Impending weather ... 6th and 7th Feb 2018
After another poor nights rest (at the Tabago Cays
anchorage), we thought we would enjoy the morning taking photos and snorkeling, then
move on to Mayreau Island where there seemed to be two protected
anchorages. Once again we were greeting
by a local chap in a skiff with an outboard.
He was giving us advice on where to anchor. When the hook was down, he zoomed back by to
ask us if we were interested in a barbeque on the beach. Having rejected one such offer at the Tabago
Cays, we caved in and agreed.
Our evening meal was served in an open air shack—quite
atmospheric. The lack of any bathroom
facilities made us wonder about the overall hygiene of the place! However the food was good. Simon and Mike enjoyed spiny lobster while I
opted for the chicken. Once we had
sufficiently stuffed our selves, we got talking to the couple at the next
table. Susie and Paul had returned to
the Caribbean to rejoin their boat after several months in the UK. We were comparing plans: they were going
north to avoid the weather while we were thinking of travelling further south
to Union Island. Susie suggested that we
would be much better off starting our trip north on the next morning (Wednesday).
Mike re-checked the forecast and indeed some big wind/big
sea conditions were expected for Saturday and Sunday (10th and 11th
Feb). More troubling was the prediction
that these conditions would persist for most of the following week. Bearing in mind that Simon needed to catch
his flight from St. Lucia on the 15th Feb, we decided that we should
get moving north hoping to reach St. Lucia before the fierce weather
arrived. Our plan was to travel from
Mayreau to Bequia on Wednesday, then Bequia to a harbor on St. Vincent on
Thursday and then the long passage from St. Vincent to St Lucia on Friday. We
set off for Bequia right after breakfast. We put up the main sail before
leaving Saline bay and then headed off to the north.
I was a little surprised by the potential that the port side
genoa sheet might see some action.
Possibly it was the scopolamine patch that was making me forgetful, but
I could not think of a time when we had been on starboard tack. Certainly since
mid January we have been on port tack (heading south) each time we sailed. Now
the boat was heeled over the other way. The seas were from the northeast (along
with the wind). We had hoped to get some
protection from Canouan. If that island
did shelter us, it wasn’t obvious. To
the north of Canouan the conditions did seem to be quite ferocious. Eventually, as we were approaching the south
of Bequia, the seas started to lay down a bit.
Once we rounded the southwest corner, we could see up into the bay.
To our shock there were two large cruise liners anchored in
the harbor. The slightly smaller one was
called Saga Sapphire. Mike remembered
that his Mom and John had taken a cruise on that vessel a few years back. It hadn’t gone altogether smoothly. Edyth had been taken ill. There had been some discussion of an airlift
from the cruise liner. In the end she was sent straight to hospital once the
vessel docked at Southampton.
We all felt tired and hungry after our tough sail. We had a quick lunch and then took the dinghy
off the foredeck. The bay was choppy
enough to make dropping the engine onto the stern of the dumb dog quite
challenging. No one really wanted to
face this task but we needed to get to shore to clear out of SVG (St. Vincent
and the Grenadines). Once were cleared
out we did a little provisioning. With
our hands full of groceries, we found a cafe with WiFi and had a drink (iced
coffee for me and “intoxicating liquor” for the others). We went back to the boat for dinner and to
worry over the next leg of the journey to St. Vincent.
Gloria
Gloria
Tobago Keys - beach on Petit Bateau
Tobago Keys - beach on Petit Bateau
Tobago Keys - beach on Petit Bateau
Gloria on beach at Petit Bateau
The view from the top of Petit Bateau looking towards the turtle sanctuary and beyond to Horseshoe reef (not great light - would have been better in the afternoon but we weren't going to be coming back)
The "Dumb Dog" tied up at Horseshoe reef
Simon - Horseshoe reef
Some of the boat guys that run all sorts of services ... water taxi, tours, trash removal, bread delivery, ice ... you name it ... for a price! I love the colors of the boats against the turquoise water
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