Valent is back at sea and on her way home to the UK. The crew of Alex, Noah & Sean joined in Antigua over the first few days of May and spent a few days acclimatising to the heat and humidity of Jolly Harbour. Suzy, Lucy & Sophie moved off Valent on Sunday 5 May. After a farewell visit to Shirley Heights for the Sunday night party we were ready for departure on Monday 6 May. We delayed our departure until after lunch to ensure that we would arrive in Fort Louis, St Martin during daylight hours. Not only did we have a good shakedown sail, but within 2 hours of putting the fishing rod out we had a lovely 4kg Black Fin Tuna on board. Tuna steaks for dinner, Tuna Tartare for lunch and a bit left in the freezer.
An enjoyable (though occasionally bumpy) sail saw us arrive outside Fort Louis on the French side, around 7am where we anchored for a few hours before proceeding into the marina. The plan was then to fully stock the boat with fresh produce, make sure that the water and fuel tanks were full and everything as ready as possible for the off. There were only 2 problems with this plan, 1. Wednesday became a day of torrential rain, and 2. Thursday turned out to be a public holiday on the Dutch side which naturally a lot of the French businesses copied.
St Martin is a small and beautiful island at the northern end of the Leeward Islands. The island is divided across the middle, the French have the North and the Dutch have the South. An amusing story (with no historical evidence whatsoever to support it) is that the French and Dutch were so civilised that they decided to divide the island without a fight. Instead a Frenchman with a bottle of wine set off from one side, and a Dutchman with a flask of gin from the other side. Where they met became the boundary, and so the story goes the French got slightly more because the gin was stronger than the wine. In 2017 the island was badly damaged by hurricane Irma, some of the damage still being very visible. The marina is overlooked by the remains of Fort Louis which is approached by a colourful path and affords a a lovely view over the bay & marina.
On the way across from Antigua we had finished doing some inspections and found that the clew of the main sail was badly frayed. Another job to get fixed. We also decided that given the light winds forecast for the crossing we should ensure that the bottom of the boat was as clean as possible. After a few phone calls we found a sailmaker on the Dutch side who could repair our sail before Friday, and a diver who was available Friday morning. Over the next few days we packed, cleaned and shopped. Having exhausted the nearer supermarkets Alex and I took a taxi to the large Carrefour over in Philipsburg (the Dutch capital) and filled 2 trolleys with Fruit & Veg. A few hours later, all was stowed, the fridge stuffed full and we were ready. There was still time to go up the mast and do a final check before a last crew meal out and Saturday morning departure.
We spent a few hours on Saturday morning alternating between anchoring, fuel dock and final preparations. The fenders needed tying under the dinghy which then needed lashing down. The Watt&Sea generator and Hydrovane needed setting up and the lazarette locker needed to be repacked now that we had finished with ropes. Finally after a cup of tea and slice of freshly baked cake we were ready to depart just after midday. We also decided to immediately do our first hour change moving to UTC-3 which will leave us with 3 more hour changes before the Azores.
Farewell to St Martin and land. Only 2,178 miles to the Azores and our next landfall.
We have had an enjoyable first 24 hours, mainly sailing but with a few hours of motoring when the wind got light. During the night we were treated to a distant lightening show, and as day broke the clouds were visible on the horizon and the radar picked up a severe squall around 8 miles away. On with the engine, alter course 30 degrees, Genoa away and Main half furled we did our best to avoid the worst of it whilst also going in the correct direction. The plan was successful with no rain and only a short period of wind in the mid 20kt range. We are now back to sailing around 5.5kts, heading North of the direct course seeking the stronger and more consistent winds towards the Azores.
The ominous squall and thunderstorm. Very glad to avoid it.
Have a safe sail!
Very interesting read. Keep them coming.
Good luck on your journey to the Azores. Glad you missed the squall.
Good luck for an easy sail home!