Another week down, and two more new islands! First St. Lucia, then Martinique have proved to be quite nice in their own ways, and quite different in some as well. In St. Lucia, there was a stiff breeze most of the time, with rain squalls rolling through several times a day, dumping rain for two to 20 minutes at a time. In Martinique, the climate is drier, and we can go an entire day without a single rain drop. The weather feels noticeably cooler, even without as much of a breeze blowing through the boat.

Rodney Bay in St. Luicia is home to Pigeon Point - once an island, now connected by a man-made landmass, and home to a significant fort and lookout position during World War 2, aptly named Fort Rodney. Although small, a square terrace at the top provides a panoramic view for miles on end, which was used to warn of approaching enemy ships. This gave the possibility for a several-hour advance to prepare.

A friendly local man, Gregory, keeps a heavily loaded boat full of fresh fruit, which he slowly makes his way through the bay peddling to anchored boats. An excellent salesman, we stocked up on some new foods, including a papaya, yellow and red passionfruit, and 'sweet' oranges, which were entirely green!

A short and fast sail from northern St. Lucia to southern Martinique had us anchor down early afternoon in bay Sainte-Anne next to our familiar American friends on board Oso, which we keep running into - first Ireland, then the Canaries, Barbados, now Martinique. As big of a bay Sainte-Anne is, there are just as many boats. I'd reckon to the tune of 200, all anchored together although still with comfortable distance between. Never have I seen so many other Outremers, either, with probably a steady dozen filling the bay, with some leaving and new ones coming in every single day. Just for a record some that we saw included: Ti'Ama, Andira, Oatao V, Biotrek, Forever Now, Atlas, Sizzle, Awen, EastWest, and Zapoli, just to name a few.