On March 22nd, Andrew and I returned to St. Lucia from a fabulous time in California with my mom and my sister and her husband at my brothers wedding. We arrived in Rodney Bay around 3:00pm after a harrowing ride with our favorite new taxi driver, Vitus. He speedily took us thru back roads (and back yards, it seemed) in an effort to be efficient and avoid traffic.
Billy Ruff’n looked great as she was well taken care of by our friend Vision who waxed and polished her. We had a nice Sushi dinner at Ritual’s and went to bed early in preparation for a big day ahead.
The next day Vision and I hoisted Andrew up the mast to feed the previously severed spinnaker halyard back down and to inspect for sharp objects that may have cut it in the first place. Nothing was found so that part is still a mystery. We spent the rest of the day doing laundry and cleaning in preparation for our boat guests in two days. That night we had fresh fish from a local fisherman and dirty rice to reward ourselves for a hard days work.
The next day we continued boat work and caught up with The Ripples, friends on s/v Capers that we met three years ago thru the couple we bought the boat from. They gave us some good tips on what and how to ‘do’ Trinidad.
Our former boat partners, Jeff & Kathy arrived at Rodney Bay Marina around 3:30. We moved them on board and broke open the liter of homemade rum punch (with anise & bay leaves in it) that we purchased from the fisherman for $50! Sometimes, we get a little exuberant in supporting the locals and forget to ask “ how much”! That evening we had a really nice curry dinner at Sea Salt, one of our favorite restaurants in the marina.
The next day, we checked out of St. Lucia, fueled up and set sail for The Pitons. The wind was on our port quarter, blowing 15-20 knots and we sailed at an average 7.5 knots on one tack almost all the way. A boat boy in a white boat (with bright pink interior) called Father’s Blessing, motored out to meet us just as we came in sight of the bay. The young man said he was sent to help us with a mooring, which basically wasn’t true but that’s the way it works in this popular spot.
The boy actually ended up being helpful and proficient at feeding our lines thru the mooring ring quickly while the swift current pushed us around. We asked how much he needed for his assistance and paid the requested $40EC. Later that evening the National Rangers came to collect the mooring ball fee ($55EC) and they confirmed that the boat boys should only require $20EC.
Probably 15 minutes after we had settled onto our mooring, another fellow came by selling trinkets. We said “No thank you but appreciate you coming by” but he wasn’t taking that for an answer. He laid his necklaces and carvings, etc across the deck of our boat and said we must take something. He proceeded to tell Kathy and me how he grew up on the island, learned to make these items out of local seeds, wood and stalls, etc, etc. We asked how much and bargained him down to two necklaces for $20 US. Of course, later we saw them for $5 in the markets!
Not 5 minutes later, the next fellow came by selling fruits & vegetables. Fortunately, we needed limes so when he offered a bag, I took them. That evening, Andrew cooked up his new specialty of fish with lemon vanilla sauce as we enjoyed a green flash sunset and shortly thereafter went to bed poorer but happy.
On March 27th, we left St. Lucia for an ocean crossing to St. Vincent. The plan was to anchor out somewhere and check in at Bequia if we missed the customs office on the main island. Sadly, I got a phone call from my sister that my mom was in the hospital and my plans changed dramatically. I flew home from St. Vincent the next day and Andrew, Jeff and Kathy proceeded with the cruise down The Grenadines.
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