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Martinique
By Alex | March 2, 2009
Charlie’s last post
Martinique- St Pierre, Trois Ilets et Le Marin, 14th to 17th January 2009
Setting off from Roseau, capital of Dominica, just after midday on Wednesday 14th, we arrived at St Pierre, Martinique, just before sunset. The journey was a wet one, close hauled in 25 to 30 knots of wind, with waves breaking over the bow near constantly. Nevertheless, a lot of fun, particularly when a big breaker drenched Al on the foredeck (childish I know but still amusing). In typically insouciant French style check-in was a self-help affair, conducted online in a cafe on the waterfront.
First up on Thursday was the excelllent St Pierre Museum, a small but informative display detailing the eruption of the nearby Mont Pelee in 1902 which killed all bar three of St Pierre’s 30,000 population- a modern-day Pompeii. The fomer capital is a shadow of its old self, dubbed ‘The Little Paris of the West Indies’ in its day. After a tour of the ruins of the theatre and prison we weighed anchor and set off for Trois Ilets, just across the bay from the new capital- Fort de France. As per so many of the Caribbean legs, another 18nm trip.
Friday morning dawned and it was on to the ferry to Fort de France, a modern city filled with French tourists and new cars- Audis, BMWs, Golfs, Renaults and the like. It is however not without its attractions, the highlight being the Bibliotheque Schoelcher, designed by Henri Pick (a contemporary of Gustave Eiffel) and built in Paris for the 1889 World Exposition. Following the exposition it was dismantled, shipped to FDF (as it is locally known) and reassembled.The fish and vegetable markets were full of local colour, although we were surprised by our difficulty in finding a boulangerie. Friday afternoon we pushed on to Le Marin (another 18nm), at the southern tip of Martinique.
The trip down to Le Marin passes HMS Diamond Rock, a tiny rocky island no more than half a mile offshore from Martinique. Captured by the British during the Napoleonic wars, cannons were hauled up the impossibly steep slopes and a small garrison installed. This then spent years harassing passing French shipping, infuriating Napoleon greatly (whose wife Josephine was from Martinique). The solution however was a cunning one- knowing the British prediliction for rum, a couple of barrels were floated off from the mainland to be washed up on Diamond Rock. Once the garrison was well and truly sloshed the French re-captured it without difficulty…
Talking of Josephine, she was and still is not popular on the island as it is believed that she was directly responsible for convincing Napoleon to continue slavery in the French West Indies, against the principles of the Revolution, so that her family plantation would not suffer. A statue of her in FDF was recently decapitated and doused with red paint.
Le Marin is a small town catering predominantly to the flourishing yacht chartering trade. Apparently there is a charming old town centre up the hill, but the waterfront is devoid of attraction and is mainly a functional area of chandleries, stores and restaurants catering to the yachting set. This held little interest to the Crew and so we set off for the delights of Rodney Bay, St Lucia, early Saturday morning.
Topics: The Voyage - Leg 3 |