"EIGHT DAYS A WEEK"

Bequia (Beck’ way) is one of the Grenadines and is situated just 9 miles south of St. Vincent. The island has a satisfying blend of past and present. There are inconspicuous tourist villas on some of the beaches, but what stands out is evidence of Bequia’s rich history that links it to the sea – fishing, boat-building, and whaling.

Humpback whales head south to mate and bear their young. Between February and April they are heading back to their northern feeding grounds. International regulations allow Bequian whalers to take four whales a year, although some years they don’t get any. The few remaining islanders who have the skills to hunt whales, do so in open, hand-made skiffs, using hand-thrown harpoons. We consider ourselves fortunate to have witnessed a successful ‘take’ – from a distance. Be forewarned that this blog entry ends with pictures of the aftermath of this rare event – the sharing of the whale meat and blubber – a true island celebration.

But I’m getting way ahead of the story.

Back to our arrival in Bequia, the week before Easter.

When we rounded West Cay on the southwest corner of the island, Admiralty Bay loomed far ahead. We could see a cruise ship anchored over a mile away as we entered the bay.

And then from our anchorage off Tony Gibbons Beach ......

...... the ship was as far again behind us. This is a huge anchorage.

  Over Easter weekend, Admiralty Bay was home to over three hundred anchored boats. Locals and cruisers alike hop from island to island, from regatta to regatta. Most sailors were here to race in the annual Bequia Regatta.

We were here as spectators and cheerleaders. But we had no idea how much excitement we were going to pack into the two weeks ahead. Not enough days in the week.

Port Elizabeth is the town built around Admiralty Bay. It has many harbourside establishments, many with their own dinghy docks. The racing skippers’ meeting at one these bars was well-attended.

Just how many people can pile into a ten-foot dinghy?

We ran into Lynda and Trevor from Tobago as we’d hoped, but they knew a lot of Caribbean boats and racers from other island regattas. Most of their time was accounted for and they were headed back to Tobago right after Easter. So - sundowners together planned for next time.

Our friends on ‘Alouette’ arrived from Martinique just before the weekend to crew on a J24 from Trinidad.

That’s John in the middle, and his son William is in the red shirt.

'Am Bushe' did well in its class.

There were three days of racing over the four day weekend. Sunday was a lay day for most race classes, so we walked over to Friendship Bay on the south side of the island with the Alouetters. Time for some fun with the kids.

Katie and William won third prize for their Ancient Aztec Castle,

seen here in its early stages of construction.

The other event for the kids was the Krazy Kraft Race. Rules stipulated that the boat must be built from found or recycled items. The theme was Spaceships and the competition was stiff.

But William and Katie on their Krazy Kraft, ‘Explorer’, were first off the start line.

And a clear winner all the way.

Congratulations Katie and William, our favourite happy aliens!

At the other end of Friendship Bay, the local boat races were getting underway.

The scene on the beach looked quite chaotic as the boats were shuffled around to allow each class some room to prepare.

 This crew had just received their sponsorship regalia.

Hats, wearable in any direction, t-shirts, and a case of liquid courage.

Every boat needs ballast.

Easy enough to find on the beach.

 We located Nerissa J 2 ……

…… one of the boats we saw being prepped in Canouan the previous week.

The local boats are built by eye, using simple hand tools. They have no motors, so the race starts are Le Mans-style off the beach.

The crews walk the boats out to the start line, push off at the starting gun, and scramble aboard.

They're off!

Our anniversary was the week after Easter. We thought we’d get off ‘Beach House’ for the day, and just for a change, we decided to go somewhere by boat – a cruise to Mustique.

The ‘Friendship Rose’ is a 100-foot classic wooden schooner,

hand-built on Bequia in the late forties.

We boarded at 0800 with a dozen other passengers. The crew greeted us with fresh local juice, croissants, Danish pastries, and excellent coffee. A great start.

  As we cleared the coast of Bequia and hit open water,
the crew hoisted the sails.

  Calvin Lewis has been the captain of the 'Friendship Rose' for three years.

He was one of the original builders of this classic ship, back when he was 17 years old. It’s one of those wonderful full-circle stories.

Mustique is only ten miles southeast of Bequia.

En route, a surprise. The crew was very excited when they spotted a whale about a mile to starboard.

We enjoyed the extra bonus of seeing a humpback whale comparatively close, but at the time, we didn’t realize that this sighting was the first of the season, and more importantly, that there were local whalers nearby. One of the crew members shouted, “Sail down. Sail down.” This is the first indication that they’ve successfully harpooned a whale – they drop the sails and the rig. A harpooned whale can drag their 23-foot wooden skiff for miles.

Not a good time for gear to be in the way.

Shortly after the excitement, we arrived in Britannia Bay, the only anchorage off Mustique, and happily accepted a glass of celebratory champagne.

The crew was probably toasting the whale catch.

We were toasting 31 years together.

Next was a visit ashore to check out exclusive Mustique and all the "No Entry" signs. After our walk along the town road, keeping an eye on the 'Friendship Rose' at anchor ……

…… it was time for the big event.

The world famous Basil’s Bar beckoned.

No sign of Mick, Shania, or royalty – just riff raff.

The mixed drinks were over-priced and delicious.

Back on the ‘Friendship Rose’, we enjoyed an excellent lunch, served up with beer and wine. Then the boys went snorkeling for an hour and the ladies swam around the ship to cool off.

Too soon, it was time to weigh anchor ……

…… and head back to Bequia.

 On the way back, we saw the local boats towing their catch home.

Only a whale fin was visible among the buoys.

We saw the Alouetters on our dinghy ride home and mentioned the whale catch. They had an excellent idea. The next day they helped us take ‘Beach House’ around to Semplers Cay to the whaling station.

Islanders of all ages had gathered to celebrate.

We were again reminded that this whale catch was a very rare event.

We had both dinghies with us, so we went separately for a closer look.

Yes, the water is red.

John and Sue managed to get really close and chatted with Alexander, the harpooner.

 

  The only local happier with the event?

A scavenger.

   Our stay in Bequia this year was truly memorable.

Time with friends, both old and new, racing, a sail to Mustique, and a whaling education.

   One last shot of the beach close by our anchorage - Lower Bay – the locals call it Lowby.

You really should come to visit us.

"ISLAND IN THE SUN"

After three lovely months in Grenada, it was time to move. We started with a short passage to get the feel of sailing again – 9-1/2 miles around the corner to take ‘Beach House’ to the beach for one last celebratory lunch. Morne Rouge Bay was our destination, one mile south of St. George’s on the west coast of Grenada.

The restaurant was hidden on the beach in the greenery
to the left of the hill.

We put the dinghy in the parking lot …...

…… and walked through the palms to the restaurant.

What a lovely setting to say “goodbye for now“ to Grenada.

During an excellent lunch featuring fresh local fish, we kept an eye on ‘Beach House’ at anchor in the distance ……

……then walked through the grounds to check out the land approach to the restaurant.

Looks like Grenada and ‘Beach House’ were meant to be together.
We will be back.

Doing the customs and immigration dance out of the Grenada Grenadines and then checking into the St. Vincent Grenadines was a breeze - another country, another flag. Time to play tourist.

First stop was Union Island, whose craggy, upright elevations have earned it the nickname “Little Tahiti”. The main town of Clifton is the centre of yachting in the southern Grenadines.

The anchorage is beautiful with its dazzling display
of blues and greens.

Clifton Harbour is protected by Newlands Reef to the left and there’s a smaller reef to the right in the middle of the anchorage.

We visited Union Island last year,
but this time Castello Paradise beckoned.

The entrance looked intriguing – kitschy shopping and perhaps a bar?

What started as a little “alley” off the main street meandered up through multiple path ways.

Each turn brought a new level and more to see.

In the biggest bar and restaurant area, we found Jutta Hartmann, the owner and artist whose work covers every surface.

A sign said ‘No cameras.’. Oops. Too late.

After exploring Castello’s, the blog photographer rested
in the main square ......

…… before we did the climb up to Fort Murray.

It’s hard to judge how far we walked to get to the top of Fort Hill.
Most of the climb was on gravelly roads with just enough steady incline for a decent workout.

All that’s left of Fort Murray is a foundation wall ……

…… and a cannon or two.

We walked the overgrown paths on the summit ......

…… and found this unexpectedly beautiful iron sculpture.

Fort Hill isn’t the highest elevation on Union Island, but the views are spectacular. Here’s another high shot of Clifton Harbour with a couple of islands labelled.

It was time for a sundowner on Happy Island ……

…… which is conveniently located in our anchorage.

 
Meet Jaunti. 

In 2001, he spent the year dumping boatloads of sand, conch shells, coconut trees and palm fronds into an area of water just inside part of Newland Reef to create his own island. Over the years, Happy Island has grown, and Jaunti let us photograph his pictures of the early days.

 
 
 

Today Happy Island hosts charter groups and cruisers for a daily happy hour and a barbeque meal by reservation. Jaunti has been a local force in cleaning up Union Island for tourism – the only downside is the tourist prices that followed.

Next island was Mayreau, small at less than 3 square kilometers, but boasting two protected anchorages. We anchored in Saline Bay and walked the few miles up over the hill to check out Saltwhistle Bay – a very pretty but very crowded anchorage.

The beach here at Saltwhistle Bay is much photographed and recently graced the cover of a travel magazine.

On the walk back to Saline Bay, we stopped at Mayreau’s tiny Catholic church at the top of the hill.

The door was wide open, the way churches used to be.

Behind the church, the view overlooking the Tobago Cays is beautiful.

The Tobago Cays, a group of small deserted islands, is a national park.

The anchorage is protected by Horseshoe Reef to windward.

Next stop across the Atlantic - Africa.

Canouan is the island in this area that has seen the most changes recently. In the late 90s, Italian developers bought over half the island and built a fancy resort complex with a golf course and a casino. We didn’t go to that end of Canouan.
We explored the local half of the island.

The influx of money has started to transform the area, with many new homes being built by locals.

And there’s always a local market.

Everyone needs fresh tomatoes and bananas.

We stopped to take a picture of the sign
outside the Canouan Sailing Club.

Just what is “intoxicated liquor”?

Carlos heard us and came out to say hello.

He was friendly but shy, turning away every time Geoff raised the camera. He was doing some fiberglass work on a few local boats ……

…… getting them ready to race in Bequia next week

at the Easter Regatta.

How perfect, because at noon Friday, we arrived in Bequia, our island in the sun for the next couple of weeks. We’re looking forward to meeting up with some old friends here and we’ll keep an eye out for Carlos and his Canouan racing mates.