Still Rockin’ Along

Bidding Guadeloupe, hiding its volcano
under a blanket of clouds, a fond farewell 

Finally, we checked out of Guadeloupe and set sail (yes, we really do sail sometimes!) for a pleasant day’s run, down island to Dominica.  We had the lure out, but were short on both luck and fish fingers.  Dominica is very steep and very deep; its main activities are adventure tourism – hiking up volcanoes through tropical rainforest or diving off steep sea walls.  All a bit active for us.  We were met in Roseau by Marcus and took one of his moorings located only about 40 feet from shore, but with 110 feet of water under the keel.  (Sorry guys, you have to do the math!  We’ve got an American made boat – but take it from GS, 1 metre is a tinsy bit over 3 feet.  Right?).  Aside from local chickens, roosters, dogs, goats and traffic noise, we slept very well overnight in calm, calm waters.  It was like being in the Caribbean - at last!

Colourful Dominica

Early next day, we made the crossing to Martinique.  The sail was rather sloppier than we cared for but once in the lee of Mount Pelée, with the sun shining and a joyous welcoming committee of acrobatic dolphins, we cruised leisurely down the coast.  We bypassed Saint-Pierre, very prettily dressed in beautiful green fields, but with something of a death wish.  Founded in 1635, it has twice since suffered total destruction.  In 1780, a 25ft (8m) tidal surge caused by a hurricane killed 9,000.   Then, in 1902, the town was victim of an overwhelming eruption of nearby volcanic Mount Pelée.  Only two people survived.

Going gang-busters in the chop between islands
(Oh, that's not us!) 

All this sad news clearly affected our most comfortable steering chair.  With the Cap’n below decks and GS & Mr Lozza madly cheering the dolphin gymnastic team, nobody noticed said chair’s bid for freedom.  To make matters worse, its best buddy also tried to escape.  Unbelievable in such calm waters!!  Luckily though, chair #2 did not succeed.  Our Cap’n promised faithfully to find it a friend at Island Water World (a large chandlery chain) when we docked in St Lucia. 

We were exhausted from all this chair over-board & rescue activity and with rain squalls closing in over Fort de France Bay, busy with ferries, shipping and other sailboats, we hurried on toward our next anchorage, Anse Mitan.  Although a coastal holiday town, we managed to find a quiet anchorage away from the mayhem.  This area is quite near the home of Joséphine de Beauharnais, first wife of Napoleon Bonaparte, now a museum.  A stopover in Martinique will be added to next year's float plan for sure.

But we didn't linger.  With interesting "weather conditions" this year, we decided to burn up the miles while we could.  We flashed past Diamond Rock, wondering how the British could ever have disguised it as a sailing ship (to keep the French at bay for 18 months in 1804). It is said to have been dressed with sails, cannons and a contingent of men. How they scaled its steep and rugged sides with all their gear makes this even more incredible.

Diamond Rock.  Photo link: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Diamant_Beach.jpg

Our destination was to be a rewarding stay in St Lucia’s Rodney Bay Marina.  This marina is home to the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC), where a gathering of more than 200 cruiser boats meets each Feb to celebrate a successful Atlantic crossing.  Also, the Round the World group depart for their Panama & Pacific leg.  We were trying not to be too regretful about our decision to stay in the States.