Oriole abandoned!
Oriole
Sat 19 Mar 2016 12:10
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Rodney Bay Marina, St
Lucia
Saturday 19th March
2016 14:04.45N
60:56.98W
On Monday we finally left the fleshpots of Marigot
Bay and motored up to Rodney Bay where we anchored in very light airs before
going into the marina the following day.
All the easily nickable gear was removed from
the deck (life belts, spare anchor, BBQ etc), our valuable dinghy padlocked to
the deck and we were ready for the next adventure.
We shared a taxi with friends to the airport at the
south end of the island (90 minutes of winding uphill and downdale with some
beautiful views of the east coast. We had managed to book a flight to
Grenada on the tail end of a BA flight from Gatwick to Grenada via St Lucia
at a fraction of the cost of the local LIAT airline.
We were met by our good Trinidadian friend and
whisked off to their family's wonderful house on the south coast for a week
of sheer luxury and indulgence. We had visited briefly on our way north
and had hoped that we would be able to accept their invitation to join
them for their week's visit. Our real host, the owner, was present
for a few days to escape the frenetic preparations for their youngest daughter's
wedding at home today. We are not sure that the dust would have settled by
the time he got home. Needless to say his wife was sadly not with
us!
 What a view to wake up
to!
We lounged in the pool, swam in the sea at the
bottom of the garden, canoed into the lagoon to invite some yachtie friends for
drinks and eat 3 good meals a day and drank ......... On Sunday we
renewed our acquaintance with La Sagesse for Sunday lunch, the lovely small
plantation house hotel on the beach close to where we used to leave Oriole for
the hurricane season. We were warmly welcomed by owner Mike and his wife Lynn
who had managed to look after us in the aftermath of Hurricane Ivan in
2004. Mike had managed to cater for half a dozen yachtie guests without the
benefits of electricity or water, having to forage every day for food which was
cooked in his sitting room. There is hardly a roof on any building in
Grenada more than 12 years old, as Ivan removed the lot. The island has
made a remarkable recovery and the tourist industry is thriving in the very
popular area in the SW of the island. However this little gem on one
of the most beautiful beaches in the Eastern Caribbean remains unspoilt and
relatively undiscovered. Only a handful of people were enjoying its charms
although the restaurant was busy and we had an excellent
lunch.
 La Sagesse Beach - beat that, with
lovely warm water.
We also took the opportunity yo visit the new
marina/boat yard/haul out facility at Clarkes Court Bay which is in an advanced
stage of development and now hauling yachts and larger craft for storage and
maintenance.
 Clarkes Court Travel Lift - they don't
come bigger than this in the Eastern Caribbean. (compare wheel size with man
alongside).
Sadly the idyll had to come to an end as the
family returned to Trinidad and we caught our BA flight back to
Oriole, where a few jobs awaited us and we restocked the larder ready for
the trip north to Dominica and Antigua.
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