We have fallen in love with St. Lucia! This island has all the right ingredients: several good protected anchorages, great music, colorful culture, hiking trails, rainforests, nice groceries, and not to mention, a few good surf spots. We sailed in just in time for the Carnival festivities and joined the party! St. Lucia is 27 miles long and 14 miles wide with about 160,000 people. Fought over by the French and British St. Lucia changed hands 14 times. So it is sometimes called the "Helen of the West" after the much fought over Helen of Troy! The island is an Independent Nation of the British Commonwealth but there are stong French undertones with the locals sometimes speaking a French Patois.