Monthly Archives: March 2017

Bequia

We left Martinique on the 23rd, heading for Bequia (pr something between Beck-Wee and Beck-Way!) – with recommendations from many cruisers about Bequia ringing in our ears. We broke the passage in two with an overnight stop in St. Lucia, but didn’t get off the boat (so no need to check in/out). The following morning we left early – 6:00am – with 90+ miles to go, we hoped we’d be able to get to Bequia in daylight. We left alongside a Catamaran ‘Savana’. Initially the winds were light so we motor sailed, but as we passed the Pitons at the southern end of St. Lucia, the wind grew and we were able to sail a rhumb line easily towards St. Vincent. Savana and Toodle-oo! had been motor sailing pretty close to one another, but as the winds slowly picked up and we turned engines off, they pulled away from us… until the winds filled to over 15knots – at which point we were faster than them! We’ve got ourselves a boat race!

Spiky Mountains of St. Lucia

Spiky Mountains of St. Lucia

As close as we got to St. Vincent

As close as we got to St. Vincent

We came up to St. Vincent still close together and I fully expected the winds to die, but they stayed up and we were able to continue sailing in the lee of St. Vincent – an island we’d been advised to stay clear of for security reasons. Pity as it looked rather like Dominica in the northern part of the island. The wind had dropped some, so Savana was now well ahead, but again, as we came to the south end of St. V. it picked up again – with gusto! The south end of St. V didn’t look so appealing – much more habitation (like Martinique) so we were glad of our plan to bypass.

Sailing on to Bequia required a tightening of our heading and a current was flowing in Bequia Sound that was significantly adverse, requiring an even tighter heading – we were close hauled. The wind came up to a solid 15 – 18 with a few gusts to 22 and 25, but we maintained full sail and went for it! Savana was way off to our leeward side, such that we suspected they were headed elsewhere, but as we approached the island they tacked – now well behind Toodle-oo! Line honours to Toodle-oo!!!

After a couple of false attempts, we set the anchor in the north side of Admiralty Bay, at about 4:30pm – plenty of time to spare before the light failed.

In the morning, we checked into Bequia – and there was the crew of Savana. Unfortunately, they were French(!) so either didn’t want to talk with us – or couldn’t… (or were sulking!)

We took a Taxi Tour to get our bearings – it’s a nice island with a lovely feel. I can understand why people keep coming back here.

Admiralty Bay - Toodle-oo! tucked well off in the back right.

Admiralty Bay – Toodle-oo! tucked well off in the back right. Click to biggerize.

An Atlantic-side beach

An Atlantic-side beach

Back in Admiralty Bay, as we walked along a shore side path, I spotted a dive company and decided to look in to see how easy it would be to get my certification… 4 days later, here I am, a certified PADI Open Water Diver! Woo Hoo! Now I can spend lots of money on kit and then scrub the bottom of Toodle-oo! as my reward! During the training, we dived to over 50ft on coral reefs. Quite remarkable surroundings with colourful fish everywhere. On the final dive, I took my Go-Pro along for the ride – now all I need to do is work out how to make the files smaller so that I can link them to this blog for all to see.

We plan to stay in Bequia for a few more days before moving further into the Grenadines on our way down to Grenada, where Toodle-oo! will probably be hauled for some bottom paint and a general look-see.

All well aboard – we’re having a blast!

 

Martinique

We ended up staying in Martinique much longer than initially planned – and then added a couple more days to it when we heard of a planned walk up behind Le Marin. Turned out to be really enjoyable – certainly not a ‘Forced March’ – and offered lovely views over the harbors of Le Marin and St. Anne where Toodle-oo! is currently lying. We were accompanied by a French couple Patrick and Veronique and their dog Jacko and by German Leader of the walk, Andrea who is now resident (on her boat) in Martinique – though it sounds as if she’s sailed most of the world extensively…

Looking over Le Marin towards St. Anne

Looking over Le Marin towards St. Anne

View from the top

View from the top

This tree was cut down to it's trunk just 5 years ago - Things grow fast in Martinique!

This tree was cut down to it’s trunk just 5 years ago – Things grow fast in Martinique!

OK - this one didn't make it...

OK – this one didn’t make it…

We were also made aware of another walk – from St. Anne, so we stayed a second day and did a hike by ourselves of about 25km along the coast. It was very beautiful and we’re really glad we stopped to do it. Interestingly, on the south coast, the land is virtually desert – though unfortunately, I was unable to photograph it as it was raining!!! Other than the water from above, there was none to be seen – the land very barren with the occasional succulent struggling for a living…

Looking from St. Anne to Le Marin

Looking from St. Anne to Le Marin

Yet another Beach! THis one not of the nudist variety

Yet another Beach! THis one not of the nudist variety

Looks like Quick Draw McGraw (or Magoo!)

Looks like Quick Draw McGraw (or Magoo!)

Challenging stepping stones

Challenging stepping stones

Today we’ll head on towards Bequia via a short stop in St. Lucia…

 

Mont Pelée

Yesterday it was raining.

So we rented a car with Patty and Peter from Serendipitous, drove 2 hours up to St. Pierre and then walked (clambered) up Mont Pelée! Hard slog – for which we got about 50 foot visibility in the mist!

Made it!

Made it!

Not such wonderful visibility!

Not such wonderful visibility!

 

Probably not a bad thing we couldn't look down!

Probably not a bad thing we couldn’t look down! Thanks for the photo Patty!

And then there was this great pic of Kate – helming Toodle-oo! from Dominica to Martinique… She’s a natural!

Phew! What concentration!!!

Phew! What concentration!!!

Kate’s Visit gets better!

We ended up having a lovely visit from my sister Kate – once we were secure to the dock having dealt with her injury and then our silly mistakes with water in the sail locker – though the thing she wished for most, swimming in the Caribbean ended up being elusive since her stitches were only finally removed on the last day of her vacation. Next time Kate…

We managed to make a visit to the Pitons – very impressive – and to St. Pierre, and we made a couple of stops at a super beach – very relaxing! We had a nice stroll through a formal garden – somewhat too staged for our taste – though the canopy walkway was fun and then we did a more authentic rain forest walk…

Arrival in St. Anne's Martinique

Arrival in St. Anne’s Martinique

Carnival in St. Anne's

Carnival in St. Anne’s

Pointy Mountains - The Pitons

Pointy Mountains – The Pitons

Canopy Walk in the Garden

Canopy Walk in the Garden

The fish are this side ladies!

The fish are this side ladies!

St. Pierre Anchorage and Volcanic Ruins...

St. Pierre Anchorage and Volcanic Ruins…

Amazingly, her route home proved easier than the flights here, in spite of there being an extra flight in there. Confirmation has been received – she arrived!

Kate and Bill

Kate and Bill

The Beach

The Beach

Hopalong

Hopalong

Great to see you Kate – come again!