Lagniappe: Martinique December 2016/ January 2017

Martinique

December2016/January 2017

12/7/2016 We left Rodney Bay about 0930 after checking out and getting our duty free fuel at the fuel dock. The wind was 16 to 19 knots about 70 degrees off the bow but the seas were about 6 feet with occasional 7 to 8 feet. We could barely make 3.5 knots against the seas so we motor-sailed most of the way. As we got close to Martinique and headed in to St. Anne, one of the hoses came off the engine and we had to cut the engine and I sailed us through the obstacle course of fishing pots while Greg got the hose clamped back on. However, the engine still wouldn’t start because the switch and relay had gotten wet. We managed to get that dried off enough to start the engine and get into the harbor and anchored. Then Greg worked on the switch and found it was corroded. A few days later, he replaced the kill switch (we had a spare) and cleaned the socket and all is well with starting the engine.

It rained a lot while we were in Martinique and we had several big blows but our anchor held and we were able to rent a car several days to do some sightseeing. The rain just meant more rainbows, in fact, almost daily.

A reward after the rain

One of the blustery days in the anchorage

A double rainbow one day.

We rented a car several times while in St. Anne and made trips to Le Lamentin for shopping at the big Hyper U (groceries) and Decathlon (sporting goods) and to go on hikes, visit distilleries and sightseeing. We went with friends, Bill and Joanna (S/V Baidarka) to Hyper U and Decathlon and to the Jardin de Balate, a botanical garden just north of Fort de France. Though not in the height of bloom, the gardens were quite beautiful and the suspended walkway was fun. We had lunch at a little deli and got back to the boat with a load of groceries to put away.

As we entered there were dozens of hummingbirds at the feeders.

There were thousands of bromeliads

Very intersting palms with red and green striped trunks

The skywalk rope bridge was a big hit!

The bridge wove through the trees for several hundred feet.

The next day, we took the car to a little trail walk near Trois Ilets with friends, Jo and Fred from S/V Caribbean Dream and then to the Clement distillery. It was rainy again and the trail was sloppy. We bought baguettes and cheese and fruit and wine and had a picnic there on the grounds of the distillery on their picnic tables and then toured the facilities. The grounds were fantastic with a sculpture garden and beautiful old plantation home. We did the rum tasting but weren’t keen on their rum so we only bought some T-Punch glasses.

The amphitheater in the park where we hiked

Jo with Fort de France behind her

A little building half taken over with tree roots in the park.

Our picnic lunch at the Clement distillery

Some of the sculptures on the Clement grounds

All that rum!!

The old plantation home at Clement

They also had an interesting little art gallery.

We attended Christmas Eve Mass in St. Anne. We arrived at church 30 minuttes early as we knew from past experience that these small churches fill up especially on holidays. Even so, we had to sit on folding chairs just outside the side entrance. We could glimpse part of the altar and could hear Mass just fine. Those who arrived after us had to stand through the whole Mass outside.

We had Christmas lunch with about 50 other cruisers at Touloulou restaurant on the beach in St. Anne. It was a nice affair with a large buffet and open bar. Afterwards, we laid out on the beach and let our food go down.

Christmas lunch at Touloulou

Just one of the tables of "boat people"for Christmas lunch

Chilling on the beach after our big lunch

Another car rental day we drove over to the area just northwest of St. Anne with Bill and Joanna to Anse Caffard to see the monument there which was erected in remembrance of the slave ship that went down there. All of the crew was lost and most of the slaves but about 86 of them survived. Then we drove over to Anse a L’Ane and had a picnic on the beach.

The statues at Anse Caffard

Greg and Joanna at Anse Caffard

On the shore at Anse Caffard

We found the French island version of King Cakes and tried a couple of different ones. The Galettes de Roi were delicious, especially the frangipane (almond) ones. Instead of a baby inside like ours back home, they have a little porcelain statue in the cake and a paper crown in the box.

We drove to the St. James distillery with Deb and Tony (S/V Exit Stage Left) and got some good rum and had a nice tour. On our way, we stopped at a little roadside stand and had “second breakfast” of some sausages that were absolutely delicious. We also drove to St. Marie where there is a sandbar, Le Tombolo, which connects the mainland to a tiny island and you can walk across at low tide. However, it wasn’t low tide when we were there and the waves were coming in from either side and covering a man who was crossing with water up to his chest. Since we didn’t have our swimsuits with us, we didn’t attempt it.

An impromptu stop at a roadside viewpoint scored some delicious sausages

Le Tombolo

Our pinic on the East Coast

Tony and Deb celebrating his birthday with some rum purchases

St. James Distillery museum

We began to get anxious to leave and head north after Christmas, but the weather was not cooperating. We ran out of propane in one tank (for the stove) on January 12 and hooked it up to the other tank which we normally use for the generator. You can’t refill propane tanks in the French islands. They only sell butane.

We hiked over to Saline Beach (about an hour) and met Joanna and Bill as well as their friends, Tor and Janet who had come to visit from Alaska. We also met two other boat crews, Charlie and Anina (Prism) and Chris and Fran (Changes). We had lunch at one of the beach shacks and then hiked back to the dinghy dock.

On the hike to Saline Beach

Looking out to Diamond Rock across the Bay

Our lunch table at Saline Beach

One of the projects we got done was to make two of these line holders for each side of the cockpit to keep our lines organized and out of the way.

On 1/17/17 we ran out of propane in our second tank. Definitely time to get moving!

1/18/2017 We left St. Anne at 0735 and had the engine off as soon as we got the sails up. We sailed a broad reach past Diamond Rock then turned north and were on a nice beam reach. Winds were 12 to 18 knots until we got to Baie de Fort de France when, as usual, the winds kicked up to 20 to 23 with gusts to 28. As soon as we passed Fort de France, the winds dropped to 2 to 5 knots and we had to motor-sail the rest of the way to St. Pierre. We made water while we motored and anchored in Anse de Turin at 1340. We snorkeled on the anchor and it was in good so we swam in to the beach and then back out to the boat. We went into town later that afternoon and had dinner that night at Le Tamaya with the crew from Baidarka and their company. We also met Richard and Brigitte from Cloud Nine there and another table of cruisers from S/V Jumbie (Kathy and Tom) and S/V Taiga. Le Tamaya is owned by a French couple who came to Martinique on a sailboat and decided to stay. They are usually closed on a Wednesday and we thought we wouldn’t get to go there this visit but they were open because their “slow season” had been REALLY slow and they were trying to make up for it. Well, they had a full house that night and we were happy for them. We had an excellent meal and even a wonderful desert. The next day we hit the farmer’s market and stocked up on some fresh veggies.

We tried to do some research on Liz Ann's Forstall ancestor who left Martinique in 1726 and established the family in New Orleans, but the records from that time and even the cemetery from then were destroyed by the volcano eruption.