Form Leeward to Windward
Irie
Wed 5 Mar 2008 02:22
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Position 14 05.296N 60 57.652W Rodney Bay St
Lucia
Tuesday 4th March
From 15 52 North in Les Saintes to14 05 is 107 nautical
miles as the crow flies, or would be if there were crows about, so maybe it's an
adventurous pelican, or more likely a soaring frigate bird (longest wingspan of
any bird relative to weight). Anyway, the nub is that between Sunday morning and
Monday evening, Irie has progressed southwards,stopping briefly in Dominica
(last of the Leeward Islands), bypassing Martinique (first of the Windwards) and
landing up in Rodney Bay. This is something of a milestone as it's at least
twelve months since we were here, and it completes the Caribbean loop - St
Lucia down to Grenada, back through the islands and on up to the
Virgins, and down to St Lucia once more. We left Irie here for a couple of
weeks last year, and are repeating the excercise in a few days to catch up with
family, friends and the various admin. things that need sorting.. When we
return, sister in law Jill and family are shore-based here for 12 days or so,
and concurrently, Kate and Millie will be with us on the boat for a couple of
weeks, so it will be early April before we set sail south again for Bequia and
the Grenadines.
The onward leg from Rosea was long, but uneventful.
Slumber was broken by a tuneless chorus of cockerels, only to discover that
their alarms are set for 3 am, so back to doze through the pattering of rain
till five or so. Shortly after six the anchor rattled up, and we motored south
through intermittent heavy rain, no wind, flat grey sea and thick mist to
Scott's Head on the south of Dominica. Out to seaward a couple of cruise ships
were homing in on Roseau, their shapes alternately looming and vanishing in the
murk,as they jostled for pilots on the VHF. Once clear of the land, the
sea built rapidly, the wind filled in to 20 knots and the steady rain
turned to occasional heavy showers bringing with them an extra 5-10 knots
of wind. Initially the wind bent round the island, heading us off course, but
once clear, it backed and Irie surged off on a close reach at 7 knots or so, not
bad with a good reef in the sail to mitigate the squalls. It's only twenty miles
or so of open sea between the islands, the weather had improved and the sky
mostly cleared by the time we made the top of
Martinique. Here the wind virtually died, so the iron sail was pressed into use
to trundle the twenty five miles down the coast. In the distance we saw a large
pod of dolphins, but they were busy fishing, gently wheeling to the north as we
made off southwards. It was a shame to pass by another island, but we had fun
here last year with the Keerys, also the couple of days we spent with Nigel
and Ronnaug, and the forecast says make tracks! The last leg to St Lucia was
great. The breeze settled to around 15 knots just off the beam, the sun beat
down, and we pushed down the waves at six to seven knots towards the steadily
growing outline of the island. Pigeon Island at the entrance to Rodney Bay is a
great landmark, and the anchor bit into the sand just before six, perfectly
timed for sunset and a relaxing
something.
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