Back in Bequia

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So we decided to head back down south so that we could meet up with the Picton Castle, a tall ship that Alex, Ed and Scott have all sailed on at some point in the past. As it turns out we arrived a little early, as the PC didn’t arrive for a following 9 days, but it was nice to be back in Bequia again. As we’d spent two weeks here already, we mainly used our time for relaxing, enjoying the nightlife and making some new friends. I got to see the steel drum players at one of the waterfront bars again which I particularly enjoyed as I didn’t get to see them properly the last time we were here. We unfortunately had to say our goodbyes to Scott and Shannon here, which was one of the saddest parts of the trip, it’s truly a shame that they couldn’t stay for longer and they will be missed. It’s unfortunate that they couldn’t stay for long enough to see the Picton Castle as well, but i’m sure they will be able to see it another time.

We made a new friend with the guy who owned the boat anchored next to us, Michel, he was a cool French-Canadian who, like many people, found our crowded punt journeys amusing. It turned out that his daughter was a well-known singer in Canada, Pascal Picard, and he played us some of her music whilst we were over for dinner one night. It turned out that Michel was an excellent guitar player, although he couldn’t quite sing in key, but that didn’t stop us singing songs on deck during a drunken night. He’s a great guy who we saw a lot of during our time in Bequia.

We had decided that we couldn’t possibly stay in Bequia for longer than 9 days if we were to keep to our schedule, and by the 9th day the Picton Castle still hadn’t arrived. We decided that we couldn’t possibly wait any longer, so Alex and I went to shore to check out and do some provisioning before sailing to St Martin. I was at the side of the road buying some bananas when I look up the road to see Ed running straight towards me with no shoes on. Whilst I stood there wondering how he had got to shore without the punt, he shouted “where’s Alex? Is he in the customs office? The Picton castle is here!” Of course he had already ran right past me before I could answer him. Alex was indeed in the customs office filling in the papers to check out when Ed tapped him on the shoulder and told him the news. Alex promptly threw the papers back at the customs officer saying that he had changed his mind about leaving and ran out of the office with a big smile on his face. So it was decided that we were going to stay another few days, even if that meant missing out a visit to another island further north, for the PC was well worth it.

Later that afternoon I got a full tour of the ship, I got to see everything from the galley to the sleeping quarters to the engine room. We were also able to take Michel for a tour a few days later which he seemed to really appreciate. That same afternoon Alex and Ed took me a loft, it was one of the most frightening experiences of my life! I made it two-thirds of the way up the mast (about 60 feet) when I realised how much I was shaking and how clammy my hands were, then I made the mistake of looking down and I knew at that moment I wouldn’t make it to the top. So I didn’t quite make it all the way up but I was told I still did well for my first time, and even Alex was scared when he made it to the top and it’s very unusual for Alex to get scared.

It was during a night out with the crew that I met a guy called Ryan, he had to leave the Picton Castle as there was no longer the room for him and he asked us if he could come sailing to Bermuda with Bob. We of course said yes and he moved onto the boat a few days later, so Bob now seems almost as lively as when Scott and Shannon were here. Ryan is a cool, easy-going guy and we’re glad to have him on board, especially since he brought lots of home baked treats with him 

We decided to go back to Mayreau with the Picton Castle so that we could sail next to the ship and see it under full sail. We invited a few of the crew to come with us as we thought it might be a nice change for them, and the captain didn’t seem to mind. It was an absolutely gorgeous sight which we were lucky to see in this day and age and we all took photos frantically as the captain ordered every single sail to be set, including the aft top’sl which I’ve been told is pretty much useless.

So we had an eventful time in Bequia before we finally set sail to go to St Martin, only a week and a half later than planned. The wind was so bad for getting to St Martin, however, that after beating up-wind for 3 days we decided to go to the BVI’s instead.

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