Seeking advice on a a St Lucia / Mustique trip

[Nick1234]

First post on this forum, so I hope I'm in the right place to see advice...

I'm planning our honeymoon for June this year. Flying in to St Lucia mid June; the first week will be visiting St Lucia and then the second week Mustique. The normal journey trip is to take a twinprop from St Lucia to Mustique; I am interested in the possibility of spending only a few nights on land at St Lucia, then chartering for a few days to make the crossing, rather than flying.

I grew up being taught sailing by old RN salts, and I've sailed for many years in European waters - English channel crossings, Brittany, and various parts of the med, but have never visited the Caribbean, so am unclear about the sailing conditions in June; and the step from St Lucia to St Vincent does appear non-trivial. I don't really want my honeymoon to become an unintended "adventure", but the romance of sailing to the 2nd island is very appealing...

Welcoming thoughts/advice...

 

[RichardS]

St Lucia to St Vincent (if you stop, stop in the South of St Vincent) is weather dependent. We had an easy sail down and went straight through to Bequia for a couple of days before pushing on to Mustique and beyond .... but a bit of a wild ride back a week later and broke the return journey in the Blue Lagoon. I understand that this experience is the norm.

The clearing in and out of the different countries is rather a faff.

Richard

 

[Neil_Y]

When I sailed there a few years back, heading south, Mustique would have been a bash upwind and quite lumpy from Bequia, so we missed a few islands and had a close reach to canuan. It can be quite lumpy between the islands and even the beam reach options can be a wet ride when it's windy. The tricky thing is it can be nice to get in the lee of the islands but staying west of Bequia leaves you a bit of upwind (much of the time) to Mustiue.
Staying East of Bequia gives you a better angle but you're out of the protection of the islands, really it will depend on the weather when you get there.

 

[RupertW]

We sailed a lot around there a few years back.

St Lucia (the Pitons) to Union Island was a lovely overnighter - with big bouncy waves between islands and calm in their lee but mostly downwind and warm. Mustique up to St Vincent was similar to Richard's experience - you are going uphill.

Was possible then to go one way from Moorings base in St Lucia to leave it at their base in Canouan with a bit of an extra fee to get it back up again. Well worth exploring more of the islands especially Mayreau and Tobago Keys although Mustique has always been a favourite. Didn't like Bequia the first couple of times we visited but it really grew on me.

 

[TQA]

I have been cruising this area in my retirement for years.

The anchorage off Moustique is notoriously rolly so bad as to make ordinary boat life risky in a monohull. You might get a calm few days but not something I would risk on my honeymoon.

The Moorings base in Canouan is closed.

Going South from St Lucia to usually a pleasant sail. The same can not be said for the return ESPECIALLY if done on a schedule. I wait till the wind ticks well South of East before making that trip.

Rolling her guts out at Moustique then beating her brains out slamming to windward from St Vincent up to St Lucia might well result in a quick divorce.

I know of no charter company who would do a one way from St Lucia to Mustique.

If ou wanted to do some sailing I might suggest you look at chartering out of Blue Lagoon in St Vincent and taking in the Tobago Cays.

 

[RupertW]

If ou wanted to do some sailing I might suggest you look at chartering out of Blue Lagoon in St Vincent and taking in the Tobago Cays.

You have sailed the waters a lot more than I have obviously but in the 5 or 6 times I've taken a bouy at Mustique there has been very little rolling - Saltwhistle Bay in Mayreau has that memory for me - so happy to be in a cat then. Nice sail down from St Vincent but the last few miles back are to Blue Lagoon interesting - but don't last long.

Sorry to hear about Canouan from a logistics point of view but never liked the island itself - very odd atmosphere.

 

[t21]

Yeah, hum, i agree with TQA not gteed a great plan .... plenty of room for crashity bang. If you were both ooh gosh wow can't wait to do some sailing that would be one thing - but sounds like it is just you all keen on the sailing idea, her not so much?

Hardly any tide, carib is generally loads less complex than sailing in europe cos fewer boats n ships. June is hot for brits, usually quite fab weather. But it would be quite "normal" for winds to be 20-25 knots from the NE the whole time. Or it could be very gentle and wind from SE for the return leg. There'll definitely be wind, and best bet EF4-5 sea 2metres.

If renting a boat - live in that the second week, all from Rodney Bay in St Lucia? I'd hang out in Bequia, enough for a week.