......Phil taking advantage of calm conditions in the anchorageOn Monday November 10th, we departed the Grenadines heading for Dominica. I had received a call from the company I was going to interview with. They wanted me in Antigua on November 17. Our goal was to make it to Guadeloupe by the 16th and then take a ferry to Antigua from there.
With an 11 knot wind from the East, the day started out calm as we sailed North at 6mph. At that rate, it was going to take us 32 hours to get to our destination. As day turned into night, we had already passed St. Vincent and were closing in on St. Lucia. From afar, St. Lucia is a distinctive island with its two pointed mountains, the Pitons, at the Southern end. This is where parts of the movie Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed.
We continued on in the night. A full moon made the nighttime passage easier lighting up the sky so much that it appeared to be dawn all through the night. A squall was developing behind us and was catching up. The wind died and we dropped the sails and began motoring. We were able to outrun the squall, but the wind never really picked up again. I was optimistic and raised the main sail anyway. At 3:00am we were at the North end of St. Lucia and decided to tuck into Martinique because another squall was developing to the Northeast of us. This one we could not out run.
As it approached the moon was hanging low and bright to our West. The storm to the East was dumping rain and the moonlight was refracting off the rain. It was our first moonlight rainbow. It was beautiful but eerie. Muted red, yellow, blue and purple were set in front of a pitch black background as the storm clouds absorbed all of the light below. We were heading right into the darkness.
A sudden 10-degree drop in temperature forewarned us that the wind was about to begin. I dropped the sail while Sue took the helm and motored into the storm. The wind howled. The rain blue sideways, but the waves remained calm. Once we had passed through the front, the center of the storm was calm but rainy. By 7:00 am we were pulling into Martinique. We anchored up, fixed breakfast and hit the hay.
After our naps, we motored into Le Marin to clear customs. We were all surprised at the number of sailboats in the harbor. It rivaled Trinidad, but they were all in the water. We decided to stay in Le Marin until after my interviews. I didn't want to risk being forced to sail, even if the conditions were not conducive.
We have spent our time here exploring the area. Phil and I motored the dinghy into the small rivers in the mangroves. Sue was excited by the large discount grocery store right on the water. Susan and I both liked the wine prices: a good bottle of French red wine 2 Euros ($3 US)! We plan on loading up the bilges with French wine for the remainder of the trip. On second though, I don't think the boat is large enough for that.
As the week progressed, I started to get a strange stomachache. Saturday morning I woke up with a 103.2-degree fever. I was thinking appendicitis; all the pain was on the right side. In a French country, getting sick on a weekend is not a good idea. Everything is closed. Phones don't take coins. You have to have a prepaid phone card. You can't even call a taxi. We spoke with someone a customs. "You should go to Fort de France to the hospital." We asked if they could call a taxi. "Non". So we were back to walking around looking for a way to call a taxi. As we wandered around, we found a big blue sign with a capital "H" in the middle of it. Unbelievable! There was a hospital about 60 yards from the Marina. You would have thought the custom's person might have pointed that one out.
With an 11 knot wind from the East, the day started out calm as we sailed North at 6mph. At that rate, it was going to take us 32 hours to get to our destination. As day turned into night, we had already passed St. Vincent and were closing in on St. Lucia. From afar, St. Lucia is a distinctive island with its two pointed mountains, the Pitons, at the Southern end. This is where parts of the movie Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed.
We continued on in the night. A full moon made the nighttime passage easier lighting up the sky so much that it appeared to be dawn all through the night. A squall was developing behind us and was catching up. The wind died and we dropped the sails and began motoring. We were able to outrun the squall, but the wind never really picked up again. I was optimistic and raised the main sail anyway. At 3:00am we were at the North end of St. Lucia and decided to tuck into Martinique because another squall was developing to the Northeast of us. This one we could not out run.
As it approached the moon was hanging low and bright to our West. The storm to the East was dumping rain and the moonlight was refracting off the rain. It was our first moonlight rainbow. It was beautiful but eerie. Muted red, yellow, blue and purple were set in front of a pitch black background as the storm clouds absorbed all of the light below. We were heading right into the darkness.
A sudden 10-degree drop in temperature forewarned us that the wind was about to begin. I dropped the sail while Sue took the helm and motored into the storm. The wind howled. The rain blue sideways, but the waves remained calm. Once we had passed through the front, the center of the storm was calm but rainy. By 7:00 am we were pulling into Martinique. We anchored up, fixed breakfast and hit the hay.
After our naps, we motored into Le Marin to clear customs. We were all surprised at the number of sailboats in the harbor. It rivaled Trinidad, but they were all in the water. We decided to stay in Le Marin until after my interviews. I didn't want to risk being forced to sail, even if the conditions were not conducive.
We have spent our time here exploring the area. Phil and I motored the dinghy into the small rivers in the mangroves. Sue was excited by the large discount grocery store right on the water. Susan and I both liked the wine prices: a good bottle of French red wine 2 Euros ($3 US)! We plan on loading up the bilges with French wine for the remainder of the trip. On second though, I don't think the boat is large enough for that.
As the week progressed, I started to get a strange stomachache. Saturday morning I woke up with a 103.2-degree fever. I was thinking appendicitis; all the pain was on the right side. In a French country, getting sick on a weekend is not a good idea. Everything is closed. Phones don't take coins. You have to have a prepaid phone card. You can't even call a taxi. We spoke with someone a customs. "You should go to Fort de France to the hospital." We asked if they could call a taxi. "Non". So we were back to walking around looking for a way to call a taxi. As we wandered around, we found a big blue sign with a capital "H" in the middle of it. Unbelievable! There was a hospital about 60 yards from the Marina. You would have thought the custom's person might have pointed that one out.
......The hospital is the big white building behind the boats
......The customs' office is the pink building on the water
We waited in the non-air-conditioned hospital for a doctor for about 2 hours. Everything was in French. My medical-French is not quite up to par, but somehow the doctors managed to understand so 30 minutes later I was admitted. The doctor agreed it could be appendicitis. After an ultrasound and blood tests it was determined that my appendix was fine. The doctor wanted to keep me there overnight. In the states, if you want to leave a hospital with out being property discharged, they keep you there by threatening not to file insurance for you. But here we were going to pay cash. I asked for the bill.
The staff looked at me like I was nuts. (Maybe I used the word that means "check", like after a good meal in a restaurant). In any case by 5:00pm no "check". Phil and I walked out of the hospital room, down the steps, and out the front door. The guy at the check in counter asked if we were leaving. I responded, "yes, we'll be back in the morning to pay and get the final results of the blood tests." Sue lingered behind. She did not want to be seen with me breaking out of the hospital. I had the same feeling as back in Trinidad during the fuel crisis. I refuse to be held against my will!
In the end, I got a prescription for antibiotics and pain pills. The hospital bill: 73 Euros ($97 US) including: doctor's time, extensive urine and blood tests, ultra sound, IV, pain medication, room, and lunch which, believe it or not, was not bad. Had I known it was going to be that cheap, I might have stayed for dinner as well.
For the next two days the fever was gone. But I was sweating buckets. Whatever I had was still hanging on. Monday I flew to Antigua and had a great night sleep in the hotel. By Tuesday, I felt like myself again. Just in time for seven interviews from 9:30am until 6:00pm. That evening, I started having pain in my back and arms. It felt like a knot in my back. Could be tension, so I went to bed. By midnight I was up and could no longer ignore the pain. I just wandered around in circles until the taxi came to pick me up at 4:00am for the airport. When I finally got back to the boat, Susan checked the internet for Dengue Fever, also known as "Breakbone Fever" due to the extreme joint and muscle pain. My symptoms matched the disease precisely, including the lull during the day I had my interviews. It's a mosquito born illness and is endemic throughout the Caribbean. At least we know what it is. You can get a test done after the fact to confirm that is what you had. That doesn't make a lot of sense to me, but by now I'm on the up tick and feeling much better.
So it's on to Dominica from here.
