Sailing in St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Previously on svcoolrunnings.blogspot.com: We had checked out of Grenada, getting ready to head to our next island destination, but before checking into St. Vincent and the Grenadines, we spent a night anchored off the small island of Petite St. Vincent, just a few miles from Union Island, where we needed to check in. However, all that is on the island is a private resort, and it seems acceptable that you can stop here without checking in, because if you check in first, you’d have to back-track to Petite St. Vincent, which no-one really wants to do! We were joined here by “Shuti” the following morning. Our reunion was not long, because we headed off to Union to officially check in, and “Shuti” stayed another 2 nights. We knew we would catch up with them in the Tobago Cays, so we waved “so long” and motored the 4 miles over to Union Island.

Union Island is easily recognisable with its distinctive peak called "The Pinnacle" (far right)

Clifton, the capital of Union Island, was pretty, but the harbor was a nightmare to anchor in. Mooring buoys have been placed in all the best anchoring spots, and the price to use them is steep: 60 EC Dollars (Eastern Caribbean Dollars, a fixed rate of 2.67 to the US dollar). After our previous experience with mooring buoys, we wanted to steer clear of any mooring buoys, but there was precious little space left in which to drop an anchor! We have encountered the mooring buoys all over now, and the disappointment with them is that they have been placed purely as a money making racket. The only legitimate use for mooring buoys (in our opinion) are if it is too deep to anchor, or if there is coral that needs to be protected from anchors, in which case we are always happy to pay for a mooring. Here, the water is clear and about 5 – 10 feet deep in sand…perfect anchoring, and there is no need for mooring buoys. Their holding is also questionable, as you don’t know who is maintaining them, and to leave our expensive home tied to a ball without knowing what’s underneath is too much of a risk to say the least!

The Clifton fruit and vegetable market has the typical Caribbean style colored stalls.  

We spent the shortest amount of time possible in Clifton, checked into SVG (St. Vincent and the Grenadines), and then headed over to Palm Island, where we spent a rather rolly night at anchor. The following day, we moved to Frigate Bay, where we spent a few days, waiting for Granny’s plane to arrive. It was a lovely anchorage, protected and calm, and we spent our days watching kite surfers whizz up and down! The kids did lots of school, so they could take some time off while our guests were with us. Soon it was time to head back to Clifton, so we could walk to the airport and collect Rosemary and Kayla from the airport. We stood on the side of the runway and waited for their small propeller plane to land. We were so awed by the small runway and how quickly the plane touched down and turned around, we forgot to video their dramatic arrival!

Arrival, Island Style!  Dave and his mom, Rosemary (Granny) walk back along the airport road to the boat

With our guests now safely on board, we did a short stock up of fresh fruits and veggies from the vendors at the Clifton market the following morning, and then headed north. The distances are so short, that it took us about an hour to head to the island of Mayreau, and into the popular anchorage of Salt Whistle Bay.

Our niece, Ben and Gaby's cousin, Kayla, on the paddle board in Salt Whistle Bay

It is a beautiful bay, but very crowded with charter boats. We were extremely lucky in that, when we arrived, 2 big boats were just leaving, which opened up a coveted spot in the corner of the bay. We got a good hold on the anchor and settled in for a few days. We amused ourselves by watching the anchorage filling up with more and more boats. Just when we thought they couldn’t possibly pack in another boat, another one came and found a spot. Here too, in crystal clear water with good holding, they had laid mooring buoys, which you could have the pleasure of using for 60EC a night!

Packed with boats!

There are a few vendors selling T-shirts and jewelry on the beach, and a few rustic beach bars and restaurants. The prices were outrageous. Where in Grenada we had paid 25EC for a full meal at the Little Dipper in Grenada, here a comparable meal was 60EC and up!

Vendors selling T-shirts and sarongs on the beach

Gaby in her natural habitat:  thrilled to be climbing palm trees again!

After 2 nights in Salt Whistle Bay, we headed around the corner and over to the famous Tobago Cays.  We had found our turquoise water at last!!  The Tobago Cays are a group of small, deserted islands protected from the sea by a big reef called Horseshoe Reef. The water is shallow and crystal clear in the sand behind the reef, providing a good, safe anchorage, and turtles swim around eating the sea grass at the bottom. Here too, there were many boats, but the anchorage area is bigger, so it was easier to find a spot. We spotted “Shuti” and dropped anchor next to them.

Stunning Tobago Cays

We spent a week here, swimming, snorkeling and meeting Shuti for sundowners on the small beaches in the late afternoon/evening. It was a lovely playground for the kids, and for us, it felt like a holiday, not having to move, not having to check the weather and just enjoying “chilling out” for a while! We were lucky enough to snorkel with turtles a couple of times during our stay there!

One of my favorite shots:  Gaby checking out this friendly fellow!

Enjoying Turtle Time!

And, because you can't swim with turtles all day, every day...  Yoav from Shuti, joins Kayla, Gaby, Granny and Ben for a game of Risk!

One of the days we took Cool Runnings over to an island called “Petite Tabac”, on the outside of the big Horseshoe Reef. We enjoyed a day there, exploring the little island and snorkeling on the reef, but after lunch, we pulled up anchor and came back to the main anchorage for the night. We decided that it would not be safe to stay there, as the small island is surrounded by reef, and if anything were to go wrong, we’d be on the reef within seconds.

Petite Tabac

Fun times at Petite Tabac

Shuti left to go back to Union Island to pick up guests of their own, and we spent one more night in the Tobago Cays without them. We moved to a different part of the reef, just for a change of scenery. Dave and I went for a long swim and snorkeled on the outside of the reef, where it drops away dramatically into the depths of the ocean. It was very pretty, but after we spotted a shark checking us out, and with the tide starting to go out as well, I decided it was time to go back into the safety of the inside of the reef!!

Snorkeling on the reef

Early on Sunday morning, Dave called me up onto the helm station and said, “I think there’s a cat (catamaran) on the reef”! We looked over to Petite Tabac, where we had been only two days before, and saw a boat at a very odd angle to the wind. A monohull was also anchored there, and they were facing into the wind, confirming our suspicion that the cat was on the reef. After looking through the binoculars, Dave said, “we should go and see if we can help them. If it was me, I would want someone to come and help us”. We got our spare anchor with 300ft of rode (rope), extra mooring lines, mask and fins, and topped up the dinghy gas/petrol tank. We decided that Ben and Gaby would go with Dave, and I would stay on Cool Runnings to monitor the radio. About 2 ½ hours later, Dave and the kids returned, having successfully helped get the boat off the reef! Dave said the damage was relatively minor, and most of it was on the keels. The boat was a new Lagoon 420, and luckily Lagoons are built to take the weight of the boat on their keels. Luckily Dave not only knew the boat and Lagoons, but he also knew our dinghy would be powerful enough to be able to push and pull if needed, as we have used it before as a “tug boat” on Cool Runnings in strong wind. In addition having been there a few days prior, Dave knew where the holding was good to put our spare anchor, and help winch the boat off the reef. The folks on the Lagoon were of course very grateful for his and the kids help, and called us later on VHF to say they had safely made it to Union island and to again say thanks!

The Lagoon 420 on the reef, just after the grounding

After this exciting morning, we still decided to leave as planned, and headed out in the afternoon towards the island of Canouan, which was just an overnight stop before heading to Mustique the following day. In a very short time, the scenery changed from shallow turquoise water and white sand, to deep bays and mountains. The sail the next day to Mustique was a little rough, as we had to point more to windward than we would like, and we had about 13 miles of “open water”, that is, the passage between the islands, where you don’t have the protection of the island to shield you. But it didn’t last too long, and soon we were in Britannia Bay, tied to a mooring buoy.

Boats on moorings in Britannia Bay, Mustique.  Cool Runnings is 3rd from left at the back

Mustique is a private island and use of mooring buoys is mandatory. However, the buoys looked very strong and well-maintained, so we didn’t mind paying the somewhat high fee for their use. (The cost is 200EC (about $75) for 3 nights). Mustique is very pretty, and largely undeveloped. The water around Mustique is a conservation area, and we also found that on land, they were very environmentally conscious, which was a wonderful surprise. They desalinate water and much of the power comes from solar power, pretty much the same as Cool Runnings!! The tiny little town is pretty, and the island has about 90 homes on it, many of them owned by the rich and famous. In fact, when we went for a walk, we tried to get to the library (we’d read the internet was good!!), but we were prevented from going there, as the road was blocked off “for about 2 weeks” we were told, so we figured someone famous was on the island, and didn’t want to be disturbed!! (A few days later, we actually saw Mick Jagger on neighboring Bequia, and we were told he often came to Bequia, as he had a house “next door” on Mustique).

Beautiful, colorful Mustique:  Bougainvilla in all colors, tortoises roaming around freely, Stanley's vegetable stand where we stocked up on tomatoes and cucumber, and Granny, Kayla, Gaby, Ben and Dave enjoying an ice cream!

We spent 3 days in Mustique, making full use of our payment for the mooring buoys (it’s 200EC, whether you stay for one night, two or three). On one day, there was a little craft market, with artists coming from St. Vincent to display their goods. Like everything else on the island, it was all too expensive for yachties such as us, but it was nice to just walk around and look. In fact, we bought our most expensive sausages in our lives in Mustique…12 Johnsonville Brats and 1 can of creamed sweetcorn cost us 80EC, about $36!!!

When it was time to head on, we sailed over to Bequia, a very pleasant sail, stopping at a small island called Petite Nevis for the day, before heading over to Friendship Bay, on the southeast coast of Bequia for the night. On Friday, 30th March, we took a slow sail along the coast to the other side to Bequia, to the main anchorage of Admiralty Bay, and the town of Port Elizabeth. It was very crowded in Admiralty Bay, and quite rolly, with large swells rolling into the bay. On a catamaran, we were somewhat more stable than monohulls, who were rocking quite badly from side to side! There were major parties happening on shore, and every night we had to go to sleep with the extremely loud reggae music rocking us to sleep! We also walked around the small town (where we saw Mick Jagger!), and on Easter Sunday, we went ashore and Granny treated us to lunch at the Gingerbread Hotel, where we sat under a tree, next to the water and enjoyed our Easter Lunch! (toasted sandwiches for Granny and Gaby, Rotis for Dave, Ben and myself and a burger and fries for Kayla).

Gaby made our Easter decorations.  The bunny even managed to hide a few eggs and the kids found them on Easter morning!  On the dock outside the Gingerbread after our lunch

Before we knew it, it was time for Granny and Kayla to head back home. Early on Monday morning, April 2nd, Dave, Ben and Gaby took them to shore and they waited at the Gingerbread hotel for a taxi to take them to the airport, where they would hop on another small propeller plane that would take them to Barbados, and then American Airlines would take them back to Miami and ultimately Tampa. Two weeks had flown by in a blur, but this time, when we said goodbye, we were able to say “see you soon!” We have about 10 weeks left before we will be back home, and just like Granny and Kayla’s 2 weeks flew by, our 2 years have flown by equally fast!

Sunset in Bequia