Claire continues:

After a pleasant sail, we checked out of Hillsborough Port Authority (not a patch on Milford), Cariacou and sailed onward to check into St Vincent. Following the arduous check in by James whilst we checked into the local bars, he joined Rob and I for a beer, before we headed for Tobago Cays.

The Cays provided a picturesque mooring spot and a great snorkelling location for a weary (and in some cases smelly) crew (“she means Rob”. Editor and censor). In an unbelievable and infuriating string of instances, James got into the water first and exclaimed upon seeing an exciting ‘stingray’ then ‘turtle’ and then ‘SHARK!’. We eventually managed to catch up on these exciting finds, but were most disgruntled to find that on the fourth snorkelling trip, he was unable to pinpoint an elephant, or hippo.

A short sail from the Cays was Salt Whistle Bay, which James had correctly informed us had the best Pina coladas in the Caribbean. Unfortunately, the frequent squalls and downpours somewhat interfered with our first, as James and Lucy had to return to the boat to rescue the washing. Luckily, the idyllic bar and fantastic rum punches were still there when we went back for our second.

Well underway into a fantastic sail and reaching good speeds, a sudden crack signalled the alarm that all was not okay, as a main sheet block spontaneously combusted. We arrived in Bequia using the engines and entered a picturesque and colourful bay, which was soon to be echoing with loud reggae music. After going ashore we were informed by our knowledgeable hosts that a Sunday before Christmas was a good time to arrive as it was very quiet (in terms of footfall – not reggae music!). We enjoyed hassle free, top notch treatment in the fruit markets and our pick of the bars and restaurants. An enjoyable evening in a restaurant ensued, with wobbly rum punch legs for all the crew…