Hazy, Hot and Humid

Hazy, Hot and Humid

Sunday 5th - Monday 6th May 2024

We have noticed a real difference in the weather since returning from our brief trip home. Whilst the temperatures may not have gone up that much, the humidity certainly has and it feels much hotter. It also looks very hazy, completely different from the crisp clear skies of a few weeks ago. On Sunday we took a taxi up to the top of Springview Heights park on the north side of Bequia. We visited here once before in 2018 when our friend Simon was cruising with us, and we vividly remember the views northwards across the sound separating Bequia from the main island of St Vincent. On this occasion we were barely able to make out St Vincent through the haze. Walking down we did see a Rufous Vented chachalaca, a large grouse like bird, that is another life bird for us.

For our next venue we contemplated sailing to Mustique, a privately owned island to the south east of Bequia. But after making some inquiries it became clear that we wouldn’t be allowed to walk around the island. Furthermore, you have to pay a significant fee for 3-nights of mooring, even if you only end up staying one night. I figured I would just get frustrated, and so we decided to head directly for the National Park at Tobago Keys. Our anchor was up by 8 am, coated with a reassuringly large amount of sand, and we raised sail and headed south. With winds at 15 knots in the harbor we decided to put in a reef in the main, and this turned out to be the right choice for the conditions. As we rounded the western most point of Bequia we were excited to see that the sailboat we had followed out of the harbor was "Taiko", with our friends Susan and Nigel aboard. It was really fun to be able to see them out on the water, and our routes stayed roughly parallel for most of our journey until they cut-off for the island of Canouan. We had a wonderful sail on a broad reach for 20 miles, before turning eastwards and into the channel leading to the Tobago Keys. We threaded our way between the islands of Petitit Rameau and Petit Bateau, and picked up mooring behind Horseshoe reef, right next to the turtle sanctuary. We ate lunch, had a nap (shock, horror) and then went snorkeling with the turtles. This is an amazing place in so many ways, but right here, where we are moored, there are turtles all around. We have looked up and seen 6 turtles on the surface at one time. Swimming over to Bradel island, which is designated a protected area, we saw several turtles right below us, as well as a couple of stingrays and several trunk-fish. Throughout the afternoon the mooring field started to fill up and there is no question that this is a popular spot. It is magical nonetheless.

As things have become more hot and humid our energy levels seem to have declined. It appears that we are at the end of prime cruising season down here in the Caribbean and we sense that the hurricane season will soon be upon us. We decided to bring forward our haul-out date in Grenada by ten days (now scheduled 1 pm on June 4th). We have just reached the southern limit of our previous trip to the Caribbean and so everything from now on will be completely new to us. We plan to spend the next 4 weeks exploring Union Island, Carriacou and Grenada. But before we do that, we are going to hang out here for a few days enjoying the amazing waters and ocean breezes of the Tobago Keys.

Mike

12 37.957 N, 61 21.396 W

A century plant near the summit of Springview Hieights

Rufous Vented Chachalaca ... I know you were all desperate to see this shot!

A local man catching fish in Sugar Reef Bay. The beach was buried in Sargassum weed.

An older gentleman wading through the Sargassum weed whilst fishing

Taiko charging south on route to Canouan

Conditions were good, but still a few larger swells rolled through at times. 

This video of Cotinga was taken from Taiko, courtesy of Nigel and Susan Trent. Thanks very much ... so rare to get shots of our boat!

Night fall in the Tobago Keys mooring field

One of our neighbors, with blue underwater lights

The mooring field at Tobago Keys