Grenadines to Grenada

Written at Toronto, Canada

May 17, 2006

We had a good easterly wind on the 16 mile trip south from Wallilabou on St. Vincent to Admiralty Bay on Bequia, the largest of the Grenadine islands. We still find that we do not use the engine enough with the good winds to charge the batteries fully before we re-anchor. I trolled a couple of fishing lines, with no luck. I haven't caught a fish since I threw that barracuda back a couple of weeks ago when we were on our way to Dominica.

There were dozens if not hundreds of boats at anchor in the broad bay, facing the idyllic sandy shores of Port Elizabeth, a quintessentially Caribbean shoreside community, its gently sloping golden sand beach, available to the whole population, lined with local vessels, from small wooden fishing boats dragged above the water line to double ended sailing dinghies getting ready for the Bequia Race week. Street vendors had their open air stalls on the beach beneath swaying palm, eucalyptus, and pine trees, selling everything from fruit and vegetable to CD's, sunglasses and balloons. The main town market was on the shore just down from the large concrete town dock, where several old battered ferries lay tied up stern or bows to, ready for the locals or tourists trading or commuting between the islands of this tropical archipelago. There are good dinghy docks spaced around the bay, with many restaurants, small resorts, stores, internet cafes and bars along the waterfront in from the beach, allowing the public free access to walk the entire beach stretch around the bay.

Bequia was bustling with yachting activities all weekend, from round the island races for both cruising and racing yachts to local double ended dinghies gliding around triangular buoyed marks just outside the anchoring area. We enjoyed watching these races from Veleda, the triangular lateen sails a riot of colour against the azure blue sky and the aquamarine sea. We didn't feel ambitious enough to go into any of the cruising class races.

Several boats known to us were anchored in the bay, and we enjoyed an evening meal on board Quarterdeck, and had Paul and Sandra over to Veleda for another pleasant evening. We picked Paul's brain on some computer problems and downloads. Several cruisers are doing as we are, gradually heading to Trinidad for the hurricane season. Some will do as we intend, sail south of the zone for the summer and fall, while others just stay in a marina or head home for several months, leaving their boats on the hard. This location is well protected, the people pleasant. There are many services available for cruisers both ashore and afloat, including a mobile service station from Daffodil Marine Services, with a multi-purpose catamaran tender that could provide fuel, water, groceries, ice, laundry, and garbage pick up, as well as a water taxi service to any yacht in the anchorage.

We enjoyed strolling the beach the last day of Easter Race Weekend as there was a big party the entire length of the southern beaches, with hundreds of locals and yachties dancing, drinking, playing beach volleyball, swimming, kids building sand castles (there was a sand castle building competition earlier for them) and partying on power boats anchored in the shallows, a few feet from shore. Dinghies were pulled up above the waterline, and many of the double enders were lying lopsided on the sand awaiting their trailers after the party. There were sound trucks and gigantic speakers along the length of the road beside the beach pounding out Caribbean rhythms, many of the locals, as well as a few yachties on shore or in the shallows, gyrating to the beat, drinks in hand.

Fuel was cheap, but food was expensive, and the quality had to be checked. We liked a small store, Doris' Fresh Foods, for quality and selection. Laundry and internet prices were quite reasonable. There are several good chandleries (duty free), canvas and sail repair shops, tackle shops, dive centres, banks with automated tellers (bank machines), as well as customs and immigration offices. Bequia is a good location to provision and repair yachts. We like the place.

After four days we sailed most of the 27 miles south, down to the Tobago Cays (part of the Grenadines and not to be confused with Trinidad and Tobago) to drop anchor (12 38.13N, 061 21.17W) in a tropical atoll, protected by a horseshoe reef to seaward and a few of the rugged islands behind us to the west and southwest, leaving the engine on for an extra half hour to more fully charge the batteries. A hundred metres ahead of us we could see the whitecaps whipped up by the 15 to 20 knot winds beyond the reef, but here behind the reef we could feel the heavy winds, but the waves were minimal.

We spent a couple of days in this open but protected anchorage. On two separate occasions we took Sprite out to the reef, and tied off to the buoys the park had installed, allowing us to snorkel through the coral mounds and gullies in 5 to 20 feet of water. We saw all types of tropical fish, eels, a sting ray, needlefish, and fantastically large schools with thousands of minnows, wafting like a single fluid organism, glittering in the reflected sunlight. The sea growth too undulated with the gently surging currents, performing its own silent hula dance. While snorkeling, we explored out a dinghy passage through the reef into deeper waters on the outside. The depths dropped down to 20 and 30 feet, and it was not as interesting as the shallower inner side of the reef.

Dinghying over to the small island of Baradel a few hundred metres to the southwest of where we were anchored, we enjoyed watching a group of cruisers playing Petanque on the sand spit beneath a few palm trees. Climbing up the central cone (hill) of the island gave us lovely views out to the reef, to see Veleda placidly lying at anchor while beyond the reef whitecaps were in abundance. Several cruisers were wind surfing and some were even parasurfing, being pulled along by parabolic parachutes at great speeds. They would have to be very careful as the parachutes were often at very sharp angles towards the water, and I was concerned that their lines might tangle in the masts and rigging as they passed some of the boats at anchor. Near the summit we saw several large iguanas scrambling through the bushes. A few stopped to stare at us and allowed me to get good pictures of them.

None of the four small islands were inhabited, although on Petit Bateau a few enterprising locals had racks of colourful Caribbean T-shirts for sale. In the channel between Petit Bateau and Petit Rameau were several local power and fishing boats ready to provide various services, food and fish to the dozens of boats at anchor around these islands. I imagine many of the cruisers stay here for weeks on end, enjoying the tranquil Caribbean beauty of the area.

We motored all of 3 miles over to Salt Whistle Bay on Mayreau Island for an even quieter anchorage, sheltered from the wind by a palm-lined isthmus. This idyllic beach-rimmed lagoon has a few well hidden resorts and a couple of small docks, although we just left Sprite anchored in shallow water a few feet from the white sand shore. After beachcombing the quiet lagoon side we then went along the windward side of the isthmus for a contrasting wave-beaten shoreline facing the 15 knot winds still blowing across the cays.

Idyllic is the best word to describe the Grenadines.

As much as we enjoyed the beauty and tranquility of Salt Whistle Bay on Mayreau Island we were making our way to Grenada and then Trinidad for our flight back to Canada on May 11th, and it was now April 22. When cruising, once we have a destination and a time deadline, our freedom to linger and explore is severely curtailed. As much as we like visitors, or returning home, such situations require us to be at a certain place at a certain time, and that dominates our planning, often weeks in advance. People joining us have to be flexible to join us where we are, not necessarily where we said we would be. Here in the Caribbean it is not too bad; if we say we should meet at such and such an island, we might not make it, and those joining us would then have to either wait until we got there, or hop a local plane or ferry to come to where we are. Our plans are quite fluid. We may intend one route, but then might hear of another anchorage that we should see before leaving the area. This happened to us when we reached Grenada, and we did not go to Trinidad before leaving for Canada. More of that situation later in this log, or the next.

While combing the beach at Salt Whistle Bay, we were intrigued to see a large Portuguese Man of War jellyfish brought out of the water by another cruiser. When we examined it, we were informed the tentacles were not on it, but blueish buds on one side indicated where the growth of them would occur, and we were warned not to touch that part of this fist-sized mass of translucent white and purple jelly. The rest of the blob was not harmful to touch or hold. The lady bringing it out of the shallows threw it up on the sand beneath some shrubs so it would not be stepped on by others walking this beautiful sandy beach.

At 1000 we weighed anchor intending to go down to Union Island and around the southwest tip, and east to anchor behind Frigate Island on the south coast. However when we rounded Miss Irene Point, we were headed straight into a strong force 6 (25 knot) wind. The wind and waves were manageable, but we were concerned that the shelter behind the small Frigate Island would not be comfortable, and so turned back and headed up to Chatham Bay, a wide bay on the lee side forming most of the west coast of Union Island. It was well sheltered from waves and swells, but channeled some gusting winds down the valley and into the anchorage. There were only three other boats in this large bay when we dropped anchor in 20 feet of water off the sandy beach in the northeast corner (12 36.24N, 061 26.96W). Ashore there were a couple of open huts from which locals would prepare a barbecue meal in pleasant but primitive surroundings (no running water, electricity, or propane) as long as arrangements were made in advance. We saw a fisherman get a nice sized lobster from a fish tank he had floating just off the beach, and serve it to a couple from a charter boat that evening. The pilot book indicated there was good diving and snorkeling, but when we dinghied around the northwest point, we were not impressed with the rocks and those few underwater formations we could see from the surface. We didn't bother to go snorkeling, but just spent a quiet afternoon and evening on Veleda, having our own barbecue on board.

Next day we motored around the south end again, still in strong force 6 winds, and over to the town of Clifton. En route we checked out the anchorage behind Frigate Island, where a Canadian boat was at anchor. It might have been OK, but Chatham Bay was more secure and scenic. The anchorage at Clifton was protected by a coral reef which dampened the waves, but let the easterly Trade winds howl across the open water. There is a shoal in the middle of the crowded anchorage which we had to watch out for. We anchored just north of the shoal (12 35.80N, 061 24.82W), noting several other boats we had seen in earlier anchorages.

SMALL WORLD DEPARTMENT - We noticed a nearby charter boat, and recognized Dan and Donna Demers members of our home club, the Toronto Hydroplane and Sailing Club as well as Ghyslaine and Natalie former members now living in Quebec on holiday down here. We had a good get together on their boat and later that day over at Happy Island, an interesting location on a shoal, built up on conch shells cemented to make a small island large enough for a shelter and a bar. Janti, the local who built this will also provide barbecue meals with a few hours notice. There is no dock, as the dinghies are tied along one wall, and the occupants have to get out into about two feet of water to walk over to a set of concrete steps to climb up to the sandy surface of the pub, complete with plastic arm chairs and a hammock. Natalie and Donna looked different as they had their hair in tight beaded braids, a style of many of the black locals. I wonder if they kept the braids after they went home? It was good to get together with these old acquaintances from our club.

Judy still wants to say, "Hi" to any other Canadian boats she sees in an anchorage, an interest she started overseas as in Europe and the Mediterranean Canadian boats were very few. Actually she was desperate to visit an English speaking boat as she always wanted to exchange reading material, and such provided a good excuse to meet other cruisers. However here in the Caribbean, Canadian boats are far more common. After leaving Happy Island we went over to a Canadian boat, "Vagus V" with Jim and Karen Lait from Burlington on board. We had an enjoyable time with them and had them over to Veleda for supper.

Clifton is a pleasant town with good provisioning, chandleries, internet access, an airport and customs and immigration facilities which we used next day to check out of the Grenadines as we were now heading for Grenada.

The country of Grenada is made up of two main islands, Carriacou and Grenada. We sailed the 8 miles from Clifton to Hillsborough on Carriacou, anchoring in the very broad roadstead (12 29.08N, 061 27.51W) after the second attempt. It was sheltered from the wind, but a swell came in from the north. We checked in with the officials, a fairly efficient and friendly service, and went to a nice beach side local restaurant for a light lunch. Vagus V came in later and we had Jim and Karen over for supper again. We were north of the main pier where a catamaran ferry came in twice a day, but we were far enough away and the ferry slowed down sufficiently that we did not experience any waves from it. However when it was approaching, it sounded a loud blast, the first trip being at 0600, giving us a wake up call. The pier also had a convenient dinghy dock with steps leading up to the main roadway.

Next day we weighed anchor and motored over to Sandy Island to check it out for future reference as it is a good snorkeling and dive site. It seemed to have good holding, but was quite exposed to the prevailing easterly winds. We might anchor there for a day dive, but I would feel reluctant to stay overnight unless the winds had really settled down. There were a couple of boats that stayed overnight, and when talking to one of them, no problems were encountered. We continued on down to Tyrrel Bay, another sheltered large bay ringed by a glorious sandy beach. There were many boats there, several which had been there for months, as it is such a good bay, with a pleasant community along the sandy shore.


next log