Back in St Anne

We made our short sail back to St Anne from Anse Mitan on Friday. We had fairly confused seas with about 15-18 knots of wind. We made several tacks and sailed 32 miles for a 20 mile distance. But we practiced our tacking and sail handling and really what else were we doing anyway? Only two anchor attempts at this landing. But I will back up and tell you about our days in Anse Mitan. It is a lovely wide anchorage and all quite shallow. The town is very pretty and lots of shops,restaurants and bakery's. The beach area is lovely and so many families and small children having fun. We went for a couple walks but no real hikes. Nothing to burn off the calories of the good food.

We took the ferry from Anse Mitan over to Fort De France (the capital city) and did quite a walking tour of the quaint old city. It is a very busy city with a large air conditioned mall downtown and couple of big grocery stores just like home. But there are several narrow streets,with shops and one pedestrian mall that transects the whole downtown. Definitely they have retained the european charm. There is a market with some local produce and lots of tourist wares. Some of the architecture is amazing from the library and the central church which are both made with a framing structure of riveted steel. Then there's the food! The cheeses and selection of fresh produce is great but you have to keep in mind that you are back packing it all back to the boat and only have a small refrigerator when you get there. Actually we have a rather large refrigerator compared to some. We tend to shop often and not for too much at a time.

We did find this abandoned fort that was being over grown complete with a cannon in the bushes. We had a beach day ... packed up a picnic lunch and pulled the dinghy up on the shore. All was well until it started to rain. When it rains here it is hard and fast but usually short lived. Brian and Winston had gone for walk and Barbara and I had to take shelter under the tarp we brought to sit on. But after a brief shower the sun comes out again.

The next day we were not so fortunate. It rained all day on and off like I have not seen here yet. We were on the boat all day and as fast as we could collect the rain in every bucket and container I was doing laundry. I even got the sheets washed and hung everything out overnight (for a second rinse). Collecting rain is a challenge we have not dealt with yet. It generally rains overnight and we aren't going to chase it. But this day was a lot of fun and I made quite a game of it. We have officially become cruisers this week .... I cut Brian's hair,my own and my friend Barbara's. She asked me to cut hers after I cut my own so I guess I did an OK job. Dawn gave me instructions in Jan when she cut mine last.

We will get back to St Lucia on Tuesday or Wednesday as weather permits and stop the fun and get to work. We haul out on the 12th and fly home on the 18th.

On the high seas again

We left St Anne on Wed in the rain. We were to have leave on Tuesday but again it was raining and it is hard to leave a nice little spot when you know you are anchored firmly, your friends are all around you and the services are handy. But it still comes a time to go and find new places to be comfortable in. We motor sailed around the coast and passed Diamond Rock ..... a very large out crop in the ocean. Not an island just a rock. We took up a mooring ball in Grande Anse D'Arlet and went to shore to explore. We were with My Island Girl a Bayfield 42 and after a pot luck dinner we made our morning hike plans. We rocked and rolled all night. So after our hike we moved to a quieter anchorage just outside Petit Anse D'Arlet and put in a much calmer night. We also met up with Never Bored an Admiral 40 catamaran and had sundowners with them. A nice couple from Canso Nova Scotia. We snorkelled off the boat and the dinghied to two other spots for more snorkelling. This has been the best snorkelling we have done this year. As well as a lot of fish the coral and marine growth is amazing. When We get back on the boat we get out our fish book and try to identify what we saw.
This morning we are moving further up the island to Anse Mitan. Each one of these hops are only about ten miles if that.
The picture is a sight going by us this morning. There are many large sport fishing boats around. We left at 10 am and had a wonderful sail winds about 15-18 knots and a slight chop. We arrived in Anse Mitan at 2:00 after several tacks to make out destination. We had three attempts at the anchor before getting a satisfactory hold. We have now got the dinghy set to go to town and pick up some groceries and try to find a spot to post this. New town so new discoveries. Wifi being always elusive.

Peace and Plenty, out.

A Drift in the Anchorage

What a wonderful birthdayI have had. Started with champagne and orange juice and presents and cards. Champagne and porridge are an unlikely combination but good just the same. There was wonderful rainbow and we saw a large turtle swimming by the boat. We dinghied into Marin for a few purchases and had a great spare rib lunch. The morning started out overcast and a heavy rain passed through about 6am. Then around 3:00 is was looking grey again and a couple tiny showers. I was concerned the dinghy drift might be cancelled but in true Caribbean fashion just wait 15 mins and it will clear up. We packed our treats and went off in search of our friends. Two boats were tied together and I was greeted with a full size rum cake baked by Marsha on Crusader. A special treat! I welcomed everyone with champagne and before long the were 11 boats in total. We drifted along and as we came to close to a boat or anchor lines one boat would start their engine and guide us away.Barbara used her umbrella for shade and a sail to keep us moving. Many boats that had people in the cockpit joined into the fun with a toast to the birthday girl...... one man on a French boat jumped into his dinghy and brought me a bottle of wine. We had such a fun time and were back home by 7:10 and in bed by 8:30 exhausted. So I don't think I this will be a birthday I soon forget!

PS: Lorna has just worn out her best screen poking finger reading all the Facebook salutations that she received. There seemed to be over 100. Our girls felt they could share the love by asking al their Facebook friends to send their mother a birthday greeting. It worked! She was thrilled.

The last day of my Fifties

There has been a lot of fun brewing for my birthday.... Barbara and Winston are now planning a dinghy float at 5:00. We hope we will have pictures to post next week. As many dinghies involved will meet and raft together and float through the anchorage sharing a drink and snacks. Barbara has been making general announcements on the VHF radio.
Today we are just relaxing doing some laundry and Internet at a hotel nearby. We have not been able to get any Internet on the boat since coming here. We have reading a lot on our e-readers. Dawn loaded us up with books in Jan and both of us are enjoying them. Brian has been working on changing the lights in the boat to the LED kind that take so much less power. Power consumption is a constant battle. Yesterday as I polished all the stainless and the decks Brian was working on our plan for closing down the boat. A dreadful thought indeed but a necessary one. We will be hauled out on April 12 and fly home on April 18. We hope to have a lot of work done in the bay where the breezes blow. The dock is so much hotter and the boatyard hotter still.


Here we are gathered for laundry and chatting.

Limin' in St Anne

We are in a lovely bay in St Anne and another bay Le Marin is just a 20 minute dinghy ride away. We have found many good chandleries and many elusive boat parts. We have decided to put the dinghy purchase on hold until our return in the fall and have one ordered and waiting for us. The old buggy is holding up fine with the new motor.
I (Lorna) am having a significant birthday on Monday and I have started "birthday week celebrations." It has always been a joke in our house that a birthday should last at least a week and I see no reason not to maintain the tradition. We had 6 friends over drinks sundowners the other night and officially kicked off the week. Then the next day we had a wonderful lunch at Abdels on the beach ..... appetizers, main (beef a rarity here) salads,desserts,wine ...all for 25 euro per person. That started with another toast to me. We are not leaving this bay until Tuesday so I will have as many friends around as possible. I have champagne and orange juice on hand to start the day off right!
The sunsets on this bay have been more magnificent than in St Lucia. Maybe because it is a wider bay and a clearer view. We have not had a drop of rain in nearly two weeks so no rainbows lately.
On Tuesday we plan to move around the lower tip of the island and up to Fort de France the capital and do some exploring there. We are travelling with My Island Girl. Today we are off to the town of St Anne and do a walk up a hill (not a mountain). We write a blog on the boat and then go into a spot on land and usually for a beer or a lunch we post the blog. Today we are at Bokits a little lunch spot on the street for a wonderful sandwich. We did the walk from behind the church in St Anne. It was The Stations of the Cross. It was a steep walk up a very windy trail with a monument at several spots along the way. It was a lovely experience with a wonderful view. The last picture was a neat piece of driftwood with plants growing out of it. ...... Lunch just arrived got to go.

Here in Martinique

We got our outboard motor on Wed afternoon at 4:00 installed it, gave away the old one and checked out the next morning. We motor sailed to St Anne, Martinique on Thursday about 4:00. We needed to charge the batteries and the wind was light? On the way we saw a whale. It was just coming to the surface and blowing about half a mile of our starboard side. It was going south and we north. When we arrived we were immediately picked up for sundowners on another boat. Our dinghy was still up the deck. Since we have this new motor and they are notorious for being stolen we now hoist the dinghy out each night. It is a bit of a pain but a necessary evil. We had this wonderful sunset the next night. We had a nice walk with two couples yesterday. Today we had a dinghy ride down a long river with mangrove along the way. It was about a three hour journey. Now we are sitting in a little cafe having a cold beer so we can use the Internet. The hardships never end. By the way with the new motor we can actually get up on plane! The trouble is that our dinghy is a roll up model so the bottom flexes on the tops of the wave and the tubes tend to bend as they go over. Beside the fact that it is over twenty years old we think we should take it easy! Any way it's good to have a reliable motor. We're off dinghy shopping tomorrow but it would have to be a terrific deal for us to buy and of course no rat holes! We'll keep you posted.

Just a matter of time

We get in the dinghy and go to the small restaurant very near where are anchored often. The dinghy dock is a large one with two lower steps on either side. It is the dock we use when we go hiking on Pigeon Island ..... my point is we use it several times a week. Well last night as we were going to meet two boats for dinner we approached and it was quite busy so we proceeded to the opposite side from where we usually go. There was a surge and as I tried to get out of the dinghy onto the dock I lost my grip and my balance and went into the water. I couldn't stop laughing when I came up. I had to swim to shore and walk back to the dock and back to the boat for a quick saltwater rinse off and dry clothes. For years Dawn and Laurie have called me the gazelle mocking me for my sometimes less than graceful entires and departures. But this was the first time I actually fell in! What a hoot!

We are still waiting for customs to go back to work to clear out our outboard motor. Today (Wed) Brian called and they are still striking and tomorrow they will be talking. Maybe Friday at the earliest. All of friends have left the anchorage and gone to Martinique. The anchorage is really quite deserted.

Delays ....Island Time

We have been planning a crossing to Martinique with another boat My Island Girl (Barbara and Winston from South Dakota ) for more than a week.We had expected to leave on Monday (today) as our outboard motor was due to arrive from St Martin Monday or Tuesday so we delayed for that. Hopefully a Tuesday departure??? But this morning the dealer called with good news and bad.... our motor is here but customs is back on rotating strikes and maybe we will get it released on Wed or Thurs no guarantees. Thankfully our friends have no agenda and probably won't mind the delay. As I have said before your expectations change and there is little to gain by getting upset and I say "you're not in Kansas anymore Toto " get over it you won't change anything. The strike has been on and off for the past two weeks with a civil servants affected.
But in the mean time we have been having so much fun on the social side. We had a busy day yesterday with a hike on the south side of Rodney Bay and then a snorkel in search of a sea horse Barbara reported seeing then a game of dominoes on a trawler big enough to seat 8 people. The seahorse was elusive and we both lost at dominoes but a fun day.
We have had some requests for more photos and what the boat looks like so I have included some shots. You should pace out 38 feet (that's overall outside length not interior). Our only spot we find small is at night getting ready to go to bed the space in front of the table as we are both wanting to pass on the way to the bathroom and the bedroom is narrow. Oh the hardships I know!