At
last! We are done with the preparation
and ready for the real adventure! Our first test is a short hop to
the Grenadines, a chain of islands that are split between the countries
of St.Vincent and Grenada. The distance from Martinique to the Grenadines
is roughly 200 kilometres, and can be covered in about 20 hours on
a sailboat such as Zipolite.
We are visiting a lot of places unknown to some of you, so use the
map on the right to familiarize yourself with the different islands
in the region. If you are interested in discovering this area for
yourself, there are daily flights available to even the smallest islands
from St.Vincent, St.Martin, and Martinique. Another option is to take
an inter-island ferry, or to charter a sailboat or catamaran.
This trip begins in the Marin marina in southeastern Martinique (one
of the largest charter marinas of the Caribbean), and takes us south
through St.Lucia and St.Vincent. Once in the Grenadines, we visit
Port Elizabeth on the island of Bequia [pronounced Bek-Way],
then sail to Union island, and finally to the Tobago Cays, a real
paradise for divers.
Sunday November 18, 2000
We left Le Cul-de-Sac du Marin, Martinique, at 1300 hours.
The weather was beautiful and the water crystal clear,
as we sailed past the shores of Club Med. From there we
veered south to a course of 190 degrees towards the Martinique/St.Lucia
channel. The water got deeper so we let our fishing lines
out behind the sailboat. As we were nearing the channel,
the swell grew bigger. By 1400 hours we were surounded
by 1.5 to 2 meter waves. The wind blew a steady 20-25
knots, and Zipolite was cruising at 7 knots. During the
crossing, we encountered 3 brief showers, where the winds
peaked at 30-35 knots, and the sails had to be reduced
to make sure the mast would not snap. In the 20 mile wide
channel, there was not much to do, except seeing the odd
flying fish jump out of the ocean and glide back into
the dark blue water. At one point, a flying fish somehow
lost it and crash-landed on our deck, so I got to take
a close look at him.
On my first day on Zipolite, I had to fight the symptomps
of sea sickness for about 3 hours, until we reached the
calmer waters behind St.Lucia. We circled Pointe du Cap
at around 1730 and it was time to pull the fishing lines
in. Did I mention that my line broke half way in the channel
as the hook caught a chunk of algae? I have to admit my
fishing skills don't seem to be anywhere near Jérôme's...
As he reeled his line in, we noticed something was trailing
our boat: a 40cm Spanish Mackrel. It was about time, as
we arrived to our first destination and layed the anchor
in Rodney Bay.
Monday November 19, 2000
We left St.Lucia early in the morning so we could take
advantage of a full days' sailing. The wind was somewhat
irregular behind the shaddow of the island, so the sails
had to be adjusted quite often.
Soon we were sailing past the famous Pitons, and back
we were in the open channel leading to St.Vincent, where
the chop was rocking the boat left, right, and bottom.
Again we let the fishing lines out, and this time I managed
to catch a plastic bag, after which the two lines got
tangled, which forced us to cut the whole thing. No fish
for today... At dusk, we were right off the shores of
St.Vincent where we planned on spending the night.
We were somewhat worried because of the bad reputation
this island had from it's "Greeting Commitee". On some
poorer islands of the Caribbean, local people come to
greet you on small powerboats and try to sell different
products or offer their services for a fee. Usually they
are very friendly and helpful, but unfortunately the St.Vincentian
greeting commitee was known to be agressive, so we were
urged to be careful of looting at night.
We found on the nautical chart a nice little cove called
Cumberland bay, hidden between the steep cliffs of the
Soufriere volcano. At about 1/2 a mile offshore a small
boat came towards us. The guy with 3 teeth missing pulled
up next to us. He asked us in a funny accent if we needed
help to enter Cumberland Bay. We said no politely, he
then said "anything you need, just ask for Ghetto Mon
(his name)". He left back to wait for us in the bay, then
we saw another two boats get ready for our arrival. At
first we thought we were the only sailboat, which made
things somewhat uncomfortable, but soon noticed other
boats moored behind the cliff. After some thinking, we
decided to forget about this mess and sail directly to
the Grenadines. As Zipolite was veering to the open sea,
Ghetto Mon was rushing back towards us. We quickly made
up a story, and told him we were continuing our journey
because we could not find a friend's boat. He left, and
we were back on course as night slowly fell.
Sailing in darkness is tricky, because it is difficult
to forsee wind gusts, lulls, and shoals. For this reason
we often used engine power and navigated slowly. The wind
got lighter in the St.Vincent - Bequia channel, which
was safer for our night patrol. Shortly before midnight,
we made it to Port Elizabeth, Bequia, the first island
of the Grenadines chain. After clearing the rocky shoals
of the Devil's Table, we entered Admiralty Bay and anchored
down.
Monday November 20, 2000
Before leaving to Union Island, we visited the small town
of Port Elizabeth to purchase some fishing gear to replace
our tangled lines, and to clear customs. While walking
back to the sailboat, we passed a rasta guy who asked
us if "we wanted some good smoke". We declined his offer
and he left singing a Reggae tune that sounded something
like "Rasta Man - Don't Criticize it just Legalize it
[Marijuana]"...
The trip to Union was a long one, and took us past the
islands of Mustique, Canouan, and Mayero, where we had
to negotiate rocky shoals and a submerged wreck. We finally
arrived at 1600 hours and anchored the boat off the village
of Clifton, right in front of tiny Green Island. Union
is a real tropical paradise, and we will spend a few days
to discover it and of course windsurf. Upon our arrival,
Jérôme reeled his fishing line in, and to
our surprise a nice Barracuda. Later on, he also pulled
in a decent sized parrot fish, and we realized that fish
was likely going to be our main diet during this Caribbean
Adventure.
Tuesday November 21, 2000
This morning the winds are blowing in the 15-20 knot range,
and are perfect for some slalom sailing. We rigged our
sails on Green Island and sailed between the anchored
boats and out into the channel. Right behind the thompson
reef where Zipolite was anchored, we found a great flatwater
sailing site that really got happening when a gust front
came with a rainshower. After lunch, we sailed upwind
to Palm island, and had to negociate strong tidal currents
and sailboat traffic. By the end of the day, we were exhausted
and soon sleeping deeply, only twice awakened by powerful
storms that lashed us with 35-40 knot winds and heavy
rain.
Tuesday November 22, 2000
The showers were back today and the winds were light.
We took the dinghy and docked in Clifton village, then
climbed Fort Hill to see the view. The scenery was amazing,
so we took some pictures. Quickly, a squall came and we
got soaked. Fort hill was a small English fortification
with two cannons pointed north and south. The structure
dates back to the colonial times when English, French,
and Dutch flagships harshly disputed the islands of the
Lesser Antilles. Today, the different influences are still
noticeable on many islands. Below are some images from
Fort Hill that you may click on to enlarge.
Wednesday November 23, 2000
It's now time to go to the Tobago Cays! These groups of
islands are surrounded by shallow coral reefs [cays].
To get there, we navigated carefully in order to avoid
hitting the numerous coral heads. Our destination was
Baradal island, where we anchored the sailboat and jumped
into the transparent water. Seeing the bottom at 10 meters
is quite amazing, but sometimes confusing for navigation.
Today the trades were back, so we took the kiteboards
out. My Naish was not powered enough to comfortably sail
upwind and around the sailboats, so I stayed behind and
took some great shots. Jérôme on the other
hand was flying on his 7.5 Mosquito wing, and crossed
all the way accross Horseshoe Reef and onto Petit Tabac
island. We're hoping to see the same tomorrow...
Thursday November 24, 2000
We woke up to another windy day. We have now settled in
the routine of surfing, eating, and sleeping. The days
fly by fast, but we certainly enjoy them all! In the morning,
the 12 knot winds were perfect for flying the kites, and
Jérôme got out into the open and ripped for
hours. I had less luck on my end, and got lost between
the anchored sailboats, and I ended up having to swim
back.
My frustration soon dissipated in the afternoon, as the
breeze picked up to 15-18 knots. We switched the gear
and went windsurfing all afternoon, slaloming around the
dispersed coral heads that were threatening our board's
fins. This was a great way to end our short stay, as tomorrow
we'll be leaving back to Martinique, with stopovers in
Port Elizabeth and St.Lucia.
Don't go anywhere, as our next stop is Antigua
and Barbuda in the beginning of december, after some
minor repairs on the Zipolite...
At
last! We are done with the 
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 in the Grenadines');)
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