Fort du France to St Pierre

15/2/2012

                                        

One of the reasons for going into Fort du France, was to increase our “anti boarding” arsenal. Over the last year or so, there has been an increase in yacht boardings and boat theft in anchorages. Historically “safe” places such as Bequia, Tobago Cays, Salt Whistle and Saline Bay, Carriacou, and Tobago have all suffered attacks. Some cases might be vendetta based, and some might be opportunistic, where cruisers are simply too casual about their security measures.

We have special stainless steel security grids for all our openings, and always lock ourselves in at night. Is that enough? We do not want a gun on board, quite apart from the serious hassle about declaring and recovering it every time you check in or out. If you have to hand it in, what use is it anyway?

We have elected to buy serious gel spray anti personal repellants.... big enough to incapacitate three or four potential thieves. In addition, we bought a 1000k Tazer baton.  A two to three second zap is more than enough to incapacitate someone, and give us time to restrain them or kick them overboard.  

We found what we wanted in Fort du France. Together with our existing “surprises”, we believe we are now sufficiently prepared to suggest that other targets might be easier!

The only bummer about our shopping in Fort du France, was that Standard Bank, yet again, ”for my own protection”, saw fit to stop my card, for about the 20^th time in 3 years of cruising.  Their reason this time??? I was now apparently shopping in France,  Europe, when I had told them only the previous week, that I would remain in Martinique for the next 3 weeks!! On that occasion, they had done the same thing, merely because I had sailed 26 miles from St Lucia, (EC$), to Martinique, and spent Euros!

But let me not digress…Standard Bank have now progressed to a whole new level computer initiated incompetence … Any hint of common sense, experience, geographic knowledge or service options have been  deleted as inapplicable!! They now deserve, and will get an entire blog, dedicated  to some shining examples of their  inability to service a customer of 45 years standing, who has simply decided to go sailing!! My first bit of advice to any South African wishing to go blue water cruising, and who has the misfortune of being a Standard Bank customer… is to CHANGE banks!!  You will live longer, and enjoy life more!!

There!!! I feel better already!

We left Fort du France and explored Trois Islets, the little town in which Napoleon’s Josephine first lived. It proved to be a squally, miserable day, compounded by our running aground on a sandbank in a channel  marked 9.7mts deep on the charts! We lost a little of our new antifoul, and decided, after a couple nights, to head up to St Pierre, on the northern tip of Martinique.

Another pleasant downwind sail did much to restore our “wa”! St Pierre was known as “the little Paris of the Caribbean”, and was a very important trading  and cultural centre from the early 1700’s until 1905. It boasted a beautiful and elaborate 600 seat theatre, a tram system, and was home to 30,000 people (the entire poplation of Martinique at the time was 180000). The eruption of Mt Pele on 8^th May 1905 reduced this population to just 2 people in 11 minutes!

The ruins, and Museum, housing relics, factual accounts and photographic records really brings the scale of this tragedy home. Today, St Pierre has been rebuilt and the population is around 5000 people. Mt Pele  is continuously monitored , but is effectively dormant now. The saddest fact, is that the volcano gave plenty of early warnings…. Mini eruptions, the sea in the bay got so hot that the fish left… ominous rumblings and smoke emissions!  So why was the town not evacuated? Because the elections for the Mayor, were due to be held on the 8^th, and he wanted them to be held as scheduled!!

So once again, political expediency cost thousands of innocent people their lives.

Ironically, one of the two survivors was not so innocent. He was a convicted murderer, and was found in his cell 3 days later, suffering from terrible burns. He was nursed back to health by some monks, and then paraded around the USA by Barnhams Circus as “The volcano survivor’!

 After our month long taste of French culture, we set off on the 60 mile sail to Portsmouth, Dominica