Dominica and Martinique

Inga
Wed 17 Feb 2016 16:13
14 32N
61 02W

More excitement than planned (or wallowing in mud)

We enjoyed our time in Dominica where travel is mostly organised with guides and tours at good prices. It does mean you get to meet other travellers , learn a lot about the local circumstances and history and do the economy some good. The first tour was to see the damage done by hurricane Erica last August. Many bridges and roads were washed away and they have done a good joy of getting temporary bailey bridges in place.We then toured the rainforest and saw the subsistence farmers growing crops on very steep hillsides and walked to some waterfalls. (see photos)

Jeffery, our mentor, took us on the Indian never trip first thing in the morning to see the rain forest and flora and fauna (and fresh water crabs). Our last trip was to the Kalinago reserve where the remains of the original Caribbean inhabitants now live. It was disappointing as we just visited the area rather than going to the actual village as we had expected.

We moved from the north of Dominica to the capital Rosseau but were not impressed with it being rather scruffy and run down. So left early the next day to sail to Martinique. Had a brisk sail until we rounded the corner to head for the anchorage at Fort de France, I turned off the autopilot I and found the steering was faulty . We could turn to the left (port) but not to the right (starboard) at full lock we could just about go straight. We spotted a wide open bay with anchored yachts and decided it was sensible to anchor where there was more room. Initially I thought the autopilot had jammed the steering, but on investigation I found the keyway that locks the steering arm to the rudder stock had completely corroded, so that when the wheel was turned it just slipped around the rudder without turning it. Fortunately we have always had an emergency tiller for just such and occasion so now we have used ours in anger.
In FdF we got a new keyway and and I fitted ti, so far so good.

We arrived in FdF at the start of Carnival and also to meet my cousin Chris, who was on a Caribbean cruise. So we spent the day catching up with him and promised to keep in touch more frequently.

After our stay in FdF we moved across the bay to the anchorage at Trois Islet, which is narrow and quite shallow. While looking for a suitable spot to anchor I was focussed on the green buoy we had to go around and was not paying enough attention to where we were on the chart. Suddenly we went aground on the mud, and instead of reversing off immediately, I went forward and just drove us further into mud. After that no amount of manoeuvering could get us free. We ended up spending the night in the same spot and managed to get off early the next day with the hight tide (about 2 feet) plus some wash from the ferry. Now we are just exploring the area and village and will move on to a new anchorage probably tomorrow. There is quite a lot more of the island to see. Will think about hiring a car if we find a safe spot to leave INGA.

As Coralie says I have my usual cold and have lost my voice again.