All that glistens ..........

Oriole
Sun 13 Mar 2011 14:29
Admiralty Bay, Bequia.  13:00.49N  61:14.37W
 
We have been surprised to find several cruising yachtsmen new to the Caribbean to be disillusioned with what they have found here after their trans-atlantic crossings.  In particular they have found sailing conditions much rougher than they expected with strong winds and big seas in the inter-island passages.  We think that the yachting press and the cruising rally organisers have probably done little to educate their readers and clients about the realities of Caribbean sailing.  During the winter there are periods of days or weeks when the persistently strong wind makes for very lively sailing conditions which for long distance sailing downwind would not be a particular problem, but for sailing  hard on the wind in ocean conditions between the islands with nothing separating you from Africa can be challenging. Fortunately the distances are short.
 
 
 
If it was always like this the world would be beating a path to the Caribbean.  In survival conditions the camera stays in the dry, so no pictures! 
 
There is always discussion among yachtsmen here about the dangers of crime: - murder, mugging, theft, robbery, burglary etc.  We consider that the risks are small (we hope we are right|) and that sensible precautions should be taken to protect yourself and your property.  No-one at home would leave their car unlocked or fail to lock their house at night.  However many yachtsmen leave their boats unlocked and do not lock their dinghies and then are surprised when they disappear, sometimes because they have not been properly tied up.  We have thought for a long time that there is more risk to life and limb from the extraordinary behaviour of some yachtsmen that from murderers, muggers and the like.  For instance the guy who suddenly let all his anchor chain go over the side in gale conditions in a crowded anchorage, the flagrant disregard of many yachtsmen for the International Collision Regulations is scandalous and on many occasions at sea we have had to give way to a yacht which according to the rules should have avoided us. Many yachtsmen do not show anchor lights at night which is exceedingly dangerous for other vessels entering or leaving anchorages after dark and an unlit boat which drags its anchor will not be seen by anyone else.  Those who cross the Atlantic from the UK whose sailing has been mainly on the South Coast often have little if any experience of anchoring, and in the ARC fleet it shows and the antics of bare boat charterers shows that perhaps the only qualifications required to charter a yacht here is a credit card.  Finally many locals and yachtsmen drive their fishing boats and dinghies very fast at night without lights and only this week a young Englishman was killed in Grenada when he hit an unlit obstruction at speed when returning to his yacht after an evening out.
 
Enough of ranting.  We have had a very pleasant week in Bequia having recovered from being poisoned in a restaurant on our first day. Various clans have been gathering and tonight we sit down for dinner with the crews of four other yachts.   We have been walking, swimming and doing some maintenance and will slip further south next week.  The wind is piping up again after a period of quiet so we should get some good sailing.
We are horrified to hear about the unfolding Japanese tragedies, the power of nature is very humbling.