Our 2017 sailing season in the Caribbean commenced at the start of April in Charlotte Amelie, the capital of St Thomas Island, where the locals were celebrating 100 years of American rule. Trilogy sparkled as she bobbed to the rhythm of the gentle waves in Grande Haven Marina, thanks to the huge effort of the outgoing crew to handover a pristine yacht and it isn't hard to feel excited about the beginning of our 2 months of sailing. This season, our plans take us in a loop through the Spanish Virgin Islands to Puerto Rico and back to St Thomas, where we'll change crew before heading to Antigua via the British Virgin Islands, St Martens and St Barts.
After a safe but long trip from Australia, we met up with our dear friends Sue and Peter Lucey and stayed for three nights at Bolongo Bay in a cliff top apartment, which afforded excellent views of the ocean and the passing parade of island craft. Sue's suitcase went missing which caused some issues, but after purchasing several replacement garments, it thankfully turned up. From the swimming pool sunset viewing was superb and on queue a cruise ship departed from port. We wandered in another direction to Bolongo Bay beach and quickly settled to the Caribbean pace of 'Ya Mun'....., which is code for 'no hurry'! On the Friday night, Iggys restaurant pumped out live music by a local band and with our feet lapping the waves, we drank too many delicious cocktails and enjoyed a tasty evening meal.
The next few days were filled with multiple preparations, getting Trilogy fully ready for the journey. The biggest job was to service both the engine and generator and while the boys sweated away, the girls cruised the aisles of the two local supermarkets gathering up fresh food supplies and ample beverages.
As with any overseas travel, the cultural shift creates unexpected experiences, from extremely enjoyable to somewhat frustrating, including racial discrimination, which is a sharp reminder of the pain countless people have suffered the world over due to skin colour alone. However there were lots of fun times too and generally we only encountered exceptional politeness. The local way of greeting each other is 'good morning', ' good afternoon' and 'good evening' rather than 'hello' or 'hi', and one kindly man smiled as he checked my shopping bags and wished me 'a blessed, blessed, beautiful day', which was refreshingly sincere. Yes, the Christian church has had a strong influence in all the Caribbean and you can't miss it as the people sing their Lord's praises.
On Sunday morning our daughter Kat and her friend Mike arrived from New York to join us for a week. In the evening at the marina poolside we went to a Mexican themed fiesta, joining in the fun of donning sombreros and moustaches, and consuming Margueritas, tacos and watching pināta bashing!