44 Februar y 2015
practical: families
In regards to safety, in our 12 weeks in the
Caribbean we were never concerned, even left
the hatches open at night to get ventilation
and only locked the boat when going ashore
and encountered no problems. The Caribbean
people were friendly and welcoming at all times.
However, very few sailors we met dared to stop
in St. Vincent that continues to have a bad name.
Most Caribbean visitors rank Bequia as one of
their favourite islands and it is truly the perfect
place to celebrate Christmas or the New Year
with old and new friends.
Safe moorings and several anchorages in the
sheltered Admiralty Bay give easy access to Port
Elizabeth’s shops, markets and great restaurants
and cafes. The coral ground at the southern end
of the beach can make holding tricky, but in sea
temperatures of around 24°C it is no hardship to
dive on the anchor.
After being pushed by the persistent stall
owners of the fresh fruit and vege market to
buy way too much, then picking up a few warm
loafs of bread at the bakery and concluding the
shopping expedition with a visit to Doris’ iconic
delicatessen shop, you can haul one of the open
taxis like 'Fat man' and drive across the island to
the turtle sanctuary, where Brother King raises
turtles from egg to teenagehood.
L’Auberge des Grenadines is the place in
Bequia to have fresh lobster French-Caribbean
style, with rum butter or without. On Boxing
Day it is a must. Join the Australian contingent
for oar cricket on the beach!Mustique
The good news is Mustique’s Britannia Bay has
big, safe moorings and plenty of them.
The bad news: the glitzy island for the rich and
famous locks down around Christmas and the
New Year to protect the celebrities’ privacy.
Yachties are allowed to swim in the crystal
clear water, frequent Basil’s Bar and walk around
the harbour front with its fancy boutiques but
can venture no further, unless booking into the
Cotton House beach bar for lunch!Tobago Cays
The undisputed highlight of any cruise
southward are the Tobago Cays.
The approach from Mustique or Canouan
looks daunting and Doyle’s guide book
offers page after page of maps, photos and
coastline descriptions. On arrival it is more
straightforward as the water colour indicates
shallows and the crowd of anchored boats
guides you to the favourite spots. The most
popular being the one east of Petit Bateau.
Moorings near the turtle sanctuary behind
Baradel, catamarans can anchor behind the
outer horseshoe reef, a spectacular location.INFORMATIVE ENTERTAINMENT
- Guide book: 'Sailors guide to the Windward
Islands' by Chris Doyle - Fiction: 'Caribbean' by James Michener
- TV/DVD: 'Death in Paradise', BBCTV series.
ABOVE: Beach fun at
Marigot Bay.
RIGHT: Wreck diving
is a lot of educational
fun, do some local
library research
before the dive.