Martinique to Bonaire

Belated Birthday Lunch

A very strange thing happened on the way to Martinique. The dinghy was hauled up on the roof as usual. It has two retractable wheels on its stern so that it can be hauled up slipways or beaches. The last time the wheels had been used was on the River Deben in Suffolk but one of them had a puncture. We had bought a new inner tube in Spain and found the valve had snapped off, while we were crossing the Atlantic Ocean. The hunt for a dinghy wheel began. We must have visited every chandler, hardware shop and tyre centre in Marin with no luck. However, persistence paid off and Jeremy bought a new small wheel complete with inner tube for 9.99 euros. He fitted the new tube in the old tyre.

Checks are in, but what a view

Then there was the strange incident of the French Orange data SIM card. We took our dongle and laptop to the shop and bought a 1gb card. Everything worked in the shop and on board SD that night. The next day, it didn’t work. So, back to the shop we went and the man said we had to top up. We topped up, which took a long time because the Orange shop has the worst signal anywhere in Martinique! Now we had paid 29.99 euros and….you’ve guessed……..it still didn’t work. All we could do was connect the laptop to my mobile phone and, bingo, we had internet on the boat, and it only took two days to get it!

Anse Noire with Sal Darago

We moved from Marin to Anse Noire and the rain began. Dodging squalls, we anchored in the bay and went ashore to a lovely restaurant just a short climb up steps set into the cliff. Here, we belatedly celebrated Jeremy’s birthday while watching sheets of rain obliterate the fine view over the bay.

Caribbean hitchhiker at night

The next day we dodged more squalls on the short motor to Fort de France – directly into the wind. It was Saturday, so we checked out at the chandlery as we were leaving for Bonaire the next day. Then we looked for somewhere for lunch and everywhere was closed. The main town of Martinique was like a ghost town and a wet one at that. Most of the shops were closed and the choices for food were expensive hotels with long waits for service, Macdonalds or KFC. We opted for Macdonalds.

Dreadful weather on arrival in Bonaire

Leader Price supermarket was open and packed. Jeremy had to beg a trolley from the check-out queue. We bought what we needed for our 5 day passage and added 2 bottles of Bordeaux wine. After queueing for ages, we packed our bags and I paid the bill. Then I noticed a trail of red liquid dripping from my rucksack. One bottle of wine had broken. The bottom had sliced off cleanly and 70cl of Bordeaux was sloshing around in my rucksack where I had a beige raincoat and other bits and pieces along with some shopping.

Looks like 5000 visitors got here before us

How do you get red wine out of a jacket and a rucksack? Easy. First you dip the rucksack in the nearest puddle. Then you look for a public toilet only they’re locked on Saturdays. So, you return to your waterlogged dinghy and it is just what you need to rinse the jacket and the rucksack, while passers-by give you strange looks and keep on walking.

Fortunately the sun shone on Sunday 12^th March and we were able to dry everything before setting off for Bonaire. We had a good passage with our usual downwind rig of twin poles with the furling genoa on one side and the no.2 jib hanked on the other side. Mostly, we flew full sails in moderate winds and a low swell.

Fish under Sal Darago, Bonaire

As we approached the south end of Bonaire at 0500 the fair winds increased to 25-31 knots and heavy rain fell. We needed to change course and Jeremy took down the poles and lines getting soaked to the skin in the process. More squalls followed as black night turned into grey dawn. Our destination of Kralendijk disappeared behind sheets of heavy rain. Our cruising guide told us we were in the dry season. That was good to know.

We picked up a mooring managed by Harbour Village Marina, as yachts are not allowed to anchor, and were told by the marina office to check in with Customs and Immigration first and then go to the marina to pay for the mooring. This we did, and arrived by dinghy at the marina with three empty cooking gas bottles and four water containers. Two men were locking the office door as we arrived at midday and we were told to return at 1.30pm. Jeremy asked if our gas bottles could be filled and one man became angry and gave Jeremy a tirade about respect. Then he walked off complaining that we were interfering with his time and told us to go back to our own country. He turned out to be the duty marina manager. We thought this was probably the worst welcome we’d had to any country we’d visited. We returned in the afternoon to pay for the mooring.

What can I say? Beautiful motion

Today has been much better and we have found the people to be very helpful and friendly. I have been able to buy prescription medicine from the hospital pharmacy, our washing has been done in the best laundry we’ve been in and soon we shall snorkel from the boat and see all kinds of colourful tropical fish.

Okay - Find the fish. First correct answer is invited to work the Panama locks.

We leave for Aruba on Sunday  19^th March.

Mindelo, Cape Verdes to Martinique, Caribbean

Belem Castle Mindelo style

 Our intended short stay in Mindelo had to be extended to a week as Jeremy went down with diarrhoea. Whether it was something he’d eaten, the water he’d drunk or a virus, we’ll never know. Anyway, he sensibly confined himself to SD for two or three days, while I went ashore and caught up with emails etcetera in the marina bar. While he was poorly the cold tap washer on the galley sink disintegrated. Jeremy hauled himself out of his sick bed to replace the washer. There were none of the same size in our stores, so he had to cut down a larger one. Later, we were able to buy new tap washers ashore. We met several British crews and all showed concern. It was such a shame that we could not socialise with them. We first met Graham from Zephyr at Marina Lanzarote and we still owe him a beer from then. Perhaps we’ll meet again in the Caribbean.

View over Mindelo anchorage

Mindelo was a good place to stock up on food, water and diesel. There were various cafes for eating out, but the one we liked best was called La Pergola in the French Cultural Centre. While some people in Mindelo were obviously very wealthy, there were beggars on the streets and warnings about thefts from yachts. The marina had a secure dinghy dock but you had to pay 4 euros each day for this. In the past, local guys earned a living “watching” dinghies for less than 1 euro per dinghy per day.

Eating out again at La Pergola

We weighed anchor at 0700 on Saturday 18^th February, catching the last of the SW going stream of the tide, which runs quite strongly between the islands of Sao Vicente and Sao Antao. We had two reefs in the main sail and a very small genoa on a beam reach, making 8 knots on the GPS. Once clear of the islands two pods of dolphins came to play in the bow wave. We wondered if they were warning us of bad weather ahead, but all was OK for the first week, except for the rivets holding the staple for one of the lazy jacks disintegrating. Jeremy managed to replace the staple using self-tapping screws and secure the lazy jack. By the evening, the mainsail was down and secured to the boom, two poles were up on each side of the mast, the full genoa was flying to port and the hanked on no.2 jib was flying to starboard. We had the same rig for the whole crossing, merely furling or unfurling the genoa as the wind conditions changed.

Mindelo sunset

 It was my turn for the diarrhoea, which started the next morning. So much for thinking I’d escaped! Fortunately, I wasn’t as bad as Jeremy had been and still did my watches. Our trusty Hydrovane steered SD; the wind was generally 10-14 knots and the swell was small.  Venus led the way in the evening followed by a spectacular display of stars. We saw the Southern Cross to port and the Great Bear to starboard. Gradually, we became used to our watches of two hours each during the day and three hours each at night.

After four days at sea we saw our first ship, which passed safely 1.7 miles away. We only saw three more ships and one yacht during the whole passage. The swell began to build and came from the NW, so it hit us on the starboard side, while the wind and waves came from astern. Each morning and evening I heard Zephyr and Miles report their positions on the SSB radio. We can only receive on ours, but it was comforting to know that other vessels were out there. Our courses widened after a few days as they were bound for Barbados.

Massive amounts of seaweed which were not there in 2008

 During the second week of the passage we had stronger winds and bigger swells. I felt like I was on a swing boat as we rocked and rolled. In order to sleep, I used cushions and a pillow down the sides of the pilot berth to stop me rolling around. Jeremy tried to do likewise in the stern cabin. The cooker gimballed like a mad thing, bashing to its full extent and back again. One day I noticed that one of its supports was coming loose. Jeremy managed to mend it by removing the cooker and tightening up the nut and bolt fixing, which was inside the adjacent food cupboard.

Two delicious loaves a la Kathy

 We had many squalls with varying amounts of wind on them. After they passed, they often took the wind with them and we seemed to be forever reefing down or shaking out reefs. We were both thrown off our feet at different times. I was catapulted across the cockpit and saved from injury by Jeremy sitting opposite, hitting his chest was preferable to slamming into the winches. I have a pulled muscle in my buttock, but otherwise I’m OK. At times we had winds approaching gale force and 4 metre swells with breaking waves on top that thundered past like roaring waterfalls.

Rocking across the Atlantic

All our fresh food came to an end but we had plenty of tins and dried goods. We made bread every other day, so we didn’t go hungry. It was great to see Martinique in the mist ahead on our last day and to pick up mobile phone signals. We anchored in Marin harbour at the second attempt after 15 and a half days at sea.

The beach at Le Marin, Martinique

We checked in on 6^th March and a day later Jeremy had a broken tooth repaired at a local dentist’s surgery. It had been broken for nearly a month. It was good to be back in France with delicious bread and lashings of Camembert washed down with vin de table. Cheers.

Believe it or not - the entrance to the chandlery!