15/03/2003

12°38’N 61°23’W

We awarded ourselves an extra day in Bequia in order to acquire all the negatives of the photographs which had been taken of Oriole on our approach.  A walk, with a sandwich in a beach restaurant and a swim from Princess Margaret Beach was a good way to spend Sunday.  There had been a great deal of discussion about whether we would visit Mustique with its celebrity villas and expensive hotels and restaurants.  Undoubtedly in the prevailing weather the anchorage would have been rather rolly and finally the no faction held sway and Mustique must wait for another occasion.  Instead we sped on down to Canouan and then to the famous Tobago Cays where the colour of the clear water varying from dark blue to pale turquoise is undoubtedly more of an attraction than Mick Jagger’s or Princess Margaret’s houses.  Regretably the Cays attract an enormous number of yachts and day charter boats to experience the colours and the anchorage separated only by a series of reefs from the open Atlantic.  We retired to Mayreau to cook the 4 pound lobster we had acquired from a fisherman and as the sun set with another green flash we were guilty of slight gastronomic excess.  Lobsters were said to be fished out in the Grenadines but  it would appear that conservation measures have succeeded in re-establishing a population large enough for all the boat boys to be offering them around. 

 

                                    Saltwhishle Bay Mayreau

Far away from any shops there is no difficulty in buying basic supplies of bread, fish, fruit and veg from a a most efficient and obliging fleet of boat boys.  In St Lucia they are more of a hindrance than a help but here they do provide a great hassle free service.  We have now moved round to a little frequented anchorage on the windward side of Mayreau where we are anchored behind a reef with an uninterrupted view of the Tobago Cays two miles away.  Chris has been out with her underwater camera and a sample of her work is seen here.

                                                French Angelfish

  Union Island in view to the south is the border with Grenada where the islands come under its jurisdiction and we plan to clear with customs and immigration on Monday. We will potter on down to Grenada where we are now planning to leave Oriole for the summer.  Undoubtedly the Grenadines are a jewel worthy of further exploration and we plan to do that next year, Blair and Bush not withstanding.