Moby Dick

Bandit
David Morgan and Brenda Webb
Sat 28 Jan 2012 18:57
 

12:38N 61:21W

Beautiful Bequia is one of those islands that you really don’t want to tell anyone about.  It’s still relatively untouched by tourism and is so gorgeous it’s easy to linger.  We stayed happily for a week enjoying the friendly locals, exploring the tiny island, snorkelling the crystal clear waters and indulging in far too much free rum from sponsors Mt Gay at the Bequia Music Festival!  It was a pretty social time with three other Kiwi boats in the anchorage – Balvenie, Cutty Hunk and Tuatara - and we managed to fill in the nights either on shore at quirky waterfront bars, low key restaurants, on each other’s boats or on the deserted beaches for sundowners.  

Bequia sits beneath St Vincent and is part of the Grenadines – a popular spot for sailors but not particularly well visited by land tourists as it’s mostly water access only.  A few of the smaller islands such as Cannouan and Petit St Vincent have luxury resorts where guests are flown in by private jet or helicopter, but generally the masses don’t get here.  Lots of yachts for sure – but we can cope with that!

It was hard to tear ourselves away but we had a rendezvous with Aschanti in Tobago Cays.  We hadn’t seen Aschanti or skipper Kalle since leaving the boat in 2006 (we worked on her for 18 months)…..so braved the 30knot winds and choppy seas for a fairly fast downwind sail from Bequia.  It was fantastic to catch up with Kalle, Lily and their two children Carlitos and Lunar, swim with turtles in the amazing turquoise waters and once again, be in a remote anchorage.  We will post photos on our other blog soon – www.yachtbandit.blogspot.com

But back to the movie title – Moby Dick.  It seemed appropriate as Bequia is one of the few countries in the world where whaling is legal.  The tiny island is allowed by the international Whaling Commission to kill up to four humpback whales a year due to its cultural heritage.  These whales are hunted traditionally using handmade boats and harpoons.  It is not a tourist spectacle – in fact it is done very quietly with the whale taken to a remote spot where it is butchered.  Its meat feeds the entire island so everyone benefits and, the locals tell us, usually only one whale is in fact killed. 

Sometimes when travelling you just have to put your personal beliefs/traditions/likes/dislikes aside.  As much as we enjoy seeing whales in the wild at sea we really couldn’t get upset at the whaling here once it was explained in full to us.  In fact we felt only admiration for those brave men who continue with a centuries old island tradition.