We had a great time on Canouan and really liked the island, we met up with Jon and Rena and went to the Tamarind beach hotel for a meal which was a very nice treat, during the day they were busy getting Genevieve ready for their guests. Jon is skipper of Genevieve which is a lovely 35m yacht and everything on board is super big – the spinnaker winches / capstan's Steve is sitting by are massive as are the 2 wheels.

  

View looking out of the marina from our berth.                                  Innamorata and Genevieve in the background

 

Steve and I borrowed bicycles from the marina and cycled into the town- well in truth we walked up the hills and cycled freewheeled down them!

Some of the places we cycled past.

  

 

When we got to the marina gates we were told the bicycles weren't meant to leave the complex – we had asked if we could use them to ride into town before we started the guards checked and let us out  warning us not to leave them unattended. The locals in town were all very friendly – our bicycles were quite an attraction and we were repeatedly asked if they could have a go on them – we had visions of the bikes disappearing over the nearest hill never to be seen again so sadly had to decline them the experience! We did a little veg shopping at the local market – we found that all veg is imported from St Vincent none is grown on the island which is only 3.5 x 1.25 miles. The locals it seems were sold out by the St Vincent government who leased a large part of the island (the north portion) to Italians who have built a resort and properties (they have the right to sell on) there, locals who are not employed in the resort aren't allowed in the area! In the south there is a private airport and now the marina being built by an Irish man, consequently the locals don't have much land left! Those we spoke to did however welcome the marina as it provided work and would help the island’s economy in the long run. Many of those working there were from St Vincent and locals were able to make money renting rooms to them as well.

Our first encounter with a wild tortoise – it was in the road which had a fair bit of construction trucks from the marina passing by at a vast speed so I helped it to the far side! Not sure it appreciated the help!

 

More views from the ride and the marina complex – a work in progress.

    

  

When we got back Steve noticed that a couple we met in North Spain were sailing by the island – he called them on VHF and they said they were on their way to Mustique for the Blues festival before heading further north, we therefore will probably go to Mustique to catch up with them.

On our second night at the marina we had Jon and Rena over for a meal, it was so good to see them and that our paths were able to cross when they had some free time.

Early the next morning they and the rest of the crew were back at work cleaning and adding finishing touches to Genevieve – I felt so sorry for Rena who had cleaned and polished the whole hull the day before only to wake up to it being covered in dust from the construction work around the marina – she was busy cleaning again before the guests arrived, we said our goodbyes and left them to their preparations.

Before we left we had a visit from a couple who had come to see what the marina was like, they saw our OCC flag and recognised Innamorata as an Oyster so came by and said Hello – they too are Oyster owners and members of the OCC, their boat Escapade of Rame was moored in the bay on the other side of the island. We love meeting new people and finding out where they have been, where they are going etc we had a nice chat with Richard and Julie they are heading north to America for Hurricane season and their next stop is Mustique for the blues festival.