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At
04:25 Zulu, Bob Hall saw the first lights of Barbados. With the excitement
of reaching land after twenty days at sea it was not long before we
were all in the cockpit. After conferring with our boat buddies on
Que Sera-Sera and Prince Karl, we followed their advice and headed
for Port St. Charles to check in, rather than the capitol of Bridgetown.
We approached the fuel dock with caution for Charlie could only use
the starboard engine. He knew there was something wrapped on the port
prop, but in heavy seas there was no way he could go over the side
and check it out while we were underway. The wind was still blowing
hard but Charlie brought Sea Gem smoothly up to a well fendered, beautifully
maintained facility. We secured the lines at 06:45 and Bob went below
to fulfill his promise of cooking and serving a pancake breakfast.
The pancakes were delicious, with dried blueberries plumping up nicely
in the light fluffy batter.
We sat at the
fuel dock, delighted to be at rest and not at least in a hurry for
the customs officials to arrive. Wylie was most anxious, because his
wife, Rebekah, was waiting for him at a hotel on the other side of
the island. By 9:30 the officials arrived and gave us all the papers
to be filled in and our first great experience of Barbados began.
The three officials: from customs, immigration and health, were efficient,
neat, pleasant and did everything they could to make us feel welcome
and to make the check-in easy.
After the check-in,
and while waiting for fuel, Charlie went over the side to find out
what was on the prop. He discovered and untangled a huge heavy fishing
net and voila, no more vibration and the port engine is free at last.
After check-in through customs, immigration and health, Wylie left
to join Rebekah which left the four of us to go out to the anchorage
to join Que Sera-Sera and Prince Karl.
Our next step
was to start gathering laundry and go into town to find somewhere
that would do the washing for us. We found "Wishy-Wash"
and the delightful owner, her daughter and her other helpers did a
fine job of getting the Atlantic crossing accumulation of clothes,
sheets and towels clean and dry.
Charlie wanted
to celebrate our arrival by hosting a dinner for our crew and our
friends and he did so at the very upscale resort hotel of Port St.
Charles.
We had
a lovely dinner with Wylie and his wife joining us for a departure
dinner in a beautiful atmosphere. Don and Lois from Que Sera, Sera,
and Teva, Hinano, and Thomatoa, from Prince Karl joined us also. They
had arrived a full day before us so they were not quite as tired as
we were but we all headed out to the boats after dinner for a full
nights sleep with no watch keeping schedule to worry about.
The restaurants in Barbados are definitely upscale. We ate out several
places and Olive's was perhaps the most memorable of all, but each
was an excellent meal.
Another treat of being on shore is the opportunity to call home and
the availability of card phones in Barbados makes it easy.
The island of
Barbados captures the best of the Caribbean, the beauty, the weather
and the style of easy living that makes it a magnet for dreams. Somewhere
in the soul of the island dignity and a sense of pride has been infused
in the people which gives them an easy, friendly graciousness without
guile or suspicion of outsiders. We did not experience the first unpleasant
person on the island, only the charming politeness of people comfortable
with their own self assurance, who want to make visitors welcome and
at ease. This is somewhat of a miracle on an island where tourists
are the norm and thousands of visitor's parade through yearly.
Our Atlantic
crossing crew left, on their way home and back to their land-based
lives.
Stu and Julie Conway came aboard for a visit. Julie and Stu finished
their circumnavigation aboard their own boat, Stampede, and returned
to their home in New Jersey. It
doesn't take blue water sailors long to want to go to sea again so
they agreed to join us aboard in
the Caribbean.
We toured the island in the fine Barbados style vehicle that Stu had
rented and visited the best known of the Barbados natural attractions,
Harrison's Cave.
The trip through the cave is over a mile, but it does not seem so
long since it is done in a trolley.
We reluctantly
left Barbados bound for Carricou, our next stop in the liquid leisure
of the Caribbean. Until later, from Sea Gem, island hopping in the
wCaribbean.
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