The forecast isn’t good. A high pressure building to the north is setting up gradient winds that will reinforce the easterly trades for the next several days. We’ve got to get to Dominica by the 28th to meet Jim and Sharon R. So we are picking the less windy days to get closer. Don, Ed and Hank on Freestyle left yesterday for the same reason. They need to get to St. Martin by the 2nd or earlier, and we are still 329nm away as the crow flies. That’s normally plenty of time, but big seas and strong winds are a real influence. We haven’t yet “turned the corner”. Once we get to Martinique, the wind angle moves aft, making the miles much less weather-dependent. But tomorrow we’ll be on or close to a beat as we run NNE up the coasts of St. Vincent and St. Lucia before turning more N to Martinique. We’ll be crossing passages between those islands with currents that set strongly to the west, and with concentrated winds that tomorrow will be in the upper 20s, seas 7-9’ on top of long period swells that are 9-12’. We’ll see how far we get toward our goal of Fort de France, Martinique --100nm. Rodney Bay St. Lucia is closer to the wind, but is a shorter distance and offers the lee of St. Lucia.
There will be three things that I will remember about our overnight in the Tobago Keys. First, we went snorkeling with the green turtles. They were beautiful. They look like cows grazing on the sea grass in ten feet of perfectly transparent water. They’d pop up for a breath of air every few minutes, swimming with a grace that was wonderful to watch. At one point I saw six of them around me at one time. Second, it was freaky to be anchored in the lee of Horseshoe Reef with nothing above the surface between you and the Azores. The full force of the trades flowed through the several dozen boats anchored there. Third, we had a great evening on Freestyle. We grilled the breaded turkey breasts that Jon left us, had an amazing salad full of fresh onions and tomatoes that Ed made, and washed it all down with a nice cold beverage and animated conversations.
Rumor has it “the queen” (of England) might be coming here this weekend. They were cleaning the waterfront today to get ready. Some very big (over 100 and 200’) yachts have been arriving. If so, it will be a strange situation. I have heard anger and frustration from the residents of these island toward their government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, which is located on the island of St. Vincent. They don’t feel that it has been doing much to help the Grenadines, e.g., by increasing property taxes drastically to a market-value-based assessment supposedly to raise money for an airport on StV. Politically, the prime minister has aligned himself with Castro and Chavez, presumably to the dismay of the US and EU. He was also accused of rape and of doing things like paying cronies huge salaries to do nothing as long as they kick back large contributions to his campaign. It’s depressing and hard to unravel. Unemployment is huge. There is little economic base (bananas are gone, only tourism remains). Land costs have skyrocketed as foreigners buy huge areas of the island for cheap then develop and sell lots to foreigners at prices that locals can’t imagine. Fuel prices have climbed and a shortage is expected from an announced strike in Trinidad. And on and on. Things are difficult in this paradise. Maybe the queen can help!
The “boat boys” here are terrific. Unlike at Tobago Keys, here they visit your boat with a smile and hand you a leaflet that describes their services. No pressure, no repeated solicitation. As I mentioned, I was happy to support them and they were happy to have the business. Ashore, on several occasions locals actually initiated a “hi” and smiled. In contrast, I was surprised to rarely receive a response from my greetings to the numerous European cruising folks. It appears that there are many Americans here who own property here. I think they were all at Mac’s Pizza when we ate there last night, having lobster pizza. The food and the people were both great.
The dinghy is secured on deck. The grill is stored. A first reef is in. I made 75 gallons of water (from seawater) today, charged the batteries and cooled down the icebox. The boat boys dropped off our re-filled propane bottle and our clean laundry. A fellow finished stripping and sealing and varnishing the swim platform on the stern. The boat is ready. We had a 4 hour tour of the island including the turtle research station and a model wooden boat building shop. I cleared customs and immigration, took trash ashore, and picked up fresh tomatoes and lettuce from the rasta market. And it was hot hot hot. What a day.
Hoping for another good day tomorrow.
PS I'll add pics later.
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