Today is departure day from Etang Z’abricot marina. Good thing too as there is a new boat right beside us and it feels like they’re sitting on our lap they’re so close.
No rush to get going though we want to be on the road at a reasonable time so we can get a good anchorage at Anse d’Arlet. While everyone is getting themselves ready, I poke around the boat checking everything shipshape for departure. In Frenglish I tell the neighbours we are leaving soon and they say “Pas de probleme, nous sommes ici”. We should be able to pull out pretty easily but it is very tight.
Drop our last garbage off, start her up and let’s go. Scott is at the bow, he’s got gloves on for pulling up the mooring line, the girls are on the sides with boat hooks to fend us off our two very close neighbours. I’m at the helm. I release our two lines and we inch out. No problem. We’re underway and heading to Anse d’Arlet.
It is still very calm and a pleasant motor. Christy wants to sail, I don’t as we’re going faster by motor than the wind is blowing. She wins, I try to raise the sails, it is a waste of time. We drop sails and motor on to Anse Noir where we will stop for lunch.
Anse noir is lovely as ever, we get a decent anchorage and watch as a couple of dudes cliff dive. Looks like fun but I don’t go. Instead, I swim to shore and walk the 144 stairs up and over to Anse Dufour just to check out the walk. Surprising how many cars there are at the parking lot and along the road. Christy reminds me later that for some reason the Martiniquians come out to the beach on Wednesdays.
Christy and Scott go snorkeling, Carol relaxes and swims off Milu. I swim back and soon enough we’re on our way to Anse d’Arlet, one of our favourite spots though the cell service is terrible there. We get a great spot by being a little adventurous, only 4 feet below the keel to the sand but that’s plenty. Lots of chain out.
We hang around the boat a bit, swim, relax, cell service is actually pretty good for some reason. Later, we dinghy into the dock and go for dinner at a decent seaside place.
Forgot to mention that our dear dinghy has pretty much lost its seal and is leaking just like the old days. Gotta pump it up every day.