29-31 January 2014 – Martinique

January 29– At Port in Le Marin
After a breakfast of homemade crépes ( yum!), we walked up to meet Lucie for a brief but enthusiastic rendezvous. She made some recommendations (ie ‘Island ‘To-Do’s)  and then headed out to get some tasks accomplished for the day. First off, we stopped at the ‘toy store’ (marine supply shop) to satisfy the Captain’s craving. Then, per Lucie’s suggestion, we walked up to see the oldest church on the island, then stopped for lunch at a restaurant called Zanzibar before heading back to boat to start the project of reversing the main halyard. What should have been an easy project ended up being a larger issue; the threader line got stuck at the top of the mast, so Emylee was sent up to alleviate the issue.

Don’t worry, it’s only 62′ high

Looking down on HoG

Then later in the evening, Lucie met us at the end of the dock, and we all walked to her lovely home  to share in conversation and a homemade orange rum. Then it was back to our favorite restaurant, Zanzibar, where we all shared a(nother) great meal -and Canaan devoured an entire chicken. With full full stomachs and hearts, we arrived back at the harbor to find the dock gate locked. Em and Canaan helped the old guys over the slippery stones, as we all dodged razor wire meant to keep unsavories (like ourselves?) locked out. Thankfully we made it safe and sound!

January 30  – Le Marin to Anse Noir
We rose with the intent of leaving Le Marin, and made quick trips to the market, patisserie, and the chandlery before breakfast. All checked out and ready to go, we inflated the dinghy and prepped our snorkel gear, and figuring we were set to depart. When no personnel from the marina office responded to release our bow mooring line, Kathie hopped in the newly-inflated dinghy without a second thought to the untie HoG herself, and we were off!

The crossing to the northern part of the island was a beautiful sail, essentially dead downwind in 20 kts carrying us the whole way. We dropped anchor in Anse Noir, an isolated bay where there happened to be perhaps another dozen boats.

Lone pier at Anse Noir

With only a few hours of daylight left, Canaan and Em sifted through the leftover ARC provisions and concocted a trifecta of Indian food for dinner: freeze dried Katmandu Curry and Chicken Vindaloo, and canned hotdogs with curry rice and veggies.

January 31– Anse Noir to St Pierre
Secure at anchor, we had a hearty breakfast of omelettes with canned ham and kidney beans left the bay at Anse Noir for St. Pierre, where we arrived around noon. We dropped anchor in a shallow bay overlooked by a statue of the Virgin Mary, and took the dinghy up to dock so we could walk around the town.There was a small but thorough museum of history for the eruption of Mt Pele, which occurred in 1902.

Mt Pele peaking out from cloud cover

There was much to see on the island, but our 84 NM trip to Guadeloupe took precedent over sightseeing. We departed at 6pm sharp in order to arrive in the morning light the next day. The crossing began with unexpected excitement, as the head of the gennaker (affectionately known as C-Bear) unfurled- requiring mighty  muscles to bring her down and reel her to the deck… In a rainstorm. But Carl and Canaan were on first watch at 8pm, with bright stars above to start. But a few dark clouds brought squalls and they may have gotten a bit wet. Kathie and Emylee took over watch 4 hrs later. There were a few cruising vessels to keep an eye out for, but overall they had a pretty quiet shift as they took HoG up the west coast of Dominica. All were awake to see the islands as HoG arrived in the quiet bay of Les Saintes, Guadeloupe, around 8am. A long but successful first night crossing.