06/08/2009 The Grenadines

06/04/2009 The Grenadines are a series of islands south of St. Vincent and north of Grenada. They are all one country including St. Vincents. So with that the collective is known as St. Vincents and the Grenadines. Today I sailed out of Bequia on my way to Mayreau. It is a small island towards the south end of the chain. It was recommended to skip the few other islands between and enjoy my time in the south.
Last night I went to start my generator to charge the batteries and use the laptop. The starter cord finally had it’s last pull and the last few strands shredded. Now I have no use of the generator. On my trip south today I decided that I had nothing to lose by taking the generator apart and trying to replace the starter cord. I had not wanted to do this since I did not have a manual for assistance and I have not taken a pull starter apart in about 30 years. After an hour and a half I had it taken apart, found some replacement line and reassembled the whole generator and had it working. It is a good thing I am a man, since we don’t really read instruction manuals anyway. (Just joking!!!!) (Sort of!!!!)
We had great winds and the auto-pilot did it’s job as I had my head down in my work, except to stick it up and look around to make sure we were not on a collision course or anything like that. I sailed into Salt Whistle Bay at about noon. It was a twenty-five mile trip I made in four hours. The bay is just beautiful. It has a white sand beach that is lined with palm trees. As with all of the anchorages, there are the boat boys. Since I was anchoring they did not bother me much. I did end up buying a fresh caught snapper from Joseph.
Not I have fresh fish, how do I cook it. It got me thinking about my grill situation. The grill on the back of the boat has not been working since Puerto Rico when the gas valve froze and I cannot use the grill. I have with me my Magma grill that I have been using on different boats since 1996. I had not mounted it on the boat as the only place I had was on one of the stern rails by the steps and it would be hard to keep lit in the direct wind like that. The idea I came up with was to remove the boat grill on mount my Magma grill in it’s place. It fits perfectly and now I have a real grill that will broil the meat and fish or whatever the way I like my grilling. It is also much easier to keep clean. Nothing like fresh fish grilled for dinner.
I did swim around and check out a small reef at the end of the bay and swam ashore and hiked around a little. There is a small resort here that has a neat little outdoor restaurant. Each of the tables is separate from all of the other tables. The table and wrap around bench are made out of stone and they are covered with a thatch roof. It is a very nice little intimate setting for friends to gather.
This was a banner day to complete a banner few days since arriving in Bequia. I was able to resolve my fuel issues and now repair my generator and hook my grill.
06/05/2009 I decided to stay in the bay for another day. I met a couple on another boat, Jamie and Mora, and have been hanging out with them. Also Bill and Michelle stopped by to say hello. I met them at Tommy’s Cantina in Bequia. They are on a charter boat going from St Lucia to Grenada.
I went for another snorkel today and came across a spotted eagle ray. This may be the first time I have seen one of these and definitely the closest. I swam with it for about 10 minutes. I do need an underwater digital camera to capture some of these sites. Also Bill and Michelle stopped by to say hello. I met them at Tommy’s Cantina in Bequia. They are on a charter boat going from St Lucia to Grenada.
06/06/2009 Today I took No Rush over to the Tobago Cays. It is a Marine Park that is protected. There are many turtles here along with a large reef structure. The trip only took about 45 minutes from anchor up to anchor down. As I was setting the anchor I had my first turtle sighting. This turtle appeared to live in this area as I saw it all the time around my boat the two days I was anchored there.
I took the dinghy over to a protected beach where it is roped off to make a turtle sanctuary. While swimming in the area I spotted about a dozen turtles just eating grass on the bottom. These turtles ranged in size from 2-3 foot or more. I also came across a school of squid. I tried to sppok the squid to see if they would use the ink to escape from. They did not, but it was interesting to see them change color and try to camouflage with the bottom. When I was around sand they would change a tan color like the sand and when around the grass they would change to a greenish-brown.
Later that day I went out the reef. It was late in the afternoon and probably the latest in the day I have ever snorkeled. The reef was alive with all kind of fish. I saw grouper, schools of blue tang, parrot fish, snapper, grunts, more turtles and a shark. It was a black tip reef shark. I have not seen any since the Florida Keys. The water is so clear here also. It is shallow also. Most of the water is only six foot deep. It was like swimming in an aquarium. This is an amazing place.
06/07/2009 This morning I went out for a couple more snorkels. I was by myself and came across the shark again. I get a little spooked when I am the only one in the water. On my way back to the boat I came across a large Southern Stingray. It was working on burying itself. There are also the largest live conch I have seen anywhere. These animals have been harvested so much that it is hard to find any good size ones in shallower water. We really need to be thankful for the people that work to bring these Marine Parks into being so that we can enjoy seeing live like this.
I talked about in my last entry about being closer to West Africa than Colorado. Today I ended up with Sahara Dust on my boat. We had a tropical wave blow through and it brought with it dust from the Sahara Desert. The typical winds in this part of the world blow from the east compared to the typical wind in the US blowing from the west.
Later in the afternoon I pulled anchor and sailed down to Union Island. I plan on clearing out of there through Customs. From there I make a hop to Grenada for then over to Trinidad. I hope the good sailing holds up these last few days.
The Grenadines has been a wonderful part of my trip and probably my favorite place since leaving the Virgin Islands. I would recommend that any of you that have experienced the BVIs to try something different and charter down here. I believe you can do one way charters in both directions between St Lucia and Grenada or you can do the round trip. It is a beautiful, wonderful place. It is English speaking and very cruiser friendly.