Pushing South- Martinique

After our brief but very pleasant stay in Portsmouth, we sailed down to Roseau, Dominica. Our goal was to snorkel at the Champagne Pools. This is an underwater vent for volcanic gases that is said to be like swimming in champagne. Unfortunately, the logistics to get from the mooring in Roseau to the pool to snorkel were more than we were willing to undertake in an afternoon. Roseau is DEEP. Our mooring was in 120 feet of water. But it was calm and protected, at least today. So we napped at the mooring, had a brief dinner, and set sail for Martinique.

The trip across the gap from Dominica to Martinique was fast and fairly easy. The night along the coast  of Martinique was challenging because the wind kept changing. I think Cary and I did 4-5 sail changes, from full jib to no jib to staysail and back again. And the wind kept coming further and further ahead until we were close hauled and not making our course. Morning saw us at the south end of Martinique, of Le Roche de Diamonte, or Diamond Rock. The current and wind were against us.The last 15 miles of the trip was due East, and took over 5 hours. Entering Le Marin, a large, well protected harbor, we were surprised by the veritable forest of masts. There were hundreds of boats in what seemed to be a crowded harbor. We ended up taking a mooring of Le Marin Marina, where my colleague Joel keeps his boat. This was also close to the local outfitters. Did I mention the chart plotter GPS died on the way in again? Always something...