12th December 2014
After 18 days, 3 hours and 19 minutes of non-stop sailing for
2,933 nautical miles and absolutely no engine power we crossed the finish line of
Atlantic Rally for Cruiser 2014, in Rodney Bay, St Lucia in the Caribbean. We were truly ecstatic and quite emotional as
we arrived to the sound of horns from many other boats, cheers from fellow
sailors and Caribbean drums playing to mark our arrival. We were presented with a lovely bowl of fruit
and Caribbean rum as we took our first steps on dry land. We all felt quite disorientated walking on
land after our bodies had adjusted to the constantly rocking environment at
sea.
That first afternoon on the day of our arrival seemed to
pass in an almost dream like state. John
had to attend to all the customs and immigration formalities while the rest of
us made contact with family back home to report on our safe arrival.
St Lucia 13th December – 7th January
The following few days we all explored St Lucia by land and
sea. We clubbed together to hire a taxi
with a guide who showed us the island including the Pitons, the two pyramid
shaped hills in the south of the island.
We also ventured south in the boat for a night in Marigot Bay where we
tied stern to the dock of a picturesque restaurant where we had dinner in this
idyllic setting, marred slightly by being overcharged and then during the
night, Donald wakened in time to disturb an intruder who had boarded the yacht
and was in the progress of removing the wash boards in order to enter the cabin. It was a bit of a wakeup call for us all with
respect to securing the boat properly at night after a drink or two and
fortunately no harm done and no loss of belongings.
Don, Kate, Duncan and John were all heading home for
Christmas, with only John returning after the holiday period. Janice, Eilidh and I stayed on to enjoy
Christmas in the Caribbean and were joined by Jen and Anna, two friends of
Eilidh’s for the festive period in Rodney Bay Marina. Eilidh befriended a local Rastafarian, Arron,
otherwise known as Mr Happy, who became our guide on some great hikes in the
hills, both on Pigeon island and inland, south of Rodney Bay. The latter included a visit to Arron’s
extended family who all lived in a little community of their own in a secluded
spot in the hills. We enjoyed their warm hospitality showering us with food and
fruit from their trees and freshly baked cakes straight from their stove. We played football with the children and Eilidh
and I loved having a cuddle of two of their gorgeous babies.
A most memorable day was Christmas even when all of us along
with Arron, Martin, a friend of Eilidh’s who is a skipper on another ARC boat,
and other new friends went to spend the day on Pigeon island where we enjoyed
swimming and snorkeling in the crystal clear turquoise water and lying on the
inflatable lilo bed on the water drinking rum from a coconut and
pineapple. It really doesn't get much
better than that!
Eilidh, Janice, Jen and I participated in a day of diving
with a local dive organization. We had
two dives of about half an hour each from their boat in the south of the island
near the Pitons. It was a great day
although personally I will stick to snorkeling as my ears don’t like the
pressure! Janice unfortunately suffered
with a sore eye following the dive which resulted in a visit to the hospital in
Castries.
Janice, after many fond farewells, went home between
Christmas and New Year. At New Year we
were invited to a house party near the beach followed by joining in the local
tradition of bringing in the New Year on the beach where fireworks filled the
sky to mark the occasion of welcoming 2015.
Alison.