The catamaran met us in port that morning and we got off the ship and stepped directly right onto the catamaran. Before other people had even figured out what they were going to do in port that day, we were off on our adventure.
We sailed out of the port of Castries south along the St Lucian shoreline. The weather that day toyed between mostly overcast to pockets of blue sky and sunshine, but none of us really cared. We were sailing in the Caribbean Sea on a beautiful catamaran towards the mighty Pitons and that’s really all that mattered in the world at that point. We were with friends Tom and Shannon and Shannon’s sister Casey and her husband Nick.
It took awhile to sail down the coast to the Pitons, but we finally got there and the skipper anchored us and the four of them jumped in the water and swam the 30 yards to shore so they could walk on the beach between the Pitons named Jalousie Beach. All Tom talked about for months and months was making it to that beach and he was finally there. My wife and I sat out on the bow of the catamaran in the netting and took in the view. Next to us there was a snorkeling area and thinking back, I should have jumped in and checked it out. The depth finder on the cat said the water was 70+ feet deep right below us so I think that’s why we didn’t go in. I guess in our minds we wondered what was down there swimming around.
After the four of them got back from the beach, we sailed back up the coast to Marigot Bay. As we left the little bay between the Pitons I watched the depth finder as the water got deeper and deeper. Like Tom and his Jalousie Beach, Marigot Bay is the spot that I most wanted to visit. It’s always looked so nice in the photos that it made me want to see it in real life.
It was a fun ride up the coast as we hit wave after wave and the bow of the catamaran rose and lowered with the sea. By this time everyone had started to feel their drinks. We had our choice of Piton Beer or rum punch the entire time we were on the cat. It was fun bouncing through the waves. We had taken some Bonin before leaving for the day so the rough water didn’t affect us a bit.
Eventually we made it into Marigot Bay which is a nicely protected cove along the shore. The water was extremely calm once inside the bay. We anchored and they ferried us over to the restaurant on a little inflatable dingy. The restaurant’s name was Chateau Mygo. We sat outside waterside and the food was absolutely great. I had some sort of Mahi with rice, noodles, and fries. I could have eaten three plates it was so good.
After lunch there was just enough time to wander down this nice little path behind the restaurant to the small little town along the shore. We shopped a bit and picked up a few t-shirts. There were a number of boats along the dock and for those in the know, there is a Moorings office right there mixed between the shops and they had some really nice charter rentals docked alongside there as well.
Time flew and it wasn’t long and we had to get back to the catamaran. Before we knew it we were sailing out of the bay and back out into the sea to once again bounce along the waves. Tom and Casey were up front yelling and carrying on as they enjoyed the waves. It’s amazing nobody went overboard along the way.
We arrived back into the Port of Castries just in time to get back on the ship and start getting ready for dinner. Next time back, we’ll do a land tour and see more of the island, but we’ll never regret the decision to charter the catamaran for that day. It was an amazing experience all the way around.
Sailing away from the Pitons, from left to right; Tom, Shannon, Casey, Nick, Bob and Pavia.
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