Jazz, Peter Island, Salt Island and Cooper Island

Moonshine
Sat 14 Apr 2007 23:46
Well of course, the music was excellent, as was the barbeque. Music on the beach - sometimes jazz, sometimes country - into the small hours, with good food and new company has to be a highlight.

In the morning we took the boat round to 'Great Harbour', the largest settlement on the island - population circa 100 - with its customs post, church, police station, and shops, all in a track about 100yds long, and all on the beach. We saw maybe a dozen people, although most of them were people we had met the previous night. We went to the grocers for provisions, but we had a greater variety of food remaining on the boat than was for sale.

Then to Peter Island. Into a small bay also called 'Great Harbour' Here it was different. No boats, no moorings, no people at all. Just fish. The bay was alive with jumping fish. There were shoaling like mackerel in a feeding frenzy, although looked more like bass. I gave Sandra precise instructions on where to sail, how fast to go and what radius turns to execute so that I could concentrate on catching supper. Clearly she got it slightly wrong.

We anchored for the night - by this time there were all of 12 boats in the bay.
Supper was tinned steak, tinned potatos, and tinned peas, candlelit, under a clear moonless, but amazingly starry Caribbean night. It was perfect. I forgave Sandra.

What we didn't know at the time was that if we had gone ashore and walked a hundred yards over the hill, there was a 5star hotel in the next bay. We found it the following morning. Sandra thought I did it deliberately.

We lifted the anchor and headed for Salt Island.

Salt Island is a very small island where salt is harvested from evaporation ponds. At one time it was a very rich island where all the sailing ships would pick up the salt for preserving their meat and fish. The Queen uses only salt from Salt Island, and in view of services rendered, The Royal Family gave the island to the natural inhabitants. Unfortunately, the last of them died in 2001, and the ownership of the island is now unclear.

We found nobody on the island, and the anchorage was unsafe. We did go ashore and scooped up about 2lb of salt that had been harvested, and was drying in heaps. We left 5 dollars under a stone for someone to find. Now Sandra and I, and the Queen, have the privilege!

We spent only 2 hours at Salt Island, and then up anchored to head to Cooper Island, where our table is booked for ten minutes time. - More later.

Rod Sandra and the mouse.



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