Afloat

Reduit Beach life

'NADA' was launched on Friday, the 5th of November and we anchored in the clean water in front of the Reduit Beach.
We picked up the repaired genoa, the dodger is still in the works.
The big Atlantic surf is rocking us slowly. We could move to better sheltered area and risk loosing the Internet connection.
With not much hope I tried to fish at night. We are to close to the sandy shore and to far from the rocks.
Once a day we dinghy to the village to stretch our legs and to get supplies.
There is still no running water on St. Lucia, to repair the collapsed dam will take another month, we were told. The bridges were rebuilt to connect Rodney Bay with the Capital Castries and other towns. Life goes on.

Tomas

The storm passed us, Tomas is now on its way to the islands NW of us, gaining force.

'NADA' was well secured, strapped to the ground, all halyards tightened. We stayed on board, listening to the wind hauling, and watching the downpours, that seamed like waterfalls at times.

We were fortunate not to be in the eye of the storm, Rodney Bay being on the N end of St. Lucia.

There was not much damage on the boat yard, canvas cavers were blown away from the boats, whose owners were not there to take them off, when the storm was approaching, and some sails, not secured enough, were ripped.

In the marina, some small service boats sunk, hardly a loss in the eye of the visitor, big for the owners.

New sailing season 2010-11

Here we are on St. Lucia again, adjusting to the Caribbean heat. 'NADA' is ready for the turquoise water, instead, she will have a big splash on a boat yard. We are preparing to "welcome" a hurricane Tomas. St. Lucians are calm about it, they always take whatever nature brings them with a certain resignation. Anyway, there isn't much they can do about it, is there? The Gros Islet villagers use sturdy built church for the shelter. Modest shacks would not sustain strong hurricane winds.

Back on St.Lucia

Busy beach

My last catch

Breakfast time

Make friends with Ricky, your boat is in his hands

'Nada'

Sunset in the marina

'Nada' crew

'Nada's home port

There is always some excitement in coming back here, the marina and the boat yard crew greeting us as old friends, then finding out, which of our sailing acquaintances are still under sails and whose boats are already resting on the boat yard.

We had a good sailing season with enough wind and few storms.

We missed our 'Laima' sailing friends, maybe next season we will team up again.

As we are getting 'Nada' ready to be hulled out, we are anxious to see our children and grandchildren, hug them and hold them. But we are already spreading the charts on the table, excitedly making plans for the next season. The sailing lifestyle agrees with us. Fighting the wrong wind, enjoying the right ones, looking for new anchorages, fishing, eating tropical fruits and vegetables.

The most importent of all, how much we depend on each other as team mates and partners, and how much we learned to listen. After all, there is only one captain on each vessel, and one admiral standing next to him.

THE END

The wind

Wind generator

Sailing dinghy

Double the wind

Sea butterflys

Still pirating

Classic

She floats

Resting

There are many ways of using the wind. Some are natural, like dandelion sending the next generation into the world. Some, people thought of out of necessity, and some are just for pleasure.

Martinique - Le Marin

Forrest of masts

Hibiscus

For cacti lovers

There is no easy way from Grand Anse to Le Marin. We knew we couldn’t sail there, we hoped to at least motor sail. We ended just motoring with the thought, that it is only a short distance. Le Marin, the Sailor, the name well deserved, situated on S Martinique, is heaven for sailors in need of supplies. Any supplies, from equipment to wines. Entry is painless, computerized and free.

Last year we toured the island with our ‘LAIMA’ friends Beni, Rick and Buddy. We enjoyed most the spectacular views on E side of the island, the wind pushing the sea into the rocks and beaches, making it impossible for boats to sail close to the shore or anchore there. And yet, fishermen in their small boats are daily riding through the tidal waves into the open sea.

Martinique - Grand Anse D'Arlet

Charming Grand Anse

Porcupine fish

Inflated porcupine fish

Another day in paradise

At sunset on May 26th we set the sails for the West wind that lasted, while we we sheltered by the island, and then East wind prevailed all the way to Grand Anse D’Arlet on the SE Martinique. Pouring rain and fog forced us to drift in front of the entrance, until there was enough visibility. It would have been easy to sail into the bay by the GPS, but we remembered many fishing pots in the area and didn’t want to get hooked on one again. Strange, we were in the same situation the first time we sailed into this bay with Amel.

We dropped the anchor and made up for the sleepless night in the quiet morning. As you can see on the picture, this is a beautiful bay with white beach, surrounded with coral reefs.

And we are in French country. In the afternoon the small power boat anchored next to us. Young couple climbed on the bow deck, playful at first, then taking their bathing suits off and started making love. No, that was not love, but sex. Nobody in love would expose a partner to the eyes of strangers. Polde and I sunk into our stay room, until it was safe to come out.

I caught some fish again, some edible and some not. The porcupine fish I simply rolled off the deck to it’s freedom.

Dominica - Latin for Sunday

Portsmouth

Aluishes

Blooming papaya Shipwreck

Windowsill

. . . somebody else's treasure

Beauty and the beast

Roseau

Competition

Another day in paradise

The island was inhabited some 5000 years ago by Ortoiroides. Coming from North the first logical stop on Dominica is Prince Rupert Bay. We anchored near a very modest Portsmouth. The town used to be the Capitol of Dominica, but at the time of malaria and yellow fever the government had moved it’s seat to Roseau, that consequently flourished, while Portsmouth impoverished by just catering to passing ships.

Young boys are making their living by selling fruits and vegetables to boats on the anchorage, or serving as guides for trips to Indian River, the biggest attraction in the area. The trees, hundreds of years old, orchids, termites’ nests, birds would amaze most demanding visitor. Albert was our very knowledgeable guide, naming for us every plant and the bird in the jungle, fluent in French and English.

Our fruit boy Aluishes was still there, doing his business off the surf board, paddling with a short oar.

The rusty shipwrecks were still there to. To clean the harbor of them would take a lot of money that, as we were told, the island didn’t have. But those having homes on the waterfront behind the wrecks were content, saying, that they are protected from summer storms.

I took some pictures of Portsmouth. They are not pretty as the town isn’t. But there is a friendly atmosphere there that makes you feel welcome.

After three days we sailed on to Roseau, to a mooring South of the busy port. Straggling against constant SE wind, we decided to sail the next stretch at night with a better chance of East wind.

South Guadeloupe and Les Saintes

Le Bourg des Saintes

Anchorage

Small resort

Little dream house

Another day in paradise A short stop in Le Barque on SE Guadeloupe gave us a night’s rest. It is a small narrow bay with a beach squeezed between two rocky tongues, stretching into the sea. Picturesque with large blooming Poinciana trees. But Guadeloupe highway runs around the bay and that made anchoring there rather noisy. Early next morning, May 20th, we sailed to Les Saintes, a group of small, but popular French islands just South of Guadeloupe. We didn’t go ashore and still had a good time in a busy bay watching boats coming and going, countless ferries and small sailboats racing. We met again our new French friends Christine and Patrick, who, in Dehais, exchanged our empty butane bottle for a full spare, when we ran out of the cooking fuel. We stayed two days, then sailed on to Dominica.

Harmonica

Sailing from Dehais our propeller hooked a pot, a fish pot of course. With not enough wind we were motor sailing. We immediately stopped the engine. When the boat came to a stop, we dropped the ladder and I tried to dive under the boat without my flippers. I couldn’t and Polde commented, that I had to much air in my head. I do, that’s why he is the brain and I am the muscle while we are cruising. Anyway, I thought maybe I had other talents. One time, I mentioned to Anka, that it would be nice to be able to make our own music on the boat. She brought me a small mouth harmonica. I was enthusiastic about learning to play it, until Polde said to me: “Wouldn’t you rather learn Spanish?

P.S. I did get rid of the fishing pot line.