The Winds Continue!

Tuesday, December 6th., we, along with Peace & Plenty, cleared out of Rodney Bay Customs, and headed across to Ste. Anne, Martinique.  The weather window we chose was not exactly sanctioned by our weather-router, Denis, but it really was not terrible.  It would be hard to compete with the exciting sails from Grenada!   To make up for the extra north angle of the wind, we both motor-sailed hard up on the wind to attempt to arrive east of Diamond Rock, and really could not get up much speed because of the pinching to windward and because of the rather rough sea.  However, the sea calmed down within 6 miles of the Martinique coast, and, although Lorna and Brian brought their sail down and motored direct to Ste. Anne, Dawn and I tacked, turned off the motor, and had an hour of pure sailing to get the bad taste of motoring off of our palate.  Yes, we took an extra hour to get in to anchor, and yes, we missed a blessed fresh-water rain shower, but it was worth it.  We anchored just behind Peace and Plenty and just beside Silk Pajamas, at the end of the anchored boats.

Ste Anne is a sweet little touristy town tucked in from the wind along the channel to the great marine centre of Marin, where I first found Cat Tales back in 2002.  Ste. Anne has a tremendous 18 foot deep shelf of sand and grass that attracts boaters of all types, and right now there are just short of 200 monohulls, catamarans, trimarans, sloops, schooners, ketches, cruising trawlers, cruisers and charterers,  and weekend warriors at anchor; with probably twice as many at anchor and at the docks inside Marin about 2 miles away.

Lorna and Laurie cooling down during a beach day!

Brian taking a break from floating around. 

We ran into old friends Joanna and Bill from s/v Baidarka. Looks like Brian and Joanna called each other before choosing the day's clothing!

Since we arrived here, we have experienced more rain than any time we we have been in the Caribbean.  More is expected, with high winds expected tonight and lasting until after Christmas.  We were planning a magnificent hike along the south coast, but the wet trails are apparently close to impassible.  High winds will keep us and many friends right here until after Christmas; but that is just fine!

When a cruise ship comes into the bay, tourism and security comes out in full force!

That is not to say we are staying boat-bound and growing mushrooms!  We have enjoyed a big party in our cockpit, had some sundowners In a few other cockpits, enjoyed some truly fantastic French restaurants, bistros and cafes, had some asphalt hikes and bus rides, and even a beach day.  We also took Cat Tales to town: running into Marin for shopping with four boat crews represented in our cockpit and trailing dingies.  Although it was fun, with an excellent lunch, the most amazing part of the trip is that Cat Tales needed no parts from the Chandleries!  (That just means we have a full stock of spares on board)   

We should tell you that, as in past years, Internet in the French islands is a pain for cruisers - with the companies only good at getting the money, not in the delivery of service.  Oh well, a break is good.

Along a walk, we ran across this statue, Freed Negro. 

Hikers with hats!

This is a standard pose for Laurie as he examines the menu and provides us with information, although he almost always orders the poisson!

Love this 

bar in the restaurant!  It is actually the bow of a "yole", a local racing sailer.  The tree in the background is pretty special too!

TECHNICAL

I had some "fun" with the repair of an oil pressure senser/sender for the starboard engine.  Because of a faulty jumper wire I used for troubleshooting, I ended up studying wiring diagrams, pulling apart the boat and wires, and testing wiring harnesses for a full day before back-tracking and determining that the sensor was faulty after all.  I took it out, cleaned it, tapped it gently with a hammer (John Fallon's idea) and then it fell apart in my hands. Half of it was ceramic and must have been cracked.  The good news is that such sensors are rather generic and economical, so I had a new one in my hand in an hour.

Dawn, while swimming under the boat at bathtime, noticed that the fairing boots that we had worked so hard to attach around the saildrives last May, are completely loose.  They have been removed and we will spend the season without them.  Obviously, regardless of technique, the correct adhesive must be employed!

Wishing everyone a fabulous holiday season and all the best for 2017!!