13/2/11 Sunday
We were up early and left the anchorage about 7:00am. Once we rounded Pigeon Island the wind picked up and the Atlantic swell was rolling in. Skyelark showed the genius of Robert Ladd, the designer of the Skye 51, as she cut the water and tracked very well in these conditions. Once we were in the lee of Martinique the swells disappeared and we enjoyed a nice sail. A school of dolphins were spotted off our port side, they were jumping right out of the water and flipping in the air. We watched until they disappeared from sight. After we cleared the lee of the island the wind and swells came back even stronger than before, with two reefs in the main and a full jib we were still able to maintain 8+ knots. Kim has never been to Dominica and the view from the water is amazing, the rugged coast cover is made of cliffs that plunge into the sea. As we came into the anchorage, south of Roseau, we were greeted by a beautiful rainbow. It formed a full arc and the colors were very vivid, it was soon joined by a second one, though not quite as bright. Dan lassoed a mooring ball and soon Pancho stopped by to see if we were satisfied with the location, the mooring is only $10 US per night. We plan to stay here for two days before continuing down to Portsmouth for a day. Dominica is all about the rain forest and nature hikes; they have 365 rivers, one for each day of the year. We had dinner onboard, Em made some pasta bolognaise with lemon meringue pie for dessert. It was raining out so we stayed in the salon to have a few nightcaps. I went off to bed early, still in need of rest from our night out, I’m not as young as I used to be, and I wanted to be fresh for our hike tomorrow.

Greeted by a rainbow upon arrival in Dominica