God is bowling googlies!

Oriole
Sun 16 Mar 2008 15:52
Chatham Bay Union Island.   12:36.30N  61:27.00W
 
As we sailed out of Admiralty Bay, Bequia on Tuesday, a very smart black yacht was tacking into the bay which we were admiring. We then noticed the RCC burgee at the masthead and then realised it was Ocean Grace.  Quickly re-tracing our steps we hailed them - just arrived from the Canaries after a brief stop in Barbados. We first met John and his late wife Sue sailing in Ireland nearly 30 years ago. We arranged to meet in the Tobago Cays later in the week.
The week has been glorious weather with lighter winds and clear skies.  The Tobago Cays are unigue in this area and the snorkling and diving are spectacular.  However equinoctial spring tides with strong tidal streams do not favour the diving we did here last year.  We contented ourselves with snorkling on the reef and in an eco-protected area where the turtle grass is growing well and there are lots of turtles.  We shared two suppers with the Quadrilles and a magnificent lobster with John and his son Tristan on Ocean Grace.
 
 
Swimming with turtles in the Tobago Cays.
 
We are now in Chatham Bay which must be one of the lovliest anchorages in the Caribbean with no development ashore and clear turquoise blue water.  It is an enormous bay and until this morning the 7 yachts here were widely spread. But a Swedish yacht has just come in and anchored VERY close - not a popular move, so after some mild, possibly too mild remonstration we moved.  It is only in the most extreme circumstances that we have moved when another boat has anchored too close but this was one of them! 
 
                      
 
       An aerial picture of Chatham Bay (thanks to Chris Doyle's Cruising Guide)                                      An evening stroll on the beach.
 
'Him up there' is up to his tricks again and a 998mb Low is moving east off the US Coast and predicted to deepen 30mb in 24 hours closely followed by a High, both of which will then become stationary.  The resultant hurricane force winds and 40 foot seas in the area are forecast to send down 17-20 foot north-westerly swells into the Caribbean next week just when we were planning to be diving in a bay exposed to the swell. In practice most of the anchorages in the area are exposed to this swell and if it arrives as predicted it will make them VERY uncomfortable and stir up the water and spoil the diving visibility.  The swells are likely to be the worst winter swells here for 3 years and will affect the whole area from the Virgin Islands to Trinidad. It has even been suggested that they will get through the Bocas into the Gulf of Paria.
So sadly diving is out for the moment and we plan to make an earlier move to Grenada where there are plenty of anchorages protected from the north-west.  However these swells seem to have a habit of never arriving as forecast so we wait with interest.