St. Vincent and the Grenadines

After one last night anchored in St. Lucia between the majestic pitons, we moved 55 miles south to the beautiful island of Bequia  – pronounced “beckway.”

Bequia is part of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and was our first stop in SVG.  We opted to pass by St. Vincent itself after having read of theft in some of the anchorages.  We can’t stop everywhere and that was enough of a reason to move on although the island does have a lot to see.

The Grenadines are an island chain consisting of hundreds small of islands between St. Vincent and Grenada. The northern islands are part of St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) while the southern are part of Grenada.

The Lonely Planet Guide reports that St. Vincent was among the last of the Caribbean islands held by the Caribs.  As other islands were conquered by European invaders the Caribs fled to St. Vincent and held it till the end.  The island was called Hairoun which means “home of the blessed” according Sailors Guide to the Windward Islands.  Today the local  beer in St. Vincent is fondly named Hairoun – pronounced “high roon.” After European occupation the island was under British rule until 1969 when it became a self governed state.  Today St Vincent and the Grenadines retain their British flavor.

Everything about our arrival in Admiralty Bay at Bequia was wonderful.  We had a very nice sail from St. Lucia and saw several familiar boats as we entered the harbor.  Then our anchor set perfectly on the first attempt…can’t ask for much more in a day!  The only disappointment was having missed the opportunity for a photo of Echo under sail as we approached the island.  Well, I guess it would have been nice to have caught a fish while underway too!  In any case, there’s a photographer that shoots great photos of boats under sail as they approached the island.  We had seen his work previously and were sorry he didn’t get a shot for us.

Bequia is a small island with a large protected harbor and is very welcoming of visitors. The town of Port Elizabeth has many shopping opportunities along with several restaurants and very friendly people.  The bay has a few conveniently placed dinghy docks and walking trails that allow easy access to anywhere you would like to be.  There is a beautiful white sand beach that was named Tony Gibbon’s until Princess Margaret visited and admired it.  It’s now called Princess Margaret Beach.   From the shore at Princess Margaret you can snorkel a small reef that has plenty to see.  Our friends on Barefoot Life saw an octopus on several occasions.  We missed the octopus although we did see a moray eel hiding in the coral.

Be sure to visit them in NY, Paris and London and be respectful of all mankind!

Main Street in Port Elizabeth

Port Elizabeth Harbor

View of the bay

The Whaleboner Bar

Boat built in Bequia

We joined some folks for a taxi tour (Slow Dancing, Navigator and Island Girl).  It was a good introduction to the island and we learned a bit about the whaling in Bequia.  There’s a long history of whaling and it continues in the same manner as when it started – with a small wooden boat powered only by sail and oars and the harpooner wielding his weapon to harpoon the whale “Moby Dick” style.  Although the whaling museum was closed we could see the boats and displays and Kendrick, our driver/guide, told us about current whaling conditions.  Apparently Bequia is allowed 4 whales per season although the island seldom meets the limit and got only one this past season.   There is controversy about this practice and it seems there are many efforts to stop it.    Apparently it is not indigenous to  Bequia but introduced by a Scotsman in the 1800’s.  (You can read more by clicking the highlighted area).  Bequia developed a boat building industry alongside it’s whaling efforts.  Although we didn’t see anything in the works we did see a beautiful example on one of their boats in the harbor.  It’s amazing to think of the boat pictured in this paragraph having been hand built on a beach and launched right there too.

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Sabrina learning about breadfruit

Stan and Lan of Barefoot Life invited us for a hike one day.  Along the way we met up with Tom and Sabrina from Honey Ryder.   We had met them briefly in Antigua last year and were happy to get to know them a little better in Bequia.  On the way back from the hike we happened upon a group of guys cooking Breadfruit in a bonfire.  They were quite proud to give us a sample and explain it’s uses.  Breadfruit is like a giant potato that grows on trees and is quite abundant in the islands.  This encounter inspired Sabrina and I to try our hand a cooking breadfruit.  She was a bit more creative and prepared several dishes, I used most of mine for breadfruit salad just like potato salad and the rest like mashed potatoes.  We both agreed the sample the guys gave us were the best!

Wax Apples

We do try to expand our knowledge and use of produce we’re unfamiliar with.  The photo to the left is wax apples.  They are nice and crunchy with a light fruity taste.  Kind of like a mild apple.  The local produce sellers are always happy to offer suggestions on using their products and often introduce us to new things.

Our friends on Havkatt were also in the harbor and we were happy to spend time with Hugo, Guido, Willie, and Martin.  Hugo was interested in learning to splice lines so he and Jeff worked a bit on the process.  Hugo borrowed our splicing tools and seems to have perfected the art.  He now just needs new rope to keep busy with his new skill.  One evening Dan and Melissa of Slow Dancer organized a get together on Princess Margaret beach where we enjoyed visiting with those we knew and met some new people.  Bequia was a great stop!

Whaling boats

We moved from Bequia to Mustique but ended up moving on quickly due to the weather forecast.  Mustique is a private island with many rich and famous visitors.  There are reportedly  several great restaurants and boutiques but we only had time to visit Basil’s where we had a nice Mahi Mahi diner.

We also made a short stop at Canouan but choose not to stay the night as there were no other cruisers and we had read reports of theft in the area.  We moved from there to Mayreau where we dropped anchor in Salt Whistle Bay for a few days.  It’s a beautiful bay with a great white sand beach, a few bars and some beach vendors.  While we were there we were treated to an amazing show, a group of professional kite surfers practiced their skills.  This area is very popular for kite surfing and Jeff considered giving it a try but never got around to it.  We did a bit of hiking and spent one night anchored in Saline Bay which also seemed nice.  It was the first stormy day we’ve seen in a few months so we just stayed on board Echo.

Salt Whistle Bay

The Beach at Salt Whistle

Fun beach bar

Enjoying a cold Highruin

Echo at ahchor in Salt Whistle

Some local art

Huge land crab holes

We had also hoped to spend some time at the Tobago Cays but the wind was howling when we arrived and was predicted to last for several days so we didn’t stay.  This area has reportedly has amazing snorkeling and diving along with beautiful beaches.  It’s within a national park and lots of turtles to swim with.  We saw video of the family on Havkatt swimming with the turtles and wish we had been able to stay.

Some of you may have noticed there has been no mention of fishing for some time.   Well, we do still continue to fish yet remain unsuccessful with the catching part.  We have tried everything we hear that may help in our efforts and thought the catamaran would bring success but it too has failed.  We are hearing from many other boats that they are not catching any fish either, many blame the huge amount of Sargasso Sea grass that’s in the ocean these days.  It floats in large patches on the water and piles up several feet deep on the windward beachesof all the islands.  It produces a very bad smell as it rots in the sun.  It is always present but has been a particularly abundant crop this year.  Grass is the only thing we are catching as we put our lines out and we do catch a great deal of it.  We continue with our efforts and hopes for a great Mahi or Tuna but always have another option available for dinner.

Catching loads of sea grass

Huge patches of sea grass

Union Island was our last stop in SVG.  We anchored just inside the reef and spent several days enjoying the breeze and the view.  There’s a kite surfing school here with many surfers to watch each day.  The town is nice and we hiked up to the radio tower.  Somehow we always are walking to radio towers and airports……Well the radio towers are usually the highest spots on the island and have beautiful views and the airports can be interesting on these small mountainous islands.  Not sure if it’s how other people see the world but it works for us.

Roadside billboard in Union Island

Just a beautiful bay

Just a cupple of fellows

Happy Island

We had one of those small world experiences at a unique little bar on a small man made island in Clifton Harbor on Union Island.  It’s called Happy Island and was built with conch shells.  It currently has a bar although they hope to have the kitchen finished within the next year.  There was a group of 6 people there when we arrived.  Conversation started quickly and we soon found several connections,.  One of the women was wearing a Michigan State shirt so we started there, her son’s are attending MSU.  She and her husband had only been to Michigan for freshman orientation. When another couple mentioned they were from Kansas City and we immediately knew they were friends of Tom and Sabrina on Honey Ryder.  We knew Tom and Sabrina had stayed longer in Bequia waiting for friends who were chartering so we knew the connection.  As conversation went on we learned they were white water rafters and had rafted many of the rivers we have done.  There were other connections and we had lots to talk about.  They came back to Echo with us where we enjoyed their musical talents and great conversation.  It was a fun evening on Happy Island with Heather, Brett, Cate, Jayne, Dan and Mark!

Small world meet up at Happy Island

Serious eyeglass repair effort

We are now in Grenada where we will stay for the next few months.  Echo and Jeff’s glasses made it clear that we needed to be settled for a bit and take care of some things.  So we made our way to Grenada where resources we need are available.  We also have some longer term projects to arrange so they’ll be completed by the end of hurricane season.  One such project is our new main sail. Thanks to Jeff’s sewing repairs along with a little help from a sailmaker in Les Saintes we have kept the old one working since discovering problems back in St. Martin.  At that time we feared losing the sail completely and having to use the motor for most of the journey, instead we have had many great sailing days.

Once we get some things sorted out here we do plan to watch for a good weather opportunity to go back and revisit the Grenadines that we missed due to winds.  We watch daily for any indication of a storm brewing and will be certain to secure both Echo and ourselves should there be any possibility of a tropical storm.

In the mean time we plan to explore the beautiful island of Grenada.

~  Jeff and Mary  ~