We departed Mayreau 0945 Thursday May 27th and made it to the Tobago Cays in about an hour. The Tobago Cays are a cluster of five tiny uninhabited islands, collectively sheltered from the open sea by the appropriately named Horseshoe Reef. The Cays are a wildlife Reserve & Marine Park declared by the government with translucent waters filled with a kaleidoscope of colored fish, turtles and all kinds of coral. We were told the Marine Park has 57 coral species and is home to tropical fish of every kind. The Cays must surely be the jewel in St Vincent’s crown and one of the most magnificent settings imaginable. They are only accessible by boat and are one of the natural wonders of the western hemisphere. There was a sea turtle watching reserve near where we anchored which was designated with markers buoys around the beach of Baradal Cay. You could go over there and swim with the turtles.
After we anchored we took off in the dinghy to check things out. We decided it was too rough to snorkel and would do that tomorrow. We scooted around all the islands in our dinghy just to see all the beauty. It was really blowing out and when we got back to the boat the wind generator was doing its thing making lots of electricity.
The next day after breakfast we put our snorkel equipment in the dinghy and went out to the reef. They had moorings that your could tie off your dinghy to. We started getting our equipment ready to snorkel and Carol’s strap on one of her fins broke so it was back to the boat to get another one and fix it. We then went back out to where we were and got in the water and John’s snorkel mask was leaking and he couldn’t get a tight fit. We tried to get back in the dinghy to go back to the boat again and get another one. It was a comedy of errors and if it could go wrong it sure did! We finally got in the dinghy, (many bruises latter) and went back to the boat to get another mask for John. We then decided to go to one of the other islands and snorkel off the beaches. When we found a place that was sandy to go in without rocks and saw another 24’ power boat blocking our passage with people snorkeling all over the place. We decided to go back to where we were earlier and we then snorkeled in pristine, clear waters, over reefs with lots of coral and fish. For once we saw no sharks – but we were sure looking. We still don’t think the Tobago Cays compare to the Abaco, Bahamas, but that is our own opinion. There is a $20 EC ($7.45 US) charge per day to be in the Marine Park.
We departed the Tobago Cays 0930 on Saturday May 29th and arrived in Admiralty Bay, Bequia (Beck-Way), at 1500 which is the northernmost island in the Grenadines group, in the town of Port Elizabeth the Capital. Along the way we put out our fishing line but caught no fish. We had been to Bequia last year when we were on our way to Grenada but only was here for one day and that was Sunday so nothing was open.
Bequia, the name derived from a Carib Indian word meaning “Island Of The Cloud’s”, and lies nine miles south of St Vincent and is just five miles long and three miles wide for a total of seven sq. miles. Bequia is home to just under 5,000 people and the inhabitants, some of whom are descended from 19th century Scottish sailors, are friendly and easy going and always happy to strike up a conversation with visitors, a broad smile on their faces. The island is steeped in sea-faring traditions such as boat building, fishing and whaling. Bequians are a proud people and descendants of settlers who came from North America on whaling boats, from farms in Scotland, from France as freebooters and from Africa. The picturesque capital of Port Elizabeth has a sleepy, old-world ambience and you can walk from one end to the other in 20 minutes. There’s a great handicraft market, excellent fresh fruit and vegetables market run by friendly Bequians. Port Elizabeth is full of marine and land activity, Bars, Cafes and intriguing shops spread out along the coastal main street, overlooking a natural harbour. A narrow sidewalk along the shoreline at the south side of Port Elizabeth – known as the Belmont Walkway – provides the main access to many of the town’s restaurants and accommodations. In 1979, St Vincent and the Grenadines gained independence within the British Commonwealth. Bequia and the rest of the Grenadines, is governed from the “mainland” island of St Vincent whose governmental system is based on the Westminster style of parliamentary democracy. Bequia has enormous appeal and traffic has increased in recent years with the opening of their airport in 1992 and remains relatively untouched. Here in Bequia, change takes place at a snail’s pace without altering the magic and charm which prevails on this dazzling, sun-drenched little isle.
On Monday as soon as the stores opened we were off to visit the craft shops and check out restaurants. It had started to rain off and on most days as wave after wave (areas of disturbed weather) came through. So far no hurricanes and we were keeping up on all the weather reports via the Sirius Radio and the internet. We are finding dead squids on the deck in the mornings and they must jump up at night. We have talked to other boaters and they are getting them also. We have found prices to be reasonable but not as good as Grenada. We bought a hand fishing line and have tried to catch fish but so far – none.
Stay tuned for more adventures from John & Carol aboard the S/V Sweet Caroline
We pulled anchor May 13th and left for Clifton, Union Island in the Grenadines. It is located at the southern end of the Grenadines chain of islands about 40 miles south of St. Vincent and midpoint between St. Vincent and Grenada. It is sometimes called “Little Tahiti” on account of its high, almost vertical peaks which on a clear day are visible from St. Vincent’s Capital Kingstown. It features the highest point in the Grenadines, with its 1,000 foot Mount Tabai. It has about 3,000 inhabitants and approximately 3 miles long. The town of Clifton is full of color and local character, with a picture perfect little market around a green. It is the southern point of entry for customs clearance in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The Union islanders are very welcoming and friendly. Coming into the harbor we noticed that the 60 foot replica of a Kalinago dugout canoe called Karisko, that left Grenada on May 11th making stops in Union Island, Mustique, Bequia, St Vincent and Lt. Lucia en route to Martinique was just ahead of us. Boy that is some manpower of rowing. It was coming through Hillsborough, Carriacou before we left. The objective of the journey of the Akayouman is a symbolic re-enactment of an ancient Amerindian navigation route while linking the peoples of the Windward Islands. The Karisko project aims especially to create conditions for the Martiniquan people to re-connect with the Amerindian history and heritage of their island. Two boat boys met us as we came in and guided us to our anchorage. There sure were a lot of boats here and we were thankful for the boat boys guiding us in since we had never been here before and really didn’t know what to expect. They guided us to a nice sandy area near all the kite surfers. For those who have never seen them, they are on surf boards with lines attached to huge colorful kites. They were cruising in and out of the sailboats and at times I waited for them to get their lines tangled in the masts. If I was a little younger I would be out trying this. It really looked like fun. We were anchored near the S/V Scaramouch which is a West Indian Schooner used in one of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies. You can enjoy aboard this boat a daily trip to the Tobago Cays and play Captain Jack. After we got anchored we had the boat boys get us a bag of ice. When they came back they wanted $20 EC dollars ($7.44 US) and we thought we were getting ripped off. When we got to town we found that everywhere we went the bags of ice were all $15 EC dollars so we felt a little better about the boat boys. We walked around town checking everything out and found the price of food and drink was a lot higher than even Carriacou which was higher than Grenada. You don’t have much choice if you need something and even the selections were limited. We found some oysters crackers in one of the grocery stores and John bought all they had (4 bags). We found out later that this was a big mistake. They are really hard to find and every grocery store we go in that is the first thing John looks for. John can’t eat his Tomato Soup or Oyster Stew Soup without them. In fact when he was back in Florida he brought back about 6 bags. When we got back to the boat John decided to have some Oyster Stew and opened one bag of the oyster crackers and boy were they bad. The must have sat on that shelf for 3-4 years. We opened up another, and then another and all were the same. We threw them out for the birds to eat and I hope they don’t get sick.
One day we took a bus to Ashton and walked around. The main road was filled with bars and restaurants. We walked up a hill and saw a well that was built in the 1800’s and still used today to draw water. The houses all had cisterns to catch water on their roofs.
We were getting low on water so we pulled anchor May 19th and went over to Petite Martinique about 4 miles away. We pulled up to the dock and filled with water and got 3 bags of ice. It was a lot cheaper here and about a third the price than over in Union Island.
We left and headed for Chatham Bay which is on the west side (lee side) of Union Island with a large protected anchorage. It is a most beautiful yacht hideaway and dotted with local shacks which boasted great food and drink which we found out to be expensive at least more than we had been paying. There was no internet or cell phone service here. After anchoring we saw a few large turtle swimming around.
After a few days we decided to move a little north and go to Saline Bay, Mayreau. It is 1 ¼ square miles with a population of 250 people with a beautiful sandy beach. After anchoring we walked up the hill to the village. All along the walkways they had friendly bars and local restaurants. We stopped at one of the restaurants and had barbecue chicken and ribs. It was a great buy and the best we had seen since leaving Grenada. After lunch we continued up the hill to the quaint little stone Catholic Church (Immaculate Conception). We walked around to the back of the church and you could see the whole island. Boy what a view! The next day the mail ferry boat came from St. Vincent with about 100+ people aboard. We were told later they were here on holiday for a day.
Stay tuned for more adventures from John & Carol aboard the S/V Sweet Caroline
The date is April 24th and we are anchored here in Tyrrel Bay, Carriacou patiently waiting to get the O.K. that we will get our boat hauled. Most people don’t realize Carriacou is one of the three islands in the nation of Grenada and this humble isle is often forgotten. It is approximately 13 sq. miles and has interesting topography created by centuries - old volcanic activity. The island’s name is derived from the Carib meaning “land surrounded by reefs”. You won’t find cruise ships here and this is West Indian life the way it was 50 years ago – quiet, laid back and relaxed.
The day finally arrived that they said we were going to be hauled and we had only waited a week. When our boat was finally hauled out of the water, the bottom was full of barnacles, which we figured it would be after 2 ½ years. Living in the marina on the boat we had to contend with dust, dirt, mosquitoes and a dirty marina shower/bathroom. Now I see why people stay in hotel rooms while their boat is being worked on. We could have stayed at the Yacht Club but it was filled up. Only one mishap during the time there was when Carol was putting bottom paint way up in the thru holes. She was using a sponge brush and the brush came apart and stayed stuck. Whoops!!! After trying a few things and a few cuss words from John, he finally gave Carol a wire rod that Carol tried at first to push it down the sink in the head. This didn’t work so she went outside and pushed it up through the thru hull. She finally lucked out and was able to lodge it loose. Well a lesson was learned from this and I’m sure she won’t do this again. After about three quarters of the way being finished putting on the bottom paint we saw we were going to be short paint due to the heat and humidity. Being that there were no marine chandleries on the island here we were lucky the marina could get us some more from Grenada and it would be sent by ferry the next afternoon. It was a big surprise when we paid for it and no ferry charges were on the bill. After a week in the marina, we were glad when they finally put us back in the water so we could open the boat up and not worry about mosquitoes. The first thing we did was to wash down the topside of the boat and get all the dirt and grime off. Even though the boatyard was inexpensive I don’t think we will go back there.
The next day, May 7th, we left for Hillsborough which is on the west side of Carriacou. We just spent the night off the town before heading north.
The next morning after breakfast we left for Petite Martinique which is the last outpost of Grenada. It is located three miles east of Carriacou and they don’t call it Petit for nothing – this island measures one mile in diameter and conical in shape. Its inhabitants were mainly a seafaring community, so most of the men folk were originally either fisherman or sailors. We arrived to find a little sleepy town, very picturesque. We tried to anchor and started dragging after about thirty minutes. I finished cooking lunch before we pulled the anchor and snatched one of the free mooring balls. You can really get some good sleep when you know you were going to be in the same place in the morning and not drag. It was a perfect spot, with a nice breeze, internet, gentle rocking of the boat and no loud music. The next day we went out to lunch at a restaurant on the beach where we sat out in the garden shaded by palm trees. We decided we would try the hamburgers, fries and malts. The hamburgers were so bad we had to feed them to the dog without the owners seeing us. The malts were made with canned milk we found out after the first sip and they were gross. The french fries turned out to be our lunch for the day and some of the best we have had so far. At least something was edible. After our skimpy lunch we went into town looking for bread and were told no one bakes bread for sale on the island and we had to wait for the ferry later that afternoon if we wanted any. Well it was back to the boat for the day and get ready for our departure Tuesday May 11th.
The next morning we pulled anchor and left to go back to Hillsborough, Carriacou where we knew we could get supplies. We had another problem anchoring when we got back to Hillsborough and had to move and try again. I’m beginning to wonder on John’s technique in anchoring. One thing we might have to do is snorkel on the anchor to see if it’s set. They tell you to do this and we haven’t been doing it. It’s a good thing this happens during the day and we don’t have a Mexican fire drill after dark. Before we left the next day we saw the 60’ dugout canoe that was going to row Christopher Columbus’s route and I’m not sure how far up the Caribbean they were going. I counted twenty-five oarsmen, one man in front yelling commands and one in back steering. They were headed for Union Island and we would probably see them there.
Stay tuned for more adventures from John & Carol aboard the S/V Sweet Caroline