We had decided to make an early start from the Pitons. The wind was forecast to be 'frisky' and we wanted to get as much passage-making in before it built. So at 4am we dropped our mooring and headed out. Initially we had no wind at all, and were back to our usual motor-sailing, but as we left the lee of St. Lucia the breeze picked up just forward of the beam and we had another wonderful sail across the St. Vincent Passage. The wind died again in the lee of St. Vincent, but by 11am we were approaching Wallilabou Bay.

We were cautious about actually stopping in St. Vincent. Our initial inclination had been to head directly for Bequia as we had not been receiving favourable reports of 'the mainland' (as St. Vincent is known) itself. Mention had been made of aggressive boat-boys, boats being boarded in the middle of the night, wallets stolen etc. However, we really wanted to visit the set of the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' movie and as we were travelling with Daniell Storey, Sojourn and Offline we felt that there would be safety in numbers.

We needn't have worried though. As in Dominica, the boat-boys have formed themselves into an association to portray a more professional approach to their work and to reassure cruisers visiting the island. And they are desperate for the cruisers to come. As we entered Wallilabou Bay, the first boat-boy to reach us was Davies. He immediately showed us his association badge, introduced himself and guided us to a mooring. The Bay is not large, maybe � mile by � mile and as we had seen so often recently, it is also very deep, over 200ft, until very close to shore leaving little room to anchor. The moorings which have been placed in the bay are very close together and so necessitate taking a line from our stern to the shore or to a piling on the dock to prevent the boats swinging into each other. This was the first time we had moored in this way, but Davies was on top of the situation and in no time we were safely secured. Other boat-boys assisted Daniell Storey, Sojourn and Offline, and we were soon lined up in a row against the structure which had been the dock Jack Sparrow arrived at during the very beginning of the first 'Pirates of the Caribbean' movie.

The cost of the mooring was EC$20 per night, but we had been told that this could be offset against a meal at the Anchorage Hotel. Needing no further encouragement we all headed into shore for lunch. The Anchorage Hotel was also the home to the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' museum and we were curious to see what this meant, exactly. Well, museum in the same context as the Museum of Natural History or the Science Museum is not precisely what we found but they do have an interesting collection of memorabilia in the form of signed photos, costume parts, and props. And the actual sets for parts of Pirates 1 and Pirates 2 are still here, albeit in a rather dilapidated state. It is a shame that more isn't being done to maintain the sets as a tourist attraction, but as is usually the case in most of these islands, the ability to finance such a maintenance program simply isn't there.

But we very much enjoyed our lunch and the stroll around the bay (there really is nothing here apart from the 'hotel' and the movie set) and Dave had fun playing with the props so it was an afternoon well spent. And we had a pleasant evening as well. We all sat enjoying drinks in our respective cockpits; the boats were so close that we could chat with each other without the need of a VHF radio! The bay was very calm so a peaceful night was had by all.

Until just before 6am the following morning when we were all woken up by yelling and obvious activity around the boats. A large school of skipjack tuna had come in to the bay. The surface of the water was almost boiling as the tuna hunted and were in turn hunted by the local fisherman. A couple of locals were snorkelling to identify the position of the fish and the fishing boats would then be rowed like crazy out to position the nets. There were many differing opinions as to where the net should be placed, the adequacy of the speed of the netting boats and the time when the nets should be pulled in, and the expression of these opinions was the cause of the general hullabaloo surrounding us. But it was wonderfully entertaining for us to enjoy the spectacle with our Sunday morning coffee (or tea!). Any fish caught would be divided amongst the whole community, so we were cheering the fishermen on as enthusiastically as anyone on the beach. In the end we really do not know how successful the exercise was as shortly after 7am Davies came over, as arranged, to help us untie our stern lines. We were leaving for Bequia, the first island in The Grenadines. We really enjoyed our visit to Wallilabou Bay and would encourage anyone to go there. St. Vincent itself is a beautiful island and we hope to have the opportunity to return and explore some more. In the meantime, The Grenadines beckoned.