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