Rodney Bay St Lucia

Marina Hand Ferry

What can I say? The people of St. Lucia are wonderful! Once we picked up a mooring in Rodney Bay Lagoon, a protected lagoon that has houses and docks all around it giving the feel of the canals in Ft. Lauderdale, we set out to explore. It was a quick dinghy ride to the village in one direction and the mega marina the other. We decided to explore the village first and get some money changed. There are two big malls and a casino with a number of shops on the street.  The malls each have a large supermarket with lots of items to choose from, even seaweed paper if sushi is on your menu. With the initial exploration done we went to the marina where we got internet access and had massage then hit happy hour at the pool. Life is good!

 A beautiful high sand beach to clear water with resorts, bars, and hotels makes a U around Rodney Bay, so there were all kinds of water sports: parasailing, jet skis, hobbie cats, floating trampoline, and more.

 The St. Lucia Yacht Club is on the beach and we were asked by some members to join them in some drinks. An invitation we could not refuse. The yacht club has burgees from yacht clubs around the world as St. Lucia is where the ARC from Europe ends in December of each year.

 It reminded us of the old Newport Yacht Club bar. 

Rodney Bay from the Yacht Club

This was the 25^th anniversary or the ARC. After enjoying fellow cruisers company, we finally staggered down the road back to the dingy and went to the Marina for a swim in the pool and dinner.

 Super Bowl Sunday is as popular here as it is in the US.  Face painting and colors for the team you are routing for, Beers and Pizza, but with warm breezes. Sunday started with a dinghy ride to Pigeon Island, about 3 miles from our anchorage.  The island has a fascinating history as a headquarters for both French and British fleets during their long wars against each other. St. Lucia was under British rule seven times, exchanging rule with France seven times.  It is a country with a French/Creole culture and British government. There are still a lot of ruins around the island park and the view from the fort and the lookout are breathtaking! 

 We could see Martinique in the distance and see the direction of the wind and waves we would be sailing in a few days.  We got back to the Marina in time for drinks, massage, and swim in the pool before the buffet and the Super Bowl began. We met a wonderful couple from Canada who were avid football fans so the game was even more fun to watch.

While recovering from the Super Bowl, I was perusing the boat supplies catalog and discovered solar panels to be cheaper here than in the states. So began the quest to have solar power. Purchasing the panels was easy. Finding someone to make a frame was the challenge. Tuesday we walked for miles in search of the elusive machine shop before finding RYTE’s  across the road from our boat. Other boat mountings were examined, measurements were taken and drawings produced and presented to Stacy at the machine shop. They said,”No problem man.” and told us it would take two days. That was great! However, we forgot to factor in “island time” which would end up stressing us out a bit.  Actually we were lucky Stacy was there as he owed a job to RYTE or we would have waited a week longer.  Stacy Decembre has his own company Weld on Craft and is a beautiful welder of stainless and produced a perfect product off our drawings. He did a very professional job.  While we waited we filled our days with trips to the beach, drinks at the bar, swims in the pool, and completing a number of other boat projects. For one project I needed plywood and 2x2s to put shelves under the forward beds. This necessitated a trip to a building supply store. So while Leslie went to a resort for a cruising ladies day off the boat, I took a bus out of town to the building supply stores. I only needed a half sheet of plywood, but that was not to be. They only sell full sheets. I got a break though when I found Home Depot. This is not to be confused with the Home Depot you, and I, are familiar with. Make it 1/10 the size and less in variety, but they would cut me a sheet of plywood and some 2x2 to the sizes I wanted. I was a little shocked when a man approached me with a hand rip saw and measuring tape. Yes, he sawed all the wood by hand, and did a good job and I left him a tip and a half sheet of plywood. Ah, now to return to the boat with my hard earned treasures! I started walking in anticipation that a bus would come by soon. I am a mile down the road and no bus, the wood was really getting heavy, as luck would have it a truck from Home Depot pulled over and gave me a ride to town. What a great bunch of people! My wood safely on the boat I set out to find Leslie. I discovered her at the resort swimming in the pool with a wine in hand with her friend Barbara. I got there just in time, as they took me to the hot tub that was in the middle of the pool, and handed me a beer! What a way to spend an afternoon! There was no dinner that night as we went to Barbara’s boat for appetizers and drinks that superseded dinner.

Orchids

With us still waiting for the solar panel mounting, we took a ride down island with a Zodiac salesman. It seemed like a good way to see some more of the island and if the price was right, get a new dinghy as ours leaks in the area of the plug and the area between the bottom hull and floor fills with water. This makes getting the dinghy into the davits Carl’s job and a good workout it is! After a false start, as he forgot the keys to the warehouse, we and another couple gazed at the harbor of Castries, the capitol, with its cruise ships anchored off and tied to the pier, dwarfing the town.  Then we headed across the island to the windward side. Half way there we started to hear a strange rotational noise from the left rear of the car. We limped to a gas station only to find it has no mechanic, not a big surprise, but there is a mechanic a mile up the road. We limp into a parking lot at a little market and a man tells us he was a mechanic, but not anymore. However, he will take a look at the problem. After a short ride and stating he thinks the differential might have a problem, he puts a jack under the car and finds the tire lug nuts are finger tight!  The tires had just been replaced two days ago. So with some quick lug wrench work we were back on our way. We reached the other side at a small fishing port named Dennery. The whole village was flooded by Hurricane Thomas last year, but they have repaired, rebuilt, and repainted the village. It is a beautiful little town with brightly colored houses and shops, and a protected harbor where the fishermen bring in their catch to the common market. We pressed on down the coast past an unfinished resort. It is huge with a dozen unfinished buildings and an overgrown golf course. They call the area “unfinished”. We finally arrived at Vieux Fort, the southernmost town, and second largest town in the country, and looked at the Zodiacs. They are nice, but costly. We go to lunch at the Planation Yard Restaurant. It is old, rustic, and quaint, but the service is friendly and prompt and the food is good. On the way back we visit an orchid greenhouse. It is not only growing thousands of orchids, but they are also working to make them hardier and more transportable.  

Saturday, all day, we installed the steel frame for the solar panels, mounted them¸ and wired them up During installation Carl managed to drop a bracket into the muddy harbor which has a foot of soft mud on the bottom.  Needless to say after 45 min of fruitless diving, the part had to be remade!!! One unhappy captain! Sunday was a get everything ready to leave day.  Sign out of country, check internet, organize boat for passage, and go to the beach.  Monday we leave for Martinique. How is our FRENCH!

Kids table at Pigeon Island

One of our neighbors

Our other neighbors



Carl's Office

Leslie's Office

St. Vincent and the Grenadines

We love this place! The people are friendly and helpful, and there is a lot of activity around. To get around you can get a taxi, kinda expensive, or take the “bus”. There are regular 30 passenger buses which go by occasionally, but the real work horses are privately owned, flamboyantly painted and uniquely named vans. They have names painted on them like Busta, or Sammy, or, Rapid. They are 12 passenger vans with seating for 18, including driver and helper, who tells the driver where to stop, calls to people to get them on the bus and collects the faire, but often have 20 people plus small children. To get from our marina to town, about 3 miles as the crow flies or 10 miles by road, is 2 EC per person, it’s 2.68 EC per dollar. Since they are private “buses” they waste no time driving the sharp turning, curvy, steep roads at high speeds and passing others on these two lane roads while approaching or taking a hair pin turn with a “beep beep” of the horn. I guess the horn is to let any oncoming vehicle know they are about to be in an accident, although, you don’t see many accidents.

We met a family cruising from Wisconsin and explored Young Island then they said they we going up Ft. Duvernette for sun down.

 We went back to our boat and bought a couple of bottles of Champagne and put them in a bucket of ice. Then before sundown we took the dingy back to Ft. Duvernette and climbed the fort, met the family at the top, poured Champagne for everyone and watched for the elusive green flash. Being an unbeliever, I was not disappointed when no flash occurred. I guess I didn’t drink enough champagne!

The next day they were leaving and shared left over stores with us.  The cruisers way. The next morning we left for Bequia, but didn’t get far as the port engine alarm kept going off. I finally saw which light was causing the alarm and Leslie looked it up. “The Sail Drive has water in it!” she said. So we turned back and called SunSail. They put us on a mooring and checked it out. They explained it meant there was a leak in the bottom seal, very bad, or water was coming in the top seal, not so bad. So they checked the bottom and found nothing. Then checked the top and it was loose so any water could go in. They dried it out and said keep an eye in it. We left for Bequia the next morning and made a quick trip in 20 knots of winds.  Put down the anchor and checked the port engine, still some water in the sail drive.  We will definitely have to have this checked in St. Lucia when get up there.  The only place to haul multi-hulls in this area is Grenada and St. Lucia.  We hope to meet Simon and Kim at the base there as Simon has business to take care of at the Moorings Base in Marigot Bay.   

Mr. King's Turtle Sancuary

We checked out on Monday, and spent the day enjoying the island as the wind was blowing 40knts on the nose to St. Lucia. Our explorations included a walk to the turtle sanctuary, and a stop at Dawn’s for lunch. Leslie ordered wisely, a lobster sandwich on fresh made bread. I was jealous. 

We were anchored off our favorite beach, Princess Margaret Beach, which is all sand and has caves in the bluffs on the end.

Princess Margaret Beach

Kids Sailing

We also had the opportunity to watch the local kids sail their Optimus boats around the bay.

We end the day with a drink at the local watering hole, The Whale Bone Inn. Notice the seats are whale vertibre.

Early in the morning we hoisted anchor and began our journey North. Off at last! It was a great sail tight hauled into 20 kts of wind going 9 kts! Until we got in the lee of St. Vincent. Now we are motoring at 6 kts into a 1.5 kt current all the way up the coast. As we popped out of the lee of the island with a reefed main and jib we were hit with 25 kts of wind! We had 25 miles to go so we motor sailed tight hauled into the wind toward St. Lucia fighting a current and 6’ seas!

St. Lucia

When we entered the lee of St. Lucia the waves abated and the wind dropped to 15 kts, but turned so now we are motoring right into the winds with just a reefed main for shade from the sun. We arrived at Marigot Bay at 1600 and were able to get a dock spot at the Moorings Charter Service by 1630, which is quitting time. The manager, Lene, told us to relax and she would discuss our seal problem in the morning. 

Leslie with our guide Ricky

 The mechanic found water in the sail drive and a floppy top seal so off to the Shipyard at Rodney Bay we go to be hauled. Could not get apt. on Wed. so decided to take a Rain Forest Tour, spent 3hrs on bikes riding thru the rain forest and learning all about the medicinal as well as edible properties of the fruits and veggies grown on island.

 Carl also rode the zip line (12), a one hour over the tree canopy and river.   Having met some cruisers at the local bar, we decided to stay in the water a few days longer and sail to the Pitons in company with Tino and Petra from Switzerland.  What a story their life is, sailing 6mo. then in an RV they keep stored in the US. 

Anchored for three days in the shade of Petit Piton, we hiked to hot springs and visited the fish market in Soufriere. 

Hot Springs

Returning to the base, Lene made an apt. for us for two days hence so we obviously go to the local drinking establishment where we met Simon and Kim from England and decide to go exploring with them the next morning as we have not explored much of Marigot Bay area yet.  The next day we walked “just down the road”, at least 5 miles to Rhythms of Rum, the local distillery.  Good tour, GREAT Tasting Room. 

 Fun ended, now must go on the hard.  We motored up to Rodney Bay and were out of the water 48 hours during which the port sail drive was removed from Frolic and all the seals and gaskets replaced.  Now back in the water we will explore Rodney Bay. 

The Adventure Begins

This adventure really begins in 2005 when after selling our current boat, Carl announces he feels a catamaran should be our next boat.  So with three other mono-hull sailing couples we chartered a SunSail catamaran in the BVI to see what it really was like.  We all liked the roominess and the sailing platform.  Armed with this knowledge we went to the Newport Boat Show to look at catamarans.  We stopped by the Sun Sail booth to thank them for a great charter and they convinced us to talk to their owner/charter representative.  We had looked into this concept many times but felt it was not for us as you usually finished your charter contract still owing considerable amount on the boat and we wanted to be debt free.  They had an unusual plan that allowed us to co-share the boat with Sun Sail for the 5 year contract and then own the boat free and clear, no debt.  We went home to think about this and a month later we called the representative to see if any of the boats under this offer were still available.  A 380S Lagoon was left and that was the boat we wanted so we committed to the process.  We have had 6 years of wonderful chartering on either our boat or a sister ship in other locals.  We tried to see Frolic at least every other year and fell in love with St. Vincent and the people that live here.  They are for the most part friendly and very helpful.  It is also extremely easy to get around as the bus/vans run constantly and for 2EC equivalent in US 55cents to get just about anywhere.  We take them to town to market and especially when looking for that part that will take us 3 hours to find.  Being in an island country is like being in a big thrift shop.  If you see something you think you might need, buy it as it won’t be there next time you go looking for it and it will be on order, 3 or 4 weeks to reach.

The dreaded moment for Carl was now upon us.  We were going to transition the boat to our total ownership, what shape would she be in?  We arrived in St. Vincent in July 2011 after selling our home and belongings to start the process.  She had been surveyed in Grenada by a recommended surveyor and the list was sent to us and base manager Simon.  It was a pleasure to work with the base in the phase out process, Simon and Sylvain and the staff could not have been more accommodating in putting the boat into great shape.  We left the boat in the care of RossMike in Aug. and came back to the states to quit our jobs, take care of family obligations, and visit our sons and their families before returning to take off sailing.

Jan 4, 2012 found us dragging 200lbs of luggage thru 3 airports to finally making St. Vincent at 9:00 at night. Since St. Vincent does not have an international airport the trip is more challenging.  You can fly to San Juan from the US and then take Liat through many islands until you arrive at St. Vincent or you can fly to Barbados, St. Lucia, or Grenada more directly from the US and then take Liat over to St. Vincent.  The boat was at the dock waiting for us.  Keys handed to us by security.  Most of our luggage was boat equipment as we had brought a Ray Marine Chart Plotter and a 2000 watt inverter as well as additional stuff for the alternators that Carl had installed in the summer.  I have never been more weight conscious in my life. Clothing was optional.  There were still some jobs to be completed on the boat, esp. the Bimini which we soon learned the material had not been ordered…… The first weekend after arriving  the Marina was crazy so we worked on our projects, install the inverter, install the chart plotter, check sails and lines, etcetera,  but Sun Sail’s projects had to be deferred till the next week. Friday we went to the local Yamaha dealer to pick up our 15 hp 2 stoke outboard.  We had ordered it in July to be picked up in Jan.  We found the price very competitive to US prices and we did not have to pay shipping!!!  The guys came on board Tues.-Thurs and completed all the projects left.  The bimini material arrived Mon. night and I did a happy dance down the dock.  Unfortunately it is a week later and we still do not have a bimini.  While we have been busy doing our projects we have also met fellow cruisers getting valuable information.  One couple shared popcorn made in a Whirlypop popcorn maker and it was delicious, a must on our wish list now.  Do not miss the market in Kingstown, see picture, every imaginable fruit is available as well as many vegetables, this island is truly a garden of Eden and the prices are very reasonable.

Eseaclear.com now makes it easy to go on line and fill out all your clearance and departure information so when checking in and out of a country the process is more streamlined.  Just remember to take your clearance # with you that they give you on the site.  Another good thing is you can get your US Customs decal on line for $27.50 at the customs site a .gov site.  Currency in St. Vincent is the EC which currently is exchanged at 2.68.  The island of St. Vincent has a lot to offer.  We have hiked the volcano with a guide, been to the botanical gardens, and climbed both Ft. Duvernette and Ft. Charlotte which guarded Kingston Harbor.  We have been to Falls of Baleine and Dark View Falls and of course Wallilabou Bay where Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed.  Thurs. the 12^th of Jan. I had an allergic reaction to something and my throat swelled up.  We went to Casualty at the hospital and I was well taken care of. Emergency health care on St. Vincent is free.  I now am carrying an epi-pin just in case.  In our many trips down here we have spent time in the Grenadines and Grenada.  This time we will head north to St. Lucia.

In the picture above you can see Baliceaux and Pillories, both uninhabited islands, far out you can glimpse a bit of Mustique, and close up on the right Bequia.  At the left the pointed hill is Fort Duvernette, an actual fort used to guard the harbor.  Can’t even imagine how they got the big cannons up to the top.  They are still there. It is an interesting climb.  In the picture below is a picture of Young Island taken from the porch of the French Veranda restaurant next to where we had gone to church.

 The last picture is Carl trying to get into the Jimmy Buffet mode, feet in the water, ass in the sand, not a worry in the world, cold beer in my hand. Life is good today.

Annual letter 2011

Annual  look back at Hauquitz Year 2011

It is hard to believe a year has passed since I sat writing the happenings of 2010.  This has been a big decision year.  But we will get to that later.  First we started the year with a ski trip to NH with our good friends the Fisher’s and O’Conner’s.  February found us sneaking up to NH again –great snow and spending a week out West visiting Hauquitz cousins and skiing Durango CO. A fantastic place to ski.  I had my first oxygen bar treatment and I’m hooked!  We squeezed in a Barrel tasting at Sakonnet Vineyards.  Great way to test what is coming up in the next vintages.  Attended the wedding of Mike Irish’s son in CT, beautiful setting on the water and of course, with Mike, quite the party. We were so fortunate this year to make it back down to the boat in April and have Diane W with us.  We sunned and hiked and sailed and relaxed esp. in Bequi.  We really felt the islands calling to us.  The boat came out of charter in July and knowing this we went also in April to make lists and lists of things we will need once she is just ours.  We also made the decision to quit work in the fall and in Jan 2012 take off and sail where the wind takes us. In Feb. My sister and I decided to move our mother to assisted living in WY.  Ally has lots of family there and mom always liked Cody.  A great decision, though hard as mom has lived in Florida for 60 years.  I went out for 5 days in May to visit Ally, mom and as much of Ally’s kids and kin I could. In June we closed on the house, yes it sold in this market, and we were pleased even if it did take 5mo. to put under contract. Of course the closing was the morning we were getting ready to leave to head south and to the islands for 2mo., nothing like cutting it close.  We visited Aron, Katie, Madie, and Cole for a week before we flew out of Atlanta.  Aron is now home and in the Acquisition Corp and has made Major.  He is the small arms acquisition officer.  Madie at 7 is really enjoying 2^nd grade and is top reader in her class.  Cole is 3 and a dynamo like his dad and uncle at that age.  Also loves to follow big sister around.  Katie keeps all afloat.  Eric and Kelly met us in BVI for 10 days with the girls.  Eric and Carl got in all their requisite diving and Kelly went along on a few.  The girls and I played on the beach, in the ocean and in pools, where ever there was water.  Tali learned to snorkel this year with her face in the water.  She loved the Baths under water this year.  Cloe being 18mo was still very portable.  Tali took swimming lessons when she came home and is gaining confidence to swim without her life jacket.   The kids flew home and Carl and I headed to St. Vincent and FROLIC.  We spent the next 6 weeks, installing alternators, inverters, gas grill as well as worked with the base to get the boat to contract return condition.  Sunsail has done a great job of chartering and caring for FROLIC.  We were fortunate to have a great base manager and transition manager.  I was lucky to meet another boat wife, Lily, who was great at locating needs and giving great advise. We are anxious to return.  We arrived back in RI in time to weather a hurricane and have school delayed for a week. Thank goodness for Alice and John as we found a warm bed.  We went back to work to get things organized then turned in our resignations.    Little earlier than planned but family issues came up.  We spent some time with Carl’s father in LI and then drove out west.  On our westward drive we got a chance to see some different parts of the country and visit friends and family as we drove.  We stopped in Akron OH and visited a neighbor who was acting as visiting art professor at the local U. and we stopped in MI to visit my cousin whom I had not seen in 6yrs. We spent 2 weeks visiting my mom and sister staying with Becky and Scott.  While there, we got to help them work on their winery, Buffalo Jump in Cody.  On the way back from WY we stopped in NE and visited my aunt and a cousin on their farm.  Carl was impressed by the huge combine and tractor.   We also snuck a way with Eric and family to Mexico for a week of surfing and another hurricane.  Surf was up good though.   Carl flew back to NY first of Nov. as his brother was there from Australia helping out Astra and Stephen with Asher.  Stephen has been appointed the UN delegate for Australia and they were in NY for 3mo.  We spent 3 weeks and Thanksgiving with Aron and his family and in-laws.  So good to spend time with the kids and grandkids and relax.   We flew to Las Vegas first week of Dec. for the SASS convention.  Carl has always wanted to go to Las Vegas so it seemed like he could do two things he liked.  The convention was fun and the strip was unique.  They had a marathon while we were there and closed the strip to traffic, 40,000 Runners.  The rest of Dec. was spent at Kelly and Eric’s going thru boat equipment and trying to stay in weight limit packing.

 Christmas is upon us and we are so thankful for our family and friends.  We wish you all a Blessed New Year and extend an invitation to join us on the boat if you can.

Fair Winds and Following Seas, Leslie and Carl

Welcome All!

We are about to start a new journey in life! Stay tuned for our sailing adventure starting in St. Vincent and continuing throughout the year.  We will be posting updates regularly so hope to see you here.