What will the French get up to next?
Oriole
Sat 16 Mar 2013 21:27
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St Anne, Martinique
14:26.29N 60:53.06W
Tuesday was deemed to be the day when
we would get a decent wind to take us down to Martinique after sitting becalmed
in Prince Rupert Bay for a week . So we were underway by 0450 in
order to make the distance to Trois Islets which would be sheltered from the NW
swell which is running down from a big storm up in the US. The wind filled
in and when clear of the island we had 20-25 knots on the beam and not a big sea
so we were smoking.
Once in French waters a French
warship was spotted making straight for us 35 knots according to the AIS
(Automatic Identification System) which as we had no intention of checking in
with the Douanes until Thursday could have caused some problems. Anyway
inspite of passing us with their RIB (rigid inflatable boat), bristling with
guns, also at high speed, they fortunately did not seem interested.
We arrived in good time at Trois
Islets which which has been an anchorage unfrequented by the French but popular
with the Brits and particularly with us, and usually with very few or no other
boats. However it is now filling up with discarded marine detritus.
The recession has arrived here and the anchorage is now largely occupied by
abandoned large day charter catamarans and smaller bare boat charter
catamarans. No punters, no work, no money, so dump boat in nearest
sheltered anchorage and hope it does not get blown ashore in the next
hurricane. Down wind there is a golf course and we are sure they do not
want a large catamaran on the 9th green!
 We don't think these will move anytime
soon, the smaller ones have been here for over a year and going
mouldy.
However St Anne is as lovely as ever
with its enormous sheltered bay and typical French village ashore with good
eateries, market and shops.
Sitting quietly in the cockpit
reading my book while Chris was zzzzing down below I heard an unusual noise and
witnessed something that would do credit to a James Bond film. As I
watched, this guy (presumably French, it could be no other) rose out of
the water on columns of water jetting from his hands and feet, and proceeded
across the bay until it all collapsed and he fell back into the sea in a cascade
of water. This apparition was powered from a boat which looked something
like a jetski which presumably had some sort of powerful jet system which the
apparition was towing after him. Only the French could start playing this
sort of game, but it could catch on!
 Chris, on the following day, saw a
guy being towed by a ski boat on a mono ski with a hydrofoil which was
keeping the board 2-3 feet clear of the water and doing jumps.
Where will it end??
We returned to the café where we had
watched a 6 nations rugby match last year and persuaded le patron to allow
us to do the same again for the England-Wales match. It might have been
better if we had stayed at home as England were thrashed, and le patron
kept coming in and gloating, of course in the nicest possible
way!!
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