It's been quite windy here for the last couple of days, but we sailed the three hours yesterday from Rodney Bay down to Canaries, and another hour this morning to Soufrierre. This area has rules against anchoring and instead has mooring balls to tie to which you have to pay for through the Souffriere Marine Management Association. They are organized to provide areas of no fishing - where cruisers can snorkel, and areas of fishing - where fishermen can work without cruisers. The result is a series
of areas where fish can grow and attract the pelagic fish the fishermen wish to catch.
You can pay for a mooring for 1 or 2 days, or get a discounted rate for a week which allows you to move from one mooring ball to another in different areas. With respect to Canaries, we had enjoyed a few nights in the little bay with Lorna and Brian and found the snorkeling to be quite nice. Instead of 2 or 3 balls, we only saw one, but it was unoccupied, so in we headed. A boat boy in a boat called "Bump" came up to us and told us to take the ball because it was owned by the town and he would
be collecting for it later. From our past experience, we knew that it was not owned by his town, instead was part of the Marine Park moorings. At first we said okay and left, however, once we checked our guide for more details, we decided that we would go there anyway. Once again, the boat boy came up to us in his high powered boat and had a conversation with us. Laurie informed us that because it was a white ball with a dark blue stripe we would be talking to Norvell from the Marine Park and
if we found that we'd be owing his money, we'd be coming back his way and would gladly pay.
This morning, we left the Canaries for the Pitons at Soufrierre. Again, a boat boy came roaring up to us wanting to help us take a mooring ball. All the balls were taken in our favourite snorkeling spot, so he guided us to another for a nice little "teep" (tip). We asked him to find Shane, our boat helper from the past, and he called him on his cell phone. Shane came right away, accepting an invitation on board and a beer (at 9:00 am). Because we knew Shane had a son of about 5 years of age,
we blew up a couple of our Moosehead Light balls we collected last summer. He was impressed that we'd think of his child and remember his age. Shane then organized a tour for Jeanne and Doug to see the botanical gardens, the drive in volcano and the waterfalls. Laurie and I are left alone on board emailing and catching up on chores.
We plan to have dinner at Benny's "Harmony" restaurant tomorrow night, where Benny will send someone over to pick you up, and another guy to baby sit your locked up boat (for a fee) so you and your company can enjoy an evening out. You have to realize that it's difficult to leave your boat after dark and get safely to a dock for security reasons, so Benny has it all worked out and we LOVE that!
I heard on the morning Ham Radio weather net that there is snow forecasted for NY up through Toronto on Sunday and or Monday, so Jeanne and Doug have that on their minds today with their return trip to SJ through Toronto scheduled for Monday at 4:00 pm.
Hopefully, Jeanne will provide a weblog to describe her time ashore, and the local snorkeling.
