As I left off in the last blog, we left Wallilabou bay in torrential rain but it quickly eased off and we set full jib, reefed main and full mizzen. As soon as we got clear of the bay we settled down to a reach which then became a stiff beat to our destination. The rain clouds continued to cover St. Vincent but little Bequia, only eight miles away, but off the wind was in sunshine. We shortly had to hand the mizzen as the wind was again up about 20 - 25 knots. As it was obviously going to be a hard wet sail to the Blue Lagoon we bore off and headed for Bequia. The boat immediately thundered off at 7.2 knots heading for the sun. As we passed Kingston and made the open channel, Bev’s old friends, the Atlantic rollers, met us making Swiftwing surge and dip pushing tons of water aside as her bow roller came down to water level and she clefted her way forward. This proved to be a most exhilarating sail and the eight miles were soon covered when we came upon our intrepid cameraman (see photo blog). At first, being so far out we thought it was a small fishing boat that had broken down.

We surged past as he took photographs and John and I ended buying one each, mind you they are a little spoiled by the fat guy standing at the stern. Bev assures me that the picture was taken when a gust of wind filled my T shirt. As we rounded the small west cardinal marker on Devil’s Table, we were met by the sandy rimmed expanse of Admiralty Bay and about 150 other yachts anchored there. We took down the sails and motored into the mass of anchored yachts and super yachts to find a cosy little spot for ourselves. We found the perfect spot as you will have seen from the photographs, a big empty clearing giving us ample room to swing to our anchor and in lovely smooth, turquoise water to boot. We no sooner got the hook down and holding when an elderly German, I don’t know his name so we will call him Adolf, for the purpose of this blog, came racing across and in perfect English shouted that he and his wife had had a terrible night because the boat that was here had dragged. When I tried to engage him in conversation to elicit more information he immediately shouted that he didn’t understand English and with a dismissive gesture and an order rather than a request shouted, “please go” Red rag to a bull and all that he was told bluntly no. He then scurried off to his boat and glowered in our direction for the rest of the day. (great fun)

We had a run ashore to this most beautiful of islands but as it was Sunday the place was pretty much closed. We all took a stroll along the main street that follows the bay, had a swim and a cold drink in the shade of palm trees at The Gingerbread Hotel. Next day we took the island tour on an open back taxi/truck. Bequia appears to be going the same way as Mustique in that a large percentage of the population is now affluent white so that the divide between the haves and have-nots is marked. The white residences, mostly British with a scattering of American and at least one German, are opulent and beautifully cared for with large lush gardens with gated driveways. As there were only Land Rover tracks until a few years ago, there is a wealth of older Land Rovers in mostly excellent condition.

Our driver asked if we would like to go to the Turtle Sanctuary on the east side of the island; so as the taxi was only costing £12 per hour we said why not. There we saw tanks of turtles, from 7 week old babies to 5 yr old juveniles who are just about ready to be released to the wild. It looked cruel keeping them in these large tanks, but the guy who started the sanctuary 18 years ago, told us that all the turtles here had been bred in captivity from eggs dug out of the sand. In the wild one turtle survives out of 1,000 eggs, whereas here he could save 30 out of 100 eggs. As five years out of a 200 year lifespan is a mere bagatelle, the end certainly seems to justify the means. Turtles are still hunted here as food and their eggs eaten. Part of the education programme is to bring home to the young generation not to eat them to help let the species survive. ( Kat- study turtle diseases - Hawkbill - as you guys will be giving them a free health check)

We finished off the tour with a trip to Fort Hamilton, it’s just quite amazing that every one of these volcanic island has a bay with a little hook of raised ground to the north west which gives complete domination over any fleet trying to sail in on the prevailing winds. The whole of the Caribbean is bursting with British Naval history and I’m hoping to soak it all up.

After two wonderful days in Bequia we hauled anchor and set full sail for Mustique, the home of a couple of my pals, Mick and David (Jagger and Bowie)

Bye for now,

Douglas