March 13, 2010 Bequia and the Burtons

Moby and Caroline arrived in Vieux Fort on schedule. After clearing in we headed for the fishing port since we could not shop due to St. Lucia Independence Day and everything was closed. We did get a fresh six pound king fish which gave us almost four pounds of clean fillets. We decided to leave early the next morning and shop when we got to Bequia. The week with Moby and Caroline was marked by high contrary winds and more clouds than is normal for the southern Caribbean. Since Moby and Caroline only had a week there was a lot we wanted to see and consequently we often traveled in conditions where we normally would have stayed at anchor. We look forward to going back to the Grenadines and onto Grenada as we both felt we could spend three or four weeks in this area seeing more of it. Vacation week for Moby and Caroline seemed like it was over in a heartbeat and we were quickly on our way back to Vieux Fort so they could get checked out and leave the following morning. On the way back from shopping and clearing out Moby and I were headed back to Williard G in the dinghy. The fishing port is enclosed by a break wall and is approximately 200 x 200 yards. The walls are lined with local wooden fishing boats. We were in the middle of the enclosed area heading for the opening in total darkness and had forgotten to bring a light. All of a sudden around the corner comes a local fishing boat at about 30 mph with no lights. The boat was coming straight at us. Moby was steering the dinghy and at the last second veered off to starboard hoping that the fishing boat would be doing the same headed for the docking area. The boat narrowly missed us and its wake threw the dinghy further to the right. This was a very close call and a lesson in safety. All vessels should be properly lighted at night and at the very least a bright flashlight should be carried to warn others of your presence. We were a bit shaken but unscathed by the incident. We vowed however to always carry a light at night in the future. The following afternoon Moby and Caroline left for Rochester and we prepared to head back to Rodney Bay for water pump parts and to see if we could get our auto helm repaired.
This is a picture of Moby, Caroline, and Don in Bequia