11/21/2015 We left Bequia at 0155 along with Baidarka and
Lequesteau to head to Rodney Bay, St. Lucia. Unfortunately, along the way
Baidarka got a fishing net wrapped around their prop and with not much wind
they could not sail very fast and couldn’t motor. Lequesteau and we decided to
go into the Pitons area of St. Lucia and take a mooring ball to wait for
Baidarka so we could help them get the prop free and then continue on to Rodney
Bay. As Baidarka could only make a couple of knots, it took them about 2.5
hours to get to the Pitons and get on a mooring. Of course, it was also raining
during this time. As soon as they did, Greig from Lequesteau dove on their prop
and after much cutting, managed to free the net. There are boat boys who come
out and want to help you tie up to the moorings in the Pitons. We had told the
guy we did not need his help and that we were only staying there to wait for a
friend. The moorings are managed by the
park service and they collect the fees for them. However, these boat boys want
you to pay them for “helping tie you to the mooring.” Last time we stopped here
it was for overnight and the boat boy was very nice and was in an inflatable
that did not damage our boat. We did use his help then because it was very
windy, making it difficult to tie to the ball. This time was a totally
different story. We repeatedly told the guy we would do it ourselves and did
not need his help. He wouldn’t move off the mooring line until we were almost
on top of him. He was in a wooden boat that would scratch our hull and we had
to yell at him to get him to move out of the way. He then had the nerve to ask
us for “a little something to make him happy.” He suggested $20. I told him
that would not make me happy
especially since he had done nothing for us but get in the way. He complained
that he needed to buy petrol. I told him that was not our problem. He finally left us and tried the same thing
with Lequesteau. He then tried to get $50 from Bill on Baidarka (I guess his
price went up to make up for us not paying him) and Bill called him a thief and
refused to give him anything. After we got Baidarka fully functioning again, we
dropped the moorings and continued on our way. However, we realized we would
not make it to Rodney Bay before dark and decided to stop in Marigot Bay about
10 miles to the south of Rodney Bay. We made it there about 1730, a total of
15.5 hours that day!
Marigot Bay Resort has a small marina and some mooring balls
in their little bay. You can get a mooring ball for $30 US per night and can
raft up to 3 boats on a mooring. Baidarka anchored in the outer bay but
Lequesteau and us took a mooring together. This gave us guest privileges at the
resort, allowing us to use their pools and showers at the marina. The resort
was beautiful and the pools were very nice with a swim up bar in one and an
infinity pool in the other one. We stayed 2 days and used a different pool each
day. The marina staff was very friendly and helped us raft up on the ball. The
only downside was that we had to check in on a weekend so we had to pay
overtime charges of $100EC which is about $40US. Oh well, we enjoyed the pools
and relaxed. Had sundowners with Lequesteau each night and “limed” the days
away. “Limin’” is a West Indies term for “chilling out or hanging out.” When
the British sailors were plying the waters of the Caribbean they became known
as Limeys because they had to eat limes to prevent scurvy. As they seemed to
have much free time when not at sea, they just hung around and that became
known as ‘limin’.”
Much of the original Dr. Doolittle movie was filmed here in Marigot Bay and there is a Dooolittle's restaurant on the beach.
 |
| Looking out from Marigot Bay |
 |
| Jah Come sells fruit and veggies |
 |
| The lower level infinity pool with waterfall |
 |
| The upper level pool with cabanas, fountains and a swim-up bar |
 |
| One of the private cabanas and dining areas near the lower pool |
 |
| Pretty seating area looking out over the harbor |
 |
| Another veggie boatman |
 |
| Lagniappe and Lequesteau rafted up in Marigot Bay |
 |
| Doolitttle's Restaurant |
 |
| Caroline, Greig, Liz Ann and Greg at the swim-up bar |
 |
| Marigot Bay at night |
11/23/2015 We left Marigot Bay to sail the 10 miles to
Rodney Bay in light winds, motorsailing with just the staysail up to steady the
boat. Initially, we took a mooring in the inner bay but realized we couldn’t
get to shore or the marina very easily with the outboard not working on the
dinghy so we took a slip in the marina. Baidarka had gotten a slip to do some
work on their boat and we were right next to them. We spent the next few days
re-provisioning at the groceries in Rodney Bay and doing a few boat projects
ourselves. Bill on Baidarka had mentioned that our exhaust water flow looked
minimal when we sailed from Bequia up to St. Lucia so we checked the impeller
and found one of the blades had broken off. It took us 4 hours and the cost of
a new Impeller puller tool ($175) to get it off. But we finally got it off and
replaced it with a spare we had. Checked the water flow with the engine running
and now it was good. At least one thing got fixed!
 |
| Our great new impeller puller! |
We had to wait until 11/27
for the outboard CDI unit to arrive and when it did, Greg installed it and the
outboard still didn’t work! We had to get another local mechanic to look at it
and he replaced the coil and crank position sensor. His labor was reasonable
but the parts were expensive. So after about $600 all total for the parts we
ordered and the labor and parts in St. Lucia, we finally had a working outboard
again. Then we had to turn our attention to a leak in our water lines. We spent
hours going through the lines and trying to find the source of the leak. We had
to replace some of the tubing which had a tiny pinhole and some connectors. We
flushed the watermaker and ran the air conditioner to make sure it still worked
after having it serviced in Grenada after Carnival. We also let out all 300 feet
of our anchor chain on the dock and unkinked it and then stowed it back in the
anchor locker.
Meanwhile, we managed to have some fun. We had dinner one
night at a Mexican restaurant and also had a Thanksgiving dinner potluck. One
of the restaurants along the boardwalk at the marina let us use two of their
big tables and we hauled them over to a grassy area and set up our dinner. We
had a great feast and watched the J-24 race in the harbor.
 |
| J-24 race in the harbor |
 |
| Setting up the Thanksgiving potluck |
 |
| We had quite a feast |
12/11/2015 Lequesteau, Mythago and us sailed up the coast to
St. Pierre, having a great sail making 7+ knots as we passed Fort de France. Tehani
joined us a day or two later. We anchored at Anse Turin, just south of St.
Pierre. There is a nice beach here and better holding and less crowded than in
St. Pierre proper. It is only a 5 minute dinghy ride to the town and the dinghy
dock. We hit 10,000 miles on our knotlog on the way
here. Hard to believe we have sailed that far in the 2 years and 10 days since
we left home! We celebrated with a nice dinner at Le Tamaya in St. Pierre. We
had tried to go there for our anniversary dinner on our way south but they were
closed then. We had a wonderful dinner and ran into Bob and Lynn from S/V Ile Jeudi
there.
 |
| Le Tamaya in St. Pierre |
 |
| A great dinner |
 |
| 2 years and 10,000 miles since we left home in December 2013 |
 |
| Greg and Greig |
 |
| This tree had wierd spikes growing from the trunk |
 |
| Greg, Greig, Caroline, Sherry and Dave on the Canal de Beauregard |
 |
| Greg takes a break |
 |
| A little shrine along the canal |
 |
| This guy was checking us out |
 |
| Another "local |
 |
| Church in Fond St. Denis |
 |
| Statue in the town square |
 |
| Never found out the name of these flowers but I really liked them |
 |
| Fond St. Denis |
 |
| Pink flowering vines covering trees |
We all had lunch one day at a restaurant in town where Greg
had a grouper that he thought was superb. We stocked up on fresh veggies at the
Saturday market. Their selection is fantastic and the prices can’t be beat.
12/16/2015 Before we knew it, it was time to head on to the Saintes in Guadeloupe. We left St. Pierre at 0430 andhad a great sail across the Dominica channel, making 6.5 to 7 knots. Once in the lee of Dominica, the winds wer less reliable and we had to motor-sail. We tried fishing again but didn't catch anything. We made it to Portsmouth, Dominica at 1515 and got a mooring from Martin on Providence. Dominica was ravaged with flooding and mudslides last August in Tropical Storm Erika. Martin's boat sank from the rains but he managed to salvage it and got a new motor. So many road and bridges were washed out, and peoples homes were washed away. We didn't go ashore and didn't check in because we were just spending the one night. So we yellow-flagged it and took off again the next morning for Terre d' Haute, Les Saintes, Guadeloupe.
