Bequia

Wandering Dream
Steve Litson
Fri 6 Feb 2015 01:49

13:00:6N 061:14:5W

Admiralty Bay, Bequia ( pronounced Beckway)
Thursday 29th January 2015

Wandering Dream Crew on Tour
Having dropped the outboard engine at Kerry's Marine who promised to see why there was no power by midday. We had three hours to use so we cleared out with customs and immigration and met Timothy Sargeant who offered to take us for a tour of Bequia in his taxi. His family are model ship makers and he took us go their shop. We found his cousin there working on a ship. He took us out the back and explained how the cut gum trees and used a machete to shaped a piece then left it to dry for three weeks in the sun. Then they worked to scale in intricate detail. They had presented the Queen with a model of Brittainia when she visited in the 1970's. The models were amazing and cost an amazing amount too!

Timothy drove us around the island taking us from one stunning view to the next. He was an expert on the island and its history. He explained about the slave plantations and took us there explaining how they com!d no longer make much
money out of growing things since the WTO had stopped special trade deals between them and the EU. So the fertile land is just allowed to grow wild. He took to his favourite beach where he comes with his family for picnics. Then he told us about the problems with foreigners buying property and prices becoming too expensive and how the St Vincent Govt had placed made land available only for locals. We had a great trip.

Kerry didn't solve our power problems. Carb was taken apart and cleaned, a small piece of string was removed from the prop and a new throttle cab!e installed. But demonstrated it hasn't made any difference. I could take the head off and cylinder he offered, but that would have to be another day...we agreed it worked well enough and settled his bill for not solving the problem. Maybe if it's a stuck piston ring it'll sort itself out given time he said.

Night Sail to St Lucia
We packed up and upped anchor just as the sun was setting. We were treated to a perfect no cloud sunset. We actually saw a green flash as the last bright bit of sun dipped below the horizon...I hadn't seen it before! All across the Atlantic there were always clouds on the horizon. We motor sailed off into a beautifully warm night and had passed St Vincent by about 2300. As I came on watch at  midnight Denis had us doing seven knots under sail alone and the black outline of the Pitons on St Lucia were becoming visible in the moonlight. That lasted for two and a half hours and then we motor sailed the rest of the way arriving at Marigot Bay, St Lucia at 0700.