Location: Soufriere, St Lucia
The day really began yesterday when watch teams 1 and 3 mustered on deck at 23:45, to slip the mooring and set sail for St Lucia. The passage was nice, a little swelly between Bequia and St Vincent, then a quiet motor in the lee of St Vincent. Upon reaching the northern tip of St Vincent watch team 2 put another reef in the main as we motored out into the channel, unfortunately the wind was from the north-east so it was a fairly upwind motor sail, but still enjoyable. At about 07:30 the crew was awakened for breakfast, enjoying a good bowl of cereal on deck as the creepy looking Pitons emerged from the hazy clouds. We picked up a mooring in the shadow of Petit Piton – which is still huge – and all enjoyed a swim in the crystal clear and deep water. At 09:00 we began BA, while Dan cleared us into customs, and I restocked with some fresh provisions. After lunch we meet James for our tour of the Soufriere area. Stopping off at the botanical gardens, the “drive in” volcano and then bathing in hot suphur spring pools and waterfalls. We were back on the boat for showers and dinner. After dinner we watched a movie on Soufriere and the SMMA (Soufriere Marine Management Area) in preparation for our Reef Check surveys tomorrow.