Bequia

Hello From Bequia. This is a small delightful Island. Immediately after splashdown in Prickly bay we sailed around Grenada to the capital city, St. George where we loaded the boat full of good stuff, like beer, along with other food and checked out with customs and immigration. Next morning the port engine would not start. I checked the battery and all looked OK, so I switched the starting battery with the one from the generator and the engine started. So, the battery must be bad. Back into town to buy a new battery. These things are heavy when you are on foot. We put the sails up and headed 40 miles north for the Island of Carriacou, smash and bash to windward in 20-25 knots of wind and 5-7 ft seas. Hard on the wind all the way. We passed by Tirrel bay crowded with lots of boats so elected to anchor in near deserted Hillsborough bay. That was a mistake! The hills are arranged such that the wind builds up getting thru the passes, then releases and comes down as bullets - gusts of 25-30 knots. You will be sitting there quiet and peaceful and here it comes - the anchor ropes creak and groan until it passes. That happened all night.

Next day up at 6am for the 36 mile sail to Bequia. The port engine would not start - think of spending your life in this windswept bay! Then, finally putting the brain in gear, I went down into the engine room and removed the wiring connections to the starter solenoid. It was corroded. A 12 Volt system cannot tolerate even a little corrosion. Bob’s your uncle - the engine started fine! So off we went for more smashing and bashing to Bequia. It turned out to be a better sailing angle and we averaged more than 8 knots, but not without some excitement. We were about 1/2 way, moving along in 25 knots of wind when the rear reefing block on the sail disintegrated with a loud BANG, and the sail went slack. Not a serious problem, we headed up a bit and put the reefing line back into service without the block. Will replace the block later. We are now sitting happy in the bay enjoying a cold beer. Will probably do the same tomorrow. Then head out 65 miles to Rodney Bay, St. Lucia. We have always sailed right past the large high Island of St. Vincent, not because we dislike the island or the people, but anchoring is difficult. The island is high and steep such that we would need to anchor in very deep water. When we passed thru here 18 yrs ago, we anchored in 50ft. of water and tied a long rope from the stern to a coconut tree. Not my favorite anchoring technique.