Tidings of Joy: Milling Around In Martinique

Do you know when you make a really good plan that makes sense and seems to align perfectly with your timing and cruising plans just to see it fall apart? That's pretty much what happened to us. I don't know why I can never remember the old boating adage of, "the best laid plans are written at sand in low tide" but I don't and we both continue to keep our hopes up and get disappointed. At some point in December our struggling salon air conditioner finally gave up and stopped working. We had been aiding it along since Panama and she just didn't have anymore to give. Knowing we were going to be cruising in the Caribbean for the next season I knew no a.c. was not an option. Jeff found a company in La Marin, Martinique who specializes in Dometic air conditioners. After several calls and reassurance they could order the three units and have them in 3-4 weeks Jeff gave the deposit. We figured the timing would be perfect after returning from Ohio for Christmas and spending NYE in Saint Lucia. By the time we arrived in Martinique they should be waiting for us or arriving shortly. Wouldn't that have been nice!

On January 3rd 2026 we cruised the short 33.7 miles from Marigot Bay, Saint Lucia to Saint Anne, Martinique. It was a calm and easy run with only 3 foot seas and 13-16mph winds and we had the company of lots of sailboats. We were happy to arrive in Saint Anne in the large anchorage with easily 100 boats but lots of room to not feel smooshed in. We had friends here and we were looking forward to getting together and moving into the marina as soon as our ac's arrived. The Seahawks were playing so that meant a swimming and football day.

The next day looked a lot like the first, football Sunday and swimming off the boat. Felt good to be out of the marina and on our own.

First Sunset Saint Anne Anchorage

Moonlit Anchorage

The next day we decided it was time to see exactly where we were so after our weekly Ocean Posse weather call we hopped in the dink and headed to shore. We walked the small sweet town and visited the church then had lunch at La Dunette a restaurant with great views of the anchorage. The food was fine and we were happy to be off the boat.

Church At Saint Anne

Dinghy Dock Saint Anne

Lunch at La Dunette

Saint Anne

As the days went by still no word on our air conditioners. Jeff would WhatsApp the company in La Marin and they would say they have contacted the dealer in Florida and they have been shipped and should be here anytime. So we continued to wait.

January 8th I went to the my first ladies coffee in Saint Anne and there were about 10 of us. It was a nice time and I enjoyed some time with other boating woman. Jeff picked me up and we took the dink into La Marin. We strolled around the town, checked out a couple of boat stores, had lunch and did some provisioning. It was a long day but nice to check out the big town.

Dinghy Ride to La Marin

Lunch in La Marin at Zanzibar

Before we knew it a week had gone by and still no air conditioners. At one point the installer told us to come into the marina so he could take the old units out so they would be ready for the new ones to be installed. To me this sounded crazy and I wasn't about to have two working units ripped out before we knew when the new ones would be here. So we continued to wait.

The Sea Sisters were still around so we went to a lunch with a bunch of them and their spouses while some people played Mexican train dominos.

Sea Sisters Lunch With Tom

Sunset Saint Anne

Before we knew it week two arrived and I found myself at another weekly ladies coffee. But this time afterwards we moved the boat into the marina at La Marin because we were told the ac's were coming in the next day and they were ready to get the boat prepped and ready. Finally!

Ladies Coffee

Moving into Marina at La Marin

Med Moored in La Marin Marina

After getting all situated in the marina and after the dock workers brought us a converter to use to convert their 50hertz power to our 60herts we left the boat. While the converter would allow our batteries to charge and some things to work on the boat it didn't work with the a.c's so weeks ago Jeff booked us a hotel where we would wait out the a.c. install. Sable Bleu hotel was nice, within walking distance of the marina and had a pool and restaurant. After the move we decided just to stay in for the evening and had some drinks and dinner at the hotel before going to bed.

Me at the Hotel

Having Some Drinks at the Hotel

Sable Bleu Hotel

I'm not sure at what point it was on the January 16th that Jeff connected with the air conditioning company but we were both blown away when they finally admitted that our ac's hadn't even shipped yet from Florida and were sitting in a container waiting on a ship to pick them up on February 2nd and get to Martinique on February 20th. This would be over 8 weeks from the time we ordered them. Not only that but we now were playing for a slip for a week and had a nonrefundable hotel. We were beyond livid and beside ourselves and couldn't believe any of this was happening when we were told they would be here any day. Jeff had already paid a hefty deposit for the air conditioners so canceling at this point seemed to be just as painful. There was nothing we could do about the slip or the hotel and we decided to give the ac's a think while we explored Martinique by car.

That night we had a nice dinner at Naia and licked our wounds. We decided that while we couldn't do anything about that week we would just keep the air conditioners as planned but instead of wasting any more time waiting, when the week was up we would take off and return when it was convenient for us. Not at all what we had planned.

View From Hotel

Dinner at Naia

On January 17th after we picked up our baguette from the bolongegrie and ate it on the boat we picked up our rental car and set out for the Habitation Clement Rum Distillery. The plantation was huge and you walked around on your own and not only saw the distillery but also the area where the family used to live and finally ending in the rum tasting room. At this point after traveling along Central America and the Caribbean we feel like we can give our own rum tour but this was a special place we wanted to see.

Tasting Room

Rum Barrels

Old Rum Factory

Since we had the car the next day we decided to check out the volcano which unfortunately was completely fogged in when we arrived. We then drove to the town of Saint Pierre and walked around, had lunch at an Alsatian restaurant and visited the catastrophe museum.

Fogged in Volcano

After Jeff told the ac guy we would in fact proceed with our order and things got smoothed over they came by the boat the next two days in order to take measurements, check out the spaces and make sure they would be ready when the ac's arrived. They were nice but I was salty feeling lied to and strung along. Nevertheless we still had the car and decided to keep touring while we were kinda stuck there. We visited neighboring cities of Trois Ilets, Point du Bout and Grand Anse D'Arlet and Anse Arlet. It was a long day but we knew once we left Saint Anne we would have thoroughly covered Martinique.

Driving Around

Our final day with the car we drove to a large Carrefour supermarket out of town and did a big 30 day provisioning in anticipation of leaving La Marin soon. Jeff returned the car and we met our friends Bill and Kris on Sacagawea for happy hour that night.

Happy Hour with Bill & Kris

Finally on January 22nd, 2026- 19 days after arriving in Saint Anne for our air conditioners we left. Tail between our legs and in disbelief we were finally released and made the 37.3 mile run to Saint Pierre mooring field. We went through several rain and wind squalls en route but we were happy to be out and boating again.

Since we had already visited Saint Pierre by car we kinda knew what to expect but this time we would be on the other side. It felt wonderful to be out of the hotel and home again. With a later afternoon arrival we stayed put and just enjoyed our new scenery. The morning field was nice and I appreciated someone coming out to help me with the lines.

The next day still happy to be back on board we just took it easy and had a slow morning then did a few chores around the boat before getting into our reading, swimming and backgammon routine. We were happy.

Au Revior Saint Anne

Entering Saint Pierre Mooring Field

Rainbow Over Saint Pierre

We decided we needed some movement and while he had already seen the town there was still more to explore. There was a decent size farmers market happening that we walked through and we walked all over town ending up at La Vague where the waitress and maybe owner was extremely rude to us. Nothing like a warm French embrace. Why this still shocks us I don't know but it seems to be the French way. After a coffee from the coffee shop we returned to the boat to swim and relax.

Farmers Market

Walking Around Saint Pierre

Lunch at La Vague - Tidings Of Joy In Background

Sunset

Over the next several days we enjoyed both being on the boat and going into town. We even went back to the Alsatian restaurant that we tried on our road trip. The sauerkraut was so good we couldn't resist. And right before we were going to leave Joy & Patrick from Quinn's Gambit showed up so of course we had to meet for happy hour. We did the necessary check out with customs online and scooped up another baguette and with complete elation we were leaving France. Hallelujah!!!