Safe and Sound in Saint Lucia with Stu and Steve

Bequia was beautiful (this is the alliteration special).  Because… alright… that’s enough of that.

Showed the scurvy crew around the town, stopped at Doris’ mostly because of the great air conditioning.  We found the bank, got a few supplies and then headed back to the boat for a cooling dip at the beach.

Tried to kill Stu with a walk to the Turtle Sanctuary.  He’s surprisingly tough, though and we made it there in just over an hour.  We took a taxi back and stopped at Doris’ again for supplies.  

Riding back in the taxi

We headed back to the boat to clean up and put on our dining-out clothing for a night out at the Whaleboners.  Great place for dinner.  Owner, Ruthie served us personally - Steve had the lobster, Stu had the fish and there was enough left in the Grande Heffe’s wallet for me to have the peanut butter and jam sandwich. 

Whaleboner Bar

Great Grub at the Whaleboner

Miranda taking away our dirty laundry

Winfield did our teak last year - wants more work!

Great sleep back on the boat and next morning we went back into town to check out.  We picked up a few things, checked out and left after a lunch of turkey and cheese croissant (and beer, of course.)  

Pam and I have made the run between Bequia and Rodney Bay a number of times and it is a slog.  It is long and there are a couple of rough spots.  We saw Chris Doyle (Cruising Guide author) in the harbour and asked his advice.  Good move!  He suggested cutting a couple of hours off by stopping in Buccament Bay - outrageously strong free internet and a pretty decent hook.  We were the only ones there.

So Wednesday we sailed and motor sailed up here in amazing time.  Had a couple of hours of really decent sailing - even though I managed to mangle a block in the reefing system.  The washing-machine north of St. Vincent was uncomfortable but only for a few hours.

Kingston, St. Vincent

Sailin' to St.  Lucia

Swab 1 and Swab 2 sailing us up to St. Lucia

So here we are, checked in, legal and full of Piton beer.

Steve whipped up rotini avec turkey bolognese and an amazing salad… mmmmmmmmm! Great dinner and a great night.

Today we have moved into the marina for a final cleanup before the crew leaves for home.  We've got lots of little jobs to do and it's fun being at the marina.  This (Rodney Bay Marina) is the terminus for the ARC (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers) which started in the Canary Islands.  These folks have really done an amazing thing.  Very humbling.