On the 16th we put the dinghy back on the bow deck and headed south to St. Lucia. The sail was a marvelous beam reach in 20 knot tradewinds and two meter seas. We reefed the main and adjusted the amount of reef in the genoa as the velocity fluctuated. We saw several sailing yachts going both north and south. We averaged around 7.5 knots but hit 11 in a small 30 knot squall as we neared St. Lucia. The squall hit when we were passing another boat to leeward so we ran off downwind until we furled in the genoa and then headed into Rodney Bay. We have not been to a marina in two months and were able to get a good rate for a week at Rodney Bay Marina. We will be able to give the boat an overdue exterior cleaning and work on some projects. The biggest bonus of this marina is fast free WiFi. It is great to be connected again with speed and no worries of exceeding usage. As we entered the marina a large super yacht was docking so we had to hang loose for 20 min drifting around until we could get to our slip. We backed in, hooked in the power, cleared Customs & Immigration, used the marina showers, and ordered a take out pizza for a relaxing dinner on the boat.
2 comments
Wowzers, you hit 11 knots, how fun and exhilarating! I remember hitting 9.5 a couple of times during a night night. The pounding of the waves woke up Captain Jim and we put a reef in the main. Bet that pizza was delish.
You have been trained since a toddler to sail fast, sorry we had to slow you down that night!
Comments are closed.