Mayreau Island and Union Island

The very tiny and sparsely populated island of Mayreau has held a special place in our hearts for several decades. The first time we visited this island was on one of the Windjammer cruises in the early 1980s. There were 40 residents on the island at that time. The St. Vincent government had built a dock and a very short road-to-nowhere at the end of that dock. Supply boats delivered essentials to the residents on a sporadic schedule. These people had nothing. Except for beautiful incredibly white sand beaches covered in coconut palms and surrounded by turqoise waters. You cannot believe how excited the children were to receive simple things like a pencil or little notebook.

When we returned to Houston after our first stop at Mayreay I collected various school supplies and shipped these to the Windjammer offices in Florida. Several of the passengers on our cruise had agreed to to the same and to continue to do so in future years. The Windjammer company would send these supplies down to Mayreau through their distribution system to their tall ship that cruised this area -- which at that time was just the Mandalay. This started a tradition. As more small privately-owned cruising boats started visiting Mayreau, cruisers began to bring more school supplies to the island. That tradition of donations for the school on Mayreau continues today. The cruisers are more organized and actually hold annual functions these days. This doesn't garner a great deal of money or donations, but every little bit helps and both children and parents are very appreciative of anything to help their childrens' educations.

Salt Whistle Bay is our favorite anchorage on Mayreau. It is very small and can get crowded so it is important to arrive early in the day. We could stay anchored there for weeks. There is a small resort of sorts now located at Sail Whistle Bay. What a beautiful location for a secluded vacation.

The other main anchorage on Mayreau is Saline Bay, where the government built dock is located. The road now extends up the hill to the small town and even farther up to the northern end the island and ends not too far from Salt Whistle Bay. There is a thatched-roofed structure on the beach at Saline Bay where several of us cruisers gathered for happy hour late one afternoon -- BYOB, of course. This structure is used by the locals to sell their wares when the occasional small cruise ship anchors in this bay. The only cruise "ship" we saw anchor there was a small Venezuelan cruise ship in May 2007. The residents of Mayreau said this ship comes every couple of months.

In May 2007 we visited Union Island for the first time. The only reason we stopped at Union was to clear out of St. Vincent and theGrenedines before sailing the very short distance over to Carriacou. Carriacou is part of Grenada and boats must clear out of SVG before visiting Carriacou. Not much to say about Union Island as we only stopped there long enough to clear out. It was a very, very crowded anchorage with no place to disembark from your dinghy. We paid a guy to "help" onto a temporary mooring and to bring me ashore. The mooring was far too risky for both Bill and I to get off the boat for any length of time. I walked to the airport and cleared us out. Them stopped at the most poorly stocked grocery store that I have ever seen anywhere. There was not one item in that store that we would buy. I felt so sorry for the local residents if this is the only food available to them. Mind you, this was there main town on this island and this was a relatively large store. I then walked back to the dock area and eventually got Bill's attention and he came out to collect me in the dinghy. We couldn't wait to get out of that harbor. Union Island is not a place that we would recommend.

The Tobago Cays

The first time I visited the Tobago Cays I thought it was absolutely the most gorgeous place on earth. That was back in the early 1980s and there were only 2 sailboats anchored in the Tobago Cays during that particular week of February. Bill was doing something else that day and I had taken a tour boat out from Palm Island to see what these cays were all about. So he never had a chance to see Tobago Cays in their glory days. And it is a totally different place today.

We sailed to Tobago Cays in May 2006 and again in May 2007. Both times we were struck by the beauty of the place; but it is now so crowded with sailboats and day-tourist boats that it simply is not the same place that I visited back in the 1980s. In fact, the SVG government has declared the area a national park and now collects fees from visiting boats. They have marked off a small spot beside on of the cays as a protected area and there are 2 places where you can enter with a dinghy to get to the beach. This is a turtle nursery grounds area and also very popular for snorkeling.

The Tobago Cays have 2 reefs that break up the Atlantic waves before reaching the cays. It is technically possible to anchor behind the outermost reef during daytime only, but it is usually much too rough out there for us to consider anchoring that far out. The normal anchoring ground is behind the innermost reef, between the reef and the cays.


These days it is not unusual to see 100 boats or more anchored there. A far cry from the 2 boats that were anchored there during "high season" back in the early 1980s!!! It is a crowded anchorage area but still extremely popular. I'm sure we will return again and again after we complete our circumnavigation.

Mustique, the island of the ultra-wealthy; May 2007

On May 2, 2007, we sailed a whopping 13 miles from the nearby island of Bequia to Britannia Bay on the island of Mustique. We picked up a mooring at 12.52.728N; 061.11.316W.

Notes to sailors about this area: The charts indicate there is a flashing light twice every 15 seconds on the buoy that marks Montezuma Shoal just east of Britannia Bay on Mustique. The buoy is still in place but there are no lights on it so don’t sail at night around here until you have confirmed the location of this shoal; many boats have hit it. The charts also indicate a flashing light once every 40 seconds on Petit Canouan. That light is also no longer working. However, there is a really bright flashing light that almost looks like a slow strobe light. It marks the casino Donald Trump built at the posh resort Raffles on the northern end of Canouan. You would think it is important to keep lights functioning on reefs that have sunk several boats, but beware because there are no longer lights to warn you away from these dangers.

Boats less than 70 feet in length are not supposed to anchor at Mustique; instead, they are required to pick up a mooring ball. The moorings are very sturdy and well maintained but they do not have pennants or painters. You must attach a line through the eye on top of the mooring ball. Bill used our heavy wooden boat hook to literally pick up the mooring ball and raise it high enough to run a line through the eye and then dropped it back into the water while holding onto the line. He cleated it off and we were set. Chris Doyle’s sailing guide does an injustice to Mustique because he says that it will cost $75 for a mooring for 3 nights; he fails to mention that it is really $75 EC – which is less than $30 USD for 3 nights on a mooring. That is a very, very low price for a mooring and we are glad to pay it. Chris also mentions several times in his guide that the bay is rolly. Well, it is; but it is a gentle “rock me to sleep like a baby” type of roll.

Bill had called Basil’s from Bequia and made a reservation for dinner tonight. Basil’s normally has a “jump up” on Wednesday nights but not tonight. That was fine with us because we knew what we wanted to eat at Basil’s – LOBSTER! Hard to believe that we have been on this boat for a full year and have not eaten lobster even once. After we arrived in Mustique we went ashore and visited the bar in Basil’s for a quick beer and to confirm that they had our reservation and that lobster would be available. Affirmative answer from the bartender to both questions.

So we donned our best attire and arrived a few minutes early so we could enjoy cocktail hour before dinner. I finally tried a Sex on the Beach (I know, a decade or two late in this). It was made with gin and Cointreau and passion fruit juice and tasted darn good. Should have tried this drink long ago. Bill stuck to his normal Hairoon beer (local beer of St. Vincent). Then we learned that the restaurant manager had made a last minute decision that they would serve a buffet tonight, so no menu service. There went our lobster dinner! Neither of us likes buffets so we opted not to eat dinner at Basil’s tonight after all. We made a reservation for tomorrow night and confirmed that they would service regular menu service; then returned to BEBE and had leftovers for dinner.

Early the next morning found us walking around Mustique. We wanted to get started on our walk before the day heated up. We had planned to pick up pain au chocolat and croissants at Sweet Pea Bakery for breakfast, but when we arrived we found that they were closed for the entire week. Tuesday was Labour Day in SVG and several businesses used the excuse of this one holiday and closed for the entire week. We walked about two hours and saw everything that we wanted to see; reviving memories from our last visit so long ago.

Last time we were on Mustique we walked all over the new house under construction that belonged to Mick Jagger. It reminded us of a Japanese jigsaw puzzle, as it was built somewhat like a maze. There were long hallways that connected separate bedroom suites to a main house; very unique. His original house was also there on the grounds – a tiny wooden pier-and-beam house raised a couple of feet off the ground. And his large trampoline under the palm trees that he used for exercise. There was a great view of the sea and some rocky tiny islands. We wanted to see if we could find this house again. The bartender at Basil’s told us last night that Mick had been on the island for quite some time but had recently left.

We walked through the grounds at The Cotton House, the most exclusive and nicest hotel in the entire Caribbean. There have been many new homes built since we were last on Mustique. There were only 27 homes when we were last here. They belong to people like Princess Margaret, Raquel Welch, Mick Jagger, and other celebrities or rich and famous people. Today there are more than 90 homes on Mustique, and they are all really nice and very large. I particularly like the white one on top of the hill on the southwest tip of the island; looks like a version of the Taj Majal when viewed through my binoculars from our cockpit. Mustique is a very well-kept island. The other difference we found is that there are “private drive, please do not enter” signs all over the place. We stayed strictly on the roads or paths that were not marked as private. We found what we think is Mick Jagger’s house – or at least a similar styled house in the location that we remembered.

Nearby is an empty small lot that is not marked as private, so we walked out to the beach. And there we found what appeared to be a stone bench located beneath the palm trees and facing the sea. It was a beautiful location and the bench appeared to be placed so that one could sit and watch the ocean under the shade and enjoy the breeze. Turned out that this is a gravesite for a man who was a sailor. On the seat of the bench is engraved the poem about “a sailor home from the sea” and the back side of the bench is signed by what appeared to be his grandchildren. What a lovely location for a final resting place for anyone who loved the sea.

Bill was entertained most of the afternoon. He became the self-appointed mooring line helper for arriving boats that looked like they needed assistance. Some boats could handle picking up a mooring ball with no painter attached, but most could not. Have to remember that there are a lot of charter boats down here with people who are not experienced with all facets of boating life. Bill would watch a boat approach the mooring field and see how they intended to handle the situation. If they were obviously confused or short-handed, then Bill would jump into the dinghy and go help them attach lines to the ball. Gave him something to do and people to talk to. He also was entertained by a girl on the beach. The couple are apparently staying someone on the island, not on a yacht. A driver brought them to the nearby beach and left them there for a couple of hours. After swimming the girl walked back onto the beach and promptly stripped out of her swimsuit and not is a modest manner. She pranced around a bit as if she were on a stage and then donned a cover up top. Stunning girl and provided Bill with entertainment.

Looking forward to our special treat lobster dinner tonight. cWe are considering this our anniversary dinner to celebrate our first full year living aboard.

ARROGANT BRIT WITH POOR SEAMANSHIP :
Early yesterday afternoon a British yacht arrived and dropped a huge anchor about 40 feet behind our boat – right inside the mooring field! He dropped that anchor to the inside of 5 moorings. Bill happened to be in the dinghy assisting another boat moor, so when he finished with the first one he went to the Brit to see if he wanted any assistance. Bill thought the Brit was just putting down an anchor to hold the boat in place while he took his dinghy down from the davits so that he could do his own mooring line. But this was not the case; the Brit intended to anchor – right in the middle of the moorings! Talk about poor seamanship, not to mention safety issues and simple rudeness. The Brit said he planned to drop far back (he didn’t; he ended up lying aligned evenly with the last mooring ball). Yachts longer than 70 feet are allowed to anchor, but only well behind the mooring field; yachts smaller than 70 feet are required to use moorings. This is a requirement for conservation reasons to protect the marine life and sea bottom. Yachts that are anchored are still required to pay the $75 EC conservation fee, same as if on a mooring. So it made no sense that this guy was anchoring right in the middle of the mooring field since he was going to have to pay anyway.

Bill: “I think they will make you pick up a mooring.”
Brit: “I don’t think they can make me use a mooring. That isn’t legal.”
Bill, smiling and with a shrug, and motoring away: “It’s Mustique.”

I was concerned about where he had dropped his anchor and the fact that he did not let out enough scope and was lying too close to moored boats. Anchored boats swing on their anchor lines differently than moored boats swing on mooring balls. The anchored boat has a much greater arc of swing because he has longer scope. If the winds had changed during the night as so often happens then that Brit would swing into one or more moored boats. But he was far enough away from us that our boat was not in any danger, so we let the situation alone. Not our problem.

Before we went in for dinner last night Bill watched the harbor master do his nightly rounds to each boat to collect the conservation/mooring fees. The guy on the British yacht spoke with him for awhile and then the harbor master handed over a piece of paper. The British guy did not pay but did accept the paper from the harbor master.

We went into Basil’s and didn’t give the Brit a second thought. Basil’s is open air like most Caribbean restaurants, and it is built out over the water. We were seated at a corner table with a beautiful view of the bay as the full moon was rising. While we were enjoying our cocktails (another Sex on the Beach for me; I’m developing a taste for that gin and passion fruit juice), Bill noticed that the arrogant Brit was pulling his anchor. Only thing we can figure is that the harbor master gave him a copy of the local laws regarding anchoring and conservation fees in Mustique; the guy still refused to pay; and the harbor master said that he would have to leave. We watched his stern light as he sailed away toward Canoaun in the darkness. Can you believe that someone on an expensive yacht would chose to sail away at night rather than pay less than $30 USD and stay on a mooring for 3 nights? Makes no sense to us. Sheer arrogance: nobody-is-going-tell-me-what-to-do type attitude.

We enjoyed our lobster dinner. It was a real treat and grilled perfectly. For those who don’t already know this tidbit, lobsters are basically marine arachnids, meaning that they are sea spiders or sea bugs. Sounds yucky to think that you are eating a spider, but the darn things taste so good! We definitely prefer the warm-water Caribbean lobsters over the traditional cold-water Maine lobsters.

We also had a little surprise. Our waiter used to work as the bartender on 2 of the Windjammer cruise routes that we sailed back in the 1980s. What a small world. His name is Aussie and he has had a number of jobs in a number of different places since then. Funny that we should run into him here. Bill remembered him well because Bill spent a lot more time in the bar on the Windjammer cruises while I was prone in our cabin due to seasickness. Aussie told us about several of the other Windjammer employees who have since passed away – like Ingrid who worked in the dining room on the POLYNESIA and Offshore Eddie who was old even back then. Offshore Eddie was a real character. He was a master sailmaker and could repair sails by hand and could make basically anything from canvass or sailcloth by hand. He worked on the Windjammer ships for living quarters and all the food and rum and beer that he wanted to drink. A real old codger who did not want to give up his life on the sea.

Aussie explained to us the employment arrangements of working for Basil’s. The workers are provided with housing, food and even uniforms. They must remain on Mustique and work for 30 days and then they are allowed to leave the island for 4 days. Kind of reminded us of a modern version of slavery, but the workers seem very happy with this arrangement.

BTW, I bought a small container of sour cream yesterday. Cost $9.80 USD for a container of about 6 ounces. Good thing that Basil’s provides meals for their employees because they certainly could not afford to buy their own food on Mustique.

Later on May 4…….

The sail was so nice that we skipped right by Canouan. We decided there was no good reason to stop there. Bill had bought a loaf bread in Mustique this morning so that was taken care of, and we had no intentions of visiting Raffles resort or casino; so why stop? Then we heard a hail on the VHF “BEBE, BEBE, BEBE; ALLELUIA!, ALLELUIA!” Our friends Tito and Roberta were on their way from Bequia to Tobago Cays and could see us. We decided to sail on to the Cays rather than stop in Mayreau.

So that is we where we sit this afternoon. Sailed 20.5 NM in F5 conditions on a broad reach. The way sailing should always be. We are at 12.37.890N; 061.21.385W in the heart of the beautiful Tobago Cays, anchored behind the long southern reef with less than a meter of water beneath our keel and facing the Atlantic Ocean.

Oh, one other thing about today. When we approached the Cays there were several boats arriving at the same time so we were forming into a line to pass single file in the narrow passage between the 3 islands. Two boats ahead of us in line was the same British yacht that had refused to pay the mooring/conservation fee in Mustique last night. He chickened out of the tight and shallow passage and we all had to wait for him to turn back and re-track his course. This boat has no name on it, but it was definitely the same boat. He has 2 wind generators mounted way out to either side on the stern; the boat is easily identifiable; and we want to avoid him as much as possible. I think it is funny that the arrogant expert was afraid to negotiate the difficult passage and turned around. Later we drove around the area in our dinghy and saw that this boat had anchored right in the middle of the very narrow channel between the 3 islands. Hopefully he will be gone before we are ready to leave, because he is now completely blocking the channel. We have dubbed this man the Anchor Guy.

Bequia in May 2006 and April 2007

Leaving St. Lucia it was a great beam reach and then broad reach sail until we reached the south end of St. Vincent; then we were close hauled, right on the bottom of the red, tight as we could get it until we reached Bequia. Winds ranged from 22 kts to 30 kts all day; seas 7-ft to 10-ft. Great day of sailing, at last. We arrived in Port Elizabeth on May 23, 2006, and anchored at
13.00.505N 61.14.355W . We had traveled 500 NM since leaving the BVI on May 12, with lots of island hopping.

When we arrived in Bequia, we were approached by a boat boy right at the harbor entrance wanting to "help" us with a mooring. We told him we were going to anchor. Then we tried hailing Daffodil's on the VHF to get a mooring ball in their area. We plan to have them deliver fuel to our boat tomorrow, so we wanted to be nearby. Daffodil's said they were sending someone out to assist us with the mooring. The mooring balls here do not have any type of pennant attached. Someone comes out in a small boat and takes your line and ties it off on the bottom side of the mooring ball. Anyway, some guy shows up in a dinghy and tells us that there was a mistake and that Daffodil's is full and doesn't have a mooring available for us. He told us to hail African on VHF channel 68 and get on a mooring on the other side of the harbor.

Bill spent several minutes trying to hail the guy called African. Several people answered and someone said that Wild Larry would be out to help us with the mooring at African's mooring ball field.

While all that was going on, another guy came up way too close to the side of the boat and tried to talk to me while Bill was on the radio. I told him to leave us alone right now. He then sped up and went in front of our boat, turned crosswise to block our progress, and came to a stop. I started yelling at him and turning the boat trying to avoid hitting him. Then he came back near the cockpit and tried talking again. I yelled at the top of my voice for him to "get the f**k away from our boat or we were going to be hit him." He looked really pissed off, but he finally left. Those of you reading this, if you know me, then you know just how loud I can yell when really pissed off. This happened while Bill was on the radio, so everyone in the anchorage heard me yelling on the radio. Maybe now the boat boys will stay away from our boat.

Wild Larry showed up in a bright pink "go-fast" boat and helped Bill tie off on a mooring ball. Bill just didn't feel right about the whole process; so when he saw a man with African on the side of his boat helping another boat moor near us, Bill called him over to our boat. Sure enough, we had been hijacked; the ball we were moored on did not belong to African. So we moved over to one of African's moorings. We are much happier because this ball looks much better maintained.

We then went ashore to the Whaleboner Bar for a cold drink, and a short walk around the beach bars. This is again an island that we have not visited in 20 years. It has changed quite a bit, but still the same lovely place that we remember.












The Whaleboner Bar has a huge whale rib bone forming the bar counter. The bar stools are made from whale vertabrae. The entrance from the beach is framed by 2 whale ribs. This bar has been here for decades upon decades. They are not making these type items from whales anymore, so relax.


Bequia has a strong whaling history. The men would go out in these tiny boats that they built locally. They would gather round and spear a whale and then tow it back to the island for slaughter. They used every bit of the whale; it was not over-kill like the Japanese still do. Bequia still holds a license that would allow them to kill up to 4 whales per year, but the skills are being lost as the older generation ages. They have not gone out to hunt a whale in a couple of years. Their long whaling history might now be finished.



Enjoyed the traditional lobster pizza at Mac’s on our first night here. Lobster season ended April 31, so the local restaurants were trying to use up all the lobsters in their live tanks. They are allowed to sell those, but they cannot harvest any more from the sea until October. Anyway, our pizza was thickly covered in lobster. It was delicious; we could not finish it all and hated to throw away that last piece. When we returned to Bequia in 2007, lobster pizza was no longer on the menu at Mac's. That was the end of an era. Lobster has now been so over-fished throughout the Caribbean that Mac's can no longer serve their famous lobster pizzas. At least we have our fond memories of this delicacy.

We next visited Bequia on April 24, 2007; and again anchored in Admiralty Bay. This time we sailed down the eastern (windward) side of St. Vincent on our passage from St. Lucia to Bequia. The waves were 10 feet and pleasant enough for most of the trip, but we got too close to land near the southeastern tip of St. Vincent and it was shallow. The waves rolling in off the Atlantic were large but comfortable in the deep water, but the waves were building one upon another in the shallower water and it became unpleasant. That lasted about 2 hours and then we were back to pleasant sailing. So we learned a lesson: keep at least one mile to two miles offshore if sailing on the eastern side of St. Vincent. At only one-half mile offshore you will experience nasty sailing conditions.

I trailed two fishing lines all day yesterday (54 miles) and never had a bite. Today I trailed two fishing lines most of the day (about 50 miles) without a bite. And then we had two bites within a minute! I went below to the head and when I came back into the cockpit there was Bill with my fishing line all over the place. Seems there had been a strike by something large on the fishing line being trailed from the port side. The entire lure was gone and the hand reel had actually exploded into tiny pieces from the pressure of the fishing line wrapped around it. All that remained of that gear was the bungee cord and the fishing line and the metal wire that used to hold the lure! And that was my brand new favorite lure!

Less than a minute later there was a strike on the fishing line being trailed on the starboard side. This time the line snapped right at the hand reel. The line was 100 pound test strength, so something quite large must have hit that lure. So, two fishing lures and 150 meters of fishing line, leaders, etc.--- all gone within a minute. And no fish to show for it! Bad enough to lose the fishing gear but I really wish we could have been able to at least see the fish that took my gear.

When we arrived in Bequia we found Dennis and Allayne on AUDREY PAIGE, and Al and Joan on BREAK AND RUN. We are anchored between their two boats. Dennis and Allayne are friends from the marina in Trinidad last summer. We knew that Dennis and Allayne were in Bequia several weeks ago and hoped that they would still be here. We really enjoy their company. Great folks. We met Al and Joan in Guadeloupe when we shared dinner. Another guy, Richard (and Beth) on SLOW DANCING came by and introduced himself because he recognized our SSCA burgee and he is also a SSCA member. All these people plan to stay here in Bequia for a week or two or more, so hopefully we will be seeing them all several times.

FYI, we are now in the country of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. That is a rather long country name, so it is usually abbreviated to SVG. We opted not to stop at St. Vincent because there is too much thievery there. So our first stop in SVG is Bequia, which we truly love. Luckily, it is also a clearance port so we were not forced to stop in St. Vincent. Bequia has a special charm. All the islands that we will be visiting in the next few weeks belong to SVG – there are quite a few of them and we will be visiting only those that we prefer. We will skip a few of the islands that hold no special interest to us for whatever reason. We will clear out of this island chain country when we reach Union Island.

Bill had a bit of sticker shock when we visited the local vegetable market. I bought 4 small tomatoes, 2 medium cucumbers, and 3 carrots for a total cost $30 EC. Bill’s face was had an incredulous expression! That converts to $11.11 USD. Food is a bit pricey here on Bequia.

On Wednesday afternoon we took a taxi tour of Bequia with people from 2 other cruising boats. Our tour guide was a local man named Curtis. Curtis was born on the island and is about 60 years old. He said that his heritage is French, Scottish and Portuguese. His accent definitely had a Scottish tinge. According to our sailing guide, there were a lot of Scots brought to this island when it was briefly under British control. Neither of us remembers how or why the Portuguese came to this island. It was good to talk with a local resident for several hours; learn so much more than from the guide books.

Bequia has a strong whaling history. A whaling man named Wallace moved from the USA to Bequia during the 1800s and taught the locals how to build small whaleboats; they have been catching whales ever since. The IWC has granted Bequia the right to harvest 4 whales per year, but many years they don’t get any at all. Everything is still done is the traditional manner, no modern ships or conveniences. Curtis was lamenting that all the excitement for the islanders has gone out of whaling and he doesn’t think it will continue much longer. There are very few people still alive who know how to do this work. Plus, the whaling season lasts only February through April; so it cannot be a full-time job for anyone. BTW, 60% of the men on Bequia are unemployed. They and their families subsist pretty much on what they can garner from the sea and grow on their land.

In the very old days people would light fires on the island when they spotted whales from the hills. But this made the location of the whales known to the whaling ships from the US that were nearby, so the islanders eventually changed to using mirrors to signal whale sightings. The larger the mirror, the better. People would go outside and move their bedroom mirrors to glint in the sun to let other islanders and the whalers in the little whaleboats around Bequia know that whales had been spotted. They would move several steps while the glinting mirror to correspond to the whales’ movements---right, left, up or down to correspond with east, west, north or south---to guide the little Bequian whalers to find the whales. You could see mirrors glinting all over the island when whales were spotted. Eventually people got VHF radios and they changed to this modern method of communicating the locations of the whales. But Green Peace came down and would thwart the local whalers and caused dangerous encounters (remember, these local islanders only have very small boats with harpoons). Then they changed to cell phones; the method of whale notification used today.

The whalers harpoon a whale from these tiny whaleboats, and haul it back by rowing to a nearby tiny island where the whale is butchered. They used to butcher the whales at Petit Nevis, but now the whale processing is performed at Semplers Cay in Friendship Bay. Every resident on Bequia gets a share of each whale, but not everyone eats whale meat any more. Curtis said that he had not eaten whale meat since he was about 25 years old because he just does not feel comfortable about it. He thinks that the whaling should stop.

When we first visited Bequia while we were on a Windjammer cruise back in the mid-1980s, we bought some scrimshaw pieces. Scrimshaw is banned today. True scrimshaw was carved from the teeth of the sperm whales. Sperm whales are never killed any more; they only kill humpback whales. Humpback whales are baleen whales and do not teeth, so no more scrimshaw. (Okay, to our sons Trey and Aaron: do you have any idea where your scrimshaw necklaces are today? I still have mine.)

Our tour also included a visit to a pottery place located in an old sugar mill at Spring plantation. We enjoyed seeing the old building and the methods of production and the pottery was quite nice, but not something we need on a boat. Thought about buying some as gifts for relatives but storing it and hauling it back home would create problems. So, sorry everyone; no unique pottery gifts from us.

We wanted to go see Moonhole, but Curtis would not bring us out there. The road to Moonhole is terrible. Plus, you must make prior arrangements with a certain couple if you want to visit there. Moonhole is an isolated community founded by the late American architect Tom Johnson. The houses are really different. The houses grow out of the rocks without straight lines or right angles. They have huge arches. There normally is no glass in the windows, and there is no electricity. But the breeze is constant on that point of the island so the temperatures are comfortable. The houses have fantastic views and very nice patios. It is a very private place and is a special kind of vacation home for the right people. The original house was built under a natural arch known as “Moonhole.” It was abandoned when a huge boulder fell from the ceiling and crushed the empty bed. Jim and Sheena Johnson have a bar there and offer limited tours by prior arrangement only. Moonhole is on the hill overlooking directly onto the water but is not accessible from the water because it is too rough and rocky out there. I have no idea who supposedly frequents this bar since there is no way to get out there.

From Bequia this time we will go to Mustique, island of the ultra-rich and celebreties.

Tabogo Cays again, then south to Carriacou

May 15, 2007  Tuesday

Tobago Cays

We motored over here from Salt Whistle Bay yesterday morning.  Linda and Bob on S/V VILLOMEE followed us since this was their first visit to the Cays.  It is nice to be able to follow another boat so you are sure that you won’t hit any of the reefs or rocks or shallow spots.  You really cannot rely on your electronic charts in the Tobago Cays.  The C-Map charts are definitely wrong as they show that we sail over land.  Later we both took our dinghies out to one of the balls on Horseshoe Reef to snorkel.  The current was so strong that I did not enjoy that at all.  So we soon abandoned that area for snorkeling and moved over to the lee of one of Baradel island.  The current was still pretty strong even in the lee of that small island.  We saw several sea stars (the things we always called starfish) but they were all the small orange-red color so they all looked alike.  Linda and Bob snorkeled to a different area and found turtles.  Linda said one of them was about 5-feet across.  The turtles were feeding and Linda was able to swim directly above one for a good bit of time.  A turtle cannot see directly above.  When the turtle finally did turn so that he could see Linda, he was startled as if “Where did you come from?”  Then he wanted to swim away from her.

This morning Linda and Bob went back out to Horseshoe Reef and said the snorkeling was wonderful.  We now realize our error yesterday – we went out on the reef to snorkel at high tide.  No wonder the current was so strong.  This morning Linda and Bob were out there during low tide and said that it was perfectly calm.   But we screwed up.  We decided to go after lunch and by then it was high tide again.  Then is got cloudy during the afternoon so we never made it back out to the reef for the good snorkeling.  Instead the four of us played dominoes again in the comfort of our saloon.  Tomorrow we plan to go over to Union Island and clear out of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.  Next stop is Carriacou.

May 16, 2007  Wednesday

Tyrrel Bay, Carriacou

12.27.363N; 061.29.324W           Sailed 19 NM  Average speed almost 8 knots!

Love reaching and going with the current!

We half-motored and half-sailed through the southern passage, finding our way through the reefs  between the Tobago Cays and Clifton on Union Island.  S/V VILLOMEE followed us out through the reefs and then they headed over to Palm Island and we turned into the bay at Clifton.  Several people had told us that Clifton is very crowded with permanent moorings and the few places where you can anchor has poor holding, and they had advised us to go to Ashton and take a taxi/bus to Clifton to clear out of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.  We decided to try the bay at Clifton and see for ourselves.  Turned out to be a wise choice. 

We paid a water taxi guy 40EC (about $15 USD) to put us on a mooring and take me ashore so that I could clear out (since I am on the paperwork as the captain).   He first asked for 60EC and we refused so he quickly dropped his price to 40EC.  That seemed like a reasonable fee and kept us from having to take the dinghy off the davits.  Bill stayed onboard to monitor the boat since we obviously did not trust the mooring.   I cleared out with Customs in the main town of Clifton and then walked to the airport to clear us out with Immigration; walked back to town and found a bank to get more Eastern Caribbean currency; found a grocery store for fresh bread and something called canned chicken salami (the photo on the can shows it sliced on sandwiches; this should be interesting); and the water taxi guy brought me back to the boat.  Simple and fast clearing out.

Then we had an absolutely fantastic sail downwind to Hillsborough, where we cleared into Carriacou.  The island of Carriacou is part of Grenada so that means we won’t have to bother with clearing in when we arrive at the main island of Grenada in a couple of weeks.  The very pleasant young man working in the Immigration office at Hillsborough told us that he was from a very large family – his grandfather had 36 children!  I asked if his grandfather had more than one wife and learned that he did indeed have only one wife.  But he also had 2 “ladies.”  I didn’t ask how many children were delivered from each of these 3 women.  Heck, that averages to a dozen for each woman anyway!

After a quick lunch of yet more homegrown tomatoes on fresh baguette (Bill wasn’t brave enough to try the Halal canned chicken salami yet), we again enjoyed another short downwind sail to Tyrrel Bay.  The sailing was simply superb today.  Wind was 22-30 knots off our port stern.  There were large rolling waves from the same direction, but they were spaced far apart and the ride was very comfortable.  Bill had the sails double reefed and the boat was balanced perfectly.  It was a lot of fun.  Wish all sailing could be like that.

Here in Tyrrel Bay we found a number of our cruising friends already at anchor.  Tonight 9 of us cruisers got together at a pizza place.  Pizza was great and it was a fun evening.  Someone in the group gave us the code to log into the WiFi here in Tyrrel Bay.  So finally we can update this website.

Salt Whistle Bay, Mayreau

May 11, 2007  Friday

Salt Whistle Bay, Mayreau         Sailed 1 NM

Wednesday evening about a dozen of us walked up the hill in Saline Bay to a bar for sundowners.  The bar was closed because the owner was remodeling his house next door, but he quickly saw the benefit of stopping his manual labor and re-opening his bar to serve us.  It was a fun evening and we met some more cruisers.  Once Dutch couple sailed from Holland to the Caribbean in 1997 and are still sailing around just in the Caribbean.  The saying is:  The EC is EZ – translated:  The Eastern Caribbean is easy.   And it is.  It is very easy to sail up and down the island chain here in the Eastern Caribbean because none of the islands are very far apart.

Thursday evening we all again got together for sundowners, this time on the beach.  The flies were terrible on the beach and I was bitten several dozen times, mostly on my face.  I know better than to go onto a beach dressed like everyone else – insects love to bite me more that most people.  Everyone jokes:  “Stand next to Judy; the bugs will be so busy biting her that they will ignore you.”  So I wore long pants and long sleeved shirt in the heat and slathered on insect repellent in an effort to avoid getting bitten.  Now my face is all swollen and itchy.  Don’t know why the bugs love me so much and ignore Bill.

This morning Bill decided that the flies were too bad.  There was also a horrible “latrine” odor in Saline Bay.  Bill thinks that the restrooms built on the beach were overrun by the passengers on the Spanish cruise ship on Tuesday and that the septic system is overflowing.  Whatever the cause, the odor was too offensive for us to remain there today.  So we weighed anchor and headed over the north side of Mayreau, intending to go back to the Tobago Cays.   The winds are calmer today and it should be nice again over there.  Just as we rounded the northwestern tip of Mayreau and set course for Tobago Cays, we heard a VHF radio hail for BEBE.  It was Bob and Linda on VILLOMEE.  They were enroute from Canouan to Salt Whistle Bay on Mayreau and wanted to get together for drinks.  So we did a 180 and whipped into Salt Whistle Bay. 

We just love Salt Whistle Bay.  It is so very pretty and calm.  It does get quite crowded (especially with charter boats) and many cruisers refuse to come in here for that reason.  But that doesn’t bother us and we love it here.  In fact, there is a small Sunsail boat anchored off our starboard side tonight.  It is anchored too close for comfort but we didn’t tell him to move because there isn’t any more available anchoring space in this bay.  We don’t think he will swing into our boat during the night, but if he does then at least we know that all Sunsail boats are insured – and most cruising boats don’t carry insurance.  So we would rather have that insured charter boat anchored too close to us than to have an uninsured cruising boat anchored too close to us.

We visited VILLOMEE for drinks and visiting this afternoon.  A nice time.

May 13, 2007  Sunday

Salt Whistle Bay, Mayreau, SVG

Spent the past few days doing what we do best – reading during the day and visiting with other people for sundowners on either our boat or theirs.  We have learned to fit right into the cruiser mode.  Bob and Linda on VILLOMEE came over this afternoon and we taught them to play Mexican Train dominoes.  Our cockpit table folds out to accommodate 6, so it is a good place to play the game under the shade awning when there are cool breezes. 

It was nice and breezy today – so breezy, in fact, that the wind blew one of Bill’s dominoes off the table.  It landed on the cockpit floor and bounced down into the small scupper opening that encircles the cockpit floor – and it went right down the cockpit drain!  What are the chances of that happening?   There was only one 2-inch drain opening on that side of the cockpit and that domino bounced right straight through it!  This is a bad thing because if one domino is missing then the set is ruined; you cannot play dominoes unless the set is complete.  Luckily, Bill was able to don snorkel mask and dive under the boat and he found that domino right away!  We are anchored in only about 10-12 feet water depth, and the water is crystal clear.  Bob hung our dinghy anchor over the side of the boat aligned with the cockpit drain opening.  This gave Bill a reference point to follow the arc of the boat swinging.  Fortunately the bottom was plain sand beneath our boat so Bill was able to spot the domino right away.  The dominoes are white with brightly colored dots, a different color for each number of the set.  Luck was with us because that domino landed with the colored dots facing upward which enabled Bill to spot it right away.  It would have been much harder to spot the solid white domino top lying on the white sand.  The colored dots helped him locate it.  Still can’t believe he was able to retrieve it so easily.

We were invited to accompany some other people to dinner at a restaurant ashore tonight, but I was bitten so badly by insects the last time we went ashore in Saline Bay that Bill didn’t think we should venture ashore here again.  My face is covered with large welts; he does not want me to suffer with any additional insect bites unnecessarily, so we declined the invitation for tonight.  Tomorrow we will move back to Tobago Cays.

Recap 1st year aboard; visit to Mustique, island for the ultra rich

Further notes on completion of our first year aboard.  Sorry, this didn`t get updated on May 1 with the original blog.

During our first full year aboard we sailed (or motored) a total of 2677.75 nautical miles.

We visited the following countries:

1. US Virgin Islands

2. British Virgin Islands

3. St. Martin

4. St. Bartholemy (St. Barths)

5. St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Nevis (2 separate islands but one country)

6. Guadeloupe (including Ile des Saintes)

7. Martinique

8. St. Lucia

9. St. Vincent and the Grenadines, including

            Bequia

            Mayreau

            Tobago Cays

            Petit St. Vincent

10. Carriacou and Grenada (2 separate islands but one country)

11. Trinidad (did not visit other island of this country that is also called Tobago)

12. Venezuela, including

            Los Testigos

            Isla Margarita

            Puerto la Cruz

            Tortuga

            Cayo Herradurra

            Los Roques

            Aves de Bartolomento

            Aves de Sotovento

13. Bonaire

14. Land trip to Peru

It has been a year of learning lots of new things about our boat home.  Sailing her has become easier as our experience on this particular boat has grown.  We both feel far more confident handling this boat than we did a year ago. 

We have fallen into patterns of behavior that just come naturally to each of us – Bill does some tasks and I do others.  He changes the engine oil and runs the watermaker and does most of the exterior cleaning and I do the laundry and most of the interior cleaning most of the time, but we also switch roles sometimes without discussing it.   I still do most of the meal preparation; but when I don’t feel like bothering with it or am not hungry on Bill’s schedule (especially breakfast and lunches) then Bill fixes something for himself.   Just because we live together 24 hours per day in the confines of a small boat does not mean that we do everything together all the time.

We have met many cruisers during the past year, several of whom have become good friends and others that we will never see again.  Such is the life of cruisers since most of us are continually on the move from one place to another.  Sometimes our paths cross again and sometimes not.

We have missed our kids and their wives and especially the grandchildren.  Since we all lived in the same city we saw one another frequently and we do miss that.  The grandkids Zachary and Elisabeth (BeBe) have grown a lot during our absence and that is time we have missed and cannot share with them.  Hopefully they each will remember some of the times they spent with us before we left Houston.  We very much look forward to both of them visiting us on the boat at some location in the future.

To all our family and friends who said we would never last a year:  you were all wrong!  We are still enjoying this cruising life and look forward to many more years of it.

May 2, 2007 Wednesday

Britannia Bay, Mustique

12.52.728N; 061.11.316W                       Sailed 13 NM

The MANDALAY left Bequia during the night and three more Windjammer ships arrived early this morning – the YANKEE CLIPPER, POLYNESIA, and LEGACY.  YANKEE CLIPPER was flying a pirate flag and was firing blank shots at POLYNESIA, who returned fire at will.  Smoke flying from both and cheering on both sides.  YANKEE CLIPPER won by reaching her anchoring spot first.  Sounded like a good time was had by passengers on both ships.  The LEGACY remained well outside the bay while these shenanigans were going on.  LEGACY is such a bastardized, ugly, hodge-podge of a ship that she shouldn’t play with two ships that still look like the old clipper ships that they once were.

Winds were still howling but Bill and I both were ready to move on.  We had a great send-off from Bequia.  Several of our cruiser friends were on the upper level of the ferry leaving Bequia en route to St. Vincent.  They loudly yelled “BEBE” and waved frantically at us.  They were taking the ferry over just to spend a day in St. Vincent.  No one wants to sail over there because the boat boys are so “enthusiastic” in wanting to “help” you.  So a day trip on the ferry is a good way to see St. Vincent.  It was a fun sail hard to windward to Mustique; all sails double reefed and seas at 6 to 8 feet; Force 6 on the Beaufort Scale for all you sailors.  We forgot to note our times of departure and arrival, but our average speed had to be over 7 knots.  We enjoy this type of sailing as long as it doesn’t last too long.  Thirteen miles is the perfect distance; twenty-five miles would be tiring.

Notes to sailors about this area:  The charts indicate there is a flashing light twice every 15 seconds on the buoy that marks Montezuma Shoal just east of Britannia Bay on Mustique.  The buoy is still in place but there are no lights on it so don’t sail at night around here until you have confirmed the location of this shoal; many boats have hit it.  The charts also indicate a flashing light once every 40 seconds on Petit Canouan.  That light is also no longer working.  However, there is a really bright flashing light that almost looks like a slow strobe light.  It marks the casino Donald Trump built at the posh resort Raffles on the northern end of Canouan.  You would think it is important to keep lights functioning on reefs that have sunk several boats, but beware because there are no longer lights to warn you away from these dangers.

Boats less than 70 feet in length are not supposed to anchor at Mustique; instead, they are required to pick up a mooring ball.  The moorings are very sturdy and well maintained but they do not have pennants or painters.  You must attach a line through the eye on top of the mooring ball.  Bill used our heavy wooden boat hook to literally pick up the mooring ball and raise it high enough to run a line through the eye and then dropped it back into the water while holding onto the line.  He cleated it off and we were set.  Chris Doyle’s sailing guide does an injustice to Mustique because he says that it will cost $75 for a mooring for 3 nights; he fails to mention that it is really $75 EC – which is less than $30 USD for 3 nights on a mooring.  That is a very, very low price for a mooring and we are glad to pay it.  Chris also mentions several times in his guide that the bay is rolly.  Well, it is but it is a gentle “rock me to sleep like a baby” type of roll. 

Bill had called Basil’s from Bequia and made a reservation for dinner tonight.  Basil’s normally has a “jump up” on Wednesday nights but not tonight.  That was fine with us because we knew what we wanted to eat at Basil’s – LOBSTER!  Hard to believe that we have been on this boat for a full year and have not eaten lobster even once.  After we arrived in Mustique we went ashore and visited the bar in Basil’s for a quick beer and to confirm that they had our reservation and that lobster would be available.  Answer from the bartender was yes to both questions.

So we donned our best attire and arrived a few minutes early so we could enjoy before dinner drinks.  I finally tried a Sex on the Beach (I know, a decade or two late in this).  It was made with gin and Cointreau and passion fruit juice and tasted darn good.  Should have tried this drink long ago.  Bill stuck to his normal Hairoon beer (local beer of St. Vincent).  Then we learned that the restaurant manager had made a last minute decision that they would serve a buffet tonight, so no menu service.  There went our lobster dinner! Neither of us likes buffets so we opted not to eat dinner at Basil’s tonight after all.  We made a reservation for tomorrow night and confirmed that they would service regular menu service; then returned to BEBE and had leftovers for dinner.

May 3, 2007  Thursday

Early this morning found us walking around Mustique.  We wanted to get started on our walk before the day heated up.  We had planned to pick up pain au chocolat and croissants at Sweet Pea Bakery for breakfast, but when we arrived we found that they were closed for the entire week.  Tuesday was Labour Day in SVG and several businesses used the excuse of this one holiday and closed for the entire week.  We walked about two hours and saw everything that we wanted to see; reviving memories from our last visit so long ago. 

Last time we were on Mustique we walked all over the new house under construction that belonged to Mick Jagger.  It reminded us of a Japanese jigsaw puzzle, as it was built somewhat like a maze.  There were long hallways that connected separate bedroom suites to a main house; very unique.  His original house was also there on the grounds – a tiny wooden pier-and-beam house raised a couple of feet off the ground.  And his large trampoline under the palm trees that he used for exercise.  There was a great view of the sea and some rocky tiny islands.  We wanted to see if we could find this house again.  The bartender at Basil’s told us last night that Mick had been on the island for quite some time but had recently left.

We walked through the grounds at The Cotton House, the most exclusive and nicest hotel in the entire Caribbean.  There have been many new homes built since we were last on Mustique.  There were only 27 homes when we were last here.  They belong to people like Princess Margaret, Raquel Welch, Mick Jagger, and other celebrities or rich and famous people.  Today there are more than 90 homes on Mustique, and they are all really nice and very large.  I particularly like the white one on top of the hill on the southwest tip of the island; looks like a version of the Taj Majal when viewed through my binoculars from our cockpit.  Mustique is a very well-kept island.  The other difference we found is that there are “private drive, please do not enter” signs all over the place.  We stayed strictly on the roads or paths that were not marked as private.  We found what we think is Mick Jagger’s house – or at least a similar styled house in the location that we remembered.

Nearby is an empty small lot that is not marked as private, so we walked out to the beach.  And there we found what appeared to be a stone bench located beneath the palm trees and facing the sea.  It was a beautiful location and the bench appeared to be placed so that one could sit and watch the ocean under the shade and enjoy the breeze.  Turned out that this is a gravesite for a man who was a sailor.  On the seat of the bench is engraved the poem about “a sailor home from the sea” and the back side of the bench is signed by what appeared to be his grandchildren.  What a lovely location for a final resting place for anyone who loved the sea.

Bill was entertained most of the afternoon.  He became the self-appointed mooring line helper for arriving boats that looked like they needed assistance.  Some boats could handle picking up a mooring ball with no painter attached, but most could not.  Have to remember that there are a lot of charter boats down here with people who are not experienced with all facets of boating life.  Bill would watch a boat approach the mooring field and see how they intended to handle the situation.  If they were obviously confused or short-handed, then Bill would jump into the dinghy and go help them attach lines to the ball.  Gave him something to do and people to talk to.  He also was entertained by a girl on the beach.  The couple are apparently staying someone on the island, not on a yacht.  A driver brought them to the nearby beach and left them there for a couple of hours.  After swimming the girl walked back onto the beach and promptly stripped out of her swimsuit and not is a modest manner.  She pranced around a bit as if she were on a stage and then donned a cover up top.  Stunning girl and provided Bill with entertainment.

Looking forward to our special treat lobster dinner tonight.  We are considering this our anniversary dinner to celebrate our first full year living aboard.

May 4, 2007  Friday

ARROGANT BRIT WITH POOR SEAMANSHIP

Early yesterday afternoon a British yacht arrived and dropped a huge anchor about 40 feet behind our boat – right inside the mooring ball field!  He dropped that anchor to the inside of 5 moorings.  Bill happened to be in the dinghy assisting another boat moor, so when he finished with the first one he went to the Brit to see if he wanted any assistance.  Bill thought the Brit was just putting down an anchor to hold the boat in place while he took his dinghy down from the davits so that he could do his own mooring line.  But this was not the case; the Brit intended to anchor – right in the middle of the moorings!  Talk about poor seamanship, not to mention safety issues and simple rudeness.  The Brit said he planned to drop far back (he didn’t; he ended up lying aligned evenly with the last mooring ball).  Yachts longer than 70 feet are allowed to anchor, but only well behind the mooring field; yachts smaller than 70 feet are required to use moorings.  This is a requirement for conservation reasons to protect the marine life and bottom.  Yachts that are anchored are still required to pay the $75 EC conservation fee, same as if on a mooring.  So it made no sense that this guy was anchoring right in the middle of the mooring field since he was going to have to pay anyway. 

Bill:  “I think they will make you pick up a mooring.”

Brit:  “I don’t think they can make me use a mooring.  That isn’t legal.”

Bill, smiling and with a shrug, and motoring away:  “It’s Mustique.”

I was concerned about where he had dropped his anchor and the fact that he did not let out enough scope and was lying too close to moored boats.  Anchored boats swing on their anchor lines differently than moored boats swing on mooring balls.  The anchored boat has a much greater arc of swing because he has longer scope.  If the winds had changed during the night as so often happens then that Brit would swing into one or more moored boats.  But he was far enough away from us that our boat was not in any danger, so we let the situation alone.  Not our problem.

Before we went in for dinner last night Bill watched the harbor master do his nightly rounds to each boat to collect the conservation/mooring fees.  The guy on the British yacht spoke with him for awhile and then the harbor master handed over a piece of paper.  The British guy did not pay but did accept the paper from the harbor master.

We went into Basil’s and didn’t give the Brit a second thought.  Basil’s is open air like most Caribbean restaurants, and it is built out over the water.  We were seated at a corner table with a beautiful view of the bay as the full moon was rising.  While we were enjoying our pre-dinner drinks (another Sex on the Beach for me; I’m developing a taste for that gin and passion fruit juice), Bill noticed that the arrogant Brit was pulling his anchor.  Only thing we can figure is that the harbor master gave him a copy of the local laws regarding anchoring and conservation fees in Mustique; the guy still refused to pay; and the harbor master said that he would have to leave.  We watched his stern light as he sailed away toward Canoaun in the darkness.  Can you believe that someone on an expensive yacht would chose to sail away at night rather than pay less than $30 USD and stay on a mooring for 3 nights?  Makes no sense to us.  Sheer arrogance:  nobody-is-going-tell-me-what-to-do type attitude.

We enjoyed our lobster dinner last night.  It was a real treat and grilled perfectly.  For those who don’t already know this tidbit, lobsters are basically marine arachnids, meaning that they are sea spiders or sea bugs.  Sounds yucky to think that you are eating a spider, but the darn things taste so good!  We definitely prefer the warm-water Caribbean lobsters over the traditional cold-water Maine lobsters.

We also had a little surprise.  Our waiter used to work as the bartended on 2 of the Windjammer cruises that we took back in the 1980s.  What a small world.  His name is Aussie and he has had a number of jobs in a number of different places since then.  Funny that we should run into him here.  Bill remembered him well because Bill spent a lot more time in the bar on the Windjammer cruises while I was prone in our cabin due to seasickness.  Aussie told us about several of the other Windjammer employees who have since passed away – like Ingrid who worked in the dining room on the POLYNESIA and Offshore Eddie who was old even back then.  Offshore Eddie was a real character.  He was a master sailmaker and could repair sails by hand and could make basically anything from canvass or sailcloth by hand.  He worked on the Windjammer ships for living quarters and all the food and rum and beer that he wanted to drink.  A real old codger who did not want to give up his life on the sea.

Aussie explained to us the employment arrangements of working for Basil’s.  The workers are provided with housing, food and even uniforms.  They must remain on Mustique and work for 30 days and then they are allowed to leave the island for 4 days.  Kind of reminded us of a modern version of slavery, but the workers seem happy with this arrangement.

BTW, I bought a small container of sour cream yesterday.  Cost $9.80 USD for a container of about 6 ounces.  Good thing that Basil’s provides meals for their employees because they certainly could not afford to buy their own food on Mustique.

Later on May 4…….

The sail was so nice that we skipped right by Canouan.  We decided there was no good reason to stop there.  Bill had bought a loaf bread in Mustique this morning so that was taken care of, and we had no intentions of visiting Raffles resort or casino; so why stop?  Then we heard a hail on the VHF “BEBE, BEBE, BEBE; ALLELUIA!, ALLELUIA!”  Our friends Tito and Roberta were on their way from Bequia to Tobago Cays and could see us.  We decided to sail on to the Cays rather than stop in Mayreau.

So that we where we sit this afternoon.  Sailed 20.5 NM in F5 conditions on a broad reach.  The way sailing should always be.  We are at 12.37.890N; 061.21.385W in the heart of the beautiful Tobago Cays, anchored behind the long southern reef with less than a meter of water beneath our keel and facing the Atlantic Ocean.

Oh, one other thing about today.  When we approached the Cays there were several boats arriving at the same time so we were forming into a line to pass single file in the narrow passage between the 3 islands.  Two boats ahead of us in line was the same British yacht that had refused to pay the mooring/conservation fee in Mustique last night.  He chickened out of the tight and shallow passage and we all had to wait for him to turn back and re-track his course.  This boat has no name on it, but it was definitely the same boat.  He has 2 wind generators mounted way out to either side on the stern; the boat is easily identifiable; and we want to avoid him as much as possible.  I think it is funny that the arrogant expert was afraid to negotiate the difficult passage and turned around.  At least that means that he is now anchored on the western side of the little islands rather on the eastern side with the rest of us.  We have dubbed this man the Anchor Guy.

Celebrated anniversary of 1st year cruising full-time

May 1, 2007  Tuesday

Bequia

As of today we have lived aboard for one full year.  Neither of us feels like it has been that long.  Where has the time gone?  Some of our family members had bets going that we wouldn’t last even 6 months; they were convinced that we would get bored because we would have nothing to keep us busy.  Wow, have they ever been proven wrong!  There is always something to do on a boat.  You might not feel like doing it, but there is always something to do – changing oil, charging batteries, cleaning topsides, cleaning interior, cleaning hull exterior, cooking meals, etc.— the list never ends.

We each feel more comfortable and knowledgeable about the systems and handling of this particular boat.  It is a good thing that we decided not to rush to the Pacific and spend more time in the familiar sailing grounds of the Eastern Caribbean as we gained more experience with BEBE and obtained more spare parts that should be aboard for a circumnavigation.  Now we feel more confident about being ready to tackle the longer passages that will be required in the South Pacific.  So our plans were delayed by exactly one year; plan now is to transit the Panama Canal in February 2008.  Plans can change, but those are our thoughts at this moment.

This morning the Windjammer MANDALAY arrived here in Admiralty Bay and anchored near us.  We have enjoyed looking at her today.  We did 2 trips on the MANDALAY about 20 years ago, each time for a 2-week route from Antigua to Grenada.  So looking at that boat today brought back good memories.  We talked to a few of the passengers when we were walking around town today and learned that Windjammer still uses the doubloons for bar drinks.  Rather than deal with cash at the ship’s bar, you purchase a paper circle with 20 black dots around the edge; it is called a Drinker’s Doubloon.  The dots are punched out when you buy a drink at the bar.  Bill still has one unused doubloon from one of our Windjammer trips.  The one Bill has is white in color, now they are green or yellow.  The one Bill has also cost only $5; now a doubloon costs $1 per punch dot -- $20 per doubloon!  Talk about inflation.  If we had brought the old doubloon ashore with us then we would have given it to one of the passengers or to one of the launch attendants (Windjammer employees).  But Bill’s doubloon was back on our boat and we didn’t want to make another dinghy ride in the strong winds, so we still have that old doubloon.

Winds have been blowing pretty hard for the past 3 days.  We were supposed to go to Mustique today but didn’t feel like beating into the strong winds.  It is only 13 miles but we didn’t see any reason to do even that short a sail if it would not be comfortable.  See how lazy we have become.  I did manager to paint the new name on our dinghy.  Since our boat is no longer named Security, we saw no reason to continue to have a dinghy named Safety.  I borrowed stencils from Allayne and painted T/T BEBE (tender to BEBE) on the dinghy.  This was not easy because the dinghy was on the stern davits and there was a lot of movement in the strong winds.  So I could not paint it as neatly as desired, but now at least it is identifiable as belonging to our boat. 

We decided tonight that we would leave Bequia in the morning, regardless of the strong winds.  Winds are not supposed to change until early next week and we don’t want to stay here that long.  So we are leaving tomorrow morning.  Not sure if we are going to Mustique (13 miles) or to Canaouan (20 miles); either would be a short day sail.  We will decide which one we want to visit once we are out of this bay and see where the true wind direction lies.