Signs of the times
Stream
Darrell Jackson and Sarah Barnes
Mon 5 May 2014 18:02
Sunday
The short sail south from Rodney Bay Marina allowed new crew members Julie and Simon to have their first experience of sailing Stream, and once Julie had got on the helm we were not able to prise her off until the entrance to Marigot Bay came into sight!
It is alleged that the British Navy hid its entire Caribbean fleet in this bay and suspended palm leaves from the masts and rigging to help disguise them as that pesky French navy sailed by. It is a deep, sheltered mangrove lined, narrow inlet with tree covered steep sides and is classed as one of the best hurricane holes in the area.
We motored into Marigot and followed Nigel the local boat boy to one of the worst looking moorings in terms of maintenance and ropes we have been on, in front of the best restaurant in St Lucia! The hillside around the inner bay has several expensive hotels and restaurants, with a free water taxi service, which became a slight problem as night fell and the driver took it very close to our stern as he was dropping off at the Rain Forest Hideaway restaurant. At one point we all thought he would hit us, which would have spoilt our dinner and forced us to modify future plans!
As soon as we moored we were visited by a series of boat boys selling fruit bowls and hats made from palm leaves and jewellery. We then took the dinghy for a motor around the bay and a snorkel. (The dinghy thoroughly enjoyed the snorkel!) They have built an artificial reef in one area from stone filled gabbions, which is attracting a wide variety of fish and coral including spiny lobster. We then went ashore for a cocktail and a mosey around the marina, before returning to Stream for our evening meal. The marina appeared very quiet, but it was Sunday and so we decided a return visit in the morning was required. Darrell kindly took us into the bay so we could watch the sunset behind the coconut palms. Yes, there was a green flash and good photo opportunities!
The lagoon proved a very quiet mooring and Stream hardly moved at all during the night so it was a well refreshed crew who motored ashore after breakfast to sample the delights of Marigot Marina. We had soon found where to dump the rubbish, the cash machine and supermarket, but the rest of the resort was, to put it mildly, disappointing. Sarah and I had been here with friends seven years ago and it was a bustling and vibrant piazza with a good variety of retail and small businesses occupying the small units in a colonial style complex. Today though, most of the units were empty and there was a feeling the recession had hit hard, or perhaps the yachties were not coming due to the increased level of development on the hill sides.
We set sail mid morning and sailed south towards Soufriere, with Simon on the helm being given useful advice by Julie. We had two reefs in the main and were on a broad reach with gusty winds, making course holding for the trainee helmsman a challenge. We made good time and were helped to moor the boat by Greg. We then agreed a price with him for a tour of some local sites the next day. We were then visited by various locals offering fruit and veg, souvenirs, garbage disposal and fresh fish. All very friendly and happy to chat. We then dinghied ashore to visit the marine park office and see the sights of the town. Soufriere is a pleasant town and like many Caribbean towns, it is run down in places. It is all old traditional buildings with colonial style edifices, apart from the concrete plaza, which is mainly empty. Some of the buildings are stunning architecturally but require some attention. In the middle is a big Catholic Church and a small park where people were guillotined by the French. It has little tourist development and no grand hotels and feels like a real local town. There is a market where they sell fruit, veg and fish on the pavements and some colourful cafés and bars. It has a very comfortable feel and we spent a pleasant couple of hours exploring before returning to Stream.
The landscape around the town and bay is breathtaking. There are green covered hills and the view is dominated by the sky scraping towers of rock known as the Pitons. Jutting from the sea, covered in vegetation and with otherworldly summits, these are iconic St Lucian landmarks. As we were fairly close to the shore we could watch the local children playing on the beach, as well as the magnificent scenery and cliffs around the bay, which strangely only had a few yachts moored in it.