Bye Bye Bequia Bye Bye Wallilabou Hullo Marigot Bay

Well the Lords of the Sunset got their acrylics out for our last night in Beuia.

I went in to clear out and was met with a big queue, well it had been overtime clearing in and out for the last three days so people had been putting it off. Well customs at least had been monitoring things and taking names and some captains were sitting on the naughty chairs waiting for a “ senior customs officer “ to decide their fate and the extent of their fine.

After clearing out in Bequia we romped up to Wallilabou and as in the past we were met miles away by boat boys offering their services, while holding up a rope for a tow back to Wallilabou.


However as in the recent past I was pleasantly surprised at how restrained and well behaved the boat boys, now renamed and trained as “Beach Front Service Providers”, were. When I declined their services and said I would get someone in the bay to help they shrugged smiled and said “ Welcome to Wallilabou. “


We were soon anchored with a stern line tied to a tree, and well out just in case the westerly swell arrives. Wallilabou is untenable in a westerly swell of any size and being well out gives you a better chance of escaping.

The usual vendors came buy and one was offering really well made hematite necklaces and Judy succumbed to his sales talk. Mind you it looks good and at only 20 ec or 7 US can't be said to be overly expensive.






We got our cozzies on and with shampoo in our packs headed up to the heritage falls for a refreshing dip, good hair rinse in soft rain water and serious natural jacuzzi under the waterfall. It has not rained much in the last few days so you could stand up under the main fall but only just.

Back on the boat after a wander around the Pirates of the Caribbean set we soon had the dink on board lashed down and with a sundowner in hand watched the late arrivals shoe horn themselves into what ever space was left. There was double parking and rafting up. I really hope we don't get a swell tonight!

Well be did get a wind switch so some of the sardines were playing bumper boats in the night but not us.

Next day saw us off to St Lucia with a reefed main and just the staysail. The North end os St Vincent was it's usual unpleasant self with short steep seas and some wind acceleration but we were soon clear and settled in with 6 knts and the odd 7 showing on the GPS.

Late afternoon saw us in Marigot Bay St Lucia and the usual tour boats were charging in doing a quick circuit with their loads of sardines pinking up nicely out on the bows.

After the exertions of finding customs and immigration we stopped for an ice cream and were entranced by this cheeky little sparrow or finch who was taking advantage of the servers back being turned to sneak in for a beak full.

STILL IN BEQUIA 2

Well the Christmas winds are blowing hard, 20 to 30 knots, and the big winter swells are rolling in from the North East and giving the boats anchored on the South side of the harbour a tough time. Many have moved over and it is getting pretty crowded where we are.

Some boats are still biting the bullet double reefing and pounding North but we have seen a couple returning with torn sails and one with dead engine. That boat provided some VHF entertainment as they started by calling for a tow, SVG radio suggested they hoisted sail, then they were not sure of the course and were clearly getting rattled. However a cruisers self help group quickly formed and they were given a course, identified by getting them to switch their running lights on and off, met by couple of dinghies and lead into a safe spot to anchor.

I have decided to be in Bequia for Christmas and we will ,move North to Wallilabou for a day or so then onto St Lucia.

STILL IN BEQUIA

I had a small sewing job done on the mainsail stack pack sail cover and needed a new staysail storage bag made. The zip had failed on the old one and I had intended to add a flap and ties to it but it went over the side on the last passage so it was a new one.

Bequia canvas is run by a hard working German lady and she got it all sorted for me and at a very reasonable price.

But this meant we missed the possible window to head North and the wind has gone round to the North East with a big NE swell so we are stuck here. Also it is COLD I needed a blanket over me last night. Life is tough, ah well it is snowing in Britain so I guess everything is relative.








The arrow marks Elephants Child.






OOPS BOING


Guess they won't bother fixing it.




I will leave you with two Bequia sunsets.














No prizes for telling me what is wrong with number 2.











No prizes for telling me what is wrong with no 2.



It really is a big swell, todays cruise ship is having problems retrieving it's tenders.

DEVILS TABLE REEF

We paid a visit to the Devils Table Reef today. It is just around the point and provided with a dive boat / dinghy mooring buoy.

Judy stayed around the dinghy getting used to her flippers while I ventured further afield.





Got a good shot of a elk ? horn coral









A file fish or surgeon fish















a mixed shoal













A small eel which seemed to be grazing on sea urchins.






Hurricane Bawbag seems to have done a fair bit of damage to Scotland but I was glad to hear from my sister Janet that they had escaped with only the loss of a chimney 'top hat'.

BEQUIA

Back in beautiful Bequia.

We enjoyed light but favourable winds from Hillsborough to Union Island then on to Petit Nevis. This is a small island just off Friendship Bay Bequia. It was once the place used by the islanders to butcher the whales and you can still see the concrete slipway and the remains of the windlass they used to haul them ashore.




The island is now for sale $15 milllion US to you sir!






I like stopping here as the snorkeling is excellent with large numbers of varied species on offer. I am still looking to see another lion fish but not today.

Rather than spend the night here I decided that the possibility of a swell making things uncomfortable was just too great so we popped round the corner to the main anchorage and got tucked up to the North shore to hide from any swell.

Onshore fro the first time I headed for my favourite roti shack only to be told that they had no cooking gas and that there was no gas on the island so rotis were off as well as everything else needing cooking. Judy is getting used to this sort of thing and said without prompting " Oh it is the Caribbean I suppose "

Still we found someone whose battle still had gas and enjoyed a roti even though we had to fend of the predatory locals who were quite fearless in their hunt for food aka unwanted roti skin.

We finished of our hard day at the office with a local freshly made ice cream

MARIANNE'S ICE CREAM PARLOUR

CARRIACOU

We are up in Tyrell Bay, Carriacou after a wet sail up from Grenada. The rain started as we hit the high point of Grenada and just kept going.

Still it is warm rain however Judy had a sweat suit top on for the first time.

Tomorrow we will move round to Hillsborough the capital and check out before heading over to Union Island the most southerly of the grnadines.