June 2022 – HandsOnDeck

King of the SVG’s

Every boat needs a person that knows the engine, electrics and mechanics back-to-front and inside out. Often this is the owner and, of course, this is the preferred and best scenario but it is rare to find someone who is a jack of all trades and can fix almost anything that breaks or needs attention. We don’t have those skills, but we know someone that does……! While we were in Cornwall getting work done in 2020/21 we were lucky enough to meet Richard who we initially employed to do some electrical work but soon discovered he had so many other valuable skills. Since then he has worked with us to resolve countless problems or answer questions which have arisen in the last 12 months of cruising. Richard is most definitely the third member of our crew, so when we were given an eyewatering quote to replace the worn out aquadrive thrust bearing, we checked on the cost of flights from the UK and asked Richard if he fancied an all expenses paid holiday to the Caribbean! He accepted and we were delighted.

I collected Richard from the airport on a warm muggy evening and we celebrated his arrival with drinks on the deck as Richard slowly acclimatised himself to the heat and surroundings, losing no time to point out a few jobs that needed fixing! Next morning work started on removing the worn out part and replacing it with a brand new, 30yr old one that Richard had collected for us from an auction we had won on eBay! Steve and Richard worked tirelessly for three days – pulling, cutting, levering and pushing until, suddenly and amazingly, the shaft moved into place and the new bracket was installed. A quick test showed the whole procedure had been a huge success and the engine was now purring again with the propeller shaft sounding quieter than we have ever heard it.

Leatherback turtles nest on the northern beaches of Grenada. The only time they come to shore is when the 15yr old female comes to shore, scrambles up the beach, digs a big hole, lays a batch of eggs and then buries them carefully in the sand before heading back to sea. I was given the opportunity to join a small team of other sailors and marine biologists, to watch these magnificent creatures lay their eggs. Once the large female had found her way up the beach, we were quietly ushered a short distance from this large creature as she used her back flippers to dig a deep hole. Sand flew all around us as she put an enormous amount of effort into digging deeper and deeper. When she was satisfied the hole was sufficiently deep enough, she started laying eggs. She began by laying small unfertilised eggs which lined the bottom of the hole and provided a soft cushion for the fertilised eggs to fall on. She then laid 115 fertilised eggs, mixed with unfertilised ones which will protect the turtles as they grow in the sand. As she laid the eggs, the turtle goes into a trance and the scientists took this opportunity to measure the female and we were given the chance to touch her leathery shell. It was an amazing experience to be so close to this magnificent creature as she put so much effort into laying her eggs, her eyes were full of tears as she groaned and gently moved her head side to side. The egg laying process took about 20 minutes and then the great effort started in covering the eggs to protect them from predators and compacting the sand which she took a huge effort to ensure her tracks were covered and there were no visible signs of a nest. The baby turtles will hatch in 6-8 weeks and I hope to be able to watch them as they emerge from the sand and make their dangerous run to the sea. We watched her while she slowly edged towards the sea and allowed the waters to flood over her and a wave carry her back out to sea.

With the engine fixed, we set out on a sea trial by motor sailing 40 miles to Carriacou and checked out of Grenada after catching up with Zen Again for a quick meal ashore as our paths crossed again with us heading north and Mike & Nicki heading south to Grenada.

We had sailed past and through St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) a couple of times, and now it was time to explore these much anticipated islands with Richard. We had a lovely sail to Bequia, a small island only 5 miles long and one of only three places in the SVG’s you are able to check-in/out of the country. Bequia was the only place we could check in and provide our own RAT’s kit, saving us US$50 each so we felt it was worth the journey to save that much! We had completed all the on-line check-in requirements and had heard that a friend had managed to check-in without using an agent recently, so decided to attempt that too. We made our way to the hospital with our test kits and a lovely nurse pushed the long testing stick up each of our noses. We then waited outside, nervously anticipating the results. While we waited a man came to see us and told us we would need to go to the agents office to complete our check-in procedure. We tried to establish why we would need to do this, when we had done the testing and would still need to go to immigration and customs to complete the process. The nurse re-appeared and gave us some good news, followed by bad…..we were all negative but the results with the required piece of paper, had been sent to the agents office. We asked if we could have the record showing we had tested negative without going through the costly agent and were told this was not possible. She was genuinely surprised when we told her that the agent wanted to charge us EC120 to issue the paper we needed to complete check-in. Seeing no other way around it, we made our way to the agents, paid the fee and returned to immigration and customs to get the necessary stamps in our passports and cruising permits.

Our friends on Puff had arrived in the same anchorage a few hours after us. Keen to see some of the island, I joined Kris and Ingrid for a walk from Port Elizabeth, where we were anchored, across the island to Friendship Bay in the south. It was a lovely walk/scramble at times losing the track and retracing our steps as we pushed back branches and thorny plants! Our walk started and finished on the lovely white sands of Princess Margaret Bay, named to honour the Princess who visited Bequia in the 1950’s during one of her regular stays at her island home on neighbouring Mustique. Bequia (pronounced Bec-way) is a beautiful island with a lovely Caribbean charm to it, gorgeous beaches, lovely homes and clear, blue seas. We hope to return there before leaving Grenada and explore a little more.

After a few days, it was time to move on as we wanted to make sure we had sufficient time to explore other islands. The wind was perfect for a good sail to Tobago Cays, a group of uninhabited islands in a National Park. We wove our way through the reefs that border the main island and were guided into the bay by a local “boat man” where we carefully dropped our anchor into sand, avoiding the sea grass that provides food for the many turtles that breed in the waters. We lost no time jumping into the dinghy and heading to a spot slightly out of the fast current that flows through the anchorage. We soon saw a turtle lazily grazing of the seabed, occasionally coming to the surface before taking a breath and swimming back down to continue eating. It is so wonderful to watch these creatures swimming underwater – something I can never tire of.

Over the next few days we snorkelled every day, exploring the many reefs that surround the Cays. The coral was beautiful – there was some bleaching but certainly the best coral we have seen yet in the Caribbean. The fish life was spectacular and we saw eels, squid, eagle rays and so many colourful fish it felt like we were in an aquarium. In addition the number of turtles we saw was wonderful, often with three or four swimming close to us at one time. On one day we were heading back to the dinghy having returned from a short walk when we noticed a couple of Lemon shark in the shallow waters just off the beach. It was fascinating to explore these rich waters which are full of life and beautiful blue, clear waters.

We were due to be hauled out in less than a week, so it was time to return to Grenada after enjoying a couple of weeks creating happy memories with King Richard in the tropical surrounds of the SVG’s. We felt we didn’t do the islands justice and hope to be able to return to them in a few months, if the weather allows us.

We had a very short sail to Union Island so we could check out of The Grenadines, sailing in the company of our friends, Kim and Ann on Ilanda. Checking out was quick and easy, completing the process within 30 minutes so we could return to the boat and continue our sail south to Carriacou where we checked back into Grenada. That night we had a lovely evening with Kim and Ann and Mark, the owner of a lovely Rustler yacht anchored next to us, and we watched the most wonderful sunset with the evening colours slowly intensifying until the grand finale was on display before us.

The next morning we set sail with Ilanda and headed south. Once again we had a great sail between Carriacou and the top of Grenada but once we started heading more west the seas became sloppy and the sails starting flogging and our pace slowed considerably. Ilanda turned into Woburn and we continued to Prickly Bay where we would prepare for our haul out. Over the next few days we made use of Richards expertise and fixed a number of niggling issues on the boat as well as prepared for the major work we were doing once we were hauled out. Each day we once again marvelled at Richards knowledge and our good fortune at meeting him and now having him as a friend.

We were due to be hauled out on the Tuesday morning and moved to Woburn the night before we were lifted, anchoring close to the boat yard. At 8am I called the yard to get instructions and they told us we were supposed to be there now as we were booked for haul out at 8am! We quickly raised the anchor and motored to the slipway, just as a large squall and heavy rainfall arrived. After a brief delay waiting for the rain and wind to pass, we were very professionally guided into the slipway and gently lifted, washed, placed into a cradle and secured for the next three months. We were due to fly out for NZ in five days and in that time needed to dismantle the saloon and remove the old leaking water tank. Again, under Richards guidance, we set about moving the furniture and exposing the stainless steel water tank. We could now see more of the tank than we had ever seen before which looked in good condition. We started to question whether we had imagined the leak, until we filled the tank and water soon came pouring into the bilge. When the tank was removed we could see it had blown out, causing some weak points to leak and there were several areas at the back of the tank where the water was escaping. Our decision to replace the tank was a good one, but expensive!

The boat was now prepared for our one month away and ready for us to continue working on her when we return. The weather was hot but noticeably wetter and we had moved off the boat into an apartment which had a pool and pontoon with beautiful garden. We had a large mango tree beside our deck which dropped fruit on our neighbours roof each night. Tiny tree frogs started calling as the sun went down until the noise was quite deafening.

And now it’s time to leave for NZ. We will leave Richard to enjoy the apartment on his own for a few days while we head to Florida and then LA. He is finding things to repair in the apartment, now he’s completed so many of the jobs we had lined up for him on our boat. He is also being invited on board a new friend’s boat to give advice on some of their issues – his fun never stops!

On our last night we met up with a group of old and new friends before we all go our separate ways, not knowing when/if we will sail in the same waters again – Walkabout, Zen Again, Ilanda, Ari and Favorita. As my mum used to quote – “Parting is such sweet sorrow” and, sadly, with the lifestyle we have, we get used to goodbyes but it certainly doesn’t make them any easier. The boat is a mess, with everything piled up in the main saloon, ready for when we return and can complete the rest of the jobs that remain un-Richard-ed but with clear instructions on how we can complete them! We will miss having King Richard around, both for his slightly whacky sense of humour, but also for his incredible expertise….. in everything! Our hearts are now being pulled home into the arms of our families who we are so excited to see again after 27 months apart

Martinique – France in the Caribbean

We left Dominica at 3pm in the company of Zen Again, headed for Fort De France in Martinique, approximately 80NM away. We were hoping for a good overnight passage to the next in a long chain of beautiful countries – all having their own individual identity – that form the Windward Islands. We were attempting to sail the next 80 miles without the use of our engine again, which had been diagnosed as needing urgent attention – attention we intended giving it when we managed to hobble back to Grenada.

We were well aware that the high hills of Dominica would cause a wind shadow but we hoped we would be able to pass through it relatively quickly. With Zen Again hot on our heels we made good speed leaving Portsmouth harbour and felt encouraged as we rounded the headland and started heading south on a nice reach. Sadly it did not take the wind long to completely disappear, and with it Zen Again turned on their engines and vanished from sight as we once again found ourselves frustratingly going nowhere except occasionally backwards as the strong current threatened to sweep us back to Portsmouth! We must have drifted for over an hour, searching for any sign of wind on the flat water. Eventually, the wind arrived and we were able to make steady progress again, relieved we were now at least moving in the right direction!

We made good speed over night and travelled down the west coast of Martinique as the sun came up but as the sky grew lighter, so did the wind and, once again we were becalmed and swept back north as we lolled around with flapping sails and no steerage for, what seemed like, hours with only 9NM to reach our destination. When the wind did arrive we quietly and sulkily tacked up the wide harbour to the capital, Fort de France. It had taken 20hrs for us to sail 80NM and neither of us enjoyed the journey and were in low spirits as we headed towards our final destination! As we arrived at the entrance to the crowded anchorage a large group of kayakers appeared in front of us, obviously confident we would avoid them as no one made any attempt to change direction. If we’d had an engine, it would not have been a problem, but we were now in a buoyed channel with limited options but to go where the wind blew us. Fortunately two of the front kayakers were much stronger paddlers than the rest of the group and we were able to divide the pack by cutting through the gap the leaders had created! The rest of the kayakers looked at us with bemused frustration as we slowly continued towards the harbour.

The anchorage was busy so we pushed as close as we could to the shore to try and get as much protection as possible from wind and swell before dropping the anchor, relieved we had completed another leg of our engine-less passage south.

Fort de France is by far the largest and most cosmopolitan city we have been to since leaving Europe. It has high rises, a modern transport system, busy roads and lots of people! The French influence is very apparent with a large population of white Europeans making Martinique home due to France’s “open border” immigration system for anyone with a French passport. It also has a strong history connected to France as Martinique was the home of Josephine Bonaparte who was raised on a sugar plantation here.

We met Zen Again and checked in using a computer in a nearby chandlery – very quick, easy and cheap – celebrating at a nearby café which served good coffee and a great selection of pastries. Over the next week, the café became a regular haunt and we availed ourselves of their sweet treats, hot water and clean toilets!

It was now time to explore Martinique so we hired a car for a couple of days with Mike and Nicki from Zen Again, and headed north on the first day. With me driving and Mike expertly navigating, reminding me to drive on the right when I mistakenly approached a roundabout the wrong way (it only happened once…!), we navigated the busy roads by frequently taking detours down narrow, and often steep, back streets. We were headed to St Pierre in the north east of the island. Mt Pelee provides a dramatic backdrop to the small town of St Pierre and is a constant reminder to the tragic events that happened in 1902 when the volcano erupted, killing almost the entire population of the town. The only survivor was a prisoner who was in solitary confinement in a small, thick walled stone cell behind the theatre. The town has been built around relics of that fateful day, with ruins of once grand buildings standing next to homes and shops. We visited the excellent new Memorial de la catastrophe de 1902 which cleverly guided you through the vibrant city prior to the eruption using letters and diaries from some of those who did not survive.

We continued our journey of the north by visiting the beautiful Depaz rum distillery which is set in the most beautiful location at the foot of Mt Pelee with spectacular views across sugar cane fields out to sea. Established by Victor Depaz in 1917 after all his family were killed in the volcano 15 years earlier. Victor had been a student in France when the volcano erupted and was devastated to learn of the death of his family. He left France after deciding to start afresh in Canada, but the ship he was travelling on made an unscheduled stop in Martinique. He decided to visit the site of his family home and business, where he still owned land that had once grown sugar cane. Once he saw the place again, at the foot of the mountain that had taken his family, he decided to stay and established the distillery. He built a large family home which was the replica of the house he had grown up in and where he brought up his 11 children.

We enjoyed an afternoon wandering around the distillery and finishing with a tasting of a few of the rums made on site. It was a perfect way to spend an afternoon and appreciate the wonderful surroundings and countryside of Martinique.

On day two we headed south, visiting the Anse Cafford Slave Memorial which is a powerful sculpture of 15 hunched slaves looking out to the place where a ship full of slaves perished when the boat they were imprisoned in was shipwrecked after crossing the Atlantic. I found the whole sculpture and environment very moving as the sculptures all stand shoulder to shoulder with eyes cast down and mouths open as if in a silent scream.

We continued our journey south to Grande Anse beach and spent a lovely few hours snorkelling in clear water and over the best coral we had seen so far. We swam with a very friendly, casual loggerhead turtle as it grazed on the seagrass and casually floated to the surface to take a breath before returning to graze on the seabed below me. That, and the abundant colourful and different varieties of fish, was a fabulous experience and we all returned to the lovely beach exhilarated happy!

We continued our journey, making our last stop in the south at the Habitation Clement Park and Distillery. The park contained a variety of sculptures set in beautiful gardens and we followed a pathway through the art installations to the distillery. I’m so pleased we visited the Depaz Distillery the day before because the Clement Distillery tour and buildings offered something quite different but explained and showed the Rum making process so much better. It was an excellent visit, topped off again by Rum tasting which was not limited to the two tasting glasses of the day before, and delivered by a handsome and charming guy who seemed to enjoy the friendly banter we had. When I said I had to drive he was surprised and reminded me that I was now in Martinique so it didn’t matter……. That was enough to stop me trying any more and be extra cautious as we made our way back to Fort de France, stopping at the supermarket for a big provisioning shop on the way.

I was surprised how much I enjoyed our time in Martinique. It was a social time, catching up with some lovely friends and enjoying the environment of a large town where it was easy to get around and stock up on much needed supplies. Mike and Nicki on Zen Again left a few days before us, headed for St Lucia and let us know they had experienced strong current and less wind than forecast. Not wanting to experience any more slow passages, spent going round in circles, we contemplated cutting through between Martinique and St Lucia and heading down the east coast of the islands. This would mean that we would avoid the wind shadows caused by the high hills of St Lucia and St Vincent as we headed south to Grenada. We chose to leave on a day that promised some north in the wind so we could start to head east, so as the sun came up, we hoisted the mainsail and sailed off the anchor making good speed as we headed out of the harbour. Cerulean sailed beautifully with the perfect wind angle for her, on a broad reach, carrying two happy passengers as we made our way south towards Grenada where we would hopefully be connected with our new thrust bearing, purchased in the UK and get it fitted in the next week. We had a fast and near perfect sail to Grenada, cutting through to the east side of the islands a little further south than planned, as the wind and current forced us to change our minds. The benefit of that was a bonus dolphin experience where the largest pod of dolphins we have ever seen, worked together to round up fish. We could not count the number of dolphins as the sea was just boiling with them – to the extend where, if we had wanted to, we could have walked across them as they swam in the warm waters!

We sailed down the east coast of Grenada, seeing a large leatherback turtle floating in the water off the north coast of the island. We arrived in Prickly Bay at 1730, just in time for sundowners as we congratulated each other on a successful and enjoyable 23hr sail south, hopefully the last one without an engine. The next day we caught a bus into St Georges and checked in at Port Louis Marina – a quick and easy procedure. We then returned to the boat and prepared for the arrival of our friend and mentor, Richard, who was arriving from the UK the next day with the thrust bearing and knowledge of how to fit it! We had recently increased Richards status to “Sir” but vowed that if he managed to fix the engine without us having to be hauled out, we would crown him King Richard! Several very knowledgeable sailing friends had expressed surprise that Sir Richard thought he could replace the broken part while we were in the water so we nervously anticipated his arrival, already preparing a long list of other jobs we had identified needed addressing while he was with us for the next three weeks!

Dominica – boiling over with nature

The small, forest covered, nature island of Dominica had been on our “must-see” list for some time, so we were excited about being there and eager to start exploring some of the many walking tracks that criss-cross the island. The anticipation was doubled with the knowledge that Ruffian had arrived a few days earlier and Iain had already promised one of his epic adventures to give us a taste of what the island offered.

Dominica was hit by Hurricane Maria in 2017 and over 85% of buildings were destroyed or damaged, displacing over 50,000 people of a population of less than 70,000. Two thirds of the island is rainforest which cover the nine volcanoes, many hills and deep valleys that make up this beautiful island. As there is no international airport, most of the visitors arrive by boat or small plane, so tourism is exclusive but important to Dominica. The locals are proud, welcoming and friendly people who love their country and are keen to share their love of it with visitors, having worked hard to rebuild and recover from the devastation caused by Maria less than five years ago.

As we arrived in the bay a couple of boats welcomed us with the men introducing themselves as working for PAYS (Portsmouth Assoc of Yacht Services). PAYS own a number of mooring buoys which they encourage new arrivals to use until checked in. This is not a requirement but is a forceful request, which we ignored and anchored close to the fishing wharf, explaining that we had engine issues.

We checked in to the country, using an agent as our research prior to arrival had led us to believe we were required to do this, at considerable expense. The benefit of using an agent was the process was made incredibly easy with passports and papers collected from the boat, so all the paperwork was done in our absence while we were able to make Cerulean “Shipshape” again after the sail. The downside of using an agent is it was expensive and, as it turned out, unnecessary.

Together with Zen Again and Ruffian, we set out on our first adventure, feeling excited and guided by our enthusiastic leader, Iain. The six of us went on the first of many adventures together, catching a minibus to a small settlement called Bense, on the north western side of the island, and then walked about 3km along a well marked track to Chaudiere Pools. The last part to get to the pools was a scramble along big rocks where Iain and Steve lost no time stripping off and jumping into the clear, deep pools from high rocks above the inviting river. The water was cool and refreshing as we all soaked off the heat of the day and enjoyed the seclusion under a canopy of trees while new sounds of unknown birdsong filled our ears. Heading back was interesting as we discovered very few buses used the route, so we walked down to a “busy” main road to try our luck there. As we walked down everyone we met greeted us with a cheerful “hello” and often engaged us in conversation. The houses all have gardens and most grow their own vegetables and fruit with Papaya, mango and banana trees in most gardens. Everything grows well in the fertile volcanic soil and we watched a couple planting their field with yams which will take seven months to grow before they are ready for harvesting. The six of us sat on the roadside waiting for a bus to go past, but as the sun began sinking, so did our hope of being able to get back to our boats, which were 15km away on the other side of the island. Just as we were giving up, a man pulled up in a minivan and, unsure whether he was a bus or a taxi, we jumped in with relief!

On another day we went on a tour of the northern part of the island with Martin, a local guide who is a botanist and has a real love for his home and people. He is also an OCC (Ocean Cruising Club) Port Officer, and as the six of us were all members of OCC it made Martin a perfect choice. Martin expertly entertained, educated and guided us around the northern sights and villages. We visited the cold Soufriere which is a strange phenomenon of a cold volcano – you can see the mud bubbling but it is cold. We also visited a chocolate factory and had a tour of the process from plant to bar, purchasing a number of the delicious produce after tasting the many different flavours. We ended the day at Red Rock, a lookout point with views over the Atlantic while standing on the natural sandstone ledge. It was a lovely day spent in great company and we even swam in a river that Martin insisted would make us appear 10 years younger after our dip, but I’m still waiting for this to happen!

Our next day trip started with catching a bus to Roseau, the capital of Dominica, located in the south west of the island. The bus took us along good tarmacked, twisty roads following the coastline as we headed south. We passed through several villages, built along the roadside, or in valleys and surrounded by high hillsides and lush rainforest. Roseau was a bustling but small capital with few buildings of architectural splendour, as most shops were small and scruffy and houses were often built by those who lived in them so were simple, small and generally basic with few frills. We were again told there were not many buses to take us to where we wanted to be dropped off, so this time took the number of the driver who gave us a ride, just in case we had problems. We were headed to Middleham Falls which was well worth the hike to reach them. The sight and sound of the water falling 67m into the pools below was wonderful and the fact we were able to enjoy swimming in the cool waters on our own was a huge bonus. Swimming in clear water in the middle of a rainforest is a fabulous experience and one we will never forget.

Our trip back to Roseau was interesting. Just as we emerged onto the road a flatbed truck came by. We noticed an elderly man climb in the back, having been told by the driver that the backseat was full of eggs. We asked if we could also jump in, so the six of us joined the rather amused elderly man, and his sack of potatoes, in the open truck. After five minutes another man hailed to the driver and also squeezed in beside us. The trip was made all the more memorable as my daughter rang me just as I was climbing in the truck, with some distressing news and I attempted to hear and comfort her as the eight of us, and a sack of potatoes, clung to the side of the truck as we sped towards Roseau!

Fi and I took an early morning boat trip up the Indian River where Martin introduced us to numerous birds including a close encounter with a couple of hummingbirds which fluttered above us. There are three breeds of hummingbird on Dominica – the Purple Throated Carib, the Antillean Crested and the Green Throated Carib. All are beautifully coloured and showed off their fluorescent colours in the morning sun. We were paddled slowly up the river into thick mangroves as Martin pointed out different trees and wildlife to us including a male Dominican anole lizard as it puffed out its yellow throat to attract a nearby female on a tree in the mangroves.

We hired a car to explore other parts of the island that were not easily accessible by bus and spent a wonderful day walking to more waterfalls and watering holes, including Syndicate Falls, Jacko Falls and Secret Pool. We were lucky enough to have all the beautiful locations completely to ourselves and swam at each place. The walks to find the attractions was often steep but well worth the climb/scramble as we picked our way over rocks and down muddy banks. The reward at the end was a cooling swim in clear pools with the sound of water cascading down from the high rocks above us. We drove back along a very rough road through the Kalingaro Carib Village where most of the aboriginal people live. It was interesting driving through their neighbourhood, which had quite a different feel to the other Dominican settlements, with the villagers out on the street, playing cricket in the middle of the road, only stopping to let us pass as we appeared to be the only vehicle passing through.

A group of eight of us took on the biggest challenge on the island, a six hour demanding, guided hike to the Boiling Lake, a flooded fumarole. I have to confess that the hike was really at the limit of my fitness abilities but I’m so happy I pushed myself to get there. The view above the, literally, boiling lake in the middle of a National Park was incredible. To get there we walked over sulphur crusted rocks where a hot stream cascaded down the hillside. An attempt was made to cook eggs in the stream but once the shells turned black, they didn’t cook right through! We walked through rain forest, scrambled over rocks, slid down steep hills, waded through mud and rock hopped over rivers. The company and support from our group of friends was wonderful and, even though I managed to get blisters under two toe nails (how does that happen…?) I’m so glad I pushed myself to complete the challenge! Steve rounded off the experience by swimming through Titou Gorge at the end of the walk – he loved it as he swam upstream in refreshing water, through a gorge to an underground waterfall.

Our final adventure was to the south, visiting Champagne Beach where we snorkelled in the clear water, swimming with a turtle for the first time. The coral was better than we had seen anywhere else and the fish life was good. Small bubbles of gas rise from the volcanic sea floor which was unusual and beautiful to swim through.

Dominica turned out to be a gathering point for many friends we had met at different times during our travels. We had a very social time catching up, sharing drinks and making new friends. Nicki, from Zen Again celebrated a special birthday and we enjoyed celebrating it with her at a local restaurant which served a huge amount of traditional food to us as we sat outside undercover to shelter from the occasional rain showers. It all added to the lasting memories of this very special island which became our favourite destination in the Caribbean. We felt we had experienced so much in our short stay, but the wind was telling us it was time to go and, when you have no usable engine, we needed to take advantage of the good conditions. Ruffian had already left on their journey to Antigua and St Martins, and we left with Zen Again to continue our journey in the opposite direction, island hopping to Martinique, just 80NM to the south. We left in the late afternoon for an overnight sail which we anticipated to be frustrating in parts but hoped we could avoid too many wind shadows caused by the tall mountains on both islands but we hadn’t anticipated the strong current we would encounter along the way!

Photo credit: Some photos provided by Ruffian