The Grenadines

11-11 After two nights at Sandy Island we cleared out of Carriacou (and Grenada) and sailed to Union Island. Union is the southern most island of St Vincent and the Grendines where we will spend a few weeks enjoying this beautiful area. When you picture the Caribbean, you most likely conjure up visions of secluded beaches, white sand and colorful waters that we will see here every day.

11-13 We are anchored in the Tobago Cays again, part of a national marine park. It is truly gorgeous here, a shallow horseshoe reef is all the protects us from the wind and seas off the Atlantic. The reef is fabulous snorkeling with an abundance of fish and sea life. There is also an area of sea grass that is a turtle sanctuary and one can swim very close without causing them any concern.




There are boats that come along selling fresh caught seafood, fresh basked bread and a variety of other items from villages on islands outside of the park. It has been quite windy and we have had a few squalls so we caught enough water to fill our tank. The seas have picked up and it is getting a bit rolly in here behind the reef.

11-16 The seas are crossing over the reef now and we had such a rolly night we have decided to move on even though we love the isolation of the Cays. We are now in Canuan, another small island in the Grenadines. There is a small moorings base here and this would be a lovely place to charter from but expensive to get to. I believe you can get to from St Vincent and charter from there easier. One could cruise the entire Grenadines in a week long charter and have a fabulous time. It is still rolly here even on the west side of the island so we moved up a bit from the main harbor to a small cove that we have all to our self. What beautiful sunsets we have been having!

11-19 We just spent 4 lovely days at a small island just south of Bequia called Petit Nevis. This is the old whale rendering facility and while we had a few other boats stop for lunch and a swim, we had the anchorage to our self. A coral reef just a few hundred feet from the boat gave us an excuse for a swim throughout the day. Evenings have really been cooling down creating near perfect conditions, except for the wind. The wind has been blowing between 15 and 20 knots continually for days and the seas are up to about 6 feet (both NE), so even on the lee side of the islands we are getting swells that are causing the boat to roll constantly. We need to leave another of our favorite spots.

11-22 We arrived at Bequia's main harbor of Admiralty Bay among 30 to 40 other sailboats. This is a very popular harbor and many spend weeks here or even longer. Christmas is reported to be filled with many more boats, hundreds even. We talk about this often and cannot find the attraction. I know that everyone has different criteria and expectation, but for us this place is just too crowded and is another 'campground'. We dub anchorages campgrounds when they draw large quantities of boats that stay for long long periods of time. There are a few decent size markets and one even specialized in American items if you want some Johnsonville Brats or Cesar Dressing, and the liquor store has items we haven't seen for months. You will however pay dearly for all these items. Our first night here was so rolly that item were falling off the table and countertops. We moved to the very north end of the bay and now have had a much more settled stay. This is a very large bay on the south west side of the island and we are surprised that the seas were still finding a way to annoy us.

There is a small 21 foot boat that came from Sweden and I shudder to think of his experience! We met a couple we had seen in Bequia and they enjoyed lemonade on our boat while we tried to re-anchor several times. Finally found a patch of sand and the hook dug right in. Grass is hard to set the anchor in as it just slides over the top.



11-24 We have arrived at Walliabou, St Vincent. This is the main setting for the Pirates of the Caribbean filming. The piers and buildings that were constructed are still there as well as some of the movie set memorabilia. There is a small waterfalls just a short walk away. We will clear out with St Vincent customs and spend the night, leaving before dawn for St Lucia.