Pitons, St. Lucia
13.49.600N
61.03.789W

In spite of our 6 am start, we were delayed getting out of the harbor by about 15 minutes when a shower passed overhead. There is no sense in trying to maneuver through an anchorage when you really can’t see that far in front of you and you never know what the winds are going to do to you in the process. When it let up, we motored our way out.

Sometimes after a shower passes through, it seems to suck all of the breezes away and that’s exactly what happened this morning. We motored our way out of the anchorage and out past the mountains protecting the harbor but still no wind. We eventually motored past the island of Bequia and past the island of St. Vincent before we ever found any wind. We had no sooner found some breezes worth unfurling our sails for when they really piped up. They climbed steadily from nothing to 30 kts. We rounded up just past St. Vincent to put a reef in but ended up just rolling the entire jib back in until the gusts died back down. It appears today was going to be an all or nothing type of sailing day.

Soon enough we were past the island effects and rains passing over the islands and, at last, where the trade winds settled into their normal routine. The rest of the transit was in perfect conditions; 14-18 kts of wind, 2-3 foot seas. We were even greeted and entertained by several pods of dolphins who came by to play on our bow wake.

We arrived at the anchorage set between the two Pitons about 3 pm and selected a mooring ball right in front of the Jalousie Hilton Resort. The water here is 200’ deep almost to the shore. Dale says that this is one of his favorite anchorages. The scenic beauty is breathtaking. We kept thinking of Kenny, Dale’s brother in law, the artist. He’d go nuts trying to capture all of the colors and contrasts this area has to offer. The whole area is a marine preserve extending out about a half mile from the end of the Pitons, with the two Pitons extending high above our heads. Two mega yachts were anchored in the harbor along with a handful of normal sized yachts. The sunset is perfectly framed by these natural wonders as it drops into the water at the horizon beyond the harbor.

Rainbow Rider, Chez Freddie, and Exit Strategy are also here. Tom and Doris from Exit Strategy came over for a little while to say hi and catch up. They planned on staying a few days to snorkel in the marine preserve.

The remainder of the afternoon was spent just enjoying the sights. We watched as people arrived at the resort by helicopter at one of the tiniest landing pads I’ve ever seen. It looked like they just stopped traffic at an intersection of two one-lane roads to let the helicopter land.

Tonight’s sunset was incredible. The ever changing colors against the clouds were magnificent, even the clouds themselves seemed to have a variety of textures. Although I tried, photos don’t begin to depict the true intensity of the view. We blew our conch horn, listened to Mike’s (MT Nest) CD “Late Night Sax” and enjoyed a perfect evening. It doesn’t get any better than this.