Back in St Lucia
Alia Vita
Rob & Frances Lythgoe
Sun 22 Feb 2015 17:06
13:57.96N 61:01.41W
We had a great sail from St Vincent to St Lucia and made excellent time. We were making 11 knots at one time, but generally powered along at 9.5 until we got into the lea of St Lucia and the wind died. At that point we put all the sail up and of course we then get big winds, we take some in and of course then it dies. Its just all part of sailing in the Caribbean.
As we approached St Lucia for the umpteenth time, it almost felt like we were coming home. This is where we made landfall after crossing the Atlantic, returned to for New Year and now again on our way north. We made for Marigot Bay which is a Port of Entry, and just to show that I'm not biased, here Customs and Immigration actually share the same office which is a great idea, as you cant check in or out of a country without visiting both, someone has really thought this through and made a effort here.......or have they? We arrived at about 5pm to discover that every day Immigration closes at 16:30 but Customs is open until 18:00. Brilliant! I just didn't bother until the following morning, which apparently everyone does, so what does the customs man do between 16:30 and 18:00? Rod and Jane very generously treated us to a very nice, very posh, meal ashore at one of the best restaurants in the Caribbean and headed for the airport the following day after a really great 11 days on board Alia Vita.
Carolyn and Jonathan arrived a few hours later; just enough time to clean up and get the boat straight. We will sail north from here to Antigua via Martinique, Dominica and Guadeloupe
. We have to be in Antigua for the 6th March for their flight home and then we have a two day 'rest' before Rebecca, Sarah, Dan and Phil make Alia Vita home for two weeks. We are already stocking up on food supplies as and when we get chance!
Alia Vita back in Marigot Bay, St Lucia. She likes it here.