They say that “a sailor writes his plans in the sand at low tide.” When we got to Martinique, we hoped to spend a maximum of a week there to get the work done; which would give us the time to sail leisurely south back to Trinidad, with a few stops along the way to relax and enjoy a proper vacation. Ha! Like many things that involve sailing, that plan got washed out with the tide and we wound up spending three challenging weeks here struggling to get the necessary work done on the boat while managing the business and monitoring a difficult family situation from afar. I’m not looking for sympathy here, I’m just tellin’ it like it is folks.
I wish I could say that we got all the boat issues solved, but despite endless, desperate begging to get workmen to come and have a look during what was high season in the marina, (bad timing on our part), followed by a steady stream of workers parading through our boat, we only got a fraction of the issues solved and the three major problems; the generator, water maker and wifi booster, remain unusable. Zut alors! We did eventually get a diagnosis, which means we now know what is wrong and can order the necessary parts, but the work will have to be done back in Trinidad as we are out of time here
On a positive note, we did get few minor things on the list fixed as well as a few new ones including the damage done to Taka’s underside by yet another evil rope from a fishing buoy that we picked up on our way from Sainte-Anne to the marina in Le Marin, URGGH! Thankfully the engine did not quit on us when it happened, but we lost the ability to reverse and that’s not good. It’s bad enough this darn boat doesn’t have brakes, but not being able to reverse, well that’s just adding insult to injury.
Thanks to a very savvy dock master’s help, we managed to ease onto a wide berth next to the fuel dock without hitting anything along the way, except for a channel marker—oops! Although, it's not the most restful place in a marina, it's a great place to meet people, especially for an extrovert like Patrice. and we did have a nice view of the old marina and town from our cockpit.
I wish I could say that we got all the boat issues solved, but despite endless, desperate begging to get workmen to come and have a look during what was high season in the marina, (bad timing on our part), followed by a steady stream of workers parading through our boat, we only got a fraction of the issues solved and the three major problems; the generator, water maker and wifi booster, remain unusable. Zut alors! We did eventually get a diagnosis, which means we now know what is wrong and can order the necessary parts, but the work will have to be done back in Trinidad as we are out of time here
On a positive note, we did get few minor things on the list fixed as well as a few new ones including the damage done to Taka’s underside by yet another evil rope from a fishing buoy that we picked up on our way from Sainte-Anne to the marina in Le Marin, URGGH! Thankfully the engine did not quit on us when it happened, but we lost the ability to reverse and that’s not good. It’s bad enough this darn boat doesn’t have brakes, but not being able to reverse, well that’s just adding insult to injury.
Thanks to a very savvy dock master’s help, we managed to ease onto a wide berth next to the fuel dock without hitting anything along the way, except for a channel marker—oops! Although, it's not the most restful place in a marina, it's a great place to meet people, especially for an extrovert like Patrice. and we did have a nice view of the old marina and town from our cockpit.
Once we were secured to the dock, Patrice put his mask and dove below the boat to see what we had picked up. and this is the horror he saw under there:
Needless to say, he was unable to get it off; in fact he didn’t even try. This was a job for the professionals. So yet another diver was dispatched, and although he was able to get the thing off (as well as the remnants of the other rope we had picked up back in Piton Bay!), the bad news was, it had caused damage to the seal on our sail drive. Malheur, that meant getting hauled out onto the hard—and being on the hard is well, always hard. We were then also able to have a temporary fix for our bow thruster protection plate which had been ripped off the hatch from the Pitons rope.
No worries friends, interspersed amongst these trials and tribulations, we were still able to enjoy some of the delights of this beautiful island, as well as fun times with good friends. It was more than enough to keep us going. Allow me to share a few of the highlights with you:
No worries friends, interspersed amongst these trials and tribulations, we were still able to enjoy some of the delights of this beautiful island, as well as fun times with good friends. It was more than enough to keep us going. Allow me to share a few of the highlights with you:
Ti-Punch chez Martine in Sainte-Anne
Sandwiched around the time T3 spent at the dock in Le Marin and on the hard, we were at anchor in the beautiful bay of Sainte-Anne. It was truly balm for the soul.
On our second visit out there, we got company. Three of the boats from Crew's Inn, our marina in Trinidad, had arrived. As always, where there are cruisers in the Caribbean, there is rum. Every island has its preferred libations and in the French islands, Ti-Punch (emphasis on the word ‘punch’) is the favorite. It’s a powerful short drink made with rhum agricole, cane syrup and a slice of lime.
Photo courtesy of the internet In Saint Anne, one of our favorite places to enjoy this drink is chez la Martine, a hole in the wall located in a little side street. At sunset the street gets closed off to traffic and Martine sets up tables and chairs to serve Ti-punch with her excellent salt fish and shrimp accras (fritters). It was the perfect spot for a Crew’s Inn reunion and we found that as we shared war stories with these understanding friends, while sipping our ti-punch, our problems became less traumatic--even funny-- and began to fade into just more stories to add to Taka Trois' history.
Saint Patrice Day Party onboard Taka Trois
Despite his attempts to convince me otherwise, my husband is not a saint—at least not yet, as far as I know…But his name “Patrice’ is French for Patrick and March 17, is Saint Patrick’s day, his name day. Name days or jours de fête (en français) are celebrated. It’s as good a reason as any other to throw a party, and we were in need of some fun, so we invited the Crew’s Inn gang for an apero dînatoire (drinks with heavy appetizers) onboard T3. They did not disappoint and it was the perfect warmup for Patrice’s birthday, which was the next day, which we celebrated with a trip to Sainte-Anne’s and a special dinner onboard. He was a happy boy.
Hiking in Southern Martinique
This was not our first time to Martinique. In fact we know it quite well and over the years we have come to appreciate this beautiful island. So much so, that when I’m asked which island I prefer in the Caribbean, I always say Martinique. That’s partially because it’s part of metropolitan France and has all the advantages and infrastructure that come with that privilege, but also because it’s a striking volcanic island with good sailing anchorages, the most idyllic beaches imaginable, and wonderful hiking.
Sadly we didn’t have time to do much exploring or hiking this time, but we did squeeze some walks around the marina area, a sunrise hike up to Mont Gommier to take in the view of Sainte-Anne and Le Marin, as well as a few hikes along the southern coast, including a ten-mile trek with a group of cruisers one Saturday: From Sainte-Anne, we cut across the island to the east coast through sugar cane fields and then down to the cliffs at the bottom tip of the island, and finally back along the coast where we joined the week-end revelers at a beach hut serving grilled poulet boucané and ice cold Lorraine (local beer)—much needed sustenance to complete the last few miles.
Sadly we didn’t have time to do much exploring or hiking this time, but we did squeeze some walks around the marina area, a sunrise hike up to Mont Gommier to take in the view of Sainte-Anne and Le Marin, as well as a few hikes along the southern coast, including a ten-mile trek with a group of cruisers one Saturday: From Sainte-Anne, we cut across the island to the east coast through sugar cane fields and then down to the cliffs at the bottom tip of the island, and finally back along the coast where we joined the week-end revelers at a beach hut serving grilled poulet boucané and ice cold Lorraine (local beer)—much needed sustenance to complete the last few miles.
Wine Shopping, Tasting, Shopping…etc.
T3 is a French boat and for those of you who know my husband well, you know that where there is Patrice, there must be wine. During much of our time in Le Marin on the dock, Patrice was on the hunt for wine to replenish our sadly diminished stores. Dismissing the expensive wine shops, we scoped out the local supermarkets, and with each outing, Patrice would pick a couple bottles of rosé or red to test. The winners were added to the growing stock in the bilges—ballast, if you will.
On the day that T3 got hauled out, our friends Ann and Steve rescued me from the dockyard with their rental car and took me out on a shopping excursion. Yes, I brazenly abandoned the skipper in the dockyard (with his blessing, I should add). Our main stop was a giant Carrefour where I went on a mission to stock my French galley with Amora Dijon mustard, Maille cornichons, verveine herbal tea, fleur de sel, pâte feuilleté, confit de canard, and fromage, to name but a few necessities.
While I was there, Patrice had asked me to check out the box wines. No, friends and neighbors, we are not ashamed to admit that we do indeed drink wine from a bag in a box. The trick is to find the right one and I confess that when I’m faced with a mammoth display of wine in a hyper market, I am hopeless at making a choice. Thanks to i-technology however, help is just a touch away. With a few flicks and clicks, I sent a picture of the wine display to my personal wine consultant in the dockyard and within minutes I had a verdict.
On the day that T3 got hauled out, our friends Ann and Steve rescued me from the dockyard with their rental car and took me out on a shopping excursion. Yes, I brazenly abandoned the skipper in the dockyard (with his blessing, I should add). Our main stop was a giant Carrefour where I went on a mission to stock my French galley with Amora Dijon mustard, Maille cornichons, verveine herbal tea, fleur de sel, pâte feuilleté, confit de canard, and fromage, to name but a few necessities.
While I was there, Patrice had asked me to check out the box wines. No, friends and neighbors, we are not ashamed to admit that we do indeed drink wine from a bag in a box. The trick is to find the right one and I confess that when I’m faced with a mammoth display of wine in a hyper market, I am hopeless at making a choice. Thanks to i-technology however, help is just a touch away. With a few flicks and clicks, I sent a picture of the wine display to my personal wine consultant in the dockyard and within minutes I had a verdict.
A selection of the wine display from Carrefour. Wine aficionados can immediately see that the selection is disappointing. Nevertheless, from this picture, Patrice managed to find the only halfway decent box of plonk on the shelf.
At that point, we thought we were done buying wine, but the next evening we were served an excellent rosé appropriately called Chateau des Brigands, that friends had picked up from a local wine merchant. It was love at first sip and we could not possibly leave without getting a few bottles for our collection. It’s a sign of a beautiful friendship when they offer to pick up a case or two for us on their trip back there the next day AND deliver it to our boat right before we left Martinique. Ah, life is good after all..
Wine delivery thanks to the jolly crew of Receta--our partners in wine. Merci!
Up next: From Hell to Paradise in 28 hours
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