Post 23  Volcanic Eruptions

The volcano is showing no signs of quietening down so far...

On Friday afternoon, some three weeks ago, on the 9th April 2021, La Soufriere volcano on the nearby island of St. Vincent erupted with an enormous blast of hot ash shooting 8km into the sky. I was in the middle of publishing my last blog post and was completely unaware of the eruption. When I was told, I was torn between waiting to include mention of this massive event or posting without it.

It soon became clear from the expert's analysis, the eruption was going to rumble on over the coming days and weeks, so I published without a mention. Le Marin is about 130km from the volcano with St Lucia sandwiched in between. A friend based near Vieux Fort on the southern point of St Lucia has had several centimeters of ash on her patio and has been shut inside with all windows tightly closed.

Here in le Marin, I'm about 130km from the volcano

This 4,000+ meter high volcano last erupted back in 1981 with a catastrophic impact. La Soufriere volcano has been rumbling and smoking for weeks giving the locals plenty of time to prepare their evacuation and thankfully so far, with no casualties. Today more than 7,000 people have been evacuated, many to neighbouring islands such as St. Lucia. The low-level trade winds carry the ash cloud due west, however, the higher altitude winds at more than 6km, are blowing in the opposite direction, hence the reason why Barbados has also been getting ash dumped on it to the east of St. Vincent.

Experts predict the eruption could last for several months and into the hurricane season

My plans to sail across to Rodney Bay on St. Lucia are obviously on hold now. Expert opinion can't agree whether it's likely to continue erupting or settle down over the coming months... 

I've decided to sail to Grenada for the hurricane season (August & September). It's about the closest place to Martinique that's officially outside the Caribbean's hurricane belt. I had to submit a hurricane plan for the insurance company before they'd quoted.

Local activities

the marina at the far end of Le Marin bay, looking northwards

We've seen two large sea freighters come into the channel to load yachts and gin palaces during the past week. They're taken back to Europe before the hurricane season arrives in August. The channel here snakes across the bay and requires some zig-zagging to stay within it. The muddy sands on either side are barely covered at low water and are littered with wrecks.

Super Servant - purpose-built carrier of yachts and boats of all sizes

Super Servant is a purpose-built yacht freighter that allows boats to sail into her via rear doors. The ship pictured below is a modified cargo ship that has three large cranes for lifting boats onto her deck. The boats are precariously strapped down with their masts still erect...

Sharlou - the carbon fiber hull and superstructure make an imposing spectacle...

Sharlou was in the marina when I first arrived in Le Marin back in December. She's re-appeared and is a 45m, one-off Dutch design and sails under a British flag. Considering she's three times the length of Beluga, she's available for private charter but for only 8 guests and just 6 permanent crew. You can start to appreciate the sheer size of her when you look at the 3m dinghy motoring past her bow. At more than 10,000 euro per day to charter, it's so good of Britain to help these foreign billionaire owners with generous tax breaks... well done Boris!

My camera-shy friends in Victoria Bay

Some special friends and their boats...

At last, some cruising

It felt like an age but finally, I cruised on Beluga. It was also the first time that I'd ever skippered a boat with the responsibility of a crew. So far, I've just day sailed on my own to start getting used to her, doing my little trip halfway to St. Lucia and back. 

my shipmates...

My friends Beatriz and Dorothee joined me on this trip, they are two of the many friends I've met through my association with the late ship Victoria. Beatriz is Slovac (pictured in the middle below) is a professional dance instructor and a complete bundle of energy and laughs. She came back to Martinique in February after a 3-year absence back in Europe. Dorothee whose German crossed the Atlantic on a French boat called Yaya. She and her five crewmates had the drama of a broken mast to contend with at about halfway. She's bright and was competent on the helm and we moored and anchored without any dramas.

cruising with Dorothee and Beata was very chilled and great fun...

I gave a short briefing to my shipmates involving mainly safety stuff and then Dorithee motored Beluga out of the narrow channel from Victoria lagoon; I've been using an app on my phone called Navionics, it's very accurate on depth readings and I wouldn't have entered Victoria Bay without such trust. Then we headed away from the bay avoiding the hundreds of lobster pots that are littered across the entrance to Le Marin bay. They're even positioned on the edge of the channel, waiting to catch an unattentive skipper - simply ridiculous!

the infamous Diamant, was the first line of defense against the English and Spanish

We hoisted the main and sailed briskly west to Le Diamant. We passed inside the rock while the wind, which now was directly behind us, increased noticeably. We arrived in Grand Anse after about two and half hours, quicker than I was expecting in the light winds. We picked up a mooring buoy and went ashore to check it out. Even during this lockdown, a small bar on the baron beach was open for takeaway service - fantastic!

The following day we motored around to the next bay called Anse Dufour and we were lucky enough to swim with a turtle (sadly no pics). I managed to snorkel above it before getting eye to eye with this beauty. Wow, what a cool experience! They're completely relaxed with their human admirers seemingly unphased, even quite sociable. 

There was an official warning notice leading down to the beach, apparently, turtles get Herpes, so it advised not to kiss them on the lips. I just about managed to resist, but she was so cute...lol.

We climbed up a path that led us to Anse Noir, a black sand beach that was also idyllic (see below).

the black sand of Anse Noir, a beautiful stopover for cruising yachts...

We left for Le Marin just before 3pm, I had been warned that coming back to Le Marin involves motoring directly into the wind and against 2-3 knots of current and that's exactly what happened. Coming back past the rock, the wind was up to 26 knots on the nose and we struggled to do 3.5 knots against the current with the engine on 2,600rpm.

We got back to anchor in Victoria Bay just as the sun was setting. Dorothee insisted on taking us back to anchor which she did flawlessly - the perfect end to a perfect cruise... thanks girls for a great time.

After having two large gatherings on Beluga, I am now looking for something to remove red wine stains from Beluga's white gel coat in the cockpit. I've tried Javel, both diluted and undiluted but alas to no avail... Anyone got any suggestions, please?

My Latest Purchase

I promised myself that I wouldn't impulsively rush out and start buying stuff for Beluga, but I've been living on her for a month now. I am still finding new things on her and am constantly mislaying things too. But with some encouragement from Lourdes, I splashed out on this wonderful waterproof bag come backpack. With constant daily use of my dinghy, it's just a matter of time before it or me get a dunking so I splashed out... Its lovely colour matches my favourite shorts too. Not cheap, but then nothing is in Martinique... 

my new waterproof bag - first  purchase since moving onto Beluga

Next time...

Tomorrow we're going camping in the north of Martinique, to a place called cascade couleuvre. There's a jungle walk and a climb down to a deserted beach that's reportedly spectacular. 

The problem is trying to organise such an event with more than 3 people is nearly impossible... it's like herding cats, unbelievably frustrating...

Thanks for reading my blog, hope you enjoyed it... Please treat me today, try posting a comment please 🙏 

God bless you and please take care x