S/V Koinonia Weekly Sailing Log - Exploring Martinique Week 2 (Wed Aug 30 - Tue Sept 5, 2023)

Highlights this week, we spend the week at the south western tip of Martinique, provisioning before we leave for Grenada and awaiting a weather window to sail south. The harbors in Le Marin and Sainte-Anne are well protected and surprisingly quiet, despite having more boats than we have ever seen in a single place. The breeze and temps are better in Sainte-Anne, despite being a bit rolly at times but very gentle and tolerable.  We endure a bit of culture shock here with the oddly commonplace nudity of our fellow boaters in Martinique. We celebrated Aliza’s 9th birthday and all of the kids have started a new school year; two 10th graders and one in 4th. We do year round school because it means a less intense daily schedule, which is more conducive to days when we are on a passage or the days when we go ashore to explore. With provisioning completed, we’re preparing to leave Martinique and head south to our intended destination in Grenada.

Wed Aug 30 - Continued periodic rain showers. Amber and the kids do school. Ben washed a load of laundry in our bucket using just rain water (that’s how much rain we’ve gotten).  Went ashore for the first time in Le Marin and did some shopping at Leader Price, a grocery store which conveniently has carts available right on the dinghy dock! The stores all have beautiful ruby red grapefruit that are sweet, so we’ve been eating them for breakfast every morning. Returned to the boat and the girls baked Aliza’s cake for her birthday tomorrow, chocolate with peanut butter icing. Ben gave himself his monthly haircut and beard trim, then made fall-off-the-bone baby back ribs in the Instapot, then finished them in the broiler with BBQ sauce.

Thu Aug 31 - today was Aliza’s 9th birthday. The big girls woke up at 6am to decorate the boat in a Mario theme. She requested homemade cinnamon rolls with eggs and bacon for breakfast. After, she opened her presents and then FaceTime calls with her grandparents. The weather was rainy, so we played games and watched movies. For dinner, Ben made personal sized pizzas in a cast iron skillet, also Aliza’s request, so everyone got to chose their toppings.  Koinonia sailed over 270 nm in the month of August, visiting 6 islands and 4 countries.

Fri Sep 1 - sporadic rain showers today. Amber and the kids do school. Ben went ashore to try to track down some parts at the nearby chandlery (marine store). Struck out on the main things we need but was able to track down a few odds and ends.  Filled the gasoline Jerry cans. Amber has a headache so Ben took the kids ashore to try to find a meet-up location we had heard about but we weren’t able to find it. We made the most of it with a daddy daughter date some virgin beverages and tapas at a local restaurant.  Came home and Ben made beer battered Kingfish; the fish turned out amazing! Kids played games and watched movies for stay up night. Amber started feeling better.

Sat Sep 2 - learned that Jimmy Buffet died yesterday; we played our Buffet playlist as a memorial. Cleaned out both composting heads and took the whole crew ashore to get rid of trash and do some provisioning at the Carrefour Market.  Got back to the boat and packed all of our stores away.  Made water with our SeaWater Pro watermaker (message us for a special discount on purchases). No one was especially hungry for a full meal, so Ben baked a wedge of brie in the oven topped with pecans and honey and served with a fresh baguette. In Grenada, meat and other groceries are sparse and very expensive, so we’re trying to do as much provisioning as possible before we leave Martinique.

Sun Sep 3 - monitoring the development of a tropical wave that has moved off the coast of Africa; the NHC is predicting a 90% chance of formation. Family worship followed by baguette pizzas and games; the girls have gotten into playing “Risk” on their Nintendo Switch; much smack talk ensued as Mom and Dad joined the battle. Alliances were formed and broken. Amber made hotdogs and chili for dinner. Ben refreshed some bucktail jigs that were in bad shape.

Mon Sep 4 - woke up and got the boat ready to go to the fuel dock; cost to fill 3/4 of one diesel tank was $240 US. Also got two bags of luxurious ice to fill the cooler. Moved the boat to Sainte-Anne; the water here is much cleaner and shallower (we were anchored in 30ft+ in Le Marin). Note:  Martinique definitely tops the list of countries we’ve visited, so far, for boater nudity; it seems folks here don’t give a second thought to being stark naked in public. It’s been quite a culture shock, especially for the kids. The tropical storm forecast has shifted further north, which is great news but looks like it will become a major system; prayers for those who may be in its path. Amber made a chicken, broccoli, rice, and cheese casserole for dinner.  The temps in Sainte-Anne feel a solid 10 degrees cooler than Le Marin, thanks to a nice breeze and less warming effect from the land.

Tue Sep 5 - continued to monitor weather for a window to sail south. This will be our first overnight passage since we left Sint Maarten. Right now, it looks like we have a window to sail south to Grenada on Thursday, a 26-hour passage. Amber and the kids did school and Ben started on a new consulting project. Amber made sesame chicken for dinner. Enjoyed a beautiful evening with a brilliantly starry sky and waning half moon rise.

God Bless,

S/V Koinonia