Rodney Bay, St Lucia
Storyteller
Thu 13 Dec 2007 22:13
14.05N 60.57W
Well here we are in Rodney Bay, St Lucia after 16
and a bit days at sea, with a very benign Atlantic crossing behind us. After all
the preparation for any medical emergency, we used only one bandaid on the whole
trip. We sailed pretty conservatively, avoiding gybing in the dark, and
although we travelled a longer distance than many boats, as we look around the
dock at shattered booms, we know that playing it safe has really paid off,
especially as it's only five weeks until we set off for the next leg of the
journey.The Caribbean couldn't be more different than the Canaries, with
all the colour, dreadlocks, music and sultry weather, all the more so as we
came in on the tail of Hurricane Olga, only the tenth ever recorded in
December. Thanks to our weatherman, Bruce Buckley in Perth we were able to get
the best of the winds when all around us yachts were motoring, and behind us
they were stuggling with exceptionally strong winds and huge down to chick peas
and lentils. Some of the Beneteau 57s are still at sea with damaged gear and
crews who must be pretty fed up by now. Each time a yacht comes in horns toot
and a great cheer goes up, especially for the very small boats.
After our rather hairy start, we had a trouble free
trip, with no seasickness and only one bandaid used. Others were not so lucky
and some crew members have been transferred to ships with bad burns and head
injuries. A few yachts were abandoned at sea after suffering structural damage,
with their crews being picked up by nearby boats. The atmosphere here on the
dock at Rodney Bay is exciting, with everyone having a tale to tell of 50 knot
squalls or huge fish that got off just at the last minute. Highlights for us
were spotting a whale and pulling in three good fish. The days and nights
went surprisingly quickly, thanks to radio contact with friends on other boats
and a good selection of music and comedy on the Ipod. John and I were
never bored and feel much more confident now about the long leg from the
Galapagos to the Marquesas in French Polynesia. In fact, the most challenging
part of the trip was coming up the narrow channel to the marina in the dark and
strong wind, trying to dodge unlit yachts at anchor and fishing buoys. The
buoyage system of red and green lights marking channels is the opposite in North
America to the rest of the world, so that takes a bit of getting used
to.
Now the main challenge of the day is resisting a
second rum punch at luchtime.Because Bernadine and Dereck did the crossing
last year they were able to direct us to all the best bars and restaurants, as
Caribbean food is not uniformly excellent. Yesterday was Ian Massam's birthday
which was celebrated in grand style with at lobster lunch, followed by a yacht
club party with steel band on the beach. 'Funky' is the best way to describe St
Lucia, a combination of New Zealand's Bay of Islands and Far North Queensland,
but much more colourful in every way with the boat boys selling fruit and
collecting laundry and taking us to the beach in water taxis with names like
'Thy Rod and Staff". The local people are exceptionally friendly and full of fun
with names like Israil and Jesus the water taxi drivers and Hubert our road
taxi driver who closely resembles a young Louis Armstrong.
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