Itinerary for a week's charter from St Vincent needing to be in Mystique on Thursday...

[grumpy_o_g]

...leaving Sunday and getting back Saturday evening. Bunch of old farts mostly but a couple of youngsters along who will do what they're bloody. Also any tips on provisioning appreciated.

Thank you all in anticipation...

 

[Jeannius]

My knowledge is from10 years and more ago but, as no one else has chipped in, here goes... I presume you are starting in the Blue Lagoon area. Do as much provisioning as you can from there as, going south, there is little in the way of decent sized supermarkets until you get to Grenada. Don't spend too much time on St Vincent itself as it wasn't very welcoming when I was there. Head off to Bequia. If you have the time spend two nights as it is a fun location. Then, if you want to make it to Grenada, straight down to Union otherwise Canouan. There was a lot of development happening on Canouan last time I was there so it is possible there could now be provisioning. If not going to Grenada then across to Mayreau and the Tobago Cays otherwise clear out on Union and head straight for St Georges on Grenada. Then work your way back up stopping at places you've missed aiming to arrive Mustique on Thursday. Mustique will charge you 3 nights mooring so you might as well have the Friday night there as well before heading back to St Vincent on Saturday.

How you play it depends on how much time you want to spend sailing and how much at anchor. It is easy to spend a month doing the area without getting bored if you have the time. Have fun.

 

[grumpy_o_g]

My knowledge is from10 years and more ago but, as no one else has chipped in, here goes... I presume you are starting in the Blue Lagoon area. Do as much provisioning as you can from there as, going south, there is little in the way of decent sized supermarkets until you get to Grenada. Don't spend too much time on St Vincent itself as it wasn't very welcoming when I was there. Head off to Bequia. If you have the time spend two nights as it is a fun location. Then, if you want to make it to Grenada, straight down to Union otherwise Canouan. There was a lot of development happening on Canouan last time I was there so it is possible there could now be provisioning. If not going to Grenada then across to Mayreau and the Tobago Cays otherwise clear out on Union and head straight for St Georges on Grenada. Then work your way back up stopping at places you've missed aiming to arrive Mustique on Thursday. Mustique will charge you 3 nights mooring so you might as well have the Friday night there as well before heading back to St Vincent on Saturday.

How you play it depends on how much time you want to spend sailing and how much at anchor. It is easy to spend a month doing the area without getting bored if you have the time. Have fun.

Many thanks Jeanius - in Tobago Cays now and heading up to Mustique this afternoon.

 

[capnsensible]

It used to be that you have to pay 2 nights mooring in Mustique even if you only use it for 1. Worth it though.

Basil's Bar is a tad pricey, but again, worth it.

Don't sit under the trees with a red band painted on them if it's raining. Poison in the leaves....

Brilliant run ashore though. Enjoy!

 

[Bajansailor]

Many thanks Jeanius - in Tobago Cays now and heading up to Mustique this afternoon.

Where have you been to so far, and what were your observations about these places?

 

[grumpy_o_g]

Where have you been to so far, and what were your observations about these places?

Bequia (Admiralty Bay) briefly for an overnight at anchor. Tobago Cays, Mustique, Bequia again , this time Friendship Bay, back to St. Vincent. Scheduled was determined by need to be in Mustique on Wednesday for a Birthday party and, much to my surprise by a desire to watch football matches (that was a surprise to me but it was a few of the crew wanted and I didn't really mind it too much given the lack of wind and hot weather). It was always going to be a very family oriented holiday anyway rather than about sailing and getting to as many places as possible and that suited me.

Bequia is a lovely island and probably my favourite - a good size and a laidback slightly touristy vibe despite there not being that many tourists. The bays are perfect for anchoring and given the light to non-exist westerlies the two nights in Friendship Bay anchored off Bequia Beach Hotel were great - a mystery tour in a taxi (bench seats down either side of a long bed) was the highlight but a few hours walking around Port Elizabeth and some beers (my gout behaved the whole trip despite me having 3 or 4 Haroun a night), a hike along the sea wall to Tony Gibbons Beach where the ladies ignored the warning saying the sea path was closed and at your own risk whilst the rest of us tried to climb up a mountain in 30+°C and ended up walking all the way down again and following their guidance more than filled the days.

Tobago Cays is picture postcard and we got lucky with our mooring - about 10 metres from the turtle sanctuary and 75 metres from the beach. Not much to do once you have gotten over the beauty of the place but the traditional Lobster Barbeque on the beach is worth every cent, especially as you get ferried from the boat to the beach and back so don't have to faff with the tender. It's an absolute must-do in the Grenadines if you are like me and more used to Essex and South Mud than white sand and palm trees. Tobago Cays was used for quite a bit of the Pirates of the Caribbean, including the bit where Jack Sparrow and Elizabeth Swann get marooned on a desert island (for the second time for Jack Sparrow) but which actually contains an old smugglers cache of rum, etc. Elizabeth Swann burns all the rum to create a massive fire which attracts the Navy's attention who then "rescue" them. It was interesting hearing a couple of the locals talking about the filming - probably all true as it was about the prosaic stuff like transferring gear around and trying to keep the public away.

Mustique - Basil's Bar is great and there was a good personal reason my friend chose to have his 60th Birthday there but otherwise I wouldn't bother - we would probably have gone on to Martinique instead. It's a bit like being in Beverly Hills except you can't even get a tour to gawp at the houses.

St. Vincent is a wonderful island with plenty to do, If you're fitter than me you can hike up to the Volcano (roughly equal to Snowdon in difficulty but with the added heat and humidity). Kingstown (pronounced with the emphasis on town, NOT like "KINGstonn" Jamaica) is a great place with a couple of good markets and just nice to be in as it really gives off that Caribbean vibe. We had a Villa for a week before the charter so go to know the island well but still had plenty we hadn't seen.

The boat was a Lagoon 45 - absolutely perfect as we spent much of the time under motor and 10 of us managed to live on it for a week without killing each other. It was a little tired and needed a few things fixing - the in-line reefing especially was a problem. Main issue was a far too rushed handover by the charterer. He covered everything but at such a rate you basically ended up just working it out yourself. It was all good in the end and just typical Caribbean really. Anyone who says they have seen 10 knots in a Lagoon 45 is braver than me and there's zero feel to the helm. As a floating caravan to visit the islands though it's perfect and a perfect choice for us given the lack of wind. The week in a Villa beforehand (a fantastic place up a track that even the locals thought was rough) was amazing - google maps for Dublin House, Brighton, St Vincent and it is marked (they've just finished and we were the second guests since to was built) if you want to look at it. We had the use of a Jeep Cherokee for the week we were there which was perfect for us to get around. AirBnB undersell this place with the listing (Modern 4 bedroom with gorgeous views - Villas for Rent in Brighton, St. George, St Vincent & Grenadines)

The weather was very unusual by local standards - we had the normal very high 20's, pleasant Easterlies and rain showers occasionally the first week (when we had no boat) but the second week was no wind at all effectively - maybe a Force 2 occasionally in places, no rain at all and slightly hotter than usual (low 30's). Nice but not sailing weather but the Lagoon is about comfort and space rather than performance so motoring is fine. If you are going for the sailing then the BVI or even the Med has the edge. The great thing about the Grenadines is the very close spacing of the islands and the incredible friendliness and honesty of the people. They are tourist places but there isn't this since of segregation and it's the best part of the Caribbean (I "know" Barbados, the BVI and Jamaica if you can call 2 week tourist visits over a few decades knowing) if you don't have street smarts or don't like being hassled. Honestly the friendliness was incredible and there was never even a hint of hostility or resentment. It was great o be able to go the pretty high end beach bars and find that the majority of the guests were locals. Mind you St. Vincent is part of an alliance and has very close ties with Cuba and Venezuela which probably says a fair bit about the government of the Island unfortunately.

Overall I'd put the Grenadines at the top of my list of favourite Caribbean places. Get there soon though as American airlines are about to go from one flight a week to one flight a day. Canouan and Uinon Island both have airstrips and apparently provisioning too now as per Jeanius's post (thanks Jeanius ) - the tip was spot on though as we didn't intend to visit either (save something for next time). The only I'd disagree about was the friendliness of the locals in St. Vincent - we got offered lifts, a lovely lady jumped in the back of our car to show us the way to our villa when we got lost and didn't even expect a lift back never mind anything else (but was happy to accept a few EC dollars). One of the ladies got chatting to a local lady on Young's Island (effectively part of St. Vincent) and she gave us a lift in her pick-up to a glorious hotel and bar to watch the sunset from a fantastic position with a beer/rum punch/mojito in our hands, then gave us a lift back to our car. Everyone was just fantastic. The second ever holiday I've had where I want to go back and do it again in exactly the same place (the other was a trip down the Rhein and Mosel but I will do that on the 'bike so not sure that counts). Very highly recommended - it is an expensive holiday but then all yachties are rich aren't they?

 

[Bajansailor]

@grumpy_o_g what a wonderfully honest and frank and heartfelt account, thank you!
So many people invariably slag off St Vincent but I think it is a lovely island.
I shall bookmark your post for future reference, for when anybody asks me about sailing in the Grenadines and St Vincent.