Crew Arrival

We slogged pretty much straight into the wind for the 10 miles from Admiralty Bay to Blue Lagoon. The entrance to the lagoon is flanked by nasty shoals made visible by the breakers surging over them. We motored slowly into the bay where Michael, a man in a dinghy, came up and offered to lead us in and help us dock. Which was good, because we docked stern-in, picking up two mooring bouys from the bows.

It was about 11 and WW went immediately to find out about getting in to Kingstown and clearing us in. Strictly speaking, all crew must remain aboard until the formalities have been completed. The marina had no problem with my getting some laundry ashore—no self-service, they would do it for us at $35 EC per load—and having a lovely long hot shower.

I talked to the marina office and asked about when the restaurant opened. We had told our guests, Dana and Enn, to grab a taxi and meet us there when they arrived. Their plane was due at about 6 p.m. It was, therefore, a bit of a blow to learn that the restaurant and bar were both closed. As in, not in operation. Hmmmm.

WW came back having completed his assigned tasks and having visited the wonderful Kingstown market. He bore a long skinny pineapple, a couple of cucumbers, three eggplant and a cabbage. Yum. His taxi driver, Vernon “Call me Preacher” John, returned to the boat with him. He had offered to go to the airport to wait for D and E, and deliver them to the marina. What an excellent solution! We’d throw their kit on board and head out for dinner.

Evening came, the clock ticked. Ok, the plane must be late. Ok, the plane must be really late. Finally, WW called Preacher. He said the plane was delayed with no ETA, which meant there was a problem with the plane itself and they didn’t know how long it would be till it was repaired. We were getting very hungry, so Preacher came, picked us up and dropped us at the Lime and Pub ( a play on words, “limin’” being the region’s term for chillin’, hangin’), then returned to his vigil. We had a fabulous, if somewhat pricey, dinner. WW had grouper in a delicious tomato sauce. I had catch of the day: red snapper, perfectly pan fried with lots of garlic. As we were mopping up the last of these and the fabulous salads that accompanied them, Preacher arrived with Enn and Dana in tow.

We stayed for a drink at the bar, then went out to Preacher’s van. He delivered us to the marina and we introduced D and E to their new quarters. Then we sat in the cockpit, provided our eager crew (EC) with a light supper, a glass of wine, and lots of chat before we retired to our berths for the night.