Pirates and Muggers

Happy birthday, Jeremy! Waking up to blue skies and sunshine, the beach close by and the sea gently washing against the inviting sands has got to be a great way to spend a birthday. Back to the blog and St Lucia.

The Pitons are two volcanic peaks that rise almost vertically out of the sea and the “anchorage” between them is in a beautiful setting. It’s just a pity that you are not allowed to anchor there, unless you happen to have a superyacht or supercruiser. Other yachtties have to pick up a mooring and pay $40EC. We had a good look around, took photographs and left before the boat vendors arrived to hassle the tourists. Our last port of call was Vieux Fort which had no boat vendors and no hassle (or so we thought at the time). We enjoyed swimming, walking on the shore amongst countless conch shells and generally relaxing. The only hassle was that Customs was based at the commercial ship port and Immigration was based at the airport 3 miles away. We needed to clear out with both. As usual, we looked fairly smart to show some respect for the officials. Unfortunately, we were caught in a tremendous downpour of monsoon variety and dripped into the Customs’ office like half drowned rats. By the time we had crossed the bay in the dinghy, walked to the bus station and reached the airport we were dry again. We were soon in receipt of ONE rubber stamp on our Customs’ form and so could leave St Lucia.

The next day we experienced gusty winds, up to 33 knots, on the 6 hour crossing to St Vincent. We passed Chateaubelair Bay, where several boats have been boarded and the occupants robbed by men carrying machetes, and continued to Wallilabou Bay. We booked a mooring in advance ($20EC a day) and dealt only with Davis, which helped us to avoid being hassled. I won’t go into there being more than one Davis! Because the water is deep until very close inshore it’s advised that you use a mooring and let the “boat boys” tie your stern line to the dinghy pier. Those yachts that insist on anchoring have a stern line taken ashore and tied to a palm tree! No kidding! You will have all realised that Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed here (see photo). We walked ashore amongst numerous coffins, had a meal in the restaurant next to a lifesize model of Captain Jack Sparrow climbing his mast and snorkelled near the arch where Jack saw his friends hanging in the film. On another day in Wallilabou, it rained all day so we donned our waterproofs and went to look for the waterfall. For many hikes you need to have a guide for your own safety and protection but this was just a short walk up the road. We saw a very small waterfall but carried on looking for something spectacular. When we arrived at the prison and refuse dump at the top of a very long hill, we realised our error. We turned back quickly and experienced a rain forest feeling during quiet moments on the road. The interior of St Vincent is largely a tropical wilderness. We were disturbed to see a man carrying a machete behind us and our pace quickened until we reached the waterfall. Then we saw another man carrying a machete so we stopped at a craft centre and chatted to the owner. Apparently, we had nothing to fear as these men were only looking for bananas or coconuts! On our return to SD a Halberg Rassy 42 with an English ensign had bumped into us exploding one of our Man Overboard lights. They invited us for drinks and paid up very apologetically.

Two quiet nights and peaceful days followed in Buccament Bay and Byahaut Bay with no hassle at all. It was here that we learned our friend, Guido, had been mugged in Vieux Fort. Guido had just been to the bank. Some “guides”, allegedly taking him to an internet café, led him to a quiet place where he was attacked by a heavyweight accomplice and robbed of $500 EC.

We have just spent three nights in Young Island Cut on anchors (bow and stern). It’s a very pleasant place used to tourists, but expensive if you use the moorings. We’ve been to Kingstown on the bus twice. Do you know how many people you can squeeze into a minibus? We do! The driver then puts his foot on the floor, hoots his horn regularly and blasts your ears with calypso or rap until you yell that you want to get off. You can have this experience for $1EC for each journey! (about 25p). Why bother going to a theme park?

Good to hear from the Speares and Colin, EL CID in the comments. So who else is reading this?