Pirates of the Caribbean
Stream
Darrell Jackson and Sarah Barnes
Sun 11 May 2014 22:22
We were up early, as Darrell decided it was best to finish the generator water pump impeller while it was cool. This meant two of us crawling around in the confined spaces of the lazarettes. Thankfully Darrell's back held out and he managed to replace the impeller, thus the generator was brought back to life and he could once again enjoy a Nespresso with his breakfast. We then upped anchor to motor down the coast.
We popped into Cumberland bay, a deep, enchanting bay that is part of St Vincent's rich farming land and therefore has a strong Rasta community. A forest of coconut trees and bananas flow down the valley to the beach. The land around the bay is steep and dramatic and unspoiled by tourism, it was charming with a very pleasant feel. Kenny rowed out to us for a chat and we assured him we would be back to sample the delights of the bay.
We continued motoring along the coast to Wallilabou, another picturesque bay surrounded by hills. It was instantly recognisable as the setting of Port Royale from the Pirate of the Caribbean films, especially as we sailed in past the rock arch by the headland. Darrell was rather disappointed that there were no people hanging from it, as there are in the film when Jack sails past on his sinking ship (the mast of said ship is a main feature of the hotel). The waterfront still has the frontage made by Disney, it is quite surreal to lean on a stone wall and find it is made of fibreglass, and the coffins and gallows are an interesting touch! As we motored in, three boat boys rowed out to us. All giving slightly different instructions they took our mooring lines and a stern line to secure us in front of the main dock. Wallilabou suffered in the last big hurricane and the evidence of the damage is noticeable. Once secured several boat boys attempted to sell us their wares and only departed when given a cold drink.
Boat boys trying to sell us a variety of things became the theme of the day. As we often find it difficult to say no, Sarah developed a story as she was polishing the stainless steel on the boat, that we were just crew passing by on the way down to pick up the owners. This seemed to ring true with the boat boys as they stopped visiting with their wares or asking for drinks. Next time we are going to wear our crew t-shirts and do obvious jobs on the boat so we don't get hassled, as it seems to work.
We dinghied ashore and were met by a man who secured the dinghy and spent the next hour taking good care of it. While we wandered around the waterfront and museum looking at all the props from the filming and then retired to the anchorage hotel to have a drink. The hotel retains the frontage from the film and several of the props, which are good talking points, but it was decidedly quiet. We also managed to get a years wifi for all of £2.75 from the hotel, which still worked on the boat. Pity we were not going to stay longer, but we had to leave as we had told them we had to pick people up!