New Moon, Rainbows, Dolphins and the Virgin Mary

Our 70 mile journey from Les Saintes, Guadeloupe to St. Pierre, Martinique would take us about 10 hours.  

In order to arrive in daylight, we needed to set out before sunrise.  Our wake-up alarm went off at 3:50 am, but I was not sleeping that well anyway.  The plastic mooring ball had been bouncing against the hull throughout the night and the hatches were closed due to the intermittent rain, leaving it a little too warm for comfort in our cabin.  

Roger got up and put the kettle on and we both got dressed in the clothes we had laid out the night before.  

We had a quick breakfast, secured the cabin and headed up on deck with our life jackets and headsets on.  We had secured the dinghy the night before as well, so Pirate was not going to be able to relieve herself until we reached our destination.  

Roger went forward to start releasing the lines.  I hear over the headset, ‘Tam, we’ve got a problem’.  During the night, the lines had become twisted in a knot around the mooring ball which was now upside down.  Our 4:30 am departure would be delayed.  

At this particular anchorage in Les Saintes, Guadeloupe, the winds swoop down from different directions causing the boats to swirl around, thus tangling the lines.  Roger had straightened out the lines the night before, but they were twisted again.  With a flash light and some patience, 15 minutes later we had unwound the twisted lines and left the mooring ball to raise the main.  PredictWind forecasted 19 knots of wind, so we put a single reef in the main, which makes the sail a little smaller. We knew we could shake it out later depending on conditions.

Often on a crossing, we have had a full moon to light our path.  However, this early morning was the first day of a new moon and the sky was inky black.  It’s not a great feeling heading into the pitch black where you cannot even discern the horizon.   I guess it's the same for pilots who are IFR, relying on their instruments to fly through conditions with zero visibility.   Fortunately we had 3 GPS plotters to help us navigate through the islands, past the reef and out to sea.  

The wind was blowing 21 knots, gusting to 25.  We motor sailed for a while , and about 45 minutes into our trip, the sky gradually began to lighten and we pulled out the jib.  We could now see that the seas were about 6 ft.  

When the sun rose, we were just off the northern end of Dominica.  

And as we got into the lee of Dominica, we had a welcome reprieve from the winds and waves, enough so that we could both enjoy a cappuccino.

We would not be stopping in Dominica on this trip.  While it is a lovely country, by foregoing Dominica we were able to avoid an additional couple of trips to the veterinarian for Pirate, and additional paperwork for her entry.  Instead, staying within the French islands, we were able to easily check in and out of both islands through their on-line portal system. 

As we passed by Dominica, the weather was a little unsettled, and there were a number of squalls in the area.  The bonus was we also saw some beautiful rainbows. 

With the protection from the winds, we started the motor for awhile.  All of a sudden, Roger noticed a strange sound underneath the helm.  He opened the hatch and discovered that the rubber hose for the engine exhaust had broken its mounting brackets.  This resulted in the hose slamming around, breaking the mounts of other hoses and wires.  Fortunately, in short time, Roger was able to make a fix which allowed us to continue on our way.  It was a huge relief and smiles all around as we were miles from shore. 

We used our AIS tracking system to monitor our position vis a vis a number of boats.  This included a boat called the Multiverse, a $275 million, 380 foot SuperYacht with 15 cabins.  While we were in a similar area, we never crossed paths.  We did however cross paths with the Enchanted Princess, a 1000 ft cruise ship with 3600 passengers destined for Dominica.  

On our journey we also saw a large pod of dolphins.  Notoriously difficult to photograph, I managed to catch a couple of fins.  

As we passed the southern end of Dominica, the wind picked up and we were sailing upwind again.  Thankfully, we'd had an early lunch as we would not be heading down below again for a few hours.  

As we headed out, a big squall came through.  We rolled up the jib, and closed the main hatch to prepare for what could be a dangerous situation.  

There were a number of other boats making the trek between Martinique and Dominica.  Here is a catamaran that went by us in the middle of the squall, headed the other way. 

This blown up version of the image, gives you an even better sense of the conditions. 

As the squall passed, we were left with sunny skies and a vigorous sail in '25' knot winds, with 10 to 12 ft seas, which occasionally engulfed the entire deck.  Roger was in his element. 

After about 11 hours, we arrived in St. Pierre, much to the relief of Pirate who was literally seeking relief.  

We managed to snag the last mooring ball in the bay, and as we looked up there was a rainbow which ended at the Virgin Mary statue, which we were so happy to see on our previous trip to Martinique.  Another eventful, but successful crossing.  The first order of business was to take Pirate to shore for her business and then all three of us went for a much needed swim. 

Next stop, just three hours south, is one of our favorite anchorages in the Caribbean, Grande Anse.  Our fresh food supplies are running short. As you can see in the pictures below, there was little to be found in the grocery stores on the Monday before we left Les Saintes.  Note to self not to shop on Mondays in the Caribbean 😑.  We have lots of dry foods, but it's nice to have some lettuce once in a while.  Hopefully the two very small grocers in Grande Anse will have received their orders by the time we get there.