Dominica - Cabrits
|
We decided not to take any trips around Dominica (although in hindsight we wished we had), but we did take a ride in Beez Neez tender over to the commercial dock to visit the Cabrits National Park and the partly restored Fort Shirley, an impressive 18th Century British garrison. The views of the bay were fabulous and the other impressive feature of the shoreline is the large number of wrecked coasters thrown up on the beach after successive hurricanes. Cabrits was a fun place to explore and although some of the forts stone ruins have been cleared and partially reconstructed, others remain half-hidden in the jungle where we came across some old cannons. Summarised history of the
Garrison:
1565: Sir John Hawkins,
Sir Francis Drake, Sir Richard Grenville and other privateers and pirates begin
to use the bay to refresh their ships and trade with the Carib
Indians
1652: Prince Rupert of the
Rhine, cousin of King Charles the first, uses the bay for repair and shelter.
The bay is named after him.
1763: Dominica is ceded to
Britain by the Treaty of Paris.
1774: Major construction
of Fort Shirley and Cabrits Garrison begins with a workforce of four hundred
African slaves.
1778: French forces
capture Roseau. This garrison surrenders. Building work continues under the
French.
1782: Battle of the Saints
fought off the Cabrits on the 12th of April. The British are
victorious.
1783: Dominica returned to
Britain by the Treaty of Versailles
1796: West India Regiments
"The Black Regiments" formed and stationed at Cabrits.
1802: The revolt of the
8th West India Regiment at the Cabrits.
1805: Cabrits Garrison
refuses to surrender to the French under General La
Grange.
1854: Fort Shirley and the
Cabrits are abandoned by the army. The forest takes over.
1982: Restoration at Fort
Shirley begins.
1986: The Cabrits Point is
declared a National Park.
Fort Shirley stores
Pepe, Bear and Michael
Magnificent cannons protecting the fort
View over Prince Rupert Bay
Nimue anchored â top and 3rd on the right
Michael striding out
The Fort provides marvellous views of Prince Rupert Bay
The well maintained grounds around the garrison
Sorry about the hair No water in this well
Picture of how the garrison looked back in the 18th Century
You can see the lay out of the garrison and its strategic positioning
Came across a hermit crab
A cannon lies in the same place as it was left
Old fortification remains in the jungle
Remarkably good condition, but no gunpowder here
Pepe checking out one of the cannons and the huge tree roots in the overgrown jungle
Some more little reptiles seen on our excursion through the jungle During our visit the wind had picked up somewhat, so our dinghy ride back to the yachts was a very wet one. In fact when we got back it was just a matter of standing under the deck shower, fully clothed, to rinse off the salt! Our time in Dominica was continually spent dodging
rain storms and despite being told this was not the norm, it was beginning to
wear a bit thin. We were really looking forward to some typical Caribbean
weather and sure enough the first signs of this started to appear during our
visit to the next island â Les Saintes, Guadaloupe.
Just look at the rain flattening the sea |
