Update: December 2008

Christmas in St. Lucia.

We enjoyed Christmas Eve trimming the tree on Alleluia after the St. Lucia Yacht Club party earlier in the evening. Click here to see more pictures from our month in St. Lucia.

Sailing Pirogues in Rodney Bay, Saint Lucia.

The weekend before Christmas, there was a sailing regatta on the bay and the cruisers were not invited. Not because we were snubbed by the Lucians but because we didn't have the equipment or the expertise to handle these heavy, yet fast pirogues. There were about a half dozen boats that sailed from Martinique to Rodney Bay on Friday. After racing around the bay on Saturday, they sailed the 20 nautical mile trip back to Martinique on Sunday. To see more pictures click here

The Big Five-Oh For Jan

Tranquility and Alleluia enjoying rum cake and champagne at Jan's 50th birthday.

It was time for another birthday. Not just any birthday, of course - I was staring at the big five-oh. Luckily, Terri made a big rum cake (with extra rum) to reduce the pain and our good cruiser friends helped us eat it. Later, we went to a delicious Thai restaurant with Lee and Cindy - A wonderful, special birthday here in the Caribbean.

Arriving Saint Lucia, December 5, 2008

The view of Rodney Bay, St. Lucia from the English fort on top of Pigeon Island.

On December 5th, we left Bequia early in the morning for the eleven hour trip to Rodney Bay on the north side of St. Lucia. The bay is large yet well protected from the sea. We quickly settled in with our friends Allelluia and Tranquility close to the beach and not too far from the cut to the lagoon. At the marina, things were buzzing. Everyone was scrambling around to finish the recent marina upgrades before the anticipated ARC (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers) boats arrived from the Canary Islands. The first boat (DreamCatcher KM, a beautiful Oyster 82) arrived on December 7th, after sailing 14 days from the Canaries. More than 200 boats arrived behind her over the next two weeks as the marina grew to capacity. With more and more arrivals, the parties started in ernest. The new boats and crews from all over the world added a great international feel to the marina.