Goodbye to Antigua
Oriole
Tue 17 Mar 2009 21:54
St Anne's, Martinique.
14:26.216N 60:53.217W
It was with heavy heart that we
raised our anchor for the final time this season to head south, not that we did
not want to go south, but we really enjoy Antigua and its lovely anchorages, and
of course we had to say goodbye to Captain Andy as he seems to be known around
the place. Sea Shuttle is making preparations for moving back to the
Mediterranean for the summer and of course we hope they will be back in the
Caribbean at the end of the year.
There was a big northery swell
running as we sailed for Guadeloupe and we had a fast roller coaster ride.
We left early next morning heading for Dominica and after another stunning sail
were greeted by one of the boat boys and good friend Martin, with a bag of
grapefruit and fresh herbs from his garden. The French islands have been
something of a no-go area this season because of the strikes and their loss had
been Dominica's gain and there were lots of yachts in anchorage, but there
was plenty of room for more. Sadly there is no sign of any of the wrecks
washed ashore during Hurricane Omar being removed and the relics of previous
hurricanes still litter the shoreline. One would have hoped that by now some
rich benefactor with his annual bonus burning a hole in his pocket would
have paid to have these removed. The Dominican Government are still
supine, promising much and doing nothing. Apart from these blots on the
seascape Dominica is the most beautiful island with its mountains, lush rain
forest, waterfalls and natural fresh water pools which are great for
swimming. We never tire of coming here.
This wreck blown ashore during
Hurricane Omar 2008 blocks the mouth of the Indian River and
several yacht wrecks litter the beach
in Portsmouth, Dominica.
These wrecks have sat here where they
were cast ashore in previous hurricanes
many years ago and there is no prospect of their being removed.
How would you like to have one them
blocking the view from your bedroom window?
After 36 hours we were on our way
again and we left at 0230 on Friday 13th and narrowly avoided running down an
unlit smaller yacht underway which we saw at the last moment in the bright
moonlight. Once clear of the land we had the sea to ourselves which we wondered
was as a result of the date.
The flamboyants provide remarkable
contrasts on the heavily forested mountain sides above Portsmouth.
The normally busy waters of
Martinique were also very quiet, probaby because of the strike and we had a
fast passage with more roller-coaster seas and dropped anchor in St Anne's (82
miles made good in 13 hours of which the last 10 miles were a stiff beat).
We were soon boarded by the crews of Reverie and Calisto, beside whom we
anchored and beverages suitable to the hour were consumed. In spite
of the strike only finishing today, we managed to find a good lunch ashore with
them and we are gathering on Oriole this evening for a
multi-contibution supper (referred to by the Americans as pot-luck). We trust
there will be no luck needed.
There are still more big northerly
swells to contend with generated by two unusual consecutive tropical depressions
just north of the islands, but the weather is fine and sunny with the strong
winds in the right direction for going south so there are no complaints on
Oriole. We plan to be in Bequia on Tuesday to prepare for our
next lot of NPGs (non paying charter guests).