We left Antigua behind for a lovely beam reach to Guadeloupe arriving at Deshaise it was pretty busy so we sailed on to Pigeon Island to anchor near the little harbor. Our friends Sue and Dave from s/v Sans Cles were here so we got to catch up again. We both took the bus to Deshaise to check in and found we had a connection to make, oh well we guess it's easy to while away the day with Caribbean bus schedules and so it was. We did stop for lunch in Deshaise at the beach side bar and had of course had lots of time catching up on each other's stories.
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| Waiting for a bus |
Our next stop was Isle de Saints and the small anchorage at Pain du Sucre, we had to tack a few times into the wind but get there in the end. Unfortunately on arrival we discovered they are all mooring balls now with the best area totally buoyed off with anchoring prohibited. It's a wonderful little spot, which we love. Ah well we have enough chain so we anchor on the edge in 40-50' of water. We enjoy this spot and get a bit more rest before Sue and Dave catch us yet again. We only stop a couple of nights before heading further south as we are getting close to hurricane season now.
Our next stop is a long way off so we are up at first light and on our way by 4.30 am to St Pierre in Martinique. It is a beautiful sail with good speed at around 7 knots so we make it easily in daylight. We anchor in our usual spot opposite the dive business way out of town. We like it here as there is a little more space away from the crowd and there are some sculptures on the sea bed here to snorkeled over. So we have a little snorkel to check them out. Of course Liz also loves the bread here and we walk 30 minutes each way to get a loaf at the bakery, I think Liz just wanted the walk really? We have s/v Hoofbeats and s/v Allegro join us in the anchorage but they are just stopping the night before heading south too.
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| St Pierre |
Our next stop is Le Trois Islet just past Fort de France but nicely tucked away in a mangrove harbor. It's a sleepy little village but quite nice to walk around and so we did, including a little diversion onto the golf course path. We stay a couple of nights and enjoy the fresh bread from the bakery and fresh fruit and veg from the market. The cruising French couple we met at Christmas are taking a break from cruising as their kids are finishing school so Sam is opening a French bakery just a few minutes walk from the harbor, next we visit we will be Albee to pop in and catch up with the family.
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| Moosetracks at anchor by the golf course |
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| ferry terminal |
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| great veg market |
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| Local Church |
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| Marie Antoinette was baptized here |
Our next stop is Anse Alane which again is a lovely little shore side town with a nice beach and dinghy dock. We stay a couple of nights, enjoy a walk the beach, swimming and the little town, we could take a bus from here to the mall but didn't realize this until layer when friends told us, oh well.
Our next stop was a slight back track for last minute shopping since we didn't want to beat upwind to St Anne, it was 3 miles back to Fort de France. We stop a couple of nights to get a little shopping done as its our last chance to stock up on French cheese and sausages as well as lots of other favorites with expiry dates.
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| The town hall |
The last stop in Martinique is Grand Anse, a reasonable size harbor but well used so we attempted a few times to get a nice spot. We did drag on our second choice of place and bringing the anchor back up found we had speared a crab trap which the fouled our anchor and wouldn't let it set. Devin flights with it a while and finally got it off our anchor and back in the sea. The third attempt got us all settled and happy, then walked the beach and explored a little.
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| The beach |
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| The beach looking south |
The next day we walked over to Petit Anse for the exercise and to visit the nice bakery there. It was a very quaint little town with a lovely church on the seafront. Note the photo below, on weekends and holidays the road into Grand Anse becomes one way! Just as well we're not driving, as often we forget what day it is!!
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| Beach front Church |
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| lovely inside too |
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| One way only at the weekend? |
We left Martinique for a short day sail to St Lucia and Rodney Bay, it was another glorious beam reach and we even managed to catch a Mahi-Mahi about 36" long. A great treat and we soon had it all sliced and in the freezer. We wanted to hang around in Rodney bay and do a little more shopping so we caught the bus to the Mega-J for the big box items we need like Quaker Oats and dried fruits and big boxes of peanuts. We met up its lots of friends who were also passing through and we decided to go for lunch at a local Indian restaurant as a group of 12. So a nice set menu of lovely curry samples, which if we recall correctly everyone ordered the same. We stayed a couple of extra days and in our relaxed state completely forgot to get our propane refill done here, oops.
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| Welcome to Rodney bay |
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| Great name |
We again jumped past St Vincent as we are not too keen on the main island theses days, not enough to interest us and getting a little risky with recent dinghy and boat thefts. So we headed straight to Bequia which is definitely one of our favorite places.
Bequia is a wonderful spot, just 7 square miles so easy to walk everywhere. We did the hike over to Friendship bay with Tracy and Wayne (s/v Margaret Ann) and Anita and Steve (s/v Tinshel) taking our snorkel gear to explore the reef there. On our return we find so many mangoes, we each returned with a wonderful bag. Over the next several days many mango delights are prepared as well as mango chutney for keeping. Bill and Krista (s/v Secoudon) invite us for dinner and we enjoy a Wonderful evening catching as we have not really seen them since May 2015. The four of us explore the reef between St Margarets Beach and Lower Bay, what a treat, Octopus, Squid, Angel fish, spotted Eels and more.
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| Octopus |
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| Angel fish |
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| Trumpet fish |
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| Lion fish |
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| Spotted eel |
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| Sqiud |
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| Puffer fish |
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| s/v Secudon, with Bill & Kristi |
We also catch up with our British friend Liz who moved here 22 years ago and have a wonderful lunch and catch up at the Plantation Hotel. The plantation is now under going major renovations and from what we could see, it's going to be a wonderful place for a short break right in the waterfront.
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| Liz & Liz |
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| Renovated Plantation resort |
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| Devin & Liz |
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| Gladys the much loved Land Rover |
Once again Sue & Dave (s/v Sans Cles) catch up with us and 8 of us hike to the Turtle Sanctuary.
