Cruising the Grenadines Any tips ?

J

Jobs a good un

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Hi All

will be sailing the grenadines this season havnt ever been and was wondering where to go ?Tips on pretty anchorages ,restaurants,beach bars etc

Sailing from antigua after champagne party nelsons dockyard xmas day

Is water and diesel easy enough in the grenadines ??

Thanks

Mark
 
Fuel and water are available in Bequia which is a good place to make a base as it has most of the things you need.

Is this a charter? Charterers generally won't let you sail at night so you won't be able to get there in one hop. There are some good stop-offs along the way though clearing in and out can be a pain. The French are pretty relaxed about clearance so Bourg des Saintes makes a good stop-over as does Pointe du Bout in Martinique. Even if you can sail at night an evening in either of those places before going on is worthwhile.
 
Its always clearing in and out thats the nuisance. For St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Bequia, as mentioned, is best. Great place too. Possibly the best diving in the area.

Enables visits to Tobago Cays....great anchorage but festooned with T shirts for sale... Mayreau, check out Deniss's Hideaway and my favourite, Union Island. Clear in and out at the tiny airport.

Across from UI is Carricou, part of Grenada. Yup, tad confusing. Clear in and out at Hillsborough. Very friendly, sat and watched footy once with the customs guys. Tyrrel Bay, round the corner is great, check ot the floating bar.

Also gives access to Petit Martinique for cheapo diesel.

Plenty of other places, but those are the ones I know best. Lovely area, have a good cruise!
 
As others have said, this is one of the most interesting cruising grounds in the Carib. You'll enjoy it.

A few tips based on my experiences sailing there:

Be careful about crime on St. Vincent itself. There have been a lot of incidents. Be careful both on shore and at anchor.

The pilotage is really quite tricky. It's no place for a deep draft boat, if you want to explore everything. A catamaran is a good bet, if you're chartering.

If you're chartering, be aware that the local charter companies -- I won't name any names -- have low standards of maintenance. Pay more and charter a newer boat.

Tobago Keys is the most famous attraction in the area and it's definitely worth going (make sure you've got your snorkel gear and an underwater camera). But it gets really crowded and the anchorage is limited in area (the reef is protected and buouyed off). You will want to time your arrival for noonish in order to find a decent spot.

I thought Mustique -- one of the other well-known spots there -- rather dull and overdeveloped.

I loved Saltwhistle Bay, Mayreau. Much more unspoiled and interesting.

If you want a taste of local life, stop off at Clifton, on Union Island (only place you can get water anyway). I love wandering around the island, plus there are open air markets great for provisioning. It's a bit of a gritty working port, but a real taste of the real everyday life of the islands.

Petit St. Vincent has a great anchorage on the South side, great jumping off point for all kinds of dinghy adventures. Don't miss Mopion!

Have fun and post about your adventures.
 
Tobago Cays from the air. 10 years ago you could anchor anywhere inside the reef and clear of the coral heads. Looking to windward knowing there was nothing between you and Africa was pretty amazing.

tobagocays.jpg


If it's still there, do visit the turtle sanctuary on Bequia...

babyturtle.jpg
 
capnsensible said:
Union Island. Clear in and out at the tiny airport.
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Only out of hours. Clear in or out at the Customs and Immigration offices in the village of Clifton (separate buildings, but well marked buildings).

DO NOT buy diesel or water from the floating barge (Yellow thing and IIRC, it's called Daffodil). There is water in the diesel and diesel in the water.

On Mayreau, the restaurant just above the rasta bar is excellent and good value.

Buy Doyles Guide before you leave the UK.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sailors-Gui...=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1287321473&sr=1-1

Keep a look out for Stingo in all of the anchorages, there are always cold beers in the fridge.
 
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Get hold of Doyles guide for the area its about as good as it gets. However he doesn't mention all the good places but for your trip he will be fine. For what its worth:

Don't:
Stop at Wallilabou in St Vincent - the worst boats boys in the caribbean, its the only place I locked myself in at night in two years.
Get diesel from daffodil in Bequia - its rdiculously expensive.
Bother with Mustique, its expensive, you can't see much and the anchorage gets really rolly at times.
Bother with Canouan either.

Do:
got to the Cays - my favourite spot in the whole caribbean, yes there are boat boys but the service is good and they are not in your face, the holding is excellent, - if you dive -do the reef its great, if not snorkel its almost as good.
Go to Tyrell bay Cariacou lovely spot.
 
Seven Spades said:
I am intrigued with the concept of "Clearing Out". What are the consequences of just leaving?
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When you clear out, you are given a piece of paper which states where you have come from which you hand into Customs & Irritation on your arrival at your next port/country. I am sure it is all in the good interests of reducing drug trafficking, which you might be accused of if you don't have a "paper trail".

There was a young Kiwi bloke with a very tight budget that thought he'd save himself the fees by not clearing out of Trinidad and into Grenada. He was bust for 'people smuggling'. He had two young & naive Danish backpackers on board and when they tried to leave Grenada on another boat, Irritation asked why they had no entry stamp in their passports. He was fined EC$2500 (appox £600) and given 24 hrs to leave.
 
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Seven Spades said:
I am intrigued with the concept of "Clearing Out". What are the consequences of just leaving?
Click to expand...

With the exception of Martinique and Guadeloupe; when you 'clear in' to an island you must present your 'clear out' paperwork from your previous island.

Now there are people who cruise up and down the Island chain and never clear in or out and get away with it. However there is someone in jail in the BVI for doing this. Richard Baker is serving a ONE YEAR prison sentence in Tortola, his offence not clearing and fishing without a licence.
 
I sailed from Dominica to Antigua spending the Mardi Gras weekend in Guadeloupe. I couldn't find any customs open in Guadeloupe so couldn't clear in or out. When I arrived in Antigua with a 5 day old clearance from Dominica the customs at first wanted to send me back to Guadeloupe to get a clearance. I think they only relented because they got bored with my sob story of searching for the lazy French customs people.
 
Under international law you have the 'right of free passage' - you can stop at an Island and not clear in etc as long as you don't go ashore - we called it 'yellow flagging' - you still put your Q flag up. It allows you to Island hop up the chain without the hassle, when you arrive at the other end you explain that was what you did and as long as the timing makes sense there should be no problem - you will need departure paper from somewhere though. Had to explain it to the guy in Antigua rather forcibly until his boss came over and confirmed it. (he had been out at lunch for two hours - it was four in the afternoon)
There is also a system for the CARICOM countries (all except the French) called ESeaClear (google it). It is a web based system that allows much quicker clearances as it uses one electronic form which you fill in on line and then amend for each journey. It was coming into service 18 months ago although most customs people seemed to see it as a threat to their jobs.... Oh and it doesn't work for immigration.
The French islands are a bit of a joke as you can clear in and out at the same time at cafes in St Pierre and Anse DArlet for example. Sit in front of a tatty old computer, fill a from, print it out and get a bored waitress to stamp it.
 
Crowded but the best

Unlike most of the posters here, I find Mustique the highlight of any trip to the Grenadines. Hire a mini-jeep ("mule") for half a day to explore. Lunch at the Firefly, sunset drinks at Basil's Bar, and dinner at the Cotton House are great for top-and-tailing a holiday, and very different to the more independent evenings at anchor.

Saltwhistle bay is also a must-stop for us although I've had one night with very bad swell in there, and the food can be pretty crummy for the price charged by the hotel there. Walking up to the rasta bar in the village is a better bet where the charges match the simple food and great atmosphere.

My favourite bay - the Blue Lagoon - is now off the beaten track at the bottom of Grenada. When Moorings had the base nearby and didn't have Canouan then it was a natural first/last night - as Mustique is now.

Don't like Cariacou - either the run down town of Hillborough or the liveaboard boat park bay at the bottom of the island. The harbour at Union island is stunning, as is the scary flight in. There's an uncrowded and lovely bay on the other side of Union island - can't remember it's name.

Palm Island, PSV and PM are worth a visit but not a long stay IMHO. A meal in PSV is a lovely atmospheric night out. PM is the best place to refuel, although the wind can jam you hard against the quay.


Tobago Keys can have a couple of hundred yachts anchored and the wind is pretty noisy but what an amazing place to spend a night or two.

I've found Bequia both dull and great on different visits - it's grown on me, and is a good place to stock up or sort out a boat if it's your own. Canouan is grim - there's something about the islanders there, although the snorkelling is lovely at the northen end of the main bay.

Enjoy the inter-island winds and waves - I'm envious.
 
Hi Mark

Don’t miss out on Canouan after all you owe me a beer! It is not grim at all and the people are very kind (I’ve been based there over 10 months).

I was in Kingstown yesterday and have been there a few times and have not experienced any threat of violence. Some of the anchorages in St Vincent have a reputation for theft from unattended boats or at night.

Must see places for me are Bequia, Mayreau, Tobago Qays, Palm Island, Union Island and Petite Martinque. Doyle’s guide is all you need.

Water; widely available but can be expensive $1EC per US gallon for example. Fuel; if you can arrive with full tanks. Rum: ‘the strong one’ is over proof and is claimed to be the strongest in the Caribbean and costs around $20EC a bottle. Wine; very expensive so bring it or wait until Pette Martinque. Beer; usually $5EC a bottle in the average run shack. The best place to provision is St Vincent where there are good supermarkets and a great veg market everywhere else expect to pay over the odds. Lobster and fresh fish: Canouan you buy lobster for $15 a pound, refuse to pay more than $20 a pound and all fish at $8 a pound. Navigation; not an issue for a man who sailed out of Venice in fog.

Best wishes

Mike on Dark Horse

PS clear in or risk a fine if you visit the Tobago Cays. The park warden who collects the very reasonable park fees tips off the custom cutter if he does not see a St Vincent courtesy flag. The cutter arrives and the man says 'where's my flag'...
 
Grenadines

Hi Mark

Thanks for the useful info, esp about the clearing in and flying of the flag at Tobago Cays.

You obviously know your way around the area a bit. Do you have any suggestions for places to go for Christmas day lunch (beach bar or casual restaurant would be fine) and NYE. Maybe not looking for the full throttle massive party but a lively place for a bit of fun would be good.

Cheers

Tim
 
RupertW said:
Unlike most of the posters here, I find Mustique the highlight of any trip to the Grenadines. Hire a mini-jeep ("mule") for half a day to explore. Lunch at the Firefly, sunset drinks at Basil's Bar, and dinner at the Cotton House are great for top-and-tailing a holiday, and very different to the more independent evenings at anchor.
Click to expand...

I'll also put in a vote for Mustique. I saw a poster for the mini-jeep hire with prices on the quay. Asked at Basil's bar how to get over to the hire place and hire one for the day. Basil says come back in 30 mins and he'll have a lift waiting. Man from hire place takes us the couple of miles to the garage - manager says they're quite busy and the jeeps he has left are not the newest so do I want it for half-price!

Of course I agree as it looks fine to me and we have a great day visiting all the beaches around the island. On most of them we were the only people there. Use jeep to drive to Firefly for dinner and return to garage next morning. Manager then drives us back to harbour! All for about £30 if I remember correctly! (not the dinner at Firefly which was excellent but the most expensive we've ever had in the Caribbean - but then we knew it would be)

Richard
 
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