Martinique -- The Next Jerry Lewis

On the way to Martinique this morning we got hit by the wave from hell. It wasn't a particularly big wave or anything, just a case of bad timing. We were sailing along great at 8 knots. As we approached the island of Martinique we were in a trough when the next wave broke over the side deck. A big wall of water came crashing through the cockpit, soaking everything including us. Usually we have waves coming over the bow but they rarely reach the cockpit, so this was a little scary (note to our parents: we weren't in any danger, don't worry). The only bad thing is that now our cockpit seat cushions are encrusted with salt, so we'll be washing down the boat tomorrow. Other than that it was a pretty great sail and we arrived in St. Pierre in the early afternoon. Customs was located in a bar (first time we've seen that!) so we ordered two Lorraines (local beer) while we filled out the clearance paperwork.

Seems like whenever we first arrive in a country it is either a holiday or a Sunday and everything is closed. Being Sunday today was no exception but we did manage to find a little pizza place on the beach that was open. Martinique is another Overseas Department of France and here almost everyone speaks French exclusively and it is hard to find someone who speaks English -- even more so than in Guadeloupe. But the pizzeria owner was a nice older gentleman and was tickled that I was making an attempt to speak his language. When we were in Puerto Rico, I had a sort of joke for when I told people we lived on a boat. I told them Kevin was the captain and since I didn't know the word for "crew" I said I was the "team". Not super funny but enough to get a polite chuckle. So I figured out a similar word for "team" in French when I was telling the owner about the boat. He laughed so much that on the way home I started to doubt that I was using the right word. I looked it up and sure enough I was telling people that Kevin was the boat's captain and I was the baggage. No wonder the guy was laughing so hard. Apparently in French I am hi-larious.

Where we are:
Location=St. Pierre, Martinique
Lat=14 44.453
Lon=61 10.668