Exploring St Lucia [Part 1]



From the Pitons we sailed a few miles north to Marigot Harbour in company with Sam aboard Semezana ,a beautiful Shannon 51 ft ketch. We picked up a mooring buoy as anchoring is difficult in this very attractive little harbour. It takes all of 10 minutes to walk round the facilities which included a choice bakery with excellent baguettes.



For a change we ate out in the evening and were entertained by a troup of local dancers in colourful if brief costume and fire eaters leaving a whiff of kerosene neither of whom were good for the digestion. The food was excellent.



The next day we had a testing sail to windward in short choppy seas north to Rodney Bay. Testing because progress could only be made with enough canvas to punch through the seas and the variable wind added to the difficulties. The cutter rig on Plane Song ensures she copes well.

The Rodney Bay Marina has all the faciities you could wish for and is efficiently run. Charges seem reasonable but as in most of the islands water is in short supply and has to be puchased. Mary met her friend Ian Cowan whom she last saw 40 years ago. He runs Island Water World chandlery and is well known for his yachting expertise and of course a fund of local knowledge. He and his wife Rosemary have given us some generous hospitality treating us to a wonderful supper at their beautiful home and dinner out under a Flambouyant tree.



Early in our stay here Mary and I ate at a local restaurant and got a dose of food poisoning. Both of us were decidedly under the weather for 3 days so our plans to see more of the island had to wait. When we were well enough we hired a scooter and crossed the island to see something of the rain forest and central hills before descending to the east coast to find the Mamiku gardens and local canoe building. The gardens were a real treat both for the trees, plants and birds which included an Oriole and humming birds. The dug out canoe building was a damp squib but some friendly locals showed us the small crabs that live in the mangrove trees, something I had seen in the mangrove swamp in Trinidad.



The new cacao growing venture at the Rabot Estate by Hotelchocolat is high on our list of must see and hopefully we will fit that in next week after Mary's birthday.