Sultry St Lucia,
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As we approached the dinghy dock to clear Customs and Immigration, we
could not believe how much the Rodney Bay marina had changed over the last 10
years. Now a very modern and
upmarket marina development, with over 200 berths. We also spotted the Canadians; Jonas and
Heather on Sea Otter, who we had met in Almerimar, Spain in August 2010 and then
again in Porto Calero, Lanzarote in November. Having taken a yeaâs sabbatical, the
couple crossed the Atlantic in spring 2010 and were preparing for their second
crossing back to the Caribbean around the same time as Nimue! They were also
accompanied by their sea dog; Stormy, who I took a real liking to. Stormy spoken as Storrrmy, is an
American Hairless Terrier with absolutely no hair and I affectionally refer to
her as the leather dog. Sheâs quite
amazing and when the temperature falls slightly, she starts to shiver so has to
be dressed in warm doggy clothes.
In fact Heather told us that back in the cold climes of Canada, âStormyâ
has a flying jacket which a special tail cover! You can imagine how ridiculous this all
sounds, but it absolutely true as you can see from the pictures of Stormyâ in
her PJs! She also is very obedient
and when Jonas says the word bang, Stormy falls down as if dead- really quite
funny.
Stormy the Sea Dog dressed in her PJs making herself comfortable
Jonas off Sea Otter showing us his dirty fuel problem!!
Sea Otter moored in Rodney Bay Marina We took the opportunity to spend a few days in the marina, as we hadnât been in once for over 6 weeks, which gave us a chance to give Nimue a good clean and undertake a few jobs, made easier being on the dock.
View of Rodney Bay Marina Flying Cloud and Equa Regis arrived at the anchorage and Rick and Lucy the gange on board for indulgent snacks and drinks. This gave the opportunity to quiz them about sailing up the East Coast of the USA,Rick and Lucy are from North Carolina. We also found out that the locals call the Intercoastal Waterway â ICW - the ditch! Shopping ashore was quite novel, as it had been a long time since we had been able to walk around modern air conditioned shops and it did not take long for Michael to purchase some new walking type flip flops. There was also plenty of choice to be had at the 2 large supermarkets, so we replenished the ships stores and even stocked up with Waitrose Essential Salad Cream! Coming back to the inclement weather we were having. It remained very unsettled and bucketful's of rain descended upon us most days and nights! Apparently this is not the norm for this time of year........... quelle surprise. Last but not least Martin and crew from âOtra Vidaâ arrived in the marina, so we took the dinghy across the bay to Pigeon island and enjoyed rum punch and roti, said to be the best on the island at the Jambe de Bois.
Martin and Silvy (top) and Anna and Bodo (bottom) enjoying cocktails at the Jambe de Bois
Finally after 10 days, we cleared customs, filled up with diesel (only about 70p per litre here) and set sail for the French Caribbean island of Martinique. |
