Next morning we departed at 10:00 from Admiralty Bay and motor sailed south along the coast to round the West Cay, the most western extremity of Bequia and then turned east sailing along the south coast to anchor in Friendship Bay. The bay has a lovely white beach but a small swell was present and we opted to eat lunch and then move on to the island of Mustique.
By 13:20 we were moored in Britannia Bay, the only anchorage permitted on Mustique, a privately owned island. Although private and exclusive, there is an open friendliness to passing yachties. Mustique was initially developed by the Honourable Colin Tennant who bought the island in 1959. It was developed as a playground for the rich and famous but with time, it is more rich businessmen who own property. The Mustique Council acts as custodian for the entire island and its mandate is to protect the environment and retain the privacy and tranquility that has made Mustique an ideal, peaceful and secure haven.
We did an island tour with one of only two taxi drivers and found it fascinating to see where many well known and famous people retreat to. To mention a few: Mick Jagger, Shania Twain, Tommy Hilfiger, Brian Adams, David Bowie when alive, Puma brand family, and many lesser mortals who can afford the ten million or so for a slice of paradise. The number of dwellings has been capped at 90. Princess Margaret accepted a 10 acre block of land as a wedding gift from Colin Tennant and William and Katherine had a 2 week honeymoon on the island, above the famed Macaroni Beach. We were surprised to see Mick Jagger in a beautiful dress shop that us girls were browsing in. We later learnt that he had ducked inside to avoid someone with a camera pointed at him. He was dressed casually in the linen look and the shop keeper said he often comes in and they give him no special attention....oh the price of being famous!
While on the tour we saw the local village, the school for 20 local children of all ages, set in beautiful manicured grounds, the airstrip for light aircraft, the island doctor’s clinic and home, the Equestrian Centre, the Cotton House, an exclusive hotel with 15 luxurious rooms and suites and one of two hotels on the island. The other is Firefly, a privately owned hotel with six fantasy rooms. The most appealing stop was at the Bamboo Church, a non-denominational church, with just the simplest of bamboo structure and a beautiful mural of surrounding islands in muted tones behind the altar, which was a small timber table. We understand that services are held in the church for all the special Christian calendar events. Maybe someone flies into the island to officiate on these occasions! There is so much more that could be said about this island, but I think it best if we all save hard and come to stay at one of the hotels, at least for one night!
We snorkelled all over Britannia Bay and were rewarded with many turtle sightings, lovely coral and a myriad of fish. We had sunset drinks at Basil’s Bar and enjoyed a range of tapas snacks, which we turned into dinner.
As we had to pay $200 EC minimum to moor which entitled us to 3 nights on the mooring, plus the fact that we liked this tranquil place, we stayed a second night, but sickness struck during the night. Steven hadn’t been totally well for several days, feeling the need for a lot of rest and a general malaise. Peter and I were struck with a nasty tummy bug that we initially thought was due to both of us having the same flavour ice cream that afternoon. As Mustique has its own resident doctor, the skipper decided that although a Maxalon shot had stopped the vomiting, we should go to the clinic for a consultation about our ailments. There is nothing worse than a yacht full of sick people! The doctor, who was a very charismatic character who’d spent 25 years serving the island population, ushered all 5 of us into his surgery together. After listening carefully to each of our symptoms, he decided Steven had an active infection, while Peter and I had food poisoning probably from a home made vegetable curry that had a small amount of left over coconut cream in it. He warned against drinking Piña Coladas, due to the coconut content, that is prone to going off if left in a tin.....oh dear! No treatment was offered as he felt it was just time that would heal. It was most interesting to get a glimpse into the life of a solo professional, who had a wealth of experience in medical matters and the issues of getting suitable locums. We left feeling more confident that we could continue sailing to more remote areas.
Those who needed to rested, after getting back to Trilogy and by late morning we departed for Tobago Cays, a quintessential destination in the Caribbean. However, the wind was blowing 15-20 knots and the Cays are quite exposed. We diverted to Grand Bay on Canouan Island which offered good protection. Those who were feeling very tired after the previous night took to their beds and those still keen, went in the tender for a snorkel off the far headland. Later some of us swam ashore and walked the beach. There was quite a nice resort on shore which only seemed to have a few guests. When we got to the middle of the beach we found ourselves navigating a slimy rock platform in order to get under an elevated jetty. On the way back we thought better of the situation and swam out into deep water to get around the hazard.
With our appetites suppressed, it was agreed that toasted sandwiches was a reasonable dinner option. Only about half were eaten and we all crashed early. It wasn’t long before the skipper took his turn at having a very bad night. Now it seemed that maybe it was a live bug rather than food poisoning. In addition, the wind had got up through the night and the quiet anchorage had shaken Trilogy back and forth. We had a slow start to the next day, but after a short swim, we cast off the mooring lines and had a dream beam reach sail of 5NMs with the main and headsail hoisted. Although the skipper was below his optimum, he was keen to stay at the helm!
Our next stop was Palm Island, one of those idyllic destinations. Originally called Prune Island, it was renamed when a small hotel and plentiful palm trees arrived. It has since been developed by a large hotel chain to a first class resort. Casuarina Beach is just like all the glossy magazines would have you dream about - aquamarine water, golden sand, swaying palm trees! We swam ashore and wandered the beach, observing the discreet signs of ‘hotel guests only’ pegged to the palms, which apparently means yachties can walk on the sand only to one chain above high water level! We counted 9 other islands visible from the anchorage, with Clifton Island just across the passage. We noted that the Palm Island staff all headed home to Clifton at the end of their shift.
What a beautiful part of the world!