St.Lucia

St.Lucia

Wow! What a cracking sail from Bequia. We left early in the morning at first light and headed up St.Vincent towards St.Lucia. Our original intention was to pick up a mooring buoy near the Pitons, as this would be a comfortable distance to go as calculated by our passage planning at 5 knots. As it turned out we shot past the Pitons and ended up covering the 70 mile passage in just over 10 hours, dropping the anchor in Rodney Bay before sunset.

Approaching the Pitons

Lynne's mum and dad flew out to St.Lucia for a last minute holiday, once they found out we were going to be there for a couple of weeks whilst waiting for our watermaker to be fixed. They stayed in a hotel overlooking the anchorage at Rodney Bay so it was easy to get to see them. On their second day, we took them for a sail down to the Pitons for a quick lunch stop and back again.

Sheila & Graham arriving for their sail to the Pitons

Ian and Steph stayed on in Bequia for a few extra days to do some scuba diving, having completed a PADI course. When they arrived in St. Lucia, we took a tour around the island with Sheila & Graham and some yachties from New Zealand, Paul and Jane. We visited Soufriere, close to the Pitons where there is an active volcano. We also visited some beautiful Botanical gardens and a couple of waterfalls.

Some photos from the Botanical Gardens

The volcano at Soufriere

Paul, Jane, Sheila, Steve, Graham, Lynne, Ian & Steph

We also went to Pigeon Island which is at the north tip of the anchorage at Rodney Bay. Composed of two peaks, the island is a historic site with numerous forts such as an 18th century British fort and Fort Rodney. Both of these forts were used by the British to spy on French ships from neighbouring Martinique. In 1979 it was named a National Park. 

Sheila & Graham arriving via water taxi

One Sunday evening we joined Lynne's parents at their hotel for dinner. Much to Steve's delight they had roast beef and Yorkshire puddings as part of the buffet on offer.

Take a look at this superyacht. Called Venus it was the brainchild of Steve Jobs of Apple fame. Sadly he never lived to see it completed. It probably looks better in the flesh, but it is a 'Marmite' boat. You either love it or hate it.

Some of the best sunsets we have seen from Rodney Bay.

After Lynne's parents returned home, we managed to get some jobs done on the boat. The watermaker was repaired. We had new membranes and a new pump fitted. It now means that we are producing 35 litres of water an hour, instead of the 12 we were managing to get before. The salinity of the water has also improved dramatically, meaning we are producing good quality drinking water. Steve also replaced the paddle wheel so our log is now working, and we serviced the generator. 

We had been in St.Lucia for about three weeks and it was time to move on. Next destination, Grenada, where we hoped to catch up with our friends Scott & Julia, who we first met in 2012 on the Rally Portugal.