New Territory

New Territory

Thursday 9th and Friday 10th May, 2024

Last night we made preparations to move on from the Tabago Cays.  The engine came off the dinghy, the ladder was stowed and the snorkel gear was put away.  After our jobs were done we sat on the fore-deck watching the turtles and enjoying the gorgeous views. Knowing that we would be moving on to Union Island, I found myself a bit anxious about going to new places, where there would be more uncertainty about, well, almost everything. We will see how this next section goes!

After breakfast, we got going.  Our route re-traced the path we had taken into the marine park.  Basically we headed west until we rounded the north end of Mayreau, then altered course to a more southerly direction.  The anchorage we were headed for was off the east side of Union Island, protected by an extensive reef.  All went well, we decided to anchor off the town of Clifton rather than be further out near the reef.  (Actually, there is a small section of reef in the middle of the harbor as well.)  With a nod to caution, we spent some time aboard making sure that the boat was staying in position!

A trip to shore for lunch was the next order of business.  We wandered through the town until Mike spotted a likely looking restaurant.  There were a few groups eating already (we take that as a good sign).  Lunch was good and featured no less than three starches - potatoes, spaghetti and lentils - as well as chicken or pork ribs. What more could you want?

We spent an hour or two wandering around Clifton in the afternoon. It’s an interesting town, pretty in a way, with friendly people. It looks like fishing and diving for conch shells might be the biggest business, but it is also a kite surfing center. There are plenty of fruit and veg stands and we bought some fresh tomatoes, cucumbers and a large mango. 

After we returned to Cotinga, we noticed that all the “boat boys” were shooting across the anchorage at great speed.  I thought they were behaving like nuts. Mike suggested that maybe a boat had gone onto the rocks.  In fact, a large catamaran from a charter company was stuck on the reef in the middle of the harbor.  The boats converged on the catamaran and somehow managed to turn the cat and push it off the reef.  We imagine that they tried to pick up a mooring and failed to snag it, drifting back onto the reef behind without realizing the peril.     

Gloria

A busy scene at the fisherman's dock in Clifton. We got chatting to a couple of guys on one boat who had not had a great day ... they had lost the propellor off their outboard motor.

A local man cleans and pounds conch meat (lambi in french)

Local boats on the beach near the kite boarding center

The anchorage off Clifton, Union Island

A father and son (I presume) heading out on a paddle board, in the protected waters behind the reef

A couple of Ruddy Turnstones by the harbor

Local boats raced to assist a catamaran that had drifted back onto the reef in the center of Clifton harbor

A tryptic of photographs of the paintwork on on one of the local boats

A dyptic (yikes ... that doesn't sound right ... dipstick!) created by rotating two images of the transom of a local boat