Three weeks in service

A map to give you an idea of where we went (sorry, magnifying glass not included)

Now here's an interesting social experiment: 6 guests, 2 crew and three weeks on board a yacht 18m x 5m.... Let the games begin.

Having started on our own from Antigua, we picked up 6 guests in St Lucia and sailed our way South to Grenada, stopping off at various islands along the way. In Grenada we exchanged 2 of the guests for two new ones and sailed off to Tobago where we left the original 4 guests and brought the new 2 back to Grenada where we waved goodbye to them from a dodgey dock as they sputtered away in a taxi that could have almost been South

African.

The area from St Vincent to Grenada magnified so you can actually see some of the islands we visited

So where exactly did we go:

St Lucia (Rodney Bay to Marrigot Bay to Soufriere - the Pitons); St Vincents (Wallilabou to another small bay just east of Kingstown); Bequia; Mustique; Union; Carriacou; Grenada (St Georges to Prickly Bay); Tobago (Store Bay to Scarborough to Pigeon Point to Englishmans Cove) back to Grenada (Clarks Court Bay)

Fish

Challenges for the trip:

Cooking - Every lunch / dinner needs to be something different...for 3 weeks... Food needs to be tailored to meet all 6 guests respective dietary requirements. Resupplying in the Caribbean where the food is not meant to last more than a couple of days.

Cleaning - Keeping a moving boat full to capacity, clean

More fish

Marrigot Bay with its entrance mostly blocked by famous palm trees on a sandbank

We picked up the guests in Rodney Bay and sailed to Marrigot Bay which has a sand spit covered in palm trees across most of the entrance. Rodney (a contempora

ry of Nelson) used this to dupe the French fleet in the 18thC by positioning his fleet behind this bar and tying palm fronds to their rigging. Once the French had obliviously sailed passed the British fleet sailed out and attacked.

St Vincent, Wallilabou and the set of Pirates of the Caribbean. (Zoom in and you can see Cpt Jack still standing on the pink pillar on the right)

Leaving St Lucia we sailed to an island of mixed reviews, St Vincent. Some other boats had told us not to go there as the people are unpleasantly unfriendly to strangers and so it can be rather unsafe. Others said there was no way you could visit the area and miss it. It's the closest place to check into the Grenadines (St Vincent and the Grenadines are all a single country) so we anchored in Wallilabou (pronounced Walli-a-boo) Wallilabou is now really just the leftover set of Pirates of the Caribbean.

In contrast to the rest of the Caribbean, the 'artifacts' are all fake such as fibreglass canons and plywood building fronts. We had drinks in a restaurant ashore with a stunning view of the bay. But warning...lucky I stuck to 'a drink'...the secret ingredient in the local rum punch is simply the local rum which is more than a little pokey - who knew you could get tipsy quicker on rum punch than tequila?

Cooking for 8 in a galley 2m x 1m. For guests 3/6 who dont eat anything but meat....'Lamb' leg it is then

Leaving Wallilabou we stopped on the south side of the island so the guests could have lunch ashore (hamburgers and chips) then continued on to Bequia where early the following morning the captain and I visited the most remarkable shop. Its slightly off the waterfront but known to most charter yachts for good reason. It sells any kind of all foods you can imagine. Yip in the heart of the Caribbean you can find all the ingredients for say sushi, at a price of course.

Bequia. Can anyone guess what this is??? Only our Captain guessed what was later confirmed - a capsized barge being held in place by a tug...

On to Mustique, the privately owned island playground of the rich and famous. Lord Glenconner bought the island in 1958 of which he gave 10 acres to Princess Margaret as a wedding present in 1960. This island is run like a big private resort with Hollywood style tours. The beach on the opposite side of the island to the anchorage is apparently stunning and the entire island is well manicured but the anchorage is more than a little rolly and other than that 1 beach there is not a lot there. So in all honesty the only reason I can see for stopping at this island for any extended length of time is to gawk at 'Starz' that might be visiting their holiday homes.

I have to admit this was more than a little frustrating as it is just miles from the Tobago Cays which are internationally renowned for their isolated beauty (imagine a cluster of completely deserted islands, sandbars and reefs), we were on a relatively tight schedule to reach Grenada for the guest exchange and it was decide to spend TWO nights here... So the captain and I sat on a rolling boat while the guests had a taxi tour of the houses of the 'Starz' followed by another meal of hamburgers and chips. Hey, at least I didnt have to cook for two nights in a row and got to buy more food from another store stocking remarkable foods for the Caribbean.

Despite the extra time spent ashore there was a complete lack of celebrity sightings...shame

Well disolved feet after weeks of being wet at the galley sink.

The original plan had been 1 night off Mustique, 1 night in the Tobago Cays and 1 night off Union Island to clear customs from the Grenadines. With the 2 nights spent off Mustique their idea was to forgo the Cays and sail straight to Union. But luckily for those of us desperate to see the Cays, the Captain had a plan: Spend the night in the Cays and sail early the next morning to Union to clear customs then straight on to Carriacou for that night. Wonderful!

A rather large bonnito caught by the enthusiastic Captain and served for lunch to the 3 guests who ate fish. Nothing like from sea to plate in minutes

We got to the Cays in time to anchor in a channel between two sandbars posing as islands and send the guests off in the dingy with a picnic lunch. This meant with a rush through the chores for the day and dinner prep, the captain and I got to explore the world swimming beneath the boat.

One of the gazillion sting rays swimming around the Tobago Cays (had to hold breath a looong time swimming into the current 5m deep to get this shot though)

Luckily the Captain is well versed in reading the water and noticed that there was a rather strong current surrounding us. (we later discovered it was the near full moon tide moving through) So we tied two fenders to a long line onto the boat and threw them overboard watching with amazement as they sped away pulling the relatively heavy line taut. With flippers a necessity, we jumped in and started swimming. Wowsa! All around the boat was a weed garden speckled with live conches and dotted by patches of sand which seemed to be a highway for stingrays of all sizes. These graceful creatures seemed to spend no effort swimming against the exhausting current, resting only every now and again on sand patches or completely blending in with the weed. They were admittedly easier to follow when swimming with the current but watching them elegantly flap their way through the water reminded us we were temporary guests in their world.

Swimming without tank or snorkel really makes you feel part of the fish world

Almost an hour later we emerged, tired but our enthusiasm for the job recharged. It really is opportunities like these that make the cooking and cleaning worthwhile!

Two Cheeky seagulls resting on our swimming fenders. They made their way onto the yacht, not shy at all! These are Laughing Gulls. They never cease to amuse a cabin fevered crew as along with being cheeky their 'call' sounds like they're laughing "huyack huyack huyack"

The following day we apprehensively made our way between submerged reefs out of the Cays and to Union Island. With the owner on the helm and the Captain telling him exactly where to steer while keeping a very watchful eye on both the navigation and depth sounder we wound a rather curious path. The difficulty is that some of the charts for the area are sometimes sporadically 100's of meters out. So when you are winding your way along channels that are merely meters wide with a keel that is 3.5m deep (substantially deeper than most modern let alone 18thC boats) you watch those depth numbers like a hawk. To the rest of us it looked like we were pulling manoeuvres from a movie where the thief has to make his/her way through an invisible laser field - we were twisting and turning through what seemed like unbroken water, often going in the opposite direction from our destination which we could see clearly at this point. The precision was breathtaking as we stayed in the channel the entire way, nerve-wracking when at times there was a mere 10cm water below the keel...

The visible parts of the reefs we dodged leaving the Tobago Cays

Winding our way around the final sandbars and reefs that protect the bay on Union Island we made our way into the anchorage. After much persistent persuasion from the owner and Captain, I agreed to come ashore, knowing full well the amount that still needed to be done for dinner and in terms of keeping the boat inhabitable. But the owner insisted it couldnt be that much work and the captain promised to help so there we went.

Union Island: Would you like to live there? No heat from surrounding land i suppose

It is just what you would expect from a Caribbean Island, not much going on, friendly people, fruit stall everywhere and intense heat. It has a feel a lot like Leisure Island used to have but with more people just hanging around relaxing in the shade.

Union Island: Jenny's fruit stand. Best smoothies!

Our main mission was to clear customs while the guests explored (translation: sat in a bar and sampled the local cocktails). We discovered Maximum Employment Schemes that could teach even South Africa a thing or two...On entering the immigration office in the village, the two occupants fulfilled their sole job description telling us that their office was under renovation and we were to go to the office at the airport.

No worries for us, the airport is a short walk down the road.

Union Island: Some big fish in a small pond

That same day we sailed the short distance to Carriacou to anchor for the night and check in to Grenada the next day. Yes, Carriacou is part of the country known as Grenada which is also a single island. Hey, if you can figure out who belongs to what, let me know.

Unfortunately there is no pleasure without work and a 3 course meal was still expected as usual Very unfortunately the captain had caught some form of the bug brought on board by our sick guest. So with much dismay I sent the captain off to bed with a bottle of cold water and some asprin to nurse his raging temperature and got stuck in. AAAGH it was a cheerful challenge that was conquered through maintaining a sense of humour, a determination to enjoy the challenge and lots of singing. While I dashed on deck to lay the table and endlessly refill their wineglasses, the sauce for the roast pork turned into a weird tasting mess. No worries, how long does it take to make an apple sauce from scratch? Aha, not long when you have just finished a charter with a 1 year old on board whose favourite food is fresh apple sauce (practise ensures efficiency right) So ok, they waited in the divine breeze on deck gazing at the spectacular view for um half an hour between their starter and their mains but in between all the running around in the heat below I did make sure their wine glasses were always full and they didnt run out of conversation. Dinner was delicious, if i do say so myself and despite the fact that I am far from the worlds greatest pork cook (in fact, quite the opposite). And two of the lady guests even came down to help me with the washing up (knock me over with a feather duster) as they knew the captain normally did this for me.

Our first escort to Tobago

There is a complete lack of photos of Carriacou and Grenada and an abundance of Tobago so please forgive the lack of synchronisation of photos and stories if you will.

The Captain had checked us into Carriacou on arrival the afternoon before but the guests however, felt that they had done quite enough exploring over the past few days and would rather stay on board and play a 3d version of scrabble than ever set foot on this island. oh well.

We counted more than 30 of the playful creatures diving through the waves and racing across our bow

On to Grenada we went and into the Port Louis Marina where we tied up for a blissful few days. Hmmm blissful might be a bit of an exaggeration but its all relative at this point. The guest exchange was due to take place and there was just SO much laundry to be done and a complete restocking of food and a thorough cleaning of the boat much needed. But the guests were considerate enough to eat ashore in the evenings and thanks to the captains organisational and promotional skills, spent an entire day off the boat exploring the island in their private air-conditioned taxi.

So many photos to choose from thanks to the Cpt's quick eye and lovely lens

Then there was the debate. To Tobago or not to Tobago. It is a long way out (ref. map at beginning) and straight into the prevailing wind with no shelter from an Atlantic sea swell and at least 6 of the 8 on board prone to seas sickness. But, 4 of the 6 guests had flights booked from Tobago and though they were relatively easy to change to leave from Grenada, they had been upgraded to business class using airmiles...any change meant losing the upgrade.

Even the sun deserted us as we entered the 'pirate waters' of Tobago

Finally, as the sun was setting Tobago was appearing over the horizon. At around 8pm we received our first "Welcome To Tobago", when a completely unlit boat suddenly appeared of our starboard side stilling our hearts by turning on all its floodlights and dazzling us with them. Without a word they off'ed their lights and disappeared into the night. Now what? We're in waters notorious for pirates and there is this strange boat checking us out. While we were still trying to determine what was going on they reappeared in the same dodgy manner off our port side, motoring along next to us. Once they had relit us with their lights the interrogation began: "Where are you going? Where have you come from?" etc etc and finally they announce that they are the coastguard. Fed up with this inefficient, unprofessional shouting across the seas form of communication, the captain tries to contact them on the VHF. But no, they dont have one and they want a cell number to phone us on... Um sorry, we're a foreign yacht with foreign phones. This goes on for about half an hour when finally, while i am starting dinner below, I hear the Coastguard calling us on the VHF and fetch the captain who ascertains that they want us to anchor in the approaching harbour and prepare to be boarded. So we do, and they do. After inspecting our papers below with the captain while guarding the rest of us on deck with machine guns (you can only imagine the nervous British comments), the now friendly coastguard informed us that we did not have to make the final 2 hours of our trip to Scarborough to anchor in their dismal harbour to be glanced at by immigration. Nope, the captain can take a taxi across in the morning and if immigration wants to know about the boat they can phone the coastguard. And so they left us much happier, to get into the 3 course meal for the evening.

An example of the delicious mangos growing on every second tree

The next day dawned with much chatter about the drama of the evening before and the captain left us early to check us into the country. Back he came, earlier than expected, wearing a very unhappy face. Nope, we did have to sail the rest of the way round to Scarborough as Immigration refused point blank to contact the coastguard saying that they are separate departments and the boat has to be in their harbour and all people on board have to come to their office despite the fact that the coastguard has inspected our papers intimately AND that it is against international protocol for anyone but the captain to leave the boat before customs has been cleared. Go figure. So an entire day was spent sailing around to the most dismal, small, ugly, industrial harbour i have ever seen, sitting in an office while the head immigration official tells the captain off for what he has done (while grinning and pinching the arse of his passing female colleague), then sailing all the way back to the side of the island that any sane person wants to be on. Lovely.

Evening off in the fairy restaurant on Tobago

That night was a stormy one so I was up and down until 4am closing and reclosing hatches. 7am and it was time for the Captain and I to start our day. Before breakfast, before coffee, even before the fog had cleared from our eyes the captain realised that the dinghy was gone. The clip on the deck was open leaving only 1 conclusion: sometime between 4am and 7am someone came onto our boat and unclipped the dinghy. So the owner was woken up, the Coastguard contacted and some local businesses ashore radioed for a lift in to report the loss. Finally a friendly chap from a boat anchored nearby picked up the captain and owner and took them ashore so that they could visit the police and coastguard to make the case.

Another day on the boat with the guests.

We had been told that arrangements could easily be made with the local tour companies for trips ashore and to do some exploring but no matter how I try and convince them that they really could set foot on the island they travelled 16 hours to reach, they claimed they were too scared and just didnt want to... Really?

Then i was summoned from below. The coastguard was approaching. "Finally," we think, "someone has come to see us about the dinghy." No such luck. After some confusion and people talking over each other in the excitement we ascertained they were not there about the dinghy, they are responding to an EPIRB that had been set off in the area. Eventually we get it sorted out and they understand that we were missing a dingy and i'd checked our EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon) and explained to everyone what it is. They promised to keep an eye out for our dinghy and leave and I once again assure the guests that our EPIRB is fine. "Oh," they say, watching the coastguard fade into the blue "maybe it was the EPIRB on that yacht we saw capsized earlier"....

Spotted Trunk Fish and friends. A grainy example of the plethora of fish inhabiting The Cove

The Captain and owner returned and we tried make plans for the rest of the trip dinghyless when out of the blue (literally) a fisherman appeared towing our dinghy, returning it to us for a sum of TT (Tobago money). So off the guests went in the dinghy, discussing the new theories on who stole what, to explore the offshore reefs.When they return the captain and i were given some requested time off to go and explore ashore where we had a delicious dinner and met some interesting locals who some even more interesting suggestions on what should be done when you only have 4 hours off in 3 weeks, in Tobago. With our time up we made our way back to the boat in time to take the guests ashore for their brave dinner.

Spot the octopus

The following day brought with it division within the guests. Given the forecasted wind direction most wanted to sail to the next bay which was predicted to take around 3 hours. Others however, wanted to make the trip all the way up to Englishman's Cove, a predicted 6 hour trip. The majority werent backing down so we set sail for the next bay. Out of the bay we sailed and the Wind Gods took pity on the tense atmosphere onboard, changing their direction and speed away from the forecast and favourably toward a trip to Englishman's Cove. Not too long and not too many rainshowers later, we reached the rather deserted looking cove.

Englishman's Cove. Sandy beach opposite the entrance. Rocks tumbling down to the sea garden below, on the left. Indescribable

Forget all the rest. The day spent fulfilling immigration's inconsistent demands, the day spent faffing about the dingy and the day still to come once again fulfilling immigration's requirements to leave the island (when the office had no one in it and we had to wait hours while they located the official on duty etc). Forget the cleaning and the endless cooking. Forget it all. It was all worth it because of this one Cove that we visited at the kindness of the wind and insistence of the owner's wife. Well worth it.

Just to the left of the beach the cove becomes rocks which have trees growing between them shading the still sea below. We swam from the boat to this spot where we explored beneath the overhanging trees, between the coral covered rocks and with the thousands of fish of a myriad of species. The water went from a few meters deep to belly scrapingly shallow and then there were all the overhanging rocks to dive down and peek under. It is a world of rock passageways inhabited by living colour and shape where we were halted for minutes at a time as shoals of seemingly neverending size swam passed. Then there are the smaller groups of characters such as the pyramid shaped Trunk Fish lolling about in pairs, and what could easily pass for the link between aquatic life and terrestrial in the fish lying still in the sand looking exactly like a giant (bigger than both my hands together) bullfrog without legs, complete with ballooning throat.

When we finally had to tear ourselves away we swam ashore and explored behind the dune finding the river that confirmed our suspicions.

Getting up the next day was easy with the promise of further exploration of the underwater garden. It is quite something to come face to face with 4 teenage game-fish, already grown at least half the length of my body, hunting in the shady dawn...

But of course we finally had to leave, sailing back to Pigeon Point where we dropped off the 4 permanent guests.

Then it was back to Grenada. The Captain and i had been looking forward to doing this last trip of the season back alone but 2 of the guests had changed their flights especially to help us make the trip back. But its the thought that counts...Right?

After two nights in Clark's Court Bay they were gone and we are free... on the Spice Isle... (or is it the 'Herb' Isle...there is an interesting aroma associated with the 5pm 'lightup'...)