Mustique. Island of the rich and famous
09 May 2019 | Mustique
Philip Greetham
We left Blue Lagoon on St Vincents bound for Mustique. It was a struggle for the first hour to make the course around the N windward point of Bequia, but once we had cleared that, cape it was s pleasant sail all the way.
Mustique is a privately owned island, developed by Colin Tennant, a British entrepreneur, as a playground for the rich and famous. One of the first home owners was Princess Margaret, and was followed by Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Raquel Welch and others. Today there are about 100 houses, with owners automatically entitled to membership of the Mustique Company, which manages the island. There are no more houses planned to be built, so prices have soared. Many of the houses are available for rental at prices in the tens to hundreds of thousands of USD per week. The old cotton plantation buildings have been transformed into the Cotton House hotel, now a 5 star resort. (I bet the slaves who worked the plantation never dreamed of this!) Basil's Bar on the beach has a live stage that has seen many notables put on live performances.
Since boats are no longer able to anchor here, we took a mooring for 3 nights. Snorkelling off the boat is a real treat since there are many turtles grazing over the weed beds up to about a metre in size. I saw dozens in one dive, not to mention the clourful fish over the reefs.
We took a tour of the island in a car since my back is not yet up to walking, cycling or horse riding, the other transport options. We stopped at several beaches where we could get a glimpse of Bryan Adams house, and where Kate and Prince William stayed for their honeymoon. The owners, understandably, value their privacy, so it's difficult to get views of the houses, because of the large properties with luxuriant gardens.
The whole island is absolutely beautiful, and it reminded me of driving around a golf course in a buggy. Much of it is natural, and the garden areas are spectacular. It's highly up-market of course, but in an understated way, if that makes sense. I'm glad I ignored the advice of other cruisers who said don't bother coming here; it's an absolute delight.