St Vincent

For some reason St Vincent seems to have got a bad press with the yachting fraternity who frequently sail straight past to Bequia, but both Mary Constance with whom we are sailing, and ourselves feel compelled to put in and explore.

Wallilabou has the added attraction (for the kids) of retaining the set built for the making of part of Pirates of The Caribbean. Approaching the bay we are met by the non-motorised version of the “boat boys”; hard work plying their trade alongside motorized yachts. “Ashley” guides us to a suitable anchorage and then proceeds to tie our stern line ashore (attached to keep our bows into the swell for a comfortable night) to a mere sapling. Reconnected to a proper tree we set off to explore. Wallilabou has a remarkable atmosphere created by the quite authentic 18^th century (?? no idea) film set, and its hard to be sure which bits are film set and which original Wallilabou. Some of the locals seem a bit affected as well, but the welcome is a good Caribbean one and the hospitality genuine.

Mary Constance and Moondance at anchor                       Set for Pirates of the Caribbean

Taking a walk into the local town we stop to watch a little local cricket; in a matter of minutes we are treated to a demonstration of some fearsome fast bowling and a majestic straight “six”. The future of West Indian cricket looks pretty good from here.

By our second evening there are 16 boats in the bay, so I can only conclude that Wallilabou at least is catching on as an anchorage. Star turn of the bay is definitely John and Julian, two “mature” Rastas who paddle (and bail) their leaking boat from yacht to yacht selling vegetables and fruit while maintaining a constant  dialogue of mutual criticism and abuse. Under a somewhat fierce veneer lurk two kindly old gentlemen, who somehow manage to persuade us, with an effective mix of assurance and curse, that a half dozen green oranges are infact a type of local lemon.  Preparing a slice for the old G & T later in the week we knew who the lemons were!

ahaargh more pirates!                                                      Joss on Mary Constance giving some clothes to John and Julian

We had intended visiting St Vincent’s waterfalls on the north of the island which are reputed to be spectacular; some of the best in the Caribbean. Sadly we find out that a recent landslide has made them inaccessible to all but the fittest and adventurous visitors, and given the ages of our party (the young ones!!) we decide to forego (also, with our recent Dominican river trip in mind Maddie was showing signs of serious dissent). An all too brief visit and exploration of St Vincent, but we are mindful of arrangements to meet up with Aragorn again before they disappear north, and they await us in Bequia.