Jump Up , Gros Islet, St. Lucia

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Friday night and it's time for a Jump Up at Gros Islet, a tiny community just north of Rodney Bay Marina in St. Lucia. This small village successfully transforms itself into a outdoor

bar/restaurant/stage once a week and lots of people come, both local residents and many of the tourists on the island. There are several all inclusive big resorts that bus in guests and many come from the boats anchored in the harbor or at the marina. Our new friends Jim and Lara York on "Antipodes", a Yachtsmith 55' trawler built in Nova Scotia, invited us to join them.

Two other couples, both from Nova Scotia themselves, came along - Michelle & Alan on "Tarentela" and Evangeline & Alan on "Bon Chance". We walked over, only a half mile away, and after a few deserted dark blocks found a welcoming committe and blocked off streets. We were early, the party doesn't really start jumping until after 10 PM - it was 7. Frankly Scott and I aren't night owls any more and Jim & Lara felt the same. So we enjoyed the light crowds and talking to the street vendors, who were themselves cooking and setting up their bars.

Scott struck up an interesting conversation with one of the taxi drivers, see the photo. People were very friendly and the atmosphere felt really safe. Everyone sat together at the long tables and chatted.
Many homes just put a bar on a table out front, others had carts.

Many BBQs lined the streets with "meatcycles" (Jim's phrase) of beef or chicken. Several big buffet tables were lined with steam trays of pork, chicken, ribs, fish, rice, lentils, red beans, macaroni & cheese, lo mein, lasagna, potato salad, fish salad and ground provisions.

You grabbed a plate and asked for however much of whatever you wanted that would stay on one plate. This cost $35EC or about $12. Picnic tables lined the streets waiting for diners. We ate around 8 PM and it was delicious.


Down one street a little ways away from the hubbub the strains of hymns wafted out from the open doors. An arch of flowers welcomed church goers and a full mass was underway. Later I returned to get a picture of the painting over the alter. It was a young Jesus learning carpentry from St. Joseph, The Worker. This is the first time I've ever seen such a domestic theme for a church! It's really charming.

A number of the small homes and buildings had Victorian trimmings, all either now had or once were painted bright colors, and the faded signs made me think of pictures of old Havana. Craft artists also had set up stands and one small dress shop was open that intrigued Lara. She almost fit into a cool pair of plaid shorts! At a street stand I bought two dolls for my granddaughters.

One end of the main street was set up with a DJ and a stage for bands later. Up and down the street were bars all lit up and starting to be filled with people. Just beyond this was the dock and fishing boats. Out beyond that were the lights of anchored boats. There were many children around, a surprising number of men with their kids - maybe their wives were serving up the BBQs. I chatted with a fellow shown above in two photos at a makeshift wooden cart labeled "King's Mobile Bar". King was a good name for him. He had an amazing physique and two charming children.

Another father sat on the curb with his two kids, all eating nuts. I asked permission of anyone I photographed and they were happy to have me do it. Only three teenage girls said no.
This was early in the evening so we were surprised to meet at least one man who would have been charming if he wasn't so drunk and over the top. He assured us he had just come from church! He was dressed nicely and sure having a great time. He bummed a beer from Scott and then made me balance the beer bottle on my head. I'm not vain as you see - given I'm posting this shot of me with four chins! It's too much fun not to include. Jim could see this guy was starting to bother me so he gently suggested he leave. Not long after they saw him strong armed away from the party.

Scott and I had some dinner at the buffet and not long after the four of us walked back to the Marina. Scott has a long day tomorrow, hopefully finishing up the plumbing work on the boat. We'd like to leave on Sunday but it may be Monday before everything is completed (or even Tuesday).

St. Lucia and the Queen's Baton Relay

Today March 10 we were present as the The Queen's Baton Relay passed through Rodney Bay Marina on it's trip through St. Lucia. Early this morning four young sailors carried it on their racing sailboat across the bay to Pigeon Point where it was given to a runner to relay to our Marina. We were able to cheer him in and watch the transfer to the power boat Hullaballo that carries it down the coast to Soufriere.
From there new runners will carry it down to Vieux Fort on the southern tip of the island where it departs by plane for Barbados and Antigua.
This is all very similar to the Olympic Torch Relay and occurs prior to the Commonwealth Games, held every fourth year. The Relay was introduced at the 1958 Games in Cardiff, Wales and carries a message from the Queen from one game to another. The Kuala Lumpur 1998 Relay was the first to visit other nations of the Commonwealth, besides England and the host country. The Manchester 2002 Baton travelled more than 100,000 kilometres in 87 days, and visited 23 Commonwealth nations. The Melbourne 2006 Baton travelled an epic journey

of more than 180,000 kilometres in a year and a day, and visited all 71 nations of the Commonwealth – home to almost one third of the world`s population. This year's Games begin in Delhi on October 3, 2010.
The baton will cover a distance in excess of 190,000 kilometres and 71 countries.

For this Game it includes a video camera, audio recorder, LED lights which can be changed to suit the colours of the flag of the country it is in, and can also receive SMS text messages. The 1.9-kg, 66.4 cm baton also contains a GPS facility.
So an exciting morning out of the blue!

We are now tied up to the dock at the Marina next to another boat from Vermont, "Island Time" from
Otherwise we're working, working, working on the boat. Poor Scott has the really hard times. He's trying to fix the leak in the water system and to do so is taking apart a lot of the engine room.

And things won't come apart! That ugly piece of plywood for example, shown here, was under the fresh water pump and all the hoses attached (all of course in a tiny crowded engine room) and had to be removed to get to the water leak in a hose under IT. Naturally we're having a replacement made and replacing too all the hose clamps and questionable hoses. One job leads to another. It's hot as hades here too. There is a drought condition in all the windward islands. Water is rationed. As I mentioned before we're down to hand pumping water out of the galley sink and had little water left. For two days there has been no water on the docks here at this huge fancy Marina but this morning, Hurrah, enough came out to fill our tanks.

We've been having problems getting the main sail out of the mast for years, but have always with difficulty, managed it. On the way up from Bequia we finally failed several times. After hours it made it out almost to the second spreader. See photo. Yesterday at the dock it finally came out completely. It took two strong men, one up on a bosun's chair. The bosun's chair by the way is a canvas sling that one sits in and then is hauled up the mast by one of the halyards by a second person, hopefully with a third holding a safety line. Scott and I have performed this manuever several times - Scott in the chair and I using the winch or sometimes the anchor windless. We haven't always had a third person. Scott sweats bullets! The sail had become entangled. We honestly are not sure we can take it out and put it back on our own. It's either the swivel on the top of the mast or the sail is stretched out - or both (or something else no one's thought of). Just another day in Paradise.

St. Vincent and the Pitons, St. Lucia

As we left Rodney Bay it was very calm but as we rounded Devil's Table, the steep hill guarding the north end of the bay, the wind increased considerably as predicted. We had a really hard time getting our main sail out and in fact only part way. That and a double reef in the genoa still had us moving at 7 knots an hour. That's fast for a sail boat by the way. So it was a pleasant trip over and sailing close up the St. Vincent coast is really beautiful.


This island has rugged green mountains and lovely bays. One main road goes most of the way around the island and not through the middle - at all. It's rugged territory. This first picture was taken as we sailed north off the west coast.
This island was the last to be subdued in the Caribbean. Not until the late 18th century were the Carib/African peoples conquered by the British. We really hope one day to explore it's interior and hike the mountains.

Our destination this day was Wallilabou (shown in the next two pictures), the main set for the filming of the first Pirates of the Caribbean. Some of the sets built remain and it is one of the few real tourist destinations on the island. That said, not a lot of tourists visit St. Vincent.
We've been to Wallilabou Anchorage on St. Vincent before and although it's a beautiful place, there are concerns. Boat boys approach you from way off shore and more clamor for your patronage there. Then the few moorings are close together and often full. Anchoring is difficult as it's deep close to shore and there are swells coming in.

Incidents in Wallilabou have been confined to cat burglery (with people sleeping on board) and dingy theft. Last time we were here the boat on the mooring next to us had his dinghy stolen the night before. We knew about this because while eating lunch in the restaurant our "boat boy" approached us to ask for the loan of our dinghy to bring the policemen out to the victim's catamarin.

The sight of the impeccably uniformed officers alayed our natural concern and we said yes. We should add that the "boat boys" have boats that can barely hold themselves and need constant bailing. Most have no outboards. Everyone returned our dinghy with thanks. Still we were a little nervous spending the night there again.
The recommendation is never to choose a boat boy off shore. Not remembering anyone we employed Julian - a young handsome fellow. He tied us to the only remaining mooring and attempted to manually fit us between two other boats. It didn't work and we came much to close to a bow to bow encounter with another boat.
Next was anchoring in deep water and backing in toward shore while Julian took three of our lines tied together and made the end fast to a tree. We've heard about this form of anchoring but hadn't done it before. It took two tries but finally we were set. This cost $50 EC dollars (about $20) with the promise he would return at 7:30 AM and untie the line. After a swim we tied up the dinghy again and locked it. Our outboard is kept on the rail and it too is locked on.
NOW for the first time we felt the need for our new security system. After traveling all the way to Panama and back we finally decided to have stainless steel grates made for our master hatch and the companionway in Trinidad. Pictures of both are included here. So that night we locked all the hatches down except ours. I felt a little claustrophobic, but safe.

The next morning was idylic as the sun gradually ulliminated the beautiful hills around us. But our 7:30 date with Julian came and went, finally an older man stopped by and offered to assist. We were off and headed north again for St. Lucia and the Pitons.
The Pitons are two volcanic plugs in a World Heritage Site in Saint Lucia. The Gros Piton is 771 m, and the Petit Piton is 743 m high; they are linked by the Piton Mitan ridge. A volcanic plug is a landform created when magma hardens within a vent on an active volcano. When forming, a plug can cause an extreme build-up of pressure if volatile-charged magma is trapped beneath it, and this can sometimes lead to an explosive eruption. If a plug is preserved, erosion may remove the surrounding rock while the erosion-resistant plug remains, producing a distinctive landform. (Wikipedia)

These are spectacular and have eluded my attempts at photography. These two shots were taken arriving and leaving the anchorage both well off. We took up a mooring between the Pitons off the Jalousie Hilton beach. The sheer wall of the Petit Piton rose up above our boat pretty vertically. Gardens of small trees and vegetation cling to terraces and every nook & cranny. On the other side of the small bay Gros Piton is more gradual but an enormous pile of rock. These peaks rise straight up from the sea and cause williwaws of wind from odd directions. It's usually a little noisy in this anchorage from the wind - but Wow, is it beautiful. We spent a night here with our good friends Carole & Bill Fonvielle and their son Jonathan. That night we had pretty constant winds in the 20's with gusts upwards. It was wild. We had a calmer night this time and a lovely peaceful morning - no need for those security devices here.

Back in St. Lucia and on "Scott Free"

March 9, 2007 It's great to be back in St. Lucia but I'm not fond of "living on the hard". This means we reach our boat up a long ladder and are living in the middle of a construction zone. We can't use our refrigerator or the bathroom - long walks at night through the spooky boat yard. Luckily we are scheduled to splash today at 3: 30PM and will go over to the Rodney Bay Marina for a few days to clean the boat up and stock up the frig. Our friends are flying in tonight.

We would like to be in Bonaire by the third week in April and are not sure how we'll get there - probably along the Venezuelan islands. We have to leave the boat somewhere for two months while we go home for our youngest son's college graduation and to hopefully to close on our new home and move in. Cartagena looks like the best spot as we will incur extra insurance costs to leave it in the ABCs.

During our winter months in Vermont we try to catch up with all of our family and friends. That's the first priority - the second is skiing. Heather has taught at Okemo in Ludlow for twenty one years. Her main focus is the Women's Alpine Adventures, a intensive ski and snowboard program that features two, three and five day sessions during January and February. Groups of five of less women are led by experienced female instructors in all day classes. Breakfast, lunch, cocktail parties and sometimes evening dinners help to bond the students. It's a sleep away camp for adult women! Heather loves doing this and we have worked around this commitment in our cruising life.

It was a lovely visit home although the ski conditions were comparatively poor, especially early in the season. Okemo does the best of all possible jobs with what they get so we made out all right. The months seem to fly by as we try and see all of our family and friends. It wasn't in our plan to sell the house but we got an surprising offer on our lakefront cottage and found a larger, cheaper property not that far away. Our cruising kitty was scraping bottom so this will help keep us afloat. IF it all goes through!

Carol Sharoff, Bill Fonvielle and their son Jonathan are coming for a 10 day visit tonight. Carol's father had spent quite a lot of time in Vieux Fort, St. Lucia during WWII and she had been reading over his letters and mementos. Their son Jonathan had completed all but his deep dives for his PADI certification and we have arranged their visit around the dive schedule at Steve's Dive Shop. We rented a small nearby apartment and a car for three nights for them while we continue to work on the boat (and then clean it up).

March 20 2007 We've had a great visit with our friends! Our rental car was very roomy and rather expensive but we needed the space for five good sized people. One day we drove around the island. The small fishing villages of Anse Cochon and Soufriere are very charming with Victorian trimmed cottages and lovely miniature cathedrals on their flowery squares.
Sights included the "drive through volcano", a wonderful buffet at the Ladera Resort (Travel and Leisure's top ten restaurant views in the world! ) and a swim/snorkel visit to the Jalousie Resort. Another day we walked around the Pigeon Island Historic site and had a lovely lunch at the Jambe de Bois restaurant. They moved aboard for the next week and the weather finally calmed down a little, so we sailed over to Martinique for a few days. The trip over was a little bumpy and everyone was glad to get into the lee of the island and anchor at Anse Mitan. We swam off the boat and had a great meal. The next day we took the ferry over to Fort de France, walked all around, and visited the market. It is a lot of fun to taste some of the local rum concoctions! It was very hot though and we were all hungry and thirsty. Suddenly appeared a charming restaurant and we had an elegant lunch at the La Cave a Vin - pate fois gras, duck breast and fish.

Our trip back to St. Lucia was easier and it was a beautiful day. We anchored off Pigeon Island and swam/snorkeled before entering the lagoon to anchor for the night. Jonathan did his first two dives the next day and then we motored down to a mooring off the beach between the Petit and Gros Pitons. These rise almost vertically from the water to points 2460' and 2619' high. The view was spectacular but the experience was far different than we'd expected. The wind furiously channeled down through the peaks and blasted us all night. We had frequent gusts of over 40 knots. Despite being only 70 feet from the beach, there were white caps with the spume flying horizontally off the tops! Secure at least on our mooring we ate a lovely meal in the cockpit but slept a bit restlessly that night. We took off quickly the next morning and went back to our favorite anchorage off Pigeon Island. After two more dives the next day, Jonathan was a certified Open Water PADI diver. That night we celebrated at the Green Pigeon restaurant on the top of a steep windy road above Castries. We took a tax that barely made it. He had to stop on the hairpin curves, back up and then gun it. Very exciting! After they flew back yesterday we still have a few work projects here ahead of us, but hope to start slowly heading south soon.

March 24, 2007 We are still in the Rodney Bay Marina finishing up the last of many boat repairs (new bow thruster, inverter, transformer and repaired generator). Scott is cramed into the engine compartment replacing hoses on the generator. We are sailing to Martinique this afternoon for a few days to visit friends there and then gradually heading south to Grenada. Around the first of April we hop to go to Los Testigos, Marguarita, Los Roques and then on to Bonaire and Curacao. After long discussion and research we have decided to leave the boat in Curacao while we return to the States. Although our insurance doesn't cover us in July there for named storms, there hasn't been a hurricane ever there during June or July. The Boca Sera marina where we have reservations is in a mangrove lined lagoon and looks very secure. American Airlines came through again with frequent flyer flights for both of us. We wish we had more time to see everything here but that will be true everywhere.

Rodney Bay, St. Lucia

Rodney Bay is over a mile long. At the northern end, an artificial causeway connects Pigeon Island with the mainland, providing the bay with protection. And now there is an enormous Sandals resort there. This was once the main British navy base in the area and on the island was a fort, hospital, barracks etc. The St. Lucia National Trust conserves it as a wonderful park. There are two peaks, one with the fort and the other called Signal Hill. The first photo shows the fort taken from the hill and the second looks back from the fort. Scott and I motored over from the Marina in our dinghy on two different days. The hikes are great and there is a lovely sandy beach. After our hot hike, we jumped in that water very quickly and stayed in a long time. There was even a fresh water shower there to rinse off in afterwards

The Jambe de Bois restaurant is another reason to come here. This charming combination of bar, restaurant, art gallery, hip coffee shop and bookstore is run by a local animal rights activist - and the food is good. They have a jazz group on Sunday and after I fly back to the States today, Scott will be over there tomorrow. Actually he already has plans tonight to hit the local music scene with friends.


The choices for lunch are varied: stuffed potato with shrimp, seafood salad, French bread sandwiches, roti, grilled fish, lamb curry etc. We came prepared the second time with six books to trade as they have one of the best book exchanges we've seen. This is a cruiser specialty - marinas, restaurants and other establishments that cater to the boating community have shelves where people leave old books and pick up new.
The selection here was wide; classics, mysteries, science fiction and thrillers. The first three are my favorites and Scott likes the last. But this place also had non fiction, magazines, and foreign language books. This is a place where you can hang out for a long time. Of course the view outside isn't bad either.

James' Visit - St. Lucia

After that great evening we continued celebrating James' birthday by renting a car and driving down south to the Pitons. This area has been decalared a World Heritage Site. Two volcanic piers stand 2500 ane 2600 feet high only a short distance apart - tall and steep, they don't look as though anyone could climb them, although it has been done. Just before them the charming town of Soufriere spreads along a white beach. We drove down the narrow road from Rodney Bay and passed more hairpin turns than we've ever imagined.
   This first view was taken at a popular photo spot where many St. Lucians on vacation were waiting to have their pictures taken. The foliage is very green and dense with flowers everywhere. Once down off the mountains we stopped at a lovely hotel, The Hummingbird Resort, to have a cold drink and walk the beach. It was a Sunday and everyone was out, swimming and enjoying the beach. A little girl was building a sand castle with her father and I stopped to talk to them. James and Scott were up ahead walking (our next picture). The walk took us into the town where a big political rally was occuring. Being British, they have a parlimentary system and the government has been dissolved and an election is imminent. The two main parties are the Labor (ruling) "Red" and the Workers' Party contesting "Yellow". Hundreds of people in yellow and red shirts were milling around in town and a big march was forming. Since then we've had these rallies almost every night.

It was very interesting to us to talk to people about the election and everyone was very open about it. Vans were roaming the streets with election music and campaign speeches and many people were wearing the colored Tshirts with their party colors and slogans. Still most of the people we've really had talks with are discouraged with the existing partys and more pragmatic about what need to be done.
We have enjoyed being part of that process, but another destination was calling. We had heard about the Dasheen Restaurant at the Ladera Resort from many sources, but they all had been unanimous - it was fantastic. And so it was. Our definitive guide book says "it has the most awesome view of any bar in the Caribbean; just to walk in is unforgettable. And they are right. Added to this is the Sunday, all you can eat, Buffet and you've got perfection (especially for my meat eating men, Scott and James).

The table looked out on the two Pitons and the beach between them from about 1000 feet up. A wonderful local band of 70+ year olds who have been making music together for a lot of years played down below us. We had a nice discussion with them about the music and they had all, at one time or another, lived in the States. A buffet of salads, vegetables, and a lot of grilled meat was arranged out in front: a roast pork leg, lamb chops, pork chops, several fishes including tuna, and a host of various sauces - each more delicious than the last. After that the dessert table was spread out attractively.


We ate are all too much but the lovely endless edge pool beackoned. We inquired from the hostess and spoke to the manager, and were allowed the use of the pool. We all changed into our suits, jumped into it and then laid out in the lounge chairs facing the view - and ordered expressos. What a life! By the time we left it was late and it was hours before we returned back to Rodney Bay.
 On the way through Castries we saw a wonderful sunset. It also marked our last night with James and it was bittersweet.

The next morning was hard. We woke up early and had a good breakfast. Although we thought we'd left early, the "rush hour" traffic was much worse than expected. We arrived barely on time and James was rushed into the gates. We know that it will only be a few weeks before we'll see him again. But the hardest part of what we do is missing our family and friends.

James' Visit - Thanksgiving and a visit to a Pirate Lair

This was the first Thanksgiving we had on the boat but it couldn't be other than traditional for me. So we had a whole small turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, squash, cranberry sauce, salad, and apple pie - all made with two burners and a small oven (our generator is on the blitz, which means no microwave). I believe the turkey was the last one in any of the islands. All of our other friends here went out to dinner but I've never been to a restaurant for Thanksgiving (yet). It was a rainy stormy day so we sat around the boat, playing cards, backgammon and dominos. James and I particularly had running games for two weeks of gin and canasta.

We had forgotten to check out of customs that day and so had to wait to leave until after they opened the next morning. With that late start we decided to stop in St. Vincent for the night. This is a beautiful island but has a bad reputation for theft. With it's steep and wild terrain, it was one of the last to be settled by Europeans. The Caribs (called so by Columbus) were in residence when a slave ship wrecked off the coast. They attempted to subjugate them and managed for a time but they revolted and took Carib women with them and formed a colony, calling themselves the Black Carib. They put up a fierce resistance to British settlement. Finally, in the late 18th century, they were defeated and shipped en masse to Honduras. There are a lot of terrible deeds done in these islands for sure.

Natural Arch off Wallilabou Bay, St. Vincent

As soon as you approach, island men in very small row boats come out to "help" you anchor. These "boat boys" are only trying to make a living but they've put off many cruisers from coming. We refused assistance until we were close to the moorings and realized we needed help with our stern line. So we chose Sean. The anchorage area is small and everyone wants to be close to each other and the restaurant for security purposes, so you take a mooring and then have a stern line tied to either another mooring or the shore.
The harbor of Wallilabou has much more recently been famous as the principal location for "Pirates of the Caribbean". Much of the stage set is still intact and the restaurant was remodeled for the movie as well. We had a lovely lunch there under the Styrofoam and plywood arches, painted to look like stone. After we had sat down our (boat boy not our youngest son) Sean came to our table and asked to borrow our dinghy to bring the police out to the large catamaran near us. Their dinghy motor had been stolen the night before. Needless to say we locked everything down tight that evening. We have dinghy davits and can bring our dinghy up each night and tie it down well.

Restaurant and pirate lair at Walliliabou Bay

Before that though we motored out to the natural arch at the end of the bay and snorkeled around the rocks. There was a wide variety of fish and colored vegetation. Early the next morning, 6:30AM, we took off for St. Lucia and as there was very little wind, motorsailed the whole way - 55 miles. Luckily we had a very positive current with us and pulled into the Rodney Bay Marina by 3:30PM. It was James' birthday and after perusing the guide book, he decided on "Razzamatz" for dinner. This was a terrific traditional Indian restaurant and they sang a rousing Happy Birthday afterwards.

Martinique to Bequia

Scott and I left Anse Mitan, Martinique at 5 AM, before the sunrise but with good light. Our friends on "Que Rico" had overslept (seen here the night before!) so we circled them and beeped the horn until they appeared. With the music and fireworks going till 4 am ashore, no one got a good night, but it wasn't long before we saw their sails behind us. It was calm until we left the lee of the island and entered the channel. We had 15 - 20 knots of wind and 5 - 8 foot swells both from the east. This wasn't that bad as we were on a beam reach, a very comfortable point of sail, and the swells were far enough apart and regular so our boat mainly rose and fell with the waves - altogether a nice brisk sail - and a short one as we tied up to the marina at 10:15 AM.

The Rodney Bay Marina in St. Lucia is a very inexpensive but nice place to spend some time. A colorful flag draped boat cruises the harbor each morning with fresh vegetables and fruits - very convienent! A tropical wave was coming through the next few days bringing gusty winds and rain (we clocked 38 knots max during it) and it was nice to be tied up to a dock. It had a pool which we used everyday, several nice restaurants, a good book exchange, and a laundry service. Do it yourself laundries haven't existed since the U.S. Virgin Islands. We drop off our laundry and get it back all folded, for a mostly reasonable price - about $8 a load.

There were a lot of boats here that we knew, including "Lioness III", another boat we left Georgetown with and hadn't seen since April 4. We had a big pot luck at the pool one night and exchanged visits with another Nauticat 43 "Woodfield II" John and Dee King from England - a delightful couple that gave us lots of information and advice about the countries ahead of us. They've been in the Caribbean for 17 years and were headed back to the Med this summer.

After two nights at the Marina we left at 10:15 AM for an easy sail down to Soufriere Town in the south of St. Lucia.

We picked up moorings off the beach in the shadow of Petit Piton, one of two dramatic towering thin mountains that rise up directly from the sea here, both around 2500 feet. We had a lovely early dinner and wine sitting in our cockpit with the wonderful view and sunset. We went right to bed afterwards because at 3 AM all five boats dropped our moorings and headed out to sea, the still visibly looming pitons against the stars. It was windy and rough again in the channel but the boat handled so well, under reefed sails but averaging over 7 knots -
very exhilarating. We had to turn the motor on for a while in the lee of St. Vincent as the wind alternated between howling through the mountain passes and dead calm when directly behind them. By this time it was light out and we enjoyed the beautiful green coast of the island. Next fall we will stop there and see it but now we have to make tracks. Once into the next channel the waves were wild again but the wind steadier. We had been warned to take our sails down before entering Admiralty Bay in Bequia gusts of wind up to 38 knots hit us as we rounded Devil's Table.

Due to this, we spent a bit of time anchoring and made sure we were well dug in. This lovely big bay is surrounded by white beaches and a charming red roofed town, Port Elizabeth (view from the town). We were off Princess
Margaret Beach among many boats. This is a popular spot for cruisers. We found our friends Luis and Natalia from "Vagamundo" here and spent the next day with them. We had breakfast at a small cafe and then walked up to the fort for a beautiful view followed by an exploration of the town. Several craft artists have studios and shops here. One makes beautiful boat models, shown here. Our friends from "Dreamtime" arrived and came over for the evening. We won't see these two boats and "Diesel Duck" until we return in August to Trinidad because we need to make tracks south. We have plane reservations home in late June from Trinidad.