Oriole in the Grenadines

Oriole
Sun 23 Jan 2005 23:07
Not wishing to fail our forthcoming charter guest, Andrew, by being too far
south when he flies into Antigua in two weeks time we have moved up to Bequia and are
enjoying the annual jazz festival.  We have had some excellent sailing
mostly on the wind and have bumped into a number of RCC yachts.  We
celebrated Pete Hill's award of the Founders Cup on China Moon for his
cruise to the South Shetlands and South Georgia, met the Brunyees on their
Bristol Channel Pilot Cutter built in 1893 with their two small boys age 3 and 5 on a
years trip from the UK and back, and on Thursday diverted to Mayreau to meet up with
Richard and Jenny Clifford having a brief holiday before Richard sets out
for the Panama Canal and New Zealand.  Yes, we are just playing at it, but
still thoroughly enjoying the Caribbean.
Bequia's Jazz Festival has become an annual event and attracts some fine musicians and
lots of yachts and tourists. The first two evenings were in the grounds of the Old Plantation House,
a very atmospheric venue with lawns and palm trees running down to the shore. 
After the first we returned to Oriole to find that she had moved
a bit in our absence which necessitated a bit of fun in the dark finding a more secure
anchorage.  This done we slept soundly and seem to have continued doing so
intermittently for 36 hours. Late nights are not good for old fogies.
The final music session this afternoon was in a beach bar and featured a wonderful American blues
singer from Chicago now a yachtie who we met at Christmas. Joyce has the most fantastic voice and
the audience would not let her go. All this was on the beach with a picnic and the turquoise sea
quietly breaking on the white sand - magic - and free.