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Travalog
Fifteen Continuing up the Windward Island chain from St. Lucia, our first stop was Marin on the French Island of Martinique. Marin is a well protected cul de sac harbor with a large marina and home to over 400 charterboats. As we pulled into the harbor, we spied all those of character who had been anchoring on top of us for the past couple of months - the lair of the enemy! They were all lined up at the dock, and I suppose in Adm. Nelson's time we could have taken them all out with one broadside! Our first contact was unfortunately a rather unpleasant one. Upon presenting our papers to the Customs/Immigration, we were informed that our CA State boat registration was not acceptable in the French Islands. However, if we paid a 2000 franc ($285.00) fine, we would be given a two-month cruising permit. We tried to explain that our papers have been accepted in over 15 countries, including France and the French Islands in the past. It all fell on deaf ears and we were next informed that if we didn't pay the penalty and tried to leave, our boat would be confiscated. We paid. Welcome to Martinique! Fortunately, after the nasty little customs officer, it only got better. Marin is a huge yachting center with every service imaginable including those wonderful French Deli's and markets. The next day it was off to the little seaside village of St. Anne. Very laid back with all the ambience of a picture post card. The typical town square with church, open-air markets and great little restaurants and patisseries. Next, it was off to Fort de France, the capital of Martinique. The anchorage is directly off the downtown waterfront, and although a bit rolly at times, really quite scenic. A great place for shopping, people watching or just stretching the legs. The higher standard of living in the French Islands is quite obvious, due to their direct ties to the French economy. Good roads, less poverty and more public services, not to mention great restaurants and shopping. We then moved across the harbor to Anse Mitan, another delightful vacation spot, complete with a long beachfront, small marina and a very classy "Creole Village" for all your trendy shopping and dining needs. Quite luckily, our ignorance of the French language hasn't been a hindrance. Most everyone (except for our customs officer) has been quite friendly and helpful. I think that since these islands changed hands so many times over the last century, everybody speaks a bit of English. As we continued motoring up the coast, we were able to see the vast plantations, which has contributed so much to the wealth of these islands. Our last stop was the little town of St. Pierre on the northwest coast. This little village is located directly below the volcano Mt. Pelee, which erupted in 1902. The ensuing fireball and gas cloud annihilated the 38,000 inhabitants in less than two minutes. The only survivor was a convicted murderer, who escaped the firestorm because he was tucked away in a cell below ground. His remaining years were spent touring with the Barnum & Bailey Circus. The town has been rebuilt amongst the remnants of the old city and is quite a tourist attraction. There is a little museum, complete with photos and artifacts of the ruined city, but in fact the entire village is a living museum. The next stop north was the less populated island of Dominica. We anchored off the capital of Roseau, but being a Sunday, everything was closed. Roseau has some very interesting architecture and there is a major restoration project in progress at this time. Dominica doesn't have all the beautiful beaches of the other islands, but makes up for it with an interior comprised of lush landscapes, rivers and waterfalls. We hope to do more exploring inland on our next journey. After a 15 mile motor sail we arrived at Iles de Saintes, truly one of our favorite stops. This little group of islands, just south of Guadaloupe is a vacation spot, and the village of Terre de Haut could be the Avalon of the Caribbean. Every morning the local ferries from Guadaloupe arrive with the daily tourist crowd, departing as nightfall approaches. We feel very smug anchored off town, having fresh croissants delivered to our boat each morning. The primary mode of transportation is the motor scooter, and for about $30.00 you can rent one for the day to tour the entire island. If one gets tired of the crowds or other boats, there are numerous anchorages with the usual turquoise green water. Heading north, we traveled along the coast of Guadaloupe, with a stop at Anse Deshaies on the northwest coast. This little seaside village boasted another one of those great French Deli's where we were able to stock up on French wine & cheeses before jumping off to Antigua, our northernmost island stop for the season. We had planned our arrival to coincide with the Antigua Classic Regatta and Race Week. By this time we were really looking forward to the arrival of our daughter Lisa, who was flying down for a well-deserved 10-day visit. In addition, we were anticipating visits with our friend and client John & Sylvia Vega,65 and my old racing buddy Kurt Jacobi, who was flying down for Race Week. Antigua is quite low and dry and not as scenic as most of the islands we had visited. However the island had quite a naval history during the 18th century wars with the French, as this was the British fleet's Caribbean headquarters. Nelson's Dockyard in English Harbor has been completely restored to its original condition as the fleet maintenance base. The buildings are now used for chandlers, charterboat bases, restaurants, hotels, gift shops, etc., but they have maintained all the historical flavor of a naval seaport. Normally a quiet laid back island, Antigua really heats up every April with all the regatta activity. Leading off is the Classic Yacht Regatta, a 5-day event, with over 60 beautifully restored vintage wooden boats racing off Falmouth Harbor. You have never seen such an array of gorgeous yachts from 28 ft on up to the two 130-ft. J-Class America's Cup yachts, ENDEAVOUR and VELSHEDA. All of the yachts racing were given a free berth at Antigua YC for the event, so we were able to wander the docks for a close look at these classic beauties. Most of these boats are 50-75 years old, although there was a class for modern yachts, built in the Spirit of Tradition. We took our rubber tender out for the start of the first race, and viewed the second from one of hilltops overlooking the racecourse. As with all yachting events, there was the usual partying every night, with one of the local watering holes showing videos of each day's races. The next event was the inaugural Maxi Yacht Regatta. The only qualification for this 3-day event was that your yacht had to be over 100 ft long! There were over 14 entries for the 40-mile layover race to Guadaloupe and return. Since most of these huge yachts are all equipped with hydraulic winches and furling gear, there were never more than 5 or 6 people seen on deck! Finally, the big event, Antigua Sail Week. There were over 300 entries for this 5-race event on the West Coast of the island. In addition to the racing and cruising classes, the largest fleets were composed of the charterboats. Daughter Lisa and I had the good fortune of racing on MAGNITUDE, a 70 ft "turbo sled" from Long Beach with my friend Kurt Jacobi, one of the regular crew. The boat was shipped to Florida earlier in the year for Key West Race Week, some Caribbean Regattas, and Antigua was the last event before being shipped home. With over 25 crewmembers on board, we were pretty much "rail meat", but it was great to be involved with the racing. Needless to say, the after-race activity was pretty brutal with the rum flowing and the music cranking. One other highlight of our stay in Antigua, is that we were able to get our furling system repaired, along with other assorted maintenance projects. So, after a couple days "recovering" from all the race activities, we headed back south to Guadaloupe. Finally, after months of traveling upwind from the Panama Canal, we were rewarded with a fabulous 40-mile downwind sail. Life is good again! The added bonus of these island chains, is that the distances are not great, generally a good daysail. We did a leisurely backtrack down-island covering some of the stops we had missed on the way north. Our friends John & Jo Featherstone were joining us in Martinique for a 10-day sail to St. Lucia, so we wanted to be anchored in Fort de France for their arrival. Of course a few days before their arrival, our water heater finally gave up the ghost, with no chance to repair it. Oh well, who needs hot water in the Caribbean? One side benefit of traveling with fellow boaters is that they know how to travel light, and John & Jo were no exception. The only spare luggage they brought was a "CARE" package of spare parts for VIVA. Upon their arrival, we did a quick tour of Fort de France before heading across the bay to Anse Mitan. The next day John rented a car and we all took off for an inland tour of the island. After all the coastal traveling, it was great to see some of the lush tropical inland portions of the island. We then continued south to St. Anne and cleared out of Marin for St. Lucia. I sent Pam to handle the clearing-out to avoid my "buddy", the customs officer! The 22-mile trip to St. Lucia was another beautiful sail, although interrupted by a good tropical rainsquall. Fortunately, they don't last very long and the boat was dry by the time we arrived in Rodney Bay. Upon our arrival, we again linked up with Bob & Connie Nixon on CHARIS, who we hadn't seen since leaving Trinidad. With all the catching up to do, we of course ended up with an extended "Happy Hour". The following morning after two aspirins, clearing Customs, a load of fuel and water, we took off for Marigot Bay, Soufrieres and the Pitons anchorage. For a change of pace, the six of us took an inland tour to an active volcanic crater, botanical gardens, two waterfalls and lunch at a spectacular lookout restaurant above the Pitons. Since the Featherstones were leaving the next day, our only dilemma was transportation back to the local airport. Although only 10 miles away, it was over a two hour drive through a twisty jungle road. The problem was solved by the presence of a helicopter pad at the Piton Hilton not 100 yards from our anchorage. So, the next morning, after a short dinghy ride to the helipad, they lifted off, circled VIVA and CHARIS and vanished over the Gros Piton for the 10-minute flight to the airport. Talk about departing in style! As we headed south to Trinidad, with the usual stops along the way, we had the pleasure of running into Will and Fran Cornwall again in Tyrell Bay, Carriacou. They were housesitting for a friend for a month and treated all of us to a fabulous shoreside roast lamb dinner to celebrate Father's Day. Next it was an overnight sail to Tobago, which we had missed on the way north. We are now getting into the summer tropical wave season, so the trip included a couple of good windy rainsqualls. Tobago is a beautiful island, much more laid back than Trinidad, catering primarily to the tourist trade. We are working our way around the island before heading on to Trinidad. Our original plans, were to leave VIVA in Venezuela for a few months this summer for a return visit to Calif. However, due to the logistics of boatyards and airline connections from Caracas, we have decided on Trinidad instead. We will be leaving Trinidad on July 10th for Miami and a short visit with Dick & Linda Braue. Then on to LA, arriving on July 13th. We are looking forward to seeing all our friends during our visit, and although not sure yet of our schedule, we plan to be in the San Pedro area for a few months. If you know of anyone needing a housesittter, let us know. We are available. Until our arrival, it is easier to contact us by E-mail. All for now. Best wishes as ever, Steve & Pam
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