The Grenadines
From Grenada, we sailed in convoy with friends on ‘Crisden’ and ‘Sand Dancer’ to Carriacou and on to Union Island, the most southern island of the Grenadines where we could sign in to the country.
There we picked up our new shipmates, Nutty Squirrel and Salty Sam, who joined us for the sail up the Grenadines.
Our first stop was the tiny and deserted island of Morpion, consisting of nothing more than white coral sand with a shaded umbrella on the top. We stopped here just long enough to observe the underwater life through a snorkel, add ‘Ros Ailither’ to the list of names on the umbrella shade and for Ben to acquire a beautiful lobster colour.
Then we cooled down with cocktails on the resort island of Petit St Vincent, (where a room will set you back around £500 a night), and still time to climb the hill on neighbouring Petit Martinique before sunset. Here we bumped into some local children who led us to a nearby house for home-made ice-pops. Delicious!
The rest of the week passed in a similar fashion, doing short day-hops between isolated islands, where our only chance to buy fresh food was from the local ‘boat boys’, offering fish and vegetables at inflated prices (£5 for a pineapple).
The steady east winds allowed us to sail most, if not all of the way to our various destinations, occasionally having to motor the last part upwind.
We visited the famous Tobago Cays, where we swam with wild turtles, had a go at windsurfing and snorkelled among the coral reefs, teeming with fish of all different shapes and colours. If we could ignore the fifty-odd boats anchored around us, we could imagine the peace and tranquility the first cruisers must have found here.
As it was, we met up with our friends again and enjoyed a barbeque on the beach. We also dinghied to the truly deserted and picture-perfect Tabac Island, where Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed.
We spent a couple of days on Mustique - the ‘Millionaire’s Island’, full of lovely beaches and expensive villas(average price £20,000 per week). Our crew failed in their mission to attract any eligible millionaires but we did succeed in finding a wonderful local place to eat (Lisa’s) at a fraction of the cost of the famous Basil’s Bar.
We had a brief stop in Bequia, which seemed to be hotting up for next weekend’s regatta if the volume of the street ‘jump-up’ music was anything to go by.
And our final stop was the main and biggest island of St Vincent. A short ride in the ‘boogie bus’ took us to the capital ‘city’ of Kingstown and all the joys of civilisation – tasty rotis, a cheap & bustling fruit & veg market, the greenery of the botanical gardens, and even a face from Topsham – Bob Murphy’s sister!
Before we knew it, Ben and Samantha had their last rum punch and it was time to drop them at the airport, although they’re threatening to come back again!
We are now sailing full-pelt up the islands (average speed 7 knots today – no engine), trying to reach Antigua for the Classics Week, starting 20th April.
There we picked up our new shipmates, Nutty Squirrel and Salty Sam, who joined us for the sail up the Grenadines.
Our first stop was the tiny and deserted island of Morpion, consisting of nothing more than white coral sand with a shaded umbrella on the top. We stopped here just long enough to observe the underwater life through a snorkel, add ‘Ros Ailither’ to the list of names on the umbrella shade and for Ben to acquire a beautiful lobster colour.
Then we cooled down with cocktails on the resort island of Petit St Vincent, (where a room will set you back around £500 a night), and still time to climb the hill on neighbouring Petit Martinique before sunset. Here we bumped into some local children who led us to a nearby house for home-made ice-pops. Delicious!
The rest of the week passed in a similar fashion, doing short day-hops between isolated islands, where our only chance to buy fresh food was from the local ‘boat boys’, offering fish and vegetables at inflated prices (£5 for a pineapple).
The steady east winds allowed us to sail most, if not all of the way to our various destinations, occasionally having to motor the last part upwind.
We visited the famous Tobago Cays, where we swam with wild turtles, had a go at windsurfing and snorkelled among the coral reefs, teeming with fish of all different shapes and colours. If we could ignore the fifty-odd boats anchored around us, we could imagine the peace and tranquility the first cruisers must have found here.
As it was, we met up with our friends again and enjoyed a barbeque on the beach. We also dinghied to the truly deserted and picture-perfect Tabac Island, where Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed.
We spent a couple of days on Mustique - the ‘Millionaire’s Island’, full of lovely beaches and expensive villas(average price £20,000 per week). Our crew failed in their mission to attract any eligible millionaires but we did succeed in finding a wonderful local place to eat (Lisa’s) at a fraction of the cost of the famous Basil’s Bar.
We had a brief stop in Bequia, which seemed to be hotting up for next weekend’s regatta if the volume of the street ‘jump-up’ music was anything to go by.
And our final stop was the main and biggest island of St Vincent. A short ride in the ‘boogie bus’ took us to the capital ‘city’ of Kingstown and all the joys of civilisation – tasty rotis, a cheap & bustling fruit & veg market, the greenery of the botanical gardens, and even a face from Topsham – Bob Murphy’s sister!
Before we knew it, Ben and Samantha had their last rum punch and it was time to drop them at the airport, although they’re threatening to come back again!
We are now sailing full-pelt up the islands (average speed 7 knots today – no engine), trying to reach Antigua for the Classics Week, starting 20th April.
posted by Katie at 7:48 PM
1 Comments:
Its great to hear all's going well , summer is comming here at last :) so perhaps now We don't envy You so Much . We hope You have a great Easter speak to You soon.
Much Love Jill & Nikita xxxx
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