Mystic Journey: Windward of St Vincent and The Perfect Piton Storm

We left you - or rather we left us in Bequia, getting set to go to St Lucia. It is about a 70 nm trip which we could have done overnight to ensure we reached Rodney Bay in daylight but we decided to go up the windward side of St Vincent to ensure we didn't lose the wind in the lee of the island. That way we could travel in the daytime and the strong winds would let us get to Rodney Bay in daylight even though we would be in the lee of St Lucia for a while.

Well - the Gods of Wind and Weather had other plans for us. What is that saying - We make plans and God laughs.

We left about 5:45 AM and immediately challenged the Bequia channel. which was supposed to be the only slow part of the journey, at least until we got in the lee of St Lucia. We had to head from the NW side of Bequia to the SE side of St Vincent. This would point us NE but the winds were supposed to be ENE. Since Mystic Journey kind of likes a close reach, however, that wouldn't be bad, even though we were also expecting a current of 1.5 - 2.5 kts against us.

Before I get into the things that put the lie to our plans, I will tell you about a really neat thing that happened just after entering the Bequia Channel. We had noticed some frigate birds soaring around overhead and were keeping our eyes on them. They are a cool bird - I think they look like pterodactyl's with their very pronounced elbow (or wrist as Cheryl calls them) and their very wide wingspan. Anyway, we happened to look up and notice that 3 or 4 of them were trying to land on the top of our mast. Of course there is a wind indicator, a windex (another wind instrument) and a small antenna but they made some very determined tries before giving up.

So back to our windward journey.....

The North West Corner of Bequia

First problem - winds were not the forecast 10-15 kts from the east but instead were between 4 and 8 from the NE, dead on our nose. We managed to adjust our course and sail to the little wind we had, expecting that after we reached the windward side of St Vincent and the sun started to heat up the land and water, the winds would increase to the forecast, giving us a good 10-5 kts on our beam. Not to be!!

Without dragging this out any further, we did not get any wind stronger than 8 kts all the way up the windward side of the coast and things got no better when we crossed the channel between St Vincent and St Lucia. 4 - 8 kt winds and mostly on the nose!! This of course slowed us down enough so we knew we wouldn't get to Rodney Bay before dark. It also spoiled the opportunity for a very invigorating and fun sail on a beautiful day in paradise.

The Windward (East) Coast of St. Vincent

Getting into Rodney Bay after dark is not really a hazard since the bay is big and wide and fairly well lit but we decided to do something else that we thought would be easier. Stay tuned for Chapter II.

Chapter II

So, we decided that we would stop at the Pitons for what could be the last time. We have been there a number of times but it is still a beautiful place and it would then be a short hop to Rodney Bay in the morning. As I mentioned, it had been a beautiful day with sun glinting off the water and a (too) gentle breeze to keep us cool.

As we approached the entrance to the Pitons, we noticed that there were some very dark clouds hanging off the tops of the Pitons. We turned into the wind to take down the main and what a shock when we turned back. Both Pitons as well as the bay in between had disappeared into as dark a hole as I ever hope to see. It looked like the entrance to Hell or like a black hole that, if you approached too close, would pull you in with no hope of escape.

The Pitons Before the Storm

We approached a little nearer and the darkness seemed to pour out into the seas around both the Pitons and Soufriere. Everything disappeared, including the coast line, and it started to pour. It rained so hard that even our bimini had water dripping right through it. Of course wind accompanied this deluge and the noise was fearsome. Luckily we had all our sails down so loss of control wasn't an issue but on the other hand, by this time we were surrounded by storm and had no idea how far, how fast or even where it was moving. We have radar and it showed that it was a huge mass but that was all we could get from there. We decided to try and wait it out and that turned out to be the right decision. Of course we have a chart plotter and we could have entered the bay using the chart plotter and hoping we would be able to see something when we got in there but that would NOT have been the right decision. So we slowly motored up and down and waited.

Our "new experiences" were not over for the day, however.

As we were wending our way in a kind of figure eight about a mile off the coast, Cheryl noticed a rainbow starting to form right in the middle of the darkest part of the storm. As it grew, the most amazing thing happened. The rainbow became a full fledged vista of colour (almost a full circle) and the whole thing began and ended at Mystic Journey. It came right down to the bow and stern along the water. Fantastic.

Not only that but even though the surroundings were so dark, all of the area under the rainbow looked as if there was light shining down on the water. The sky and the water under it were bright. Now I know there is some scientific explanation for this but I prefer to think that it was a sign. Not quite sure what of but>>>>>>>>> (Cheryl here: I always remember the first rainbow was a sign from God to the Hebrews that he would never flood the earth again. I like to think when I see one now, especially this special one, that it is a sign that we will be okay.)

As an anticlimax - the storm cleared after about 90 minutes, we were able to pick up a mooring ball for the night and the next day we were in Rodney Bay bright and early on a sunny morning. Probably won't write much about Rodney Bay We were there to replenish our food, get fuel and wait for a weather window to move north. We have been in and written about Rodney Bay, St Lucia a number of times so if you need to know - go back a few blogs and check them out!!

Sorry no pictures of the storm or rainbow, but here is a picture of the sunset that evening.