Stuck in Gorgeous Martinique

While we were replacing our rigging in Martinique, it wasn’t all work and no play. We did pull ourselves away from the boat to explore this beautiful island we never planned on visiting.

Fort-de-France

Outside of San Juan, Puerto Rico, Fort-de-France is the largest town we’ve seen since leaving Florida. It’s a great place for shopping and we stocked up on some essential items. But for us, the jewel of the town wasn’t the large shops, abundant restaurants, or the outdoor market. Just across the street from the large dinghy dock is an enormous, beautiful lush green park where we spent most of our time during our stay.

In addition to walking the dogs twice a day in the park, we also picnicked there. Back in Denver, we spent many lazy summer weekends spread out in the green grass of our favorite park, soaking up the sun’s rays. Aside from the 80-foot palm trees and dozens of squawking green parrots, the park in Fort-de-France almost felt like home. In the evenings, the snack shops that lined the park would open up and we’d order pizza or gyros and sip beers while watching the sunset. It is also in this park where we got our first taste of carnival.

Carnival is still a few weeks away in Martinique, but there are lots of small events as troupes prepare and practice for the big day. We were fortunate enough to watch dozens and dozens of drum lines parade around the park, sporting fabulous costumes. Each drumline had a different sound, but they all shared the same enthusiasm and vibrancy.

Grande Anse D’arlet

Fort-de-France was a convenient and quaint anchorage, but the water was murky and there wasn’t any nearby snorkeling. So while we were waiting on our new chainplates to be fabricated, we cruised over to Grande Anse D’arlet for a weekend. As we entered the anchorage, the crystal clear turquoise water and plethora of lobster pots told us we were going to get exactly what we were looking for.

The small town was very adorable and the green hillside was scattered with yellow brush which made it look like the Colorado mountains in fall time. We immediately set off searching for lobster. We found at least a dozen small ones among the gorgeous coral, only of which two were deemed large enough for the taking. But we also started spotting monster lionfish. We’ve seen and speared a lot of lionfish throughout our journey, but we’ve never come across any this large.

Lionfish are an invasive species here in the Caribbean. They were most likely released as unwanted pets from people’s aquariums and they have quickly multiplied. Because they are not native to these waters, they have few predators. Likewise, the fish they feed on don’t know to be leery of them. Therefore, they are out competing, out reproducing, and out living local sea life. They pose a serious threat to these ecosystems, so we spear them whenever we can. They make great target practice.

The two lionfish we caught in Grande Anse D’arlet were so beefy, we decided it was time to see what the enemy tastes like. We were able to get four nice looking fillets out of them, which was enough for two meals. We battered and fried them and they were delicious. Of course, most things that are battered and fried are. I would say they taste like any other mild white fish.

We were about to call it quits on the lobster hunt and head back to the boat when Rob spotted another sea monster. He dove down and when he returned he toss this giant, terrifying, 8 legged creature at me. The channel clinging crab was absolutely massive. His claws were larger than my hands and I nearly jumped out of the dinghy as he landed next to me. When we steamed him the following day, we had to do so in two batches because we don’t own a pot big enough to cook a crab that size all at once.

Le Marin

With our fridge full of seafood, we set sail back to Fort-de-France for a few days before we decided to head to Le Marlin in order to replace all of our rigging. As we entered the channel towards Le Marin, I had to blink my eyes a few times to make sure I wasn’t seeing double, or quadruple for that matter. It was the most masts we’ve ever seen in one place, even more than Marathon, Florida. Le Marin is the Yachting Center of the Windwards. Any work you could possibly imagine can be done here. We would spend the next two weeks anchored here, slowly chipping away at replacing our rigging.

 

The anchorage is conveniently located near several chandleries, markets, and laundry facilities. The Leader Price even has its own dinghy dock where we rolled our shopping cart out to. It’s an excellent place to stock up on beverages and canned groceries. Next door is a pet food store where we filled our dog food bins with some high protein, high quality grub for the pups.

We were even able to find a nice grassy hill where we could beach the dinghy and walk the pups each morning and night. Le Marin lacked the quaintness of other French anchorages, but it made up for it with convenience.

St. Anne

If you get tired of the murky water and lack of beaches while anchored in Le Marin, just mosey down to St. Anne. Only a short dinghy ride away, St. Anne has a magnificent beach and clear water with decent snorkeling. Like many French towns, a prominent historic church stands in the middle of this adorable seaside town.

With the conveniences of Le Marin and the beauty of St. Anne, it’s easy to see why some boats bounce between the two for entire seasons. After two weeks, we were ready to be on the move again. With our new rigging tuned, we said goodbye to Martinique on February 12^th and for the first time, set sail North. We have some mountains to conquer and waterfalls to discover in Dominica.