Twilight
I woke up just as the sky was beginning to brighten and prepared to leave for the passage to Martinique. Conditions didn’t look great, the weather models showed more wind and waves than they had the previous day. But I’d made up my mind and the new weather wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t as good as it could have been.
I made my morning coffee. Then made another coffee which went into my trusty Stanley Thermos for later consumption. The conditions underway would preclude my employing the rather involved coffee production process that I prefer.
Sunrise Departure
I got everything stowed, closed the hatches, fired up the instruments and engine and cast off my mooring lines at 06:30. I avoided the known fish pots by quite a distance, but that put in the way of yet others. But in daylight they are visible in sufficient time to avoid.
I got my mainsail pulled out with a reef, then the genoa with a reef and half; I knew that the calm in the anchorage belied the conditions out at sea. I’m glad I did, I turned the corner and got hit with the winds and saw the numerous whitecaps offshore. Even before I needed to, I pulled in both sails by almost another reef point to reduce surface area.
Off to Dominica
After clearing the islands to the south of my anchorage I could see that conditions were even stronger than the forecast had predicted. But the seas weren’t breaking and after adjusting my sails to balance I was racing off at 8 to 10 knots. Soon could see distant Dominica in the haze. I’d made my passage planning using 6 knots average speed, which would put me into the anchorage at St. Pierre at just around sunset. At this rate, I might even get there early.
Zanshin was soon covered in spray from the waves hitting the windward hull and the bow slicing through them. I couldn’t take the camera out, as it would have quickly been covered in sea-spray. I was a bit worried about the dinghy towed behind me, despite the long line it was getting a lot of “air time” due to the boat speed and the large 6+ foot swell. Oh well, it’s too late to do anything about it while at sea.
So far the passage to Martinique is going well.
Dominica
Once in the lee of Dominica I expected to have to motor, but I was in luck. The winds stayed normal but now there were no waves at all. That kept my boat speed up and I only needed to turn the engine on once for about 40 minutes. This was sufficient to charge the batteries up all the way in preparation for the next stretch of ocean.
There is Portsmouth to the north and then Roseau in the south, those are the only two main yacht anchorages on Dominica. While the shoreline is interesting between those two points, there aren’t many places to stay. Once past the capital city of Roseau there’s little left of the island and in the distant south, out of sight, is Martinique.
Dominica to Martinique
Just before getting the full effect of the wind and waves upon passing Scott’s Head I saw that the surface of the sea was solid with whitecaps. Not an auspicious sign; and I quickly reduced my mainsail to the size of a glorified bedsheet and furled the genoa to the 3rd reef. That last reef is usually reserved for storm conditions.
When I got undisturbed air and waves I’m glad I’d reduced as my boat speed went between 7 and 10 knots and the indicated wind was over 30 knots. There was foam from the breaking waves. Most of them had whitecaps, classic indications of a Force 6 (on the Beaufort scale). The passage to Martinique has been exceptionally quick so far. With the greatly reduced sail plan, Zanshin wasn’t heeled over much and was just flying along in comfort.
Unfortunately, the dinghy was flying along as well. Luckily the line to the dinghy was cleated with enough spare line at the tail end to allow me to join a thick dock line using a double sheet bend. Once the knot was tied, I used another line and the winch to relieve the pressure on the cleat and let out the newly attached line. All told I now had about 80 feet of line and this allowed the angle to pull the dinghy along the water, as opposed to pulling the bow up on the shorter line.
Martinique
It was a wonderfully fast passage for those 25 miles. I averaged around 8 knots and was across in about 3 hours. The whole boat is covered in salt spray. Those wonderful rain clouds in the hills of Martinique promised a free boat wash. Unfortunately, no rain ever reached me. The lee of Martinique is usually dead calm and windstill, but my luck held and I sailed at 4-7 knots the whole way into the anchorage at St. Pierre. I arrived at 16:30 with two hours to spare before sunset.
The anchorage is surprisingly full and busy, with a lot of foreign-flagged boats. They are peregrinating southwards, as am I. I found a slot relatively far from town, but quite protected and just off a black sand beach.
I had taken out my small entrecote to thaw after anchoring, and made that on the BBQ along with part of a baguette smothered in homemade garlic butter. Dinner was soooo good. I tried to read in the cockpit, but the long day and heavy meal – plus the beer I’d had to drink – made me tired.