Petit Nevis and Bequia N13 00 W61 15
Gryphon II
Chris and Lorraine Marchant
Fri 29 Jan 2010 15:51
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We had a fast and uneventful sail from Canouan up to Petit
Nevis passing Mustique en route. Petit Nevis is one of a number
of small islands just off Bequia which used to be where they landed whales
that had been killed in the waters around the islands. There are still a few
flaking whale vertebrae and one or two vast, black cauldrons lying around
but there is less evidence of the grizzly past as each year goes by.
However, whaling does still take place here. The islanders of
Bequia are allowed to take up to 4 whales a year using traditional methods
i.e. long, narrow boats with a crew of 7 that are rowed out once a whale is
sited and killed in the traditional way by a man with a harpoon.The processing
of the whale carcass, which is used for food, now takes place on a
smaller island alongside Petit Nevis.
 In the tiny harbour at Petit Nevis the snorkeling is good
with colourful fish exploiting the reef for food and refuge. There is the usual
palm fringed beach on the windward side where coral chips are washed ashore with
coconuts and up on the hill the trees are bent horizontal by the wind. There was
an attempt to develop the island for tourism and some good stone walling inset
with conch shells still straddles one side but the island lies deserted still
and it seems unlikely it will ever be used by other than fishermen and
yachtsmen. As evening approached the only 2 other yachts headed off and we spent
the night in our first lone anchorage since arriving in the Windwards. It was
silent except for the lapping water around our hull.
 On to Bequia.
 Entering Admiralty Bay is
wonderful with steep green hillsides rising around a horseshoe of deep turquoise
blue harbour. We liked Bequia (pronounced Beckway) 28
years ago and still like it now. One of the smaller and lower islands in
the Windward chain it is about a tenth of the size of the Isle Wight so all its
beautiful beaches, coconut groves and other scenery are within walking distance
from its small, busy main town. It is very "Yachty" as most of
the visitors arrive by yacht and there is a superb and
spacious anchorage in which to lie. It is friendly and very colourful.
Sadly some of the locals have laid illegal moorings
in some of the harbour's best locations. Even the Harbourmaster's Office has a
note advising that they have no more right to lay moorings than you have to set
your anchor.  On the whole the numerous boat vendors are not
much of a hassle and leave you alone after you decline whatever service they are
offering. In any case some of the services are excellent . We had our laundry
collected directly from the boat and returned 5 hours later at no extra cost. As
always it was sparkling clean and expertly folded so that you would think it had
been ironed, we make good use of this service which is available in most
of the islands we visit. In St Lucia we bought some excellent fruit and veg
from a floating green grocer with his dilapidated Dory and its
puttering outboard, he was such a good, low key salesman that more was purchased
than originally intended but all delicious and stores well, so much better than
the supermarkets where much fresh produce has been chilled and soon wilts or
moulders.
 Whilst at Bequia we visited a turtle sanctuary set up by a
local man who used to dive for a living and harvested turtles a part
of that living. However, he realised the importance of trying to save
them from extinction, especiallly the leatherbacks that are the
most threatened. The various species between them clean
coral reefs, keep seagrass under control and devour
jellyfish which would otherwise swamp the oceans. It is
an enormous commitment and the results are slow to achieve as turtles live a
very long time, possibly 200 years, but they are correspondingly slow to achieve
maturity and slow to start to breed at around 25 years. The mortality rate
of baby turtles is very high in the wild, as they provide a perfect floating
"Cornish Pastie" for any passing predator. Therefore the owner of the centre
takes numbers of newly hatched turtles and raises them in tanks over many
years. He even has a rescued pet turtle that responds to having his shell
tickled by splashing with delight, one of the oddest things to see. One of the
star exhibits of the centre was an albino turtle that would not have survived in
the wild, even if predators had not attacked other turtles would. Turtles are
still hunted here, not for the shell, which it is illegal to sell although we
saw turtle shell products on some roadside stalls, but for the meat which we
were told some of the restaurants still serve although it is never on the
menu.
 Bequia is also famous for boat building and more recently
model boat building. The main family who make the models are the Seargeants, and
we met the original Mr Seargeant in his small museum, where he proudly showed us
many of the models he had made over the years and a photo of himself with the
Queen, on the occasion of the presentation to her of a model that he had
made of the Royal Yacht. His work was just perfect and has been taken up by his
sons who seem to run a thriving business.
 We would have stayed longer but since just before
Christmas Lorraine has had an ongoing problem with an abscess under
a crowned molar tooth. The local dentist in Grenada had prescribed
antibiotics that seemed to have worked for a short time but then it got worse
and we had to visit the doctor in Bequia for more antibiotics. We decided to
sail up to St Lucia where we knew there was a very good dentist. We have
been very impressed by the standard of the care from the dentists and the
doctor Lorraine has seen. The professional charges too have been very
reasonable. Anyway to cut a long story short Lorraine now has a large gap in the
previous full set of teeth but a receding amount of
pain. We need to find a good country for implants now!
Oh and to anyone who has ever owned a boat, what a
brilliant name for one!
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