Back to the journey…
Christmas was approaching fast and we needed to continue our passage to St Lucia, to be ready to greet family and friends who were going to be visiting us.
Our journey from St Martin took us east and then south east. Initially, passing north of the small islands of Saba, St Eustatius, St Kitts and Nevis and Monserrat. Then south of Antigua and along the west coast of Dominica to Guadeloupe. After a short overnight stop at Pigeon Island, Guadeloupe, we were soon sailing along the west coast of Martinique and down to Rodney Bay on the north west corner of St Lucia. Throughout the passage, we had great winds of Force 5 (17-21 knots) gusting Force 6 (22-27 knots). This meant that we generally had two reefs in both the main and the genoa, but Escapade still managed speeds of 7 to 8 knots. Unfortunately, the sea state was not so good, especially between the islands. At times, it was up to 3m and we had plenty of waves crashing over the bow. Whilst uncomfortable, it was conducive to leak finding. This time from one of the pushpit stanchions into the ‘dry’ clothes cupboard…aaaah! Boat life! That gave us an unexpected job in St Lucia.
After a passage of just under 300nm we arrived in St Lucia, our home for the next two months.
One of the joys of our cruising life is the amazing people that we meet along the way and the fact that, so often, our paths regularly cross. Here in St Lucia, we caught up with Andrew and Traci (ARC+), Kim and Ann (‘neighbours’ in Grenada) and Pam and Mark (Fox’s Marina, Ipswich!). It was so good to spend time with these fellow travellers, sharing stories about our adventures, our boats and our plans for the future.
We were in St Lucia over the festive season and, whilst we did not have a traditional Christmas and New Year, there were several gatherings to celebrate – boating style of course.
Christmas Day walk with a view and a superb evening meal.
New Year’s Eve saw Paddle board races in the bay and celebrations at Spinnakers on the beach.
One reason for staying so long in St Lucia was the fact that, with direct flights from the UK, it is so easy for people to visit. January and February saw us busy playing ‘tour guides’ for three sets of guests, showing them the delights of St Lucia and, for those okay with a little sailing, also some of the islands in the Grenadines. Our aim was to give them a real ‘Caribbean experience’. This post will share some of our experiences in St Lucia (check out posts from St Vincent and the Grenadines for the people and places of the Grenadines)
When people think about the Caribbean, images of beautiful beaches and blue skies comes to mind. St Lucia has its fair share, several of which boarder the sweeping Rodney Bay. One favourite is Reduit Beach. With its clear water, it is the perfect places for a leisurely swim and a beer or two at one of the many beach bars.
As on most of the Caribbean islands, water activities are a must, so our guests had the opportunity to do plenty of snorkelling. An excellent spot for beginners was off the resort at Anse Chastanet. Sandy bottoms, gentle seas and a few coral bommies make habitats for a variety of marine life.
For the more adventurous, we had diving with Scuba Steve’s/Dive St Lucia. This resulted in us spotting the biggest turtle ever!
St Lucia’s interior is lush rainforest and an excellent way to see this was with Rainforest Adventure ziplining and aerial tramway. Ziplining through the trees was exciting, but the tramway gave a more sedate view of the tree tops. Thanks to Quinton, our knowledgeable guide, we learnt much about the flora and fauna of the area. All while, admiring the spectacular panoramas across to the coast.
To see the island from a different perspective, and as a birthday/Christmas treat for Martin’s mum, we booked on a 20 minute helicopter trip with St Lucia Helicopters. Not cheap, but worth every penny. It gave us a bird’s eye view of the island, from Castries to the Pitons and then up over Rodney Bay. Many thanks to Simon, our superb pilot and tour guide.
For our more culturally minded guests, we made a trip to Pigeon Island national park. Here we climbed the hill to Fort Rodney, an 18th century fort used by the British to spy n French ships from neighbouring Martinique.
This was followed by a relaxing lunch at Jambe de Bois – a refreshingly cold local juice and one of the best rotis in the Caribbean.
As a must see in St Lucia, we would also recommend a visit to the bustling capital Castries. Here you can wander through the colourful souvenir market haggling with the locals over the prices of souvenirs. Hidden behind the tourist market is the local market: a great place to shop for fruit and veg and very fresh fish. We were also able to grab a quick bite to eat – goat curry and rice and beans.
For those who like to party, it is worth visiting the Friday night Jump Up at Gros Islet, Rodney Bay. A single street lined with street food, beer and rum punch and enormous speakers blasting out ear splitting music. Whilst not for everyone, we enjoyed the chance to meet some ‘interesting’ local characters. However, we also decided that, once the crowds started to form and the music went up a notch, it was time to leave the locals to it.
Finally, no post about St Lucia would be complete without mentioning the most famous tourist attraction – the Pitons. We were fortunate to view them by sea and air and they certainly were spectacular.
Sounds like a great Christmas for you and your lucky visitors. 🤗
Hi,
We all had a brilliant time….somewhat different to usual but still very special xx