12:37.98N 61:21.45W

Friday 1^st and Saturday 2^nd  April.

Went ashore at 0900 hrs and met up as planned with David who kindly drove us out to their villa where Debbie cooked us a wonderful full English breakfast. Time slipped away and it was midday before we returned to Serafina where we got her ready for our departure the next morning.  It was a windy night and we did briefly consider staying another day or so, but finally resolved to head south to Tobago Cays.

Bequia has been a wonderful stop and it has to be said that the island, the town and the inhabitants all make it a very special place and one where it easier to stay than leave! The anchorage was a bit rolly, but somehow you can forgive it this inconvenience when the place is just such a delight. We are of course indebted to David and Debbie for taking the time to show us round the island and we look forward to returning next season.

We headed off at 0845 hrs pretty well reefed which was a wise precaution because as we cleared the headland and sailed out into the open ocean again, we were met by 25 knots of true wind. Fortunately this was from the east and as we were heading almost due south, we had another wonderful sail for some 25 miles down to the island of Mayreau. We trailed the fishing line and were wondering if we had lost our touch when with perfect timing we hooked a perfect sized tuna and once he was aboard and I had gutted him, we sailed into the lee of the island of Canouan which helped flatten out the waves so Sarah was able to do the filleting on the back deck as usual.

We continued down to Mayreau where we dropped the sails and using the pilot book and the chart plotter, we piloted our way through the shallows and huge submerged reefs and out into the Tobago Cays Marine Park. This is a quite magical location and probably one of the most dramatic and picturesque anchorages in the Caribbean. We picked our way through the crystal clear waters, only metres from the reefs and between three small islands to reach the very special anchorage sat behind the coral reef that is all that keeps out the full force of the Atlantic ocean. We dropped the hook into firm sand and after lunch jumped into the sea and swam ashore to the nearby white sandy beach and the protected area renowned for its turtles. This was an outstanding experience and we both spent ages swimming with Greenback turtles out in the wild. They seemed almost oblivious to our presence as they swam and munched on the weed on the sea bed, pausing only to occasionally surface to take a gulp or two of air before gliding downwards and returning to feeding. We saw all sizes from very mature adults to relatively young specimens. Sarah also came across a ray which pretty much rounded off a near perfect day.

In the evening we watched several of the yachts heading off, but we chose to stay despite the swell and planned to swim ashore in the early morning. Sarah then cooked some of the fresh tuna which was as ever simply delicious.