s/v Nine of Cups The Windward Islands

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The Windward Islands were so named by the British because to get to any of them, a sail to windward was required.  They include the islands of Martinique, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada, and all territories belonging to these countries.  Our passage from Dominica in the Leewards to Martinique  was fast and exhilarating with 20-25 knots on the beam.

In Martinique, we anchored off the historic little town of St. Pierre... a delightful blend of French civility and the exotic Caribbean.  St. Pierre is commemorating the 100th anniversary of the eruption of Mt. Pelee which totally destroyed the city and its 30,000 inhabitants in May 1902.

Harbor view in St. Pierre, Martinique.  We rented a car in Martinique and toured this beautiful island, including a winding road that took us near the top of the dormant Mt. Pelee.

Since we'd been to St. Lucia before, we opted to make our visit there brief.  We moored one night between the Pitons, two distinctive peaks.  When we here last it seemed magical... almost surreal.  This time, we lay out in the cockpit until the full moon rose and gazed around us.  The ambient light was enough to illumunate the Pitons and it was spectacular.

Saline Bay Anchorage, Union Isalnd, Grenadines - The winds are with us now, and each day is an invigorating sail to the next port.  We visited St. Vincent, Bequia, Canouan, Mayreau, and Union islands, all absolutely beautiful.

Carriacou, then Grenada, the Spice Island, were our next stops.  Miss Delta above, gave us a short tutorial on locally produced spices including nutmeg. cloves, cinnamon, mace, cocoa, allspice, pepper and cardamon.

Two days after we arrived in Grenada, we heard sirens late one evening and throughout the night.  In the morning we saw the results of the night's fire.  This was the remains of the previously picturesque Carenage waterfront.  The charred, gutted remains smoldered and smoked for days.