Knot Normal - The Adventure

We flew back to Rodney Bay in St. Lucia with Bobby, his daughter Brandy and son-in-law Joey. We washed the dust off the boat and provisioned.  Next day we headed for Martinique. We arrived late on a Saturday and barely made it to customs which I found in a ferry terminal as the one in town was closed.  Sunday in the capital of Martinique was dead, very dead.  Everything was closed.  We visited the closed library designed by Eiffel, made in France and shipped to Martinique.  It was splendid. Eiffel's cast iron library We got bored so we pulled anchor and headed north to a small town called Plymouth still in Martinique.  We had a nice night and toured the town the next day.  We went to a rhum (rum) factory, did a tasting.  Actually Bobby and I tasted a bit too much and decided to keep going when we got back to the boat.  We were asleep by 3:00 in the afternoon but woke up and keep going. Plymouth shore, Martinique We pulled anchor th...

We are back in Elizabeth City and made a radical life style decision.  We decided that our large and beautiful home with its large and beautiful gardens and inviting pool and dock on the water was a large chain around our necks. We signed a contract for a condo on the water in downtown Elizabeth City. We will put our home on the market when we return from "The Adventure" and renovate the condo to our liking.  With the condo all we need to do is turn the key and leave:  no grass to cut, no dock to repair, no roof to worry about, no worries, no fuss.  That frees us to sail when we want to and travel at our leisure.  Although I have to admit it, we are getting older and at some point down-sizing is going to be a necessity.  Might as well get it over with now. 

Rodney Bay feels more like Ft. Lauderdale than St. Lucia.  The marina is first class. Stores are modern and the restaurants are excellent.  We had one of the best Indian meals that we have had for a long time.   Deb and Ben departed for Grenada (their home) today.  We fly out tomorrow for North Carolina tomorrow.  I have not been home for four months and other than missing my good friends, I could remain on the boat and be perfectly happy.  Mary Anne misses home.

We anchored at Anse Le Cochon (cove of the domestic pig in French).  Sort of fitting for me.  Knot Normal is the Catamarn on the right. We are having a nice lunch and beers at Ti Kaye, a beautiful beach side restaurant and boutique hotel.  The diving sucks and the fish are too small to fry.  Otherwise life remains great. 

We are in Marigot Bay just south of the capital of St Lucia waiting to pick up Debbie and Ben who flew to Martinique.  We took a hike up to the headland above the bay and took this photo. After our third outboard motor mechanic we think it is working properly.  I was about to buy a new one and MAKK had totally given up on the one we have.

We are anchored in a most spectacular place between two huge pitons.  The town is in an ancient collapsed volcano several miles wide. The pitons are pushed up by hot magma but did not erupt to the  earths surface.  There is a bubbling sulphur spring in part of the volcano. The name "Soufriere" in French is "sulphur air".   We managed to catch a 4 1/2 foot dolphin fish that will keep our freezer full for a while. View from Ladera Restaurant where we had lunch The Pitons as we entered  the area of Soufriere The harbor of Soufriere as we approached Sulphur springs 3 1/2 foot fish caught crossing from St. Vincent to St. Lucia

These are the private garden of a 60ish German man who settled in St. Vincent.  The garden is at the center of an ancient dormant volcano that created a valley facing east. The valley catches the eastern winds with its abundant moisture. The gardens blew us away.