Pirates!
Lady Corinne
iain and gaynor macalister
Fri 19 Mar 2010 11:36
|
Hello everyone, we've had a lovely few days with lots of
sailing. After Tobago Cays we went to Bequia for one night and then set off the
following morning for Wallilabou (Wah-lee-la-bou) on St Vincent. It was a great
sail and the first chance to see St Vincent as when we passed it on the way down
it was nighttime. It appeared to be much greener than the other islands
we've visited. This is a good thing as there is a real water shortage
everywhere. As we neared Wallilabou we were approached by boat boys who
wanted to take our stern line ashore and tie it to a coconut palm, once we were
in the bay. The competition is fierce and of the two who offered their services
we went with the first, after pointing out to both of them that, until we
had taken a look inside the bay we weren't promising to use either of
them. It got quite heated after we had appointed one and the other guy
came alongside and was being really nasty and making lots of ugly threats.
All this as I was trying to get to grips with maneuvering in a fairly confined
space, amongst other boats in a manner that I'm not used to and LadyC doesn't
have a clue about. It involved coming into the bay and spinning the boat
around so she was stern to the beach, then reversing ( not something the old
slapper does well) into a space between two other boats, dropping the anchor at
the right time and place while the boat boy takes a very long line ashore, wraps
it around a tree trunk and brings the other end back to the boat so it can be
tensioned to hold the boat stern-to the beach. I'm afraid he got a verbal
pasting from me which was a shame as everywhere we have been the people have
been very friendly but I think it was just that these guys are desperate for any
money they can earn from the boats around and they do compete with each other
vigorously.
We were now on the set of Pirates of the Caribbean for
sure, we passed the rock where Captain Jack Sparrow finds the bodies hanging
from the arch of rock and the village they created around the Quay, where his
boat sinks and he steps ashore from the mast, remains largely as it was
when they filmed "Dead man's chest" Apparently Disney just rented the
whole bay and I would imagine the effect on the economy was glorious. All
the locals speak very fondly of the time the crew and cast were around and it
would seem that they all enjoyed a fabulous time with Johnny Depp being
taken very much to their hearts. We spent two days there and apart from
walking up to a refreshing waterfall and then going by dingy to a deserted beach
for a picnic,nothing much happened,it was blissful We got up at 0600 this
morning and tiptoed away form the picturesque bay and out into open water once
again. By 1300 we were off the Pitons at the South end of St Lucia, having
enjoyed a bracing sail with 20 knots of wind 80 degrees of the starboard
bow for about 6 hours, and are now heading back into Rodney bay. We
left there after hauling out to repair the propeller and I had told Captain
Gill, the local guy we met on the beach with the windsurfer, that I would call
him on our way back up to see if he wants to come for a sail with us. After that
we're heading for Martinique where we hope to be able to stock up on reasonably
priced wine,beer and food and meet up with the crew of Brigante and more
adventures to the North.
Hasta Pronto
LadyC and her swashbuckling
crew
|