WOW!!!!

 

Last night as we were on deck watching the sunset and being serenaded by Michael with his guitar we saw a bright light low down in the sky. A rocket launch from Kourou!!!! We had a perfect view from sea and watched it as it went up and then separated with the business end going on up and the rest falling back down to the sea. We’d tried to plan to see one but there was no date on the launch schedule before we left wifiland. We  learnt this morning that they only gave 24 hours notice anyway. We were absolutely thrilled!!

 

Later on that night, around 23:00, Michael called me to say that we were being chased by a boat. It had a hugely powerful searchlight which they kept trained on us (and blinded us!). Initial thoughts were that it was a fishing boat and we were straying into its nets but  a fishing boat wouldn’t shine his light on us but on his nets. Almost as fast is it came to mind we discarded the thoughts of piracy – not off French Guiana, surely, and it would be unlikely to have proper navigation lights and a big searchlight. So that left an official boat of some kind but if so why wouldn’t it answer my calls on the VHF? We turned in different directions, speeded up, slowed down but it just followed although at one moment we thought it was going to ram us as it came closer and head onto us. After a lot of anguish on a pitch black night it we eventually got it on VHF and it turned out to be a French patrol boat and all they wanted was our name, flag and destination!!

 

It took a a while to get our heart rates back down to normal (and our night sight) afterwards.

 

We are anchored off the Ile Royale in the Iles de Salut having arrived at 07:00 this morning. We went to sleep soon after after we arrived after our disturbed night only to be woken up by the aduana a couple of hours later wanting our passports and ship’s papers. So now we’re up we’ll get the dinghy inflated and go and check out what’s on offer ashore. So far all we’ve seen are three islands covered from top to toe in palm trees. Contrary to what we’ve been told the aduana now tell us that there is no water on the island but that there is at St. Laurent so we’ll make that our next stop.

 

The satellite phone is a little low on minutes so it has to go on the rationing list as well. No more blog (or position reports) now until we leave the Maroni river in a few days.We plan to stay at the islands for one or two days, then a day over to St. Laurent du Maroni where we’ll probably spend two nights and then start the passage to Tobago when normal service will be resumed.

 

P, L, M & M