but they are great for seasoning), christophenes, onions, lettace, tomatoes and spinach. Yum! The seasoning packet shown in here in the bucket of water looks like a bouquet, doesn't it? This time I had the ferry schedule figured out and had only a brief wait before my return.
And finally there was the enjoyment of our labors and the products of France. Scott shown with a lunch of two kinds of pate, lovely runny brie and french bread while I'm enjoying fresh croissants and grapes for breakfast.

Visit To Martinique (again) and back to Rodney Bay

March 28, 2007
We had a lovely time in Martinique visiting two close cruiser friend couples; Roger and Francoise aboard "Starship Annie" and Jaime and Dan aboard "Nereia". Our sail across from St. Lucia was a fast one. We had a steady 20 knot wind and the boat made over 7 knots consistently. The waves were so big that sitting in my captain's chair 10 feet from the water's surface, the horizon disappeared frequently and I ended up laying on my back in the chair - amazing. The boat just surges through and this doesn't bother me anymore - it's exhilarating.
We cruised through the St. Anne anchorage and found "Starship Annie". After anchoring we had them over for drinks and caught up on our travels. We've known them for over two years and spent time with them in Annapolis, the Bahamas, Newport and Trinidad. The next day we walked around the charming town of St. Anne. As it was Sunday the church was full for services and hymns wafted out the open door.
We had coffee and arranged for a rental car for Monday. That night we enjoyed a terrific meal of coq au vin on board their boat. The drive up the east side of the island was very pretty the next morning. It's an open agricultural area with colorful houses and lots of flowers. We drove down a long peninsula called Tartane and ate lunch in a small village on the beach.
Colorful fishing boats lined up on one end. Fisherman were busy mending nets and working on their equipment in nearby sheds.
At the end of the peninsula is a abandoned plantation that has been partially restored and open to the public. It's an evocative place and the sights and sounds of the slave village were presented in an audio program. The beautiful stones and floors tiles fascinated Heather. But next we had a more practical task - provisioning. Our destination was a Super Marche, Hyper U. This enormous store had most everything you could get in any other part of France. We stocked up on cheeses, pates, wine, and lots of delicacies. Amazingly enough we ran into Jaime and Dan in the parking lot. We had already been in touch and made plans to have lunch with them in Marin the next day. With a full trunk and back seat we came back to our dingies in the dark and loaded them to the gills.
We took a taxi into Marin and had a wonderful time lunching and talking with Jaime and Dan. We've traveled down with them off and on since leaving Georgetown in the Bahamas a year ago and saw them a lot in Trinidad. They are terrific fun and we were sad to say goodbye for awhile. We may see them in Ecuador this summer! We also made plans there to have some new batteries installed the next morning at the boatyard - all in our fractured French.
The next morning as planned we motored into Marin, tied up at the dock and started the process only to discover the batteries were the wrong kind. Woops! A few calls to Rodney Bay settled that we could get them there, so off we went, sailing across back to St. Lucia in more settled seas but good wind. We anchored off Pigeon Island again and next morning were back in the Marina.Luckily Matthew's men were available to help Scott with the batteries. Each weighs 150 lbs so it's a two man job. It took most of the day to install and connect them up. Still we were ready by early afternoon and cast off the lines (this SHOULD be the last time we're in Rodney Bay). It was a lovely sail down to the Pitons and this time the same spot so gusty during our visit last time, was tranquil. Tommorrow we're off to Bequia.

Back in St. Lucia and on "Scott Free"

March 9, 2007 It's great to be back in St. Lucia but I'm not fond of "living on the hard". This means we reach our boat up a long ladder and are living in the middle of a construction zone. We can't use our refrigerator or the bathroom - long walks at night through the spooky boat yard. Luckily we are scheduled to splash today at 3: 30PM and will go over to the Rodney Bay Marina for a few days to clean the boat up and stock up the frig. Our friends are flying in tonight.

We would like to be in Bonaire by the third week in April and are not sure how we'll get there - probably along the Venezuelan islands. We have to leave the boat somewhere for two months while we go home for our youngest son's college graduation and to hopefully to close on our new home and move in. Cartagena looks like the best spot as we will incur extra insurance costs to leave it in the ABCs.

During our winter months in Vermont we try to catch up with all of our family and friends. That's the first priority - the second is skiing. Heather has taught at Okemo in Ludlow for twenty one years. Her main focus is the Women's Alpine Adventures, a intensive ski and snowboard program that features two, three and five day sessions during January and February. Groups of five of less women are led by experienced female instructors in all day classes. Breakfast, lunch, cocktail parties and sometimes evening dinners help to bond the students. It's a sleep away camp for adult women! Heather loves doing this and we have worked around this commitment in our cruising life.

It was a lovely visit home although the ski conditions were comparatively poor, especially early in the season. Okemo does the best of all possible jobs with what they get so we made out all right. The months seem to fly by as we try and see all of our family and friends. It wasn't in our plan to sell the house but we got an surprising offer on our lakefront cottage and found a larger, cheaper property not that far away. Our cruising kitty was scraping bottom so this will help keep us afloat. IF it all goes through!

Carol Sharoff, Bill Fonvielle and their son Jonathan are coming for a 10 day visit tonight. Carol's father had spent quite a lot of time in Vieux Fort, St. Lucia during WWII and she had been reading over his letters and mementos. Their son Jonathan had completed all but his deep dives for his PADI certification and we have arranged their visit around the dive schedule at Steve's Dive Shop. We rented a small nearby apartment and a car for three nights for them while we continue to work on the boat (and then clean it up).

March 20 2007 We've had a great visit with our friends! Our rental car was very roomy and rather expensive but we needed the space for five good sized people. One day we drove around the island. The small fishing villages of Anse Cochon and Soufriere are very charming with Victorian trimmed cottages and lovely miniature cathedrals on their flowery squares.
Sights included the "drive through volcano", a wonderful buffet at the Ladera Resort (Travel and Leisure's top ten restaurant views in the world! ) and a swim/snorkel visit to the Jalousie Resort. Another day we walked around the Pigeon Island Historic site and had a lovely lunch at the Jambe de Bois restaurant. They moved aboard for the next week and the weather finally calmed down a little, so we sailed over to Martinique for a few days. The trip over was a little bumpy and everyone was glad to get into the lee of the island and anchor at Anse Mitan. We swam off the boat and had a great meal. The next day we took the ferry over to Fort de France, walked all around, and visited the market. It is a lot of fun to taste some of the local rum concoctions! It was very hot though and we were all hungry and thirsty. Suddenly appeared a charming restaurant and we had an elegant lunch at the La Cave a Vin - pate fois gras, duck breast and fish.

Our trip back to St. Lucia was easier and it was a beautiful day. We anchored off Pigeon Island and swam/snorkeled before entering the lagoon to anchor for the night. Jonathan did his first two dives the next day and then we motored down to a mooring off the beach between the Petit and Gros Pitons. These rise almost vertically from the water to points 2460' and 2619' high. The view was spectacular but the experience was far different than we'd expected. The wind furiously channeled down through the peaks and blasted us all night. We had frequent gusts of over 40 knots. Despite being only 70 feet from the beach, there were white caps with the spume flying horizontally off the tops! Secure at least on our mooring we ate a lovely meal in the cockpit but slept a bit restlessly that night. We took off quickly the next morning and went back to our favorite anchorage off Pigeon Island. After two more dives the next day, Jonathan was a certified Open Water PADI diver. That night we celebrated at the Green Pigeon restaurant on the top of a steep windy road above Castries. We took a tax that barely made it. He had to stop on the hairpin curves, back up and then gun it. Very exciting! After they flew back yesterday we still have a few work projects here ahead of us, but hope to start slowly heading south soon.

March 24, 2007 We are still in the Rodney Bay Marina finishing up the last of many boat repairs (new bow thruster, inverter, transformer and repaired generator). Scott is cramed into the engine compartment replacing hoses on the generator. We are sailing to Martinique this afternoon for a few days to visit friends there and then gradually heading south to Grenada. Around the first of April we hop to go to Los Testigos, Marguarita, Los Roques and then on to Bonaire and Curacao. After long discussion and research we have decided to leave the boat in Curacao while we return to the States. Although our insurance doesn't cover us in July there for named storms, there hasn't been a hurricane ever there during June or July. The Boca Sera marina where we have reservations is in a mangrove lined lagoon and looks very secure. American Airlines came through again with frequent flyer flights for both of us. We wish we had more time to see everything here but that will be true everywhere.

Touring Martinique

The next morning at 6 AM we were all off to sail down the coast to Roseau, the capital. Another boat boy, Rudy, showed us all to moorings, $10 a boat for the night. The town was very lovely and we walked all around and enjoyed some cold beers. It was a quiet night for all and an early start again in the morning for Martinique. It was a rough crossing with 15 - 20 knots of wind and 6 - 8 foot waves, but a good point of sail - beam reach - so it was fun. Once in the lee of the island it all calms down and we enjoyed the scenery down to Anse Mitan, our next anchorage. Above right that's Mt. Pelee off in the distance. Que Rico and ourselves managed to squeeze into the crowded bay but the others continued on down the coast a ways. They were anxious to get into the Rodney Bay marina in St. Lucia for much needed repair work and rest the following morning.


Que Rico and ourselves rented a car for a day and drove through the spine of the island, down into jungle forests and up along the crests of the mountains. Above left is a path through a state park we hiked there. Beautiful flowers were everywhere as you can see from a few of my pictures. That lovely green and white foliage hides a pink pineapple growing. Along the road we stopped at a charming restaurant in a garden and had the "plat de jour" - very reasonable for a delicious meal. Scott and I both had French in school but it was very rusty. Very few people admitted to speaking English, but they were very polite and didn't grimace at our accents.


Our goal was the state park at Mt. Pelee where a well used trail goes up to the crater. Despite multiple very serious warning signs over days in advance, the people in that part of Martinique refused to abandon their homes and business and in 1906 the mountain exploded and killed all but two people in the town and neighborhood of Saint Pierre at it's base. One was in jail and the other in a work room basement. The former, Ludger Sylbaris, became quite famous for surviving and was later pardoned. Around 30,000 people perished! Mt. Pelee is 4,582 feet high and unfortunately we started hiking too late in the day to make it to the top. Mist closed in on us as we climbed higher, but the views across the island were great.