St Pierre is towards the North West end of Martinique, and under the shadow of Mont Pelee.  The bay is littered with wrecks from the eruption of the mountain in 1902.  The anchorage is a narrow strip of water between the deep water where the wrecks are and the beach, so you have to approach from either north or south close in and squeeze yourself in between other anchored boats and the local moorings.  Our first attempt was unsuccessful, as in finding water the right depth for us we swung too close to another boat, so we ended up at the far north end of the beach.

The town is a bit run down, but we liked it, with its palm fringed beach (black volcanic sand), tropical appearance, and quietness in contrast to the Fort de France anchorage.

On our way in to the jetty to go ashore and get our customs clearance for Dominica we were hailed by ‘Mustang Sally’ who was anchored close in.  We went alongside and so met Penny and Roger, who invited us for drinks later on.  Clearance out was as easy as entry - self completed on a computer in the Tourist Office for a donation to charity.  We tried unsuccessfully one last time to get internet access in a local café, before giving up on communications on Martinique.

We spent a pleasant time on ‘Mustang Sally learning a lot from Roger and Penny, who  have sailed the Caribbean for many years both professionally and on their own boats, then back to ‘Serenity’ for supper and an early night ready for an early departure to Dominica in the morning.