The End of our Journey, Winter 2017

We departed Rodney Bay at first light on Saturday April 8 to start two long days heading South.  The West side of St. Lucia is very pretty, and we recalled our trip there 10 years ago with friends Sean and Natalie.  Especially dramatic are the Pitons, two sharp mountains on the West coast.

The Pitons, St. Lucia

The seas were flat behind St. Lucia, and were not bad on the 30 miles of open water across to St. Vincent.  The winds were a bit low, so we motor-sailed all the way to keep our speed up.

The west side of St. Vincent was also dramatic and looked less populated than some of the other islands we have visited, but we scooted on to Bequia, Admiralty Harbor for the night.  Oddly enough we hit our worst seas and winds of that whole day on the short open water between St. Vincent and Bequia.  Bequia is just 8 miles South of St. Vincent and appears to be quite lovely, with a very well protected harbor.  Because of the heights of the surrounding hills, the evening view from our cockpit was stunning, with lights up the hills on 3 sides around us.  We took a mooring in the inner harbor but because we arrived late and were leaving early, so we did not check into the country.

Out again early (5:45 AM) the next morning for our last 72 mile run to Grenada.  The seas were easy, but the winds low so we motor-sailed the whole distance.  On this trip the islands were more densely packed to our East, so every few miles there was a new island to observe.  Mayreaux, Mustique, Canouan, Carriacou, the Tobago Keys, and Ronde were just a few of the many islands we passed.  We made good time and arrived at our destination, the Port Louis Marina in St. Georges at the South end of Grenada, by 3:30 PM on April 9.

Our goal - Grenada!

We will be cleaning and packing and getting the boat ready to be closed up for the summer, then we will fly home on April 14.

A few statistics from our journey:

• We cruised from Jan 5 to April 9, 95 days
• The total trip was something over 2,100 nautical miles
• We visited 20 islands
• We used 387 gallons of diesel fuel between our main engine and generator.

Our trip Jan 5 to April 9, 2017 - over 2100 nautical miles

Looking back, we have a real sense of accomplishment for setting our goals, planning and executing this trip.  It hasn't always been easy.  There is hard work.  There is occasional motion sickness.  There is sleep deprivation on passage and sometimes in rolly anchorages.  The heat is oppressive as you push further South.  Mechanical breakdowns are frequent and disheartening.  Sometimes you get on each other's nerves living in this small space.  Sometimes you just want to go home and see your friends and family, enjoy the comforts of a house that does not rock with each wave.  Sometimes you just want to watch TV or hear the news.  Nevertheless, we persisted and accomplished what we set out to do.  We got here without running the boat up on a reef and without serious injury to either of us.One of our lessons learned on this trip is that we set a too ambitious schedule, which did not leave enough time to really explore and dig in to the places we have visited.  On upcoming trips we intend to slow down and take our time.  More beach time.  More touring on land.  Meet the locals, savor the local foods.

My heartfelt thanks to my love and my partner Cindy for coming on this adventure and helping me accomplish my dream.  She managed to make magnificent meals day after day in her tiny galley.  She wrangled mooring balls and deployed and put away dock lines and bumpers dozens of times.  She put up with the heat, discomfort and hard work of cruising.  She put up with me!  She rolled with the punches that sea and circumstances threw at us.  I could not have done this without her.