Tuesday, February 20, 2007

January 31, 2007 - Young Island Cut, St. Vincent

If Barbuda was the hardest we’ve every worked to clear into a country, St. Vincent took the longest. We should have used the customs service provided by one of the taxi companies. Instead, we spent the afternoon waiting in line at the police station in Kingston to clear in with Immigration. So few yachts do this that it took a while for them to even find the right forms.

After getting hassled by taxi drivers (here’s a clue guys - if you cat call, invade my personal space and aggressively flirt with me when my husband isn’t around, then turn all polite and deferential when he is, the chances of either of us getting in your cab are next to nil) we along with 18 others, piled into a van built to take 10 passengers. Careening around turns and down hills as reggae music blared and air fresheners swung maddly from side to side, it was scarier (in a good way) than any amusement park ride, because the chances of death are infinitely greater.


The current rips through Young Island Cut, so rather than setting out a stern anchor, we took a mooring for two nights. This is getting to be an expensive habit with us. We may be cheap, but sometimes our laziness trumps our cheapness. Unfortunately, the bow pushed up against the mooring ball and overrode the mooring line several times in the night. So we left a bit of bottom paint on the mooring line and ball, which was then transferred to our bow above the waterline. We’ll have to clean it up when we get into nice clean harbor.

2 comments:

Rouge One said...

D & Sten,
Way cool so far. I wish I was there with you guys. It is a cold, damp day here in Oakland. Keep posting. Let me know when you go through the canal so I can watch on the canal cam! Stay safe and I tell the APL ships to look out for you once you make it over to the pacific.

Zaphod said...

Nice blog -- and "wish you were here" dialog. Sten: it doesn't appear to me that you are fishing enough!!! Catch more fish!!! D: I'll bet Dr. Tan would freak out...

Mahmoud min al Boston