Hard work in St Lucia
Salila
Peter Ablett
Thu 13 Dec 2012 20:30
I flew up to St Lucia yesterday to spend some time with Rob and Rhian on Beyzano. They are doing the ARC Finishing line, and I will be helping out. It involves taking Beyzano out into Rodney Bay and as the yachts complete their Atlantic crossing you welcome them here and log their arrival time. There are 3 of last years boats doing the line, and each one does 24 or 49 hour shifts.
One minor problem was that the mooring buoy broke yesterday, there were winds over 30 knots much of the time. It was even dangerous to be in a dinghy out in the Bay a couple of days ago, but now the winds are forecast to calm right down.
There are a lot of boats arriving with ripped sails, quite a few have been caught in squalls with over 40 knots.
I arrived just in time for the Minister of Tourisms cocktail party last night, which was good fun. About 300 celebrating yachties and unlimited free rum...
Below is the scene this afternoon in the marina, it's decorated the same as last year, and there a events going on all the time. Good fun.
Peter Ablett