| s/y Nine of Cups The Windward Islands - St. Vincent & the Grenadines 2002 |
| St. Vincent & The Grenadines Population: ~138,000 Area: 153 square miles including the island of St. Vincent and about 100 islands Capital: Kingstown Language: English Currency: EC$ Highest point: Mt. Soufriere (4,048 ft) Major industry: bananas Member of Eastern Caribbean States A volcanic eruption in 1979 destroyed a large amount of the banana crop and agricultural land. |
| The winds were with us now and each day is an invigorating sail to the next island or port. We left around 0600 for St. Vincent and arrived by 1300…quick 30 miles to our anchorage in Chateaubelair Harbor. An overnight stay only and we were sailing again by 0600 the next day…an easy 20 miles to the Admiralty Bay anchorage in Port Elizabeth, Bequia. |
| "Boat Boys”…not a derogatory term, but the name given to the young men who zoom (or paddle) out to your boat to greet you as you enter a new harbor. They offer to help you anchor or moor, show you around the island, do laundry, supply fresh fruit, veggies, bread or ice. Sometimes helpful, sometimes a nuisance, but ever-present in this part of the world. Business must be improving as the last time we were here (1997), most of them had makeshift wooden boats with oars and now they all seem to be equipped with new 25-40HP Yamaha engines and newly painted dories. |
| The view from our anchorage in Chateaubelair. Palm trees and lush foliage in so many shades and hues of green. |
| The Grenadines are a group of islands which are shared by St Vincent and Grenada. We cleared Customs for St. Vincent and the Grenadines in Port Elizabeth, Bequia (Beck-kway). Customs charges for a privately-owned 45’ yacht (charter boats pay more) and 2 people for 7 days: $70EC ($26 U.S.). A big hike from the $10EC/person we paid last time we were here. Bequia is small. Population is about 5,000 people. |
| Leaving Chateaubelair at dawn |
| View of the harbour entrance from shore in Port Elizabeth. |
| The colors are vivid and eye catching most anywhere in town. |
| The starboard wind generator needed repair, but in taking it apart a screw was stripped which David was unable to extract. Actually, he bought a tool to extract it and it also broke off. We found a place here in Bequia that could drill it out, then found that the screw was not a standard one and had to have a new one machined. A $25 screw which was really a bargain. (Remember that rule? Nothing’s ever easy on a boat!!). Though Bequia is pleasant, moving on is a priority right now. We had planned to put a couple of coats of varnish on the rails while we were here, but the wind has been so strong (20-25K) the varnish blew off the brush! (Not being able to varnish did NOT break my heart!) So we decided to stay for 2 days and leave for the next island in the Grenadines: Canouan… only 20 miles away. We’re up at 0545 for the weather and it’s not favorable. We decided to wait for another local report at 0830. Based on this weather report, (20-25K winds with higher gusts and rain) we stayed in Bequia for another day as the tropical wave passed through. And in the evening, we heard a hail on the VHF, a friend of ours, Mystic Adventure, was entering the bay. We stayed yet another day! |
| Admiralty Bay, Bequia |
| We ended up staying 4 days in Bequia (see why it takes so long to get anywhere!!!). Our friends had torn their genoa sail on a passage. We helped them, in a very stiff wind, to get it down and to the sail loft for repair. That major chore called for a breakfast ashore and a day of “catching up” and playing a new game for us, Rumicube. We were up at 0530 the next morning, helped them tie up to a mooring ball and get the repaired sail back on. No easy feat in the wind…David ripped off his big toenail (big ouch!) in the process. They sailed with us to Canouan and we shared dinner, but never went ashore. Next day they headed out to Grenada and we did a quick motor trip to Mayreau, only 5+ miles away. For insurance purposes, we are now legal! |
| Thatch huts line the shore at Saline Bay |
| Mayreau is an island of about 300 people. Lovely, friendly and absolutely beautiful. Above, Saline Bay Anchorage with Union Island in the background. |
| Rastafarian or Rasta is a cult that originated in Jamaica and is a Black back-to-Africa movement devoted to Ethiopia’s Haile Selassie (original name Ras Tafari). They espouse peace, love and ganja (marijuana) and are noted especially for their reggae music and dredlocks. This bar “Righteous and da Youths” belongs to Robert “Righteous” Lewis, a well-known Rastafarian. Robert is personable and outgoing and his bar is a hangout for cruisers and locals alike. |
| After 4 days aboard of tough varnish work and not going ashore, we were ready for some big excitement. So we motored to the other side of Union Island (5 miles) and the town of Clifton Harbor. This was a beautiful anchorage midst several reefs…the water ranging in color from black to turquoise to emerald green to nearly clear. Reading the water on such a sunny day was fairly easy and we managed to not only avoid the reefs but find a great sandy spot for anchoring. |
| The local beers |
| A cartoon on a local building...perhaps we tourists aren't always thought of in the highest regard. Irie (eye-ree) means no worries, no problems, chill out. |
| From Mayreau a quick motor trip to Union Island. We had planned to go to Clifton Harbour, a larger town with shops and restaurants, but a fast-moving tropical wave with predicted heavy rains and wind surges led us to Chatham Bay on the lee side of the island and much better protected. The bay was so pleasant and uncrowded, we stayed for 5 days and caught up on varnishing and boat chores. Fishing was good and our infamous hotdog bait snagged us 2 porgies during our stay. Salami bait snagged us 1 puffer…3 different times. |
Here’s Bob…a puffer fish...inedible. We
caught him 3 times in a row with our salami
bait… we think he was a mentally
challenged Italian fish!
caught him 3 times in a row with our salami
bait… we think he was a mentally
challenged Italian fish!
| View of Clifton Harbour, Union Island |
The dinghy dock at the yacht club. A very
friendly place…free dink tie-up, free garbage
disposal, book exchange. Life is good!
friendly place…free dink tie-up, free garbage
disposal, book exchange. Life is good!
| From Union Island to Carriacou (Carry-a-kou)…though part of the Grenadines and only 5 miles away, it belongs to Grenada. The sky is black with a squall is approaching. We can see the line of rain and it’s only a matter of time till we’re soaked, but it’s warm and the rainwater is refreshing. Rainfall is so heavy, we can’t see and have to use radar to pick out and avoid little Jack’a’Dan Island. It clears as we head into the anchorage. Up with the “Q” flag; we’ll clear into Customs later. Want to visit Carriacou and Grenada with us? Just click here. |
| A tiny nearby island had a thatch hut on it and you could dinghy or swim up and have a rum punch or even some chicken BBQ. |
| or you can jump ship and... |