Mark, Rosie Mick and the Propellor

We have had a pretty busy last week to 10 days.  

We moved on from beautiful Chatham Bay after a couple of days there although we could have easily stayed longer as it was such a calm and quiet spot.  We sailed North intending to anchor at one of the other bays on either Mayreau or Canuan islands but ended up sailing all the way to Bequia as the anchorages looked a bit rolly.  Bequia was an island which we had called at on the way down when Steve was onboard but we only stayed a couple nights then as we were en-route to Grenada.

Bequia (pronounced Beqway) is a lovely small island with a very protected anchorage in Admiralty Bay which has the main town of Port Elizabeth.  It is a bit of a favourite stop for cruisers and a very friendly island.  We anchored off a beach on the southern side of the bay which was fairly protected although in the evenings the swell could wrap around the northern headland and produce a bit of a roll.  Most of the time was spent schooling and tidying up the boat in readiness for the arrival of our next guests, Mark Bradley and his daughter Rosie.  We looked around town again, had a meal out and managed to buy a painted calabash shell which was remarkably good considering the clouds of marijuana smoke surrounding the artist when we picked it up.

After a couple of days we sailed across the Bequia Channel and and picked up a mooring located in the lee of Youngs Island on the southern side of St Vincent.  The weather was not looking good for Mark and Rosie - windy and heavy rain squalls coming through on a regular basis.  Mark and Rosie arrived the next evening (9th Dec).  After delays with their internal island flight from Barbados to St Vincent they eventually got onboard near midnight looking suprisingly alert.

Mark and Rosie were only scheduled to be with us for a brief 5 days.  They had not sailed before and so we wanted to make sure they enjoyed the experience.  The weather forecast however for the whole coming week was for fairly blustery conditions with easterly winds around 20 to 25kts.  In Grenada we were told that the winds can pick up around Christmas time and this is probably what we are seeing.  The wind is not such an issue but the increase in swell which accompanies it can make many anchorages rather uncomfortable.  On Tuesday afternoon after waiting for a slight decrease in the wind we departed and sailed 16 miles to Mustique anchoring in Britannia Bay.  The sail was great although the seas were a bit on the rough side and the bay proved a bit rolly.

Britannia Bay - Mustique

Mustique is a private island and has homes for the rich and famous including Mick Jagger, Bryan Adams and Shania Twain, to name but a few.  You are allowed onshore and there are a few shops, restaurants, hotels to wander around and look at.  The island was originally bought by an English aristocrat called Tennent (I think).  He developed the island and encouraged his well heeled friends to invest.  From what little we know, Princess Margaret was a frequent visitor in the early years.  There is a famous bar called Basil's Bar on the waterfront and it has a blues festival every year at which Mick Jagger has been known to put in an appearance.  The island was not too busy while we were there.  

Just after we arrived we were relaxing in the cockpit when Calley spotted a couple of people on stand up paddle boards out past the yachts in the bay and  being steadily pushed seaward by the strong winds.  They were not waving to attract attention but looked anything but competent on the boards and were rapidly getting harder and harder to spot in the water.  Scott and Sam jumped into the dingy and went to investigate.  There was a man and woman and they were both pretty tired and had found that once out of the sheltered waters of the bay they could not turn the boards and paddle against the seas and so were getting taken rapidly towards Panama.  Scott and Sam took them in tow and deposited them just off the beach with neither of them apparently realising the possible danger they had been in.

This must be where Mick buys his veggies

That night we went ashore and had dinner at Basil's - its kind of a must if you visit Mustique.  The next day we had a look around the island  and then decided to push on to Friendship Bay on the southern side of Bequia to try and get out of the roll.  Friendship Bay was slightly better but still rolly.  We settled in for the night and cooked up some lobster we had bought of a local.

Rosie and dinner

The next day we pushed on back to Port Elizabeth.  As we were coming off the anchor the engine started to vibrate badly.  Scott went over the side and discovered that the propellor had thrown two of the four blades.  How this happened we have no idea at this stage but liklehood is that the locking pins were not secured correctly by Scott during the Grenada refit.  What ever happened, it is a major.  It is really disappointing as the boat has been working well.  We sailed to Bequia and picked up a mooring.  After due deliberation it was decided that we would sail the next day straight to Rodney Bay in St Lucia (78NM) where there is a travel lift big enough to lift Dulcinea out of the water.  Mark and Rosie were leaving us in St Lucia on Saturday anyway but it just meant that we could not show them the Pitons from the water which we had wanted to do.

Mark helming Dulcinea

We had a great sail to Rodney Bay although Nic is still uncomfortable with the boat heeling and so for her it was a bit anxious.  The boat has been sailing really well and seems to be going faster and pointing higher than ever.  Not sure if that is due to the clean hull, the clean log impellar or just us getting better at sailing.  We were doing a constant 10kts coming out of Bequia and averaged around 7kts for the whole trip which included us being becalmed in the lee of St Vincent for a while.  Sam and Rosie helped Scott helm as it was a 12hr sail - Rosie did a fantastic job given it was her first time.

Rosie on the helm

So here we now back in Rodney Bay.  Mark and Rosie left us on Saturday after a final kneeboarding session.  We are all looking forward to Christmas in New York where we were told there is now 6 inches of snow.  The kids are so excited.  We fly out on the 19th for a couple of weeks.  Before that the boat will be lifted out of the water and new propellor blades will be ordered and hopefully arrive by the time we return.  Rodney Bay is alive with boats as the ARC (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers) fleet is just arriving.  There are boats everywhere and the marina is packed - a good time to leave for New York.

Union Island

Moved from Petit St Vincent after only one night and made the short uneventful crossing to Clifton Harbour on Union Island.  The crossing may have been uneventful but the anchoring certainly wasn’t.  We had touched by Union Island on the way south a few months earlier but had not stopped other than to clear out with immigration and customs.  This time after clearing in we planned to stay a couple of days for a look around.

The small harbour is interesting in that it has a significant reef right in the middle forming two distinct anchoring areas either side which meet just off the town.  i.e. the clear water forms a horseshoe shape.  On one side the harbour is enclosed by fringing reef and on the other side the by the island and the town of Clifton.

We came in to anchor on the inner side of the reef, set down the anchor and laid back on it.  Once we had snugged up it felt like we were lying too far into the channel so we upped that anchor and tried a different spot in between a couple of moored boats a bit closer in which was shown to us by one of the local boat boys.  We set the anchor but were still not happy and when we went to recover anchor the windlass froze.  Later it appeared that the anchor had snagged on the seabed and this had tripped the windlass breaker.  Anyway there we were tethered to the seabed with the wind pushing us around on the surface.

Everything then seemed to happen at once.  The wind started gusting and pushing us sideways towards another anchored boat. Scott was down below working on getting the windlass power restored, we had a local diving on the anchor trying to free it and another local onboard assisting.  Nic, Sam and Calley manned the starboard rail with fenders and we settled alongside the other boat.  Luckily the impact was very soft and we had fenders well positioned so no damage was sustained to either vessel.

Happy Island from our anchorage

The diver freed the anchor and we motored across to a free nearby mooring and secured Dulcinea.  Scott fixed the anchor windlass which was, we think, just the breaker tripping.  Meanwhile the owner of the boat we had touched came out in a dingy and made a big show of looking for damage on his hull and then tried to tell us that a scatch in his bow was caused by us.  This was complete BS and Nic very nicely informed him of this.  Luckily the local guys were our witnesses and they confirmed we had not damaged his boat.  That did not stop him circling our hull looking for a matching scratch.  In the end he had to admit there was no damage.

After calming down, Scott and Calley walked to the airport to clear the boat and passengers in through customs and immigration.  We then slipped the mooring and anchored in some clear water nearer the entrance to the harbour across from a little island on the reef called Happy Island.  There is only a dingy dock and a bar on the island.  Hence the name I guess.

Clifton is a really nice town.  We were ashore the next day after school and had a look around.  It is quite busy as it services a small upmarket island/resort called Palm Island which lies just offshore, the Tobago Cays and probably Petit St Vincent.  They had some colourful stalls with even more colourful fresh fruit and vegetables for sale.  We also found a kind of goumet deli run by an interesting French lady.

Clifton Main Street

Stalls in Clifton

The weather changed for the worst over the next two days.  On the first day and night we had thunderstorms with very heavy rain falling in squalls with winds to 40kts.  Luckily we were in a pretty secure anchorage and although open to the wind the reef broke the seas.  Even so there was a bit of movement on the boat.  

We get bad weather here also

In the middle of the second night we heard a “pan pan” call on the radio from a boat which had dragged its anchor not far from Dulcinea.  A “pan pan” is put out for a serious emergency but one in which the vessel or crew is not in immediate danger.  The boat, a 44ft charter vessel called Brio, had dragged its anchor and had drifted onto the reef in the middle of the harbour and was now rocking back and forth on its keel.  Scott heard the call on the radio, got up and spoke with them initially just relaying messages to a St Vincent coastal station which would hopefully be able to get some assistance.  With no immediate help forthcoming Scott and Sam loaded the dingy with rope, chain and a spare anchor and went across to assist.  The idea was to set a second anchor which would allow them to winch themselves off the reef.  

Once at the yacht it was apparent that the second anchor idea was not going to work for one reason or another and instead Scott decided to go into town and try and raise some local help.  In the end he managed to get a local with a boat boat with a big outboard to come and tow them off.  When we saw them in the morning everything was good although Sunsail were negotiating with the locals who were after a US$2000 salvage fee.

We left Clifton yesterday (3rd Dec) and motored around to the leeward side of the island to a bay called Chatham Bay.  This is such a beautiful spot; deep, calm, protected, beautiful beach and hills all around with only a handful of beach bars/restaurants onshore and half a dozen yachts nearby.  The locals are eager to sell us what we need in the way of bread, lobster, fish etc.  It is great to be in a totally protected bay again as we have been rocked about to some degree ever since leaving Grenada.

Chatham Bay

Only issue is one of nudity - not on our part but others.  There are some in the sailing fraternity who espouse a greater obsession with being naked and it is not uncommon in an anchorage to see people getting their gear off.  For some reason or another the French seem particularly fond of this.  Generally, we are of the opinion "each to his own", however yesterday we had a boat anchor just about on top of us and then proceed to get naked and go swimming.  Maybe we are prudes but I think not.  Bottom line is get as much gear off as you like but if this is your intention don’t anchor right on top of someone.   

We will stay here a couple of days doing, yes you guessed it - school, and have a look around onshore.  The calm water will also allow us to take the kids kneeboarding.