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Cruising life in the Caribbean - Page 1

Barbados


Snorkeling A little break from snorkeling
Snorkeling in Carlisle Bay, Barbados. Look at the colour of that sea! All kind of things are swimming around down there... The silly buoy and flag are meant to keep the jet-ski lunatics off you, if you're lucky.


Coconuts Coconuts
Nicky with a luverly pair of green coconuts...


First cut this bit off... then make a hole... and you have...
Not being as adept with a machette as some of the locals, we had to improvise a little to get at the wonderful coconut water... but it was just as good!


First rummage in the fruit... then clean up the breadnuts... cook and then eat.
The breadnut fruit may not be the most attractive thing to stick your fingers into, but the nuts once extracted, cleaned, boiled then grilled are very edible. Perhaps like a slightly tasteless chestnut?


The famous harbour wall This is the view from alongside the famous wall in Bridgetown's Deep-Water Harbour. This wall is singlehandedly ruining Barbados as a cruising destination as many yachts are damaged here by the surge. You have to tie up here for an hour or more to clear in and then out through Customs and Immigration. It's perfectly ok if you come in at high tide like we did. At low water those solid rubber, black cylinders bear on - and bend - your stanchions.


St Lucia

This exhausted bird settled on the boat during the night of the 100+ nautical mile crossing to St Lucia. He first tried to settle atop the windvane and each move he made sent us wildly off course and unbalanced him (and us!) even more. Eventually he got some rest on the outboard and then the Lifesling. He must have been even more delighted than we were to see St Lucia just ahead at first light. Hitching a ride
Rodney Bay Marina The clutter of masts in Rodney Bay Marina. By the time we left Barbados we had been the only cruising boat left in Carlisle Bay for some weeks. All these people...!
The facilities at Rodney Bay are very attractive. There are at least three good bars, shops and - a wonderful treat for us - hot showers that work. No-one quite believed us when we said we hadn't had a hot shower in over three months. It's not the heat that's important, cold water is at about 30°C anyway, it's the endless quantity, that you don't have to carry by hand and dinghy from a stand-pipe! Part of the marina complex
Our favourite cafe table We soon chose this table as our favourite spot for a 'sun-downer' inside the marina complex.
We also soon made good friends among the other cruising couples. Here four boat-loads of us settle down to half-price drinks after a dinghy-ride to the 'Happy Day Bar' (where it's happy-hour all day!). Left to right: Marian, Ella, Gerald, Nicky, Hans, Gerrit and Claudia. A good time was had by all... Four boat-loads in a bar
JQ delivers our laundry back JQ is the man from Sparkle Laundry. He brought all our washing back within the day at a very reasonable price. All that and big smiles too!
The Sparkle team have got work to do, eventually even they have to leave to talk to other boats about laundry, upholstery, carpets even a water-taxi service! The Sparkle team
bailing the dinghy It knows how to rain in St Lucia - even in the dry season. This is one night's rainfall in the dinghy. At least we also filled our fresh-water tanks without paying the high price to get our berth's tap turned on.
Nicky tells me, again, to stop taking photos of her. I have lots of shots of her saying that. Nicky in St Lucia
Ella and Gerald arrive Ella and Gerald arrive, modelling the latest in bare-foot cruising wear, to discuss another night on the town.
Here we are, watching the world go by. We went to the regular Friday night 'jump-up' (street party) in Gros Islet. That is no place to take your camera! The Rusalkas

Onwards to Martinque

Diamond Rock off Martinique All too soon we are under way again. This astonishing rocky islet off Martinique's south coast is called Diamond Rock. During the Napoleonic Wars it was held and defended by British sailors who hauled cannons from their ships to the top by hand. The French defeated them by floating barrels of rum downwind onto the shore and giving them all time to get completely drunk before mounting an attack!

Click here to see the second page of our pictures and impressions of the Caribbean Islands