MARTINIQUE

We had a fast sail down to Martinique, well fast once we got out of the wind shadow of Dominica. About midway across the channel between Dominica and Martinique one of the two trolling line went taught and a beautiful sailfish exploded from the wake behind us and just as fast the line tightened then went slack, broken off or bitten off I don't know. Anyway the sailfish was gone as was the pink squid lure. Just as we hit the top of Martinique though the other line went tight and we hauled in this fat fellow.

Due to the size of the eyes we were not sure if we had a variety of tuna which are good eating or maybe a big eyed jack which are bony and not nearly so good. We put him to the taste test along with some fresh green beans from Dominica and indeed he was good eating so a tuna!

St Pierre Martinique It was on the 8th of May 1902 that Pele blew it's top and the pyroclastic flow killed about 20,000 people in and around St Pierre, all except the famous prisoner who was in this jail cell. Sandy was not persuaded to enter and relive his moments.

The place was 'en fete' remembering the days of the eruption, so much was closed, in fact Sandy said “I have never seen some where so closed!” . We were lucky enough to find the small museum open though and were soon wandering through the stories of buccaneers, sea battles, 19th century sophistication and mercantile affairs that fashioned St Pierre into the most important port in the Antilles until that fateful morning. Also the aftermath of carbonized corpses, melted glass and crushed church bells.

Grand Anse D'Arlet

Tucked up in the north corner of my favorite anchorage. The holiday is over and the powerboats with their ' deck fluff ' as Sandy calls the young ladies who pout, preen and pose on the decks and for whom the act of drying off with a towel is a carefully choreographed series of actions each designed to show herself off to best advantage, have all left for Fort de France. Peace reigns again in this little corner of paradise, with cruisers going about the serious business of the day. In our case checking in here at the beach bar.