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Published: January 18th 2012
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The Islanders Love Color!
This pink sailboat is one that is built locally. They like to use pastel colors on their homes as well as their boats. Thought this one was set off nicely by the blue water and the white beach.
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 to wait. Luckily it wasn’t a problem to wait as we enjoyed visiting Union and Mayreau Islands. We did hope however that the Tobago Cays wasn’t just lots of “hype” and that it was really going to be a place that was worth visiting.
When you start your entrance to the Tobago Cays you realize how blue the water could be – it reminded
Cruise Anyone?
The WindStar Clipper cruise ship was anchored at the Cays as well. We found out that they had 200 passengers and 100 crew – quite the ratio of passengers to crew. us of when we first saw the Bahamas – crystal clear water with the postcard blue water and pure white beaches. We still were surprised to see the number of boats that were anchored here (about 40-45) but luckily there was room for more to anchor. We found that it was worth the wait. The area is magnificent, great reef snorkeling and some nice hiking.
The Government of St. Vincent & the Grenadines designated a conservation area in the southern Grenadines centering over the Tobago Cays back in 1987. A study was undertaken in 1993 by an agency of the French government. In 1995 St. Vincent & the Grenadines gave approval to a proposal for the establishment of a national marine park. The legislation was enacted in 1997 and the Tobago Cays became a national Park in 1998. There was a glitch however to this plan, it was found that the Tobago Cays were not actually owned by the Government, but was privately owned. After many years of negotiations the Government of St. Vincent & the Grenadines bought the islands (58.5 acres of land) back for just over one million dollars. Now they legally could establish the long awaited
Keeping Cool
We found this iguana sitting under a bush at the top of the hill trying to keep cool during the day. National Park in 1999. Just as in the US, progress is slow, but luckily they did not give up on the idea that this area needed to be protected for future generations to come. The park rangers come over to all boats that anchor here and collect the $10US per person per day park fee. We are happy to pay this to help preserve this area. The park has installed dinghy moorings as well so that the reef is not damaged by those that come to snorkel and enjoy the area.
What makes the Tobago Cays special is that there are a few small islands (5) surrounded by a network of coral reefs that protect them from the Atlantic Ocean. As a result of this the area behind the reefs is filled with white sand which is perfect for anchoring. Although the wind blows almost constantly, there is very little wave action because of the protection of the reefs. This area is also unique because sea grass grows in some of the protected areas behind the reef and this is the preferred habitat for turtles. These areas are marked off and no dinghies are allowed so they are perfect
Bread Anyone?
One of the many boat boys that are working in the Tobago Cays to sell cruisers a variety of produce. This one sells all types of breads and delivers early in the AM for breakfast. for turtle watching. Many times you can see two or three turtles munching on turtle grass totally oblivious to the snorkelers. The small islands have beautiful white sandy beaches and a number of nice walking trails. Another feature of the park is that they have installed moorings just inside the reef. These moorings are for snorkelers and mean that you can tie up your dinghy while snorkeling the area. Janice and I took the opportunity to explore the reef, although with the waves breaking over the top of the reef there was quite a bit of surge and wind driven waves. Once again we realized why we took scuba diving, it is so much easier. We did see a fair number of fish and some soft and hard coral although most of them were significantly damaged because of the surge coming over the top of the reef. For those of you who are not sailors I should explain the difference between "surge" and "current" . Current is the one most of you are familiar with, the water runs in one direction for long periods of time usually related to the tides. Surge however is the result of the back-and-forth motion
Sunset from Anchorage
Watching the sun set over Union Island while anchored at Tobago Cays. There had been a boat anchored behind us during the day, but luckily for us it left before sunset. of the waves. On a recent snorkeling trip somehow we lost one of Janice’s fins. This meant that with only one fin she had significant difficult fighting the surge. It did however make it easier in the fact that any time Bob lost track of her he just had to wait a few minutes and she come back around (only kidding – she really didn’t go around in circles).
While we were there a Windjammer had dropped anchor and was ferrying people to the beach. We had an opportunity to meet and talk with a few of the people from the ship. They told us that with all sails up and a decent wind she can make about 15 KN. This Windjammer had four masts and apparently carries about 200 people and had 100 crew (not a bad ratio). The people we spoke with were from England and said they were having an excellent time. Apparently these ships have a number of beaches they regularly visit on their cruises which start and end in Barbados. The people we spoke with said the cabins were small but very comfortable and the food was excellent. It was obvious that the cruise
Still Crowded, but Not As Bad
A view from our hike up one of the islands looking toward one of the anchorage areas. There were at least 40 boats anchored here at the time. line has an excellent set up for their passengers complete with lunch buffet served on the beach, beach volleyball and lots of water toys to play with.
When we first arrived at the Tobago Cays we knew we had a three or four day window with pretty good weather so after two nights we converted the boat back into a sailing vessel ( put away sunshades, stow the plants below and generally make her ready for sea). The prediction was for 15 to 18 knots of wind and 6 to 8 foot seas. As usual the predictions were close but we wound up with 25 knot winds and 10 to 12 foot seas, a lot of fun. The one prediction that was dead on the mark and is the most important was that the winds were coming from a little bit north of East, around 70°. This meant we could sail but as usual we would be going up wind which makes for a very bumpy ride with waves breaking over the bow. After about six hours of not so pleasant sailing we pulled into the island of Bequia. We spent about two weeks here last year and it's
You Can Easily See the Reef
You can see horseshoe reef in the background and a small beach area that you can bring your dinghy up on if you’d like to snorkel from here. a very nice well protected harbor with readily available fruits and vegetables with accessible to Wi-Fi from the boat, - yahoo!!
We found out that there is a Music Fest in Bequia that runs from January 26-29
th. Everyone that we have talked to that has been to it in the past said it is worth staying for. As a result we will be here for a couple of weeks. That isn’t a problem as there are plenty of boat projects to keep us busy. We also can take the ferry to St. Vincent to do some exploring there. As a result, anyone checking ShipTrak will note that we aren’t moving from Bequia for a few weeks and probably won’t be doing a blog update until later this month or early in February.
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shirley
non-member comment
snorkeling
love the pictures of you two in the water, looks like you were having fun and good pictures, those turtles look interesting.