St Lucia and Part of the Family

Well, as promised, this blog is about Jason's visit with us and Artemo. To begin - I had made arrangements with Foxy Johnny (yes, he calls himself that), a local taxi driver, to pick up Cheryl and I and take us to the airport to pick up Jason. Foxy J does not have permission to come into the marina to pick up fares (I guess he doesn't want to pay whatever that privilege costs) but he dinghies around the marina area talking to cruisers and drums up business that way. We had heard of him from some friends we met in Dominica and they said they had used him and he was quite a character. He had also made himself known to Julie et. al. while they were in the marina. So, he was to pick us up at 11:00 but as it turns out he had a better fare so he sent his friend Raymond who did a fine job of getting us there on time and at the same low (comparatively) rate.

The plane was actually ahead of time so we were able to get Jason and be back at the boat by 3:00 pm or so. We visited with him and Perry's came over to visit too but by 9:00 that night we were all in bed, Jason as a result of his travelling and us because that is what we do.

We had planned on being in Rodney Bay from Sunday until Wednesday so the next few days were spent swimming, visiting Fort Rodney, shopping and exploring the marina and the shopping mall where the main grocery store is located. We also had supper on Artemo one night and they had supper here one night and then one night just Jason in the evening. Artemo had left the marina the morning we picked up Jason and were anchored within swimming distance of Mystic Journey so it was neat to be able to swim back and forth. Jason had a bit of a time adjusting to no standup freshwater shower but he learned quickly to use the sea to get the dirt off and our sun shower to get the salt from the sea off. He also got lessons from Alex and Amelia (and sometimes us) on the proper nautical names for things, like coach roof, cockpit etc etc.

Wednesday morning came in with a flood of rain. We were uncertain whether we wanted to travel in no wind/lots of rain conditions since not only would that mean uncomfortable travel but also the possibility that people would not be leaving the Pitons moorings due to the weather and we would have to moor in Soufriere. Julie and Graham sent a note to Dave and Cheryl on Aries who had already gone there to ask them about moorings. About 10:30 we decided to leave for the Pitons anyway. As it turned out the worst of the rain had passed us by but the winds had not picked up so it was strictly a motorsail down island. We had really hoped that Jason would get a chance to experience the absolutely wonderful feeling of sailing "under canvas" and not motor but it was not to be. He insisted, however, that he thoroughly enjoyed the experience even though the motor made up part of our mobility.

When we got to the Pitons we were able to get the last two mooring balls and in fact we ended up with Aries, Artemo and Mystic Journey all moored in line so it made getting back and forth quite easy. The current is quite strong in the Pitons and the wind is constantly changing so the boats are always swinging around but they are far enough apart that there is no danger of colliding. We had left our mooring bouy quite far out so, because of the opposition of current vs wind, the first night the mooring ball banged the hull a fair bit which was disturbing to Jason as his cabin was in the front and to us because we are always hypersensitive to sounds in the night.

The first night in the Pitons we went to Artemo for supper where we were joined by Dave and Cheryl from Aries. We also went snorkelling, a first for Jason, at a spot up the bay shore that Cheryl and Dave had found. They are both avid snorkellers and Cheryl does beautiful underwater photography so they know the spots to go to. Jason said he quite enjoyed his first experience viewing things from a snorkellers perspective.

The following day the moorings cleared out as they usually do so we decided to move up to a mooring ball that is quite close to the Jalousie Resort beach. Jalousie apparently owns all the land along the shore but they have placed their main buildings at the north end of the bay next to the Marine Reserve - an area that has been roped off and is protected from any boats or dinghies so that the fish and plant life flourishes there. Artemo moved up to the mooring ball right behind us again so we were still swimming distance apart. We also shortened our mooring lines this time to prevent the "mooring ball bounce".

After a bit we went into the resort beach area and snorkelled in the Reserve. Lots of fish and lots of nice coral and plants. Jason again enjoyed himself looking at the underwater world. We then had a swim in the Jalousie pool and sat on the Jalousie beach chairs (until they told us because we weren't guests we would have to pay $20 US each to sit there). Mille and I swam out to the raft - Millie is just like a little dolphin in the water, as is Alex, with both of them diving down while snorkelling like ald pros.

That evening we went for Happy Hour on Aries. Dave and Cheryl were leaving early the next day to pick up friends in St Vincent so they wanted to say their goodbyes. The Perrys and Dave and Cheryl became very good friends so were sad to be parting but the ways of the sea may provide opportunities to meet again. Cheryl and I left about 8:00 to go back to the boat and they brought Jason back later.

Friday dawned bright and sunny. although windy, and the day consisted of Julie, Millie, Jason and I going snorkelling off some rocks up the shoreline. Graham and Alex climbed Gros Piton - be sure to check their blog - that is an awesome feat and they will have a narrated video posted soon describing their adventure. Cheryl had some vegging time and then later that day, Jason went over to Artemo to spend the night. Keep in mind during this narration that although I am outlining the main points, there was also lots of other back and forth stuff. Both Alex and Amelia are quite good at piloting the dinghy so they would quite often row over for a short visit just to pass the time and share. Speaking of handling the dinghy - Jason and I were sitting in the cockpit one day when we saw Millie and Alex setting out from Artemo, Alex at the oars. A sudden squall broke when they were about 10 feet from their boat. Alex started to row like crazy and I have to say it was a totally impressive display. I yelled at Cheryl to get the camera. She started up the companionway, went back for the camera but before she could get back up Alex had gotten them to Mystic Journey. He was rowing so quickly and in such a straight line that they hardly had a chance to get wet. AWESOME!!!!

Saturday morning we had to pick up a couple of things in Soufriere and Jason wanted to get to an ATM so we picked up Jason and Millie and set off. Soufriere is around the corner from the Pitons. We had to follow the shoreline west, go around the point and then head east and by the time we got there it had taken us about 30 minutes. Julie had asked us to check Customs and Immigration for their hours on Monday so that was the first place we stopped. The Immigration office is in the police station which also has cells so when I went in there I was treated to some noises and language you don't usually hear in Immigration offices but - live the experience!!!

Saturday is apparently a very busy day so there were a lot of people around and a lot of noise and seeming confusion. In addition, some places we go to we get a real good feeling about and some are the opposite. In Soufriere the latter is the case, at least for us. It felt - not threatening exactly but not friendly either - so we did what we had to do and came back around to the moorings. Later that day Julie, Alex and Amelia went into the resort and rented a Hobie Cat - a small cataraman - and sailed around the bay for a while. They eventually came and picked up Jason and took him for a ride and then they dropped Amelia off at Mystic Journey and continued their journey. After dropping off the rental, while Alex and Graham snorkelled at the Reserve, we relaxed and prepared for supper.

That evening (sadly the last one of Jason's visit) everyone came over and we shared a meal and lots of good conversation. We sat on the back deck on deck chairs and talked about lots of things. Earlier that evening we had watched the sun set and saw something that not a lot of people see - "the GREEN FLASH". Julie and Graham and the kids had never seen it before and Cheryl and I had only seen it once before and it happened to be when Holly and Joe were down. Of course Jason had also not had the experience. In case you had not read the blog where Cheryl described it before, the greeen flash can occur just when the sun sinks below the horizon. The sky has to be completely clear of clouds on the horizon and you have to be really alert to catch it but WE DID!!

Sad Sunday - I had made arrangements with a taxi operator to have a water taxi pick Jason up at the boat and take him to Soufriere where he would catch a land taxi to the airport. The time came all too soon. The Perrys came over about 8:30 so we were able to talk some more before Jason left but finally 10:00 am came, as did the water taxi, and we watched and waved as Jason sped away from us. A kind of silence settled for a few minutes and then the Perrys went back to Artemo and we went back to being the only crew on Mystic Journey for a while.

Jason - thanks for making all of us part of your first "unusual vacation". We love you.

Rob - just a note - although we loved you coming down to Curacao - that was a "Christmas away from home" experience. Now you have to come down for a Caribbean experience!!!