13.00,42N 61.14.450W
JENNY
Alan Franklin/ Lynne Gane
Mon 31 Dec 2007 23:33
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Hello everybody we arrived in Bequia yesterday
after a rough trip from Martinique big seas on or two came into the cockpit we
doubled up on the watches which with three of us was ok for a short
trip.
The reason it is better to have two on watch is
mainly safety but also it enables you to reef down quicker and more efficiently
when having to use 2 winches especially as the winds were pretty strong.Anyway
you all think Caribbean sailing is all balmy breezes warm nights and romantic
wrong!! it can be pretty much like sailing in the UK early in the season with
strong winds big seas and very unpleasant and sometimes having to beat into the
wind.
After leaving Martinique we had the company of an
old wooden ketch (it has two masts) who were alongside us in Fort de France,they
stayed with us all night until the wind slackened in the morning and we pulled
way ahead,they then turned up in Bequia some 6 hours later.I did say welcome to
the Vikings I didn't have to remind them about the R & P.
I was told about 15 odd years ago by a friend
of mine Peter Howell that Bequia was the most beautiful island in the
Caribbean and I think he is probably right although its changed a little
over the years.The people are nice and laid back so much in fact that 2hrs
late is pretty much on time,but it is a bit galling when you are on a tight time
schedule.The Caribbean is not the place to hurry anywhere or anytime and we will
return to explore some more of the islands at a sedate pace because although it
is expensive it is so welcoming on the majority of the islands.Today we
hired a taxi to explore the island,the taxi was a Nissan pickup with bench seats
in the cargo area but there were 5 of us and it was fine,Trevor our driver was a
cricket fanatic ,well we had avery long conversation about cricket because you
could complete my knowledge on it on the back of a postage stamp.However he
did show us around and tell us about the island the people and the
culture as such.From the high points we
could see the other islands in the Grenadines such as St Vincent,Mystique etc (
you need to look at an atlas).
Today the generator went wrong so it was off to the
chandlers to find a mechanic to fix the fault which is just not easy on NYE
anyway its now fixed for the moment.
Tonight as you are all aware is New Years Eve we
have booked in at the local hotel for 10 people as due to the bad weather only 5
boats have made it here so far.NYE will consist of ,so we are told,dinner, steel
band,fireworks both on and off boats,music and dancing until morning nobody is
leaving tomorrow.
So to all of you HAPPY NEW YEAR and best wishes for
a happy healthy and prosperous 2008
And thank you one and all for all those people who
helped to prepare the boat and have kept us amused with the jokes and have
generally kept us in touch with home and for reading our blog.
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