There is still more we would like to see of Dominica but we had to get back to Martinique for Helen and Adrian’s flight home, so on the 5^th January we headed south again and after a great sail we anchored in St Pierre again a week after our previous visit.  The next day, when cloudy weather and lack of transport thwarted Adrian’s plan to climb Mont Pelee, we carried straight on to Fort de France.  It started out as a gentle drift down the side of Martinique, but ended up with a hard beat into the Rade de Fort de France when the wind turned against us and increased.  Our visitors did a great job on the helm in difficult conditions on their last sail.

Mont Pelee with its head in cloud

Before the sailing got interesting

Just across the bay from our anchorage is the small town of Trois Ilets, and there is a regular ferry service so we visited on Saturday. There is a small town and a lively market in the square by the church. Here we were entertained by the local drum band, Welele Bann, a prelude to what we would hear in the evening. We had a meal in the only restaurant we could find open and it was excellent. We also visited the resort area and marina which we found rather run down. Very glad we hadn’t anchored there.

The market at Trois Ilets

Welele Bann

The anchorage at Fort de France

Back in Fort de France we managed to find a taxi driver who promised he would collect Adrian and Helen on Sunday afternoon for their trip to the airport. We had previously been told it was impossible to get a bus or taxi on Sunday. In the evening there was a stage set up on the Savane and various musical acts performed. We assume that it was some kind of competition as results were announced and the band we heard in the morning were the winners. Every time we have been to Fort de France the evenings have been lively with music we could hear from our anchorage.

‘Yer be Dragons’.  Seen in the park in Fort de France

Adrian and Helen were collected on time for their flight on Sunday and since then we have been preparing Serenity for our next long trip. We did some jobs in Fort de France then moved round to the Cul de Sac de Marin for the good selection of chandleries. Marin revolves around the yacht industry and you can get to most places by water to the point that the supermarket has its own dinghy dock and you can drive straight there from your yacht as it you were going to a carpark. The anchorage is also extremely noisy, dirty and crowded so this afternoon we escaped to the quieter anchorage at St Annes.

The Yoles are still raced locally, but also used to take tourists out