Piton Home

Thursday 19 December 2019

Better weather predictions for several days hence kept retreating as each day's forecast was checked. Not seeing an end, decided to go. Had last breakfast at Gallery Cafe (no Cal, not last breakfast ever) and cleared out, but couldn't get fuel until 1400. Underway at 1500 in 25 to 30 knots, a wee bit more wind than forecast.. of course. Fortunately we want to go slowly to depart north end of St. Vincent at daylight tomorrow, so heavily reefed main and staysail are keeping us reasonably comfortable and kinda/sorta in the right direction on a 50 degree close reach. Since the West Indies curve west, when northbound, we will only enjoy crashing and bashing until Martinique as apparent wind will move to a beam, then broad reach as we proceed. Dead downwind sucks, but so does beating. Some people are never happy.

Friday

American cruising pals who now live in St. Lucia, just above the Pitons, know the dockmaster and got us dock space in their marina (full due ARC, Atlantic Rally for Cruisers, consisting of a couple hundred boats crossing from Cape Verdes and Canaries) and have invited us to stay with them for a few days. Even more better we decided to sail on up. Our room is rented out starting 25th so we'll get kicked out, thus avoiding any temptation to stay permanently and become a nuisance.

Currently passing by Grand and Petit Pitons (large and small... ummmm, infant nutrition devices), which are a spectacular sight from anchorages nearby and between. We've just gotten headed by winds strong enough to possibly slow progress past regular hours for customs, so may cost a bit more if they stay late.

Sunday

We're here, on time, cleared in. After dinner with friends, slept on boat then drove two hours to their home. Spectacular. A place like this could almost make us want to be dirt-dwellers again.

Jack & Jan