The Saintes

We left Dominica on Sunday for a short sail about 3 hours to the Saintes. The Saintes are a small chain of three main islands just north of Dominica. We had a lovely sail with hardly any splash over the boat and arrived to find no mooring balls available in a mooring only harbour. We anchored fairly close to shore and were just about settled when we were told we would have to move to the over flow spot. Just like camping in a full campground. The over flow spot was way at the back of the harbour and really rolly. We rocked and rolled all night not getting much sleep. Two other boats had left earlier than us and were in the anchorage and in the morning they radioed us and we moved up to the anchorage. But we were still only back row and still rolly. Then yesterday morning another ball became available further up so we moved again. What a sight first thing in the morning as boats leave and the rest re-situate themselves. We are on the island of Terre D'en Haut and the town of Passé de Sud. The little town is lovely with lots of shops and cafés along the roadside. Scooters seem to be the main mode of transportation other than the feet us cruisers prefer. We have done a lot of hiking this week. Monday we walked to a lovely beach where Brian and Laurie hung their hammocks and relaxed while Dawn and I sat on the beach and people watched. Wednesday we walked along the main road for a bit and then took a paved pedestrian walkway up to a fort Le Chameau at over 1000 feet elevation. We trekked up some very windy and steep paths. It took just over an hour one way. We saw many birds,iguanas, a snake and the goats are in abundance. The views of almost 360 degrees were amazing. We have been loosely travelling with a group of five boats for the past few weeks and have lots of fun on shore and on each others boats. Last night Dawn and Laurie entertained again ( they do have the biggest outside seating space) and what a hoot it was! One couple from Toronto,one from Alaska,one from Yellowknife,Dawn and Laurie and us. 

 The first picture is the bay with Guadelope in the background. It is just a couple of hours of sailing but a tough sail the way the winds curl around the land. We are aiming for the port of Pigeon Island. Yes another Pidgeon Island there seems to be many repeat names in all the islands. We are leaving this morning. We are in the town paying for the mooring ball and posting this blog.It has still been very windy around here. Usually it drops off a bit by this time but not this year .......but everything is related and I sure wouldn't wish your winter in Ont or NB on anyone. 

The anchorage with Guadelope in the background. 

The mountain we climbed. 

This is a picture of the bay with the town behind. 

Enjoying Dominica

We are having a great time here in Dominica. It is a very friendly island with lots to see and do. We took a river tour of the Indian River. The guide picks you up at your boat and with another couple we motored over to the mouth of the river and then Martin (our guide) starts to paddle. The tour was two hours and he was non stop commentary on the trees,flowers and birds. It was really quite amazing. The river scene for Pirates of the Carribean was shot there. It was so peaceful and beautiful. It was from 3-5 so the sun was low in the sky and gorgeous in the tres. I have no pictures yet as I didn't take the iPad and haven't taken them off the camera yet. 

Dawn,Laurie,Brian and I have been walking the Cabrits National Park and today we have the last segment to finish. It has a been a lovely collection of trails up to the top of the hills above the orange roofed buildings. The odd shower has rained on us but nothing too bad. Actually it usually feels pretty good since it is so hot. We also took a bus to get to Chaudier Falls for a hike. The hike along the road was a good long up and down hills but the walk into the falls was brutal! Dawn and Laurie's idea of a fun walk and ours is sometimes different. It had rained the night before so the trail was wet and muddy. I had chosen to wear a light coloured pair of pants ..... a mistake for sure! I had a couple slips and slides and my pants were a mess. But when we had to wade through a stream where I fell again I was pretty cleaned up. What  a day! But it was well worth the trials and tribulations. 

 

The pictures of the small coral out crop is about 10 feet off the back of the boat. It is alive with fish as you can see. We haven't done much snorkelling at all this season.

We are starting to watch the weather and get on to The Saints. They are a small collection of islands to the north. They are part of Guadalope so we're off to France, again! Not that there is anything wrong with that. Everyone says we are going to love it. We'll let you know. 

In Dominica

We have had several busy days since we last blogged. The weather window opened and we raced out of St Lucia. We had a lovely one tack sail all the way to St Anne Martinique. We had gusts up in the 20's and waves about 5-7 feet and swells of 6-8 feet as well. But other than getting a bit salty it was a lovely sail. Dawn and I dashed off and did laundry as soon as we arrived. They have a lovely modern clean laundramat and we washed sheets and such that a bucket just doesn't do justice. That was Wed and Thurs am we took Cat Tales into the inner bay near customs and the grocery stores and did a stock up of the wines and cheeses from France. What a joy Leader Price is! Dawn and I stayed back at the boat while Laurie and Brian checked into customs. Actually that is opposite of what should happen ......you never leave the boat without customs being your very first stop. But they have very lax rules in France. We stayed and guarded the boat as we were anchored very close to a wreck of a scow. It would never have shown a mark if we had hit it but Cat Tales would have. These two pictures sort of show how close we were. As soon as we were finished our business and got back to Peace and Plenty and unloaded the groceries we had a mad dash for the north end of Martinique. We anchored at sunset in a quiet little bay. Dawn and Laurie shared the little tunny they caught for dinner. No we haven't caught anything yet. We sailed out at first light about 6:00 am in a perfect full moon on one side and the sun rising on the other. A beautiful sight indeed. We had a long day ahead of us 11 hours to get to Dominica. We had winds in the open channel between islands of 20-25 and along the coast line we motored in 1.1 knots of wind. The day was abit of everything. We motored, motor sailed and sailed on and off all day. It was a lovely day and although we got wet as big waves broke at our stern and drenched us it was the best sailing we have done so far. We arrived in Prince Rupert Bay, Portsmouth just ahead of sunset about 4:30. We had our very first this season green flash( just as the sun hits the horizon a brief green flash will appear) it was spectacular. Yesterday we walked around town ,checked into customs,shopped the street markets for produce, met friends for lunch and called it a short day. Today Sunday we walked a portion of the national park called the Cabritse. Abandoned in 1854 the now restored Fort Shirley was very interesting. In it's hay day the whole complex was massive and many structures remain in the state of ruin. 

Almost every time it rains a wonderful rainbow appears and more often than not a double. The beach and rainbow shot are just off our port stern. The beach shot is where we enjoyed a Sunday night BBQ put on by the local boat boys ....they have a very interesting way of doing things here. Because Dominica is a poor island the crime was very bad here. The boat boys grouped together and formed an association to offer services, security and generally a wealth of knowledge of the locale. The BBQ helps fund their works. They have a boat that patrols the anchorage each night. It is now one of the safer spots to visit. 

Dominica is known for its nature, lush vegetation, and rivers and waterfalls. We have arranged a couple trips this week so lots to follow. 

A photo blog

We are trying to send just a photo collection from our last few days. The first few are from the national park we toured. The next few are the streetscape in Portsmouth and the Sat morning market. Then you can see the waves and the rail under. The last three are of the orchid center we visited before leaving St Lucia. 

This is a trial since I'm not sure how many pictures are too many. 

Still sitting

We are still sitting and waiting. The winds are still up. It is all related to the cold nasty weather you are all having up north. Sunday seems to be our first break but things can change in the days preceeding  that. We have a retired weatherman from Toronto who does a weather update each morning and boats from all over the island chain call in with their location and weather conditions in their area. He looks ahead and studies trends and gives you the best weather window. We had a gathering at the Jambe De Bois last night with 22 of the Friends of Denis network. What a lot of fun. 

We are having lots of social gatherings and today is the First Ladies Lunch here in Rodney Bay. The lunch is at a nice restaurant where only the ladies gather and don't talk of amps or volts. It is a really nice gathering of like minded women. Yesterday we gathered and 12 of us got a bus into Casteries (the  capital city) to the Union Orchid Propagation Center. It was a short walk about a mile after the bus.The center was very interesting and full of many different varieties and colors of orchids in various stages of development. We stopped at a huge grocery store/ hardware store similar to Costco ( but no membership). The product selection was huge and almost all packaging too huge for two people on a small boat. 

The only large marine store here is Island Water World and they started a reward point system last spring. We got a 500.00 US cash voucher yesterday and purchased a Manson Supreme anchor. Free is good! Well we did spend quite a bit in order to qualify for the voucher. 

This is a view of the bay this morning after the first of many showers. The last picture is our rain catcher  with a garden hose attached the underside waiting for the next shower. Rainwater is great for laundry and a shower after a swim. Since Christmas Eve when the huge storm went through the marina has had drinking water in short supply. The Marnia slips have water but at the fuel dock they are unable to supply boats for fill up. We do not have a water maker and we were down to half of our last tank from Bequia so only about 15 gallons or so. Kind people on Aspen (at a Marnia slip) offered us water. Brian made three trips with three jerry cans and we have filled up all three tanks. You sure feel better when you know you have water. We had another first today too. A fish must have jumped out of the ocean and into our dinghy hoisted up on the side where Brian found him quite stiff this morning. 

Wind wind and more wind

The winds have really been something here for the past few weeks. We waited for a weather window to open on Bequia and moved and got 30 plus knot winds. We have been waiting here in Rodney Bay for a few days and looks like the end of the week or even the weekend is our earliest window. But when people email us and say sorry about your bad weather we know they are just humouring us. Nothing compares to what you are putting up with in Canada. There certainly are a lot worse places to have to sit out some weather issues. The wind really does a number on many things around the boat. 

Going into town in the dinghy crashing through waves and arriving salty and wet

Loosing laundry off the line

Our hair was just wild ... Dawn gave us both a hair cut this afternoon that might keep us until March

The batteries are being topped up with the wind generator......ice cubes abound.

Everything rattles, flaps and shakes.

But we have had lots of time to socialize with old friends and meet lots of new friends because no one is moving. 

Lorna 

Waiting for a Weather Window - part 1

Well, has come to our attention that some of you living vicariously through us are not satisfied with the frequency of our posts. For this we apologize. The reality is that we are not the size of the Queen Mary so we have to wait for favourable conditions which include East to South-east winds in the 10 - 15 knot range and waves 2 - 3 metres. Which translates into 15 - 20 knots and 4 - 6 metres when you are out there, not including squalls and gusts. As a result of this waiting you get a sense that you haven't really done anything that is "blog worthy" when in fact each day has been rather fulfilling. So we will try to keep you in mind and post more often.

One incident that comes to mind occurred shortly after Christmas. The horrific storm of Christmas Eve left much of St. Lucia without potable water. There is still limited supply at the marina and we are unable to replenish at this time. 

What are the significance of these pictures you ask? 

Well the first is the outside of the dumpster compound and the second shows the waste oil disposal on the left and the square in the middle ground Is a water faucet. Still curious?

I did an oil and filter change on the engine including the two fuel filters and was on my way to dispose of the waste when I noticed someone running water from the tap. Which made me think "great, the water is on". Then I noticed the person, who had their back to me, was a woman who was wearing a blue sarong and that she was washing herself vigorously in the "private" areas. What to do? As you can see the the proximity of my destination to the tap! Well, I decided to walk around the far side of the dumpster, which was full to overflowing by the way, and using my brightest "good morning" to announce my presence I proceeded to dump my oil and throw the empty containers into the dumpster. As I was about to leave she asked me where I was from, she's still washing but not so vigorously. I told her Canada and as I was turning she said something else. Not wanting to be rude I turned and asked her to repeat herself. (With their accents it's not easy to catch what they are saying the first time.) She said " Would you like to romance me?" In typical Canadian fashion I replied, "No, no thanks!"