032702 We arose at 6:00 again, had breakfast (the pastries from the day before) and prepared the boat for sailing. Tim give us all quick lessons on putting up sails and how to use the handcranks and where to put lines. It was another one of those lectures where you learn what can go wrong and it scares the bejabbers out of you! Of course with Tim, you're well supervised so things rarely go wrong and his even temper helps a great deal when he's dealing with the novices.

We bought gas at a pier in Rodney Bay and discovered that the local officials had made an error on Tim's paperwork which would have cost us a bundle so he, PLP and I hopped into the dinghy and motored across to the shopping area to post R&T's b-day cards. (More stamps than writing on the fronts).

I've officially had my first bout of seasickness! We'd been under sail for approx. an hour and my stomach was unhappy! The problem is, you know the medicine's within reach, but it's below and you don't want to go DOWN THERE out of the fresh air to get it. My bladder finally decided the issue for me so I ventured into the depths finally emerging as green as the trees. Took some Dramamine, nodded off for an hour or so and was able to claim reasonable recovery in an hour or so.

I knew I was well when Tim arrived with a bagful of spring rolls he'd gotten while trying to correct the erroneous paperwork from the morning, and I was able happily wolf one down. The swells were 4-5' and it was wonderful to feel Avrion marching up and down them with ease, sails full and steady. My first true sailing experience!

Made Martinique in about 3.5 hours total and sailed into Le Marin accompanied by an impressive 3-masted commercial frigate who also put in at the bay. After making anchor we all decided a dip in the ocean was warranted. We dropped bill at the beach and motored out to the southern point and over the side! The colors were wonderful and we saw all sorts of interesting fishes, corals, sea urchins, and Scott even spotted an eel for us. Our body temps dropped enough to make us ready to come out after about 30 mins so we struggled and squirmed our way back onto the dinghy and picked Bill up at the pier.

Everyone had a shower on deck, lathering and rinsing each other then met at the back for West Indian Breakfasts. My first trip to France and of course Tim spotted the topless boaters and bathers right off.

Charming town made up of small shops, bars and restaurants strung along the waterfront. We decided to have dinner in town but realized we would need Euro's instead of EC so we decided to hunt up an ATM before dinner. We walked the full 3 blocks of town, but no ATM. Credit card in hand we dined in a small restaurant where Scott and Debbie had salads with an array of interesting toppings: blood sausage, some kind of spicy fish paste, fruits and veggies. Patti and Tim had steak (it was safest since we couldn't guarantee that any of the other dishes would not have had shellfish - hard to translate into French) and bill and I had Lambit (Conch) in a spicy tomato sauce with red beans and rice on the side. Chewy but good. Beers and Planter's punch to drink and cool and refreshing ice-cream for dessert. We staggered out after debating over the tip and made our way down the long jetty to the dinghy.

Back to the boat to sit under the bright, bright moon and tell stories until we all began nodding off. Off to sleep with the hum of the fans keeping my snoring to a minimal irritation for the rest of my fellow travelers. ((we lunched on the boat today with an array of cold meats, carrots, grapes, melon, bread and some quiche that Tim had purchased.))

[smk]