Somehow Admiralty bay Bequia was a beautiful night. Cool breeze, late anchor, on the second attempt, the hook was set, we cursed the windless, but damn if I didn’t sleep like a baby at the better anchorage location, only getting up twice to check on the world around. Well actually a few more times, but re-assured myself by looking out the window and spotting our neighbors, and consulting the gps, whose batteries were ‘low’, but a great nights sleep.

Didn’t even notice the ferry’s leaving that send rollers through the anchorage, almost cold, used the sheet as a winter parka to stay warm.

Woke up a bit hungy, so breakfast was in order. Diet coke it was. We still needed beer, and had plans to get going sometime today, not very far, but around the island and further east, to Mustique.

Made some bacon and scrambled eggs with home fries, getting pretty good at my home fries. Course bacon always rules.

Christine cleaned up my mess, and it was time to go ashore, beer beckoned.

Holy dingy dock, not a spot one. However, we found a pseudo spot on the corner, we came with 3 cases of empties to recycle, a bit of trash, and in search of a tater, green pepper, and any fruit, we could come by. The fruit stand is next to the trash, so we headed there first, left the empties in the dingy. Some new lady has setup her own stand 1/2 between the dingy dock and the real veggie/fruit market. Lots of action there. Felt sorry for our regulars in the fruit market. We dropped off trash and were heading back to the new lady, but fruit market guy recognized me, I’m stuck. He had Fresh tomatos, awesome ones too, we picked up a a few and a papaya, my favorite. RESPECT the locals and they remember you. Tho we did visit the new lady cause she had the avocados that looked good. Hard but good, talked her out of the 3 minimum requirement and our veggie fruit shopping bag was full.
Just adult beverages left.

The closest grocery store had what we wanted, but wanted to charge deposit, but hey, I had 3 cases of empties in the dingy, and they were of the same brand “Carib”. Ran, er, walked, to get them. Wrong, the carib from Grenada is different from carib from SVG, the glass bottles are different colors, brown vs clear, so its pointless to recycle.

Christine negotiates her Shandy’s down 30% off the initial price, to make em closer to my beer price, now if she can do that with the Vodka drinks we’d retire early.

Back to the boat, a few mins of internet, and we are off. Well as fast as our finicky windless will allow us, motoring around the corner directly into the wind. Up the coast, we drop the fishing lines, make water, and turn on the inverter to charge laptops, etc. Its getting rough, big waves as we clear the north east coast of Bequia. We head out into the atlantic bare poles, with out sails. We see our course, we head to wind, raise the main, 2 reefs its blowing 26 knots, fall off and pull 2 reefs on the jib, leave the motors running, making water and charging laptops. Not making enough electric to cover what we are burning, but top off both tanks with water.

Damn birds keep following our lures, then finally it happens. The big seagull picks up the line, with lure and tries to fly away, WTF? I thought fish were stupid but birds too? Looked harmless enough, kind of like we were flying a kite. Fishing line in the air, bird flying, but then the line wrapped around its wings. Into the water it fell, and now drug behind the boat. Doh. We slow the boat, reel in the line, and damn bird has a 4 inch beak and bitting anything close to it. Get it on the transom without it biting me, and it bites the swim ladder. I’m convinced the swim later now has the bird flue. I notice the fish hook hasn’t actually stuck the bird yet. So there is hope. Gently pulling the line, and swinging it over one wing at a time, I was able to get the bird untangled, and it fell into the water behind the boat. And then it flew, slowly, with difficultly at first, but it gained flight, and its buddies all clapped and high-fived his efforts.

A little while later the other reel started to sing, something small. Slowed the boat, something silver this time. A fish. Got closer it was a cuda, a quick action with the pliers and he was swimming again too. Done with fishing for the day, we are almost to the Rich and Famous.

We got here, a few moorings available, 3 or 40ish. We chose our favorite location, not easy to pick up the mooring, we had 3 options, but before we could execute either of them the harbor master showed up and plan 4 was executed and done much easier, we are hooked. For the next 3 nights.

Now, if you get here late in a ‘small boat’, under 60 feet you are allowed to anchor if the balls are all full or if you are over 60′ you are required to anchor. This is where the comedy starts, the 70+ beautiful sail boat, tries umpteen times to anchor all over the bay. Finally 1.5 hours later they get hooked. An Ex-charter boat, anchors next to us, little scope, it looks good, they dive on the anchor, 2 of the 4 crew think its good. 30 mins later we look up, they are 300 feet from us, oblivious that they are dragging back to venezuela. Finally they realize as I’m about to drop the dingy and tell em, and the harbor master see’s em trying to re-set the anchor next to us, takes them to the ‘rolley’ side of the anchorage, maybe they’ll set the hook there.

Cold beverages and good wifi, we are part of the rich and famous. Pesto chicken and pasta for dinner. Cold north wind, and by cold I mean 79 degrees, but we are sporting long sleeves on the foredeck.

Tomorrow, maybe some boat projects, a snorkel, a hike, who knows…..

Working hard has its meanings. Paddling out delivering bread and fruit in the morning.

Snack. Don’t mind the empties in tags sink.

Yes. The water is that color.

Boat that anchored next to us. About to realize they are not anchored at all.

Fun

North wind in the night, made for a chilly eve. Thats a sheet over the sunburn, instead of letting everything breathe.

So…. we need. Internet, Beer and water. The first two sounds like my requirements, but you’d be wrong. The geek in me is being trumped, but I understand so it is a NEED.

Feeling adventerous, we also could use some diesel, as the gauges are less than 1/2 full. Now thats enough for this trip, and possibly the next, but strange how we used that much fuel on the down island trip, course we did cover 600 miles into the wind. Yesterday, I wasn’t feeling up to coming into the dock, no real reason, fuel is not a necessity .. yet. But this morning, its almost like a couple of beers and its time to do it. Course the wind has changed and the surge doesn’t look too bad, and shoot, another catamaran looks to just have returned from the fuel dock. The cheapest fuel dock in the caribbean, mind you. So yeah, we can do it too, on our way to find beer.

A 60+ cat is at the dock as we raise anchor, we are some 2 miles away, but can see that the big lagoon catamaran is getting fuel. At least it gives us a spot to shoot for. We ready the shack before pulling anchor, discussing the side of the boat, the lines, where to tie the fenders. And we are off.

En route we notice another cat which looks to be bound for a similar spot. Since we have never been to this dock by mothership before and the big lagoon catamaran was still there, we decide to do a drive by to adjust the fenders. Just as we get to our drive by the Lagoon finishes and backs down on us, okay we get out of the way, and scramble to adjust the fenders.

You could surf these waves. We come in slowly, Christine tosses the bow line, it lands on the dock. Wheew. The attendant ties it off. Grabs the spring line, midship line, I rev the engines, get the stern near, grab the line and step off. WTF, what was I thinking, anyway, tied the stern off, we are secure. Holy crap, we are here, and bouncing off the dock. I say out loud, good thing we got “big balls”, and the dock attendant chuckles, cause he knows Im referring to the 36 inch round fenders that are almost squishing flat with each surge from the sea.

He asks what he can do for us. I’m like, lets get this transaction over with fast. Diesel. We get the hose aboard, I start the port tank a filling, ask christine for a flash light, its so bright out, but still can’t see down the fuel tank. We get to fueling. Ropes creaking, like inches from parting. Its a sound I can’t understand how it comes from ropes. Then a POP, okay what was that. Fender #2, of 4, got caught on the surge, and we are now a man down, we had a backup, a dirty old fender was quickly replaced, but our nice taylor made fender was floating down the seaway. Christine went after it, no she didn’t dive in, just followed it till it came out the stern of the boat, and grabbed it. The breaking strength of the line that broke could tow most cars. But the fender is good, she tied a new line on it and dropped it back in place,

Creaks and groans, doubled up the bow line, and we finished our fueling. Stress, 200%, then we had to pay at the office just off the pier, can’t we just leave? Okay, Christine jumps on shore and goes to pay, we see the Catamaran, I sorta cut in front of was our Chatham bay friends from South Africa. We should have gone over for sundowners, but never really left our boat after xmas in Chatham. We had 3foot fenders they had 1footers, I hope they made it through that swell experience.

Course the attendant says ‘yesterday’ it was calm here and we were open till 5pm. Oh well.

Day of replenisment, fuel topped up, still missing internet and beer. Difficult to make a decision, but Clifton was still full, so headed toward Canouan, not a great place, but we could get beer there, and maybe internet. We got close motoring, but looked at the clock. If we stopped there, it would be for the night.

Executive decision, raise the sail and push on to Bequia, can’t make Mustique with wind angles, Bequia has everything we need, its closer to Mustique and we can make water along the way. Raise the double reefs and motor sail as high as we could. Made it by 4pm, 1 hr before dark. Tried a new side of the bay, it was crowded, anchor stuck. Damn too close to another cat. Tried to justify it, I would be pissed if I was on the other cat. Pulled anchor, which over heated the windless, it took a while to get the entire rode up and off to somewhere else. Found a nice spot, windless still acting up but we got hooked and set before sunset.

Pork chops and grilled veggies for dinner, couple of rum-n-diets as beer was finished on the first anchoring.

View from Sugar shack’s luxury suite

Boat boy recharge zone

Dreams in the night tend to synchronize with the motion of the ocean, I was having a dream about eating dinner with friends at a fancy eatery. The house was rocking and bouncing when we looked out the window we notice it was raining and the restaurant was flushing down down the stream, rolling past the other restaurants and going with the current. It was starting to get rough, and loud noises were everywhere. Feeling like it was fun, but wasn’t in control, finally work up and shut the window as the rain was makings its way into the boat.

Realizing that the wind had picked up, and gusts were now to 30mph and had shifted a bit, it was a a great time for a boat check.. Actually the 3rd check by me, and 2nd by Christine. This one was fun.

The wind was howling the mono’s ahead of us got up too, were shining flash lights everywhere, went on the their bow, not sure what they were going go to, but at least everyone was awake. Watched for a while, the main storm had passed and with the wind shift we were even more safe from the Dream Yacht Charter. Tho when I woke up this morning, they had put fenders out on all sides, just in case. We had put 2 out too, the night before in their general direction, just so they would be available.

All good.. except the day calls for squalls in the AM, and real light winds, good thing we aren’t doing much today, just making some electricity and water after breakfast

Rain is a coming

It’s here.

Always after a shower. :).
P