St Vincent & The Grenadines

No it’s not a 1960s boy band!

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.

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.

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".

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

Relief 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.

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

ITIKI 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.

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.

The Pink House

Yes we Can-ouan

Our 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....