Oriole FOR SALE - briefly.
Oriole
Sun 26 Mar 2006 15:41
After our wonderful trip from Antigua
to Guadaloupe we had a night there and then a couple in the Isles des Saintes
with its chique shops and great restaurants. We had decided to head down the
windward side of Dominica to East Martinique to reacquaint ourselves with this
lovely and unfrequented area. It is more challenging to get there and the
pilotage is more interesting but in the middle of the night with big seas and a
wind which was steadily heading us off the course we decided to turn tail and
run into Prince Rupert Bay, Dominica, and abandon the idea for this year.
Chaudiere Pool, Dominica - great for
swimming.
Oriole was briefly FOR SALE but is
now off the brokerage list again but it was a reminder of how unpleasant one can
make things if you really try and we were pretty tired too. We were welcomed by
the very friendly boat boys in Prince Rupert Bay and we returned to the gentle
pace of the most laid back but certainly the poorest of the Caribbean Islands.
We got out the diving gear and dived on the lovely reef we have dived before
with an interesting tunnel to swim through and good coral. Chris highly rates
the dive guide who provides tea and biscuits afterwards.
Tropical rain forest with views to the
sea characterises Dominica.
After a couple of really idle days we
set off at 0400 for the trip to Martinique, 25 miles down the leeward side of
Dominica most of which is pitch black and uninhabited, roared across the 25
mile open ocean passage and then joined civilisation in Fort de France
with windsurfers, Optimists, Hobicats, and one design racing and supertankers on
the dock with motorways and fast traffic, all a stones throw from poor little
Dominica where in 25 miles we saw only a handful of car headlights on the coast
road. The only habitation is at sea level.
Normal winter trade wind
weather
And we hear that an American business
man successfully sued the Dominican Government for 3 million dollars for a
failed business venture. That is 40$ for every semi-destitute Dominican
inhabitant. It does not sound fair, but we do not know what court presided. The
North Atlantic weather would seem to be providing Andrew and Mirabella V with
strong following winds from a deep depression, we hope not too strong, but no
doubt we will hear in due course, while Robert up in the Norwegian Sector of the
North Sea has scurried for shelter. We are on schedule to meet John's sister in
Bequia on Monday week as we gently potter south. Meanwhile back in Newton
Ferrers we understand we are threatened with losing our mooring because we
choose to use our boat rather than have it tied up in a neat row of yachts the
majority of which hardly ever venture further that Wembury Bay, regardless
of the fact that the mooring is in continuous use by another resident. Its a
funny old world! The extended cruisers, for that is what we are called,
are uniting to fight back for a fair deal.