Beautiful Bequia

Ok, so moving along, Cath left the last blog in Saint Lucia, home of the great Pitons, which are just as magnificent sailing past as they were being moored under. 

Leaving the Pitons

Off we go to the Grenadines, a place we always look forward to seeing. As you may remember, Cath’s mom, Gail, is with us for three weeks, so, getting underway was quite smooth. While Cath and I took care of the sails, Gail was setting the course for Bequia.   It’s always nice having another hand, and even better one who knows how to sail! As usual, the winds were just off the nose and a little light for the big old girl to keep up a good speed, so another motor sail. 

Admiralty Bay

In spite of the light winds, it was a beautiful day. As late afternoon came on, the evening squalls were making themselves known. Just as we were making the point around Devil’s Table and into Admiralty Bay, the first gust came, shooting us along at 7.5 knots with a big nasty black cloud in pursuit.  As is always the way, as soon as you get a good wind, it’s time to take the sails in.  So, with Gail at the wheel, Cath and I went about taking in sail and getting the anchor ready.  The reason we left Saint Lucia a little earlier was due to a tropical depression that was headed our way, so we needed to think about our anchoring a bit more this time around. We looked at hugging up and around the north side of the bay where it would be less rolly, but not as good holding, and over on the south east side, better holding but a bit more swelly.  The storm wasn’t calling for too much of a swell change, so we opted for the sand bottom.  In the end it suited us well - not as many boats around and the other side of the bay was just a cluster of madness when the wind and rain picked up. We dropped the hook, set it well and hunkered down below for some sundowners.  By this point Gail was all about the Joana Rum punches! 



Gail and Nola

 It was a bit late to clear in and we really didn’t want to go out in to the rain, so instead we all caught up on our internet and reading.

The next day, we timed the squalls right and got ourselves in dry to make our way to customs and to do some window shopping.  Bequia is a quaint little town full of back street stores, boutiques and waterfront art shops full of all sorts of local treasures.  After Gail bought a few souvenirs, we made our way along the waterfront path to the Frangipani bar for our evening sundowner. I was loving being back in Bequia and, even better, my birthday was in two days, so what better place to get to celebrate it. 

No privacy in the turtle sanctuary



Baby turtles

 For our next day’s adventure, we were off to Old Hegg Turtle Sanctuary. With our friend from Moon Song, Nola, we all jumped in the back of a truck and got a quick tour of the island before getting to our last stop  the turtles!  It is one of the best places to see when your in Bequia.  Brother King runs the place all on his own, and even with all the work he has to do, he always has a smile on his face and is willing to tell you all about his turtles.  We were lucky as he had just gotten a kiddie pool full of newborns that he had rescued from around the other side of the island.  Unlike in the States, sea turtles are not protected, so it is just another food group for the islanders.   Without help, the turtles would have gone extinct in Bequia without a little hand from Brother King. 

Swanky restaurant

It turned out to be such a nice day that after spending an hour or so petting and playing with the turtles, we decided to walk back to town.  We stopped at a swanky restaurant and ordered the local specialty – roti.  A roti is a light pastry wrap filled with local vegetables and meat of your choice (usually chicken, pork or conch) in a mild curry sauce.  They are fantastic!  After lunch, we continued our walk and came upon a beautiful stone house being built on the bluff with a stunning view!  We got to talking with the guys building the house and they allowed us to take a look around  - I am sure they don’t get four good looking ladies admiring their craftsmanship everyday!  We were all very jealous of the owner’s infinity pool, mahogany wood work and an endless view of the ocean.  We all agreed that we wouldn’t complain if we were given this place, but we also agreed that it’s hard to beat a life on the ocean. 

My new pretend home

I woke the next day to a beautiful birthday morning.  I called for beach fun day, so floaties and snorkel gear came out and we had a great day on the beach.  Later, we had dinner at a local restaurant,  where our local friend Africans had made a special reservation.  Gail was the brave one who got the house special,  “Conch Ting” which is an aphrodisiac and it was quite good.  We all decided to go check out the local night life, after all, we told Gail she couldn’t let the Conch Ting go to waste!   Gail hung out for awhile and then headed back to the boat while Cath and I stayed out.  She was the smart one! 

With the next morning reminding Cath and I how great the birthday night was, even though we had big plans to head down island, Gail, having made it back earlier then us, spoke the voice of reason. (Really, she took mercy on us and didn’t make us go sailing)  So we took a chill day and were ready the next morning to head on down to Mayreau.