13:14.82N 61:16.31W Bequia to Wallilibou Bay, St Vincent

Gaudeo
John and Prue Quayle / John Quayle
Mon 21 Jan 2008 22:55
21st January:
Here we are on the film set of "Pirates of the Caribbean" ( apparently a "block buster") in lovely, remote Wallilibou Bay, on the west coast of St Vincent. The wind gods have been with us at last as a stiff easterly gave a perfect 3 hour fast reach from Admiralty Bay, Bequia and we arrived in time for a swim just before lunch at the isolated Anchorage restaurant.

Bequia was nice as we had been told though being a yachting favourite, the anchorage was fairly crowded; Gaudeo was dwarfed by numerous "super yachts" and 2 four masted square rigged sailing ships. We survived the trial by boat boys who guide unsuspecting yachtsmen to insecure moorings and seem inexhaustible in pursuit of sales of almost everything.

The population is only 8,000 but Port Elizabeth bustled with market traders. It became a delight to be ripped off in the Rasta vegetable and fish markets - can`t believe I wrote that. A conch shell is sounded every time a boat arrives with fish and this results in a scrum at the landing stage. There seemed no bounds to our largesse though I am well known for my generosity to hopeless causes. Prue was a modern day missionary dutifully dispensing dollars instead of bibles, in exchange for trinkets which once heaved into the River House will probably never see the light of day. Instead of building whaling boats, model boat making is a craft speciality of the island. I was even tempted to bring back a large perfect replica of the famous America`s Cup "J" class yacht "Endeavour" which after restoration and an illustrious past is still seen in these parts, but settled for a modest copy of the island`s whaler which is still in use. This transaction just goes to show how much effect the heat has on the brain but Prue assures me that another family may be saved from poverty for a year or more.


After an exploration of St Vincent over the next two days we should be on schedule for meeting up with friends in St Lucia 40 miles away at the end of the week.

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