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itiki blog

SVG: TOBAGO CAYS & Beyond

20/7/2022

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It seems the further south we go, the more relaxed the vibe. Maybe because the cruising season was winding down and everyone was heading south to their hurricane homes. Maybe its just always like this. As much as I enjoyed the beauty of the BVIs I think I have to say that this part of the Caribbean is by far my favourite. We are now at the very southern end of the St Vincent Grenadines. Further south lies the islands of Grenada and well beyond that Trinidad and Tobago, the latter not to be confused with...
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The tiny archipelago of Tobago Cays
​The wild, uninhabited islets and reefs of the fabled Tobago Cays are known among cruisers as some of the most spectacular in the Caribbean. Seasoned cruisers often list this idyllic anchorage as their most treasured, citing dreamy crowdless beaches, dazzling reefs and vivid aquamarine seas. OK dear reader, you probably realised those were not my words, however Tobago Cays is a really special place and is now on our list of Caribbean favourites.
​

Located in the southern St Vincent Grenadine islands, the Tobago Cays are an archipelago comprised of five small uninhabited islands: Petit Rameau, Petit Bateau, Baradal, Petit Tobac and Jamesby. Together, these islands are the main attraction at the Tobago Cays Marine Park, a national park and wildlife reserve.

Much of the park consists of a massive 1,400-acre lagoon, surrounded by a horseshoe reef. Just imagine shallow, sand-bottomed, crystal clear lagoons teeming with green turtles and colourful fish, protected from the Atlantic Ocean by coral reefs and fringed with small, white-sand beaches (ok with a bit of sargassum).
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ITIKI anchored near Jamesby Island, Tobago Cays
It’s quite a short distance from Canouan Island so we pull out a headsail for the sail across. As we reach the islands we motor through “the cut”, between Petit Rameau & Petit Bateau. There are mooring buoys here and it's possible to anchor as well, but we continue on into the lagoon. One “boat boy” comes to say hi and see if we want a buoy, but we choose to anchor in the south of the lagoon with everyone else. It is relatively shallow, sandy bottomed and well protected from the swell but we still get the full force of the Atlantic wind. There is a small National Parks fee of EC$10 (AU$5) per day and they come around to collect it at varying times of the day, to keep you on your toes. There are so many turtles it’s really amazing! I snorkelled just around the boat to check the anchor and chased after a few of them in different directions, they are totally oblivious to humans and just go about their business, munching on sea grass and ignoring you. There is also a funny puffer type fish blowing at the sand around our anchor, perhaps he is trying to dislodge it, or to see his reflection. We end up spending a week around Tobago Cays, snorkelling, swimming and checking out the small islands and the wildlife.
PictureWindswept Baradal Island
Dinghied across to Baradal Island one afternoon and walked up to the top, which was really not that far, but a great view of the other islands in the Cay, out to the Atlantic and across to Mayreau Island. Saw a couple of pretty large iguanas hanging out in the trees, as well as some nesting birds. Keith got swooped by one being over protective. We also snorkelled off the south end of the island which was really special, not so much in the way of coral but lots of sea grass and turtles feeding that let you get pretty close. I followed a medium sized ray whilst thinking of Steve Irwin – definitely no sting in his tail though.

PictureTurtle minding its own business
​The rainy season is living up to its name and dark clouds gather most days. We had some light rain one day it was full of Saharan dust so ITIKI is filthy again. The only good news about that is it means the risk of hurricane is low as the weather off the coast of Africa is a little cooler. Rather than wait for some clean rain we spent some time cleaning the windows and getting some of the dust off the boat. It is a never ending task!
 
Went over to Petite Bateau in the dinghy and the motor cut out just as we reached the shallows – groan.... Fortunately it was only  the fuel line that had come loose at the engine so we could quickly fix it. We walked up over the top of the island through the bushes and down to the beach on the other side. This is where the beach BBQs are as well as the popular, and more protected anchorage, called The Cut that we passed on the way in. Walked back around the much shorter and flatter end of the island. Bamboozle II has arrived so we dropped by to say hello to them. Andy and Brenda from Whispering Winds drop by as well, they are friends with Mark and Myra who came aboard on St Martin, having bought their Helia sight unseen.

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Leeward beach on Petit Bateau
We have been told of a couple of great snorkelling spots but they are on the outside of the horseshoe reef. We tried to check it out one afternoon, you have to go through the “dinghy cut”, a small opening in the reef, but finding it is quite difficult. It is marked by small buoys but they are hard to see from low down. We finally spot them and make it through the cut, tying up to the outer most buoy, but it is really quite rough so we decide to come back another day. Instead we popped across to Jamesby Island and walked along one of the "crowdless beaches". Sadly it has quite a thick coating of Sargassum weed, that is not mentioned in the tourist brochures! I think they must just photoshop it out!
One of the must do activities in Tobago Cays is the beach BBQ. There is a group of 10 of us and we join Romeo and his team for a great night! Sadly lobster season is over but we have a fantastic feast of Lambi (conch), freshly caught fish, pork ribs (I passed on those) plantains, veggies and salads. Coincidentally we met the new owners of a boat named Jace (Jeff and Lynne) - we knew the previous Aussie owners from Ragusa. It must have been a good night as I completely forgot to take any photos! The only downside is the trip back in the dinghy - its a dark night and we are motoring into the wind and waves, but we make it back and find our own boat without getting too wet.
PictureJeff and Keith looking for a needle in a haystack
​Outside of the lagoon, on the eastern side, there is a small island called Petit Tabac. Its possible to get over there in the dinghy if it is calm enough, but one morning we decide to head over there in ITIKI (to empty tanks on the way and make water as well). Switched the instruments on nothing happened, everything was blank. No lights, no action! Went through a bit of trouble shooting but no luck at all. Seems they are not getting power, which may have been related to them cutting out intermittently. I called Garmin but they just sent the trouble shooting guide that didn’t really help. Keith took off around the anchorage to ask for assistance from fellow cruisers. Jeff from Jace comes over to take a look and spends 3 hours running the multi-meter over the boat with a fine tooth comb. Finally he found a voltage drop which turns out to be due to a chafed wire that has been pulled through a roughly hacked hole during installation. It has probably been there since the beginning and possibly been responsible to our continued electrical problems. Jeff cut and re-crimped the wire and we had power back to the instruments. Wow! Thank goodness for helpful (and persistent) cruisers! We invited Jeff and Lynn over for dinner to say thank you and had a lovely evening chatting.

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Friendly turtle
PicturePetit tabac
The following day we realised it was quite calm and the wind was lighter than usual so we took the dinghy over to the cut and went snorkelling to the northern side, outside of the reef. It is quite a big reef but as with other Caribbean reefs, nothing special coral wise. Plenty of fish though and we saw a fairly large barracuda - fortunately he didn’t seem to recognise us… We are on the outside of the reef so the swell is rolling in and a couple of times it caught me and I got a little too close to the shallows. Went back to the boat and decided to head over to Petit Tabac. Jeff and Lynne and Brenda and Andrew have come over on the RIBs so we swim ashore to say hi. Bad move as it is coral and rock right up to the beach on the Western side. I try to swim around the end of the reef, which is nice enough but starting to get tired looking for a gap. Keith is ashore and directs me in. Andrew has a metal detector and they have found some coins which they think are props from the Pirates of the Caribbean movie which was filmed here. We decide to wash the boat and do a couple of loads of washing - housework in the most exotic of locations! Keith gets some fantastic drone shots though. After lunch we head back inside the reef as it is getting pretty rolly out here. We anchor in the shallow sand a little further south than where we were before. The sun comes out briefly and the drone goes up again. We are in very shallow water and it’s a rolly night.

MAYREAU

PictureSaline Bay
In the morning we decide to head across to Mayreau after more drone flying and a bit of hull scrubbing. It’s such a short distance so we are motoring, avoiding a few reefs as we come into the bay. We anchor in Saline Bay and go ashore for a walk. There is not much here at all, a very quiet island with a small population, a school and a couple of small resorts. Great views from the top of the hill and we can see down to Salt Whistle Bay anchorage which looks pretty crowded. Not much in the way of supplies available here, can't even find bananas! There are quite a few goats wandering around - haven't seen it on the menu though so not sure what they do with them. Some local kids from the sailing school have been around the anchorage in their dinghy looking for donations of equipment, lines, fibreglass, resin etc. We promise to take a look at what we have and would suit them. A couple of dudes come around in wooden boats touting for business for restaurants. It’s so quiet here now it must be tough with tourist numbers dwindling. 

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Salt Whistle Bay
The next morning we take the RIB to the next bay north and pop into the resort to see if they might have the football on (UEFA cup final). No good but it looks like a lovely spot. We continue on to Salt Whistle Bay and have a walk ashore here. It is a small, shallow bay with not much room so no real reason to bring ITIKI here. Back in town Keith finds that the D View cafe/bar/restaurant has a TV and apparently the football will be on. When we get there though they don’t seem to have the correct channel. We have a very ordinary lunch and the crew from Wild Thing 2 arrive and we manage to get the football on German TV on my computer - Liverpool lost so not a happy afternoon. There was a massive dump of rain whilst we were out and unfortunately we left the hatch above the table open so everything is wet! At least it is clean rain.
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Windward Beach
,After breakfast we head ashore to walk across to the windward side. There is some interesting signage along the way, installed by the beach bar on the other side. We feed the goats and untangle them from their tethers which are wrapped around trees and their own limbs. Not the brightest of creatures. The local power station here is a solar farm. On the southern end of the island is a large salt lagoon (without flamingos). We get great views across to Tobago Cays as we walk over the ridge to the windward side. When we get to the windward beach it is, well, windy. There is a fringing reef providing some protection but not really much of a swimming spot as there are lots of rocks and plenty of sargasso. The Beach Bar is not open yet. We walk along the beach and back and then head back to town. I decided to swim back to the boat. Later that evening we enjoyed sundowners on Mai Tai with Ollie, who is a keen ex professional fisherman and he gives us a few tips and lots of encouragement!

Union Island

Ollie (Mai Tai) came over for morning tea and to have a look at our tweakers (no that is not a euphemism!) We then head off for Union island and decide to go the long way around so we can make water. Inspired by Ollie, we put the fishing line out and after reeling it in half a dozen times to remove the seaweed it suddenly zings! I grab it but it goes slack. Dang! The one that got away. Reeled the line in and the €30 lure is completely gone. There are some serious teeth marks in the trace line, must have been a Wahoo. We passed the Chatham Bay and Frigate Island anchorages before arriving in Clifton Harbour and anchored between Bamboozle and Mai Tai, the latter obviously went the more direct route. We head ashore for provisioning, which is quite reasonable. There are plenty of stray dogs and a few stray people as well... The dinghy dock is quite special - it’s like a mini Venice as you have to go under a bridge into a little pond, but there is only room for a handful of boats.
PictureWhat a handsome dude...
Head ashore in the morning and Keith goes in search of a hairdresser. He gets what is probably the best haircut since we left home! The simple pleasures of life on the run!  I also manage to post a postcard (that’s the last one Pam!) Walked along the shoreline of the bay to the kite surfing beach which is inside the reef on the western end of the bay we are anchored in. Lovely location. Dropped by to say hi to some fellow cruisers on our way back to the boat before motoring down to Chatham Bay. It’s a lovely anchorage with a long beach and a couple of bars and we decide to stay a few days. We are greeted by Philip on his wooden boat to tell us about the beach bar/restaurant. Keith swims the anchor and sees a weird hand fish (Triglidae, Gurnards) aka Sea Robins under the boat.

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Bunch of boobies
PictureDrinks at Sunset Cove
We spent 10 days at Chatham Bay, with a couple of trips out to empty tanks and provision. Some of the highlights include:
  • Walking along the beach: A lovely, long and totally uncrowded beach with just a few shacks and one "resort" along the shoreline. The sand was quite steep though so we had to walk with a list! The shoreline was rocky in places and several herons and other seabirds were grazing in the shallows.
  • Drinks at Sunset Cove beach bar: We had a couple of here sessions chatting with the locals as well as fellow cruisers. Here we met Alex, who regularly paddled around to the anchored boats on a plastic kayak with a broken paddle, looking for work and a chat. He was very well informed about the outcome of Australia's recent election and the movements of Penny Wong in the Pacific, with some stern warnings about the Chinese. It was a really laid back atmosphere at the beach bar but  rum punch needs a health warning! I think they were a bit heavy handed on the OP rum. After a couple of those we practically had to crawl down the beach into the dinghy  motor very slowly back to ITIKI. Needless to say it was a slow start the following day!
  • The Lambi challenge: So at one of our "sessions" at the Sunset Cove Beach Bar, Keith got chatting to Philip (the manager) about Lambi (or Conch as we know it). Philip explained how to get the meat from the conch shell, that you have to beat it with a mallet and then boil it to make it tender. Sounds great! He offered to get some for us for a very reasonable price and Keith decided to order some - for me to cook! Philip will do the hard work for us, the beating and the boiling, for a small service fee… The next afternoon Philip arrived with the Conch meat in a large bowl. It is pretty weird looking stuff and doesn’t smell too great but but if you close your eyes and take a little bite, it is actually quite tender and tasty. I cut it up and managed to make a reasonable curry out of it, and that did us for the next night as well! There was about 1.2Kg of it all up so we put half in the freezer. It is kind of a cross between abalone and octopus.
  • Walk up the "fort": Behind the beach bar we found a steep and rugged trail across a paddock which joined an unpaved road. We followed this around the ridgeline to a peak overlooking the bay. Here we find the remains of a fort - well actually it is just a cannon on a pile of rocks. There are a few goats wandering around here as well and a lovely view of the bay. The rain clouds are gathering so we need to head back down quickly. The heavens opened as we picked and slipped our way through the steep (and now very muddy) field behind the beach bar. We were absolutely soaked by the time we reached the beach, but the rain had stopped by then. Our Teva's were caked in thick gooey mud.​​
  • ​Snorkelling along the rocky shore: All along the rocky northern shoreline and right up to the beach there is some pretty good snorkelling, by Caribbean standards. At least a few spots of colour with some bright red corals, and some unusual bowl shaped formations which are leathery to touch. There are a few colourful fish including some large schools of yellow fish. I swim into a seemingly endless school of small silvery fish pouring out from the shore like flowing water and scooting back and forward in the dappled light.
  • Checking out the local birdlife: Along to the far west of the bay is a rocky outcrop that hosts lots of birds, judging by the white "snow" covering the favoured perching positions. Here we can see the brown "dive-bomber" pelicans, some masked boobies up higher and a few more herons. We take the dinghy around the point to get a closer look at them. We saw some fellow cruisers fishing from their dinghy around this area and they seemed to be quite successful, dropping by to boast and show us their catch. We tried the same but needless to say we were not so successful, so the score remains locked the same:  Fish 2 vs K&L 0

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Unfinished marina in Frigate Bay

​Daring Dinghy oddessy to Clifton & back
- including a tour of Frigate Bay

PictureSargassum clogging the bay @ Clifton
Sometimes we do things that start off seeming like a good idea, a little adventurous, maybe an element of (manageable) risk, but they don't always go quite as planned and end up being a bit stressful (and somewhat pointless). All we can do is take the lessons on board and laugh about it later.

So we got up and got away in the RIB about 8am to head the 5nm into Clifton Harbour, with the intention of checking out of SVG so we could head directly to Carriacou in the morning. It gets a bit bouncy as we get around the point and into Frigate Bay. It's difficult to find the way through the mangroves so we consult google maps. Then once we are through the suspension bridge we are inside a reef and can’t see a way out and around to the town dock. We motor along looking for a gap in the breakers or some sort of markers; it gets a bit shallow in places and the prop touches the bottom a couple of times. We finally see a gap through the reef where waves are not breaking and head for it. The waves get bigger as we get closer but we get through ok, with sphincters clenched. There is a huge amount of Sargassum in the bay since we were last here and it keeps getting wrapped on the dinghy prop, causing us to stall and splutter. The “Venetian” Dinghy dock is completely inaccessible as there is 2-3m of weed in front of the entrance, so we tie to the dock outside. When we get closer we can see the dinghy dock is completely full of weed too. It stretches out 5-10 metres from the shore and is already starting to smell. It is truly a sad sight and the locals look at it despairingly. The customs isn’t open yet so we go to the supermarket. When we get back to customs Keith looks in the backpack and tells me the boat papers are not in there! I am mortified, I was sure I so carefully gathered everything but maybe I am getting too forgetful. We go and get some fruit and veg anyway. I feel horrible as we have come all this way in the dinghy and it was a bit of a hairy trip, which is going to be for nothing. We will have to come back in ITIKI to check out. 


Feeling deflated we battle our way out through the sargassum again and struggle to to find the passage back through the reef. Once we spot it we head through slowly, continually looking back over our shoulders at the breaking waves either side of the gap.

We head under the suspension bridge, into Frigate Bay and the ruins of the never finished marina. The rusting piles and breakwater are slowly being reclaimed by the mangroves - pelicans and seagulls have also taken up residence. The anchorage off Frigate Island actually looks ok - its nicer than Clifton but not as good as Chatham. It was pretty bouncy heading out into the open and the outboard engine started spluttering just as we reached the southern entrance to the Chatham Bay. Of course we are now motoring into the wind. Keith kept close to the shore and nursed it in to ITIKI's transom. We knew fuel was getting low but we couldn't get any on the island. We made it back to the boat with a sigh of relief, but when I looked through the saloon window I was surprised not to see the boat papers on the coffee table... Turns out they were in the back pack all along! Grrr! Somehow they got buried under my jacket and neither of us could believe we went all the way to Clifton  and back and didn’t pull the back pack apart to double check. Both of us feeling pretty stupid now and had to sulk for the rest of the afternoon. Fortunately a G & T helped.

We take ITIKI down to Clifton Bay the next day and check out of SVG, without further incident, before heading south the Carriacou, Grenada.

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St Vincent & The Grenadines

16/7/2022

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No it’s not a 1960s boy band!

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When we arrived in the Caribbean we landed first in Barbados and from there we headed north west to St Lucia and kept heading north from there. That meant we had missed out on the southernmost of the Lesser Antilles chain. As we spoke to other cruisers along our journey, we heard so much about the Grenadines and how wonderful it was to cruise, so we figured we would need to stay another “season” in the Caribbean to make sure we didn’t miss out. Getting through a hurricane season either means heading north to the USA or heading south to Grenada, so we chose to head south to haul out over summer. This proved to be a great great opportunity to explore the wonderful group of islands, that is St. Vincent and the Grenadines (or SVG for short).
​SVG is a southern Caribbean nation which is a very popular cruising destination and with hurricane season approaching, many cruisers are heading this way for the summer. SVG’s 369km2 territory consists of the large, main island of Saint Vincent and, south of that, the northern part of the (St Vincent) Grenadines, a chain of 32 smaller islands, some of which are uninhabited. Whilst most of SVG lies within the Hurricane Alley, the further south you go, the lower the risk.
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St Vincent and the Grenadines

Martinique to SVG

We did the 90nm trip from Martinique to SVG in 2 stages, leaving our anchorage in St Anne, Martinique around 7:30am, waving farewell to Steve and Zhara who were boat-sitting on Cushla, and refuelling before we got away. We put up the main and genoa with 1 reef in both. The conditions were pretty much the same as we have had for other north-south crossings between islands, and never quite as forecast. Wave height is not so bad this time but it is right on the beam and we get the occasional belting with a rogue wave. Wind is in the low 20s but we have several rain squalls pass through and they bring more pressure with them. It’s a relatively short, 30nm hop across to our first stop in St Lucia. We head past the familiar Rodney Bay and the fuel tanks south of Castries, before dropping the sails and turning into the narrow entrance of Marigot Bay, where we met Keith’s niece Debs and her husband Martin in January. There are a few boats here already so we don’t have a great choice of where to anchor. It’s a narrow shelf between the cliffs and the channel and we have to try a couple of times before we are happy with the set. The boat is pretty dirty but there is not much point cleaning it. We do what is called “yellow flagging” here, meaning we don’t check-in or complete any formalities, we don’t go ashore, just stop for the night under quarantine conditions with the Q flag up.
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St Vincent
We start at first light for the next leg which is 60nm, bypassing the main Island of St Vincent and slipping into Admiralty Bay on the island of Bequia (pronounced Bek-way). It’s full sails at first as the forecast is light and there is not much action whilst we are in the lee of St Lucia. We cop the full force of the Atlantic winds as we get out into the channel between islands, and reefs are quickly deployed in the main and genoa.  It is a relief when we get into the lee of St Vincent, which is fortunate as our first reef has pulled out and we had to hoist the full main. We get smacked again when we cross the open water to Bequia and have to carefully manage the strong gusts with a full main. We decided to do our check in at Bequia rather than St Vincent because the process is easier and we could do a Covid test on arrival, using our own kits, if we go through an agent. After making contact with Daffodil her guy came over to collect some paperwork and money. As we headed into the dock we got a line wrapped around the dinghy prop and Daffodil’s offsider towed us back to the boat and unwound the line -  then it was "take 2".
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Admiralty Bay
First step is our health clearance - we were taken to a shipping container at the back of the hospital to await the nurse. It’s unusual to be able to do a test on arrival, normally you have to turn up with a negative test result done within 24hrs (RAT) or 48-72hrs (PCR) which can make for a logistical challenge in terms of timing longer passages - not to mention the extra expense. We can BYO test kits too which is nice as we got them for nix (thanks Debs)! I asked our agent what happens if the test turns out to be positive, he looked at me quizzically and said he didn’t know because no one ever tested positive… Hmmm – fortunately we were not the first and the nurse handed us the completed our health clearance and we made a small “donation” the the hospital... Next stop is the Port Authority where Daffodil has pre-forwarded the paperwork. We handover multiple different sums of cash for cruising tax, customs fees and a bit more for immigration. I had to make a trip to the ATM between counters to restock the wallet! The process didn’t take too long though and we were soon back to ITIKI. It has been a fairly exhausting couple of days so we spend the rest of the afternoon and evening chilling out and do pretty much the same the following day.

Beautiful Bequia

PictureRelief at the Liverpool Victory
Admiralty Bay in Bequia is a wide bay, open to the west on the southern end of the small island. We had anchored in the NW near the old fort, where Daffodil has her office. The town is quite pretty, clean and colourful and has a nice relaxed vibe. We go ashore mid-morning to watch the FA cup final at Papa’s bar - its Chelsea vs Liverpool and Keith is a Liverpool fan. I amuse myself on the internet and manage to polish off a blog post. At half time I hear the sound of singing and steel drums and race outside - there is a lively funeral passing by, a big parade of people with music and singing, a real celebration of someone’s life well lived. Meanwhile Liverpool win on penalty shoot-out, a good result and we celebrate with burgers for lunch. In the afternoon we take a stroll through the town and around the boardwalk. We walk past some colourful shops and houses and the boardwalk takes us around the edge of the bay to Princess Margaret Beach. I guess it must have be one of her favourites, and it’s a long white sandy beach with a few nice looking bars and a resort.

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Canons at Fort Hamilton
The following morning we walked up to the remains of Fort Hamilton. Its named after Alexander Hamilton, one of the founding fathers of the USA, who recently had a musical made about him. It’s a sleepy Sunday and there is some country style religious music coming from one of the houses as well as the sounds of kids playing. We have a drink at Daffodil’s bar and head back to the boat. It’s quite gusty overnight but we have not moved, the anchor is well set but we decide to put out a bit more chain. Mid-morning we go ashore to the produce market, our first shop in SVG. There are a few different vendors in the market and but we have to be choosey about what we get from whom as the quality varies between vendors. I like to spread the love around anyway so I am happy to be able to buy a little something from each of the ladies. After the plentiful stocks in Martinique though it's relatively slim pickings down this way in terms of fresh produce. Everything comes from St Vincent and you just have to take what you can get. Fresh produce is relatively expensive so we shop to minimise wastage, just as the locals do. After lunch I go for a walk along the boardwalk again, to Princess Margaret Beach. It really is a beautiful white sandy beach and there are quite a few boats anchored over this side. From there I can go over another headland to Lower Bay, which is even more secluded. This is the southernmost side of Admiralty Bay and I am looking north across to Fort Hamilton and ITIKI.
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Through the gap to Friendship Bay
Well the holding tanks are getting full and the water tanks are low so it must be time to move on. We head around the southern end of Bequia Island to an interesting looking, secluded anchorage at Friendship Bay. It sounded nice enough, even though there is a short stretch into the wind to get there. We take our time and pull out a headsail. Around the first point there are some caves in the cliffs with some houses built to blend into the rock, an experiment in eco tourism. They are quite hard to see (they really do blend in!) and we can’t really get any closer. We continue on through a narrow gap between the Bequia and a couple of small islets. It’s pretty hairy squeezing through as there is quite a swell punching through the middle. We cop a fair bit of wash coming over the boat as we are slamming into the wind and waves, and as we round another small islet coming into the anchorage even the helm station cops a wave right over the top. I managed to dodge it but Keith got the full treatment! The crockery drawer comes open as does the fridge drawer - it’s about a 2m swell and pretty uncomfortable, but short-lived. Unfortunately the anchorage turns out to be nothing special, the water is not clear and there are a lot of local boats on moorings. We manoeuvre around them to find a spot to drop the anchor and have lunch. It’s also very rolly and given that it’s not particularly nice we decide there is no reason to stay. There are a couple of potential anchorages on small islets nearby but with the swell that is running at the moment they are quickly rejected.

MYstical Mustique

PictureITIKI in the Bay
Instead we head south to the Mustique, the island of the “Rich and Famous”, which is only 7.5nm away. It’s a nasty angle to the swell at first, quite big and beam on and Ellie the autopilot is struggling so Keith hand steers for a while. It settles as we get away from the coast. We pick up a buoy in the north of the Britannia Bay with the help of the mooring manager. It is mandatory to use a buoy, unless they are all full and then you can anchor – either way the fee is the same. Strangely it is advertised as EC$220 for one night, with 2 more consecutive nights free – why not say EC$220 for 3 nights? There must be a story there. We are in the north of the anchorage and out from the beach a fair way so we are quite exposed to the wind and swell and we are swinging in all directions, maybe that is why there are 2 nights for “free” so you don’t give up and move on to the next island. We move ITIKI to a different buoy further in and south of the dock where it's much calmer, and later a couple of other boats do the same. As it is a private island, there is a limited area where us "blow ins" can walk around so we head up the hill to the village, where there is a post office, police station (not so busy…), a couple of bars as well as local housing. On the way back we drop in to Basil’s and have a cocktail. It’s a lovely spot overlooking the water and fast WiFi but at US$18 per drink, we just have the one!

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One of the highlights of Mustique is a taxi tour of the small island – it only takes 1 hour and is the only way to get around. We visit the famous Cotton House which is the main resort, with access to a long white sand beach and numerous restaurants. We drive by Tommy Hilfiger’s mansion, then the Lacoste owners pad and we see Mick Jagger and Bryan Adams houses from a bit of a distance, as well as the house where Kate and William had their honeymoon. There are numerous privately owned and stunning mansions scattered around the hills and cliffs of Mustique, many of which are for rent on a weekly basis – starting price of around AU$100K, without staff… The island has some elements reminiscent of Hamilton Island with well-maintained roads and gardens. Staff accomm is provided to key personnel and all Mustiquans are provided with work and housing by the Mustique Company Limited, who manage the island. In the afternoon I go for a snorkel around near the boat which is similar to most places we have been, you would think they could afford better coral! Later we go ashore and walk all of the way down to the southern point of the bay. Here there is a small lagoon as well as a tiny, semi enclosed beach with a huge pile of empty lambi shells. I guess they have to go somewhere! On the way back it is feeding time and there are dozens of terrapins wandering around in the grass along the foreshroe.
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Tommy Hilfiger's Pad
The next day we walk up to the bakery for super expensive bread and also bought a postcard, they are so hard to find these days - by the time we get to the PO though it is closed! Found The View restaurant and bar and booked a table for tonight. Dropped by a few boats in the anchorage to invite them for drinks there later on. We were joined by Lucie and Jamie from Bamboozle II and 3 Austrians from a catamaran. Keith had a free consultation on his shoulder from one of the Austrians who happened to be a traumatologist! His assessment was that Keith probably didn’t need surgery. I guess we will see. Dinner was a lovely meal of Lambi curry and garlic shrimps but like everything on the island, quite pricey and not huge servings. Great talking to Jamie and Lucy from Bamboozle II who have been cruising for 18 years on-and-off, with 3 different boats.
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The Pink House

Yes we Can-ouan

PictureOur one and only catch so far...
Well our 3 nights are up so we left Mustique around 9am and headed south to Savan Island. It’s a tiny anchorage and seems not so well protected in today’s conditions, which thankfully have settled significantly since a we arrived. There is no one else there but the beach is not that pretty, just a couple of fishermen’s shacks. We decide to give it a miss and move on to Canouan Island, but on the way we put the fishing line out and we are surprised when we actually get our first ever bite! Assuming it would be a big lump of sargassum weed, we start reeling it in and panic sets in when we actually see a fish on the end of the line. Unfortunately it is a fairly underwhelming Barracuda, which after a bit of a struggle, we decide to drop back in the water. Hopefully he wont recognise us if we run into him again. where we anchor at Rameau Bay – it is really well protected and lovely water. We stop for lunch and some snorkelling and it is quite lovely. Unfortunately though it is one of those bays where we swirl around on the anchor and the chain wraps and unwraps around rocks. The anchor is not that well dug in to the hard sand bottom, so we decide not to stay the night. We head further south down to Charlestown Bay and anchor just north of the Ferry dock. It’s not quite as pretty and its very gusty but excellent holding and will be safe for the night.

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Rameau Bay
The following morning it’s time for a shore run to get some provisions, as we are heading to the uninhabited islands of Tobago Cays, where there are no shops! There is too much of a surge to leave the dinghy at the dock so Keith drops me ashore. I go in search of cash but the only machine in town is empty! Apparently the workers raid it on Friday night before heading back to St Vincent for the weekend, and it is Saturday today. We manage to scrape together EC$100 and I can get some fresh produce from the limited selection available. We up anchor and head around to Glossy Bay on the southern end of the island. It’s a lovely long white beach outside the new and very empty, brand new super yacht marina, The Sandy Lane Yacht Club. Again Keith drops me ashore and go into the supermarket for a few more items and hoping to get some cash from the checkout or failing that the Marina. I strike a deal with an English lady who was clearly provisioning a charter boat and about to handover a wad of cash - I offer to pay for her stuff on my credit card and take her cash. She is 50c short so that ends up being her commission! Much cheaper than the ATMs which charge EC$8 a pop! Missions accomplished we can now head to our next exciting destination....
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    After more than 7 years of (minus time off for Covid) and more than 30,000nm Lynda has finally got the hang of this cruising life. Now back in Australian waters, with a home base in Tasmania, ITIKI and crew are enjoying coastal cruising.

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