On May 30^th we grew impatient with waiting for “trawler weather” and instead departed during a slight lull in the conditions that have characterized this Spring, the windiest, as a friend recently observed, in seven years of cruising the eastern Caribbean.   Since Le Marin is in the southern part of Martinique and Rodney Bay is in the northern part of St. Lucia, the 26 nm trip was without the benefit of an island to be leeward of.  Rather unpleasant trip.  Just as we arrived at Rodney Bay, the trip log maxed out at 10 thousand miles for the second time since we bought the boat in April, 2005.  Time and distance have certainly flown.

The winds have persisted pretty much unabated since we arrived, so we have been in St. Lucia longer than we expected or wished.  On June 6 we took the boat in to Rodney Bay Marina, where we equalized the house battery bank and commissioned “Vision” to wax the hull.  We had no sooner gotten settled in to the Marina when we looked up and saw another Kadey-Krogen 48 North Sea arriving at the Marina:  Ann Louise with Ann and Bill Miller aboard.  A rare sight indeed.  (They were under pressure to get to Grenada to meet guests; we look forward to spending more time with them when we catch up.)

When we returned to the Bay on June 8, we had to anchor at the north end of the bay, since the center and southern portions were the venue for a large regatta of youths on Optimists and Sabers.  On June 11, after the conclusion of the races and after we had moved back to the southern part of the anchorage, we noticed some activity on a nearby catamaran.  We could see that someone was being removed on a stretcher.  Barb grabbed a few shots on my camera, and then I took a few more when the Police arrived.  We learned later that there had been a shooting and that one person had been taken to the hospital in critical condition.  Later reports circulating through the anchorage were that a note had been found, and that the injured person had been shot in the head in a suicide attempt.  I posted to the Facebook group “Coconut Telegraph” the pictures and a short blurb from a St. Lucian newspaper, and the post began immediately to attract Facebook comments of concern and sympathy, followed by an incredibly insensitive “joke” about there now being one fewer catamaran to drag onto neighboring vessels, which itself then attracted scolds of outrage and anger.  Tired of seeing my pictures associated with the original “joke” and its subsequent venom, I removed my original post, which had the desirable effect of removing all of the associated comments.  But the controversy lived on, revived by the wife of the original  “joker” posting an irrelevant and gratuitous attack on cruisers for being excessively Politically Correct and for not having the courage to venture out to new venues and instead just cruising up and down the Caribbean chain year after year.  After more scolds and more outrage, that post also disappeared, having been removed by its author or one of the group moderators, I know not which.

On June 12 the Terns and the Takks moved down to Marigot Bay.  Barb and I finally were able to dine at the Rain Forest Hideaway, where we were greatly impressed with the service, the food, the presentation and the live jazz, the latter being a feature on Wednesday and Saturday evenings.  Next day both vessels moved down to take moorings between the Pitons, a lovely spot described by Devi as “in the cleavage”.  As we have many times before, we contracted with Peter, the head ranger at the St. Lucia Marine Management Area, to take us for a dive.  This time we dove one of our favorites:  Superman’s Leap, named thusly because one of the movies  (Superman II) featured Superman leaping off Petit Piton, as well as scenes shot in the nearby Diamond Botanical Gardens, which we also visited this time while we were in the area.  (An aside:  The film starred Christopher Reeve – nominated Best Actor — in one of his memorable roles.  Other shooting locations for the film included Canada, Paris, and Norway.)

We had intended on continuing southward after exhausting our two-night minimal mooring permit, but a consultation with updated weather forecasts made it clear that the expected weather window had disappeared and/or had been pushed back almost another week.  The winds coming down between Petit Piton and the Petit Mitan ridge to the south were extremely gusty (often in excess of 30 knots), so we decided to go back to Rodney Bay to await the weather window.   And that is where we are now, awaiting a weather window that keeps migrating.  While waiting, we have been busy socializing:  card games on shore and on the boat, a trip to pizza, attending a farewell party held at the Yacht Club for the departing Manager of Rodney Bay Marina, a trip to the East Indian restaurant Razmataz and other fun activities.  The gentle reader will have to see the next installment to learn if or when we ever leave.