Two weeks ago we were contacted by email by David and Pat Strang from Fredericton, who were taking a cruise up the Amazon, and their ship had stopped by St. Lucia. We corresponded with them and arranged for them to stop by on their return trip. They traveled by taxi from Castries yesterday, and, after showing them the highlights of Rodney Bay Marina, we came out to Cat Tales, anchored in the outer bay, for a nice afternoon.
It was a lovely event, with a nice lunch, swimming, and best: they shared their highlights of the cruise way up the Amazon to Manaus, a major and historical city in Brazil. Also, like everyone else who comes from the north, they shared pictures of snowy, bleak New Brunswick, to help anchor in our minds that we all are temporarily better off.
It was great to share time with friends from Fredericton.
We’ll be doing just that later on today, as John Sinclair arrived late last night from Fredericton to spend time on Stopp Knot. Dawn and I will meet the “Two Johnnies” at the little food court in the Rodney Bay Mall for lunch.
We’ve had some questions regarding the boat that recently sunk near the entrance to the lagoon. Dawn had reported that the sinking affair came to its ultimate conclusion just as I was scooting by to go into the Lagoon. I had stayed alongside the remaining mast, picking up floating materials that had removed themselves from the cockpit and deck. I had to throw some back in and swish them around, as they included some cockroaches hanging on for their lives. Well, at least the owner has solved that cockroach problem. I was able to transfer these belongings to a local just shortly after who had some relationship with the owner.
The boat apparently is owned by a Frenchman, and was parked in its present location, close to the lagoon, awaiting motor repairs – meaning there likely wasn’t much juice for bilge pumps. The owner had solicited the assistance of a local Rastafarian-type to help keep an eye on his vessel. We had gone by the boat often, and there wasn’t much if anything going on with it. My theories are that the Rasta forgot to put the toilet lever in the right place last time, or that a hose clamp to a through-hull fitting finally rusted through, and it slowly filled up with water while being ignored. The rumour mill also has it that the owner, working or spending time in Castries, was contacted, and was rushing to get to the sinking boat. He, of course, was stopped by the police for speeding, in full view of the Marina breakfast establishment and local watering hole: the Bread Basket. He would have almost been in view of his poor yacht as well. Apparently, his boat wasn’t the only thing begging for attention, as he had unpaid tickets and delinquent registration. Screaming “…but my boat is sinking” might have worked if everything else was in order.
The rumour mill also suggests the owner has some serious substance issues, but who knows? If his stash was on the boat, it is likely still there, as the boat hasn’t received much attention beyond some coloured flags to help us avoid it.
Laurie
A special hello to Bryan Facey who took time to drop me a line from my work in District 18 in Fredericton. -- Dawn
