Up The West Coast: January 2004
The great thing about sailing is the social life. Many an evening has been spent propping up the bar, drinking rum and chatting to locals and yachties alike.
Edward and I met Alan and Bev whilst doing exactly that in Marigot Bay. This is where Admiral Rodney hid from the French, using coconut fronds to disguise the tops of the masts from the passing enemy. We didn’t make any enemies whilst we were there but we did bump into a fantastic couple, Alan and Bev, who where on a make-it-up-as-you-go-along world cruise.
Having met whilst working for Microsoft Alan and Bev decided to jack everything in and purchase the fantastically-named catamaran “Bagpuss” in order to set sail and head off into the sunset (the cat is a Fontaine Pajot Belize 43). What makes their story so inspirational is that they don’t really know where they are heading next. When I spoke to them about their future plans they told me they ranged from going through the Panama Canal to the Pacific, sailing up the coast of America, or possibly even head south towards Venezuela!
Now those are the kind of options I want in life! Father Ted and I decided to jump on Bagpuss and head up the coast to Rodney Bay, which is where the ARC entrants arrive when they cross the Atlantic from Gran Caneria. It was only a short motor up the coast but Bagpuss gave us a chance to take in the west coast of St Lucia in the blazing sun. If I’m brutally honest the real reason for sailing on this vessel was so I could say I’ve sailed Bagpuss, my childhood hero!
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