After Bini leaves us in Martinique we take some more time in the marina of Fort de France to take care of a few chores. Water has to be refilled, laundry washed and the fridge stocked up.
We try to take care of as much as possible, with well stocked stores and good coin laundries, the infrastructure here in France makes it easier to do so.
In the morning we get everything ready for our next leg south, back to St. Lucia. After an uneventful but nice journey we arrive in Rodney Bay, our stop for the night. The wind has picked up and we are hoping to get a spot in the marina so we don’t have to spend the night in a rolling anchorage. After several attempts to contact the marina we get lucky and one of the last spots. Rodney Bay marina is a nice, very quiet place and we love the slot we get.
We take it easy for the rest of the day and enjoy some matches of Azul.
Later we splurge on Ice Cream and treat ourselves to a delicious pizza for dinner, a welcome change from our home cooking routine.
After two nights at the marina it is time to keep going. We leave the small entrance back into the open sea and set sail to Soufriere, our next stop in St. Lucia. We find a nice mooring, close to a high cliff that looks somewhat intimidating at first but turns out to be a great spot, right next to a bat cave. Bet what I am doing all evening!
We wanted to stay for two nights and do more snorkeling. But unfortunately the weather patterns are changing and so we see more squalls with downpours and heavy winds come through.
So we quickly decide to leave St. Lucia the next morning and head for St. Vincent. After a fast but somewhat bouncy sail we are relieved when we are escorted into Cumberland Bay and leave the choppy sea behind.
Cumberland Bay is a very narrow bay and has only room for a few boats. It is so deep, that you have to drop anchor and secure the boat with a stern line on land.
After a successful anchoring maneuver we use our dinghy to ferry ourselves ashore to savor a local beer while enjoying the sun set.
The next morning the wind picks up and is moving us closer and closer to the neighboring boat, letting us realize that our anchor does not support us anymore. With a quick maneuver we try to re-anchor, but also the second attempt is unsuccessful and so we decide to bid this beautiful bay a somewhat abrupt and early goodbye.
We decide to keep going south to Blue Lagoon Bay at the southern tip of St. Vincent, an anchorage we have been to before on our way up and good staring point for our next leg to Bequia. On the way we get very lucky to spot a big pod of dolphins. It is an exiting but brief encounter and after just a few minutes they disappear again in the big blue sea.
Our journey is slowly coming to an end. We have only ten days left before our flights and still need to get JACE prepared to be on her own for the coming months. So we need to press on ahead through the beautiful Grenadines and onwards to Grenada.
