An imaginary cruise through the Grenadines & Grenada - Part 1

Last week, our dear friends and former boat partners were to have been cruising with us from St. Lucia through the Grenadines to Grenada. Since COVID 19 has changed everyone’s plans, I decided to take that trip in my imagination and share the highlights with you. So here goes...

On Saturday April 11th, Jeff & Kathy would have arrived at the Vieux Fort airport around 1:30pm. From there, they had an hour long taxi ride to Rodney Bay, where we would meet them in the marina. After loading their gear on Billy Ruff’n, we would have likely grabbed some beers and pizza at our favorite Italian restaurant, Elena’s.

The next day, we planned a 52 mile sail from Rodney Bay, St. Lucia to Cumberland Bay, St. Vincent. According to the weather that day, it would have been a lovely close reach with 15 - 18 knot winds out of the SSE. We planned to sneak in just before dark and skip the check-in process since it was just an overnight stop to break up the long trip to Bequia. Apparently, this is a friendly bay, unlike most on St. Vincent, where locals will dinghy out to get your restaurant order.

The next morning, we would weigh anchor around 8am to make the 35 mile trip to Port Elizabeth, Bequia. Winds were 10-16 out of the E with 4 ft waves for another nice reaching sail. We would have arrived around 2pm to anchor in Admiralty Bay, where we would check-in to the Grenadines. Bequia is a good place for provisioning, so we would have stocked up on cheese, wine, deli and frozen meats, which were difficult to find in St. Lucia. We also would have made some time to explore the shops for handicrafts such as scrimshaw, carved coconuts and hand painted calibashes.

We wanted to visit Mustique, a private island known as the playground for the rich and famous, and were advised that the best way to do do was via ferry from Bequia. So the next day, we might have hopped the ferry to enjoy the lovely hiking trails and The View, one of the less expensive lunch spots on this wild and restricted island.

Alternatively, we might have spent the next day exploring Bequia, enjoying some fish, sautéed conch or mutton for lunch on the beach and the views from Mt. Peggy.

On Wednesday April 15th, we planned to sail to Tobago Cays, a group of small, mostly uninhabited islands with well protected bays. After a 20 mile sail, in the usual 13-15 knots of wind out of the east, we would have anchored off Horseshoe Reef near Petit Bateau, where there is excellent snorkeling and turtle watching. These islands also provide for secluded walks on gorgeous beaches.

To be continued...