Unique Bequia
20 July 2012 | Bequia, the Grenadines
David & Gail
Unique Bequia! – The little island of Bequia (Beck-way) in the Grenadines deserves its own blog. It is largest island ion the Grenadines and probably one of the best island destinations in the Caribbean. We have again enjoyed our stay here. We visited here in June 2000 with Mitch and Carol, and our friends, Thad and Nanette, during a charter. It was in the end of our charter week and we, of course, had a short time to stay before turning in the charter boat. But it has been one of the most anticipated stops on our trip and it has not disappointed.
We did an easy 8 mile cross from the Blue Lagoon on St. Vincent with light winds but washboard seas due to the famous currents that run between these islands. We had current with us and against us with big rolling seas behind us most of the way. So, we just mozied across with the mainsail and engine while we ran the fridge and made water.
We pulled into Admiralty Bay and took a mooring close to town because it’s easy and has good security. The island and the town seemed much bigger and taller than we remembered but the older hotels and restaurants along the water front were familiar. The bay is huge with a big area tucked up into town and into the east wind. So except for the ferries and island freighters making wakes as they transited the bay, it was calm and very peaceful.
Once we got settled, we decided it was haircut day in Bequia. This was our second attempt at cutting each other’s hair. It went relatively well, although for David cutting hair is like trimming plants, once he gets started it is hard to stop him. Gail did end up with some hair left and she is happy with her new shorter do!
We walked the town and checked out a few places the first afternoon but really took it easy. Our friends, Adri and Daryl, were also anchored here so they related their adventure of sailing straight from Rodney Bay, St. Lucia to Bequia. While we had taken seven days to get here, they did it in one overnight crossing of about 70 miles.
There are many things to do here but the main attraction is the diving. We had full tanks and were anxious to get in the water again. We chose a good dive site recommended for divers on their own called Devil’s Table at the northern entrance of the bay near a navigation marker for the reef. So the next morning we were out around 10:30 and ready to go. But when we hooked up to the dive site mooring, the current was running out to sea at a good clip. We decided to give it a try and if too bad to come up and cut the dive short. Like in a big city when the wind blows, we ducked down behind some big rock canyons and were almost completely out of the current. Check the Photo Gallery for some of the critters we saw. It turned out to be a good dive as long as we stayed in the protection against the current.
The second place on Bequia to see is the Old Hegg Turtle Sanctuary on the far northeastern end of the island. It didn’t look that far on the map so with Adri and Daryl in tow we took off across the hills for a walk. Of course in reality it was farther but not outrageous, and in the long run, very worth the effort. Orton King has made it his retirement job to save as many turtles and return them to the sea as he can. In about 12 years he has released about 2000 green and hawksbill turtles. He gets them off the beach as hatchlings and nurtures them until they are 3-4 years old. Since they can live to be 200 years, they are really still babies at that time. The survival rate in the wild is about 1 in 1000 but he normally saves about half of the hatchlings he can collect. Both of these species and most sea turtles in general are endangered so his efforts are noteworthy. He also brings the school kids to his place and educates them on the benefit of his work and plight of the turtles. If you are thinking about making some donation to some cause this year, consider his sanctuary. Check www.turtles.bequia.net. It cost about $10 per day just to buy fish at the market to feed the turtles he currently has in the pools. Our little entry fee paid for a couple of days. He could use any help. Check the pictures and you cannot help feeling for these beautiful creatures.
Next, it was said we must go see the cliff houses in the Moonhole on the far southwestern end of the island. You can only really go by dinghy since there are no more tours, so we dinghied over across the bay to check these out. It reminded me of the Arapaho cliff dwellings in New Mexico. The architect put together these free form homes inside a huge arch in the wall or the Moonhole. But it was abandoned when a huge rock fell through one of the bedrooms. Don’t know the whole story but was very interesting to see and imagine living in one of the homes.
Lastly, we also decided to make a walk over to the south side of the island and check Friendship Bay. This is on the windward side and not recommended for long term anchoring but looked like a nice and shorter walk than to the see the turtles. Well, again, it was a longer and tougher walk up and down some steep hills. But with Adri and Daryl again to keep company and share the experience, it was a good walk with beautiful views of the bay and across to Mustique. Throw in picking up some free mangos along the road side, it made the day very successful.
We have given Bequia its due and gotten some good exercise as well. We could stay for a longer time but other islands in the Grenadines are calling. So we’re off tomorrow to another of our most anticipated stops that we remember from 2000, the islands of the Tobago Cays.