Fort-de-France, Martinique

13^th February, 2014

Authentic and Edgy – Tired and scary

It’s amazing how two people can look at the same place and have completely different opinions of it. This was the case for us wit Fort-de–France, “the vibrant, wild capital of Martinique”. 

So said the cruising pilot guide book.

30% of the population of Martinique live around Fort-de-France and this is where the main business and commercial activities hang out.

So we had to go there.

The trip to Fort-de-France was a simple sail across the bay and no more than 5 miles. We were headed for the main anchorage just of the centre of the city. Fort-de-France doesn’t really have a marina of any consequence.  This is a busy anchorage of at least 59 yachts at anchor next to the main ferry terminal that services the other parts of the island.

Securing the anchor was easy but we moved anyway to another spot after 30 minutes because the roll created by the constant (every 20 minutes) ferries made the boat a little uncomfortable. Actually the anchorage was so busy that boats were bursting out at the edges and were told to move by the ferry captain every now and then. 

After being REALLY sure our anchor ‘really’ was set we popped into the wild and vibrant main town of Martinique..

What a disappointment.

The town was tired, dirty, and closed. We expect shops to be shut in the middle of the day in a tourist town full of tourists wanting to spend money but we couldn’t even find a single cute little café for a coffee. In fact there was not a single café or bar  with seating outside along the sea front anyway. Hmm..?of legs and a bit of exercise before returning but to the boat.      

In the evening there was no doubt about number of bars and discos blaring their music (well rap anyway) ‘til the early morning hours.

The next day we explored again with the shops and cafes open but I have to say they were all very ‘utility and cheap’ (like Tee-Shirt city) and not what one would expect of the main city of the country.
Again, although we happened to be on the sea front by the main area for visiting yachts to check in, Les remarked that she felt unsafe and wanted to return to the boat.

Our first encounter with thieves.

When we got back to the dingy we found that it had clearly been tampered with.
The painter had been cut, the spray dodger zip had been ripped open (irreparable damage), the outboard was ‘in gear’ and had clearly been hurriedly left after failing to start. The red ‘stop’ button was also damaged beyond repair. We are certain that someone had tried to steal the dingy thinking we hadn’t also locked it to the pontoon. The engine was flooded too such that I couldn’t start it. Every cloud has a silver lining - I did manage to get a little rowing practice in!

I did mange to get the outboard running again. There seemed to be two faults, flooding and a broken ‘stop’ button that was now permanently closed stopping any ‘spark’ happening. I now need to buy a new ‘stop button. The spray dodger zip has lost 10 teeth so the zip will have to be replaced sometime.
Thanks Martinique.

Mugging reported on ‘Noonsite.com’ at Fort-de-France.

I have since read on Noonsite that a mugging took place in Fort-de-France at exactly at the place that Les felt uncomfortable on the 14^th February, 2014. The victim was mugged and his money stolen and was left with a ripped ligament and needed professional medical assistance and at least 6 weeks convalescence.

Thanks Martinique.

We left Fort-de-France for Guadeloupe but were stopping a Saint-Pierre at the north west part of Martinique – just a few miles sail.