After fixing our leaky saltwater pump (the local chandlery had a part which needed slight modification to make it work with our system, but we managed - it's essential in these far off parts of the world to make do with the bits you can get, then try and make it work, rather than wait for the correct part to be shipped to the islands, which can take weeks, or even months to arrive), we were finally ready to set sail.
While we were in Grenada, waiting for a favourable weather window, and fixing things, we took the opportunity of re-stocking the boat with tinned and dried foods in light of our planned Atlantic passage. Whilst the choice isn't great here, it's not brilliant further up the island chain, (well as far as we've been that is), and it seems the further north you go, the higher the prices get. So we employed our favourite Grenadian taxi driver (Joe) and set off on a tour of the bigger supermarkets in search to some tasty morsels. This took most of the day, as it's impossible to get everything you want from one shop. A most successful trip saw Morven's lockers full once more.

We said goodbye to friends once again, (this sailing life seems to be full of hellos and goodbyes,) and left Prickly Bay on a short sail around to St George's anchorage. The wind was favourable, the seas had calmed and so we hoisted the genoa. Within minutes of us leaving we were hit with squally winds, and some very heavy rain. I even resorted to donning a waterproof jacket (which now can no longer be classed as waterproof). The rain soaked through everything and I actually felt cold as the temperature dropped with the disappearance of the sun, together with the battering by wind and rain. By the time we were heading into the anchorage the shoreline was no longer visible in the deluge, so we were going in blind; well I certainly was. Not sure it was wise for Ian to leave me on the helm as my glasses are not fitted with windscreen wipers, and the rain didn't look like it was planning on letting up. So much for the sunny Caribbean sea!

Fortunately there was lots of space to anchor without going too near any other boats, and with Ian on the bow pointing we managed to secure a nice spot. Anchored up, dried out and after a nice cup of tea the day continued to improve as the clouds began to lift, the sun came out and the view reappeared. All seemed well. That is until Ian gave the engine its routine check after our short journey, and found water in the fuel separator. This is not a good sign, and there had been no evidence of this problem when we'd done tests in the boatyard, but at least it proves the separator is doing its job.

The fuel in this part of the world does not have a great reputation for being 'clean', as much of it is brought in from Venezuela (probably cheap) and many people have reported having the same problem with water in the fuel.
Ian therefore spent the remainder of the afternoon checking out the fuel system, draining the water from the glass separator bowl and making sure that the primary filter was still in good shape. He also disconnected the copper fuel pipe to inspect the quality of the fuel at the bottom of the main fuel tank which, thankfully, appeared to be fine with no evidence of water having settled there. That done, everything was reassembled and tested again. Something to keep our eye on though when the engine is next run for any length of time though.
This anchorage which is outside the town was not as calm as we had hoped, with some of the left over northerly swell still running, so not a good night for sleeping, with the boat pitching every which way and everything rattling and creaking indoors. No wonder there was lots of space for us to anchor; everyone else had sought out the calmer waters of the southern bays. Still, we need to get used to having less sleep in order to be able to manage the night watches again. In light of this we were not too despondent when we got up at first light the next morning to weigh anchor and to sail the 40 miles northeast to Carriacou.

The weather seemed to have sorted itself out overnight, and we soon got both sails up, but because the wind remained just north of east we had to motor sail the whole way. Not as bad as it sounds, and we enjoyed tacking to windward as the wind was not too strong. We still made good speed and it would have taken us many more hours had we used just the engine, so all in all a good day. We arrived in Tyrrel Bay without another soaking, and found our friends Nigel and Caroline (yacht Nessa V) anchored there. They'd hoped to be further north but again that northerly swell had kept them and many other boats 'grounded' for quite a while. So another 'hello' and a get together for a meal and drinks at Tanty Mavis' restaurant. Good home cooked Caribbean food at very cheap prices, the evening culminating in a massive bear hug from Tanty herself who gives you the impression she's known you all your life.

Tyrrel Bay is one of the safe anchorages which people flock to if there is swell forecast from the north, so we weren't surprised to see the bay full of yachts sheltering here, but with this particular bout of northerlies the swell had worked itself into the Bay, and there were reports of 5 foot waves crashing around, and even people being seasick at anchor. This swell had also demolished most of the dinghy pontoons which many of the restaurants build and provide for use by visiting yachts. The beach is now quite steep too, so hauling the dinghy up was a little strenuous with the undertow from waves breaking on the shore.

The weather forecast indicated favourable conditions for a departure on Monday morning, which therefore entailed checking out of Carriacou on the Sunday. This generally means a long wait, and often involves the payment of overtime fees to Customs. The Tyrrel Bay Customs office was due to open at 0900 but with the Officer managing to misplace his keys, we didn't get into the office until after well after 1100, by which time there was a rather long queue of people all wishing to do the same. There was the inevitable round of form filling together with the anticipated overtime fee, but we were just glad to get processed before they closed.

We left early the next day to make the most of the daylight, with the expectation of having the wind somewhere just south of east, which promised a single tack sail all the way to Bequia, marvellous. There are many other small islands en route to Bequia, which form part of St Vincent and the Grenadines, but we'd visited many of them last year, and so decided to make some headway further north. The wind never really got south of an easterly direction, and the sea was a little lumpy in parts, but as we headed east of north Morven was bounding along quite happily with a reef in the sails. A few boats left with us, all heading to the same place, having been harbour bound for too long. We passed by the west coast of Union Island where the wind got a little gusty and unpredictable, and on towards Mayreau (where our favourite bay - Saltwhistle lies), with Tobago Cays and Mustique off to our east, and then on past Canouan towards our destination.
Nigel and Caroline aboard Nessa V caught us up with around 12 miles to go, having left some time later than us. They have a new rig, and a lovely new suite of sails, and also a bigger boat, so I think they were bound to 'win'. Nessa V looked lovely bouncing over the waves with full sail, and off into the distance. In this case, the hare won and the tortoise was definitely a fair distance behind, but all in all a jolly fine sail, and Morven wasn't disgraced by her performance which was the first proper test for her (and us) this year. (Thanks to Nigel for the photo of Morven).

We made Bequia by mid-afternoon, and anchored up on the north side of Admiralty Bay in beautifully clear water over sand, where it's possible to see the chain and anchor without diving. It was still quite early so we decided we ought to seek out Customs and check in to get the formalities done; they get a bit grumpy if you leave it until the next day. The dinghy was inflated and launched, the outboard on and off we went. By this time it was around 4pm; it seems that this year overtime fees in Bequia kick in at 4pm! So again, we had to pay the extra charges. Here there are no advertised office hours for Customs and Immigration, so I guess they can make the rules, and you do at least get a receipt for the additional payments. Either way, it is definitely not worth making a fuss about it, they only keep you waiting a lot longer, and ask many more questions. So, we just paid and headed back to the boat for a cold beer.