St. Lucia
        
        Subject: Log 04/16/00
        Date: Mon, 17 Apr 2000 01:15:48 -0500
        
        From: W2LSI@cho.win-net.org
        To: rudys03@ibm.net
        
        We are now on the Island of St. Lucia. It is independent but was once an English
        Island. The predominant language is English...of sorts...and the currency is the EC
        for Eastern Caribbean. This currency is used in most of the non-French islands. It
        is about $2.60 EC to $1 US. They also drive on the left side of the road....we take
        our lives in our hands every time we step off a curb and look the wrong way.
        
        We are staying at a marina to get some cleaning and primping done as well as
        watch some TV....they have US cable! We can't use the power because it is 220v,
        50 cycle, but we do enjoy bathrooms with real sit down toilets WITH SEATS! The
        showers even have Hot and Cold water! What a treat! We are oriented in the
        correct direction while at dock so we get a great breeze to keep the boat cool and
        make sleeping comfortable. Faith is right now enjoying the pool at a local
        restaurant. The harbor is a little dirty for swimming, but it is well protected and we
        literally don't feel the 25-35 knot breezes. The breeze is due to a large high off of
        the US. It sure makes the wind generator effective!
        
        The passage to St Lucia was a little over 21 miles. It was blowing 15 to 25 knots
        with 6-8' seas. Not too bad for a short passage. We did sail the whole way. It has
        been a while since we have done that! It took us about 3 « hrs. with no problems.
        We have the length of St. Lucia and another 20+ miles to St. Vincent, our next
        stop.
        
        In Martinique I was able to find the parts I needed to fix our generator. There aren't
        many Westerbeke dealers down here but we always seem to find the parts we need
        to fix whatever breaks. Here we are concentrating on woodwork.
        
        The Rodney Bay Marina is pretty neat. Staying here is easy because of the
        language and almost everything we need is on or near the dock. There are busses
        to most of the island for less than $1. We went to the movies by dinghy the other
        night. Many of the boats that have stopped here are returning from a
        circumnavigation. One boat has taken 11 years and some as little as 14 months. In
        all cases though they rave about their accomplishment and what they have seen and
        done. I still don't know if we are up to that.....we'll see. We haven't seen much of
        the island yet, but we have plenty of time.