Lockdown in St. Lucia!

Since my last post (3/17), we’ve been trying to enjoy paradise in the midst of the COVID -19 pandemic. We spent a few more days in a mild form of denial, paddling on my SUP over to Doolittle’s restaurant in Marigot Bay for lunch and enjoying a new drink called Kiss the Bliss. Not sure of the proportions but it’s made of vodka, blue Curacao, lime juice, and grenadine syrup that is shaken with ice. I highly recommend it if you have the time to experiment and find the right mix!

We also ate at Masala Bay, one of the best Indian restaurants I’ve ever eaten at and with a beautiful view of the harbor. On the dock, we met the local fisherman, John, who introduced us to Corvino (sp?) fish and how to cook it with a turmeric & garlic rub. After we told him how much we enjoyed it, he came back the next day with the most enormous lobster I’ve ever seen!

As wonderful and relaxing Marigot Bay was, we decided to head back to Rodney Bay on March 19th in order to be in a position to provision food, have access to a chandlery and be in the company of other cruisers as we all try to sort out our next steps since all of the islands are closed and we all need to get our boats to safe harbor by June.

The options for us, in order of preference, seem to be:

1) Wait in Rodney Bay until Trinidad opens up and then go there as originally planned to be out of the hurricane belt and get some boat work done. The advantage of this option is that the boat would be where we want it to be and out of the hurricane zone. The disadvantage is that we don’t know when (or if, for that matter), the island will open up in time.

2) Leave the boat (hauled or secure in the water) in Rodney Bay Marina and fly home. The advantage being that we are already here, the virus is currently contained and the airports are still open, etc. The disadvantage is that we are in the hurricane belt (although they haven’t had one in ~25 years) and we don’t know if insurance will cover us.

3) Sail ~ 2000 miles back home. Advantage: we would be home! Disadvantage: It’s a long slog for two people and we could be sailing into the storm (so to speak) with regard to the virus.

It’s a scary decision we have to make but not one we feel we can make yet until we hear from our insurance company and about availability of haul out, etc. but we are in this with many other good folks who face the same dilemmas and are all trying to help one another.

At the moment, we are safe with access to provisions, laundry service, beautiful weather and good people. I cannot complain knowing that the whole world is going through one challenge or another. God bless us all and we’ll see you when it’s all over!!