Bequia with Magic Pelagic
02 December 2024 | Bequia, SVG
Donna Cariss | Very windy with strong gusts

We departed Saline Bay, Mayreau just before 0700 hours and raised the sails in the next bay, where we had room to go head to wind. We had a single reef in the mainsail, in anticipation of the acceleration zone off the top of the island. We had 25 miles to sail to Bequia and the wind direction wasn't too bad. If we were lucky, we might make it on a single tack. The swell was down from yesterday and the day before too, so all in all, it was a comfortable sail, at anything from 5 to 9 mph, boat speed. At 10am, we had a bite on the fishing line, which we were trawling. Pete brought the line in to investigate and found big teeth marks on both sides of the metal lure. It seemed that the fish had let go as soon as it realised the lure wasn't a fish. Damn! We had a couple of short, sharp showers on approach to Bequia, with the usual gusty wind but nothing too horrible. We put the engine on and dropped the sails just before the southwest headland and turned directly head to wind and waves, to motor the 2 miles into Admiralty Bay. This was the slowest part of the journey by far. We located Magic Pelagic and anchored on their inside, on a large sand patch, with 4.5 metres under the keel. We laid 25 metres of chain. 15 minutes later, there was a massive storm, with torrential rain, violent winds and thunder. How lucky was that! Paul and Tracey arrived alongside in their dinghy, having been in town where they had worried that we were caught out in the storm. The rain continued all afternoon, relenting just in time for the 4 of us to go to Jack's Bar for happy hour, at 5pm and catch up on news from the last few days. We were welcomed with cold, lemony towels, which was a nice touch but the staff weren't overly friendly and the bar was quiet and lacking atmosphere this evening. The weather remained dry overnight but with gusty winds.
It was Thanksgiving in the US but the Caribbean Islands had their Thanksgiving a few weeks earlier, so everything was open for business as usual in Bequia. We dinghied ashore early to have tea and juice at a bar, so we could use the toilet. Pete had decided that, given how well the anchor was in, he didn't want to have to move, meaning using the toilet with the holding tank wasn't an option. I would have to regulate my bowels to trips ashore. Lovely! Next stop was the chandlery, where we bought a new, longer lock, which would go through the engine and fuel tank, on the dinghy, as well as locking the dinghy to the dock. Then it was on to the supermarket to get cash back on our return beer bottles (50 cents per bottle), before walking over the hill to the sailmakers, to get quotes for dinghy chaps (sun covers to protect from the UV) and sun screens for the boat, which would provide more shade in the cockpit. Unfortunately they had a backlog of orders and thought it would be difficult to squeeze in the sun covers, although the dinghy chaps might be possible, given we were staying in Bequia until after New Year. We bumped into Rick at the bank and then his girlfriend, Barbara, in Knight's supermarket, so agreed to meet them for a drink at Whaleboner around 3.30pm. We bought frozen red snapper from the fish merchant and some very expensive, home grown spinach from a market stall. 40 EC for the snapper, 25 EC for the spinach but both should feed us for 2 days. Being Friday, we called at the tourist information office for the latest What's On guide for the coming week. Back on board, we set to making water, had a lovely swim and fixed a few bits and pieces with some sikaflex that Paul had going to waste. We agreed to meet Tracey and Paul at the Plantation for drinks at 4.30pm. When we arrived, slightly late after going to Whaleboner, we were told that all drinks were half price for happy hour, so Tracey and I ordered Mojito's. 5 minutes later, the waitress returned to say she was mistaken and there was no happy hour tonight, so we got up to leave. She said the cocktails had already been made but didn't offer to let us have them at half price, so we left and went to a little bar on Princess Margaret's Beach. Back on board, the red snapper, spinach and sauteed potatoes were delicious. Overnight, the wind was strong and extremely gusty, keeping us awake. At 4am everything went suddenly calm, like someone had flicked a switch; bizarre!
On Saturday, we were going out for an early dinner, with Paul and Tracey but met up mid-afternoon to walk along Princess Margaret Beach, over the hill, via a marked trail, then along Lower Bay beach, where we had a beer at Petra's. Retracing our steps, we called in at Da Reef for a drink and found this bar to be much cheaper. Going back over the hill, we all ended up stepping in wet cow muck, as there was no way to avoid it on the path. At least we could wash feet and flipflops in the sea, before walking along the waterside walkway through Belmont. The Fig Tree was closed and Mac's wasn't opening until Monday, so options were limited, despite it being a Saturday evening. We ended up at Frangipani, with the guys having lobster in garlic butter and the girls having Thai red chicken curry. To be fair, although the service was terribly slow, the food was very good. We returned to Muirgen to share a bottle of wine and we all slept well.
Sunday heralded a new month, so my first job was to do some banking and update my cashflow forecast (ever the accountant). We ran the watermaker until the tank was full and then went to the Fig Tree for a cuppa. There was morning entertainment, with a trendy, young man playing great tunes on his electric violin. In the afternoon, we experienced some strong, southerly winds, which was unusual and the boat turned round 180 degrees. As yachts were coming in to the anchorage and anchoring based on this wind, there was potential for trouble later, when the boats swung back to their prevailing position. A rather large, probably £1 million yacht, which was a French skippered charter, anchored close by us, giving us cause for concern, as we were swinging differently and often coming quite close together. During the late evening, the yacht moved to the outer edge of the anchorage, so the skipper must have become concerned too. We met Paul and Tracey for happy hour at Jack's, locking the dinghy to the dock. When we returned, Pete realised he had left our keys on the boat, so Paul had to give him a lift back to retrieve them. It was another very windy and gusty night on board, with lots of rock and roll.
When we surfaced, on Monday morning, next door's dinghy was upside down, with the outboard engine under the water, having flipped over in the overnight wind. Pete shouted over, as they were sitting in their cockpit totally oblivious. Paul and Tracey dropped by on their way to clear out with customs and immigration, as they were leaving for Cumberland Bay, Saint Vincent today. We were due on Pawikan at 10am, to have coffee with our new Danish friends, Henryk and Dorte before they also departed Bequia, for Saint Vincent. We discussed Guatemala, as they were considering it for next season. We said our goodbyes, then headed towards town, crossing dinghies with Paul and Tracey, such that we were able to say goodbye a final time. It was unlikely we would see them again for a long time, as our plans wouldn't coincide this season and we wouldn't be back in the UK at the same time either. We would miss spending time with them. Now we were alone in Bequia but probably not for long, this being an extremely popular place.