It had been a long sail, right from the north of St Lucia past the magnificent Pitons and a stunning 30NM reach into the shadow of the Soufriere Volcano. As we had a clock ticking on us we had decided not to stop in St Vincent, so we pottered around the west/lee side of the island in very flukey and gusty conditions but it kept us going as we waved to some of the locations for Pirates of the Caribbean. Wallilabou being the main location for the movie where apparently there are parts of the sets still standing as tourist attractions. As we rounded the southern tip and turned on the wind for Bequia, there were quite strong currents but they soon let us out of their grasp and we charged over the last 12Nm arriving in Bequia as the sun was setting. We managed not to set the boat down on the Devil's Table, an aptly named reef, as we turned into Admiralty Bay. A perfect, albeit long day of sailing. What I love about the Caribbean is that you don't use your motor much.

Bequia was a dream place and super well-organised with nice walkways under the palms and plenty of restaurants and bars, including the Whale bar, where all of the seats as well as the bar are made from whale bones. Whaling was the traditional raison d'être for the island's population and they still have an agreement with the World Whaling Commission that they can take 4 whales a year, but that they have to use traditional hand spearing methods from rowing boats. A somewhat dangerous occupation. During the last 4 years they have caught no whales but a few days after we left, they harpooned one and dragged it in. Apparently Princess Margaret used to come here and the nicest beach is named in her honour. There is also a famous model boat-building industry where they make magnificent models of, for example, the classic America's Cup boats and if you have $4000 or $5000 to spare, they will make you a model of your boat.

Veronica spotted a bush bar on google maps that reviews said had amazing views. We trudged and staggered up the hill, not because of inebriation but because of steepness and searing heat. The last 800m contoured along a roughly hewn jungle trail. When we finally arrived, we found this very crudely built but admirable wooden construction with the most basic facilities. It was the proprietor, a youngster, who had hewn this from the forest around him. He was not yet finished his dream concept which is a bush pub with a small kitchen to be able to cater for pub meals. The views are magnificent. The solar powered fridge provided ice cold beer and, lets call him Joe, was super friendly and engaging. It was his birthday, so he was closing early to have drinks with his mates in town. That suited us just fine so we watched the sunset and scurried down the jungle path while we could still see.

We spent 3 nights in Bequia, mooching around, snorkelling, exploring and enjoying. Highly recommended.

We also ran into Rolf and Brigitta on Caringa. We had not seen them since Cape Verde where we had facilitated Phil bringing out some parts for their hydrovane. As we left we went past their boat to say goodbye, Rolf was rabbiting on and pointing at this magnificent 3-masted traditional sailing boat. All was lost in translation and wind noise except Picasso, Picasso. We later looked this up and joined the dots. We sailed by Moonhole Bay with its interesting but delapidated architecture. It was founded by the American Architect, Tom Johnson, and is kind of Gaudi-esque with a spin. Look it up, unfortunately we did not get close enough to get any decent photos and just this day my Nikon SLR had started showing this "err" message, so pictures from here on are GoPro or phone. Will have to get it sorted when back in Pommieland.

It is only 8-10 Nm to Mustique and as we rounded the jagged southern tip of Bequia and were reaching along slowly, the magnificent boat Rolf had pointed out overtook us leaving only 100m between us. This piqued our interest, so we started searching google. It turns out the boat belongs to a Spanish Banker and a few years ago,he took a Picasso painting he owned out of Spain enroute to Switzerland. The Spanish authorities claim that the painting is a national treasure and although Jaime Botin owns it, it cannot be removed from Spain. The boat, Adix, was raided in Corsica by the French Police and the $25m painting was confiscated. The controversy apparently continues. Now we get Rolf's mad gesticulation about Picasso.
Mustique is a privately owned island so anchorage or mooring is only allowed in Britannia Bay and only part of the island is open to the public. That said the beaches and area that is open are fantastic. The real story is that you are only allowed to anchor if your boat is greater than 65ft. Vessels with more than 25 onboard are not allowed and jet skis are banned. The deal is that you pay something like EC$240 for a mooring buoy and you can stay up to 3 nights, so why stay less. In short, this is a highly sophisticated place most famous perhaps for Basil's Bar and some of its past and present residents, like some of the Royal family, Tommy Hilfiger, Mick Jagger and others. I shall be lazy and just quote from the Irish Times because this pretty much sums it up, "The mere name Mustique conjures up pictures of heady goings on under a hot sun, with the caftan-clad rich and famous able to behave as they please away from the lenses of the paparazzi. Kate Moss and Claudia Schiffer holiday here, so does Calvin Klein, David Geffen and tycoon Ed Bronfman. Residents include Swiss bankers, a Chanel heiress, the Parmesan king of Italy and a string of multi-millionaires who deal in anything from designer clothes to girlie magazines. Privately owned and wholly controlled by the Mustique Company, the island has perfect white beaches studded with huge pink shells and fringed by imported palm trees. You won't find cruise ships in the harbour, only occasional yachtsmen drifting by on their way through the turquoise waters of the Grenadines."
Basil's Bar is special because they have live music there on Thursdays and Sundays and of course that stage has been graced by Jagger and Bowie, doing off the record impromptu gigs. They have a famous jazz festival in February which we have been told is a must for us to do next year. We went to the Sunday night jazz session, which turned out to be more like Caribbean Jump-Up music than jazz. It was an interesting affair since there was a traffic jam of residents' golf carts outside and families brought all the small kids that danced with the parents and grandparents, ate and then were whisked away by, one assumes, au pair's, leaving the older generation to Jump-Up and Rum Punch. It was quite wonderful and although I did not recognise anyone there that night we were curious about who they all were.
We loved Mustique and felt quite privileged to be there. As the Irish Times implies it is not a place normal lesser mortals get to go to easily, the only real possibility being the single 5 star hotel and that is definitely a lot more expensive that the EC$80 (about GBP25) a night we paid. We did take a little bit of slightly naughty walk into the hinterland to see the STOL aircraft landing, but we stuck to the road and everybody waved at us with enthusiastic friendliness. Who knows, perhaps we were mistaken for someone more famous? Haha
Onwards and southwards, the next stop was Canouan. Glossy Bay had been recommended. It has a magnificent, long, white beach with Scruffy's Bar and restaurant. Unfortunately, it was Monday so Scruffy takes the day off to tidy up, thus we did not get there. There were 3 boats in the massive anchorage and behind the beach is the newly opened Marina. A joint venture between the Irishman that once owned London City Airport and the Canouan government. We took the ePropulsion on an exploratory trip. It was an unusually laid out and not-a-cent-spared marina. The buildings were magnificent, the docks top quality and the landscaping wonderful. There was room for at least 200 boats including super yachts and there were probably 10 boats in there. We went into the reception to enquire about perhaps coming in for a night to catch up on some laundry. The receptionist/manageress was the daughter of a Namibian game ranger and went to school in Cape Town. She was bubbly and friendly and massively enthusiastic about the marina and its high tech laundry that you could download an app for and check on your clothes from the boat even programming more time in the dyer if necessary. Whatever next? It was US$85 a night for the boat and the laundry tokens were US$20 a pop. The place deserves to be a success but they may need to lower their prices. Most other places in the world, you would have given an arm and a leg for our picture perfect anchorage just a few hundred meters away.
It was a 5Nm hop, skip and reach to Tobago Cays, possibly one of the Grenadines most iconic reef bound mini-archipelago, the epitome of Robinson Crusoe or the message in a bottle cartoon. There is some careful reef dodging to be done. We decided to go through the pass leaving Baleine rock downwind. Not the most conservative approach but it allowed us to sail straight into the anchorage between the two main micro islands. It was a bit too much in the action as the buoy we took was 150m away from the beach where all the lobster braais and pop-up rum punch beach restaurants happen. It is a Marine Park, so you pay the same overnight fee whether you take a mooring buoy or you anchor, the latter which is discouraged. During the day there is a buzzing trade with open air restaurants going on, on the beach. These guys are not allowed to stay the night so the whole circus packs up and retreats to Union island. I was very impressed that when we woke up in the morning the whole place was pristine with no people or small boats left at the beach and everything was neatly packed and pleasantly unrecognizable from the hub-bub of the previous afternoon and evening. By noon the circus slowly arrives again in highspeed wooden fishing boats and the daily cycle repeats. The Marine Park staff, who collect the modest mooring fee no doubt keep an eye to make sure this national asset is kept intact. Quite impressive in my opinion. We had some of our best snorkelling yet, seeing a big variety and the tamest turtles yet. We stayed 2 nights and must have snorkelled 4 times, including helping one of those chartering types, who had fallen back on the boat behind him while trying to pick up the buoy and got their mooring buoy wrapped on his rudder. Never ceases to amuse, a charter catamaran comes in with about ten meerkats standing tall on their hind legs with darting eyes and bobbing necks...........watch for some entertainment and hope they don't moor or anchor anywhere close to them.
Just a downwind dash between the coral reefs lies Mayreau. A classic place there is Salt Whistle Bay. Very beautiful but apparently jammed with lobster braai hustlers and a favourite charterers' location. We had been tipped off about the Mayreau Beach Club just around the corner. Almost too good to be true. Free high quality mooring buoy, free WiFi that reaches the boat, use of all their pools, beach and facilities for free. We stayed two nights languishing in their multi-tiered pools enjoying lunches and sunset cocktails in their Bali style upper bar. In these circumstances you don't mind paying a bit extra for a sunset cocktail or GBP 20 for a lunchtime burger. En, kan jy dit glo? The Operations Manageress, Joanne is "sommer" from Bonteheuwel in Kaapstad!

The journey south now had to leap countries and we needed to go to Clifton on Union Island to check-out of the Grenadines. We did not want to pay the customs weekend overtime so we spent a night in Clifton on a slightly dodgy buoy between the reefs and then once we had worked out the logistics went and picked up a free mooring (Grenadines marine preservation organisation) off Frigate Island. This is kite boarding heaven, complete with a school which has headquarters and a mini teashop on a converted (probably originally hurricane damaged) anchored catamaran. Cool place all in all, with a great 6km walk back into town over two pedestrian suspension bridges and through the mangroves to Clifton the next day to clear out. It was here at the customs office that I started to chat with this guy that had my mind racing. Eventually I said, 'you remind me very much of Guy Martin (the need for speed TV guy)'. He just smiled and said, that's because I am his uncle, he was a dead ringer, accent and all.

We then sailed on to Carriacou to check-in and sadly had to miss Sandy Island. There was the option to go back there after check in but it was honking over 20 knots so we stayed put and walked over the hill to check it out from the mainland the next day. The check-in lady had the disposition of something between a snapper turtle and a bulldog chewing a wasp, she shouted at Veronica for popping her head into the door when she wasn't the Captain, interestingly and rather sexist-ly shouting before even asking if she was the Captain. Then I got a bollocking for not putting the chair on wheels back to within micro-millimetres of where I found it. Anyway, we became legal. Kirsten and Norbert from the Allures 39.9 came over for a braai. They had been at Sandy Island and showed us this video of an Iguana that had swam out and climbed onto the boat to sun itself and look for food. They had an interesting time poking it off the boat with a boat hook.

We hightailed it in strong winds for Grenada and encountered some of the strongest currents yet as we passed Ronde Island. We went on the wind and then on an almost straight run to avoid the 'kick-em-Jenny' exclusion zone. 'Kick-em-Jenny' is an underwater volcano that is 350m below the sea surface. It had erupted last in 1988, 1989, 2001, 2015 and 2017. The problem is the risk of sudden sinking due to emitted gases reducing water buoyancy, an eruption could also throw hot rocks, ballistic projectiles, up through the sea and into the air far above the ocean surface. Such rocks can be spewed up to 5 kilometers from the volcano and have the ability to significantly damage or destroy ships. One of Grenada's worst maritime disasters is believed to have occurred because of degassing from the 'kick 'em Jenny' volcano in 1944. At least 60 people died when a ship sank.
Luckily none of this was going on during our trip and our 40Nm sail ended in the luxurious Campers and Nicholson marina in St Georges, Granada's capital. We had not been in a marina for so long that we almost forgot to take the dinghy off the davits. Laundry and freshwater were needed. We clambered up the hill to get views of the harbour and town, did some minor shopping and just enjoyed walking off the boat, restaurants and facilities. The next day we pottered around to Prickly Bay, home of the Spice Island Marina and haul-out yard, one we had considered as an option, but it was more expensive than Trinidad and has a slightly elevated hurricane risk. It was from here that we were staging ourselves for our crossing and first overnight sail since the Atlantic crossing, to Trinidad.
We spent two days in Prickly with an interesting excursion on the No1 bus. Bus it was not and some reports on Navily had warned us. Cheap it was, EC$2.50 to St George. It was straight out of South Africa, a minibus with a guy riding shotgun opening and closing doors cat whistling at any potential customers and collecting money. School kids, white boys, white gals Rastafarians, buxom ladies in tight dresses glistening with beads of sweat were all part of the show but it worked. All were polite and it made me feel like we had got closer to local and if you are Surf African you know local is lekker.
We had spent at least 4 hours killing time at Grande Anse beach after a long walk back from the customs office. Despite the heat, we walked all the way back to town later for the customs office.
We checked out as late as possible and then had 24 hours to leave. We did not quite comply, after a lazy Saturday with a walk to the next door bay and an onshore lunch, we left at 5pm instead of 4 pm the next day.
The planning did not quite work out but what a wonderful sail anyway. There was talk of the Equatorial current setting against you and in any case, we were going to try to go slow so as to sail the last bit that is close to the Venezuelan maritime border, in the light. We had a second reef in the main and just the staysail out but we were reaching at over 6 knots SOG most of the time. We did 3 hour watches and a landmark (maybe a seamark?) was the Hibiscus Gas Platform. The plan was to pass about 2Nm to the leeward side of it. I missed it though as I was in my pit, while Veronica was on watch. There are two gas platforms, the other being Poinsettia. They were both so well-lit so there was a glow in the sky for about 15 NM either side of them. From the platform it was 28Nm to Bocos de Dragons. It became light in good time so we left the dramatic Trinidad North Coast to our port and passed through the Bocos, which was narrow and spectacular with steep jungle-clad sides and the swirling and chirping of birds and the chatter of howler monkeys. Although the risk was small, Veronica was relieved that we had not encountered any machete-wielding Venezuelans in high speed pirogues.
We had arrived on a Sunday morning which turned out to be a mistake? Well not really because we had wanted to build in some contingency but we had heard that customs and immigration were very officious here so we wanted to be careful. We caught up on sleep then spent the whole afternoon calling supposedly 24/7 customs and immigration on the designated channel 16. No response, so we stayed on the boat flying the Q-flag. Next morning we had Yvanna at Peake yacht services to help us but she did warn that health clearance (in post Covid times?) could take between 20 minutes and 8 hours. It took us 7 hours so finally at 4pm we were allowed off the boat to collect all the paper work that had been prepared for us by Yvanna. The customs and immigration bit thankfully went smoothly. The immigration lady even smiled, as we had lost our boat registration original and only had a copy to give her, which amazingly she accepted. Phew! The greatest irony was that when we read the Health Clearance paper that we needed first before coming ashore, it was a sworn and signed declaration that they had boarded our boat and checked us and the boat and declared us free of infection and/or no health threat.
We got all the sails down on the buoy and lifted a day later than planned, due to our customs delay and the need to fill the diesel tanks and add the diesel preservative.
The boat was hauled out on 29 March. Since late April 2022 in Greece we have spent 9 months of the year sailing and we have covered 7200Nm. Many thanks to all who helped. Adieus until next season, although maybe when I get home I will do a summary of best places, scariest things in the last year, etc