French leave.
Oriole
Sun 14 Mar 2010 18:25
Rodney Bay Marina, St Lucia 14:04.429N
60:56.933W
We were still rolling around in Prince Rupert Bay
and the SW wind was blowing in when the Indian River trip was due so Chris and
John stayed on board to watch the boats, which turned out to be worthwhile as a
couple of boats close by started dragging their anchors. However our
New Zealand 25kg Rocna anchor held tight. We left at 0300 bound for
Martinique and after all the rolling it was good to be underway again.
Floating gently up the Indian
River, Dominica.
Chris and Peter were off watch when Gill and John
enjoyed a visit from a lively school of dolphins which swam in our bow wave for
a while. There was very little wind and we motored all the way to
Martinique, but at the northern tip of the island a S-SW 20 knot wind filled in
and we beat 20 miles down the coast to Fort de France. We close tacked
down the shore while Pacific Bliss took a long tack out which proved to
be a mistake for them and with their three hour headstart we managed
to arrive just before them which pleased the skipper no end, but Peter and
Gill were beginning to wonder where their family had got to!
In the peace of Trois Islets we found three boats
we knew also doing the sensible thing to get out of the swells. A drinks party
on Oriole ensued.
All quiet and no roll in Trois Islets,
Martinique.
After a brief visit to Fort de France we
sailed to St Anne, the small and very French village in a large shallow
sandy bay. The Oriole's indulged in a moderately wallet wrecking blow-out
lunch in a back street restaurant where the excellence of the food took
precedence over a sea view. We reckon that we see enough of the sea
anyway.
We were once again hard on the wind for the sail to
St Lucia but as often happens, as we approached its north coast, the SE
wind bent round the top of the island and gave us a beam reach for Rodney
Bay. Peter and Gill left us early Friday afternoon to find that their
LIAT local flight to Barbados had been cancelled at the last minute. They
were then taxied to the other end of the island to the international airport
where they eventually caught a BA flight direct to Gatwick. In the event
they landed only one hour later than originally scheduled but no doubt stressed
by the experience.
The mate has decreed that we will remain tied to
the marina until Monday morning and then we plan to sail back to Martinique for
a little more French experience. We try not to do stress. However our
battle with our neighbour at home over unauthorised development continues which
is more difficult to fight from a distance, but modern communications make
it possible. We have hope that sense will eventually prevail.