Sailing South

After visiting the spectacular Dominica, our journey south began in earnest. We were now into mid May and the hurricane season was approaching fast. We needed to head towards Grenada pretty quickly. Bypassing many islands, we chose carefully where we would stop on route.

Martinique was on the list; not because it is our favourite place, but because it is good for provisioning and we wanted to stock up before heading to the smaller islands further south. Our stop there also coincided with our laptop screen breaking. Luckily, there was a very efficient Apple repair centre who diagnosed the problem and were able to fix it. The only downside was that the new screen had to come from France. This meant three weeks in Martinique, instead of one. Not what we had planned! Not wanting to sit around, we decided to make the most of this extra time to get in some more independent diving.

Provisioning done

Infamous Mount Pelee

First stop was a return visit to Saint-Pierre. Last time we had been here (see ‘Heading North to Guadeloupe’), we had learned about the catastrophic eruption in 1902 which had completely destroyed the town. During this eruption, at least 12 ships, which had been at anchor in the harbour, were burned and sank. Today, many of the wrecks are still lying in the bay, but, at between 50m and 100m deep, most are too deep for us to dive. One, the Diamant, is at 30m and accessible for a short dive. This wreck is the remains of a 26m long steam boat that transported passengers from Fort-de-France and Saint-Pierre. Unfortunately, there is very little of it remaining as the wooden superstructures were destroyed in the fire. It was still interesting to try and find it though

Whilst down there, we also managed to find the nearby wreck of the Dahlia. This is an American deminer which had sunk in 1957 after an explosion. This too was at 30m and, but again there was not much left.

Heading south along the west coast, we returned to our favourite dive sites, the bays and headlands between Anse Dufour and Anse Chaudiere (see ‘Bonjour Martinique’). Yet again, they didn’t disappoint. The coral and sponges were as magnificent as we remembered; the most vibrant colours we have ever seen. The marine life was varied and abundant. However, the highlight of our dives, was the discovery of a pair of octopus mating. Whilst we didn’t realised this at the time of the dive, we had been surprised to see two so close together as they are usually quite solitary. Once back on board, we set about researching. We learned that octopus only mate once in their lives, and depending on the species, the process lasts between 30 minutes and 4 hours. The male has a specially adapted tentacle called a hectocotylus which transfers sperm to the female. In some species, this is detachable which helps the male make a quick get away afterwards, just in case the female gets hungry and tries to eat him!! We were indeed fortunate to spot this rare and interesting sight. Check out the video and you will spot the straight hectocotylus leading from the larger male towards the smaller female.

From Martinique, it was down to St Vincent and the Grenadines. Unfortunately, our extended time in Martinique meant we only had time for just over a week here. Our stops were, therefore, limited to one/two nights in our favourite bays (see ‘Goodbye Grenada, hello St Vincent and the Grenadines’ and ‘More islands – Canouan, Mustique and Bequia’).

Port Elizabeth (Bequia) for check in and a beach side lunch.

Beautiful Bequia

Perfect lunch stop

Ready for 'work'

Charlestown Bay (Canouan) to catch up with William and pass on some fins to help with his fishing.

Caribbean life in Canouan

Saline Bay (Mayreau) for a quick walk and meal at the Ranch Escapade. Followed by a couple of nights at Tobago Cays. As usual a great place for a snorkel with turtles and eagle rays. This time we even spotted a large reef shark.

Tobago Turtle

What a view of the Cays

Charming Chatham

Finally a stop at Chatham Bay (Union) for a final sunset drink before heading back to Grenada.

All too soon it was mid June and we were back in Grenada and Carriacou once more. We had returned to our Caribbean arrival port after spending an amazing six months discovering the wonders of this part of the world.

Sunset at Sandy Island (Carriacou)

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