It’s been another spectacular day on board Sea Cloud, and today we started out our morning with a fantastic sail as we made our way towards the island of St. Lucia. Early risers were able to catch the last glimpse of Martinique as we continued our course down south, and just before breakfast the crew went aloft to set the sails. With a nice, but rather light breeze, we were able to set almost all the sails on Sea Cloud, which made for perfect photography opportunities on the decks.
After a leisurely breakfast, Tom Heffernan gave his lecture on the origin of Caribbean languages. It was a fascinating account of how the Creole languages of the region were formed from their historical roots of Arawakan, African, and Indo European languages. After Tom’s talk, we were hoping for the opportunity to launch Zodiacs from the ship in an effort to cruise around and take photos of Sea Cloud under sail, but the winds were too strong (which made for great for sailing) and so we continued on towards our afternoon destination of St. Lucia.
During lunch, we anchored under the Pitons in the bay of Soufriere, which is one of the most beautiful anchorages in the Caribbean. After another delicious Sea Cloud meal, we disembarked on tenders for an afternoon tour of the island. Our first stop was the Soufriere volcano, where we saw the active boiling sulphuric fumaroles. Our skilled guides walked us through the fascinating account of the island’s history, beginning with its volcanic creation. Our next afternoon stop was the Diamond Falls Botanical Garden, which is home to a number of beautiful flower and bird species. We took a lovely stroll around the gardens, after which we returned to Sea Cloud in time for an evening presentation by the Mamay La Kay Folk Band on the lido deck. The dance festival was an absolute blast and the perfect way to conclude yet another great day on board Sea Cloud here in the Caribbean.
