Getting tired of all the tourists? Petite Martinique (PM), the northernmost outpost of Grenada, is small and authentic without a tourist bone in its body. I love to overnight here, take a long walk, and have a meal ashore. It is a good place to look for bargains on beer, liquor, and wine. The inhabitants live by boatbuilding and seafaring (and, in days of old, smuggling). Fishing has always been important, and currently, long-line tuna fishing is very successful. Many vessels lie at anchor and the docks are far busier than the roads. The fancy new houses are recent, but some of the older wooden pitched-roof houses are photogenic, especially at the eastern end of the island. PM is larger than it looks. If you turn right from the dock the road winds round the south side of the island. It is possible to walk all the way around, but the eastern part is a thorny scramble with no real trail. You will find the people here friendly and welcoming, and the island has several shops and a restaurant. For the adventurous explorer and snorkeller Fota and Petite Dominique are within range of a seaworthy dinghy.
If you come from Carriacou and are returning to Grenada, leaving from PM sets you up for a good sail down Grenada’s East coast.
The holding in PM is in soft mud and not always easy. Use plenty of scope, and if it is blowing hard, use your engine to keep the boat in place to allow the anchor time to sink into the mud before you put strain on it.
The best thing is to eat at the Palm Beach Restaurant, then you may pick up one of their two free customer moorings off their dock, both marked with a tall red flag attached to the end of the mooring line (just lift the flag and the line comes with it). For customers wishing to stay longer than a couple nights, and for non-customers, they charge $50 EC per night for the moorings.
If you do have a problem, a big, shallow (8- to 12-foot deep) patch of easy anchoring sand is clearly visible about half a mile north and a little east of the docks. It is a fair dinghy ride in, but okay.
