Martinique

Enjoyed a couple of weeks at St. Anne's, and then it was time to move on before returning for Carnival. We had brunch on Kyeta to say goodbye to Equinox who, sadly, have to make their way north. We picked up anchor around 11:30, along with Equinox, to head to Grande Anse D'Arlet. It was a downwind sail and we thought we'd try a trick we'd been told to try - double reefed main and wing on wing. Well, it didn't work. We slogged along at around 2 knots and finally gave up and motored in. (Two weeks later we used the spinnaker - more on the 7 knot sail later)
Picked up Dick and Moira (Equinox) in the morning and walked the beach with them before they headed out. Spent 3 days in Grande Anse D'Arlet, snorkelling, hiking over to Petite D'Arlet and back, cleaning the bottom of the boat and just hanging out. The water here is warm, clear and beautiful. Left Grande D'Arlet, planning to head to Anse Noir, but it looked too crowded, so we motored up to Anse l'Ane. Spent a rolly night there with the ferry traffic, walked the town, then headed back to Anse Noir. Had a great anchorage, snorkelling and hiking. Left Anse Noir and motored down to Petite D'Arlet where, again, we did some great snorkelling. It was a pretty good anchorage until about 2 a.m., when the winds changed and the roll came in. We had planned on going into the market in Petite D'Arlet, but decided to leave at 7 a.m. and hit the market in St. Anne's instead. Pulled into St. Anne's around noon, headed to the market, picked up supplies and then into town for the first Carnival parade!
More later!

Martinique, c'est bon

Martinique - that means, it's good. And, oh, yes, it is. Since I made Dennis reef, we had a very slow sail from St. Lucia to Martinique, until I took pity on him and let him shake out the reef. Long story, but he needs to learn!! Pulled into Marin, hoping to check in before they closed at 12:30 on Friday. Equinox and Memory blew by us and were in their dinghy on the way to Customs while Kyeta and ourselves were anchoring. We dragged at first, and then decided to re-anchor. We were too close to another boat and then couldn't get our anchor up! Denny on Kyeta and the Memory and Equinox dink came over to help untangle us from the 65 lb. danforth anchor we had hooked into. Quite the challenge, since we almost had to get into Kyeta's cockpit to get the anchor free. Ann came over to pick me up and we actually got to check in so that we could leave on Saturday to head to St. Anne's.
Ah, a French island. Brie, french bread, pain au chocolat, cafe au lait and that good old French wine! Could life get any better? Hit the ATM, then the grocery stores and bakeries and headed out to the anchorage at St. Anne's. This is a wonderful little tourist town with bakeries, two grocery stores and a wonderful market. Know of a cruising couple who were of the opinion that 'seen one island, seen them all'. Can't believe that. Every island and every town is unique, and we love visiting all the little markets.
The best thing was - Infinity pulled in a week later after catching two 46' mahi's, so we all got to benefit from their great fishing. We've had a great time catching up with Frank and Gretchen. We travelled with them from the Turks to Puerto Rico, and then off and on from St. Martin to the Tobago Cays. Rented a car with them and toured Martinique. What a beautiful island and I can see why people can spend years and years down here, never seeing the same thing twice.
For those of you who think we do nothing all day, let me tell you that we've had many boat projects. This working on the boat in exotic places gets kind of old sometimes, especially when you've missed the lunch closing of the marine stores. West Marine would never go for this closing for two hours!! The toilet was having a problem with a leak because sea grass kept creeping into the valves, so Dennis put a vented loop into the toilet to prevent it from overflowing. He decided to do that at 4 p.m., after we had moved the boat into Marin, done laundry, a water run, groceries, visited all the marine stores, then headed back out to St. Anne's. Finally finished everything around 9 at night and then collapsed.
Last weekend we got to see a pre-Mardi Gras parade. Quite interesting and a lot of fun. Heading out for a change of scenery for a week, and then back to St. Anne's for the big Mardi Gras. It's a quaint little town with a lot going on, and from what we've heard,it's a pretty good parade. Can't wait!!!!!!!!!!! ~~~/_)~~~~

St. Lucia

We had a wonderful sail from St. Vincent into St. Lucia, arriving at Soufriere in the rain with Kyeta and Equinox. We tied up to the mooring balls beneath Petit Piton, with a line to shore, with the help of the many, many boat boys, all with their hand out for helping or trying to sell you something. Memory and Columbine pulled in later that day, making for a full house.
It was a beautiful anchorage and we had one of the best meals at Harmony Restaurant, right beneath the Pitons. Did lots of exploring, seeing the waterfall, springs, botanical gardens and the town. St. Lucia had a bad reputation with cruisers because of crime, and they really seem to be doing something about it. The only bad thing we can say about it is the boat boys, or the men and boys that hang out at the dinghy dock, wanting to help tie up your dinghy - for cash!
Spent a night at Anse Cochon, where we did some snorkelling, and then a couple of days at Marigot. Marigot, while beautiful, is not a good anchorage and we'll skip that next time. We left Marigot, under full sail, on our way to Pigeon Island in Rodney Bay, where Dennis caught a small shark and I put letters on the mast saying, 'Yes, reef!!'
We spent a relaxing couple of weeks off Pigeon Island, swimming, hiking and exploring. Rick, of Memory, offered to be our driver on an island tour, so we all split the cost of the van and had a great day with Rick and Carey (Memory), Moira and Dick (Equinox) and Ann and Denny (Kyeta). St. Lucia is a beautiful island and the roads are probably some of the best we've seen - well, except for the curves!
Well, the winds and waves look good, so it's off to Martinique! ~~~~_/)~~~~

Grenada to Bequia

Greetings from Bequia, where we've had a wonderful time catching up with friends, new and old, during Christmas and New Year's. I've been having a few computer issues, so that's my excuse for not getting this blog out earlier.
We left Grenada with Kyeta and Vindomar and had a pretty good motorsail into Tyrell Bay in Carriacou, where we met up with Nereia, Columbine and Sea Cycle. Stayed an extra day so that we could get together and have lunch, but unfortunately didn't get to see Deb and Mark on Sea Cycle. Deb was sick and Mark was working real hard trying to get the boat ready to put back in the water. Needed to cool off after the afternoon in town, so we swam over to Nereia and visited with Dan and Jaime.
Left Tyrell Bay with Kyeta and headed up west of Union Island to be able to sail right into Canouan, while Vindomar headed into Union to meet up with Equinox, who finally made it out of Trinidad. Had a pretty good sail and pulled into Canouan in the early afternoon in time for a swim and what turned out to be a rolly anchorage. Kyeta came over for dinner only after the boat in front of them moved to a mooring ball after dragging down on them three times. Up the next morning and headed out around 6:30 a.m., just in time to get a downpour about half an hour out. Put the autopilot on and hid under the dodger and managed to stay pretty dry. That worked out well! Unfortunately, I didn't get my morning coffee and ended up with a headache, and by the time I went to take something for it, we had 6 foot seas and I spent the rest of the trip to Bequia hanging over the rail. That's the first time I've been sick since we bought the boat back in 2001. We pulled into Bequia around noon and I lay down for an hour so that Ann and I could head into town to check in. DW took good care of me the rest of the afternoon and I was back to normal (whatever that is) the next day.
It was like a Coral Cove reunion in Bequia and we all had a great time catching up. Went on a tour of Bequia with Elson and his nephew, and saw some new stuff that we missed on our last visit. Unfortunately, Moira from Equinox had some intestinal problems and ended up being admitted to the hospital in Bequia and then being transferred to St. Vincent. I guess that was quite the experience. The things we take for granted - like sheets, towels, hot water, toilet paper and a seat on the toilet! Thankfully she's back to normal now after being in the hospital for 5 days.
With so many people here it started to get way too complicated for Christmas dinner, so Ann (Kyeta) and I decided that we would just get together with PJ and Tom from Conch'd Out and do our own thing. Wish we had thought to take a photo of the great meal we all put together. Turkey dinner with all the good stuff that goes with it and enough for leftovers the next day!!
Headed down to the Tobago Cays with Kyeta and Conch'd Out on the 27th. This is still one of the most beautiful anchorages ever. Met up with Casa Del Mar and Ticketoo and spent a great few days visiting and snorkelling, with our last day having a beach potluck and a mean game of Mexican Train dominoes.
Left Tobago Cays New Year's Eve day and had another great sail into Bequia, just in time for our afternoon swim. Took finger food over to Just Two (Connie and Peter) and had a New Year's Eve with Memory (Rick and Carrie), Kyeta (Ann and Denny), Equinox (Moira and Dick), Vindomar (Roy and Sue), and then went back to our own boats in time for the fireworks at midnight. That was interesting! Had to stand on the deck with buckets of water while drunk cruisers shot off flares in a crowded anchorage!
We've just been hanging out in Bequia, which has turned out to be one of our favorite islands (except for the French islands with their inexpensive wine), and heading to the beach every afternoon for our two hours of treading water and exercising. Well, the women stay in the water while the guys hang out on shore. Something about the water being cold? Had one last potluck dinner on shore, since the weather was clearing and boats were heading both north and south. Vindomar and Just Two are heading south and west, and we don't know when we'll see them again!
Until next time~~~~/_)~~~~~
(photos will follow when we have internet)