Saint Lucia's Premier Sailing School
&
Race Yacht Experience
Jan 2018 · 20. January 2018
I looked up to the top of our mast. It didn’t even reach up to the first spreader on the superyacht docked next to Papagayo. The boom was almost as big as our entire boat. I felt as if I was sitting on a toy boat. It was a late Saturday afternoon and we had decided to come down to Marigot Bay for the evening. A relaxing sail, a bite to eat, some rest and a sail back the following morning. The sail down was indeed relaxing, a comfortable beam reach along the coast of St Lucia as the sun was...
Jan 2018 · 01. January 2018
I had no idea where I was going to be heading into 2018. As per usual my friends and I had left it to the last minute to organise any festivities for the New Year celebration. Something would come up, after all this is St Lucia and there was always a party to be had somewhere. So at lunchtime on the 31st when it was mentioned that someone had met a young Russian skipper who was moored out in Rodney Bay on a luxurious 60 foot catamaran and he wanted some people to party with we felt it only...
2017 · 25. November 2017
There was a little less excitement as this year’s Mango Bowl regatta, but that’s not to say it wasn’t great fun. With no mid race collisions or man overboard the excitement was produced purely by sailing. It had been decided by the committee that Cruising One and Two would be combined to make the race more fun as the number of boats in each category was small. We would be up against yachts that we had seen at regattas but never raced against. The winds had been light leading up to the...
2017 · 19. November 2017
There is always an excuse for a party on St Lucia, and what better mix for a Sunday than a boat “race” and a few drinks to celebrate the start of the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC) 2017. With a crew of 8 we headed out of the marina in Rodney Bay and joined the other boats as we headed down to Castries. The trade winds have yet to kick in and we were a little worried there wouldn’t be enough wind to sail, but luckily we had a very pleasant 16 knot breeze to take us on a nice beam reach...
2017 · 08. April 2017
Day 1: Mount Gay Friendship Bay Race As we headed off from our mooring we were pleased to notice that the winds were a little less than they had been the year before. The seas had been a real challenge at last year’s regatta but hopefully they wouldn’t be so momentous this time around. The yachts from all classes gathered on the start line and Cruising Class 2 were the third class to go so we listened carefully for the warning siren and the count down, we didn’t want to be getting...
Nov 2016 · 20. November 2016
On the 20th November, a sunny Sunday, a flotilla of boats set sail from Castries Harbour in St Lucia to celebrate the beginning of the annual ARC Rally that each year travels across the Atlantic from the Canary Islands to St Lucia. To mark the occasion IGY Marina in Rodney Bay organised a flotilla for the local boats to mark the occasion. Of course more than one boat on the water immediately indicates a race so the sailing boats, ignoring the motor boats, set sail to race back to Rodney Bay....
21. February 2015
It was the 36th anniversary of St Lucian independence and to celebrate the St Lucian yacht club was holding it’s annual Round Island Race. We had not entered the previous year due to work commitments and by all accounts this was a good thing as there was a high drop out rate due to rough conditions and broken equipment. We motored out into Rodney Bay for the 9am start looking out for the other nine boats that had entered the race. There were a few around, hoisting their sails and a few we...
01. February 2014
Diamond Rock is an uninhabited island 3 kilometers from Pointe Diamant at the Southern end of Martinique, getting its name when, at certain times of the day the sun shines on the rock giving off reflections reminiscent of a precious stone. During the Napoleonic Wars the rock was taken over by the British and commissioned as a sloop under the name HMS Diamond Rock. The caves on the rock acted as sleeping quarters for the men and a hospital was also established at the base to put sailors who were...
24. November 2013
What a great way to spend a Sunday; a little rum punch, a group of friends, a nice breeze and a sail to celebrate the start of the 2013 ARC rally. The ARC rally consists of over 200 boats, leaving Las Palmas in the Canary Islands to sail across the Atlantic, arriving in Rodney BaySt Lucia sometime mid December. To coincide with the start of the rally a flotilla was held here in St Lucia.
24. January 2013
A Run In with US Immigration I should have read the signs. I didn’t spot them. Mistake number 1. On arriving in the American islands of Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands you are not allowed to dispose of any rubbish. It must be kept on board (even if it’s a plastic bottle or an empty tin can) and someone has to come out and collect it for a fee. This is for the protection of ???? species of plants and animals against disease. We paid a visit to the marina office so that we could check in and...
