4th of July - Cruiser Style

First, the cast of characters - all new friends we have met since our arrival in St. Lucia.

Kenny and Kathy - from the catamaran sailing yacht "Mer Soleil" - have been living aboard for three years, and sailing mostly in the Caribbean. They still have business interests in the U.S.

Lisa and David - from the monohull sailing yacht "Star Stream" - Lisa is a licensed boat captain, and David is a retired airline pilot (TWA and American Airlines). They live aboard their boat full time, but maintain a small condo in Florida. They have two doggies aboard, Katy and Spencer.

Jan and Jeff - British couple from sailing yacht "Wine Down". Jeff is a retired RAF pilot, and Jan is a retired Nurse. They have built a home in St. Lucia, but also maintain their boat in the Marigot harbour. JULY 4th IS THEIR WEDDING ANNIVERSARY!

Doreen - owner/operator of the Chateau Mygo restaurant in Marigot Bay, she also has numerous other business interests and properties in St. Lucia.

Ben - Captain of the motor yacht KATHLEEN M - a terrific guy, with an amazing store of boating knowledge and lore.

Troy - Dockmaster of the Marina at Marigot Bay - he's the man who keeps the whole marina running smoothly, and the cruising community happy.

The play - we decided among us that we should create a traditional American 4th of July celebration that everyone in the harbour could enjoy. Complete with hot dogs, ribs and bratwurst on the grill, red, white and blue table decorations, and if possible, FIREWORKS!

The plot twist - since we knew that Jan and Jeff's wedding anniversary also fell on the 4th of July, it was decided to include a special recognition for that, too. But that part of the celebration had to be kept secret from the two of them until the surprise was sprung on them at the party!

Planning and preparations were underway for days. Kathy and Kenny made shopping forays into Castries (the capital city) looking for the raw materials. Red, white and blue paper plates, napkins, and tablecloths were among the items they came up with. Kenny made music CD's of great tunes to play at the party. Kathy and Susan crafted a sort of mock wedding veil for Jan to wear, and an ersatz tuxedo vest and bow tie for Jeff.

We spent one evening with Kenny and Kathy creating table decorations - candle holders in red, white and blue.
Walt, Kenny, and Kathy making table decorations
Kathy (aka Martha Stewart of Marigot) and her creations

The menfolk try to help...Walt and Kenny hard at work

At last, the party was planned. Invitations were out. The beer was cold, the tables were dressed, the music was playing, and the food was abundant.

Walt and Susan in Party Mode

Jan and Doreen

Troy (left) and Ben enjoy a cold one!

Cruising couple from Chicago - Augie and Sophie, plus unidentified party-goer

More party animals

Grill Master Jeff at work

At last, it was time to spring the surprise on Jeff and Jan. With long-distance help from (Yvonne and Sierra), Susan, Kathy, Lisa and Doreen had worked out a choreographed dance and lip-synch routine to the 50's tune "Goin to the Chapel...and we're gonna get married", complete with little bridesmaid's bouquets. The dance routine was a hit!

Susan and her "Pips" serenading the happy couple...

Jan in her veil, and Jeff in his "tux" are congratulated on 28 years of marriage, while the "Pips" wail on... (Kathy is at right)

The happy couple enjoys their first dance to the marvelous tune "Only You". Very romantic!

They were great sports! And the Pips are still singing in the background...

Jan and Jeff - truly a lovely and loving couple

Dancing to "Willie and the Hand Jive"

Pips' behinds - from left, Doreen, Lisa, Kathy and Susan

Opposite view from left - Susan, Kathy, Lisa and Doreen

At 9:30pm, several of the menfolk fired off a few rounds from our marine emergency flare guns in lieu of fireworks. Yes, we had obtained permission from all the proper local authorities. But it was still scary doing it in such a small bay. We were lucky nothing was ignited that shouldn't have been...

By 11:30, the place was cleaned up, and the revelers mostly asleep. A great time was had by all!

St. Lucia - Von, Sierra and Clay visit KINGDOM

Susan's sister Yvonne, niece Sierra, and Clay Davis joined us in Marigot Bay, St. Lucia for a couple of weeks. We had a wonderful time with them. It was like a mini-vacation for us, since while they were here we didn't do any maintenance work on the boat.

We spent pleasant afternoons at the pool, swimming, reading, and playing "Bananas"
Von and Sierra enjoyed kyaking in the Bay

Clay enjoyed fishing (or trying to fish) from the boat, the dock, and the dinghy.

One day, we went zip-lining in the rain forest. This is Susan making a transit...

Susan, all geared up. Note the lovely hairnet... On the left is our friend Kathy Walker, whose husband Ken joined our zipline group. Kathy preferred keeping her feet on the ground.

Yvonne and Clay, geared up for zip-lining.

Dinner at Doolittle's in Marigot Bay. We were joined by our friends Kathy and Ken Walker, and by Ben Fisher, another friend who is Captain of the 95' Motor Yacht "Kathleen M"

Doolittle's happy hour list

Von and Sierra playing "Bananas" at the swim-up bar

Another day, we took the boat south a few miles, and anchored off the beach at the foot of the Piton's. This is one of the most beautiful anchorages in the Caribbean. It is a small bay, set between two massive volcanic cones. There are a couple of very exclusive resorts here, with fine restaurants. Also, a small beach, and two excellent shallow reefs perfect for snorkling. Von, Clay, Sierra and Susan spent a lovely afternoon snorkling, and then we headed back to Marigot Bay to arrive before dark.

Ready for Snorkling - The water is a crystal clear blue, and perfect temperature.

Clay and Sierra adjusting their snorkel gear.

Walt, Sierra and Von playing Bananas at the swim-up bar

The pool at Discovery - olympic size with swim-up bar

Von kyaking in Marigot Bay

Poolside refreshments - pizza, fries, and umbrella drinks

Sierra and Von poolside

Molly

Typical Marigot Bay sunset

The facilities of Marigot Bay Marina, and the Discovery Hotel provide us all we need for hurricane season; Clean water, serenity, security, and beautiful surroundings.

Martinique to St. Lucia

Thursday, May 28, 7:30am
We weighed anchor for what we thought would be an easy 40 mile run to Marigot Bay, St. Lucia. The day started out sunny and with short seas. By the time we were 5 miles offshore, in the passage between the two islands, we knew we were in for a very uncomfortable ride.

You will notice there are no accompanying photos with this blog entry; we were too busy hanging on...

Our rhumb-line course was Southeast to St. Lucia. Unfortunately the current and 25-knot wind was creating a solid 10-12 foot set of waves directly abeam our course. In addition, the waves were coming at very close intervals. I tried every point of steering near our course, and only succeeded in severely bouncing the contents of the boat around the salon, breaking lamp bulbs, and toppling side tables. Even our sofa came adrift, and was marching across the salon. The salon floor was covered in glass shards from the broken light bulbs.

I finally yielded to conditions, and ran a sort of tacking course Southwest, which at least put the oncoming waves to port and astern the boat. This course gave us relief from the pounding, but took us about 1o miles out of the way. Once we were in the lee of St. Lucia, the wind and waves abated somewhat, and we could steer almost directly East toward Marigot Bay.

This is literally the first time we have had to run a significant tacking course to get where we wanted to go. It added two hours to our passage, but it taught us another lesson in seamanship. Better to run than be run over! Comfort over speed!

Just to make things really interesting, our starboard engine quit just as we were about to enter the harbour at Marigot Bay. The starboard fuel filter was clogged, so I had Susan idle the boat in circles near the harbour entrance, using the port engine only, while I changed the filter and re-primed the stalled engine.

We finally tied up at the marina around 3:30pm. I was able to clear St. Lucia customs and immigration just before they closed.

Martinique

We spent five days in Fort de France, shopping for groceries, and a few items from the excellent chandlery there. We would have had a couple of boat maintenance items done in Martinique, but we were unable to surmount the language barrier. We called several service companies, but the people answering the phone spoke only French. By Wednesday, May 27th, we finally gave up, and moved on to this lovely village and anchorage of Grande Anse d'Arlet, which lies about 7 miles south of Fort de France.

We spent only one night here, and left Martinique early the next morning.

We did like Martinique, and plan to return sometime soon for a week of exploring inland. There are a number of interesting historical sites, beautiful anchorages, and at least nine rum distilleries on Martinique.

Dominica to Martinique

Friday May 22nd
We bid farewell to Dominica, raising the anchor at 7:30am, bound for Martinique. It was an easy day of cruising, and we arrived at Fort de France, Martinique at 3:30pm.

Since we have already posted pix of Fort de France, taken on our trip northward, we won't repeat them here. Instead, we will show you some of the photos taken on this trip.

This is a view of Scott's Head, at the southern tip of Dominica, and it's bay. This small bay contains a fishing village, and is off limits to cruising boats, as it is a protected fishery.
Two views approaching Soufrier, Dominica, with the mountains and volcano shrouded by rain clouds

Two views of the village of Soufriere, Dominica. Note the old cemetery near the waterfront, and the church above.

Molly's tyical cruising nook - until the water gets rough

Molly on Walt's lap, in the pilothouse