Thursday, May 20, 2010

Leaving St. Lucia

Overlooking Rodney Bay from Pigeon Island, we sighted the Brig Unicorn - 136 feet long and supporting 15,000 sq. feet of sail. Glad I am not a crew on this ship so I do not have to climb masts! The Unicorn was featured in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies as the Henrietta. Now you can be a pirate for a day, if you take one of the tours on the Unicorn.





Yes, Pigeon Island has Fort Rodney protecting the bay. Fort Rodney has a bit more recent history in that it was used as a U.S. Signal Station in WWII. From here, you can see Martinique to the north and all the way down the coast beyond the Pitons to the south.






Pigeon Island National Park is also famous as the mainstage venue for the St. Lucia Jazz Festival. We were there the day after the final event so saw the clean-up detail hard at work. There is a beautiful view of the water behind the stage. It seems fitting this area should be so identified with music and entertainment. In the 1960's, a wealthy singer Josset 'Ma Snowball' Leigh of Britian's D'Oyly Carte Opera Company retired here. Reportedly, she had the run of the island, led quite the bohemian lifestyle and had lavish parties where she entertained a constant parade of A-list houseguests.







A toast with local beer to St. Lucia.








After leaving the hustle and bustle of Rodney Bay, we anchored off Vieux Fort, St. Lucia. We shared the anchorage with local fishing boats and no one else. Hard to remember the last time we were the only pleasure craft in an anchorage. This was a beautiful place with calm waters. We had a good rest before heading down St. Vincent and onto Bequia.









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