Caribbean R&R: Rest, ...and repairs

Skyfall returned to Le Marin, Martinique on April 17th, 2025 just over three years after she left in February 2022. The skipper is now a circumnavigator!! Of course, there remained the small task of getting Skyfall home to Europe. But first a little R&R had been earned.

With a boat, R&R does not stand for ' rest and relaxation'. Sure there is rest. But the second 'R' refers to the inevitable 'repairs' required after an ocean passage. Some are entirely trivial (e.g. a toilet paper holder came away from the door and had to be re-fitted) whilst some are essential (like getting the AIS transmitter working again). But, however big or small the jobs, the list is always lengthy.

Skyfall moored in Marina Le Marin, Martinique

Berthed in Marina Le Marin, it really felt like the RTW adventure was over. The last few years have been characterised by nights in secluded anchorages with a few other cruisers for company. The boats always made the effort to get to know each other and impromptu beach barbecues were par for the course. Even in South Africa, there were typically less than 10, easily identifiable, international boats in any one port. Nobody was in any particular hurry and everyone had time for everybody.

The Caribbean is not like that. There must be over five thousand boats in Le Marin! Many are catamarans belonging to international charter fleets. Large groups arrive to 'live the life' for a couple of weeks before returning to the day job. They have no time to interact and anyway, are a large enough group to want to be independent anyway. Rarely have I felt so alone among so many people.

A simple French 'petit dejeuner' was very welcome after 26 days at sea

Granted, returning to civilisation allowed me to indulge in some 'guilty pleasures' usually outlawed by my dietician. I believe the French must offer research doctorates to investigate different ways of infusing vast amounts of butter into the smallest morsels of food. Very unhealthy, but boy, does it taste good! In addition, the supermarkets sold everything you could possibly want with a huge array of fresh fruit and vegetables.

Still, the upside from the lack of social interaction was that I could focus on that jobs list. By the Wednesday after the Easter Weekend, Skyfall was once again shipshape, my Caribbean rest and repairs was over, and I prepared to move on.

On Thursday 24th, I sailed to Les Saintes, Guadeloupe to clear in. Actually I was bound for the Jacques Cousteau Marine Park further up the coast but that is not a 'port of entry' so I stopped on the way. The weather was far from ideal and I think I used more diesel n this120nm passage than I did in almost 4000 nm getting from St Helena to Martinique! It is always the same if you are on a timeline and cannot choose your weather window.

In Les Saintes, I had a brief meeting with friends of Paul (my crew in South Africa). Bob, et al, have shared ownership of a catamaran which cruises the Caribbean and Paul is considering buying a share. As I may be asked to skipper the boat during his three week ownership, Paul felt it a good idea if the other co-owners met me. Meeting up turned out to be easier than expected. By coincidence, we ended up in the same office to clear in at the same time!

Jacques Cousteau Marine Reserve, Guadeloupe

I had also planned to meet up with Christoph (SV Tin Lizzy), who was anchored there too. Unfortunately, I ran out of time and it was a choice between missing a day's diving or moving on. Therefore, in the afternoon, I headed to the Marine Park near Plage Malendure. Anchoring off this beach is always a 'bunfight' with too many yachts trying to occupy too small a space. So I anchored a bit further away, leaving a 15 minute walk to the dive centre. I had three days of easy, enjoyable diving. There is little current, with no need to go very deep and there is lots to see.

These Caribbean lobsters were plentiful. Once, I saw seven together

The lobsters were bountiful. You did not have to search for them in nooks and crannies. They were roaming (hunting) around the coral, even during daylight. I also saw lots of giant crabs. However, my highlight was (again) the night dive I did. The squid were everywhere and could be attracted with your torch light. They seemed to want to play in the light and came so close you could literally tickle them.

Unfortunately the hard coral is in poor condition like every where else in the Caribbean (except Bonaire).

Candice and Sarah, my two 'hitchhikers' who needed to get from Guadeloupe to Saint Martin' to join boats for an Atlantic crossing

I picked up two hitch hikers, Sarah and Candice, two sailors who had boats back to France, but leaving from Saint Martin. It meant three days of vegetarian food and healthy diet. Sarah's parents live on Guadeloupe and grow fruit native to Guadeloupe in their garden. Each morning we had a wonderful bowl of exotic fruit to start the day.

Our day started wit a bowl of exotic fruits, some of which I had never tasted before

Being on a schedule means you cannot always choose when you leave. I had to be in Saint Martin by May 1st to meet Martin, my crew for the Atlantic crossing. The forecast was for no wind, rain and a lot of motoring. Fortunately it did not turn out that way.

Dolphins playing in Skyfall's bow wave

As we left Guadeloupe, we came across a large pod of dolphins who spent some time playing in the bow wave. We did motor for a few hours through the night, but the next morning, we have a lovely broad reach with Code 0 in sunshine

With two sailors as crew and perfect conditions, the Code 0 came out for the first time since Vanuatu

Rather than sail directly to Saint Martin, I elected to stop in Anse Colombier, Saint Barts for a day. This bay is beautiful, with crystal clear waters and great for snorkelling. In five minutes I had seen two rays and four turtles!

Sunset in Anse Colombier, Saint Barts

However the main reason was to do a 'bottom clean' (boat not the skipper) before the Atlantic crossing. It was much easier with three and we were finished in a couple of hours.

We arrived in Saint Martin on April 30th in the afternoon after another pleasant sail. On arrival, I had more good news: the spare brushes for the electric motor on the autopilot hydraulic RAM had arrived. Maybe I would be able to fix the intermittent fault on the autopilot (if the diagnosis of the problem was correct).

I had really enjoyed the girls' company. They had been a great antidote to my time in Le Marin. But all good things must come to an end. The girls left the next day, leaving me with laundry, filling gas bottles, and some minor cleaning before Martin arrived in the afternoon.

Martin arrived, jet-lagged, expecting a few days recovery, learning the boat, etc. How little did he know this skipper! More on his first and only day in Saint Martin in the next blog.