Commodore
May 22, 2020

No longer breaking the law!

The cruisers broadcast at 8:30 am on the vhf, had the director of the Martinique seas announce that from today we are allowed to sail in all waters around the coast within 12 miles. Feels so much better to be on the right side of the law at last. If you leave the 12 mile restriction and return you have to go into quarantine. This they have now tightened up and you receive two test kits on arrival. You have to post the tests back at day 3 and again after 9 days. They will then give you an official doc clearing you. We hope we may do a test here because Grenada may accept it, which would mean we needn’t do their quarantine (which is much stricter – they designate a spot you have to be at for the 14 days).

We are heading out today and will have to return on Wednesday morning for the rest of the repairs. We had a very successful mooring at the fuel dock to fill the tanks (96 gallons) which amazingly still have 30 gallons of diesel left from our top up in Turks and Caicos. We can’t get our propane gas filled up here as it is illegal in Martinique, so as we are running low, Rowan bought a butane gas bottle on the dock. Luckily we have all the necessary adaptors as the boat was built for butane, but they don’t sell it in the USA and Bahamas so we converted to propane there.

Everyone getting ready for hurricane season.

A foil windsurfer – no mast!

We headed to the best beach on the island where we spotted a cat moored the other day. It is an anchorage but is very roll-y so not popular. We anchored and thought we’d give it a go. Stayed long enough for Rowan to get the snuba out and clean some of the gadgets under the boat that are covered in little crustaceans and bits of growing sea life. Our speedometer has stopped working and think it is just encrusted with gunge.

We decided to head back to our very first anchoring in Anse d’Arlet. We gave Diamond Rock a nod as we passed it on the other side. It is remarkable the Brits lived there for 18 months, it looks totally inhospitable.

We anchored on the town side, fewer boats and mainly Cats as there is a bit of a swell. Once again we were welcomed by turtles. The water is definitely the clearest here that we have seen on the entire island. I’m very happy to be back here, I think that Rowan would have preferred to go up the windward east coast. I felt we had done that in the car, and the water is murkier, and smells because it has so much sargasso weed, also definitely more mossies that side! That coast is quite difficult sailing as it has lots of reefs and tricky bays. I’m very grateful to be this side and looking forward to swimming here.

There were lots of people out and about, swimming at the beach and lots of activity on land compared to last time. We can’t work out whether this is because lockdown has eased or because it is a public holiday, we will wait and see.