Bequia

True Colours
James Scrimshaw
Wed 4 Feb 2015 19:41

We spent three nights in Bequia. We cleared in Saturday morning, then did some shopping (chandleries, supermarket and Doris's - still amazing selection with prices that support it), followed by a walk to Princess Margaret beach, where we did some swimming. We got talking to a Bequian woman who now lives in Texas; she told us about her father who was an old fashioned whaler ( small boats, hand thrown harpoons, as they still use today), and how the whole island had a holiday when a whale was taken, how they preserved the meat etc. she gave us a fascinating insight into life in Bequia fifty years ago.
Sunday we had planned to go to Friendship Bay for lunch, but decided against it, revisited the beach for further chill time, and then had a late lunch at Jacks restaurant, which was amazingly good, only slightly spoiled by the owner having a talk on the next table about exchange rates and how they had undercharged someone.
We had planned to leave Monday, but with stronger winds forecast we decided to wait a day. Planned to go for another swim, but while sheltering from heavy rain met a couple from Yorkshire who had sailed from South Africa to Liverpool with their three young sons in 1987 in a home finished boat (he was a cabinet maker), and were currently revisiting Bequai on a cruise ship. He bought us a beer, then some of their friends from the ship joined, another beer, and soon it was time to get back to the boat for dinner.
Yesterday (Tuesday) we had a leisurely start, setting off at 10.00 in winds of 14 to 16 knots, arriving at Carriacou at 15.30, just too late to clear in by the time we had sorted things out. We are currently in Hillsborough, the main port, anchored about 200m offshore. Took us two goes to get the anchor to hold, and with flurries of strong winds we have had a disturbed night, but the anchor has held firm with the plotter trace showing no drag .
Today we clear in, do a bit of exploring, and decide our plans for the next couple of days.