St Vincent, Windward Islands
May 18, 2014
A Tale of two cities - St Vincent
It is no secret that I don't like to start the day early. We are used to not having the "best" anchorage in a harbor if that goes to the early bird. That said we usually leave early enough to get into a harbor before dark. That wasn't the case with St Vincent. If there is one thing i dislike, it is anchoring in the dark. St Vincent was one such example.
As we neared St Vincent, I opted to change our landfall destination as it was pitch black (heavy clouds in the lee of the island obscure the stars and moon). Although we had a nice sail from St Lucia, once we got behind St Vincent, the winds reduced and sailing became impracticable. We made landfall at Chateaubelair. Luck was with us as a boat boy came out to meet us on a kayak with a recommendation on where to anchor. We decided we liked his spot, which cost us 10 East Caribbean Dollars for his advice.
Chateaubelair is a point of entry to St Lucia, and a pretty harbor. After a good night's sleep we went into town to clear in. Every person on shore was eager for us to beach in front of their shop or home, more eager to help pull our dinghy up on the beach, and most eager to put their hand out for a bit of change. I walked around town while Shawn cleared us into customs.
St Vincent was hit hard by the "Christmas Storm" that had also washed out many of the roads on St Lucia. The stream bed in the center of town was littered with the remains of two homes that had been taken by the storm. Fortunately, no one was killed here (although 5 people died in St Lucia). Locals were very eager to escort me to local bars (although at 10 am - i was't quite ready), give a tour of the local area, or sell local produce. Honestly, by the time Shawn had finished checking us into the country-we were very ready to leave this poor village. By the time we were making it clear that we were leaving, the locals began asking for clothing, old lines, and even a AA battery charger.
We sailed from Chateaubelair to Willilabou (where they filmed Pirates of the Caribbean). The one restaurant in the bay offers a free mooring if you dine in the restaurant. This of course seemed like a win to us. After we had secured to the mooring, we decided to walk into "town."
The walk into town was up a hill and down into the next bay. The major point of that sentence is it was up a hill in 90 degree weather. It was HOT. It didn't take long to realize that the only thing these people had was their million dollar views. Each "home" had a view out over the bay. Most of the homes were built of cinder blocks and corrugated sheet metal. People along the way kept offering assistance, and we kept replying that we were just on a walk. Soon, we had two followers. Two cousins who had the day off school one in the equivalent of 6th grade and one in 5th.
The kids were super friendly and gave us a tour of the town (Keartons). Very happy for us, the tour began with a grocery where we bought juice boxes for the kids - and gatorade for the two of us. With renewed vigor we began our search for lunch. The kids showed us options that included the bakery (which was no longer serving), and a restaurant (which was also no longer serving). Fortunately, as all pre-teens are able, the tour continued to the local "chicken shack" where the four of us had fried chicken and french fries-which we took to the beach and ate overlooking the water. The kids introduced us to their uncle - a local fisherman who regaled us with tales of fishing for tuna, dolphin, and whale.
We began our return hike, refreshed and with invites to the town party that would take place that evening. It was a kind gesture, but one we didn't end up accepting. We did however become a bit "parched" after walking up and over the hill back to where the boat was secured. Fellow cruisers had recommended a bar just up the street - and nothing sounded better than an ice cold local beer. Although the bar was closed (appropriately named "Pirates Hide-a-way" or some such name), we were able to obtain beers from a local "tour guide" that had set up a camp along the beach with a few other local vendors. We learned a lot from Bagga about the marijuana growing and trafficking trade that has established roots in several of the Caribbean islands. We had heard that there was still discrimination against US sailors from a recent US government "round-up" spraying that had happened a few years back. This has apparently been lifted in favor of tourism.
After a big day, we dined out at the establishment with our free moorage. We should have anchored and cooked for ourselves. Nonetheless, it was a great day and wonderful adventure. We drifted into sleep with the sounds of live bands drifting over the hill from Keartons.
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