Le Marin, Martinique — December 4-13, 2012

When we arrived in Martinique on Dec. 4th, weather forecasts indicated that we would in a few days be getting high winds and seas.   Thinking ahead about the nature of anchorages further up the chain, we decided to just stay put until winds and seas subsided again.  Not the most wise choice we ever made.  We had several more nice days, during which we could probably have made it to another well-protected location.  And the “few” days of predicted strong winds turned into a full week once they arrived.

But we were snuggly ensconced in our favorite location within the Cul-de-Sac du Marin:  up next to the mangroves past the reefs east of the peninsula hosting Club Med.  We started out the stay with a visit of a couple of boat gremlins.  When we put the dinghy down from the upper deck, where it had resided since before we went on the hard in Trinidad, I held my breath while I attempted to start it so we could check in at Customs.  Started right up, much to my relief.  I shut it off when I noticed there was very little gas left in the tank, and fetched the last full gas can from the set of three that are stored under a seat in the upper deck.  Started the dinghy again, but it soon died and wouldn’t restart.  The gas I had put into the dinghy was very old.  Maybe too old?  John and Kathy (Oceana) gave us a ride in to customs, and John later took me in to buy fresh gas after we experimented and found the engine ran just fine when connected to his gas tank.  The other gremlin involved the shower hose that is housed in a box imbedded in the stern of TT2.  It burst one day while I was using it to wash off after a session of water aerobics. I couldn’t find a replacement in Le Marin chandleries or Caribbean marine catalogs so I ordered one from a USA marine catalog and had it sent to Jon and Cathie Ringen, who will be joining us in the USVIs in January.  What did we do beside fuss about boat problems?  Well, we did some shopping in Marin, did some hiking, did some grumbling about the slow wifi, and went in to Mango’s for a lunch and what we hoped would be better wifi.  Nope.  On another day we went to just outside the Marina that hosts the wifi service, where once again I was unable to download some software I had purchased from Adobe. And of course, as opposed to “boat problems”, there were also “boat chores”; for example I spent about a day and a half polishing stainless steel in both the interior and the exterior of TT2.

We had Håkon and Anna-Karin (Unicorn) over for drinks one evening, and on a couple of evenings played spades with John and Kathy.

For much of the windy time there were two large motor vessels anchored out in the harbor.  The entire eastern end of the bay is jam-packed with sailboats, but with the exception of the Dock Wise vessels we have seen near Club Med, this was the first time we had seen such large vessels in the Cul-de-Sac.

On December 14 we were finally able to resume our trek northward.  But for the details of those passages, the gentle reader will have to await the next exciting episode of “Chuck and Barb go Cruising”.

One thought on “Le Marin, Martinique — December 4-13, 2012

  1. Becky & Tom "Honga"

    Glad to see that you guys are well. We always fondly remember our wonderful time that we had at Jekkyl Island. Remember the croquet!! We have met some of your neighbors, Bill and Emma Simon, and had the chance to visit them in Savannah around Thanksgiving on our way to celebrate “on the hard” with Bob and Sandy of SABO. Stay Safe and Be well. Best wishes for a New Year. Blessed with happiness, health, and hope.

    Sincerely,
    Becky and Tom Dugan
    606 Riviera Dunes Way
    Palmetto, FL. 34221
    941.932.7138

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