The Tyrrel Bay anchorage was more crowded than I expected but then it was the beginning of the high season. A few of the yachts were well known to me from Trinidad and Grenada. Charter catamarans from the north, mostly French flagged, made up the majority. Some are crewed and mostly know safe anchoring techniques but even so they do like to get up close and personal. The holding in the bay is not very good and a friends' yacht dragged some 200 metres whilst they were ashore. Thankfully they returned in the nick of time before their anchor would have lost contact in the increasingly deeper water as it drifted away.
At a beach side cafe where I left the dingy oars for safe keeping when ashore, I noticed a tiny nest in a plant hanging from the roof inside the building. A pair of humming birds had raised young and now one of them was returning to take the goats hair from the nest to build another. All this inside a busy cafe.
We stayed 9 days before there was some relief from the strong trade winds. I thought it would be nice to go the Chatham Bay on the west side of Union island which involved checking in at Clifton just 6 miles north of Carriacou. Wind and current through the channel made for a rough passage and Clifton harbour is not very inviting so I elected to carry on to Bequia. By passing close to Mayreau it was possible to make the 15 mile passage north in one tack.
Admiralty Bay Bequia is one of my favourite anchorages despite the difficult holding on compacted coral. It took 3 attempts to get the anchor to hold and it was still necessary to re anchor the next day. The main anchor on Plain Song is a 45 lb CQR and it is not well suited to such a sea bed. The Trades continued to blow fresh to strong gusting to 25kts and more, mainly at night. I detect a patten over a 4 day cycle in which the winds build and then decline briefly with winds at night a few knots stronger. There is not much variation in wind direction which is usually east or east north east but sometimes unhelpfully north east.
The bay is busy with charter yachts heading south or returning north to their base. There is plenty of room but they like to bunch up close to the lovely beaches. We experienced a close call when a large catamaran dragged its anchor passing within 10 feet in the middle of the night. That same night the dingy detached itself. It was a particularly dark night with no moon and I discovered its disappearance at the time of the dragging incident. I spent the rest of the night wondering how it could be replaced-a logistical nightmare. At first light, to my astonishment, I could see it tied to the stern of a yacht anchored 300 metres astern. The rescuer,an Englishman, had seen the dingy passing and immediately dived in to catch it. The odds of a successful outcome to this sorry event must be astronomical and I showed my gratitude with some good wine and a contribution to his cruising fund. Since then Mercury Man the outboard, who has been very troublesome, runs smoothly-perhaps the thought of his fate in the open ocean has brought about a change of character.
Not all the visitors are chartered catamarans. Lovely to see a Dutch sail training ship and several of the sailing cruise ships not to mention a fellow Shannon 38, albeit ketch rigged.
Although this is my 3rd visit to Bequia, I still find new delights. A recent find was some really stunning hand made silk prints featuring beautiful geometric pattens in subtle colours by a French artist. She is in her mid 80s and has lived on the island for many years. I visited her in her studio which has spectacular views over the bay. The photos hardly do justice to her work.
Another find was two brothers who make model boats often commissioned by visiting yachts. They work with a small range of simple tools, using mostly local timber, in a small very basic workshop. I had a happy time talking with them and may be able to help by putting them in touch with makers of model ship parts in the UK.
On the subject of wood, you may be interested to know that the wonderful sandy beaches lapped by the warm blue sea have a darker side to them. Some are shaded by the Manchineel tree. Its leaves, bark and fruit can make life very unpleasant.
My original plan was to transit the Panama canal and head west but the difficulties of finding good crew and the magnitude of the commitment called for a rethink. The attractions of the San Blas islands were strong enough for me to plan to go there via the ABC islands but I failed to give sufficient thought to returning east. Further research and advice from experienced cruisers has made me decide against that long haul east as the sailing back would be a serious challenge. So now I intend to rough it in the Windward and Leeward island chain until the start of the hurricane season and then head south to the ABC islands staying there until late November. Then I will head north again up the island chain and around early May 2012 head for the Azores.
In the meantime life is very pleasant and fulfilling here in Bequia. Next stop will be St Lucia.
