Bonjour la Martinique!

 

Leaving St. Lucia and the spectacular Pitons

A copy of an ancient Zemi.  Of course it was damaged during the latest French protests two months ago, for some odd reason.  Ah the French.

Deep inside a bay in Le Marin

Maria enjoying sightseeing in Le Marin via our dinghy

A sailing ship in Le Marin after what must have been a pretty rough passage

And then there was the Starlink dish I attached to Savannah Sky (the little rectactangle flat white thing next to our man overboard pole.  Our link to the outside world just got much much better with high speed internet!

A fun lunch with sailor friends in Ste. Anne, Martinique on the beach.  How about these for some boat names: Island Spirit, Lover of the Light, Elysium and Sirena.

S/Y Savannah Sky – February 11, 2025 – Log #22

Savannah Sky Position: 14 degrees 26’ N, 60 degrees 53’ W

Le Marin, Martinique, Caribbean

 

Bonjour la Martinique!

 

Since I’ve lived to be an old man
I’ll sail down to Martinique
I'm gonna buy me a sweat-stained Bogart suit
And an African parakeet
And then I'll sit him on my shoulder
And open up my trusty old mind
I’m gonna teach him how to cuss, teach him how to fuss
And pull the cork out of a bottle of wine

(modified from, who else, but Jimmy Buffett)

 

It’s great to be back in Martinique: the land of baguettes, French wine and cheeses.

 

It was a blustery sail from St. Lucia to Martinique, and as always, an eventful one.

 

We had both our genoa and mainsail reefed because of the 25 knot winds and large seas during the journey.  About half way across the windiest stretch of open water our furling line that holds the genoa at about half its size (reefed) decided to break.  With a loud pop, out went the entire genoa giving us a nice increase in speed but not what we needed in strong winds.

 

Without a furling line there was no way to decrease the size of the genoa so we just sailed on until we could drop the genoa in less boisterous conditions behind the lee of Martinique.  It’s always something it seems.

 

We’ve replaced the furling line in Martinique so all is well now and ready for the next adventure at sea.

 

Le Marin, Martinique is the Yachting Center of the Caribbean, for the French.  Massive catamarans line the docks or are tied to mooring balls throughout the well protected bay. 

 

Sailboats, like Savannah Sky, and smaller catamarans are for sailors and those of us who spend seasons or longer on the water in these little latitudes and who like to sail.

 

One could easily spend an entire sailing season here in Martinique.  There are so many anchorages to visit and sights to see, like world famous rum distilleries. 

 

Maria and I wonder why the French fly here from Euroland, jump on a massive catamaran and bash their way south, past Bequia, while never enjoying what Martinique has to offer.  It’s a strange world out there sometimes.

 

Savannah Sky is calmly attached to a highly-sought-after mooring ball in Le Marin’s Bay.

 

Getting a mooring ball in the heart of this Yachting Center is like winning the lottery it seems.  An online portal is used to request a mooring.  Then the response is received – No. 

 

So we try again and again and again, requesting a mooring ball.  Much of this is done in French of course.

 

With more than a lot of persistence and luck we finally received a reply, “Voilà” 

We were accepted!

 

We spend our days tied to this mooring ball, watching the antics of passing charter catamarans the size of condos jockeying for position at the fuel dock.  After all, it takes a lot of diesel fuel to motor, not sail, to neighboring islands.

 

Hundreds of tall masts crowd our horizon during the day in Martinique while sunset brings a new world to us.

 

A bit of Ti Punch, baguette, cheese, chocolate and some island music are all we need to count the falling stars in the night sky.

 

As Jimmy said, it’s also time to get that African parakeet and open up my trusty old mind, while I can still remember…

 

Sail on, sail on Savannah Sky…

St. Lucia

 

Savannah Sky in a berth at Rodney Bay Marina, St. Lucia

 Maria cooking up a 3-pound lobster in Bequia, along with some bacon ends

Our friends Hayden and Radeen on “Island Spirit” (Island Packet 35)

More friends: George and June on “Fathom This” and Maria (missing Hugh who took the picture) on “White Pearl”

Fishermen in Bequia with a great catch of three Yellow Fin Tuna (137 lbs, 138 lbs and 137 pounds).  Some say the fishermen just earned enough money for a new house.

Stag beer.  Trinidad advertising claims “It’s a Man’s beer.  But women like it too.”

S/Y Savannah Sky – February 8, 2025 – Log #21

Savannah Sky Position: 14 degrees 05’ N, 60 degrees 57’ W

Rodney Bay, St. Lucia, Caribbean

 

St. Lucia

 

After spending a month in Sweet Bequia it was time to set sail once again.

 

Leaving Bequia’s harbor at 1:30 am was quite a challenge because of all the unlit sailboats and ferries blocking our exit.  It seems seamanship has been lost at sea these days.

 

Luckily our engine started, more about that later, and we sailed into the black of night along the west coast of surly St. Vincent.

 

The volcano at the north end of St. Vincent is always something to dread.  Many sailing vessels have been damaged, dismasted and sunk in this treacherous stretch of water due to confused winds and seas.  The volcano rules everything around it including the sea.

 

Savannah Sky leapt through tumultuous waves as strong trade winds filled her sails.

 

There was green water flying across our deck as Savannah Sky’s bow knifed through the towering sea.

 

Luckily our windlass was already non-functional as more salt water could not cause any more damage with the anchor bubbling underwater.

 

Daylight come and we just wanted to be in the lee of St. Lucia, taking shelter from wind and waves.

 

The picturesque St. Lucia Pitons cast long shadows across our sails as the sun rose in the east. 

 

Winds always shift behind da islands and sailors rely on engine power to make their way up and down these leeward coasts.  Savannah Sky’s engine purred like a well-trained kitten pushing us further north towards Rodney Bay, St. Lucia.

 

Ah the engine story…

 

We arrived into Rodney Bay Marina and docked in a nice slip without any drama.  I switched the engine off once we were safely secured and ready for some rest.

 

I decided to restart the engine to check something and guess what?  The engine was dead.  Dead, as in DEAD.

 

Luckily, we managed to escape Bequia in the dark of night before our engine decided to take a rest.

 

It only took two weeks to get the mysterious hidden part to fix the blasted engine.  It seems we have a secondary solenoid that is necessary to start our engine, unbeknownst to Captain Steve.  Several hundred dollars later we had the part, repaired the engine and even got a new windlass installed and functional.  Ah, life at the dock is always filled with a long list of repairs, maintenance items and of course happy hour after happy hour with oh so many sailor friends in St. Lucia.

 

St. Lucia’s Rodney Bay has become a mecca for sailors we have met throughout the years down in the Caribbean.  It is always like coming home when we arrive here.

 

Restaurants, bars and even a gelato place line the “Boardwalk”, beckoning sailors to imbibe, visit with like-minded adventurers and even make new friends.

 

The southern Windward Islands tend to be the more remote and undeveloped part of the Eastern Caribbean.  Yet Rodney Bay gives sailors a chance to experience what lies ahead, to the north, with much sought after amenities we all seek, like modern well-stocked grocery stores!

 

Sail on, sail on Savannah Sky…