14:04.50N 60:56.94W Wallilibou (St Vincent) to Rodney Bay (St Lucia)
Gaudeo
John and Prue Quayle / John Quayle
Fri 25 Jan 2008 20:48
brought out by attentive boat boys in the gorgeous Wallilibou Bay had to
come
to an end, especially as JQ had not passed muster as a substitute for Johnny
Depp on the film set of "Pirates of the Caribbean". However, a motor sail
into a 30 knot head wind and torrential rain for the 40+ mile passage
between St Vincent and St Lucia soon brought us back to reality.
Fortunately,
the sea was only a little "disturbed", without the "liquid mountains"
which are reported to be commonly associated with this passage.The
spectacular St
Lucia Pitons were a compensation and provided an unmistakable beacon for
navigation as soon as the St Vincent coast was behind us. Promises of
downwind sailing have long been forgotten, but as we turn left after St.
Lucia, we just have to have beam breezes then - famous last words!
Reports of recent and previous machete attacks and theft from yachts in St
Vincent anchorages north of Wallililbou Bay - perhaps a little more than
might be expected on a Saturday
night in Frankwell, Shrewsbury - were a little unsettling and thus
restricted our cruising. Instead, we had a taxi assisted adventure inland.
The driver had cleverly arranged for Ian, an immensely enthusiastic
botanist, to show us round the Botanic gardens in Kingstown, the island
capital, and then at our expense sloped off to do some shopping for the next
hour and a half. Meanwhile, we sampled at source almost every spice, herb,
perfume and medicinal extract known to man but given our severely limited
attention span, exacerbated by the risk of missing lunch, much was soon
forgotten except the Breadfruit tree derived from seeds transported from
Tahiti by Captain Bligh at the instigation of Sir Joseph Banks, a poignant
reminder of the wisdom and forethought of these famous explorers and
natural historians.
Kingstown was a bustling centre of trade and raw humanity but as so many of
the smaller store holders had identical produce and appeared to make few
sales, we wondered as to how this could be sustainable. In contrast,
the orderly conduct and smartness of uniformed children returning from
school was refreshing, yet given the disproportionately large numbers, we
wondered about over population in relation to limited economic resources
on an island dependent mainly on banana exports with little potential for
tourism at a time when there is talk about withdrawal of advantageous EEC
trade tariff agreements.
We have arrived at Rodney Bay for revictualling and to meet up with some
Shropshire friends. Customs, immigration and the marina office were closed
mid afternoon. Could this casual approach explain why control of the island
changed hands so often between the France and England? Admiral Rodney may be
turning in his grave.
