Chartering in The Grenadines.

DJE

DJE

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We're going in February.:D

Party of 6, probably in a Bavaria 45 from Union Island. Any recomendations on places to see and places to avoid. Any advice on pilotage, mooring, anchoring, etc?
We all normally sail 21 to 29-footers from the Solent so I expect there will be quite a bit to learn pretty quickly!
 
Good choice. Fab place to sail! Might want to consider Bequia the furthest north destination. The channel across to St Vincent is often yuk.

All the islands have their own character, go where the winds take you!!

Enjoy your stay.
 
Tobago cays

tobagocays.jpg
 
Sundowners at Jonti's Happy Island, built from conch shells out on the reef is a must do when on Union island, just mind the dinghy prop on the way back to your boat!!

What company are you chartering from?
 
Lucky devils!
Great sailing and a beautiful part of the world. May I suggest you allow two nights for the Tobago Cays.
Bequia is also a good overnighter.
I use Chris Doyle's "Sailing the Windward Isles". Full of practical and relevant info. "Noonsite" is also
very useful for the latest on security and crime. Headlands can be interesting, especially with wind over current.
Doyle's covers this well. Basically, arrive well reefed!
IALA B is in force, but please remember you are in the Caribbean!

ENJOY.
 
TQA said:
You will enjoy the landing at Union. Right hand bank around the anchorage, steep dive and plaster it on to the runway which ends in water.
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Sounds a bit like the old Kai Tak approach in Hong Kong but I suspect that we will be in a significantly smaller aircraft this time.
 
Chatham Bay on the West side of Union well worth a visit. Great place to kick back in the beach pool and watch the sunset. Good snorkeling along the cliffs too. Don't fill up water tanks there though, even though it's free if you eat at the Aqua restaurant, it's slightly chlorinated and tastes iffy.

We had a nice meal in a beachfront restaurant (using one of their mooring bouys) on Petite Martinique (seemed less tourists like us than other islands) and the following day had a fantastic snorkel around the uninhabited 'Fota' island just to the South West of Petite Martinique.

Tobago Cays is fantastic even if it can get busy. Birds feeding out of your hand and it's difficult to dive in without hitting a couple of manta rays and a turtle on the way down! Saw swimming iguanas there too which I thought were exclusive to the Galapagos Islands! Watch out for the local boat boys selling banana bread and yellow ice at extortionate prices though!

Very jealous.
 
TeeRev said:
What company are you chartering from?
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SWMBO has just finished finalising all the details of the booking. We're going with Sail Grenadines. Interestingly their boats are currently being shipped from their sister company in the Ionian!

Thanks for all the recomendations lots of useful stuff from the Forum as usual. I'll have to get hold of the Doyle Guide and do my homework. All the group are looking forward to the trip enormously now.
 
If you are dire need of watching the 6N rugby next February -
then just a couple of 100 metres down the road from the Union Island "airport" is a bar which was very happy to oblige for us, even though it was around breakfast time if I recall correctly....they get it on some french channel...I think its called the "chill-out" bar and definitely has a bob marley inspired theme!
 
We've sailed around there a few times but not since 2009, so I may be out of date.

Tobago Keys should be done once but there are usually at least a hundred yachts there and the wind howls at you so swimming is a bit of a chore. The feeling of being there is like nothing else though.

Union Island harbour and roundabout reef are astonishingly beatiful in colour, which is quite something for a bit of a beaten up place. I like it. Bequia really didn'nt grab me the first time we were there but it's grown on me.

Favourite places for us are always Mustique (lunch at the Firefly, pre-dinner at Basils, then dinner at the Cotton House) and Saltwhistle Bay on Mayreaux (and walking to the village for a night with Robert Righteous). Swimming ashore for dinner at PSV was a highlight one year.

Only place I really don't like is Canouan - the atmosphere is very strange in the village.
 
DJE, I've just had a look in my lockup and found my Windward Island Doyles as well as an Imray Grenada to Virgins Cruising Guide and a couple of Imray charts of the Grenadines. They're all from about 2008 which was our first trip out there but most of the sailing info should still be valid. If you would like to borrow them for planning your trip please let me know.
 
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