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| Maxscene, Kiraku & Mystic Blue at anchor in Tobago Cays - Union Island in the background |
Being stuck in the Grenadines is a truly wonderful place to be. I am going to try to illustrate the layout of the SVG area of the Caribbean here to make it less confusing when I explain where we have been :
St Vincent is one of the Windward Islands, a line of Islands lying on the eastern side of the Caribbean Sea. The Grenadines or Grenadine Islands are a chain of islands and islets ranging from St Vincent to Grenada.
The northern Grenadines are administrated by St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) and the southern Islands are a dependency of Grenada. The St Vincent group consists of Bequia, Canouan, Mayreau, Mustique, Union Island and islets mostly uninhabited.
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| We are currently anchored on the border of Lower Bay and Princess Margaret beach Port Elizabeth, Bequia (see red arrow) |
Bequia, where we currently call home is at 13.1°Latitude
and our insurance (and most others) requires us to be below 12.4° to
be covered in the event of a named storm (hurricane). The Island of Carriacou,
the northern most Island under the Grenadian umbrella and home of the mangrove
hurricane hole, is at 12.28° and is 38.5 Nm (nautical miles) south,
approximately 6 – 7 hours sailing away, so we consider ourselves in a safe
situation should a hurricane threaten.
**Note – at the time of writing Grenada and Carriacou are not
admitting yachts that have not made arrangements with their yachting
association, they are currently busy with a staggered acceptance and 14 day
quarantine of arriving yachts, mainly for those wishing to store their boats on
land, but this looks like it could change at the end of June. This means that
right now we would not be allowed to enter Carriacou but we could at least
float around in the surrounding waters, hopefully out of harms way.
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First of course some shopping. The grocery stores are fairly well stocked, around 80% of the restaurants are closed, so too the fruit and veg market, only 2 of the vegetable stalls are open and their stocks pretty meagre, it turns out St Vincent imports vast quantities of fruit and vegetables too, fortunately basic staples including the most delicious local lettuce and spinach are nearly always available. Then catch up time, dinners and brunches onboard yachts and domino games and snorkelling – Bequia has one of the best snorkelling reef’s we have come across.
A group of us did a ferry trip to St Vincent to stock up. When
purchasing larger quantities of groceries, the savings made at the chain stores
of CK Greaves and Massey offset the cost of the ferry and a bit extra so a
ferry trip once a month or so is worth it and it’s nice to have varieties. Our
port authority friend Barry was there to tell all passengers that wearing masks
is mandatory, but once on board the only people wearing masks were two of the
ferry workers, guess they have to try.
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| Richard & Elfick & friends with Elfick's little grandson Antionne who just loves the music, especially the guitar and playing to the crowds |
Our friend Richard on Gailene plays the Ukulele, he’s become
quite a well known figure in bars and restaurants on the Islands as jamming
sessions are enjoyed by locals and cruisers alike. Sailors restaurant is one of
those that has remained open and its owner, Elfick, plays guitar and sings
Country and Western in his gravelly Louis Armstrong voice and on Wednesday nights
has a jam session which includes his friend on the kettle drums and anyone else
who wishes to join, enter Richard, what a lovely evening we had here before
heading to the southern Islands for a couple of days.
We had a tremendous sail to Salt Whistle Bay on Mayreau. A
picturesque, very small bay whose palm tree lined spit provides the perfect
backdrop for true Island style sunrise photo’s and whose beach bar’s are great
for a cold one. Usually this bay is so full of yachts it’s impossible to fit in
if you didn’t arrive early, strange feeling to arrive and be able to anchor
right off the beach as there are only 5 other yachts. We were last here in
January with a Tradewinds charter, it was quite a shock to see how much erosion
has happened to the spit in 5 months, it made the most beautiful sunrise photos
yet now a number of the beautiful palms lie dead or dying on the ground and the
small piece of ground is dreadfully narrow. The locals have been asking for
Government intervention and assistance in saving this piece of beach for over a
year as Salt Whistle is the main source of tourist income for the tiny Island
of Mayreau and they have now taken matters into their own hands, building up
the windward side of the land with empty conch shells and trees. Hopefully this
will stem the problem long enough for the authorities to affect a plan.
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| The very beautiful palm tree lined sunrise over the spit |
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| Using a spinaker as a kite to fly from, it went damn high!! |
The next day Mystic Blue and Kiraku joined us and eventually
Era’s arrival heralded a beach braai welcome. We also met Black Boy, yes his
real name, the owner of a beach bar and quite a fountain of knowledge, he
warned us all to be careful at night as the Americans have moved in, ready to
invade Venezuela, they have drones flying around at night. I think his
imagination was only stumped by the quantity of whacky backy he could smoke.
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| In front of us the reef that borders the Cays and behind that "Rum Island" the scene from Pirates of the Caribbean where all the rum is burned was filmed here |
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| So much to see here in the Cays |
After a couple of days lounging in this beautiful bay the
weather was perfect and we headed for Tobago Cays and the turtles. First
snorkel finds us searching for my mask and snorkel ending with the realisation
that they are missing – where did they fall off? I remember just before leaving
Bequia hearing a yacht announcing on the cruisers net that they had found a
mask and snorkel and, via the cruisers grapevine we were able to contact them
and yes, they had my gear and would keep it safe til our return. In the
meantime this left me with a few frustrated snorkels as one spare mask and
snorkel after the next attempted to drown me. It certainly felt like all the
sea creatures were enjoying their Covid imposed solitude however, we saw so
many new things, spotted eagle rays gave us a show in the lights off Kiraku as
we enjoyed a lovely dinner on board, a couple of nurse sharks and the turtles were
just beautiful.
These guys are so chilled, then it is a Turtle reserve after all
One of the Eagle Rays 
Nurse shark snoozing in the shallows
The wind picked up after two days and it was time to seek a
more protected anchorage, so next stop was Clifton Bay, Union, to get a couple
of provisions before heading to Chatham Bay, also on Union Island. The only
beach establishment open for business on this secluded beach was Sunset Cove
and of course one has to support tenacity, a couple of cold beers were great.
We snorkelled here and were saddened to note the majority of the reef is
covered in a fluffy bright green seaweed which seems to have taken over and
left the reefs devoid of colour and fish. Could this be due to the lack of
parrot fish and other reef fish that would normally eat the seaweed, are their
numbers down due to over fishing or is it an alien weed inadvertently brought in
by yachts as they sail through? Very sad.
A very empty Chatham Bay anchorage
Sundowners at Sunset Cove 
This poor Scorpion fish sporting a helmet
of green algae
Back to Tobago Cays as the weather improved and we were
joined by the Super Yacht Vava II, with all it’s fancy toys, very unusual to
find a super yacht right in the Cays, again a sign of the lack of cruising and
charter yachts. Two more glorious days in the sun and sea before once more
having to seek calmer conditions, this time, together with Gailene, we made for
Saline Bay on the Island of Mayreau.
Vava II owned by Swiss billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli
and his wife, Kirsty, former Miss UK and singer
We weren't sure who was onboard and didn't need
to borrow a cup of sugar so left them alone 
When you own a super yacht all your toys
are bigger and better
This was our first time back since this time last year. Salt
Whistle Bay being the one of choice for charters. Now it was time to see what
the quiet little forgotten Saline Bay has to offer and boy were we surprised.
There are a number of new local bar type establishments on the beach front, a
beautiful beach for walking, a jetty to which one can tie ones tender boat for
easier disembarking, rather than bouncing the tender boat up on to the beach,
spilling the contents in a most unladylike fashion, then hefting the tender up
to a tree strong enough to tie on to. Unfortunately the bars are all closed at
this time, more Covid casualties, hopefully they’ll reopen once some sort of
normality resumes.
The 1st Stop Shop below, owners house above 
1st Stop Shop's balcony #1 sundowner
spot 
We found the bakery - a room with 3 stoves and a baker who took up most of the rest of the space yet managed to produce delicious soft fresh rolls 
Enterprising chap this Arthur, next to this store and restaurant he had a room to rent, a marine chandlery and a boutique, none of which was open 
It seems Wednesday racing happens everywhere around the world 
The beach in front of us
So, when the search for a cold beer on the shore failed, we decided to head up the hill to see what the little 1st Stop Shop had to offer and to try a local bar up there. 1st Stop stocks quite a range of non-perishable goods and the barest of fresh produce, we were pleasantly surprised to find out that the new veranda built onto the shop is in process of becoming a bar. As it’s not finished yet we can buy a drink from the shop and sit on the veranda, enjoying the beautiful view and they are the cheapest beers on the Island. This became our sundowner spot where we were joined daily by fellow cruisers, it became quite a festive pastime.
Pounding in stakes with a rock 
This will be the next row for Sea Moss 
Sea Moss tied on to anchor line and growing 
On a small Island like this when something needs doing it's all hands on deck, even the nurse was there to help pull all the fishing boats up the beach
Snorkelling here was an eye-opener, a lovely reef with much
to see. Some enterprising chaps have hit on the fact that Sea Moss is in demand
and have started their own underwater farm in the shallows off the beach. On
closer inspection we understood the continual bobbing up and down as these guys
pound the sticks into the ground, with a rock, with only snorkel and mask, not
even fins. They string rope around the stakes, weight them down with filled
sacks and tie the Sea Moss in between the stakes, fascinating.
Kevin decided to grow his hair 
Thankfully the novelty wore off 
Back to normal, the things you'll do to pass time...
Chillin while Dennis cooked up a storm 
A kitchen with the best view 
A spread fit for a king - come hungry 
The fishermen arrive back and the trading
for fish begins
Dennis is quite a popular chap, whilst there we met the
local policeman, the local nurse (it’s a very small Island, there is only one
of each) and were paid a visit by the contender for the role of next Prime
Minister of SVG – Dr. the Hon. Godwin Friday. Late afternoon a fisherman arrived
with his catch, amongst which was a sizeable black tip reef shark. Whilst it
was sad to see such a beautiful creature lying amongst the large catch of fish,
we have to bear in mind that on this Island that is food, every part of that
shark that can be is eaten and there is not a mass slaughter underway just for
fins. After a braai on Gailene, a serious lack of fresh produce forces us to
return to Bequia to do some shopping.
Servicing winches 
Tried to fill this pressure gauge of the watermaker with glycerin as it has once more popped and spilled its contents but it seems to be broken again, not a very hardy piece of equipment this 
When you have time on your hands and you can't buy feta cheese... 
You make it
Once more the “To do” list is brought out and the stainless
gets a good polish, Kevin services the winches and beefs up the supports under
the passage floors, a fishing trip sailing around Bequia tested this out, no
more worrying creaking and groaning, yahoo. We were joined by Paul and Gary
& Ang who have never sailed on a catamaran before, apparently beating on a
catamaran is rather pleasant. We even popped the Parasail out of its bag, fun
day, the only thing caught was Sargassum seaweed however.
Ang supervising the flying of the parasail 
Even the birds around our boat catch fish 
And whilst they throw themselves at us, this might be considered a bit small 
If the birds can, so can he - not
Get togethers’ with other sailors keeps up the morale,
another musical evening at Sailors, learning to play a new version of Mexican
Train Dominoes, Noodling in small groups (I am starting to teach classes under
the watchful eye of Rowena) and snorkelling - so much better with my own mask
and snorkel again, a happy reunion.
Lennox' beach structure 
Talking heads waiting for the braai to begin
It was Roux’s birthday and we celebrated with a Pot Luck
braai on the beach, sides supplied by guests, fire and venue organised with
Lennox, a true Rastafarian, who has a structure set up on the beach, basically
a shade on poles to ward off the sun and some rain and two tables with benches
and a chest freezer (there is no electricity so this is just a huge cooler box)
from which he sells some cooldrinks and beer. Christine who successfully brews
many different types of alcohol on board supplied us with Sambucca which deliciously
tastes just like its namesake Zambucca, Honey liquor and her latest delicious
creation – “Pitte Kou” directly translated this means “Chewing Pips” and that’s
exactly what it is, a liqueur made from Passion Fruit, with the pips, which are
chewed. This, served ice cold, is delicious, I don’t think she can keep up with
the demand for it.
Not knowing what to buy him, we made Koeksisters for a gift
and considering it was a first time we, and everyone else, are really impressed
with the results.
Romeo peddling his wares 
Kevin will soon be able to go into competition, this was his attempt at artisan bread and rolls
Romeo is the son of the owner of the Plantation
Hotel and the manager, he is also the self appointed mobile breakfast pastries salesman. He zoots
around from yacht to yacht in his tender boat every morning selling pastries
and has taken quite a shine to the South Africans. In fact, he now professes to
want to marry a South African (this will be his third marriage, he’s quite the
player) and is learning Afrikaans phrases, which he is picking up really fast,
the greeting goeie more (good morning) heralds his arrival and is no longer
restricted to just SA boats, don’t know if the other Nationalities quite understand. It’s
a fun past time for the South African cruisers to send him from one SA boat to
another with South African phrases, the favourite being “is jy babelaas” (do
you have a hangover?)
Beach sundowners 
Great times
So we while the time away waiting for the southern islands
of Grenada and Trinidad to open their borders, we’re kinda hoping maybe end
June, but in the meantime, we couldn’t be in a better place…
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| This proudly flying flag is pegged into the sand at Sunset Cove, Chatham bay, apparently by a cruiser |
