Shelena Blog is Back! May 2016

Shelena
Phil Scourfield
Sat 2 Apr 2016 12:45
17:03.9 N 061:52.06W

Where have we been I hear you say? In short, with celebrations on completing
the ARC + behind us (we managed fourth position on handicap in Category A
which was something of a surprise) we had the delight of all three of our
girls ,Rachael, Kathryn and Sarah joining us in St Lucia for Christmas. We
managed a quick trip to Bequia, and then to the Grenadines and to Tobacco
Cays. Tobago Cays is a popular destination for yachties since it is a coral
reef with small islands where turtles are "guaranteed" to be seen. I want my
money back. The Christmas winds meant rough sea and very poor visibility so
that snorkelling meant we could not see our own hands in the water still
less a single solitary turtle. One day we will return.

We spent a month in Martinique, the northerly neighbouring island to St
Lucia which remains a principality of France. So away with East Caribbean
dollars and dig deep for Euros. French food and French wine prices were
powerful motivations for our visit. We arrived at the start of local
carnival. Not good because all, and I mean all the shops and pretty much all
the restaurants simply closed for three to four days. Even the supermarket
closed. So excellent for Helen's diet since we could not eat! The carnival
was good with personalised revving cars to beauty queen to bands. For us one
day would have been enough. After 4 days it all seemed rather noisy and dare
I say, we wished it would all end. WE did find good wine though!

We wondered the waters of Martinique and spent time at anchor at ST Pierre.
It was the capital city with thriving businesses regarded as the Paris of
the Caribbean until 1902. There was and is a volcano near St Pierre. It
grumbled and hissed for months and the locals were alarmed. The Mayor set up
a committee of experts consisting of the local school chemistry teacher and
one or two others to inspect the crater to determine if it was safe to stay
or should folks pack their bags for dear life. The local business men were
very anxious that all should stay or face financial ruin if all departed.
The committee determined no reason to panic. All would be fine. Days later
the eruption happened, on a Sunday morning at 0900 hours just after the
weekly church service. All but one person died. 28,000 or so. The single
survivor was in jail (drunk and disorderly the night before) which was
partially below ground and lived to tell his tale by joining a travelling
circus!

We had to return to Rodney Bay for warranty works after which we started our
journey north. We have passed and visited Dominica and Guadeloupe meeting
interesting folks on the way. We finally arrived here in Antigua. To be
continued..