Martinique

After Saint Lucia we headed north again, to Martinique. A beautiful three hour sail between the islands in sunshine and good winds took us to Sainte Anne’s bay, where many other boats were anchored.

It is amazing how many family boats you meet when sailing, with children aged from babies and toddlers right up to teenagers. Apart from those who crossed the Atlantic with the ARC and ARC+ rallies, many more boats followed across independently afterwards and are now travelling in the Caribbean. There are kids’ boats WhatsApp groups in lots of the islands which organise activities together, plus one large WhatsApp group for the whole Caribbean – Nauti Kids!

Martinique feels rather like being in the south of France, with road signs, police sirens and post boxes all just as if you were in France. We had a lovely French meal with a creole twist one night in Sainte Anne, and then continued along the coast anchoring in a succession of picturesque bays, coming ashore by dinghy for walks and geocaching.

In Martinique we caught up with our American/French friends on ARC boat Saltair, who we had got to know well in Las Palmas when Valent and Saltair were there for a few weeks prior to the ARC departure. Together we anchored in Anse Dufour, a small bay with very clear water, where we snorkelled over a coral garden with many turtles swimming. We enjoyed a dinner and a games evening together in a quiet bay with just us, Saltair and one other boat anchored overnight.

One day when we were travelling along the coast near the capital city, Fort de France, we were contacted by the French MRCC (Marine Rescue Coordination Centre) asking for our help to investigate a report of a life raft which was drifting unattended. As we were the closest passing boat (who was listening to their VHF), they asked us to check if we could see any people or debris in the water. We diverted course to get closer to the life raft which was still over a mile away. Through binoculars we could see its bright orange triangular shape, but nothing in the water around it, and in fact it was inside the container port very close to a large merchant vessel. With a patrol boat close enough to take over the investigation, the MRCC stood us down and thanked us for our assistance. The life raft must have inflated by accident and drifted away, and luckily was not being used in an emergency situation.

Meanwhile around this excitement normal boat activities also continued, with meals to be cooked and schoolwork to be done, which sometimes coincided with Will working on the generator. As the generator is still not charging our batteries well enough, we bought a small portable petrol-powered generator in Martinique which we are now using to charge our batteries whilst in anchorages.

On our last night in Martinique we and Saltair also caught up with our Swiss friends from ARC boat Gian, a very friendly and hospitable couple who are well known to all the ARC family boats. It’s great to keep crossing paths on different islands with other boats from the rally, who after all the shared experiences are old friends now.

After Martinique it was time to head north again, this time to Guadeloupe, for a rendezvous with some friends from France and to experience the carnival.