| Update:
Martinique, Feb 2002 |
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We had waited for the weather to calm down before leaving
Bequia and made the most of a lessening of the swell to leave one morning.
As we got into the Bequia channel it was rough with big waves and we both
got drenched, but once we got about 2 miles north the seas calmed down,
although we still had 20 - 25 knots of wind most of the way. When we got
near Rodney Bay, St Lucia we had such good wind for heading to Martinique
that it seemd a shame to stop, so taking 2 hour watches we continued until
we got to Ste Anne. In the light of the Full Moon and with the additional
help of the forward looking sonar, we found a safe place to anchor and
dropped the hook around 3 am.
Left: cloudy skies over Ste Anne
anchorage |
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following morning, Pete & Von arrived on Island Moon with their liferaft
inflated! It had come adrift from its mountings in some heavy seas, but
fortunately was still secured to the boat. We helped them to get it packed
up again, and then we all went in to Fort-de-France to the service
agent. We enjoyed strolling around the town, and had a mouth-watering sandwich
at Lina's, using Euros for the first time. The countryside of Martinique
seems very cultivated after the more southerly windward islands, with grass
and cattle as well as the more common sugar cane and palm trees.
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It
was a pleasure to be back once again in the land of excellent baguettes,
good wine and cheese. The weather was still unseasonably cloudy with showers.
But with good friends, a safe anchorage and plenty of shops nearby, whose
complaining?
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carnival activities started the week before Mardi Gras itself, with parades
and fantastic drumming and concerts in the town square. A lot more low-key
than Trinidad, but very enjoyable and probably closer to its origins. There
are several themes - black and white; black and red; devil masks; local
costume featuring madras fabrics and just generally dressing-up! Whatever,
it was always accompanied by percussion instruments. On many days the drumming
continued long into the night, and as the climax approaced, with the ritual
burning of Vaval, there were noisy fireworks and even noisier car engines,
roaring along the usually quiet roads.
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Ste
Anne anchorage is one of the great places for sunsets, and we saw a green
flash on two separate occasions, but have so far been unable to catch it
on camera.
Left:
Overstreet at sunset
Below:
an evening regatta |
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 Cruiser's
notes: Ste Anne is a charming town, with a couple of small supermarkets,
at least two bakeries and an open air produce market for fruit, veg
& fish. There is no self-service laundromat, so we had a our laundry
collected and returned from the jetty, although they had a problem one
day which meant that we had to leave with a bag full of dirty washing.
There is no internet cafe, but there are several restaurants. We had enjoyable
meals at Le Sud and Le Tamariniers.
For major provisioning we go round to Le Marin, where there is a huge
Annette supermarket. There is internet acces at La Carene boatyard office,
and also upstairs at the main marina building. There are good chandlers
and many services.
To get our propane tanks refilled, Graham got a bus from Ste Anne to
Californie.
There is no charge for clearing in or out of Martinique.
For more information about Martinique see the page from our previous
visit
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