Monday 10/03/2104.  We leave in good time just after breakfast to go to Bequia in the hopes of seeing Avocet again.  After motoring through the gap between Clifton and Palm Island, we set sail for Bequia and have a cracking good sail just off the wind, arriving in Bequia at lunchtime.  We anchor off Tony Gibbons Beach and see lots of familiar boats like Truant and David and Sylvia’s.  Bequia is a bit like Rodney Bay, there is sure to be someone we know in town!

 

Tuesday 12/03/2014.  We go on deck for breakfast to find Avocet anchored a little way in front of us, having arrived about half an hour before.  Pierre comes over in the dinghy and is keen for us to see the improvements he has made and, no doubt, for us to see how well she has been looked after.  We visit just before lunch and she is looking absolutely great, with lots of improvements like a platform on the stern for swimming and boarding, a new Bimini, new cushions, solar panels, complete rewiring and more electronic gizmos like radar and very smart varnish.   Pierre and Corinne are every bit as charming as we remember and they have sailed from Levkas to the Cape Verde and across the Atlantic to Brazil with just the two of them and  up then up the coast of Brazil and on to Martinique.  We are very impressed and could not be more delighted with the way Avocet has been looked after while being fully used.  Pierre’s parents are on board and we invite them all for a return inspection of Alcedo at 6 0’clockses.

 

    

 

Avocet at anchor in Port Elizabeth and we try and take a photograph with both Avocet and Alcedo together, but they are just too far apart for a good photograph of both .

 

After a swim in the afternoon, we make sure Alcedo is presentable and welcome them on board for a drink and exchange of experiences.   A very good day.

 

Wednesday 12/03/2014.  Avocet is gone at breakfast time while we spend time catching up with emails while we have internet connection, as Aldon Horse Trials is rapidly approaching at home and we send messages of good luck and hopes for dry weather.  It is a huge undertaking and other members of the family are clearly stepping into the breach in our absence and we wish them all the very best for the weekend to come.  Checking out of the Grenadines also takes some time, as there is quite a queue for Customs and Immigration, so the Skipper’s wife has the opportunity to “support a young man” by buying some grapefruit off him.  We leave at about 11.00 for Chatham Bay and have a fast and slow sail by turns, with that rare thing, a full mainsail and genoa, accompanied by sunshine and showers.  On dropping anchor in Chatham Bay, we are instantly involved in bargaining for some fish for supper and then settle for swim and a christening of the barbecue in relatively wind free evening. 

 

   

 

Nicholas preparing the fish he has sold us for a very good price (for him that is) and Aqua in the Southern part of the bay in the evening light.

 

Tomorrow we head for Carriacou and pastures new in Granada rather than the Grenadines.

 

Alcedo