Finally setting sail for Grenada

After nearly 5 weeks in Martinique we are finally on the move, we are SO excited to get going and to leave behind this muggy, mozzie infested boatyard. The electricians connected up the solar panels this morning and we are buzzing!  Rowan now has more toys, he can monitor the solar panels from his phone, he was ecstatic to see the panels generating oodles of power within minutes.

Leaving Marin and our last view of Diamond Rock.

Our mega panels at work and now we can have a view out the back too!

We popped out in Jeldi Jeldi to do the last provisioning shopping for our 14 day quarantine – fruit, veg and meat. Rowan discovered we could clear out of Martinique at the fuel dock, so he topped up our spare petrol tank for Jeldi Jeldi at the same time, it’s now official we are off.

All ready we set sail, generating power at a phenomenal rate. Our last chore was to meet a Canadian couple on an identical  boat to ours, at St Anne’s bay around the corner. They had just arrived, as they have just been allowed into Martinique on their Canadian passports. Rowan has been communicating with him before he even bought PolePole, he has been extremely helpful. He helped identify so many issues which we have also had, making it so much easier to resolve. They have been sailing for a while, they bought the boat in France and spent the season sailing in the Med and then crossed the Atlantic to the Caribbean – so good to know that Pole Pole is capable of such a crossing. So we dropped off a bag of goodies to thank them and help them out with their quarantine.

Then out to sea watching Martinique fade into the distance. The first island we passed was St Lucia with its Grande Tetons! Rowan thinks the French are obsessed with Tetons, we’ve seen a few. The last ones we saw were next to Yellowstone National Park, where the blurb was very coy about admitting that the name comes from ‘tits’!

Passing St Lucia.

The Tetons!

We had some sea birds that circled the boat for ages, they were feasting on small flying fish that were leaping out of the path of PolePole.

It was lovely being out in the sea breeze and this passage we have the moon on our side, it’s nearly full so great for our overnight sail. We had quite a bit of debate about going to Grenada on the Leeward or Windward side. Two out of three sailors had said Leeward which is obviously what I’m keen for, anything for a more gentle crossing, especially at night. R had cleverly put a reef in the sail before we departed, as we hit some good winds after dark, reaching just under 30 knots. Rowan was thrilled to hit a boat speed of just over 13 knots at one stage. I did the first shift and had to keep an eye on one tanker which was crossing our path, we just slipped behind it. Rowan didn’t have a very long sleep as the radar kept going off because of squalls, but the good news is he is thrilled with the new double bed upstairs.

Great sunset clouds.

A large moon, almost full.