Grenadines 2018

Saturday3February

Departing from Paris, it is accompanied by Christophe and Carole that I abandon the Nantes winter to join the Martinican summer almost 7000 kilometers away! As soon as we arrive in Fort-de-France, we take a taxi to reach our meeting point with our boat already moored in Grande Anse d'Arlet. A little rain accompanied by its setting sun welcomes us gently, while Thierry comes to pick us up with the boat's tender (a small zodiac).

For now, impossible to know on which of these sailboats we will spend the next seven days...   All we know about him is that he is a sailboat responding to the sweet name of Magix, a prophetic name if ever there was one, on the week to come...  

This is not this one, even if it looks like it. But the best thing is for you to go see it yourself on this site, you will have all its characteristics and even its last known position! shipid:3742002.   So, we finally embark in the superb 17 meters of our new floating home. A welcome ti' punch and hop, our first night on the water can begin!  

Sunday4February

Waking up in the same place as the day before! The anchor did its job perfectly, that's a good thing!  

Short morning walk on the superb wooden deck.

Thierry and Véronique our hosts, are busy with the last arrangements before departure.

Small tour of the owner meanwhile. The central cabin serving the 3 bedrooms. There is the kitchen and the living room.

The living room with the boat's electronic control panel.

One of the bedrooms with just next to it the all-in-one bathroom, sink, toilet, shower...

And here is Jules! The only one I didn't know before setting foot on Magix! He is the Skipper of the boat, the guarantor of the smooth running and piloting of the sailboat.

For now, it's the raising of the mainsail!

And we're off! Jules is at the helm, and the open sea opens its arms to us. Objective of the day, leave France and reach Saint Lucia, a British colony that gained its independence in 1979.

Here we are in the thick of it, and the beginning of the inconveniences specific to navigation arrives: seasickness... The only effective remedy, lie down and don't move, even better, sleep in the bedroom. But for now, impossible to miss the start of the trip, so I fight against nausea.... Fortunately, the urge to vomit and dizziness are not always present and disappear as soon as the boat stops, and in a few days, I will be used to it and will even be able to read during navigation!   We still have to hold on for 4 hours for this first crossing!  

And here we are approaching the coast of Saint Lucia, the course has been perfectly kept!

The two pitons of Saint Lucia, culminating at more than 700 meters.

Our arrival in this new country is accompanied by clouds pouring their rain a few kilometers from us. Fortunately, they will keep their distance.  

And nothing to disturb the quiet advance of the various surrounding boats.

The fake little neon green squid hooked to its fishing rod waits for its turn to go swimming in the ocean...  

All kinds of ships navigate here, from the largest to the smallest. Here, it is the majestic VELA honoring us with its pretty 31-meter long silhouette.

The Canary district.

Festival of "bouts" on the deck of Magix, name given to ropes.

A "bout" (pronounced boot) surrounding a "winch".

Details of the boat's helm.

And here we are in our mooring spot where a rainbow welcomes us. We drop anchor in the Soufrière district, the opportunity to cross the WYLDE SWAN, a 45-meter long ship built in 1920. It is the largest two-masted schooner in the world and is today a training ship.  

Night falls, and it will be welcome! It will take a good 8 hours of sleep to recover from this first day at sea!