Cat Tales is sitting at the north end of Rodney Bay, St.
Lucia, very close to Jambe de Bois (Leg of wood) Restaurant. S/v Peace and Plenty is behind her, and S/v
Stopp Knot is behind P&P. We also
have friends Sitatunga, Silk Pajamas, and Aspen in the bay, as well as many
even older friends and acquaintances. We
really can't move without meeting somebody worth a chat or more. The bay has been a bit windy, making trips into
the marina, shops, restaurants, and chandlery a bit damp, but not too bad. There is a problem with jet skis and
powerboats that makes even checking your anchor a dangerous thing to do, but we
expect it, and (Satisfaction)= (Anticipation) - (Reality); so we're fine. When I swim out to check the anchor, Dawn
watches me from the bow of the boat with a fox forty whistle at the ready!
It was fun in Bequia, where we did at least four different
hikes, ate at L'Auberge, Green Boley, and the Fig Tree, as well as a lovely
little economic lunch spot, and spent one afternoon at a music festival; but we
were all feeling like it was time to move on.
We (and P&P) left Bequia as planned, with anchor up at 3
a.m., and were behind St. Vincent by daylight without incident. As the clouds over the northern volcano
seemed benign, we set our course a little closer, coming within about 7.5
nautical miles from shore. I had already
set two fishing lines, hoping to finally catch our first real fish of the
season. Well, did we ever! I had just set up the radio to talk on Denis'
weather net on the ham radio, when the port fishing rod started zinging as it
let all the line out. I looked over at
the clothespin that holds the handline on starboard, and it was released as
well. Dawn took over talking to Denis,
while I fought our port-side fish. It
really seemed that the fish had stopped the progress of Cat Tales - but in all
honesty the wind had decreased some.
What a fight! Dawn came out and
assembled our net and I placed a comparatively more tired fish in her. We then worked on the starboard fish, and
amazed ourselves that we did not lose either.
They were foreign fish to me, but our reference material made it obvious
they were rainbow runners, a 30" and a 34". As our adventure was a live part of Denis'
program, we had a lot of fun with it; and many people knew what was going on.
Soon after, we had sailed to the end of the island, and were
subjected to very difficult seas. I
stayed at the steering station while Dawn kept me informed as to what windows
were leaking. I had one wave hit me such
that I thought I'd be knocked out of the chair.
A double whammy hit that actually threw the boat ten feet and 40 degrees
off course - something that has never happened.
Although I feared Dawn would hurt herself in that one, she did not
(though she had already bruised her ribs hanging over the stern with the
fishnet). After a bit, the seas seemed
to subside a bit, and I was getting anxious about the brutes laying in the
morning sun in the dinghy, and took a knife to them. The salt water spray, bouncing boat, and
undersized cuttingboard combined to make the cockpit look like a terrible crime
scene, but we got the lovely white meat filleted and into the
refrigerator. We've even frozen the
heads to provide to a local for soup. It
was an awful cleanup job, and we were more than grateful when the next morning
provided some fresh rain to help.
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| Rainbow Runners caught off of St. Vincent |
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| Quite a fighter these were! |
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| Laurie's fish cutting table is a bit too small, but once the head and tail were gone, it fit much better! |
As the pictures show, the next night, we invited 9 guests
aboard to help us enjoy the fish. Dawn
did an excellent job of preparing the fish, using a recipe she got from a cook
in Union Island years ago, and all guests brought excellent cold salads and
complementary dishes such that it was a meal to remember. Yes, the fish was excellent, and yes there is
a little more in the freezer for us.
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| Left to right: Maria (Aspen), Lorna & Brian (Peace & Plenty), John Fallon (Stopp Knot), Dawn, and Dan (Sititunga) |
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| Terry (Silk Pajamas), Cindy (Sititunga), Kristin (al soSilk Jammies) and Laurie |
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We've started up our social program here, and expect a lot
of visiting, and a bit of hiking.
Already, we've walked Pigeon Island to death, had a happy hour on the
marina boardwalk with 25 cruisers, and Dawn has had a haircut party on Cat
Tales, with Lorna and Dan and Cindy getting cleaned up! However, our primary
plan is to make it north to Dominica for February 14th, so we are presently
planning to sail to Martinique on Tuesday.
