Monday morning we left Saltwhistle Bay for Saline Bay, Mayreau, motoring the three miles down the coast. We picked a spot to anchor but felt exposed so picked up and re-anchored closer to the beach to get some shelter. We were bemused to see a gang of five French Canadian boats – they have been cruising in company since Bequia and we keep running into them. They are constantly zooming backwards and forwards to each others’ boats and drive us crazy and they don’t seem to appreciate other boats in ‘their’ anchorage either!

We tied up on the dinghy dock and wandered through some waste land to reach the road up to the village. There are only around 350 people living on this tiny island and they all live here, up a very steep hill which is more suited to mountain goats than people. We wandered up, very slowly, and found a very welcoming open-sided cafe for a tasty salad lunch. After lunch we carried on walking up towards the church but the hill was brutal in the heat and humidity so we stopped off at Righteous Robert’s bar. Although it was only early afternoon, Robert seemed half cut already. And it wasn’t weed as this was the first Rastafarian we have met who smoked cigarettes out of a packet! We bought him a beer over a chat and before we knew it he was on the microphone rapping at full blast about his daughter’s birthday…. We couldn’t understand a word but it was highly amusing.

Walking back down the hill we stopped off at the supermarket for a couple of things and came across some local art on the side of a building. Hmmmmm…. maybe this place is not as welcoming as it would appear on the surface???? We had a quiet night back on board and decided to move on in the morning as we weren’t really enamoured with the place.

Tuesday morning we had a leisurely five mile downwind sail to Chatham Bay, Union Island. When we arrived a large two-masted schooner – which is one of the smallest of the Windjammer fleet – was the only boat there. So we had lots of anchoring space and we settled nicely into a patch of sand in about 15 feet of water.

This long sandy bay is picturesque with mountainous terrain and a nice beach with numerous local bars and restaurants set up along it – plus one resort-type place. A couple of local boats came out to tell us of their offerings – from the only two places who were still open this late in the season. We went ashore to Bollheads and had a couple of local beers with the owner Tony, who models himself on Kojak but without the lollipops!!!! He even gave me the ‘who loves you baby’ line…. We put our fresh bread, fruit and veg order in for the morning and then excused ourselves as we headed over to Aqua, tempted by the promise of an infinity pool and the only wifi in the bay. Arrived at Aqua, got logged on and had a bottle in hand, and they turned the wifi off. Grrrrr…..  Will be back on in 30 mins apparently… We were also disappointed that the pool – lovely setting etc – was filthy…. so not planning on getting in that! We had a bite to eat – expensive and ordinary – and waited for the wifi to come back on, feeling like we had been suckered in. Eventually it came back on, so we had another beer, caught up with emails and then called it a day. We got over our frustrations and actually thought the place was pretty nice with lovely surroundings and seating. Great place for sundowners…. Went back on board for a quiet night and turned in pretty early. My back was also starting to play up again….ouch….

During the night it poured with rain and the wind howled at over 30 knots and we did a 180 degree turn on our anchor a few times…. So not a particularly restful night!   Wednesday morning I was feeling pretty rough….and still in pain. So I stayed in bed with the aid of some serious prescription drugs until mid-afternoon while Richard did (pink!) boat cleaning jobs;  tried to find an in-line fuse for the starter battery as we think it has failed (although not an issue as we can parallel with the house batteries to start the engine); and went ashore without me to do emails and some research on our charging problem.  In the late afternoon – feeling much better having rested up – we both went ashore to Bollhead and had the local BBQ mixed platter offering – beautiful fresh snapper, pork and chicken along with salad, fried plantain and rice. Had a really nice meal…. and as we were finishing up we were joined by Suzie from Spirited Lady and her current crew member Rich. We had last seen Suzie in Dominica… and she lives full-time with her two gorgeous boat dogs on a beautiful classic 60 foot sloop which was built in Ipswich. Nice to catch up again and we ended up having a relatively late night. When we returned to Morphie we realised that the catamaran anchored in front of us has dragged and was now behind us – phew, at least he didn’t hit us. They were up and about on deck so clearly they knew what had happened. They were not a danger to us at this point so we went to bed.

Thursday morning it is raining again and the wind is playing up – we are constantly doing circles around and over our anchor. We have snorkelled it and all is well. But the catamaran that re-anchored after dragging the night before was again way too close. So annoying! Whilst we were out snorkelling our own anchor we checked theirs and realised that they have very little chain out – maybe 50 feet…and no room to drop more without hitting us. Hmmmmmmm……

We continued our snorkel across to the shoreline and the rocks – and at first we thought we were seeing things as it appeared that the seabed was moving! It wasn’t – just an optical illusion – as the weed was moving with the movement of the tide like a green bobbly shag-pile carpet going in and out. Took a bit of getting used to… Water was a bit murky but full of critters. We saw some squid swimming in formation, a lovely large colourful trigger and the usual range of reef fish. On the way back we visited the fish net trap that had been set earlier today and were amazed by the sheer quantity of small fish inside of it – thought of Nemo and was tempted to let them loose…but of course I didn’t. The pelicans also turned up to watch this spectacle as they are sitting on top of the net trying to work out how to get at them!!! Large predators were also circling below the net of fish – and the fishermen turned up to get them too….

Back on board and Morphie is dancing all over again and the wind and rain are coming at us horizontally….. The catamaran is dangerously close now so, in the middle of a rainstorm, we picked up our anchor and reset. Got a good set although pretty damp in the process and now just sitting it out…. We eventually got fed up of being held captive by the rain we put on our jackets and went ashore to Bollheads to have a drink and to wish the gang farewell, as we are leaving for Clifton tomorrow.

While we were in the bar listening to tunes and debating deep subjects such as the rise of Nelson Mandela and what did we think of Michael Jackson……. four Sunsail charter boats came in and a couple of other cruisers. And guess what – Morphie is definitely a boat magnet – we had one a bit too close again. But not close enough that we had to ask them to move…… We went back on board after a really nice afternoon to have a simple dinner.

At around 10 I bailed out and went to bed leaving Richard in the cockpit listening to tunes and sipping coconut rum. I always tell Richard not to go for a wee over the side when I’m not around as if he fell in I would not know anything about it until I woke up and found him missing….. but, as is often the way, he ignored me! This evening it proved to be an important decision as, about 11.30 pm, Richard is shaking me to wake me up – the cruiser in front of us has dragged alongside and he only spotted it in the dark because of what he was up to! Richard has been flashing our torch at them but they have failed to wake – so it is time for the air horn. Wow that thing is loud – but it had the desired effect of waking them up along with the rest of the anchorage! They quickly move to re-anchor – in the dark and the rain – and we settle down again. Of course, we are dancing around our anchor too and actually did 360 degrees at one point. Luckily we can tell from our anchor alarm that we are not dragging!

Friday morning, went to pick up our anchor and to our horror the windlass isn’t working now. Grrrrrrr…. so we have to parallel the batteries again to get our engine working, and then pull up the 100+ foot of chain by hand. We manage this and start going around the headland – oh yes, did I say it was raining again???? – into a steep sea and we then noticed that our rev counter has failed. This is not great news…. Obviously these things are all linked – so we motor around in horrible conditions to Clifton as we know there are technical guys there. Picked up a mooring – which is ill-advised as they can be very unreliable and we are going to be between two shallow reefs – but luckily Tiger (our boat boy) has strong moorings and we know that because we snorkelled it before parting with any money!!! He went off to get us some assistance and came back with a couple of electricians including the senior maintenance guy from the Moorings workshop. Without our anchor windless working and reliant on house batteries to start the engine battery we feel a bit vulnerable so hope to get this fixed whilst we are here…… 

After a few hours they went off having identified (and fixed) a loose and corroded neutral wire to the alternator and that the solenoid was not closing and making the circuit….  They are planning to come back on Monday to do further investigations.  Feeling pretty fed up in the wind and the rain and the prospect of being stuck here for longer than we had planned so headed off to visit Jonti on his famous Happy Island. As we arrived the rain stopped, at last…. Jonti reclaimed conch shells from local fisherman and built a small bar on the reef in the early 2000s – it is now a restaurant / bar and his home combined using solar and wind power only. A really nice oasis. Had a chilled evening and got chatting to the cruising family from Evenstar. Had wonderful food and came back on board relatively early but in a much better mood than when we had left!! But another dampener on the day was to find out that Tony from Bollheads had been mugged the night before for all his takings…… A real shame as this guy works really hard to make a living.

Saturday morning we woke up early and checked the batteries – the engine battery has definitely got more life in it than before…. so fingers crossed that it is now receiving a proper charge. And the sun was shining….. Hurrah!!!    Went ashore to top up our provisions and to get some drinking vouchers out of the ATM.   Then back onboard to get on with some boat jobs.   BJ from Evenstar came over in the afternoon with some diagnostic tools as he has a similar set up as ours…..   And, fantastic, the engine battery is being charged;  the battery is holding it’s charge;  the windlass is working again and we have our rev counter back!   Bit annoyed though that, contrary to the Island Packet owner’s manual, they had wired our windless to the engine battery not the house battery bank……That aside – PHEW is the word!   Very happy and grateful for his help….   So to celebrate we went back with the crew from Evenstar to Happy Island for beers on us in the evening!   Lovely time had by all.

We plan to leave Union on Monday now to continue our journey south towards Grenada….but will keep you posted.    Bye for now….

 Jan

Wednesday morning we had a leisurely start as the Tobago Cays are not very far away from Canouan. We set sail around 10 am and had a great fast downwind run towards Mayreau…. passing the Baline Rocks to port. We then turned into the channel for the Tobago Cays – taking care to avoid One Fathom Shoal on the way – with the aim of going through the cut between Petit Rameau and Petit Bateau towards Baradel, which is a turtle conservation area. We went slowly and cautiously, dousing our sails in good time, and worked our way between the reefs towards the cut – which wasn’t actually that obvious because a great big catamaran was anchored in the middle of the narrow channel!!! Really????   Eventually we worked it out and went through, rounded into the channel behind and picked up a mooring ball off the edge of the turtle area. We decided to pick up a ball here as it meant that we could be really close in and just snorkel off of the boat. Anyway…by around noon…we were settled, had paid our marine park fees, and were feeling pretty pleased with ourselves having done this passage with no worries or stresses….. But we were not as impressed as we had expected to be by the area – the sky was grey, the clouds were heavy, and so the water was not sparkling in the way we remembered it from our visit here back in the early 2000s… It was pretty cool though to be anchored opposite Petit Tabac which was where the Pirates of the Caribbean desert island scenes were filmed…..but it is the other side of the amazing horseshoe reef.

We really wanted to snorkel with turtles, so we got in the water and went into the zoned off area – immediately we came across two green turtles, both of whom were wearing tags…. The larger of the two was completely aware of us but not bothered – he even came up to surface for air alongside us. Pretty amazing…. But that was it – the water was murky although not very deep at around 6 feet – and after about an hour we came back to the boat. Bit disappointed really. In the meantime my repaired mask – rubbish for diving but thought would be OK for snorkelling – fell apart again…. So it is definitely kaput now. I will have to try contact lenses and a normal mask until I can get a replacement…. During the afternoon we were visited by numerous boat boys and ordered some fresh bread to be delivered tomorrow morning by MandyMan… Had a relaxing time on board and an early night.

Thursday morning up early, had our bread delivery and organised to go ashore for a beach BBQ dinner in the evening, and headed out to explore by dink. Still a bit grey and misty out – but at least we could see the beauty of the water. We dragged dink ashore on the beach of Petit Rameau and went snorkelling around the headland…. The contact lenses worked well although the mask did fog a bit – but toothpaste will fix that – but I did managed to step back onto a sea urchin and get a spine embedded into the bottom of my foot. Ouch…really hurt…. So back on board and Richard performed surgery to remove it (being told to chew on a towel was really helpful!)….and it eventually came out – just hoping for no ill effects as these are toxic….  Anyway, to cheer ourselves up we went around the cut to a little beach where the BBQ was going to be held in the evening and bought a couple of beers off the local lady from a cooler. While we were there for an hour or so, the guy who runs the BBQ reminded us to bring our own drinks and cutlery in the evening. Good job he told us as MandyMan had failed to mention that bit! 

At 6pm MandyMan came by to pick us up and we went ashore. No one else there….. Oh dear, looks like we are having a party for two…. Sat down at our allocated table, cracked open a couple out of our cool bag, and put our little Bluetooth speaker to work with some good old reggae tunes…. Fantastic sunset – great local fish with an array of sides, loads of it too, although the birds sweeping down to nick the rice was a bit tiresome at times! Had a really nice chilled few hours off the boat and back on board by 8pm.

Friday morning had a lazy start and we were delighted that the sun was out, the sky was blue and the sea was beautiful with the full range of colours that you could imagine. This is how we remembered it!    Hurrah….  Quickly into the water – no fogging of the mask this time for me – and we came across turtles before we had even cleared the bow of Morphie. We just kept running into them….we estimated about 30 in total today….and at one point we had six swimming / eating and breathing around us. Amazing sight….. To cap it all we saw a very large southern stingray and an amazing up-close encounter with an eagle ray in about 4 feet of water. Oh yes…don’t forget the dinner plate sized starfish that are everywhere; the conch creeping along on the bottom in his shell; and the little flat fish being chased around by others…. Fantastic snorkel. Just what we had hoped for…. Back on board for breakfast – and we spent a few hours relaxing whilst making water and topping up our tanks. Oh yes, the people on the catamaran next to us started drinking early – before you knew it they were dancing on the roof whooping and hollering … which was a bit uncharacteristic as they were French! This noisy behaviour also inspired the Italians the other side of us to retaliate by playing music very loud…. Richard was tempted to whack on his Larry Miller at maximum decibels but thought better of it and I talked him out of mooning at them as well!

So we left them all to it and went out again in dink to the solitude of horseshoe reef. Along the inside of the reef they had put a few mooring balls to tie up to – so we tied up dink and did a backroll off the side. Straight into a really really strong current which we had to fight against – this was definitely advanced snorkelling and not for the faint hearted! But the hard work paid off as we approached the reef and came across bigger specimens – including beautiful triggers and parrots and another huge stingray who came really close having a good old look. Loads of the usual reef fish around although the coral wasn’t in great shape having been storm damaged. My favourites the puffers and trunk fish were out and about along with a few others we haven’t identified yet…. Oh yes, and a lobster feeling pretty safe as the lobster season doesn’t start again until the 1 September! After a while we were pretty tired swimming against the current all the time so ended up drifting back to the dinghy really quickly….. Back on board about 4pm and all is quiet on the French boat – we think they peaked too early! The Italians have gone ashore to do some parasailing…. Has just been a truly fantastic day… OMG – the Italian has crashed into the side of the island and became suspended up the rocks….. After quite a while they got him down and he has got back on board without any visible injuries…. Phew!  Had a quiet night on board again enjoying our last night here.

Saturday morning we had a leisurely start and went back through the cut to leave the Tobago Cays behind. The sun is up and the sky is blue – happy days! And the sand banks, the reefs and the shallows show up much more vividly than they did on the way in – luckily we know the way this time…. After a short downwind sail of three miles around the corner and we pulled into Saltwhistle Bay, Mayreau. Wow – what a place. Managed to get ourselves a good spot in 10 feet of water and Richard went snorkelling. On the way back to Morphie having confirmed our anchor was well set he diverted because he saw something on the bottom….so he dived down and came up with a €100 note! The luck of the Irish eh???

Went ashore to explore – had a cold one in the local Rastafarian bar but didn’t feel welcomed at all, so moved on quickly. We bought a teeshirt for Richard and a beach throw for me from the lady who has her wares set up along the beach – and wandered on down this beautiful bay marvelling at the colour and clarity of the water, accompanied by local dogs who were all pretty friendly. Ended up at the Saltwhistle Bay bar and restaurant at the end of the beach and which is all built out of stone with thatched roofs. Amazing place – and looked like something out of a film set! Had a mediocre but relatively expensive lunch although the surroundings more than made up for it to be fair….. and the service was warm and welcoming. Whilst we were there some kids off one of the charter boats went coconut rustling up the smaller palm trees that fringe the beach. Back on board later in the afternoon where we enjoyed bobbing with style in our chairs off the back of Morphie. We didn’t fancy any dinner so we had an early night after watching another stunning sunset.

Sunday morning was another beautiful sunny start and we took our floatie chairs ashore and anchored them in the surf so went bobbing off the beach in them, which was a first. Also bobbed with soda water not beer!!!! Then rain stopped play – the heavens opened – so we raced back to the boat and spent the rest of the afternoon evening reading, chatting and chilling. Re-anchored nearer the beach in between rain showers as the night before was really really rolly…..    Early night tonight.

This morning we had a leisurely start and made our way the three miles down the coast of Mayreau to Saline Bay……

 Bye for now

Jan

After relaxing on the beach on Sunday at the Tamarind Beach Hotel we headed back on board for a quiet evening. Just as we got back the heavens opened….phew, glad we didn’t get caught out in the dinghy in that! Sunset was really moody as a result and we turned in early.

Monday morning we explored Charlestown. We wandered around and came across a cute little local bar on the beach – although it wasn’t open – and did some shopping Canouan style at a stall set up by the side of the road. We also found a small supermarket where we stocked up on some snacks….local peanuts are really cheap and good!  But we are really missing our daily fruit and bread delivery to the boat which we got in Bequia. Oh well…  We were surprised by the amount of building materials just lying around – the goats clearly liked them as places to hang out – and that they recycled old shipping containers into so many things. We actually went into a local restaurant made out of one for a soft drink while waiting for another rain shower to pass…. Of all the buildings, the police station was the most impressive with its grand facade.  

Whilst we were out and about we came across a cute puppy who Richard really wanted to adopt as he looked like he needed a good home and had boat puppy potential – but we resisted the temptation.  We also bumped into cruisers who were on the catamaran anchored in front of us – and they had a phone stolen from their boat Sunday night. We weren’t surprised at this news particularly when we found out that they sleep with their doors open….it may be hot here but we lock ourselves in at night because we knew that these islands have this reputation. Shame to hear it though – this place is really friendly and chilled –but you always get a few bad uns…

Having explored, and returned to Morphie to stow our acquisitions, we went back to the beach at the hotel for the afternoon. On Sunday it was busy – today it was empty. Just us and a barman…. So we chilled, relaxed, bobbed and chatted to Pete about life on Canouan. Around 4pm the heavens opened again and we ended up staying in the beach bar for a bit longer than intended while we sat it out…. About 6pm we went back on board for dinner – no sunset tonight in the gloom.

Tuesday morning we headed into the hotel reception as we wanted to visit the other end of the island where there is another resort, golf course and private villas…which is a gated community. Well – it is closed because of the massive construction work going on – so not able to go there officially.  However, they were happy to organise an island tour for us by taxi at a reasonable price of US$20 each – and, because it was in a company vehicle, we could drive around the gated bit providing we kept away from the construction areas. Well – this place is amazing. Truly a millionaire’s paradise and the photos really do not do it justice.

Having left the gated area behind us we enjoyed the views as we drove along the hill tops and eventually down to the other end of the island, where the airport stands on reclaimed land.  The reefs surrounding this island are amazing and the colour of the water has to be seen to be believed…..  We went into Friendship Bay and had a coke at the beachfront bar / restaurant while looking out towards the Tobago Cays. They had a great sign up on the wall which Richard really liked…  In this area they are reclaiming more land and building a huge marina – not sure when it will be finished but it is going to be some place.

On the way back to the hotel we asked our driver what he thought about half of the island being gated – and the view is mixed apparently, but the majority agree that it is a really good thing as it brings so much employment to the island. And, indeed, the affluence of the locals can be seen in the housing which is pretty sturdy looking and they all have mains electricity – no real shacks here. Having been out for a while we decide to return to the beach for our final afternoon and Richard treated me to lunch as I’ve been cooking a lot recently! So that was nice – and again we had the beach to ourselves. Not sure how we are going to cope when we come across other people in future destinations!!! 

Back on board now and getting ready to depart tomorrow for the Tobago Cays. This is probably the most challenging trip in terms of navigation so far. We are hoping to be able to anchor behind the horseshoe reef for a couple of days and get in loads of snorkelling. I’m particularly keen to get in the water with the turtles I hear are found here in great numbers – Richard was luckily enough to come across one when snorkelling the anchor the other day. Whilst we are in this area internet coverage will be zero – so will be in touch with a blog update when I get connected again. 

Bye for now

Jan

Wednesday night we had a quiet night on board having caught up with internet stuff over sundowners at the Fig Tree and saying our goodbyes.   I decided to celebrate our last night in Bequia by cooking a couple of sirloin steaks that we had purchased in St Lucia.  So salad was prepared and the defrosted steak went on the grill.  Well…they were as tough as old boots…and one of them definitely had a weird sweet flavour. We had to wonder whether the horsemeat scandal at home had reached the Caribbean?????    Really disappointing end to our last evening….and so early to bed.

Thursday morning we were up bright and early raring to go….and set sail about 9.30 am. Destination Mustique.  We were really excited about going there……not only it is time to mingle with the rich and famous….but we also never expected to be able to set foot on this private island which does not allow day trippers but does welcome visiting yachts….  The forecast was for 23-25 knots of wind with a 10 foot sea – so we headed out of Admiralty Bay and hoisted sail.  Luckily it was only cloudy rather than raining. The first part of the trip was downwind and, as we neared the bottom of Bequia to change direction, we saw this ship really close to the gap in the rocks. In the challenging sea conditions we thought that was a little foolhardy….and then realised that it certainly was, he was hard aground!!! 

Learning from his experience, we decided to abandon our idea to cut through between two small islands to get to Mustique, which would have given us a better sailing angle to our destination, and instead continued out to sea to keep away from the very strong currents that were running….. After 20 miles we arrived in Britannia Bay having glimpsed beaches and absolutely massive houses all over the cliff tops from afar…. Some were impressively landscaped into the hillside – others stood proud like huge structures that just had to be noticed!

Having picked up the mooring ball – compulsory here as the reef is protected – we quickly got ready to go ashore. We paid our mooring ball fee – equivalent to £50 for one night, but you get two nights free!  Bargain….  But according to the guide, it is a very rolly anchorage, and most people head off after one night.  Hopefully that’s not going to be the case as we’d like to stay here for a little while and explore.  The water here is a spectacular pale blue colour and we can even see the shadow of dink on the bottom through the sea…. amazing!  

We tidied ourselves up and went ashore to Basil’s bar – which we had identified from the sea as we came in – and were less than impressed by the back view from the road!   But were amused by the seagulls sitting in a line on the sea wall…

From the main road, however, it is much more attractive and we went in eagerly to see what all the fuss was about.    Hmmmmm…….. beer’s expensive…. service good….. no other guests….and certainly no celebrities.  Although we did find out that Bryan Adams was on island at the moment. Oh well – maybe tomorrow will be different?  Not an impressive place at all inside…..pretty shabby without the chic and the wood could definitely do with some tender loving care…. but it is about to be closed for renovations, so perhaps we didn’t see it in its best light?  Anyway enjoyed the nice sunset and had an early night…..and yes, it was rolly!

Friday morning we went off exploring the main little strip here – came across a wonderful bakery and small food stores. Also went browsing in the boutiques but the prices were a bit rich for us!  Enjoyed wondering around and decided to head off to the beach which runs along the length of Britannia Bay. The walk to the beach was impressive with all public areas nicely manicured – but the beach was not what we expected….  It was very wild and beautiful with sea grass, reef up to the water’s edge, with loads of conch shells and broken coral lying around – along with quite a few lizards too. But although stunning it was not really a bathing, swimming or bobbing beach which is what we were after really…  But the walk certainly did us good!

So we headed back towards the dinghy dock.   We had wanted to hire a ‘mini moke’ to have a look at the island – but apparently they are not available for rent this time of year….   But we did find a taxi so we hired him to take us over to The Cotton House, a very exclusive resort.  All beaches are public, so didn’t anticipate any problems with camping on theirs, but we were very surprised when one of the staff offered us two beds, complete with luxurious coverings and towels, all for a small tip….and he gave us waiter service for drinks on the beach too!!!  The hotel is a bit outside of our price range with low season running at US $1200 for a one-bedroom suite per night!!!   But we certainly enjoyed ourselves – a real treat!   The beach itself was quite small and rocky – but we managed some bobbing, sunbathing and generally we just soaked up the atmosphere… Went back to Basils for sundowners – some more guests – but still no ‘faces’ and a quiet night on board illuminated by a brilliant moon.

Saturday morning we did an island tour – well, I say a tour, but it only lasted 45 minutes! Most of the island is broken into large swathes of land which is heavily, and beautifully, landscaped and you get a glimpse now and then of an amazing mansion behind the hedges and the walls. Also from a distance we were shown Mick Jagger’s and Bryan Adam’s houses nestling on the beach….

While we were being driven around, we found out a bit about how Mustique works.   The island was purchased in 1958 by Colin Tennant for US $67,500 – and apart from the parcels he gave away including one to Princess Margaret – he ran the island until he sold it to The Mustique Company in 1976.  In the contract, it ensures that the locals who are born on the island are looked after. They have a primary school on island and they go to St Vincent for secondary education, paid for by the company.  All properties – other than those privately owned by rich individuals –belong to the company and the locals live rent and utility bill free, buying just their food. Some locals have built their own properties on parcels of company land (with permission of course!) – but are not able to sell them outside of the local community.  Locals are guaranteed jobs when they leave school but we are not sure how they allocate them….    All private property owners are allocated maids, gardeners etc etc in accordance with the size of the property – and the company provides them. Assumingly for a very large fat annual fee – we did hear gossip of £1.2mn to maintain a property here, but that is just hearsay. To ensure privacy and security the company also vet all visitors – apart from yachties! – and locals have to get their relatives etc onto a list by security before they will be able to purchase a ferry ticket. No entry on list, no ticket. Locals are not allowed to just visit Mustique without a connection or a reason….. Pretty exclusive place hey???? Not sure why they let us in!!!!!  Anyway, Colin Tennant is remembered by a really good statue in his honour erected by his friends. Another statue we came across is one donated by a couple of residents – which is of two tortoises having fun….  Why tortoises?  Well, they live here in the wild and can be seen wandering along the side of the road.

In the afternoon we went to Macaroni beach on the Atlantic side of the island and took a cooler with us….. Taking up residence in one of the cabanas we had a great afternoon jumping huge surf and watching some smart land crabs dig their holes in the sand….

Last chance to spot some celebs as we are heading out in the morning – so back for final sundowners in Basils.  Great sunset but no rich and famous….oh well, maybe we’ll have to return in the future at a busier time of the season!    Another sunset then early to bed and another rolly night…..

Had a great time in Mustique but time to move on….    So we headed out early Sunday morning and had a fantastic 15 mile downwind sail to Canouan, which is in the heart of the Grenadines….   We are anchored in Charlestown Bay and plan to explore later….for now we are just ashore enjoying the beach bar at the Tamarind Beach Hotel…. 

Bye for now

Jan

Friday morning we go into customs and immigration to extend our original visas, which expire on 1 June. These covers all the islands in the St Vincent and the Grenadines chain as we continue to move south so will relieve us (thankfully!) of having to do any more paperwork until we leave for Grenadian waters towards the middle of June. Unexpectedly the answer is “no, can’t do it…you are too early”. I explain that we are planning to leave Bequia before the original one expires so she says – fine, organise the extension at the next island! I explain (through gritted teeth) that we do not want to surrender our passports at a future island as we don’t know whether we want to stay for three days in any of them yet! But we do know we will be staying here in Bequia to get our work finished……which is why I’m trying to organise it now. Finally, she decides that she can do it next week so we have to take them back on Tuesday. Oh well – best we could hope for I guess!

Back on board after a frustrating morning and Winfield is now doing the final coat of varnish….. Sitting in the cockpit feeling really good that all is finished – and we are celebrating with Winfield when, of course, the heavens open. Can’t quite believe it….but we are hopeful that the varnish was dry enough not to be ruined…will have to wait until Saturday to find out. So we had all flexible body parts crossed for good news!

Friday night we headed off to Fish Friday at the Fig Tree again with live music – and Chris had some others to jam with him this week – and all the staff were in party mood. Great night had by all.

Saturday morning and Alex came by to make the template for the canvas work and Winfield came to inspect the varnish. Phew – got away with it – a few bits and bobs to touch up but finally we’re survived the soggy weather! He is going to come back on Monday to start taking the masking tape off once the varnish has hardened and to reinstall all the stainless so we have a quiet day on board with just the two of us. And of course the wind howled and the heavens opened again after another beautiful sunset and the appearance of a supermoon. Early night and went to sleep listening to the sound of the rain pounding on the coachroof above us…

Sunday morning it was still raining cats and dogs and we had a white out in the anchorage for a while…. We did a few boat jobs and, finally, in the afternoon the sun came out and we quickly went ashore to spend the rest of the day chilling and bobbing at Princess Margaret beach. We had another quiet night on board whilst enjoying a particularly spectacular sunset.

Monday morning Alex came by to deliver the cover for our newly varnished cockpit table and to check out the new panels he has made … all from the old material and zips we had salvaged from our original bimini. He had to take away our dodger and the infill piece to get the connections done and we watched the grey skies anxiously thinking we are doomed to stay below in the heat if the rain comes again as we have no protection. Luckily it stayed dry – albeit overcast – and they brought it all back at 6.30 pm as they didn’t want us without it overnight. Really great service….. Winfield came back in the afternoon to start removing the tape which went well. We pointed out some things we wanted him to look at that had got affected by the rain….and he is going to do a bit of touching up later. As we had spent the whole day on board we were keen to get off the boat and catch up with the internet – so went ashore for a simple local dinner at the Fig Tree. Overnight it poured again….. Please give us a break – this is getting us down now… It is so humid and I’m fed up with being so hot (not to mention sweaty!) all the time……and with all the hatches closed the cabin fans really aren’t enough…. Whinge over!

Tuesday morning still soggy after a rainy night but at least it was clearing up a bit – and Alex was back to install the final touches to the additional canvas as well as delivering our brand new binnacle cover… Nice work! We went ashore for some shopping as we need to have provisions on board to sustain us until we get to Grenada….and dropped the forms and passports off and told to return on Wednesday… What? Thought it took three days… Oh well, not going to complain if they can turn it around in 24 hours! On the way out we noticed that the beautiful tree outside the customs office – is it a walnut or an almond tree?? – has blossomed and looks stunning. Let’s hope it is a good omen!

Winfield came by in the afternoon and did some final touching up and re-installed all the stainless…. He is such a perfectionist though he is going to come back tomorrow just to redo the top of the companionway as he isn’t happy with it!   Absolutely stunning transformation.

In the evening we had been invited by Chris and Linda to have a pizza supper with them. We were joined by another cruising couple that we met on the dinghy dock and a nice time was had by all. You can tell we are turning into cruisers – Richard asked for a takeout of the leftovers – not something he would ever have done before!!! But it was great pizza…. The rain fell heavily again while we were out so back on board for an early night with a very wet bum from the dinghy ride home….

This morning (Wednesday) it is very very windy and overcast again….with rain coming and going. We went back into the customs house to get a progress report and, wow, job done and visas extended to 1 July – all for EC $120 (about £30)…. Hurrah!!! We are now free to leave when we are ready – which could be as early as tomorrow, weather permitting. Winfield is back on board now doing his absolute final bits and pieces while we are reorganising all the ropes and generally getting the boat ready for sea.

We will be sad to leave Bequia – it has been an amazing experience – from the beauty of the island; it’s interesting whaling history; it’s friendly and welcoming people; and absolutely fantastic workmanship. But we are also more than ready to get back out there…..

Bye for now.

Jan

Monday it rained pretty hard most of the morning….and Winfield decided to just prep the boat as it was clear there wasn’t going to be a long enough dry period for him to varnish. So we went ashore for a while – amazed by the Bank Holiday crowds in town on a day trip from St Vincent – and then went back onboard for a lazy afternoon. John and Georgina joined us for sundowners and we had a really nice evening with them. They have headed off south now, so we hope to catch up with them again later in our travels.

We awoke to a cloudy day Tuesday but it was dry – hurrah! Winfield turned up early and got on with it straight away….. That’s the fifth coat of varnish done… It is starting to look really good. We had a quiet night on board and enjoyed another beautiful sunset.

Wednesday we are excited about the last coat of varnish being done….almost finished…. Winfield turned up at 7.15 am as he is eager to get this job over with too. Good job he’s not on a daily rate with all the weather delays and also that we are not in a great hurry to be on the move again. Well…he had virtually finished the whole boat…and the heavens opened. Not just a few spots but a tropical downpour. Winfield retreated into the cockpit with his head in his hands – not again – all ruined! He’s going to have to do most of it again….only the companionway and the bowsprit are potentially salvageable…… We cheer him up with a cold beer and he goes on his way. Have to say I would have been in a really bad mood at this point – but he’s really philosophical and chilled about it all and says that this happens sometimes…. Having a quiet night in the cockpit and the wind starts howling and the rain comes back with a vengeance. Oh ho….this is some storm….with lightening flashing around too, although thankfully at some distance. The wind builds and the noise is deafening and we have 35 knots blowing through with horizontal rain to accompany it. We stay up for a while until the worst is over and then retire to bed thankful that the anchor has held steady.

Thursday morning and we are shocked to see damage on shore – there is a large tree down at Jacks which has taken out his cabana and blocked the dinghy jetty. The Fig Tree restaurant has lost one huge branch of their ancient old fig tree and has demolished some tables and the guard rail leading to the boardwalk…. Thought we would have heard trees coming down – particularly the one at Jack’s place as we are not anchored that far away – but the noise of the wind and the rain drowned everything out. Winfield came by and, again, decided not to risk the varnish so just did all the preparation ready for Friday with fingers crossed for a dry day.

During the storm when we were in the cockpit we realised that we really need some additional canvas to protect us as we struggled to keep dry…… So when we went ashore we arranged for a canvas maker to come on board to give us a quote for the work later in the day. In the evening we had Chris and Linda over for a home-made curry night, including popadums… Had a really nice evening just chilling and chatting – although we did have to snuggle together a bit when the rain came down!  Definitely need that extra canvas…. 

As we were washing up after our guests had left suddenly we were both absolutely shocked by the deafening noise that appeared to be coming from somewhere in the saloon…..    Couldn’t find it immediately and then suddenly we spotted that it was the high water bilge alarm – we hadn’t heard this one before and wow you won’t miss that one!    So we looked in the bilge and yes there was a lot of water in there….so I went on pumping duty while Richard checked all the pipes etc…    Eventually we checked in the lazarette to find that the external shower hose on the transom was leaking into the bilges – Winfield had used this to clean off before he left us today and had forgotten to turn it off!!!   Phew….we’re not sinking then……panic over!    But frustrating to realise that we had lost at least a quarter of a tank of fresh water – so will have to run the watermaker a lot in the coming days to replenish our stocks…… 

This morning we have woken up to bright blue skies and Winfield is here in a positive mood – so fingers crossed that we get it done today…. It won’t be the end of the job as he will still need to come back and reinstall the stainless and clean up the hull etc….but at least that isn’t weather dependent. We are also going to go into the customs house to get our stay extended which will, no doubt, require copious amounts of form filling. We only found out last night that they keep passports for three days during this process so we won’t be out of here until potentially the middle of next week now….  And we are both really keen to get going again now….Mustique is calling.   Will keep you posted.

Bye for now

Jan

Thursday we came back on board to see that Winfield had done a great job – third coat of varnish applied now….. Looking amazingly shiny, I can’t imagine what it will look like when done. Thursday night had a really nice evening onboard Shamal with John and Georgina – great hosts, and another beautiful sunset.

Friday morning up early as usual and Winfield arrives on the dot of 8am. We have realised that our insistence on him not taking away our companionway boards as we need to lock the boat up at night, is giving him a bit of trouble as he can’t hang them up to dry so he rests them on cans each day and ends up with rings… So we decided to get some temporary boards made up so that he can take the original ones to his workshop. Richard measured them up, drew diagrams, and then we headed out to the wood yard. Yep – no worries – will be available later. Went back to collect them and realised that something had been lost in translation as they have made us 6 not 3, one of each! Oh well….never mind….at least the ones we brought back with us did actually fit!

Friday night is fish night at the Fig Tree restaurant;  Pnut the travelling chef is doing the BBQ;  and we have booked a table with John and Georgina. Chris is doing his acoustic guitar set too – supported by Linda. There was dancing, singing, and general fun…. with Cheryl (the owner) strutting her stuff; Pnut entertaining us with his Bob Marley rendition; and Mr Prince (didn’t catch his first name) wowing us with his great voice. Really good evening had by all – and we had a late night!

Saturday Winfield is back again bright and early as usual. He rubs down, varnishes the companionway first as always and heads off to start the bowsprit. Just finishes it and the heavens open…. He just sits with his head in his hands in the cockpit – totally despondent. Apparently rain on wet varnish causes holes and ruins the finish, so he will have to do this bit again…. And although it is only 11 am he actually takes the offer of a beer very gratefully! So we sat around chatting for a while – he is an interesting guy – and the rain cleared up. Hurrah…so he was able to finish the rest of Morphie. Not going to take any more photos of the varnish now as they are starting to look the same….will wait to wow you with the finished product! In the afternoon I went off on my own to the Fig Tree to take part in the reading club. Cheryl – as well as the Fig Tree also runs a bookshop in town – and is passionate about getting the local kids to read. On the cruisers VHF net each morning she has been appealing for cruisers to come by and join in…. Well I got the nine year olds – and had a crowd of eight – and we read a book called ‘Preparing for a hurricane’. During the reading they were a good bunch – when it was over they turned into monsters! Pinching, kicking and general unruliness…. Why did I have to get this lot!?! It took all my energy to keep them under control when each group was doing its summary of the books they had read and particularly when Mr Prince (who it turns out is a bit of a local celebrity) did his animated reading of a poem called The Banana Man. Shame the poem had to diss white tourists as pale and stuck up though….. Oh well – done my bit. Later on, we went onboard Troubadour for sundowners and an evening of Mexican train dominos. We finished in third and fourth place….was holding my own at second for a while but this game is mean!

Sunday is Winfield’s only day of rest so we decided to have a beach day – we feel the need to get off the boat for a while as during this work we have been getting a bit stir crazy…. So we really enjoyed lazing around in the sun, bobbing and chilling with our favourite brew and watching the local kids playing in the surf. And of course admiring Morphie in the anchorage alongside her large catamaran neighbour…. Chris and Linda swam ashore for a few bobbing beers too…. The funniest thing we saw was the lady from the Whalebone bar – she had two boys with her and they had a kayak. The kids upended the kayak and cleaned the growth off the bottom using sand and had a good time generally playing with it. Then it was time for them to go home – and the mum paddled off round the headland and left the kids to walk over the rocks to get back to town!

Back on board for a quiet dinner and an early night. During the night the heavens opened and it is still raining this morning, Monday.   A tropical wave has been coming off the coast of Africa – so this is probably the start of it?  Potentially I think rain might stop play today….although Winfield has arrived on time, even though it is a Bank Holiday here!  

Bye for now

Jan

Sunday, luckily, was a non-working day for Winfield and his guys as it rained quite hard all morning, so we had a lazy time on board. Around lunchtime the weather improved so we took dink ashore to Princess Margaret beach and gave him a good old scrub…. We even took off his engine and cleaned his bottom… We also met some other English cruisers and a lone holidaymaker as they enjoyed wandering the beach. Looking much better, dink not us, and now branded with our UK registration number on both hulls – we went back aboard for a quiet night, quite shattered and enjoyed a spectacular sunset with an almost full moon….. And I mean a quiet night, as we haven’t had a drink all weekend and were tucked up in bed by 8pm!

Monday morning and Richard went off to collect Hanky from the dock at Ocar to bring him on board to rub down the recently sealed woodwork. Winfield wasn’t coming today as he had an appointment in St Vincent. Anyway, Hanky was there when he promised and came on board. We had got a bit bored sitting down below last week so we were going to come and go today – but always leaving one of us on board as we needed to leave the boat open for the companionway to be done.

So I take the dinghy ashore on my own and went shopping. As you can imagine on a small island such as this there is no one supermarket selling everything – so I ended up shopping in six places to get some basic provisions, including Darkies for my fruit and veg. Quite enjoyed myself and even did a bit of international rescue taking a local fisherman ashore from his boat on the way back! When I got back Richard went off to the chandleries to get a few more bits and pieces. Eventually Hanky was done and Richard ran him ashore while I prepared some snacks as we have Chris and Linda from Troubadour coming on board tonight for Sundowners. Well – the heavens opened again. This was torrential……and they radioed to let us know that they would be over when it passed. Well, it didn’t really, but they managed to get a small window to make the short dinghy trip across the anchorage. Nice quiet alcoholic evening had by all and we were late to bed….

Tuesday morning and up early for a swim before Winfield came by at 8.00 am. So we left him in charge and went ashore for breakfast at Gingerbread. Yummmmmmm….. Back on board at 11.00 and we went down below and just lazed around and read books for the rest of the day until he had finished. Well – this was first coat of varnish day – and the results were amazing….. Another beautiful sunset while we were having a quiet dinner on board.

Wednesday morning and the weather was a bit grey and threatened showers – and Winfield is worried about rain coming down after varnishing. Apparently he needs a two hour window post varnishing otherwise it gets damaged and he has to start again…. So he spends most of the day sanding again…. It seems counter-intuitive to varnish, make it beautiful, and then rub it all down again – but apparently this is essential to get a real good finish and to ensure that it adheres and doesn’t peel off. Learn something every day! So another quiet day on board although we were lucky enough to be able to get an internet signal so caught up on some online stuff. Another quiet night and we managed to stay up until just gone 8pm!

Oh yes, did I tell you, we have been in the wars as Richard has an ear infection, I’m on the third attempt to fix my diving mask, and I managed to catch my finger in the locker door giving me a huge blood blister…..as well as my back which keeps twinging…. So feeling a bit sorry for ourselves – but everything is put into perspective when we get bad news from home about a younger friend who has passed away suddenly. RIP Michelle – you will be sorely missed.

Thursday morning and we have gone ashore for breakfast again and have our fingers crossed for a second coat of varnish as the weather appears to have settled a bit. Winfield reckons we’ll need six coats – so this will be going on for a while yet – and we hope to leave Bequia towards Mustique our next destination some time next week….. Watch this space. Anyway, we are looking forward tonight to sundowners onboard Shamal with John and Georgina..

So nothing much to report – just chilling here in Bequia. Bye for now

Jan

Wednesday morning up bright and early as we are going diving again. As we are getting ourselves ready the travelling baker came by so breakfast and lunch question resolved – fresh croissants and baguette to take with us on the boat. Really nice thing about sitting at anchor – never sure what the next boat boy is going to bring you!!!

The dive boat came and picked us up from Morphie and again it was only Ed (from New Jersey) diving with us today – along with Jessie and Miranda the divematers. First dive of the day was to the Boulders, a deeper dive at 30 metres with interesting topography with large boulders, vibrant soft corals, some gorgonian fans and loads of nooks and crevices for things to hide in, behind and under. I particularly like the multi-level aspects of this type of dive site. Again there were loads and loads of beautifully coloured little fish around – of all shapes and types – but sadly no big critters. Starting to wonder whether they never get a chance to grow into big specimens as the locals rely on fishing for much of their diet? Anyway….had an interesting mooch around…and came across a very large greenback turtle sleeping in a cave. Peered back at us for a little while until he decided we were no threat and then he closed his eyes again…. A real treat. There was also a small nurse shark under another shelf but he managed to sneak further back into the gloom so neither Richard or I actually saw him. Oh well never mind. 50 minutes later and it was time to surface.

The second dive was to Devil’s Table – a shallow dive at only 8 metres – and is just really loads of sea grass with the odd bit of reef scattered around and more sea urchins in one place than I’ve ever seen before….  We had to be careful not to kick up the bottom here as it just kills the visibility for everyone else – and because much of it is just sea grass and mud / sand we can actually kneel on the bottom and stay really still if we find something interesting and want to spend time studying it… Well – we had an amazing dive. Small critters were on the menu and we were luckily enough to see two frogfish – one pink and one orange….looking like spongy coral rocky things rather than fish with their weird colouring, their rough texture, their spiky bits on the top of their heads and their webbed feet… Oh yes – they are pretty ugly too!!!! What a treat – couldn’t believe it.

We have never seen these before and they are amazing things to watch. Really happy about this – then to top it all we came across a beautiful little browny-grey seahorse gripping onto a bit of tube coral with his tail – and Ed found an octopus lurking in a hole. I found a large caterpillar type creature with loads of legs and a hairy back – maybe a nudibranch variant? –  we also found the smallest spiny lobster I’ve ever seen hiding under a rock! On top of all that we also came across a scorpion fish and a iridescent coloured flatfish lurking on a rocky outcrop. Jessie was lion fish hunting again and killed three but you could tell he was really uncomfortable when it came to the baby one just sitting there hovering around….but it had to go. Sad this – never thought I would end up diving when fish were being targeted and killed – as it goes against everything a diver learns when training. We ended up spending 75 minutes on the bottom and only gave up because it was time rather than because we had no air. Certainly a dive to remember for a long long time……

While cleaning off all our gear disaster struck…. I clumsily managed to drop my mask. Well – anyone who knows me knows I’m completely useless without glasses and my mask is a prescription one. And yes, the frame cracked. Damn…..but at least the lenses are intact. Looking at it closely it is only the bridge on the nose and the rest remains unblemished – so I use clear silicone mastic to fix the break and leave it to set…. Late afternoon we met the dive crew at the Whaleboner bar for sundowners. On the way we did a bit of international rescue too as Pnut – our fruit and veg boat delivery boy – had broken something on his outboard. So we towed him ashore. He was very grateful… and tried to pay us in mangos for our help!!!

The Whaleboner’s entrance from the dinghy dock is too large whale ribs and the surface of the bar itself is made out of another one while the bar stools are made out of vertebra bones. Really interesting place!!! Had a really fun evening with Jessie, Boutan (not sure on spelling – sorry), Miranda, Ed and his non-diving wife Ellen. We were also joined by another British couple who are doing their diving qualifications with Dive Bequia this week. Enjoyed another beautiful Bequia sunset and after sundowners we headed off to the Fig Tree to take advantage of their internet again. 

Thursday was boat jobs day….My pink job was housework down below and blue job was Richard scraping off the growth on the hull again which had grown vigorously whilst in the marina in St Lucia. I did cheat a little by using the VHF to get Daffodil to come and collect my washing rather than waste fresh water doing it all by hand – well that’s my excuse anyway!!! We were also waiting for Winfield to come by – he does wood finishes on boats and comes recommended in the cruising guide. Morphie has always had Cetol on her teak rather than varnish as it was easier to manage in a charter fleet. But the last coat done before we took her from charter was a rough job and we have had stuff peeling off ever since – particularly under the rail. As a result – everywhere we go – we have had offers to get the wood varnished ‘for a good price’. This wasn’t on our list of priorities yet as we had vague plans to do it later this year. But Winfield was insistent that he would give us a good price – and would include our companionway, our drinks holders and our cockpit table in the price. Oh well – let’s see. Well – the price he gave us was less than half of the amount we know for sure another cruiser paid for theirs in St Lucia and we have loads more to do…. Really was an offer we couldn’t pass on…. So we’re going for it which means we’ll be staying here in Bequia for at least another week or so. Agreed for him to start on Friday – so here’s a few ‘before’ photos….

Thursday night we met Ed and Ellen and went to the Frangipani for their Caribbean night with steel band and a BBQ. Had a really nice evening in their company and so to bed. Was careful on the alcohol intake as we are diving in the morning again….

Friday morning comes and Winfield turns up as planned – he is going to get all the old Cetol off today…. We sort out our gear and my mask looks good and solid – let’s hope it holds. Dive boat comes alongside and off we go. We are heading off to the north of the island – Long Point – to do a dive off the ledge at a site which hasn’t been dived for two years by the dive shop, and certainly not by the divemasters who have only been working here for three months. We really enjoyed the fast boat ride to the site and the scenery so close to the rocky shore…

The sea is pretty rough today so looks like entry – backward roll off the side – needs to be carefully timed to avoid getting bashed on the head by the boat coming back down on the swell. All kitted up – all go in simultaneously – and we start to descend immediately…. Almost straight away my mask flooded, but wasn’t worried as it did appear to clear and I was hoping that the pressure as we went deeper would keep the mask together. But it didn’t…. Oh no… we are in about three knots of current pulling us along and down and I’m completely blind – I can’t see anybody or anything (let alone my instruments) and am trying desperately to kick up as I don’t want to hit rocks either… Richard realises I need help and kicks up against the current to help me and we decide to abort. As I need to be led (literally by the hand) Jessie is coming with us, and quickly we are doing our three minute safety stop and surfacing – into a whirlpool of currents / tides and big swells. We all get back on board safely and it takes me a while to calm down – bit shaky – and my eyes are completely red raw and oozing from the exposure to the sea. But although the ‘dive from hell’ as Richard has coined it, it did prove that the buddy system worked well and we just have to mark it up to experience!!! After a surface interval driving to another site Richard went in for his second dive of the day buddying up with Ed – while I had to sit it out. But I didn’t mind having a lie down on the boat and taking a breather. But I was a bit nervous as this was Richard’s first ever dive without me and I wondered how he would fare. But of course he was fine – let’s face it he almost 100 dives logged now – but it was still nice to see him surface.

After diving we paid up as we are not sure if we are going to do any more and said hi to Charlie the dive shop parrot.  When we got back on board it was great to see that Winfield had managed to get some of the wood back to it’s natural state and was working away hard….

Friday afternoon we had invited Ed and Ellen on board as it was their last day before they flew home on Saturday. Had a really nice time bobbing in style on our floating chairs and drank far too much rum… Was fun…..   Marvelled at the Golden Hind wooden boat that anchored behind us whilst enjoying the sunset and we let Ed drive the dinghy back to the dock to drop them off….with arrangements to go to dinner later.

Later on we went to the Fig Tree for ‘Fish Friday’ where Pnut – who is also known as the travelling chef – was cooking… Ed tried the curried conch whilst Ellen and Richard went for the tuna. I bailed and had Creole beef stew! There was also entertainment in the form of Chris from Troubadour who was playing and singing. Interestingly we have been following their blog for a while but this is the first time we have actually met them! Really good time had by all – and thanks so much to Ed and Ellen for picking up the tab at dinner. Wasn’t necessary….. Time to say goodbye – safe journey home.

Saturday morning had to be up early as Winfield is coming today to do the sanding and sealing. So we left him to it and went shopping for some boat bits – still trying to find some particular stainless steel screws, buy something to properly fix my mask with until I can get a new one ordered, and to try the second place to get one of our gas tanks filled…. Whilst we were out wandering we came across a really scary road and an unusual takeaway eaterie……  Also saw a rasta man treating two puppy dogs really cruelly when washing them down in the sea – but in the area we were in with people watching, didn’t feel able to take him to task.  Tears welling….and Richard made me leave quickly feeling really sad.

When we came back on board Winfield was working in the cockpit, along with his employee Hanky, so we went down below, opened the hatches, turned on the fans, and read and dozed….. Some areas are now sanded and sealed……. Had a quiet night on board once they had left….

Bye for now.

Jan

Saturday woke up to a bright and sunny day and went ashore to have breakfast at the Gingerbread house… It was lovely – real china, pots of tea, fat toast and a nice omelette and sausages. What a treat! Wandered around a little more in Port Elizabeth and got some basic provisions from the local vendors. Also enjoyed watching the local lads play cricket on the beach.   Shocked at the price of bread and potatoes! Back on board and I have a lay down as my back is playing up a bit…. Richard was keeping himself amused with boat jobs and decided to change the filters in the water maker for the first time. Very soon after he started I get called to assist as water is pouring out into the bilges from the charcoal filter. Luckily it is fresh water so we know we are not going to sink but disconcerting to say the least – so I am put on bilge pump duty while Richard tries to sort it out. Finally a lightbulb moment and he realises that he has left the water pressure turned on – so flicks the switch and it all stops… Phew!!! After finally switching them out he decided – thankfully – not to tackle any more boat jobs today. In the evening we had Graeme and Margaret from Dockbrief onboard for sundowners. It was nice to have some company for a couple of hours. After they had left we turned in for an early night.

Sunday my back was still playing up so it was another boat job day. This was more successful as Richard managed to fix the bow running lights (again!), the arch flood light and the compass light – all were suffering from corrosion. He also serviced some winches and blocks that had been complaining under load. So a successful morning and we went for a wander around town in the afternoon. Being a Sunday this place was really quiet but we had a productive time in the FigTree using their free wifi doing some business on the internet and also fixed an island tour for Tuesday. Also enjoyed the sight of the new large neighbour that we had in the anchorage….   Back on board before dark to enjoy a nice sunset and a quiet evening after we had sorted all our gear out for diving in the morning.

Monday morning we were up really early and got ready for the dive boat to come alongside to pick us up. We did two dives – both reef drift dives for about 60 minutes each. Only three divers – including us – and two divemasters in the water. Great pristine dive sites with beautiful colourful soft corals and thousands upon thousands of tiny tropical fish….but no bigguns. Really weird – not even the usual suspects like large parrots and triggers… We did see two very large puffer fish, one large trigger fish, a reasonable sized barracuda and a lovely eagle ray…. But the lack of larger specimens didn’t really matter as the diving was great and we loved being surrounded by all these tiny little critters who were playing in our bubbles when they thought we weren’t watching! The divemaster had a speargun with him to kill any lionfish that we came across as they are really trying to eradicate this imported menace – the end result was Divemaster 5:0 Lionfish. They are also trying to get local fish to realise that they are tasty to eat – so we tried feeding some dead lionfish to some moral eels and lobsters but they weren’t really keen…… Before we got dropped off back on Morphie we organised to go again on Wednesday. After a relaxing afternoon on board we went out for dinner and had a nice quiet evening ashore for a change. It was lovely to sit on the balcony watching the night draw in having a cold glass of wine. The season is really coming to an end here – which is much earlier than normal – and very few boaters are actually going ashore to eat. Most of the waterfront restaurants and bars are empty all night – not sure how they survive…..

Tuesday morning our first job was to re-anchor. There were a few boats around us who we thought were a bit close – so we picked up and reset easily. Task achieved – and having checked we were secure in our new spot – we went ashore and met Elson and his little safari bus. First stop was Mount Pleasant where we could look back at the anchorage and then went on a circuitous route to Friendship Bay which is where the whale museum is located. Bequia is the only island in the Caribbean chain that retains its right to kill whales. They only kill humpbacks and only four kills are allowed per year. They also still use traditional methods in local wooden boats and harpoons. There is also a small island which they use to butcher the whales. Not sure how we feel about these beautiful creatures still being hunted but this goes back hundreds of years and every part of the animal is used – the oil, the meat and the blubber…. At least the Bequians have not granted rights to the Japanese who are very active over here trying to secure this through the injection of funds into various local building projects….

The island of Bequia is tiny – only seven miles long – with 6,000 people living here. It is volcanic and lush with vegetation – with very very expensive houses being built tucked into the hillside. Apparently if you can afford to buy and build then you are welcomed – irrespective of your nationality. So Elson pointed out houses that belonged to British, Latvian, Dutch, Polish, Russian, American, New Zealand, French, Canadian etc etc etc…. Interesting how it was easy to spot the British houses from the cultivated lawns, the white picket fences and pretty planted gardens along the verges…. Wasn’t sure how Elson felt about rich foreigners moving in – but he did say that they provided work and an income for locals as the houses needed to be built, maintained and landscaped along with other domestic type jobs…. The main industry here is fishing and tourism – with the local fishermen selling their catch to other islands in the St Vincent and the Grenadines chain. Most of the locals lived either in the fishing village or the capital and they looked to have reasonable brick properties – not the tin shacks without facilities that we have seen elsewhere… Funniest thing we saw was a cow attempting to have a drink from a swimming pool – not sure he was meant to be there! 

Stunning views abound as you go up and down the main road which is precariously cut along the cliff top at times…. including out to sea to Mustique, our next destination. The Atlantic coast looked pretty rough and beautiful too…. We visited a place called Moonhole which is where houses are all built purely from stone including all the furniture with no glass in the windows and no electricity or communications…. People either rent or buy here – everyone to their own. Stunning views out to sea as these properties nestle into the cliff. There is also another brand new development being built at this end of the island and we were lucky enough to have a quick look around – don’t think that even a lottery win would get us one of these!

Moving on we went to the turtle sanctuary – where they are looked after from birth through to five years old and they have been responsible for almost a 1,000 releases to date. The baby turtles are tiny and you have to be careful not to touch the water as this could make them ill with bacteria from our hands. But you are allowed to touch the bigger ones – and, guess what, they like being tickled!!! Honestly…. It was lovely to get close to such beautiful creatures… As we were leaving the sanctuary Richard spotted a pen of tortoises – so he got close to them too – I think the photos are great! And then we came across baby goats sleeping….. Really cute…

Back into Port Elizabeth and we stopped for a bit of lunch before heading back on board. Having a lazy afternoon in the cockpit enjoying the space around us – and guess what….grrrrr… – another catamaran drops his hook and sets his anchor so that we have lost our privacy again. What is it with these people???? Another 50 foot of chain and he would be sitting behind us. Oh well… Was going to go ashore for sundowners but couldn’t be bothered as we had a short rain shower so we have lifted dink up onto the davits and now are getting ready to go diving again tomorrow.

Bye for now….