We jumped in the dinghy and left the hustle and bustle of Castries behind.
The winds were light but after we had left the channel and we're heading south down the coast we
pulled out the Genoa and ghosted along at 3 knots or so for an hour and a bit.
We passed the Grand Cul de Sac bay where there is a large oil installation.
As we approached Marigot harbour there were a large number of mast visible in the outer harbour.
Also the " boat boys" were lurking in inflatable boats around the entrance to ' help' us to find a place to anchor or moor. They have gone to the length of putting in their own moorings which mimic the official ones apart from the safety aspect. We avoided falling into the trap of paying for the use of a mooring which could be a piece of string tied to a car axle for all we knew, unfortunately they have put these dodgy moorings in all the best anchoring spots, however Hocus Pocus has a trick up her sleeve for these occasions, she doesn't draw very much, so we anchored in a perfectly ridiculous 2 metres of water. We could risk this as the tidal rise and fall was only about 10 inches. Still grounded at low water though, but it does no harm to the boat.
Our anchor spot put us just opposite Doolittles Bar and restaurant, so named because this was the very bay that the Great Pink Sea snail made an appearance with Rex Harrison in the famous movie. Doctor Dolittle. Doolittles is spelt with an extra "O" for some reason, possibly copyright.
Even though it has seen some development since it is still very pretty and is what most people's idea of a Caribean anchorage consists of.
As the sun set we took the dinghy and toured the numerous restaurants for dinner, we first tried the " jungle Hideaway.
This has the distinction of being the only restaurant on St Lucia to serve Lionfish, this is becoming a bit of an ecological disaster on the local reefs as it decimates local fish and lobster stocks. It's only predator is man and luckily it tastes good! However the restaurant was fully booked so we had a beer while admiring the fish swimming under our dinghy in and out of the mangroves that the restaurant is built into. We crossed to the other side of the inner bay and found a table at Chateaux Maygo.
We had a very acceptable meal apart from my disappointment at the fact that there was no Red Snapper ( St Lucias national dish ) a double fishy disappointment! Mind you the steak was nice.
Marigot Harbour is a great anchorage if you are well heeled, otherwise it's very pretty but a bit of a honey pot anchorage for which the locals charge you an arm and a leg for everything. The constant distraction of boat boys in dinghys asking if you need anything is a bit wearing. As Lynne and I fly home in a few days we are determined to make the most of it, tomorrow the beach!...
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