Rum and Rastas
Storyteller
Sun 20 Jan 2008 23:38
14.03.965N 60.57.724W
Mike Holmes and Tony Black arrived in St Lucia last
night, our New Zealand crew for the voyage to Panama, Ecuador, the
Galapagos and French Polynesia. They politely reminded me that nothing has been
posted on this blog since 12 December, the day we arrived in the Caribbean.
Perhaps it's the strength of the rum puches and other rum -based
concoctions that we and our friends on other boats have become so
proficient at making. In Martinique we visited a wonderful 18th century
distillery where we tasted several different types of rum and purchased several
casks. It's 45% proof and absolutely delicious--very different from the dreadful
stuff that's made in Queensland. Anyway, that's my excuse. We've also had three
sets of visitors over the Christmas and New Year period, all great fun and all
in party mode.
All that is about to change as we prepare for the
7- day leg down to Panama. The boats are all arriving for the start of the World
Arc, which with only 40 yachts looks like being a much more low key affair than
the Atlantic rally which had 250 yachts. About one third of the boats in the
Warc are British, with an assortment of French, Italians, Spanish, Canadians and
Americans. Last night we were all invited to a party on a very glamorous 70 foot
plus Oyster with a kiwi captain and first mate from Hawkes Bay and Whakatane,
and there are quite a few social events between now and when we depart on
Wednesday. Mike, Tony and I visited the market this morning, and it's decidedly
third world, with hardly a white face to be seen. There's a huge contrast
between the affluence of foreign visitors staying in glamorous resorts and
on yachts, and the poverty of many of the local people. St Lucia, which is an
independent nation propped up by China, and recently Taiwan, is much poorer than
the islands like Martinique and Guadaloupe which are still part of France
and heavily subsidised. Consequently there's a lot of crime on St Lucia and
the other independent islands such as St Vincent to the south of us. Just the
other day a yacht was boarded in a bay by balaclava -wearing guys who
cut up the crew quite badly with machetes. And a couple of days ago a
guided tour was attacked and robbed--all very upsetting for the local people
whose income is entirely dependent on bananas and tourism.
Despite the niggling worries about security we've
had a marvellous time in the nearly six weeks we've been here. Given the
logistics of meeting guests, and the fact that we have thousands of miles of
sailing ahead of us, we've limited our travels to the islands just to the north
and south of St Lucia. The islands are all close to one another, other
which is just as well, as the seas can be surprisingly rough. Soon
after arriving we took off for Martinique which has a much more established
marine industry, including agencies for all the French yachts. Unlike many of
the Arc yachts we received very little damage but were keen to get the hydraulic
steering checked out by an expert. Our friends the Treleavens on their
nearly new 50 foot Beneteau, Cape Finisterre, were not so lucky and discovered
that their damaged mast would have to be replaced, and that it would take 3
months for a new one to arrive. All exceedingly frustrating, but made more
tolerable by frequent imbibing of Ian's famous mojitos. There's that rum again!
In Marin we found some great bars and restaurants where we were usually the only
non French present. We even became groupies for a great band with a Czech blues
musician, his saxophonist girlfriend and her 12 year old nephew who played a
mean set of bongoes. It's the first time I've ever bought drinks at midnight for
a child musician (coca cola, of course). We really felt like locals at Marin in
Martinique, where days began with a swim at a stunning beach followed by coffee
and croissants at a patisserie right next to the local market where the women
brought their frit and vegetables each day. The Trelevens, Hunts and ourselves
all sailed round to Anse Arlette to spend a very French Xmas Eve with Pere Noel
at a very casual but stylish cafe on the beach. Although the French have a
reputation for being unfriendly we all had nothing but great experiences in
Martinique, including stocking up in super markets full of foie gras,
champagne, delicious cheeses, and New Zealand lamb!
With Mike making marmalade and Tony perfecting tuna
confit in anticipation of all the fish we are going to catch, I'd better
summarise the highlights of our time in the Caribbean before we head off for a
beach barbecue. The overwhelming impression is of colour--the rasta hats, the
brightly coloured houses and wooden houses, and of course, the people. The local
people on the whole are delightful,and we have made good friends with the
various taxi drivers and boat boys we've used. Many of them have wonderful names
such as Man de man and Mr Quality. Most people are very religious and have
boat names like Thy Rod and Thy Staff. Even outboard motors are painted in
rastafarian colours. A lot of ganga weed is smoked and pretty much tolerated by
the police, who all smoke it too. I do happen to have a little seed planted
amongst the basil and the mint--plus some Lion of Judea cigarette papers! The
markets are a delight, with every kind of tropical fruit imaginable, as well as
vanilla pods and cinnamon sticks. Unlike Martinique, the food in the Eastern
Caribbean is mainly American which is a bit of a culture shock. No French duck
breasts here.
Of all the places we've visited, including the
Tobago Cays where we swam with turtles, I have to confess the absolute highlight
was the island of Mustique where Princess Margaret had a place and which is now
home to Mick Jagger, Tommy Hilflinger and the like. We arrived expecting the
island to be like Fort Knox, but were pleasantly surprised to find the we had to
pay only a tiny amount for a mooring, and were made very welcome in the famous
Basils Bar, the Cotton Club and the Firefly Resort restaurant. We drove around
the island in a 'mule' buggy and were able to see all the fantastic
houses--huge, but super tasteful. There was not a hint of vulgarity anywhere,
unlike so many places where the rich and famous hang out. On Sunday morning
we picked up copies of that day's English Sunday papers and strolled round to
the Cotton Club beach where we were provided with luxurious sun lounges for no
cost at all. So as we read the papers and sipped our rum punches we thought this
really was as good as it gets. Mind you the gourmet hamburgers for lunch weren't
exactly cheap, but hey, you have to push the boat out sometimes.
There was a lovely little church where all the local women were heading, dressed
up in their Sunday best, including hats. There's absolutely no crime on the
island, which is privately owned. There are no visiting cruise ships, no day
trippers--heaven. And it's only $i0 000 a week to rent the house of someone like
rock star, Bryan Adams, who goes to church twice on Sunday when he's in
residence.
We've got a couple of very busy days ahead
preparing for our departure on Wednesday 23 January. What a pity that's the day
the Mustique Blues festival starts--now that would have been fun! We plan to
send a daily blog as we did crossing the Atlantic. With two ardent fisherman on
board, expect lots of fishing news. Tony has brought with him a whopper reel and
numerous alluring lures.Expect to hear from us on 25 January, antipodean
time.
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