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A stop-over at St. Lucia | «« back |
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Because of the strong currents and wind around Martinique it hasn't been possible for Ralph and Mike to reach the more Southerly island of St. Lucia off their own bat to pick up the new auto-pilots. A plan was therefore concocted by the base camp in Holland to have another ship rendezvous with the Zeeman Challenger. Thanks to the efforts of Jon White of Regis Electronics on St. Lucia we were able to chart a pleasure yacht, the Diva, captained by a man named Kevin. The plan was that the Zeeman Challenger would round Martinique on the islands North side and then take a course Southwards towards Saint Pierre on Martinique, where the Diva would meet the men and take the boat in tow.
And it worked! The Zeeman Challenger was able to make contact with the Diva on the open sea and was towed back to Martinique, where the boat was moored up and Ralph and Mike went aboard the Diva, which took them to St. Lucia. Jon White of Regis Electronics took care of the men after that, immediately checking them into a super-deluxe hotel and loading them up with tropical fruit and local drinks. |
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The photos with this article speak for themselves, but you should first read the short report that Mike e-mailed to us from St. Lucia: "Hi, we're on St. Lucia. Picked up by super power boat. Our boat is at Martinique now. Were greeted by the Minister of Tourism here. Had some bottles of rum and stayed the night at a super-deluxe hotel. Just fantastic. Customs will be open tomorrow so we can go and get the auto-pilots before heading straight back to our boat on Martinique again and racing on to Curacao! We don't have a 220-volt charger for the sat. phone, so we can't call. We'll try it the roundabout way tomorrow. Time for a hearty meal now.
Rgds, Mike en Ralph"
On arrival on St. Lucia the adventurers were greeted not just by the Minister of Tourism, but also by a camera crew. Not bad at all, considering that much attention is being paid to the ARC Sailing Race and to the local elections, which are taking place today. Jon White wanted to take the men on a tour of St. Lucia for a few for a few hours, but when he arrived at the rowers' hotel they were in such a deep sleep that he couldn't rouse them. They only woke up at half-past twelve that afternoon, having slept for more than two hours at a time for the first time in ages.
The men will be returning to St. Martinique today, and then, as Mike says, "racing on to Curacao.
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