11 and 12 February 2024

Les Trois Îslets to Fort de France, 14° 32′ 37′ N, 61° 1′ 65′ W, 2nm, 30 minutes

to Anse Mitan, 14° 33.55′ N, 61° 3.25′ W, 2nm, 30 minutes

to Sainte Anne, 14° 25′ 67″ N, 60° 53′ 32″ W, 20nm, 5 hours 30

to Saint Pierre, 14° 44′ 33″ N, 61° 10′ 65″ W, 30nm, 5 hours

It has been one the unexpected joys of this cruising life to randomly bump into carnival celebrations in various places we have visited. We have such vivid memories of watching the parades in Agios Nikolaos, Crete and Licata, Sicily.

In the Caribbean, however, Carneval has taken a more extravagant and raucous turn. Forced, in the French Islands, to convert to Catholicism, African former slaves rebelled against their European rulers to create the ultimate mash-up of Christian festival and African culture with a unique Caribbean twist. It became a celebration of emancipation from the chains of slavery and, throughout the islands, one huge party that goes on for days, weeks, even months!

In Martinique, Carneval is celebrated for the four days leading up to the beginning of Lent. Whilst those in the UK enjoy some low key pancakes, in Fort de France increasingly extravagant parades take place on successive days with different themes but all involving incredible costumes and loud, rhythmic music that echoes their African roots.

As we had been unexpectedly forced back to the area by the swell, this was one party I didn’t want to miss! But like our journey to the botanical gardens, getting to Carneval wasn’t going to be straightforward. We took the boat across the bay from our peaceful anchorage in Les Trois Îslets to the one right in the middle of the action under the fort at Fort de France. However, it seemed everyone else had the same idea and there was not enough space for us to squeeze into the anchorage safely. We returned to the anchorage at Anse Mathurin from where I could get the ferry only to discover that the ferry was not running from there on account of the high winds so we motored the short distance to Anse Mitan from where I could walk to the ferry that was still running.

Leaving Stefan to look after Pintail, I joined the long queue for the ferry. I knew from the garlands and feathers ahead of me that everyone was going for the same reason!

A rather wet ferry ride later, I waited patiently with the crowds, young and old, lining the pavement for the parade.

and suddenly began to feel very under-dressed indeed. However, not wishing to add to the mountains of plastic already littering our earth I decided against buying anything to enhance my outfit from the seafront markets stalls.

Tutus were obviously de rigueur and not just for the girls.

In fact cross-dressing is very definitely a Carneval thing!

The costumes in the parade were even more spectacular – feathers and sequins and jewels but also, refreshingly, some made entirely from recycled materials. The amount of work that must have gone into them was mind-boggling.

And there were drums

– a lot of drums

and very energetic dancing!

So much so that perhaps the most memorable of the groups in the parade was this one. Dressed in full body paint and clothing to resemble terracotta statues, unlike the other participants they moved slowly and then froze in a completing arresting and mesmerising tableau. An ingenious contrast from the other noisy, bright groups!

Returning on the ferry to Stefan and Pintail on the other side of the bay, it was time for us to try to leave Martinique again. We were nervous about trying another night in Saint Pierre after the drama of that night there but we wanted to avoid a longer passage up to Dominica. Plus we had a debt to settle with the harbour master after doing a runner from our buoy to escape the swell.

But before went back north, we had received news that Babs and Rene had arrived safely in Sainte Anne. The end of their crossing had been difficult. They had sailed into the weather conditions that had resulted in the swell that drove us from Saint Pierre and were more than a little weary but being only 20nm away we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see them before we headed to Dominica. So we went back to the very south of the island to see them.

Rizzo and all her crewmates were delighted to have made landfall and we shared a celebratory walk and a pizza together before Rizzo was fast asleep and Babs and Rene weren’t too far behind!

Leaving them to recover from their crossing, we pressed on northwards and returned up the coast to Saint Pierre. We found the mooring field completely calm again but soon noticed that all hadn’t gone so well for others the night we left in a hurry. Three boats were washed up on the shore. It is always a sad and sobering sight to see and we were grateful to have bailed out of there when we did.

Saint Pierre was still celebrating Carneval and we could hear the partying going on all through the night. When I made one last visit to the supermarket to stock up on our favourite French things at 9am the following morning, men, women and children were still dancing in the main street. Carneval really is quite the party in the Caribbean!

By now we had been on Martinique for nearly two weeks and we really needed to be moving on to keep our schedule of getting out of the hurricane zone by June..