Blogs from Grenadines, Saint Vincent & Grenadines, Central America Caribbean

Samedi 30 mars, 2013 Joyeuses Pâques. Un autre mois qui s’achève et bienvenue au printemps. Nous avons parcouru passablement de route depuis Nevis. Comme nous vous le mentionnions dans notre dernier blogue nous avons quitté Nevis le matin pour nous rendre à Montserrat là ou il y a un volcan en activité. Étant donné que les vents étaient très faibles nous avons passé l’île sous le vent, côté ouest, sans risque de recevoir fumée et cendres du volcan sur le bateau. De cette manière, nous avons pu voir toutes les coulées de lave ainsi que la ville de Plymouth ensevelie sous les cendres et les roches de lave lors de la dernière éruption le 11 février 2010. C’est très impressionnant. Même si la ville est fermée à toute population il est possible de s’y en approcher ... read more

Clifton Clashes in Union Island After a few blowy days in Tobago Cays we moved south to Union Island. Like Saint Vincent, Union Island does not have a happy reputation. Many years ago, aboard Tin Lizzie, Mum and Dad had sensed real hostility and racial discord therefore I was slightly wary about visiting Union Island again. We moored up in a very busy Clifton Harbour and were directed by a local boat boy to a sufficiently large mooring to hold Fabiola’s 26 tons. We were only there to check out after all before heading down to Grenada to meet up with Nick and Tina Benson and their two boys, Ted and Ollie who both play rugby in the boy’s rugby teams. Unfortunately we were too late arriving at the airport (where customs and immigration ... read more

So, why have we still been in Bequia? If you remember at the end of the last blog entry we stated that we would probably be leaving the following Wednesday or Thursday. Well, a few things happened. One of course was the weather which was not the best for traveling north. This time of year the trade winds come from the north and as we are headed in that direction, it is not the best for sailing. We have also been having quite a few days of squalls and heavy seas. This would have only delayed us a couple of days as there was an opening of a couple of days, but…. As we are going back to the US in March for Janice to have surgery on her right wrist (deQuervarin tendonitis) we started making ... read more

Last June when we passed through the Grenadines heading south a lot of people told us about the Tobago Cays and how beautiful they are. Unfortunately in June the wind was really strong and we needed to get out of the hurricane box before July 1 so we passed them by and figured we’d come back this year. It's worth noting that some of our friends had made it out to the Tobago Cays in June and told us there were five boats anchored inside the reef. Well, it’s amazing how things change. Now it looked like a parking lot for catamarans. Someone reminded us that this was the European Christmas/ New Year holiday and that within a week most of the European charters would clear out. So between the weather and the Europeans we decided ... read more

Mayreau (pronounced My Row) is the smallest of the inhabited Grenadines as it is only 1 ½ square miles in area and has a population of about 300 residents. We moved here from Union Island which wasn’t a large jump, but it felt like a world away. We had an enjoyable sail which was nice after having been at anchor for some time at Frigate Island. What should have been only a 2 hour move turned out to be 3 hours as the wind was against us and the seas were high. We anchored in the beautiful Saline Bay which has a fabulous white beach and good access to shore. When we pulled into the bay we were very surprised to see a large sailing vessel, the Wind Spirit. You can check it out on google ... read more