February 2019 - Eastern Caribbean - Windward Islands

February 1 - 12, 2019

It was a boisterous 30 nm close hulled sail today from Marigot Bay St. Lucia to Ste. Anne on south end of Martinique. We dropped anchor right before the rain began. Nice clean anchorage so we anchored .5 nm off shore to take advantage of the nice wind for the wind generator and to make water with our water maker. Our SuperWind generator is doing a nice job keeping our batteries up. We only need to run the generator when making water or one hour every other day. It;s also so very quiet compared to other generators we've seen. We love Martinique! The grocery stores, bakeries and restaurants are fantastic. Wonderful fish market where we bought nice tuna steak. Beautiful beaches and walking trails too. We met up with Swedish friends Carin and Lars. We met in Kemer Turkey 2007-8 and on EMYR. They are renting a boat for 3 weeks so we plan to see them again in a few weeks.

Eastern Caribbean | Windward Islands | Martinique | Ste. Anne anchorage

Eastern Caribbean | Windward Islands | Martinique | Diamond Rock

Eastern Caribbean | Windward Islands | Martinique | Ste Anne |Fish Market

Eastern Caribbean | Windward Islands | Martinique | Ste. Anne | Caritan Beach BBQ

February 13-19, 2019

We explored some anchorages on Martinique waiting for Connie and Steve to arrive from Minnesota. Fort de France, Trois Ilet, Anse Mitan, Anse Dufour, and Grande Anse D'Arlet. Trois Ilet a so called Hurricane Hole had strong NNE wind an 2ft seas pouring into the anchorage so we moved on to Anse Mitan. Good anchorage but very much a busy pretty tourist town and resorts so only stayed only one day. We did visit Marina Somattas and had a Valentine's Day lunch. We stopped in Anse l"Ane to get some provisions but then moved on to Anse Dufour anchorage which was great for a few boats. We had good snorkling around point into Anse Noire. Grand Anse D'Arlet was a big well protected anchorage from NE winds. We decided to hike the trail to Les Anse D'Arlet. Unfortunately I read the guide wrong and the 20 min walk was actually a hot strenuous climb for close to 2 hour walk. We enjoyed a nice lunch before taking the 20 min walk by road back to Grand Anse D'Arlet and Artemis. We will definitely revisit these anchorages after we pick up Connie and Steve in Fort de France (FDF)

Eastern Caribbean | Windward Islands | Martinique | Anse Mitan

Eastern Caribbean | Windward Islands | Martinique | Anse Mitan | Marina Somattas

Eastern Caribbean | Windward Islands | Martinique | Anse l'Ane

Eastern Caribbean | Windward Islands | Martinique | Anse Dufour anchorage

Eastern Caribbean | Windward Islands | Martinique | Grand Anse D'Arlet

Eastern Caribbean | Windward Islands | Martinique | Les Anse D'Arlet hike

Eastern Caribbean | Windward Islands | Martinique | Les Anse D'Arlet

Eastern Caribbean | Windward Islands | Martinique | Fort de France anchorage

February 20 -25, 2019

We sailed back to Fort de France to meet Connie and Steve. They arrived on time but the shuttle was on strike so they took a taxi from the airport . We were safely onboard enjoying SunDowners before dark. We had a great week visiting Fort de France and Grande Anse D'Arlet. We were unable to visit other anchorages we had planned as wind and seas made them uncomfortable. Snorkling in Grande Anse D'Arlet was great. We saw lots of colorful starfish and reef fish. Found a fun Beach Bar for SunDowners and Shrimp Croquettes. We also walked the short road trip to Les Anse d'Artlet a couple of times and had a nice lunch after mass there.

Eastern Caribbean | Windward Islands |Martinique | Fort de France anchorage

Eastern Caribbean | Windward Islands |Martinique | Grand Anse d'Artlet

Eastern Caribbean | Windward Islands |Martinique | Les Anse d'Artlet

February 26 -28, 2019

We had a bit of excitement when we cleared customs in Les Anse D'Arlet we ended up assisting in a medical emergency. We helped pull a man into a dingy after a drowning episode. He was still alive when a local doctor came to help but we don't think it was a happy outcome. The helicopter actually landed on the dock. Our sail to St. Lucia was a bit lumpy with 2-3 meter seas and brisk winds. We anchored in Marigot Bay and took the dingy in to clear formalities. We had great plans to visit a beach bar but our 1995 Mercury 15hp decided to have major problems so we had to get a tow back to Artemis. We sailed down to Soufriere Marine Park the next day. We dug out the mighty 1989 2.2 Mercury outboard. Certainly not a fast ride but dependable. We had a couple of fun days snorkling. Connie even tried out her new mask. We went to lunch at Belle Vue Restaurant.and had great inexpensive ice cream next to immigration office. We bought 3 small tunas from a fisherman. We had a great 35 nm sail to Chateaubelair, St. Vincent. Boat boys greeted us and helped us land the dingy on beach. We cleared customs and immigration, had Chicken Roti at the Beach Front Restaurant before continuing on to Cumberland Bay for the night. Once again William and Al tied our stern to shore.