Saint Lucia.
Once upon a
time there was a wonderful laughing lady called Josette Snowball. She was the
queen of a beautiful, flower-filled place called Pigeon Island, just a hop,
skip, and a jump off the north western coast of Saint Lucia.
Around her,
in a state of joyous confusion, lived her children, grandchildren, and many
friends, as well as an assortment of loquacious birds and animals, and for
good measure a host of gnomes, pixies, and jumbies. She had a palm-thatched
beach bar, its open front just inches from the velvet warm waters of the bay,
and for the handful of yachtsmen who in those days led the carefree but
hard-working charter life, Pigeon Island days and nights were sheer magic.
Maugham,
Hemingway, Conrad, or Gauguin couldn't have created a place of equal
enchantment.
Then the
government in its farseeing wisdom decided to develop and improve the spot.
They pronounced it a national park, and up went signs and picnic tables. A
huge causeway was bulldozed out across the bay to connect the island with
Saint Lucia. Empty cans and plastic bags soon replaced the children and the
birds and animals, and of course no self-respecting jumbie likes transistor
radios and tock-and-roll. Then down carne Mrs. Snowball's beach bar, and
Josette herself fled to a rocky comer of the island, where she lived for
several years, a prisoner of progress.
She then
returned to a quiet corner of England to live out her days with her family and
her memories.
Saint Lucia
for some reason has always attracted people like Josette, and even now it is
probably the last island outpost of the charming, eccentric British colonial
who lives in a world of baggy khaki shorts, China tea, and those slow moving,
grimy fans that hang precariously from the ceiling like capsized helicopters.
Nevertheless, for the present-day yachtsman, Saint Lucia is still a great
place to explore.
Marigot
Lagoon
is only a
mile S of Grande Cul-de-Sac, and here a yacht would be quite secure even if a
hurricane passed overhead.
I was in
Marigot once when just that happened. The only danger was the threat of flying
coconuts, and if you've ever seen an 80-mile-an-hour coconut you'll know it
wasn't funny.
Not long
ago the lagoon was deserted. At night the beat of drums could be heard coming
from the village on the hill, and the only lights to be seen were the
fireflies among the palms. It was exciting and somehow all very African.
Then along
carne our friendly developer and in carne suburbia, Saint Lucia style. The
tragedy of it all is that, despite the hotels and houses, hardly anyone seems
to stick to living there.
On the port
hand as you enter is Doolittle’s Bar and Restaurant, a very pleasant little
spot with a friendly atmosphere. Farther in on the starboard hand is the
Hurricane Hole Hotel, which has its own jetty, but don't rely on finding an
empty spot there. The Moorings, a bareboat charter company, is based on the
eastern side of Marigot's much-photographed sand spit, and has combined the
aforementioned establishments into one large entity, known as the Marigot Bay
Resort.
The lagoon
empties out during the day, and then fills up again, chock-a-block, as the
charter yachts return from their day's outings. Before you get your anchor
down, you'll be visited by boys and young men who would like to sell you
fruits, vegetables, and shell and coral jewelry, or do some work on your boat.
If you need
a shade for your cockpit light, they'll weave you one from coconut palm
fronds, to order, while you watch. The vendors may row out in one of the
locally made and brightly painted fishing boats, or they may paddle their
bananas out on a board boat that is well past its prime.
Our old
friend Admiral Rodney, when he in his turn was being hounded around the
islands by the unsporting French, hid a small squadron behind the palms by
lashing the fronds that are woven today into hats and lamp shades to the
mastheads of his ships.
On entering
Marigot, favor the southern side of the channel until abeam of Dolittle's.
Very shallow water runs out from the northern shore, almost to the mid
channel. The inner harbor is deep with a muddy bottom. If people anchor close
by, don't worry. The lagoon is so well protected that no one dances around on
the anchor here.
We arrange a 2 week
charter cruising trough the best of the Caribbean islands onboard the
sailboat Audrey
with capacity for 6 persons including: Captain and cook and all meals with
open bar. The price is $150 per person a day with a minimum of 4 persons. For
more information please contact us:
audrey@explore-yachts.com
