North Again
Irie
Tue 7 Apr 2009 13:09
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Position 14 44.3N 61 10.7W St Pierre,
Martinique
Saturday 4th April
It's already four days since the Pringles left us
in St Lucia, time's rolling on and Irie's on the way north again. The weather
today has been just perfect, fifteen knots of breeze on the beam, a flattish sea
and sparkling sunshine peppered with soft, curly cumulus - identical
weather to that we enjoyed on the trip up from Bequia a fortnight ago.
That day the crew was roused at five, and by six Irie was out of Admiralty Bay
and punching the waves towards St Vincent. The wind was north of east, and the
course pretty well north, so the motor helped drive some early miles under
the keel across Bequia Passage and on up the St Vincent coastline. Once
clear of the top of St Vincent and through a few watery walls, the breeze veered
and life settled down to a seven knot romp in force four, freshening to five as
we neared the southern tip of St Lucia. It's a spectacular approach,
as the twin Pitons grow in height, dominating the near skyeline and framed by
the mountains deeper inland. Anchored by the land to the east and towering to
over 2500 feet, the seaward slopes are almost sheer, plunging into the
shoreline in a rocky ripple of foam. A small boat bobs a couple of miles out -
is he fishing - no he's waiting for us and makes the sign of a buouy with his
hands, though the offer is gently declined untill we can see for ourselves.
It can be rolly here, and motoring on in, we look for the least mast
activity, settling on the beach moorings off Malgretout, right under the cliffs
of Petit Piton. Tying up here needs a line ashore as there's not much room to
swing, and as we arrive our shadowing friend moves in and for a small fee,
adroitly takes the line and ties it to a convenient palm. His name turns out to
be Gregory, he's very personable and has a whole suite of services on offer, the
first of which is a high speed boat ride to customs and immigration and much
reduced hassle with the dinghy. It's a real priveledge to enjoy such an iconic
location after an excellent day on the water, and the day drifts on and away
most pleasurably. In the morning, Gregory appears, and is tasked to secure a
mooring in pole position off the beach that nestles between both Pitons. He
produces a water bottle with 'Reserved' scrawled in red, and sets off round the
corner with a promise to rendezvous at two. Meanwhile we motor off across the
bay to snorkel. This is rather shortlived as the viz is very poor, largely due
to the plankton in the water, liberally laced with sea lice and tiny jellyfish,
rather like swimming in a nettle patch. Anyway, afterwards Geoff books a dive
for the following morning, we repair to the boat, and spot on time Gregory
appears and we motor off to our new 'reserved' mooring. This is again quite
stunning, the half dozen boats are dwarfed by the twin peaks shooting into the
sky, contrasted with the endless horizon to the west. In the evening we trundle
ashore for a sundowner in the Jalousie Hotel. It's under new ownership and seems
slightly run down, but manages to produce excellent cocktails that are lowered
to the rhythmic strains of a gyrating steel band. Meanwhile, an orange sun
subsides into the sea with a gentle sigh and night falls.
Tuesday first thing, we move yet again over
to the Bat Cave moorings, and Geoff dives with local guy Chester from Action
Adventure, its enjoyable despite the viz and then we explore Soufriere. At first
glance it's unpreposessing and has a slightly rough reputation. However this is
soon dispelled by the pretty, wooden gingerbread buildings, the washing hung
along the seafront, fishing nets under repair, a couple of pigs rooting on the
seafront and the friendly 'Good mornings' from the passers by. It's poor, but
has feeling of community, almost self confidence despite adversity. The fishing
village peters out as we march in Geoffs wake along a cliffside track that
eventually leads to our former beach at Malgretout, and a much
needed beer in the Anse Moran bar. On the way back through the village, Jan
spots an ageing and very distinctive Rasta gentleman. The previous day, he'd
been swimming from boat to boat selling very prettily carved calabash's. He
stops for us, we have a little banter and purchase a freshly carved gourd . His
name's Pascal and he wanders along the road with us, chatting about life
and his family, before he vanishes into the little alleys that lead up the hill
- a really good island encounter. Back on the boat and excercise complete
there's a refreshing if nettley swim with a backing track of squabbling terns
and chattering bats. In the evening,dinner is hosted by the Pringles in th
Humming Bird restaurant. It's beautiful, the foods great and there are
humming birds - a real high point of the trip. In In the morning, Geoff
dives again, and then we set out for Marigot, some eight miles up the coast.
It's a pretty inlet, but now rather commercial and spoiled by the plush resort
and marina inside. It's reedemed though by Alex. He's in his early twenties, and
pulls alongside in his boat offering banans and things. He asks where we're
from and says he's been to Gloucester. It turns out he plays cricket there in
the summer, and knows the Cheltenham Cricket Festival, and various local
characters. He then offers fish and volunteers to find us a tuna. He's as good
as his word, and appears later in the day with a fine, fresh seven pound fish.
This expertly dealt with by Geoff, and provides excellent meals for the next
three days. Thursday we're off to Rodney Bay passing Kumari nosing in to
Marigot, and then beating up the coast in a fresh force five.
Irie dwarfed by Petit Piton
 Jan and new friend
 Chef at work
 Senset over Jalousie beach
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