More Saints and Volcanos

After leaving Dominica, we contined onto the largest of the windward islands, Martinique. We found what looked like a great little town on the chart and hoped it would be all that we expected since we haven't heard any other cruisers mention it.

St Pierre, named for a pirate who settled here, is on the northwest corner of Martinique and at one point was considered the "Paris of the West Indies". It had been the commercial center of the southern Caribbean and the capital of Martinique since the 1600s. It was settled by the Arawaks, then the Caraibs, then the French, the British and back to the French....UNTIL 1902. St Pierre had a population of 30,000 and 29,999 were killed by the eruption of Mt Pelee except one prisoner in the town jail, Cyrus. 

Quite a story of this little town and when you see an artist sketch with pirate ships anchored out front, it looks exactly the same as today. 

The anchorage is on a 20-foot shelf about 300 meters wide but drops to over 100 feet on the seaward side and has a steep shore break on the land side. We found a perfect spot, dropped the hook, took care of lots of chores and indulged in our inner Frenchmen (very few people speak ANY English)

Have I mentioned we really like French islands?

Baxter and Kala as we motored down the lee of Dominica

Someone wanted to come play on our bow.

Looking at us straight in the eye.

Having a blast…this lasted for about 15 min.

Dolphin and whale spotting (yes, we saw both but couldn't get the whale was camera shy.)

The lay of the land.  Anchorage on the left (you can see the small shelf of 20 ft.)

French islands are the best.  Clearing into "customs."

A full-fledged lavarie (notice the cost $10 USD for 14 lbs., that's just to wash.)

Grocery shopping in the market.

The Battery.  Houses from the 1700s that were built for those who worked at the fort.  Destroyed by the volcano.

St Pierre (Terrapin on right, towards the front.)

Mt Pelee volcano.  Twelve boats sank in the anchorage when it erupted.

French towns all have their own beautiful churches.

Token Carribean sunset.  I'm a sucker.

Dominica

Pronounced Dom-uh-neek-a, opposed to Doh-min-i-ka. I stumble in writing about this island because I'm not sure how to express our impressions succinctly.

We have heard so much about how wonderful it is…so much hiking, so many beaches, so much to do. We were excited.  In fact, we only met one boat that said "meh...we could skip it." After being here for four days, we tend to agree with the latter. That is not to say it's not beautiful and there's not a lot to do. However...all hikes require that you hire a guide to take you and most trips cost $25-$50 USD/person - not expensive but having the adventure of self exploration taken away and having to pay someone to tell you a banana tree is a banana tree isn't exciting for us. After hiking through the S. Pacific and quite a few islands in the Caribbean we would rather just get lost, wonder about strange plants and animals and go find out for ourselves. For us it is part of the mystique of exploring.

Since Dominica is volcanic, the beaches are not like those we love. They are black gritty sand and the ones we have been to all have glass, debris and garbage bags floating around. 

None the less, we really enjoyed the market on Saturday.  There was so much local activity…we couldn't describe it if we tried.  It was electric!  Dominica is also truly beautiful.  The rain forests and mountains are enormous and the island seems to go on forever.

We absolutely appreciated the island for what it is but we're excited to move south to Martinique.

Taking Kala for a ride.

Different than other beaches.

The mouth of one of the rivers with a wreck to the left and tree in the center.  Very lush rain forests throughout the island.

Higher Ground

We spent most of the time in the Saintes in Terre de Haut (High Earth.)  It was a great little fishing village much like Brittany, France (so we've heard) and we were pleasantly surprised with new adventures around every corner. 

We were taking Kala to the beach and stopped at Ile a Cabrit for her to play on the beach.  We saw a path that led further into the island so we followed it.  Next thing we knew, we were atop Fort Josephine, which was built in 1777 by Napoleon and named for his wife.  The French and British fought for a while over control of this area.  Horatio Nelson was the British Admiral fighting against the little French Emperor and his commanders. 

The next morning, again on a walk with Kala, we kept walking and walking until found ourselves at Fort Napoleon, opposite from Fort Josephine.  The fort is officially a museum and it was closed, but fun nonetheless to view Guadeloupe and the Saintes from a different perspective.

Our last adventure before heading to Dominica was Le Chameau.  It was described as being only for the fit and 1,000 feet on a very steep incline.  We had to accept the challenge.  The tower atop was exceptional for 360 degree views.  You could see Dominica, 20 miles away to the south and Guadeloupe, 10 miles to the north and every reef in between. 

On the way back from our hike, we thought we had earned an indulgent French lunch at Les Pieds de l’eau which I believe means “A walk on the water.”  It was a great little café on the bay, where everything moves on island time. 

The next morning we sailed off our mooring and didn’t run the engine until anchoring in Dominica five hours later.  It was such a great sail, I didn’t even whine too much during the 40kt (no exaggeration) squall that decided to welcome us to Dominica.  I’m really getting the hang of this Carribean sailing.

Anchored next to us in Iles Saintes

Carnivale parade on Mardi Gras

Baxter and Kala atop Fort Josephine (Le Chameau in back over Baxter's right shoulder.)  This tall ship was anchored next to us in Dominica a couple of days later - pictured in yesterday's blog (History Lessons)

Kala scoping out the mooring field.

My turn.

Little kids amongst the ruins.

Big boat, little boat.  Terrapin on right of "Royal Clipper" cruise ship.

Ocean front property for the season.  This one had an infinity pool on the deck.

If only we could do this in the US.

View of Le Chameau from Terrapin.

Excusez-moi…Je mange le petit dejeuner.  ("Excuse me, I am eating lunch.)

Translation:  Leave no trace.

The tower on top of Le Chemeau.

View from inside the 1700s tower fortress.

Fun playing on old rickety ladders that go into deep dark holes.

History Lessons

As we travel from island to island in the Caribbean, we check in and out of different countries.  What is exceptionally noteworthy is that most of the islands are British or French, a few Dutch here and there, but no one in the West Indies is governed by Spain and Portugal.

If you go back just 500ish years ago, which isn’t that long in terms of history, Spain and Portugal agreed to split the world in half.  Spain would rule anything west of Europe and Portugal would rule anything east.  Neither of these countries today would even make a Top Ten list of countries that could rule the world.  In fact, the Washington Post published an article that New York's economy is bigger than the entire country of Spain.  I don’t know if kids would even recognize Spain or Portugal on a map of the world.  Just food for thought that power is fleeting and it is best not to put all your eggs in one world domination basket.

I digress…here is our take on the Caribbean islands as they are governed today for what it’s worth:

British Islands – More paperwork to clear in to the countries…very difficult to get Kala into a British country (though none of the island dogs are neutered – most are malnourished and are strays.)  Nice benefit is the are usually on EC (Eastern Caribbean dollar) which is a good exchange rate for USD.  

French Islands – Love love love French islands.  They could care less if I have a dog..they have one too.  Checking in to the country is usually done at a wi-fi café.  No one speaks English which forces me to use my well paid for education (6!! long years of French had to get me somewhere in life.)  and the streets are usually very clean.  As icing on the cake (pun intended), a patisserie can be found on any corner.

Taking it one step further, you can usually identify the countrymen who have come to visit their homeland-removed in the Caribbean.

British Sailors:   Typically have crossed the Atlantic and hail from Falmouth, South Hampton or another port that has been sailing for thousands of years.  They are members of the Ocean Cruising Club, Royal Cruising Club and every other club that has a burgee and it would not be good practice to not raise the burgee accordingly.  Typically, they are on an Oysters (sailboat, not shell), they definitely display day shapes in the rigging (i.e. black balls at anchor), and you can usually hear the word “Lovey” as you approach.  

French Sailors:  Lots and lots of French sailors in the Caribbean – usually on Amels, ALWAYS naked, of course and like to anchor on top of you, the closer, the better.  They are proud and love to be among other french so if they are in a British anchorage it is only to drop off crew and then they are going back to "France" as fast as they can.  We overheard one boat checking into customs on a British island and they were asked for their clearing out papers from their last island (which was French.)  They replied, "Vee don't check out since vee are French, fee just leave."

Discussing the current governments and the sailors as they roll into an anchorage can occupy plenty of time over sundowners in the cockpit.  But as I reflect, the truth is that I am far removed from politics while on the boat and honestly I'd rather just visit old forts and sail away.

Typical French cruiser - on an Amel and very naked.

Two very different types of Brits - Left, modern Oyster.  Right, wood schooner

Guad-a-les-Saintes

Leaving Montserrat, we headed north around the tip of the island and then turned to the south with a course for Guadeloupe.  We sailed around the east side of the island, so to avoid the falling ash on the west.  After clearing Montserrat, the wind was 15 kts at about 090 degrees and we could roll out sail and turn off the engine.  It was a great sail even though squalls were chasing us almost the entire way.

At about 10 miles north of Guadeloupe, we heard “Terrapin, Terrapin, Terrapin, Rodeo.”  Our friends Gabe and Monika on SV Rodeo who we had met in the Bahamas in 2011 were hailing us.  It was great talking to them.  They were heading north to Sint Maarten and we would all try to catch up in person in a couple weeks. 

About that time, there was a black ominous cloud over Guadeloupe so we furled the sails and held offshore waiting for it to pass.  The rain never really quit but the wall of water passed.  We went into Deshaises, the main anchorage and looked around.  There were tons of boats and the only place to anchor was over 40 feet deep.  With no swing room and swirly winds, that was not our first choice.  We quickly pulled out the chart and found another anchorage at Pigeon Island about 8 miles south.  Even Pigeon was sketchy but less sketchy, so we dropped the hook (in the pouring rain), had a rainy sundowner and went to sleep. 

We quickly left at sunrise and headed for Iles Saintes.  As we moved along the lee of the island, we only had about 3 kts of wind until we passed the southern tip.  We had the Saintes in sight and again, rolled out the sails and turned off the engine. 

The islands that comprise the Saintes have a euro-fishing village charm and we looked forward to spending a few days here and getting a taste of France in the Caribbean.

Squall over Guadeloupe.  We waited offshore until it passed, though the rain never really quit until the next day.

Never tired of Caribbean sunsets.

In the lee of Guadeloupe.

The lower the latitude, the better the attitude.  Excited to be in the 15s!

The Jimmy Buffet Trifecta

Soufriere Hills Volcano 1995, courtesy www.paradise-islands.org

Soufriere Hills Volcano today (on right), still smoldering.

Without intention, we have now completed what we would like to refer to as the "Jimmy Buffet Trifecta."  To be more specific, as we sit and type this in a beautiful secluded anchorage in Rendezvous Bay, Montserrat, we have sailed on small yachts to the inspiration for three of his songs, or so we have been told.  "One Particular Harbor" was written at a bar in Huahine (South Pacific) while he was sailing with CSN in the early 80s. The other was the original "Cheeseburger in Paradise" written at Le Select in St Barth's.

That brings us to "Volcano". We don't hear many cruisers talking about coming to Monserrat but I must admit it has been one of my favorites in the Caribbean. The island has become famous for the volcano that first erupted in 1995, than again in 2008 and 2010.  Almost twenty years later, it's still smoldering and we are in fact going to set a course east of the island so we don't get ash on the boat (traveling on the west side as the winds blow from the east assures you a smoky ride through the haze). 

We had an amazing time and will always think of it when we hear…"I don't know where I'm gonna go when the volcano blows…"

Pulling into the anchorage after a nice sail from Nevis.

Terrapin loves anchorages with beautiful cliffs.

Yeah, she's lovin' it!!

Happiness personified.

Shortly before yet another green flash.

St Kitts and Nevis

We spent the first night out of St Maarten back in Colombier (St Barths) just because it is one of Kala's favorites.

The next morning we double checked the forecast which called for winds at 10-15 kts from the east. Perfect! We were going southeast so we could sail, as opposed to motor.  Turns out we had 20 gusting to 35kts from the south-southeast (i.e. right on the nose) and squall after squall, waves on the beam, etc…  We managed through and dropped the hook in Ballast Bay on St Kitts.

To contrast that, the next day we woke up bright and early and headed for Nevis.  A short 7 miles from St Kitts.  It was an amazing sail.  Terrapin was doing 7.5 knots and she was in her glory.  We arrived, went through the precarious questions to check-in to the country, had Kala examined by the local vet and we settled in for the next couple of days.

Where and when we go next will be based on wind.  The forecasts have been off the mark so we'll see what actually happens.  There's lots to explore and beaches to roam.

St Eustatius (Statia) through the squall

Waves on the beam

Anchor down…ready for a drink.

Beautiful sail down to Nevis 

Stark contrast from previous day.  Cup o'Jo - ready to go.

Happy Girl

Island with a lot of history

We felt very welcomed