From Marigot to Soufriere
28th Jan 2018
Pulling up the anchor in Marigot was an experience unlike
most. As we wound in the chain we crept
closer and closer “Blue Dane” the sailing vessel whose home port was written on
the stern as “Middlefart” (not even I could make this up). Eventually, our impending bow caught the
attention of the skipper who jumped to the stern ready to fend us off. Luckily the wind direction shifted slightly
and our anchor was no longer underneath their boat. (More accurately phrased,
their boat was no longer over our anchor).
Suddenly the anchor parted from the seabed and we were off. We managed to wave to our friend Gunther as
we motored out of the harbor.
Once out to sea we unrolled the genoa and proceeded on a
broad reach with just the one sail.
After the engine had run long enough to cool the fridge, we turned it
off and were really sailing. There was a
significant swell and the wind speed was quite variably. Early on I saw 22kt but later the wind seem
to diminish and we were making only 3-4 kts.
Eventually we put the engine back on and headed east into the bay at
Soufriere. Once our course made the
destination clear, we were approached by a young man in a skiff. He offered help us tie up to the
mooring. The guidebook had forewarned
us, but we agreed without setting a price first! Generally speaking, I take a dim view of
people who want to ‘help’, however, the wind that had been lacking during our
sail suddenly was howling through the rigging.
I tossed him the first line and he threaded the mooring loop and tossed
it back. I felt lucky to get the line
secured around the cleat.
Then came the argument over the payment. Our guidebook suggests a fee of $5-10 (EC),
our helper wanted $20 (EC). We offered
him $15 (EC) and he still was angry.
Mike pulled out the guidebook to show him. There was a lot of yammering back and
forth. Finally he departed with our
$15. Then we were left to struggle with
getting the second line through the mooring on our own. Such is the nature of ‘helpers’.
Having got settled on the mooring, we addressed ourselves to
lunch. I got the leftover taco fixings
from the night before and Mike had curried eggs and a bit of salad. On the way down he had been describing how
one made this dish. It went something
like: “you hard boil the eggs and then peel them and take out the yolks and
turn them into chicken curry.” Thus we
are left with the question—which came first the chicken or the egg curry?
Soufriere on a Sunday afternoon was quite intimidating. There were lots of men hanging around the
streets –most seeming to be partially intoxicated. All manner of people were offering taxi
rides, tours of the island, fresh fish, etc.
We got some directions at the “foundation” and set off walking up hill
to the botanical gardens. We reached our
destination on the stroke of 3 pm—closing time.
We walked back down to the dock and back to Cotinga. Dinner was consumed, showers were taken all
while the boat rolled back and forth. I
slept in the salon but Mike managed to sleep in the v-berth.
The mountains to the north of Soufriere
Cotinga on a mooring in the Soufriere Marine Management Park - off the town with Petit Piton (2500ft) in the background
Another squall rolls in from the east of Soufriere
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