12-37.874N
061-21.303W
Anchored
The Tobago Cays
Friday, April 25
The Tobago Keys are four or five very small islands situated just west of
a beautiful coral reef, 27 miles south of Admiralty Bay.
Our friends Jochen and Anna Schweitzer spent almost a month here and
in Union Island and Mayreau. Wednesday, they sailed back to Admiralty
Bay, just to surprise us. It was a great surprise. We had a lonely
week in Admiralty Bay. Seeing them anchored next door was the lift
we needed. Yesterday, they led us back here. A nice coincidence
here is that other friends, Alan Anderson and Katherine Schneider (s/v The
Good Neighbor) were here to great us, and to invite us to a pot luck tonight.
We had accelerated our visit to Admiralty Bay, Bequia (see below) upon hearing
that the Easter Weekend featured an annual regatta. This excited us.
However, we learned that regattas are for regattaees, the participants,
and we were not able to penetrate the exclusive club of racers. John
tried to get on a boat as crew, but no luck. Maybe this downer brought
down or moods. No matter the cause, we could not escape a funk. Our
friends brought us back to reality.
We had good food and drink at Bequia, and a fun ferry trip back to Kingston.
The 22d was our anniversary: 35 years.
13-00.273N
061-14.575W
Anchored
Admiralty Bay
Bequia
April 16, 2003 (Chico's Birthday), Wednesday
St. Vincent is a wonderful island with a sad reputation. Thanks to
a number of difficulties for sailors and hikers, St. Vincent has a negative
image, and some told us not to go there. "It is not safe," they said.
We went anyway, sailing from St. Lucia directly to Wallilibou, a very
charming harbor, attended by nice people, trying to earn a living in
the only way they know how, a way that can irritate.
On our arrival in Wallilibou, we were surrounded by boat vendors,
very aggressive persons all asking for our business, to bring us food, to
tie our lines, to attend their restaurant, to buy bananas or bread. John
enjoys these people; Chichi likes some of them, but not all. Most have
big smiles, but a few always show irritation when you decline their offers.
They come from a relatively poor island, with limited opportunities.
But the island is beautiful, with a towering volcano, lush rain forests,
and beautiful streams. We went to "the falls" of one of the streams,
spending a good four hours reading, soaking our feet under the free falling
water, and reading. John started a conversation there with a young couple
who informed us that this weekend, Easter weekend, is the annual Bequi Regatta,
three days of races around the island, with plenty of parties and camaraderie.
Since we both like spectacle, we immediately high tailed it here to
Admiralty Bay, where we expect to have a good time in an island festival.
The sailing community includes "safety and security nets," radio events
held daily in which anyone can report personal difficulties. These
nets are run by volunteers, with little direct knowledge from police or other
official sources. So, they invite sailors to report their most recent
difficulty, a stolen dinghy, or something more serious. The problem,
in John's eyes, is that most of what is heard is indirect, almost rumor, and
that the information has little practical value. Imagine, for example,
a radio show, every morning, for fifteen minutes, that reports only the burglaries
and robberies in Indianapolis. If this were your only source of information,
you would think that Indianapolis is a terrible place to live, when, in reality,
the incidence of problems is normal for a city of its size. Some places,
like St. Vincent, and recently Venezuela, get bad reputations through these
reports, reputations only partially deserved.
As soon as we were settled, we became comfortable with Wallilibou. A
few weeks ago, The Disney organization completed 10 weeks of filming "Pirates
of the Caribbean," right. The set still stands, and will remain for
some time. We cannot wait to see the film, due out this summer. Allen
and Katherine (on "The Friendly Neighbor," shared another meal with us at
the Wallilibou restaurant. Yesterday, they went to a different anchorage,
but we expect to see them again soon here in Admiralty Bay.
As this is written, we have been in Admiralty Bay only six hours,
but good hours, with one of the best services we have seen in the Caribbean.
At our request, a boat came along side, filled our fuel and water tanks,
took our garbage and our laundry. How 'bout that.
More on Bequia later.
13.51.467N
061-03.764W
Anchored
Malgretout
Soufriere Town
St. Lucia
Saturday, April 12
We have changed anchorages twice. For a view, we went from Hummingbird
to "between the Pitons", about two miles away, and took up a mooring. Winds
blew us away. By the next morning, we were tired of the sound and the
roll, so we went around the point toward Soufriere, and took another mooring
at Malgretout, with stern line. Much better. Feeling more secure,
we dinghied back to Soufriere yesterday and found a 50 $EC taxi driver, Bernard,
who took us round trip to Fond Deux estate, a working cocoa bean plantation
with outstanding gardens, all shown to us by Tracy, our guide, and later
waitress, who served an excellent lunch. The primary buyer of the estate's
beans is The Hershey Company. So, when you next savor a candy kiss,
think of Fond Deux.
We plan to stay here another day or two, hoping for a slightly more northerly
wind on passage to St. Vincent. Our visit has been enhanced by rum punch
with a young couple aboard Good Neighbor, Alan and Katherine, from Portland,
Oregon. They have sailed the U.S. west coast, then Mexico, and now
Martinique south. We are likely to see more of them on this route. She is
a nurse. He a computer expert, who loves his digital camera, provided
that he remembers to insert the memory card.
Tuesday, April 8
Anchored
Off Hummingbird Hotel
Chris Doyle's outstanding guide suggests that anchoring here is one of
the most tranquil in the Caribbean. Trouble is, stern to.
But, we wanted to try it. With the help of Shamin and John Wayne,
boat vendors, we headed straight for the beach, and turned around, when ordered,
about 25 yards out, a real nerve eater for John. In less than 100
yards, the depth meter had gone from 200 feet to 14 feet; so, we obeyed
the order. John Wayne told Chichi to drop the anchor, and he and a
friend took a stern line to a tree about 150 yards away, a distance that
required rapid splicing of four dock lines. And here we are, with
150 feet of anchor off the bow, most of it straight down, and 100 yards
of stern line to a tree. The stern line prevents us from swinging
out to sea, a situation that would quickly end the secure connection of
our anchor. At first, the circumstance tested our nerve, with the
beach only 25 yards off our stern, and dozens of people swimming and playing
there, including three guys passing a soccer ball that never struck sand
or water, and one couple making obvious whoopee.
Having arrived yesterday, we have had meals with friends, and a dive
this morning with Chester, an excellent dive master.
Marigot, our last anchorage, was gorgeously isolated and usually tranquil,
although the activities of The Moorings yacht charter company on shore,
plus visits by tour boats with loud music, interrupted the peace once in
a while. On Friday, we went to the evening town fish fry at Anse La
Raye, and Saturday we retained Moses, our all day taxi driver, to show us
the east coast, especially Mamiku gardens. Sunday was quiet, and we
sailed here Monday.
Prior to Marigot, we spent a few nights in Rodney Bay, anchored below
Pigeon Island national park. One morning: Pirates. We
had walked to the top of the Pigeon Island Park, up perhaps 500 feet. We
looked down at our boat to see two small boats attached and three people
on deck. Chichi's first reaction was fear. John's was anger. "Who
the h has a right to board our boat?" Turns out, some very nice people
were putting down our second anchor because we were backing down on rocks.
The leaders were a delightful English couple, with whom we shared wine
later that day. Their first names were Roger and Frankie.
The park at Rodney Bay is one of Chichi's favorites, well maintained with
good views, walking trails and beaches. The restaurant Jambes de Bois
is next to the park's dinghy dock. It is an arty sort of place, with
big sofas and sofa chairs, plus regular indoor and outdoor tables, an internet
connection, and a book exchange. Nice.