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Larry's LogThe next day was very busy completing the items on the list, but we didn't finish everything. The fuel dock was closed when I went over but we did do most of the list items. The boat was clean and the web site updated. The windlass was finished and the dinghy fixed. As the list got shorter, we got more tired and figured we would leave for St. Anne sometime tomorrow. We would see. The next day, Monday the 14th, was also busy. We got fuel that I carried in jugs from the fuel dock and siphoned into my tank through a filter (25 gallons) and then tied the jugs back to the stanchions. We also cleared out for the next day (figuring we would be in St. Anne for at least a day) and cleaned up the boat. Paul and Viviane had invited us to lunch and we accepted happily. Lunch was "cold cuts" but very exotic ones that they had brought from the States. Viviane had been raised in Egypt and educated in France and the US and was familiar with foods from all over. Paul was also a connoisseur. So we ate very well for just "cold cuts" including boursin cheese and sausage from the Middle East. By the time we finished, we had no inclination to move ourselves much less the boat, so we stayed another night. We did clean the boat a bit more though and get her ready. The next morning, Tuesday, May 15, we finally got out of the marina. I went to the internet place to fix a problem I had noticed with the web site and took a few pictures. Diane stayed on the boat and cleaned a bit and then went to pay the marina bill. For a full 2 weeks, we paid $181. Really not bad considering water and electricity were included. Just before we left, we topped up the water and I disconnected the water hose, electrical cable and the stern line that had held us away from the dock. We started the engine and Louis released our bow lines and we backed out with no problem. We waved back and were on our way to St. Anne. We arrived about an hour later. We relaxed a bit after the anchor was down but Diane wanted to go swimming. She decided that she would also check the anchor and maybe clean the prop while she was in the water. That meant I had to help. Oh well, so much for a relaxing afternoon. Naturally, there was an adventure also - she managed to drop the strap holding her swim fin and it went to the bottom. Fortunately, she could see it and after I dropped the dinghy anchor next to it to mark the location, she actually dove down (about 20 feet) to retrieve it. She looked at the anchor and it looked fine also. In the meantime, Autumn Wind, with Paul and Viviane, had anchored next to us. They were planning to stay a couple of days in St. Anne also but then go north to Guadeloupe before heading south to Trinidad later. After cleaning the prop a bit, Diane came back onboard and rinsed off. We just relaxed after that and had a lazy evening. The next day, we went to shore and walked around, seeing the very pretty village of St. Anne. We also walked to the Club Med where Diane had gone about 20 years before (before meeting me). We found the room/cottage where she and her friend Karen stayed and some of the other places she remembered. She felt it had been allowed to get rundown a bit but I thought it looked OK. The grounds were nice and well kept although some of the buildings needed a little maintenance. It was a nice long walk and we also got some nice views of the town and the anchorage. We(I) got some other nice views also as we walked along the beach (wink). We had lunch in a local place and met Nancy and Mike from Footloose, a PDQ 37 catamaran also anchored in St. Anne. As we talked during lunch they invited us to their boat for drinks later. We said sure. Back at the boat, we did some miscellaneous chores and then went over to Footloose at around 5:30. They had a small dog, a Yorkshire Terrier and a parrot, Skipper. Skipper was definitely a hit since she could talk. Lilly from another boat came over and we enjoyed the conversation 'til about 7. They said they were going snorkeling with some other boats tomorrow and we were welcome to come along. Since we had already decided to go snorkeling, we said sure and said we would come by after breakfast. Back at the boat, Diane made Eggplant Parmesan; very good! The next day, Thursday, May 17, after listening to the morning weather and nets, we went into town and bought our last baguettes and croissants. I will miss the French islands!! We stopped at Footloose and said we would be going with them after we put our last shopping away. We had also bought some bananas and a small watermelon. We also stopped at Autumn Wind and wished them a good trip. Unfortunately, Paul told us that there was something wrong with his generator and he was going back to the marina later so he could plug in and work on the problem. Oh well, there's always something. We got ready to snorkel and went to the spot we thought everyone else was going to. We anchored the dinghy in a fairly deep spot and since we didn't trust the holding, one of us stayed in the boat while the other went to the reef. We didn't see the other people but we enjoyed it. The snorkeling was OK but not the best we've seen. I think the reef had been hit by Hurricane Lenny and there was a lot of broken coral around. I did see lots of nice fish and some pretty shells (which I left), so I can't complain too much. We went back and stopped at Footloose and found out that they and the other boat went to a different reef. They also had a good time so "no problem." We said we were leaving tomorrow and hoped to see them again in Trinidad. (It seems every cruiser winds up in Trinidad sooner or later.) Back at our boat, we ate lunch (with some of the last of our baguettes and good brie) and then went back in the water to scrub the waterline and do some of the bottom. We did some more of the prop also since there was some soft growth already. After 90 minutes or so, we were both tired and quit for the day. We noticed though that Autumn Wind, although they had picked up the anchor and started into the marina, hadn't gone very far. We were a little concerned and called them on the VHF as soon as we dried off. It seemed that the generator problem wasn't as bad as Paul thought and once underway, he could see that it was just a belt that had broken. They had a spare and replaced it just outside the anchorage. They would be coming back in as soon as it was finished. Very good, no major expenses! It was a bit funny (strange) since Paul is (was) a scientist who worked on the Space Shuttle and Viviane is (was) a scientist who developed nuclear weapons! We had called to them as they left, "Good luck." They said thanks but Paul also called back that all they needed was skill and the right science. I quipped that "A little luck couldn't hurt!" Well, perhaps there was some luck involved in finding the right solution, after which skill and the right science can take over. They asked us to go out to dinner with them but we declined, as we were tired from the snorkeling and cleaning the boat bottom. We still had to put the outboard on the stern rail and raise the dinghy, which we did before dinner. I then stowed all the gear I could and set out the rest to dry. That stuff would be put away tomorrow. I would also need to finish tying the dinghy down to the deck, as I raised the bow up to we could open the forward hatch to get some air below while we slept. After a nice dinner of veal cordon bleu, we relaxed and went to sleep early. 5am would come pretty fast. Well, we woke up at 5:30 because the alarm didn't go off, but we were still underway by 6:10am. I tied down the dinghy while Diane stowed everything below and we had the anchor up pretty quickly. The breeze was only about 12 knots but I knew it would be more past the lee of the island. As we motored away from St. Anne, I raised the main with one reef and then the jib. I would see how that combination worked. Paul had said to double reef the main when we were about 8 miles from St. Lucia because of the cape effect. The guide book also warned of tidal overfalls near St. Lucia so we were aware of the possibility of bad conditions as we got nearer our destination. The sail over was actually quite pleasant with winds of about 15 to 18 knots from the beam, meaning that we weren't pounding into the wind and waves constantly, as on so many prior passages. There were some higher gusts but nothing that we couldn't handle with the sail we had up. We didn't experience any of the really nasty conditions we had expected (or gotten on previous inter-island passages). I had known we would have a reach to St. Lucia since, for the first time in months, we were traveling southwest. Unless we went to Tobago, Martinique was the furthest east we would get, about 60 degrees 50 minutes West. We sailed at about 7 knots for 3 hours and arrived in Rodney Bay at around 9am. As we came in, we saw a boat we knew, Kajsa. We had met Patrick and Teresa in Anse Mitan first and then saw them again in Marin. We anchored behind them and then ate breakfast, chocolate croissant (pain de chocolat) for me and a raisin croissant (pain de raisin) for Diane. We had bought them the day before in St. Anne and hoped they would last until the following morning. They still tasted pretty good. They would be the last we would have for some time. Welcome to St. Lucia. |