Holidays in Marigot Bay

This was one of our neighbors. I took three photos to 

capture the full boat! And they kept a million lights on all

night. That was annoying when one likes it dark for sleep.

If we can’t be with family for Christmas and New Year’s Eve, then we might as well be in one of our favorite places: Capella Resort Marina in Marigot Bay, St. Lucia. This is the place with two wonderful swimming pools, swim up in- pool bar, daily cocktail specials, great restaurants and a relatively calm berth on the quay. What more could we want?




The sail up from Bequia was uneventful - Yeah! We haven't done many overnight sails this season so it was nice to be under the starlit sky again. I was on watch from 8 PM - midnight and Dennis from midnight to 5 AM. When I came up at  5 AM, it was still dark, but within a couple of hours I had the pleasure of watching the sun rise over the Pitons of St. Lucia. The sky was cloudy over the land which made for an interesting view. These are the moments that create lasting memories - and we have had so many of them!

Here is the progression from first light just peaking over the horizon on the other side of St. Lucia. Then the sun lights up the clouds as it is rising off the water. And the third photo shows the Pitons once the sun is above the peaks, but in the clouds as we sail further north.

This is called a "fig" and not a banana. It is

 from Bequia and is delicious. The nasty bird

in the mangrove kept coming into the galley

for a little bite to eat when we weren't looking.

Marigot Bay's Capella Marina is filled with superyachts that consume most of the dock space – and block the flow of air! We arrived at 0800 after an overnight sail and had to wait for them to make room for us on the dock. I had made a reservation back in September and been in touch with Troy, the dock master, regularly to assure we could get on the dock and not a mooring ball.

After drifting for over an hour outside the bay entrance, I finally told Troy that we were almost to Columbia so we needed to get in soon! Of course, we would just drift out a couple of miles and then motor back in only to drift out again. By the time Ford came out to meet us to guide us in, it was pouring rain. In fact, it was raining so hard I couldn’t see him through the windshield. Dennis had to stand on  the foredeck in the rain and point in the direction Ford was going so I could follow.

Our only Christmas decoration.

When we finally got well into the marina and past many huge superyachts, I saw the space where I needed to back in stern-to! Yikes! It was between a huge superyacht and a sailing yacht about our size. No problem – except it wasn’t a straight ride in. I had to maneuver around two mooring balls and wiggle into the tight space. It is still raining. Not fun!

Mission accomplished. Heart still pounding. Ford awarded me Skipper of the Year title! I must say I felt pretty good after my heart stopped racing. It is always a heart-thumper going into any dock space, but going in stern-to adds a few extra nerves. On top of that, add the risk of hitting one of those big expensive yachts!

Merry Christmas, Santa! Yes, I have been good!

For Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, we

had dinner in the hotel - lobster for me, of course! Both the food and its presentation were exquisite. The best part was there was no rush to turn the table so we could linger over each of the four courses and enjoy the view and wine. As we arrived, we were greeted by Santa Claus on Christmas Eve just before he left on his rounds. Although, he wasn't dressed for cold weather. You can't see it in the photo, but he was wearing shorts below his coat.

The view from the dining room of our neighbors!

The Starter was a beet puree served in an egg shell.

The next course was "raw" salmon in lemon and oil. I usually

don't eat my protein raw, but I did eat this one. Evolution!

I had lobster, of course.

Dennis had lamb shank

This chocolate dessert was divine!

To our pleasant surprise, the sailing yacht next to us was S/V Capella and we had met the skipper/owner last April in the pool. Tracy arrived a few days later and we reignited a friendship that involved several dinners and a few Sundowners.

Tracy joined us at Chateau Mygo on New Year’s Eve. This is a favorite spot for cruisers any day or night of the week with live music and good food. We had dinner there, but moved to a quieter venue for an after dinner drink and ta oast.

Ringing in 2018

Unfortunately, Rainforest Hideaway across the bay had gone out of business. We had a nice there in April and were disappointed to see it closed. We did a repeat dinner at Masala Bay where the Indian food is outstanding. I was impressed with how concerned they were about any food allergies. They even brought me a different started because all of them had cilantro, which I don’t tolerate well.

We don't usually do much to celebrate Christmas with gifts for each other. In fact, we usually declare NO GIFTS, but one of us seems to forget. Last year, it was me. This year Dennis got even with me! Back in Chatham Bay, I spotted a bleached conch shell on the beach. I wanted to pick it up, but it was dark when we passed it again and I couldn't find it. I looked for it the next day, but it was gone! Either some other beach-walker or the tide took it. So I missed out.

For my surprise Christmas gift, he had a guy go out and find one in St. Lucia and clean it up. The guy wanted him to buy one of the pretty pink and tan ones, but he knew I wanted a white one. I was happily surprised when I opened my gift. (Note: I didn't have a gift for him this year!) I wanted the bleached conch shell to use when photographing the jewelry I design and make. He also gave me the necklace on the shell as he had notice that I wear a lot of turquoise here in the islands. What a sweetheart!

Since we had a reservation at the Rodney Bay Marina just 12 miles up the island, it was time to say good -bye to Tracy and Imbert, who repaired our dinghy. We had a lovely sail up to the dock. I think we are becoming “marina rats!”