Full House on Irie: Griet, Wim, Sam and Eva’s Visit

Grand Anse d’Arlet became our favorite anchorage in Martinique this year. After returning from our brief visit to St. Lucia to meet up with friends, we “waited” here until my cousin Griet and her family showed up a few days later. We worked for the business and made the necessary preparations that are required for a guest family of four. Since we are not a big fan of Fort-de-France (busy and rolly), we delayed our short sail around the corner until the last moment, which was the morning of June 30^th. For some reason, that was also the day a lot of bad weather passed through and we were obliged to take down all the sails and motor dead into heavy wind and built up waves, while we endured squall after squall coming down the bay, barely making progress towards Martinique’s capital.

When the evening approached, safely at anchor, it was still raining big time and we sure hoped for a break, once our visitors would reach the area near the dinghy dock. After darkness had totally set in for an hour, I took the dinghy to shore with a handful of garbage bags (to keep the bags dry) and noticed “the sign” - a flashing flash light - indicating Belgian presence ashore. Our guests had arrived and were ready for a stay on Irie. It was dry for 15 minutes; thank you Weather God. We managed to haul all the luggage onboard and assigned the starboard cabins. Griet and Wim moved into the forward cabin and their kids Sam and Eva into the aft one. Previously, I succeeded in moving all the stuff normally taking up these spaces (computer, Wirie parts, and miscellaneous things) into other cavities in the boat.

The first few days were pretty rainy and many a meal was had inside. Or, we would move all the items onto the cockpit table, only to be welcomed by raindrops once we sat down. At night, everybody was responsible for closing and opening and closing and opening their own hatches. We became used to it and managed to still do things and get off the boat, whether it was a walk through Fort-de-France or a snorkel with turtles in Grand Anse d’Arlet. The second day was spent tacking along the southwest coast of Martinique to reach the cute town of Ste. Anne. Wim turned into a helpful crew member and confident helmsman, while the kids had a blast on the trampoline, every time a wave would crash under and over them. Griet enjoyed being on the water with a big smile, taking photographs.

When we are in Ste. Anne, we like to go for a long walk past many small bays and pretty beaches, to the southern tip of the island. The trail is mostly in the shade and the whole experience is a fun daytrip. Unfortunately, we lost half the day with trying to check out (first by bus, which was non-available on Sundays, then by dinghy), since the bar in Grand Anse d’Arlet, where we planned to do this, was closed. When we finally locked the dinghy in town and reached the trail head near Anse Caritan, all the paths had turned into a wet and muddy mess, thanks to the heavy rainfall of the previous days. We splashed and slid and hiked and skidded to the first bay, where we relaxed the rest of the afternoon, together with hordes of local families on a Sunday break. Dinner was had in a local restaurant with a typical Creole dish and ti punch.

The crossing between Martinique and St. Lucia was the big sailing adventure. Nobody was allowed on the trampoline and the ocean was respected by all. Irie made great timing, averaging 7 knots, turning this trip into a shorter, but bumpier one than the trip tacking to Ste. Anne. We reached Rodney Bay in time for lunch. The kids stayed aboard, while the adults checked in, explored the marina area and shopped for food. The following day, I dropped everybody off on shore for a visit to Pigeon Island and a walk on Reduit Beach. Mark and I caught up on our usual internet and boat stuff. We all had a very enjoyable dinner in Jambe de Bois, our favorite restaurant in St. Lucia.

The tour moved onto Marigot Bay, where the rain didn’t keep us from snorkeling along the rocks, landing on the palm fringed beach and walking along the mangroves and the lagoon. After lunch, Irie and crew moved on to Anse Cochon to snorkel some more in the rain (which didn’t keep one rum demanding boat boy away), gaze at the colorful fish and coral and spend a peaceful night. The next morning, the schedule was similar with a lunch stop in Anse Chastenet, where we swam from the mooring ball to the beautiful black beach and then on to a nice snorkel area around protruding rocks. We continued on to the Pitons for pictures of the spectacular view and another night. When the park ranger came by to collect the fees, he was accompanied by a customs officer, requesting to see our special permit to moor. We didn’t have one, since there is an extra US$10 fee on top of the park fees and since they never checked for this before. We moved around the corner and spent the night in Malgretout Beach instead.

Griet, Wim, Sam, Eva and I took the dinghy to Soufrière and walked through the local town and along very lush gardens and forests to the Botanical Gardens. We thought it opened at 9am, waited for an hour and entered at 10am, when the park appeared to open. For the next hour, we smelled colorful flowers, read explanatory signs, stuck our toes in the manmade and swimming pool-like hot springs and looked at the Diamond Falls. After more grocery shopping, lunch was had on Irie, in the cockpit this time! By now, everybody had his own job when the seats were wet or about to get wet. In the afternoon, we returned to Marigot Bay, the anchorage of choice, for another night on a mooring ball. The brisk wind, with gusts up to 26 knots made for a quick and invigorating sail!

The gang’s last day on Irie was spent in Marigot Bay, with a walk in the marina area and a drink looking out over the protected lagoon. A short sail to Rodney Bay with captain Wim finished the family’s sailing adventure. Because of its tasty and affordable food, yummy cocktails and great outdoor atmosphere, a return visit to Jambe de Bois took place. This time, we had anchored right in front of the door, so a short dinghy ride kept the passengers dry. The following morning, after a hearty breakfast with Bloody Mary’s (Griet and Wim are good sports trying everything!), we moved to the southern area of Rodney Bay and I dropped our guests off at the Rex Resort for a continuation of their holiday, in luxury this time!

Northbound: Martinique

On our way south to Grenada, Mark and I only spent about a week in Martinique, stopping in the capital Fort-de-France and its surroundings and in Grand Anse d’Artlet, not being impressed with the country. The beaches we saw were fair, with “Dogs Prohibited” signs all over them. Luckily, few Caribbean “rules” are enforced and nobody yelled at us. On the other hand, Martinique’s check-in procedures are very quick, easy and free and bringing Darwin into the country is not a problem at all. You got to love the French islands for that. The forms don’t even have a box to check for pets.

This time around, we planned on visiting different places, doing some boat projects and stocking up on delicious French products. After a bumpy crossing from St. Lucia, we arrived in Le Marin, known for its boat services. Never have we seen so many boats together in a bay. There must have been more than a thousand, mostly French registered, sailboats packed in the area. Our guess is a lot of French people come here to work and live on their boat. As a result of this, the water is pretty dirty and grimy looking. Time to do the dishes in our sink and skip showering for a few days…

We are training Darwin every day to be left alone again, starting slowly with 15 minutes, up to 30 minutes in Martinique. During one of those sessions, we scoped out the Leader Price, a favorite grocery store amongst cruisers, because of its reasonably priced French goods. I went back later to load up our fridge and cabinets with cheeses, salami, smoked salmon, pâtés, snacks and affordable European milk and granola. A couple of nights in a row we splurged on these things with fresh baguettes. Mmmmm….

One day we managed to finish two big boat projects that had been hanging over our heads for months, which created a feeling of satisfaction and achievement. I finally decided to do one load of laundry in a real washing machine, because this was needed for a while. Just the washing cost us the equivalent of US $ 10, which is why I do most of it by hand when we have enough (rain) water. The hot water (precious to come by in machines around here) made it worthwhile, this time!

From Le Marin, we moved Irie a bit down the bay, to the cute looking town of Ste. Anne, where we spent a few days. The clear water, nice views and proximity of a good bakery made this place attractive to us, even though Darwin was looked at with fear and annoyance a few times. We ignored the “No Dogs” signs, but felt awkward walking him on the beach.

The biggest draw in this area are the southern beaches. We learned about a 3 mile trail to Salines Beach, the prettiest one in Martinique, and one day, we set out exploring with Darwin. First we had to walk through town and along a hot road for a mile or so, but the hike itself was a wonderful retreat in shaded forests, following an attractive coast, through mangroves and along white sand beaches. We stopped at one of these along the way to cool off, being the only people around. Martinique has many well marked trails and this one runs all along the south coast and up some. It is called “Trace des Caps”.

In Salines, there are food stands and cold drinks for sale. The beach is long and quite pretty, backed by greenery and palm trees. No development to be seen and lots of vacationers and families were enjoying the cool, clear water. We hung out for a bit, before making the walk back to Ste. Anne and the dinghy.

For a long time, we were going back and forth about what to do over Christmas. Some people we knew from Grenada were going to have a beach picnic with tasty finger food and that sure sounded good. But, a north swell would be running for a long time to come and we really didn’t want to get stuck in Martinique for weeks because of the weather. We played with the idea to visit St. Pierre in the northern part of Martinique and Roseau in the southern part of Dominica on days with little swell, since these anchorage are quite open to the sea. Swell less days would be far and few between, so we did decide to give it a try and left Ste. Anne on the day before Christmas, mostly because there was no good (read: cheap or free) WiFi there. We spent one night in Grand Anse d’Arlet (with great internet), where we took Darwin for a walk to picturesque Petit Anse ‘dArlet, before arriving in St. Pierre.

We didn’t have to worry about the north swell in St. Pierre. There was none; instead a big swell from the south (because of the rare southeast winds) rolled in, making the place pretty uncomfortable. Since it was Christmas Day, the whole town was dead and we were left rocking on Irie with gorgeous views of the volcano (Mt. Pelée) and a simple meal. A quiet one for us, this year.

The next day, the three of us visited the center of St. Pierre, once completely ruined by the volcano eruption of 1902. Scattered around, you see remnants of this disaster, which killed all but two residents. Old walls are integrated with the rebuilt town and some ruins still exist, like the theatre ruins and the prison cell. This cell saved one prisoner in 1902 because of its thick walls. The clear weather treated us with marvelous cloud free views of the volcano all day long. I couldn’t get enough of photographing this majestic mountain.

On this day after Christmas, we also remembered Kali. We still think and talk about her a lot, but exactly one year ago she passed away and that day we lost something very important to us and our lives. A candle was lit all day, we looked at pictures, recalled stories and reread my incredibly sad diary entry from December 26^th 2008. The following day, we left for Dominica.

(For many more pictures of Martinique, see itsirie.shutterfly.com)