Isle du Salut to St Laurent du Maroni

After a couple of days in Coconut Bay we weighed anchor and set off north, destination St. Laurent. 

The wind was light and from behind but our large mainsail managed to give us 4 knots. The first afternoon we were hit by a violent squall which had us changing direction until we could get Artemis back on course. Come dusk another squall arrived however it didn't look as angry as the first so I let Alison rest and stayed by the wheel waiting for the wind shift. The wind changed direction but I steered the boat to keep wind in the sails and we speeded up a little, then as the squall passes, back on course.

The night shift was awful, not because of the sea state (mercifully low) or the wind strength but the thunderstorm that enveloped us was terrifying. The rain pounded down, the sky was blacker than black, broken every few minutes by the type of fork lightening you only see in horror movies. One moment pitch black, the next lit up momentarily by a million watts. It lasted all night and come morning we were approaching the Maroni river entrance which seemed to take forever. We overtook another yacht heading in the same direction, wind on the nose, engine on. 

S/V Romarin, Florence & Dominique, Fr, being overtaken

It was a long way up the river, we used binoculars to spot the next buoy to aim for as they were very far apart. The sun beat down relentlessly and thankfully we had put up a small makeshift Bimini, so we at least had some shade.

Eventually we arrived, had timed the incoming tide well and hooked a mooring buoy at St. Laurent at around 3pm. 'Were you in that storm last night?' People asked 'It wasn't forecasted!'.

The anchorage is located behind the island....a wreck with many trees growing on it. This is the steam ship 'Edith Cavell', built in Sunderland, UK.

Edith Cavell

The buoys belong to the marina where you could get water, ice, Italian coffee, ice cream, beer and it was very simple to check in.

The town is very colonial with a great veg market, fantastic Vietnamese soup. Also Super U supermarket.

Miles

Beautiful buildings

We visited the ex prison next to the waterfront and learned there were more than 20 such establishments in French Guiana.

We met up again with 'Awelina of Sweden', Fiona & James and we had a couple more days out in the hire car. One trip was a planned hike into the jungle which we had to abort due to being eaten alive by Mosquitos....good times!!! Another trip was visiting an Native Indian village...very interesting.

Alison

Miles in the village

Alison & Fiona

James

Isle du Salut (Devils Island)

We knew that our timing wasn't good, there was a 'Rocket Launch' scheduled from Kourou the next day. We heard on the VHF and the Coast Guard came alongside to inform us, very nicely, that we would have to sail 4 miles north or go to Kourou as we were in the exclusion zone. We opted to go the 4 miles north and we needed to leave before midday. Off we went, only to find that the launch had been cancelled due to a technical problem. We arrived back to the anchorage well after dark.

The next day, the same again however the rocket launched and we took photos and a video. The sound was the most exciting. This time though, as soon as the rocket was out of sight we headed back to the anchorage just before dark. My reasoning....when a penalty is taken, the moment the ball is kicked, the players on the outside of the box are allowed to approach the goal!!

Rocket launch

The next day we visited Isle Royale (largest Island) and had a look around the old French prison colony. Very interesting! We thought that a French prison would be quite cushy, but no, it was very very harsh regime indeed. I was shocked that the French would treat their own countrymen so cruelly, especially after the revolution.

Isle Royale

Isle Royale

The anchorage is beautiful. Sitting quietly on Artemis of an evening, the sound of the monkeys and other wildlife on the island, coupled with the islands' generator going on & off and the sound of our very own fridge, we were very much reminded of the 'Lost' tv series.

Coconut Bay

Artemis & Awelina of Sweden at anchor

There was a hotel and restaurant, no shop or supply of potable water on the islands. We had a visit from Tony, a tour boat operator whilst his customers were exploring the island. Nice guy! He offered to bring us supplies from the mainland if we needed anything. Next morning, a baguette, cheese, eggs and a bottle of wine were waiting for us. Thanks Tony!

At anchor was a South African couple we had met in Brazil and a English couple, James & Fiona S/V Awelina of Sweden, whom we had met previously in Cape Verde. We had arranged to go over for a drink a day or so later but the weather turned squally. We called over that we would take a rain check. Glad we did as the wind and sea state increased dramatically. Yachts were dragging anchor and changing position to get in the lee of Isle St. Joseph. A large freighter came to shelter behind the islands...our new neighbor. We kept watch that night but our anchor never shifted. In the morning things were no better and Awelina motored by to tell us they were going up river to Kourou. We decided to follow suit and quickly weighed anchor to get there before the tide changed. We just made it!

Freight vessel (our neighbor)

Awelina in Kourou

The river anchorage gave very good holding and water was easy to get from the local pontoon.

James & Fiona hired a car and we had a couple of days out visiting Cayenne as well as shopping for supplies and spares.

Kourou had plenty of shops (mostly Chinese) but also the French favorite, Super U supermarket (ours as well).

Cayenne view from the fort

After nearly 2 weeks on the river, in calmer weather, we headed back to the Isle du Salut to continue our exploring and wait for wind to continue our journey. We explored Isle St. Joseph and viewed Isle du Diable from there as it is quite inaccessible. They had previously been a cable car arrangement from Isle Royale years ago, but no more. It is said that the dead bodies of prisoners were fed to the Sharks. Tony said it was ok to swim as the Sharks wouldn't be interested in us. We did but stayed close to the boat.

Cemetery St. Joseph for staff not prisoners

The Prison corridor 

Alison in a prison cell...no roof only bars!

View of Isle du Diable

Jacare, Brazil to Devils Island, French Guiana

We left Jacare on 20/9/16, destination...The Isles du Salut, the former French prison colony, more commonly known as Devils Island.

The first day sailing went very well although the sun and heat was relentless. We poured buckets of sea water over ourselves in hope to cool down. The sea took a ugly turn by nightfall and neither of us got much sleep.

On day 3 we crossed over 2 sea mountains. Others we had spoken to had said said they would definitely avoid them. We took a direct route which meant we went over them and couldn't tell any difference in the sea state. During the night Alison got tipped out of her bunk onto the floor but we were well past them by then....maybe there was a delayed effect...who knows?

Alison on the floor!

The wind rose the next night and in the morning we noticed a tear in our mainsail. The sea was 2 meters and we decided to leave it up.

Tear in the mainsail

Day 7 and the wind reduced. We were doing 7 knots at the start of our journey, then 6 knots, then 5 knots and now 4 knots. We tried a bit of fishing and after about 5 minutes I caught our first ever fish. Alison cleaned it and I cooked it for supper.

First fish

The next few days/nights were a mixed bag of different wind strengths and sea conditions, until day 10 when we hit the doldrums. The sea was like rippled silk and we could see many fish in the clear water. No wind but we still moved around 3 knots with the strong current. We had a magical day...Alison had a short swim. We ate our lunch (drop scones) sat on the sugar scoop under our solar panel and watched the fish clean our hull. When night fell, the sea was lit up with flashing/pulsating lights as we travelled through a field of glowing squid/jellyfish, not sure however it was incredible. A small bird hitched a ride with us..Alison named it 'Mabel'.

Doldrums

Alison having a dip

Fish cleaning our hull

The wind returned the next day, however the sea was not kind and no matter what we did with the sails, we couldn't get a comfortable ride. The day before we arrived to our destination (day 12), Alison wrote in our log..'feel like we've been in a tumble drier for 8 hours!'

On day 13 we arrive in Coconut Bay, Isle du Salut at dawn. We anchored in 6 meters using 30 meters of chain...a first for our new 'Bugle' anchor!

Isles du Salut