St. Lucia North Bound

The passage from Bequia to Rodney Bay, St. Lucia was a long one (72 nautical miles), as we again decided to pass St. Vincent by. One day I would like to give St. Vincent a try though, it looks so unbelievably rugged, green and beautiful. We had a fairly good day of sailing, and then motor sailing along the lee of St. Lucia, but as sunset neared we considered stopping at Marigot. As we got closer though, we watched as a couple of boats headed into the narrow entrance only to come right back out a few minutes later. As we pulled abeam of the entrance we could see the reason why, as the entire harbor was full - no room at the inn - so we had to push on to Rodney Bay after all, a wonderful harbor but one we would have to enter at night, always an interesting prospect!

We had been in and out of Rodney Bay before of course, we had decent charts, and the electronic chart plotter showed good detail, but it was still a little nerve-wracking as twilight faded into darkness (no moon), and the lights on shore mixed with the navigation lights marking a few rocks and reefs. We talked through what we expected to see and do, and as the harbor opened up in front of us we could see the anchor lights of a couple dozen other sailboats. We eased in slowly, trying to make sure we didn’t run into any unlit boats, buoys or fish pots, and closely watched the depth finder. We found a spot that seemed pretty good, and dropped anchor after 14 hours underway. The bliss you’re filled with upon reaching a calm, snug anchorage after a long day at sea is hard to adequately describe, but believe me, it’s sweet!

The Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC) is an event that gathers together over 100 yachts from small to large, to sail together in the fall from Europe to Rodney Bay, St. Lucia. Then everybody sails around the Caribbean for the season, some race, some cruise, and then they gather back at Rodney Bay in the Spring to sail back to Europe. So you come across a lot of interesting boats and people here who have actually crossed the Atlantic, no mean feat in itself. As we discovered on our way south, there’s also a good marine supply store, laundry, grocery shopping, etc., so it’s a very handy place to take care of items on “The List,” There’s always a list. We had one, and started checking things off.

We also decided to rent a car and buzz around the island to do some sightseeing, because we never got around to that the last time we were here. We drive on the left side on St. Croix, so that part is pretty easy, to get used to, but here most of the cars have their steering wheel on the right side of the car, which is an odd sensation for both the driver AND the front seat passenger! Some of the controls are located differently too (I frequently hit the wipers when I wanted to use the turn signals).

We drove east across the mid-section of the island, up a winding road into the rain forest, with giant tree ferns and bamboo, and enjoyed some wonderful vistas. We then dropped down to the eastern coast and made our way south to Vieux Fort, and then started up the west coast towards the Pitons. If you’ve been following, you may recall we spent an awful, rolly night anchored at the base of the Pitons, and we didn’t get to see the famous Jalousie hotel ashore there…so we decided to make a stop by car! It’s another one of those places that’s difficult to adequately describe, a quintessential small Caribbean resort in an overpowering natural setting. Pictures can’t really do justice to the overwhelming sensation of vertigo you experience walking around at the foot of the sheer cliffs of these towering behemoths.

The resort itself “needs a coat of paint” and some TLC, but just building it was obviously a labor of love and an outrageous accomplishment, and very nicely done…let’s hope the new owners have the vision (and deep enough pockets) to bring it back. We got back on the coast road and headed north again. following its zigs and zags as it wound its way around dozens of cliffs, ravines and canyons. Many little shacks along the way had a table and chairs set out, and a sign proclaiming so-and so’s bar, hoping to entice travelers to stop for a drink and look out across the Caribbean. We did stop at a little craft shop run by a Rasta, that had a fantastic view and was filled with lots of pretty nice artwork and handicrafts.

One of the things that this trip helped remind me/reinforce, is how much French influence there is on St. Lucia, and on many of the “English speaking” islands in the Caribbean. Most of the islands changed hands numerous times in the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Many of the towns along the way have very French sounding names, and the local folks speak a patois in addition to the Caribbean flavored English. As the sun set we still had a few miles to go, when the gas tank reserve light came on, adding just a little more excitement to the trip…no gas stations on this part of the coast! We finally made it out of the mountains and found a gas station, then drove through Castries and on up to Rodney Bay. We stopped off at an Indian restaurant in the touristy/hotel part of town, and had a pretty tasty dinner.

The next day we dragged the sewing machine out and Emmy repaired the sail cover, bimini and restitched and reinforced the outboard sling (remember that?), while I scrubbed the bottom of the boat and worked on items on our list. All the while we monitored the weather, and after a few days things looked good for our departure to Martinque, so we got ready to go.