Sailing Through the Grenadines

Oysters at Tyrrell Bay, Carriacou

On Union Island, St. Vincent and Grenadines, overlooking islands of Canouan and Tobago Cays.

Maggie at anchor in Chatham Bay, Union Island

Sunset over Union Island from Tobago Cays

We have finished four good days sailing from Grenada to Bequia, the northern most island in the Grenadines chain. The distances haven’t been great but it has been a chance to show Barb and Bob the wonderful scenery here and to work out any problems with the boat. Trying to sail northeast has certainly been easier this month than in Jan. Only a few hours have been spent beating into the waves with the motor. Tues we sailed to Carriacou and checked out of Grenada. Wed was spent in Chatham Bay on Un ion Island, Thurs in Tobago Cays, and Fri to Bequia.

Some of the highlights of that trip:

Getting fresh snapper and oysters from the local fishermen in Carriacou.

Anchoring next to Tim and Patti on Tevai and getting caught up on their travels. They were the first boat we travelled with going through the Erie Canal.

Some meals with Rick and Beni on Laima before we parted ways for the season.

Seeing Haven again in Tobago and Bequia.

A squally but beautiful day at Tobago Cays.

Bob swimming and snorkelling at each stop, including an anchor check.

The turtles on the road on Union and the huge ones at the Cays.

The crazy jeep ride back from customs to Chatham Bay. We walked an hour to Clifton to check in at customs but they were just closing. Then it was on to the customs at the airport. By then it was getting dark and we had left Bob and Barb on the beach watching the dinghy, hence the “cab”.

A good wind angle.

Finding tomatoes at the market.

Having the laundry picked up and returned to the boat in Bequia.

You can tell it doesn’t take much to make my day here.

We continue the boat project list but it seems like we are breaking things at the same rate as the repairs. A drawer fell out in the pounding and Rob is gluing it back together. A leak near the bow has returned after we thought it had been tracked down. A zipper end in the dodger has broken. These are all small things. The alarming one has been the screen on the chart plotter going dark. Fortunately we have another one at the nav station below but that’s not as convenient. Once we have internet Rob will contact the company.

The weather is forecast to start to deteriorate Sun night and be particularly ugly Thurs to Sat next week. So we are planning the long sail past St Vincent to St Lucia tomorrow starting at dawn. This morning we will get to the Sat market and check out at customs and then enjoy the day.