Hopping North

A very enjoyable afternoon and evening with our land-based friends Sally and Tom, concluded our stay in Bequia in the beginning of the New Year. About an hour before we left the harbor, a big oil slick traveled through our area, staining Irie’s (and others) hull, all four sides of it, leaving a blackish mess behind. It wasn’t even four weeks after we worked so hard to make her bottom clean, pretty and presentable! Now, we have to do it again, in the water and it will take more than soap and a sponge… An experience not in favor of our already mixed feelings about Admiralty Bay.

A short, slow but nice sail brought Irie to new-to-us Keartons Bay in St. Vincent. It is a pretty, quiet and small bay where the boat boys are friendly enough and anchoring - without lines to shore - is possible for a couple of boats. It was pretty rolly, but we needed a better jump off point for our next, long sail to St. Lucia. After motoring our way up the Vincentian coast, we were ready for a great, brisk sail across the channel. As always, the sight of the Pitons was majestic, but no dolphins this time. Once we hit the shores of St. Lucia, we motored for a bit, but then managed to sail the rest of it, adding an hour and 5 miles to the trip because - being set off course - we had to tack back into Rodney Bay, well before dark.

The weather window to go north (less strong winds with an eastern-southeastern component instead of northeastern) lasted a few days, so after a day of shopping, catching up on internet work and a bit of rest, we left early in the morning for Fort-de-France in Martinique, a fast sail five hours away. The main reason for a stop here is a store called Leader Price. This is where cruisers stock their boats with French goodies like cheese, salami, pâté, smoked salmon, snacks and wine at affordable prices…

The following morning was, yet again, a very early one. From the moment we could “see”, which is around 6 am this time of the year, we motored our home out of the bay and raised the sails. Going north along Martinique’s coast was a patient and time consuming endeavor that we had to give up the last 6 miles. We couldn’t afford losing too much time and motored the last bit, before gaining speed again in the channel between Martinique and Dominica. We were trying to cover 65 miles in 12 hours of daylight. An impossible feat totally under sail, because the wind dies along the land. From the moment we approached Dominica’s capital Roseau, it was time to start the engines again. The rest of the way, we were busy adjusting the sails to motor sail or sail in the most efficient way. When the sun set behind the horizon we finished our long day in comfortable and familiar Prince Rupert Bay (Portsmouth). Loud music onshore made for a sleepless night.

By now, our natural clock made the use of an alarm unnecessary to get going early. Taking advantage of the eastern winds, we reached Marie-Galante in Guadeloupe before lunch, setting a new record high speed of 8.8 knots. Sure, we’ve done 10 knots, but that was either because of current or of riding on top of a breaking wave… Choppy, high seas made for a wet and salty ride, but we were happy to finely arrive at a new place. Time for some island exploring, once again!

Bequia over Christmas and New Year

To be back in the water after three months in different houses on land and over a week in a dirty, wet and hot boat yard, felt wonderful. This is where Irie belongs and Mark and I as well. As long as the seas are manageable and the anchorages comfortable! We barely spent a week in Prickly Bay on the south coast of Grenada, before moving on. We needed that time to get the last preparations done so Irie would be “sail ready” again. We also had to catch up with our friends Sim and Rosie on Alianna and make Christmas plans…

According to plan, we made our way north, stayed a couple of nights in Carriacou and continued on with a full day of great sailing, until we reached the small island of Bequia in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, a few days before Christmas. The most popular spot to anchor in Admiralty Bay is off pretty Princess Margaret Beach, where we dropped the hook in crystal clear water. Not too close to the beach, since there is no need for that anymore without Darwin. And, were we glad we didn’t! After two days in the anchorage, the waves started building and an enormous swell rolled into our part of the bay, starting to break pretty far out. All the boats were lifted ten feet higher than “normally”, up to a point it became a very scary and dangerous situation...

When 5 pm came around, it was really time to move! There was only one problem: right in front of us, another catamaran was anchored above our anchor, so we couldn’t pick it up. And, nobody was home to move the boat forward. A stressful moment, that required a solution before the sun went down. After waiting around for a little while, we decided to let go of our chain (with a float attached) and leave our main anchor behind, hoping it would still be there to pick up when the conditions settled down. That done, we started heading out, climbing over the massive waves, only to see our neighbors return… Back we went, dealing with the anchor and picking it up in an awful swell, urging the boat owners to nudge their boat a bit forward. I was at the helm, needing to get close to the other boat, where the anchor was, and, at the same time, trying not to get smashed on to it by the towering waves. Mark and I were a great team and we managed to get out of this hairy situation without damage or hurt, but our nerves needed a little while to settle down again!

Irie found a nice, cozy spot in a calmer part of the bay and Christmas came around. Sim and Rosie brought English style dishes, while we offered the American version of a Christmas dinner. Our friend Dave from Tatia had taken care of the hand made decorations, which took him days to produce. The atmosphere was festive and all five of us had a wonderful time. After the appetizers of freshly made pâté and Devil’s Eggs, we moved on to the buffet of roasted chicken, pot roasted beef, roasted potatoes, mashed potatoes, two kinds of gravy, cranberry sauce and home made stuffing. By the time we had stuffed ourselves, there was no room for dessert (assortment of Belgian chocolate)!

The week between Christmas and New Year was a combination of chores, internet work, celebrating Rosie’s birthday and some quiet time. One afternoon, our friends Tom and Angie surprised us with a visit. They had just arrived from the Canary Islands (Spain), after being 25 days at sea and hadn’t even been ashore yet! Another reason to just stay put until early January! New Year’s Eve was a bit less decadent food wise and also took place on Irie. All our friends brought an appetizer - or two - to share and we were accompanied by Tom and Angie as well. After dinner, we planned to go to shore to party, having saved some money by not eating out.

From the moment all of us were settled in the cockpit with a plate full of food, however, it started pouring! We moved inside and stayed there until midnight. At exactly 12 am, the rain took a break and we watched some spectacular fireworks (yes, we were all impressed; Bequia is a small Caribbean island after all) from Irie’s deck. Then, the drinking continued, people started making accessories out of paper, with a paper boat race as a result and - unlike previous years where we barely made midnight – at 3 am, Mark and I went to bed! Happy 2011 to you all!

Destination Grenadines

One of the highlights – if not the biggest one – in The Caribbean is SVG or St. Vincent and The Grenadines. This is how the country is officially called, but most sailors skip the first part of the name (for safety reasons) and only care about The Grenadines, an area south of “the mainland”, scattered with tropical, lush islands adorned with lovely white sand beaches, friendly locals and little land tourism. The Grenadines portray the typical image of what one has in mind when thinking “Caribbean”.

Irie has passed SVG before. Twice. Each time thinking “Man, I wish we could stop and enjoy some time in the islands”, followed by an accusing look at Darwin. Not that it is his fault that the rules to land a pet here are so complicated and full of hassle. But, visiting with a dog is not impossible, so this time around, we made it a priority to play by the rules, plan ahead and explore The Grenadines. Our main reason to stop in Martinique after Dominica was to obtain a health certificate for Darwin. That proved easy enough, but getting in touch with the SVG Agriculture Department about our arrival date and paperwork failed enormously for four weeks. Emails – with the dog’s documents and permit application attached- remained unanswered; the internet connection was never good enough to Skype. Finally we managed to maintain a decent phone connection with the department, only to hear that a health certificate from Martinique was unacceptable!

Irie was required to stop in St. Lucia to obtain an export health certificate. If only we would have known that ahead of time, we could have saved money and hassle, but our email questions remained unanswered… At this point, Mark had had enough of all the rules and difficulties and was ready to skip The Grenadines for once and forever. Since it would be one of our highlights and our only planned “vacation”, I was stubborn and determined. From that moment, Darwin became my responsibility. I checked us and the dog into St. Lucia, which took a whole day, paid all the fees and managed to hitch rides with Darwin in the blazing sun to the Agriculture Department of St. Lucia, where an export health certificate was issued… After a week of all kind of chores and social gatherings (The World Cup had started), I checked us out. The battle was almost over.

Our next step was a stop in Young Island Cut, on the south coast of St. Vincent, the only place a government vet could inspect the animal. We wanted to get there early to be able to continue our journey to The Grenadines the same day, so spent our first SVG night in a small bay called Byahaut not far from Darwin’s check-in point. This bay was wonderfully quiet, in a tropical setting, with jungle behind the black beach and a pretty coral garden under the water surface.

Once in Young Island Cut, we needed to pick up a mooring (and pay after bargaining down, since we only planned to stop for an hour) and call the government vet through a helpful local. After more than an hour of waiting, the apologizing, friendly vet showed up, inspected Darwin and his paperwork and issued us a pet permit for three months. Phew! Now we could continue on to Bequia, the first of The Grenadines, to check ourselves in –and pay- for one month. Finally arrived!

We joined our friends from Alianna, Imagine, Tatia, Maegus and Ubuntu in Admiralty Bay and enjoyed long walks on the nice beach, refreshing dips in the green water, a stroll in town (where, every five minutes somebody hassled us for having the dog onshore, but we could prove his legitimacy), social evenings and an interesting meeting with Sally, the editor of Caribbean Compass (www.caribbeancompass.com), a popular and professional sailing newspaper for which I’ve written. Friendship Bay around the corner didn’t do much for us. The cloudiness of the water provided no visibility for snorkeling, or even checking the anchor, and the crashing waves made landing Darwin challenging.

On the way to Canouan, the next “big land mass”, we briefly stopped at Petit Nevis for an island exploration and a snorkel around the rocks. This is a very picturesque day stop, as long as the incoming swell is bearable. On Canouan, the atmosphere is very laid-back and people are friendly. Mark, Darwin and I managed an early, but already hot, morning walk to Twin Bay on the windward side of the island. Along the way we saw small tortoises and fended off aggressive stray dogs. The small, colorful town was filled with goats and chickens.

From the moment we read about the small island of Mayreau, we wanted to go there immediately. Hence the short stay in Canouan. Our first stop was Saltwhistle Bay, with its palm trees and white sand, one of the prettiest, most tropical and exotic bays we’ve ever seen. To use the cliché: it was a picture perfect postcard image. We hoped to spend a few lazing days here (there is no internet, yeah!), but the presence of six sport fish boats, all with close to fifteen people on it (mostly kids) and tied to shore, occupying a third of the bay, made us leave earlier than planned. Not that we mind sharing a beautiful place, but the noise, chaos and swell created by dinghy driving and wakeboarding kids all day was a bit too annoying. Add to that a bunch of charter boats anchored on top of us and the peace was completely absent. The perfect anchorage doesn’t exist!

So, we ended up in Saline Bay, a big, comfortable harbor on the southwest side of Mayreau, to sit out stormy weather and hang out with all our friends just a bit more. The beach here is also very attractive with palm trees providing shade and yellow sand providing walks for Darwin. The village, so small that it doesn’t have a name, is close by and houses the few inhabitants. The whole island, only one mile or so long, has one road (less than a mile), a handful of cars, wagging strays (Darwin made lots of friends) and friendly people, and perfectly suits our humble needs. Next: Tobago Cays for some relaxation and snorkeling!