Hello again St. Lucia

On March 1st, we said goodbye to the green flash sunsets in the French speaking islands and hello to St. Lucia, which felt like returning home a bit since we spent 3 months here during COVID in 2020. We had a lovely sail between the islands of Martinique and St. Lucia and arrived in Rodney Bay early in the afternoon. We anchored in the Bay right next to our solo sailor friend, Amy on s/v Wahine.

Check-in was easy so we spent the rest of the day looking into providers for our boat projects. We found Kenny would be available to repair the stack pack & awning, Chinaman could come look at our water pump to see if we needed a new bracket (or some other fix) and John at Regis Electronics was around to consult on Navionics updates and other electrical concerns. With that under our belt, we went back to the boat for sundowners w/ Amy and got to bed early.

The next day, our friends John and Lisa showed up on s/v No Wahala so while they settled in on their anchor and checked-in, Andrew got a haircut and I got a pedicure (the most civilized things we have done in some time)!  That afternoon, we gave John & Lisa a walking tour around Rodney Bay Village and had an excellent lunch of octopus and other delights at Keebee’s Sports Bar & Grill, where locals and visitors meet to watch soccer and other events.

On Friday night, Andrew & I, along with John & Lisa took our dinghies to Gros Islet, where the locals have a rowdy street party every week. We were early, so the crowds weren’t too wild yet, but the loud, thumping music had started and the booze and food vendors were set up. Some locals had little trinket stands and this one young man was showing us his skill for making an origami-like bird, cricket, fish and flower, out of the local ferns. He gave one to me, gave one to Lisa and then asked John for $20… what a scammer! When we heard the locals calling us WEGO’s (a derogatory term for white people), we decided to leave before the vibe got worse. We went back to the boat to make lobster salad out of the catch we purchased right off our boat from a fisherman on his way in to market earlier that afternoon.

The next day, we went hiking in the National Park with John & Lisa, along the beach on Pigeon Island and up to to the Old Fort, where there are spectacular views and we could take pictures of the cannons aimed at our boats in the harbor. After the hike, we went to Jambe de Bois, a delightful restaurant and art gallery in the park, and rewarded ourselves with beers and some of the best roti (chicken, lamb and/or vegetables stuffed into a crepe like pancake) in the islands.

On Monday, our friend Simon, a British bloke who has lived in St. Lucia servicing boats for years (and had worked with us in 2020) came over to consult on our projects; advise us on who to use and who to pass on, etc. We hoped to work with him as a general contractor, while we leave the boat for a few weeks to fly home for my brothers wedding. Simon decided to take on the water pump project himself and hooked us up with a diver to clean the bottom of the boat and (hopefully) a refrigerator expert to recharge our freezer & fridge.

The evening before John and Lisa were to head south, we treated ourselves (and our friend, Wayne) to Jacques Restaurant, a lovely spot on the water, with it’s own dinghy dock (along with valet dinghy parking) and very pleasant service. Andrew ordered lionfish and I ordered lamb. Both came with an assortment of artfully presented sautéed vegetables and everything was fabulous! 

On Tuesday, John & Lisa left for Marigot Bay and Amy (and her new boyfriend, Steve) left to sail north, each in their own boats. A fresh set of old friends appeared that afternoon on s/v Frog’s Leap and today, we will enjoy catching up with them at Bosun’s, an excellent Indian Restaurant in the marina.

Tomorrow, March 9th, we fly home to Philadelphia and a week later we’ll fly out to California with my mom for my brothers’ wedding. We return on March 22 to prepare for the fantasy trip to The Grenadines  & Grenada that never happened in 2020, but we’re going to make happen with our old boat partners this year!