Shakedown Cruise by Nigel Calder

Author:Nigel Calder
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781472946683
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Chapter 7

ST. LUCIA, THE GRENADINES AND GRENADA

May to June 1987

Between fierce Carib resistance, disease, and natural disaster, European invaders were unable to establish a permanent foothold on St. Lucia until a French expedition in 1643. Twenty years later the English seized the island but after two years the invasion force was reduced from 1,000 to 89, mostly through disease. The French regained control. Over the next 100 years, the island changed hands twelve times.

As on Guadeloupe, the French Revolution brought the guillotine for royalists and freedom for the slaves. The British, concerned that this would stir up the slaves on their islands, invaded. Freed slaves drove out the British together with every white slave owner. Their success, however, was short-lived; the British returned and restored slavery, although many of the rebels escaped into the rainforests that cloak St. Lucia’s mountainous backbone. The British were not to grant full freedom to the slaves until 1838. St. Lucia finally became an independent nation in 1979.

It’s a short sail from Martinique to St. Lucia. In all we cover a little over 30 miles on a close reach before anchoring in the totally protected lagoon at Rodney Bay on the west coast. Customs here are fast and friendly.

In the evening we dinghy to the beach and watch the sun set, and then make our way up the lagoon looking for a place to eat. The phosphorescence in the water is astonishing. The dinghy wake and outboard motor turbulence create a sensation of being in a swimming pool with blue underwater lighting. Fish darting away leave a zigzag wake. Sometimes a whole school of fish scatters in different directions, setting off an underwater fireworks display. It is a remarkable experience; we putter around for ages, food forgotten.

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