Heading South for the New Year - 13:00N 61:14W
Neki
Sat 1 Jan 2011 13:28
Today was our second day between the Pitons. Alex still could not swim
because of her cut so the girls did a land excursion. They went to the
Botanical Gardens and had a nice tour of the various flowers of St. Lucia.
They also got to see a beautiful water fall. The boys and I went snorkelling
in the Marine Reserve. We saw an abundance of fish and both kids did a great
job. I think it was their first time actually using a snorkel for an
extended period of time. A nice development. Anji arranged sunset and dinner
at the top of the hill at Dasheen. This is a beautiful spot with excellent
food. The sunset did not disappoint as it was spectacular. I cleaned the
boat like a maniac hoping to get a good shot of her from the top of the
mountain. I wasted my time as it looked like a speck in the distance. I set
the alarm for 0500 as we were heading to Bequia, a 50+ nm trip.
31 December
I cast off the mooring ball at 0540. The wind was flat and calm seas. The
crew began to stir as we hit the channel between St. Vincent and St. Lucia
the wind and weather picked up. Anji came on deck as a squall was
approaching and I was hurriedly bringing in the Yankee. The boys were next
around 0830 while Alex slept until 1000. The boys played their video games
down below and this led to a small stomach ache. Anji had the same problem
but they all toughed it out. We reached across the channel into the lee of
St. Vincent where the seas and weather eased. The girls went below and
finished a movie while the boys and I ran the boat and fished. The Bequia
Channel was equally windy and rough but more off the nose. We beat into the
wind at 8.5 knot boat speed with both the Yankee and the Main reefed.
Admiralty Harbour was very crowded and the wind was still way up so we took
the conservative route and picked up a local mooring ball. We ate lunch on
the boat and went to shore to swim in the breaking surf and take in the
local culture. Anji cooked a great New Years Eve steak dinner and we all
spent the evening on board as a family. Perfect!
