Landlubbers Once Again

Its been a busy week but we have safely stored the boat onshore and moved into a place to live for the next three months or so.  We also have a local number now as well which is +1 473 420 5070.

We shifted out of the marina as planned and anchored off the south coast at a place called Clarkes Court Bay for a few days.  We did manage to catch up on some school for the kids but were also busy organising to get a place onshore and have the boat hauled.  In the end everything came together pretty well.

Nic went and looked at a house on Monday at a place called Westerhall Point.  It was perfect and was available immediately so we grabbed it.  The house sits on the waters edge on a peninsula overlooking a narrow inlet called Chenin Bay.  It is surrounded by beautiful gardens which lead down to the water.  There is a lovely balcony overlooking the bay where you can relax in the afternoon.  There is also a pool which the kids are thrilled about.  The house itself is three bedroomed and quite spacious especially after coming off the boat.  As a bonus, because it is low season the price for rental is drastically reduced.  The house address is No 66 Cush Cush Hill, Westerhall Point, Grenada WI.

No. 66 Cush Cush Hill

View of the pool from the balcony

Once the house was organised we arranged with the boat yard (Grenada Marine Services) to bring the lift out date for Dulcinea forward to Friday 26th.  The next couple of days were about getting the boat ready to be lifted.  We moved from our quiet anchorage around into a small marina in the next bay called Le Phare Bleu Marina.  This is a boutique hotel and marina.  There are a couple of jetties with slips and onshore there are some cottages, a pool, bar, restaurant etc.  It is a really pleasant place to stay.

Le Phare Bleu Marina

The first task was to take on fuel - may seem strange but when the boat is stored the fuel can get contaminated with bacterial growth which would then clog up filters, injectors etc when we next came to use her.  By having the tanks as full as possible and minimising the air gap it reduces the likelihood of this occuring.  We also add biocide to the fuel to eliminate as far as possible the formation of the growth.  Once fueled up we moved the boat off the fuel jetty and alongside a slip and started to sort through our gear and carry out some of the decommissioning.

We signed a lease on the 24th and on the same day Nic organised a car for us.  We spent the next two days moving our stuff off the boat into the house.  It is amazing how much stuff you can cram on a boat and over a year it kind of builds up.  It was not only our personal gear which had to be taken off but also all the food, linen, toys etc.  The idea is to try and empty the boat as far as possible to let it get aired out but also to let us go through the stuff we have onboard and to get rid of anything which we do not need on board.  There was a lot of stuff onboard when moved onboard last year which either we did not know what it was but figured if it was on the boat there was probably a reason for it or that we took “just in case”.  Having been on the boat for a year now we feel we can rationalise this a bit.  Luckily the house is not too far from the marina and so the trips were relatively short.

On the decommissioning side there is limited work which needed to be done.  We changed the oil in the genset and the main engine and then circulated a chemical solution through the watermaker to preserve the membranes.  We managed to remove the staysail but the remaining sails will be taken off in the yard.  Sam did a great job cleaning the underside of the dingy which had attracted a ridiculous amount of growth over the last few weeks.  It was like a green carpet had been stuck to the hull.

On the Friday once the boat was unpacked we had to move it across to the Grenada Marine which is in a place called St Davids Harbour about 4NM away.  Scott and Sam sailed out of the marina in the morning and motored across to the yard.   Dulcinea was ushered into the travel lift slip almost immediately and after a couple of hours was lifted out of the water.  The hull looks pretty good considering it has been in the water for the best part of a year.  There was quite a bit of growth on the propellor and shaft but after a good pressure wash it most of it was removed.  We secured the boat and installed all the covers on hatches, winches etc and then returned to our new home.

Dulcinea out of the water in the travel lift

We spent our first night here last night and today getting settled in.  Everyone was really excited about moving ashore for a while , especially the kids!  It is very strange to be back in a house after living onboard Dulcinea for the last year.  In that time Nic and Scott have only slept off the boat for about a week tops.  The really great thing last night was that no one had to get up to close or open hatches when the rain started and stopped. The house feels huge to us but its nice to have to walk around to get between the rooms.

The pool at the house

Grenada looks really interesting.  So far all the people we have had to deal with have all been really helpful and friendly.  The island is big enough and interesting enough for us to have fun exploring for the next three months.  Nothing is that far away but the winding narrow roads make driving anywhere take much longer than the distance alone would suggest.  The countryside is green and lush and there are flowering trees and bushes everywhere which light up the hills like a daytime fireworks display. There are plenty of shops so that we will be able to get most of what we want.  Immediate plans are to get Calley into summer camp here and then in September she will join the local Montessori school.  Sam will stay with the home schooling and help Scott on the boat.  There is a fairly comprehensive list of work that needs to be done on Dulcinea which ranges from important maintenance work to upgrades and cosmetic improvements.  How much we get done will be primarily a function of cost.

For now we are all just enjoying being in a house and experiencing a little of the Caribbean life.  We all feel extremely lucky to be able to spend some time here in such an amazing place and we would love to share it with any of our friends if they can make it over.  Not sure what we do with the blog but will try and keep it up to date and interesting.

Rather curious sign at the entrance to the estate

We made it to Grenada

So we finally made it to our midway point of Grenada and everyone is very happy about that.

We left from Tobago Cays on Monday and sailed across to Clifton on Union Island which is part of St Vincent and the Grenadines.  We cleared out and had lunch at the yacht club overlooking the harbour.  There was even a small shark pool beside the restaurant.  Clifton harbour is pretty spectacular as one half is protected by a reef and there is another reef like a roundabout right in the middle of the harbour.  It is quite a small place but can get busy as is a stepping off point for visits to the other islands.  We left Clifton mid afternoon and sailed to the western side of Carriacou where we anchored for the night in a remote bay called Limekiln Bay.  We spent the afternoon towing the kids around on the SUP using the dingy.  The whole area between St Vincent and Grenada has been a bit of an eye opener.  There are lots of islands down here and we have only just touched a few of them.  You could spend a couple of months in this area alone.

Clifton Harbour, Union Island

Next morning we completed the final 30NM leg down to Grenada with another great day of sailing.  Grenada of course was where some people will remember the US invaded to stabalise a volatile political situation in 1983.  That is all history now and Grenada has a fantastic reputation as a destination for both onshore and offshore activities.

We headed to the south west coast to the capital of Grenada called St George.  Sailing into St George from the North you cannot see the harbour entrance and it is only when you get right outside that a small gap between the headlands becomes clear.  The harbour is quite small and comprises two small bays.  The northern bay called the Carenage is where the town wharf is situated and across from that is another bay which houses the Yacht Club Marina and Port Louis Marina.  In between the two bays is a small commercial wharf which takes small freighters.  The harbour is surrounded by a number of small hills covered with houses amid lots of green lush vegetation.  Here and there the red Fambouyant trees stick out prominently.  The area around the Carenage is skirted by Georgian buildings and is a beautiful harbour reminiscent of something you would find in Europe.  Would benefit from some investment but the potential is there.  High on the northern headland is the old British fort.  We headed for the Port St Louis Marina and were placed on a 75m long pier usually used by the mega yachts.

The Carenage, St George

We secured the boat and the kids went to the pool while the rest of us relaxed at the bar for a few farewell drinks and dinner for Steve.  Steve flew out early the next day to New York and once again we are down to four of us.  Am sure Steve enjoyed the trip and we enjoyed having him aboard and we are looking forward to enjoying a Pain Killer or two next time we get to Bunbury.  The fact that he left uninjured was a bonus too.

St George has a really nice feel to it and we are all positive about the next three months.  The day after Steve left we got down to the business of finding a home for the next three months.  We hired a car for two days and started to look for a place to live.  Driving around the island gave us a good perspective and with the help of a couple of real estate agents had a few possibilities almost immediately.  We are looking for a comfortable house not too remote from the south west corner which seems to be where the action is.  The distances around Grenada are quite small but the roads twist and turn over the hills so driving a few miles takes longer than expected.  We also drove out to the Grenada Marine yard where Dulcinea is to be hauled out and talked to the staff there about the arrangements.  Currently we are slotted in for a lift out on 1st August but if we can find a place to live sooner we will bring that date forward.  

By the end of a couple of days we had a pretty good idea of the layout of the south west part of the island, had seen a few properties and had lined up a few more.  Scott predictably had found a few issues on the boat to work on.  It seems that we cannot come into a marina without him finding something to work on.  The aft cabin toilet was malfunctioning and so that has been torn apart to get the defective part out to a repair centre.  Luckily we could swap the toilet from the day head into the aft cabin but it took a bit of messing about - mess being the operative word.  We had to get the fridge regassed as there is still a leak in the system.  We only need it to work for a couple more weeks until we get out the water and then it will get a complete service.  In addition Scott has orgainsed for the decks to be sanded and the caulking repaired and had a local company fix some damage to the capping rail at the stern.  

Repairing damaged section of capping rail

We head out of the marina today and will go to anchor near a place called Hogg Island on the South Coast.  Here we will try and catch up on school which has been neglected over the past month whilst our visitors have been with us.  Hopefully by the next post we will have a place to live.

Enroute to Grenada

Steve arrived onboard on Tuesday night - almost 3 days since leaving Oz.  As Steve only has a week with us and we need to be in Grenada to drop him off we made a move as soon as we had cleared out the next day and set course for Bequia which is part of St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Steve joins the crew

The conditions for sailing were just about perfect with almost constant easterly wind of around 20kts once we had left the lee side of St Lucia.  There is a problem onboard with the autopilot at the moment so we have to take shifts on the helm but in these conditions its really fun sailing.  Steve got the hang of the helm pretty quickly.  Will probably not get the autopilot fixed until Grenada as there are no huge distances to sail between now and then.  The day was kind of hazy and we did not see St Vincent until we were around 10NM off which was surprising considering there is a huge volcano on the north end called Mt Soufriere.  Once sighted we sailed about half way down the coast and found a small anchorage at a place called Cumberland Bay.  

Steve getting the hang of helming Dulcinea

Originally we had planned to bypass St Vincent and head straight to Bequia due to things we had heard and read about the island.  It has a reputation for being a bit rougher and not as safe as the other islands.  Also there are not as many favourable anchorages on the west side.  However given that we had to start the transit from the North of St Lucia to get to Bequia it was a good overnight stopping point.

The coastline of St Vincent was very rugged and similar to Dominica but without the high mountain range down the middle.  Cumberland Bay is about halfway down the west coast and is a small indent but has very deep water as have most of the anchorages around St Vincent.  When anchoring where the seabed slopes away so steeply the boat is usually secured by the bow anchor  dropped off the shore plus a stern mooring led to shore and secured around a convenient palm tree or other strong point.  This then has the bow anchor pulling into and up the seabed slope rather than out and down.  We dropped our bow anchor in 20m of water and then reversed in towards the shore.  After about 40m of chain had been paid out we were in about 10m of water and one of the local boat boys took the stern line ashore for us and secure it.  We had a couple of attempts before we were happy with how we were lying.

Cumberland Bay - St Vincent

The bay was very tranquil even though there were five other yachts nearby.  The entrance to the bay has cliffs covered in vegetation which become ledges underwater.  Once in the bay there is a dark sand beach fringing the central part of the bay.  Right in the middle of the beach a river empties into the bay.  The fresh water emptying into the bay produces a cold upper layer on top of the warm salt water.  Around the river the land rises slowly through a valley to the hills beyond while on the sides the land rises steeply.  There are banana and coconut trees on the lower slopes.  A few huts or basic houses are dotted just back from the beach.  A small wooden jetty juts out from the beach and locals fish with hand lines.  As you settle down the boat boys with various wares come around to try and sell you something but they are not overly pushy or aggressive.  An old guy  in a row boat comes over and tries to get us into his beach bar for dinner.  His name is Joseph the Fisherman and he has had his beachside bar for over 40years he tells us.  We decline the dinner but agree on taking some bread off him the next morning.

Chatting with Joseph the Fisherman

The whole bay is very peaceful as dusk approaches and we all agree this is a magical spot.  We will probably do a bit more research and try and visit again on the way up.  Scott used to go to school with a guy from St Vincent so maybe we will try and look him up. 

Steve and Calley out for an early morning paddle in Cumberland Bay

The next day we pushed on to Bequia.  Again great weather for a sail and the island is only about 16NM away.  Steve helmed most of the way and and even got into a bit of a race with a catamaran although the cat was motorsailing.  We arrived in Port Elizabeth and picked up a mooring close to town and cleared in.  We had heard of Bequia from our days working on the Endeavour around 1989.  At that time there were a couple of guys working on the project (Carl and Chris) from the island and they had raved about it.  The harbour is very protected and the local town very relaxed and colourful with a good vibe.  It reminded us of Les Saintes.  We managed a walk around town and have dinner in the evening.  The island is that small that when we got talking to a local lady in one of the shops she knew of Carl and Chris.  I guess everyone’s business is everyone’s business here.

The next day we moved again headed for Tobago Cays.  We had not even heard of this place until we started reading up the guide book a few months ago.  The Cays are three small islands fringed with reefs which provide good protection in normal conditions.  With the favourable forecast we wanted to have an explore.

We dropped the anchor just out of a channel between two of the islands late in the afternoon after another good days sailing.  There are reefs everywhere here and it is very reminiscent of the Bahamas.  The reefs and sand patches give the water an amazing spectrum of colours from deep blue in the deep water to bright tourquoise blue over the sand and then green and brown over the reefs.  The islands themselves are small but quite high and covered in low trees with small stretches of beach along the shoreline.  There were a couple of other boats moored in the channel.  We went for a quick explore in the dingy and around the other side of the island facing the seawards reefs were about another 15 boats.  We could not see these from where we were.  We settled down in the evening to dinner and a movie on deck.

Tobago Cays

The next morning a dingy came around the boat and to our suprise it was Dimitri from Windchaser.  They are anchored on the other side of the island and saw us on the AIS system.  We had last met up with Dimitri, Michelle and their boys in Georgetown in the Bahamas and since then had been missing them all the way down the Caribbean so it was great to finally catch up.  Calley went off for the day to play with their kids and then we all met up in the evening on the island where we had a few drinks and a BBQ on the beach.  Its amazing that we only really met these guys once but have stayed in contact and when we see them its like it was yesterday.

The Windchasers - Dulcinea Reunion

The Tobago Cays is a relaxed place and there is nothing here in terms of places to eat or shops.  The islands are deserted.  During the day a couple of boat guys come over from Union Island and you can buy/order fish or provisions from them.  As such it is a pretty laid back stopover and we have just hung around the boat or caught up with Windchasers.  Steve goes for a paddle every morning taking Calley with him for part of it.  Apart from that we swim, snorkel, look at the fish and read.  There is a turtle sanctuary here and you can snorkel with them and see them grazing in about three feet of water.  

Today we will bid au revoir to Windchasers and move on to the first of the Grenada Islands called Carriacou and then the day after we will reach Grenada.

Tropical Storm Chantal

Quick update after an interesting couple of days.

Dropped the Andersons off at Vieux Fort on Saturday and spent the day at anchor.  Vieux Fort is a pleasant enough place lying on a bay at the southern tip of St Lucia and right next to the main airport.  The town is centered around a small protected fishing boat harbour and one commercial dock.  We had read mixed reviews about the place but went ashore anyway. Its not a tourist place but very Caribbean and pretty lively.  The people were really friendly and helpful.  Its good for the kids especially to see how the place works and compare it to other places they have seen.  We had been the only boat at anchor at the far side of the bay and when we returned there were five boats around us.  Most were anchored a decent distance off but one cat for some reason anchored almost on top of us.  Thankfully they only stayed for a couple of hours before leaving.

We moved North back to the Pitons the next morning (Sunday) to await the arrival of Steve Down, our next guest.  The anchorage is so awesome we thought it would be a shame if Steve did not see it, and its a more pleasant place to wait.  

Dulcinea moored between the Pitons

The anchorage from the beach

Got up on Monday morning ready to get into school and a bit of cleaning.  Luckily one of the first items on the agenda was to check the weather.  We found out that a tropical wave had been classified to a named tropical storm overnight - Chantal - and with a bit more research determined that it was headed in the general direction of St Lucia at a speed of around 25kts.  That would put it close to us around midday the next day so we only had 24hrs to get organised.  Initially we thought we would hang off the mooring at the Pitons and weather it but as the day drew on with more information available and after a call to a local dockmaster at one of the Marinas Scott decided to seek shelter at Rodney Bay Marina.   Chantal was forecast to pass approx 50NM north of us with winds around 55kts to 60kts.  Given that we were on the calm side of the storm we should not see that windspeed but it was better to seek shelter than take the chance.  

Track of tropical storm Chantal (Dulcinea is in the red near Tuesday)

We slipped the mooring at the Pitons around 1700 and it was dark by the time we reached Rodney Bay.  Coming into the marina we almost hit an unlit yacht anchored right in the approaches.  It was only Sam's sharp eyes that saved us.  Once alongside we rigged additional lines, took down what ever was not necessary and then went to bed.  We left the headsails and bimini on this time.  Again should probably have taken them off just to be safe but.....

Learned a thing or two during this whole episode.  The call to move to the marina was made kind of late in the day.  The first decision to stay at the mooring was wrong as it left us exposed to certain unknowns even if it turns out that the storm does not hit us too bad.   So the decision to go to the marina was right but we should have moved a few hours earlier say around midday.  That would have allowed us to tie up and get hunkered down during daylight.  In hindsight we could have probably sailed south to Bequia out of the storm path but we had the added complication of Steve arriving today.  One of the suprising aspects here was the speed at which the system developed into a named storm - in our planning we always assumed there would be plenty of warning i.e. at least 48hrs.  So lesson learned - stay attentive and act decisively.

It is now Tuesday and we are hunkered down on the boat with the wind and rain gusting outside.  Believe the storm centre has just passed to the north of us over the south end of Martinique about 20NM away.  The worst winds we have seen were brief gusts to around 40kts but think Martinique will be worse hit.  We heard on the radio one boat at Le Marin calling for assistance as they had dragged into another boat and were now headed to the shore.  The storm is intensifying and its current track will unfortunately see Santo Domingo get a direct hit. Think we dodged a bullet here - again - what with coming close to Sandy late last year.

Earlier in the day the airport on the island was closed and we feared Steve may not make it but the flight is back on and he should arrive this evening.  As Chantal is moving so quick the weather should be OK for a departure tomorrow morning and we will head south for St Vincent or Bequia.  

The Anderson Charter Party - Part 2

Its July the fourth and apart from this being Independence Day for the US its also a year since Nic and Scott stepped aboard Dulcinea in Newport.  The kids were a few days behind us.  Hard to believe that it was a year ago - more of that later.  Another posting.

We have spent the last few days around St Lucia.  Marigot Bay was beautiful.  The bay is narrow  but indents the coast quite sharply which makes for a very protected anchorage.  There are hills all around the edge lined with houses which must have an awesome view.  At the head of the bay is a small marina and marina village with all the necessary essential shops.  Its a great spot to unwind.  One minor problem was Nic managed to injure herself during the mooring operation and she thinks she has cracked a rib.  This has slowed her down a bit but the show must go on.  After a couple of days of R&R at Marigot we moved south along the coast to Soufriere which is the second biggest town on St Lucia.

A skipper has many duties

Soufriere is famous for a couple of things - this was the original settlement when the French started to colonise the island in the 1700’s and as such many of the place names around here are French.  The town was named after the smell from the volcano.  The capital was moved to Castries when the British took over the island.  Secondly the town is beside a dormant but still smoking volcano.  Thirdly it is situated just North of the Pitons which are two spectacular rock pinnacles rising to around  2500ft almost sheer from the water.  The whole area around here comes under the Soufriere Marine Management Area (SMMA).  There are moorings in place at various locations along the coast and generally you have to use these rather than anchor.

We sailed down to Soufriere and picked up a mooring very close to the beach right at the base of Petit Piton about half a mile south of the town.  As you would imagine the terrain is very green and lush and very mountainous.  The main order of the day is relaxing with Lars and Diana and watching the kids play in the water.  They seem to be able to spend the best part of the day in the water.  Our kids especially are enjoying not having to do school.  The first night we went over to the beach to a local restaurant which was the only building on the beach and had some dinner.  We got talking to Benny the owner and organised a minivan and guide for the next day.

We were picked up from the boat at 0900 by the local marine park Ranger (Benny apparently has some pull), and were driven into the jetty at Soufriere where we were met by Victor our guide and Anslim our driver.  They proceeded to show us around the local sights in the Soufriere vicinity.  We started with a cold waterfall not far out of town which Lars and the kids braved and then headed to the botanical gardens.  It was quite good having Victor for the local history and his knowledge of the plants.  At the botanical gardens there is a hot spring and mineral baths.  There are modern tiled baths which people use and an old original bath from when the baths started and which Empress Josephine apparently visited.

Ross enjoying a waterfall?!

Waterfall at the Botanical Gardens

We next headed to the sulphur springs at the volcano on the outskirts of Soufriere called Qualibo.  The volcano is dormant but geothermally active and you can drive right up to the caldera where there are steaming bubbling mud pools to look at.  It stinks of sulphur but is pretty interesting to have a look at.  Our guide Victor then took us to some mud pools nearby and we all had a mud bath and soak in the hot spring water.  It was interesting but quite crowded with other tourists.  We capped off the tour with another warm waterfall and then headed to a restaurant at one of the resorts in the area called LaDera.

Caldera with bubbling mud pools

The things we do

The restaurant at the resort has been built in a cleft between the two Pitons and the view is just spectacular.  The photos give you some idea but really do not do it justice.

View of the Pitons from LaDera - Dulcinea is anchored in the bay now

There are few boat boys around here but again we have not had a problem with any of them and they actually provide a good service selling us fruit and veggies and taking off the boat garbage.

Yesterday we shifted moorings into the bay between the two Pitons which is just spectacular.  Dulcinea looks pretty small with the backdrop of the twin Pitons.  It really is an amazing anchorage and must be one of the most awesome in the Caribbean especially a dusk when the sunlight catches the exposed rock.  At these times we try and get the kids settled and then enjoy a painkiller or pina colada on deck for an hour or so.  One of Sam’s new responsibilities is cocktail barman - a position which we were sorely in need of onboard.

The Anderson Charter Party

We will move to the southern tip of the island to a place called Vieux Fort tomorrow to drop off Lars and Diana for their flight back to the real world and get ready to receive Steve, our next guest.

Decorative Ropework c/o Claire

The Anderson Charter Party

As noted on the last blog we had a pretty intense few days of cleaning and school to get ready for the trip with Lars and his family.  We hung out at the anchorage for the first part of the week and then moved into the Rodney Bay Marina for the last few days.

Gregory with his very mobile if somewhat unseaworthy floating fruit and veg stall

The boat is looking great apart from a gash where Scott managed to connect with the dock whilst manouvering into the slip.  OK it was gusting a bit and we were trying to reverse into the slip but still he was pretty annoyed all the same.  The gash went through the gelcoat into the fibreglass but luckily not that deep or long.  We managed to get it sealed immediately with help from the marina boatyard.  Apart from that the boat is looking spic and span and the deck is all gleaming after a new round of polishing.

We went out for dinner on a couple of occassions while waiting for Lars to arrive.  On Friday we went to a local village just along the bay a bit where they have local food cooking in the streets.  The guide book and taxi drivers warns you not to leave the main street as it has a bit of a rough reputation.  The food was pretty average and the scene did not look too rough just very run down and quite shabby.  Good to get out and about but not as colourful an affair as we thought it was going to be.

The last week and the remainder of this week have been about taking Lars and family out sailing and sightseeing around St Lucia and Martinique.  We have put the kids school on hold so they can hang out with their cousins.  We will try and get a couple of lessons in but figure since they hardly ever see them they should spend the time with them rather than at school.  Plus their teachers need a break! 

We greeted our guests on the Saturday afternoon and once they had rested for the night immediately set off for Martinique.  The crossing was uneventful with a steady trade wind around 20kts and only one minor squall.  We pulled into a place called St Anne first which is on the south coast.  In the morning we moved a couple of miles around to a town called Le Marin to clear in.  The French are pretty relaxed with the clearance formalities - it is just a matter of filling in a form on the computer and paying 4 Euros. 

Le Marin is a small town but there must be around 500 or 600 boats moored here either on one of the half a dozen piers or anchored in the bay.  It is obviously a base for a number of charter companies but there are also a lot of private boats.  It was that crowded that we had trouble finding a spot to anchor and had to eventually anchor out at the edge of the boats.  The great thing about the French islands as we have mentioned before is the food onshore.  We typically go onshore for a delicious lunch and that sets us up for the rest of the day.  Thats after someone doing an early morning croissant run of course.

Local fisherman setting fish traps - They bait these with baguettes - no joke

We moved around the coast to the main town on Martinique called Fort de France stopping off for a couple of days at a place called Petit Anse D’Arlet.  We had stayed here overnight on our way south and it was a beautiful quiet bay with a small village at one end.  Everyone just relaxed, swam and visited the town.  At Fort de France we anchored beneath the walls of the Napoleonic fort and then had a look around the town.  This is the biggest town we have seen since San Juan in Puerto Rico which was back in April.  Its all very exciting.  The town is just like a shabby area of Paris so not particularly attractive but has lots of shops, a post office, a market and of course lots of cafes and restaurants.  Nic especially cheers up when she can spend a quiet half hour in a cafe.

Nic at home

Fort de France waterfront

We got back to St Lucia yesterday after a couple more days in Martinique.  Martinique would be a nice island to hire a car and have a drive around.  It is big enough and developed enough to spend a couple of days touring the interior.

Coming off the Martinique coast Sam was on the helm and we got hit with a squall which gusted to 27kts and had some serious rain which cut the visibility to zero.  Sam helmed us through the worst of it with help from Lars braving the rain.  He was a bit anxious as the boat responded and started to heel but I think he is slowly getting the hang of it.  Ever since the 40kt gust we took in Rosseau we (well Scott anyway) is a lot more comfortable with what the boat can handle.  With a deep reefed main and staysail the boat can comfortably sail in 35kts just off the wind.  The trick around here is to ensure that you do not put up too much sail early on and then get hit with the squalls later.

Currently in a lovely little anchorage in a place called Marigot Bay.  We will move south along the coast of St Lucia for the rest of the week before dropping Lars and family off in a place called Vieux  Fort.  Everyone is having a great time just hanging out although Scott tends to get a bit edgy with so many kids onboard.  He is bad enough in a normal domestic situation so on a 63ft boat he is really testing his limits.