Deh Red Cap Tradition....The Easter Bequia Regatta

Today is Tuesday April 4th and we have been on the island of Bequia for five exciting and interesting days.  If you had told me that I would be racing on a 45 foot Jeanneau before I came I would have said "NO WAY...I don't ever want to race and besides I could never deal with the heeling of the boat?!"  Well never say never.

The Bequia Easter Regatta is sponsored by both Heineken and Red Cap Mount Gay Rum.  Anyone who races in the regatta gets a red cap.

Rob had raced when he had been here 13 years ago and wanted to get involved again.  I said I would be the official photographer.  Rob met David, a racer from Antigua who needed crew for the first race.  Rob agreed and joined David and his crew David on Fiesta.  He had also talked to a Canadian boat called Skye 1 who needed crew but had not made any commitments.  On the morning of the first race Rob left to join Fiesta and the two Davids and I settled down for a quiet relaxing morning in the cockpit.   Captain Pat of Skye 1 arrived to see if Rob was still available and of course I said he had left.  Well the rest is history.  Within 15 minutes I was dressed in boat shoes, sailing gloves, a red cap, a Bequia regatta T-shirt and ready to race.

The regatta is divided into different categories and both Skye and Fiesta were classed as cruising boats and placed in racing class 2.  A larger boat has to give so many minutes of time to smaller boats based on size and sail in order to make the race fair.

 
I took a picture of Fiesta soon after we started the race.  You can imagine the look on Rob's face when he saw me on Skye 1.  It was an exciting race and Skye placed 4th, and Fiesta came in a minute ahead of us with a third place.  This was in a field of 17 registered boats.  We actually were second across the finish line; however when the times are adjusted based on size of sail etc. we were given the 4th place.

Here is a picture of the happy crew at the regatta party on race day one. Captain Pat and his wife Miriam and their friends Gerry and Brenda (showing 4 fingers) from home.

  Home is New Brunswick for both couples. Pat and Miriam have been sailing in the Caribbean for many years and have lots of years of experience.  Pat has even been through a coast guard helicopter rescue 150 miles from Bermuda.  He and four other men were delivering a boat to the Caribbean in November and broke their rudder and got caught in 25 foot seas and squalls.  He has great respect for the coastguard and the specialized swimmers that rescue you in the water.  The swimmers have to tow the victims to the helicopter basket.  For obvious reasons the helicopter can not be hovering anywhere too near the sailboat.

 The sponsors provide free drinks for about the first hour of the party so there are usually plenty of smiles on everyone's faces whether they have won or not.

On the second day of racing Rob joined Skye 1 as crew as the Davids had crew for Fiesta.  It was a long and arduous race around the island of Bequia.

This picture was taken by a professional photographer of us sailing on day two.  Rob bought the picture for Capt. Pat and Miriam.  If you have any doubt of the speed we were sailing the picture says it all.  Unfortunately Skye's sails were starting to blow out and before the day was done we were roller reefing the main and duct taping the head sail because of damage.  Despite the problems we came in 7th and Fiesta was 5th with her new French crew member.

On the lay day from racing we had happy hour on board Skye and they told us that they had decided not to sail in the third race.  A combination of sail damage, sailing stress and a decision to move on to show Gerry and Brenda some other islands were no doubt the reasons.  Interesting enough even without the last race points Skye came in 6th overall.

 Six boats did not race in the third competition and unfortunately because of this we were not awarded our consolation prize....often a bottle of rum and Pat and Miriam had authorized us to pick it up.  We can't help but wonder how Skye would have done if we had raced in the final bay race? As it happened I was glad that I wasn't racing on the third day as I was able to get some wonderful pictures of the local double enders sailing.  

Fiesta ended up in second place overall in cruising class 2.  The two Davids and their two pick up crew accepted a lovely wooden half boat carved in Bequia as their prize from the Minister of Tourism for St. Vincent and The Grenadines.  Both Davids live, sail and race in Antigua so they are no strangers to racing.  Nothing like being pick up crew and being on a boat that places in the top three.

Bequia is an island of sailing, fishing  and boat building.  They also have a long history of whaling and they are still allowed to take two whales each season in the traditional way using a wooden sailing vessel.  Gratefully we have heard that the number of men who have the skills to do this are dying off and not being replaced.    Another of the skills that are passed down  on this island of five thousand is wooden boat carving.  Rob has always wanted one of the wooden double enders.  He bought a model from one of the local craftsmen ....but the harpoons had to be removed!

Look at the size of the crew member on deck and you will get some reference for size.

In between tacks on the south coast of Bequia I had a chance to get some shots of some of the other race boats...J-24s, Surprise Class and the local double enders.

This is one of the local wooden 28 foot double enders.  At least 3 or 4 of the guys hike out with hiking straps....a good abdominal workout.

Deh New Country....The Grenadines (St. Vincent)

After almost two weeks in Port Egmont varnishing and fixing the captain and crew of Celebrian decided it was time to do some cruising.  We joined Carl and Riva from Three Belles for the pizza night at Le Phare Bleu and then cleared customs the next morning and headed for Port Halifax on the east coast of Grenada where we spent the night.

 The big boats can make it all the way to Carriacou, Grenada or Union Island in the Tobago Cays, St. Vincent with their long waterlines but we decided it was safer to do it in two stages. Technically we should have left the country on the day that we cleared out; however we knew that it was unlikely that any official would find us in a little fishing bay on the east coast of the island. There was not a lot of room to anchor because of hydro wires strung across the anchorage so it was a little dicey finding a shallow enough spot to anchor where we would not swing into the wires but eventually we got the hook down.

The bay was a hub bub of activity with numerous little fishing boats and a larger boat out of the town of Guavave.  The fishermen told us that we needed to be out early in the morning because that is when they set their nets. At the crack of dawn they were back.

 We were up a little before 6am just in time to be greeted by the men.  It took us about 8 hours to motor sail to Union Island but we were fortunate that the wind was just south of east and allowed us a direct course.  This passage is usually a very difficult one because you are often sailing hard into the wind and waves.  If you look at a map of Grenada, Carriacou and the Grenadines you will see the course direction.  The trade winds blow consistently 10-20 knots and mostly from the east and east northeast.  

We arrived in Union Island in time to go to the little airport with the ski jump run way and do some food shopping at the local market.  
 

 
We asked for local recommends for take out and had a beautiful meal of king fish and chicken at The Fair Deal Restaurant and store.  While waiting for our take out we were entertained by a little gecko.

Union Island is a busy port as it is the only island with customs in the Grenadines and it is the island closest to The Tobabo Cays, the play ground of the charter boats and cruisers alike.  The cays are five small islands situated behind a gigantic reef called Horsehoe Reef.  The reef breaks the waves and boats are able to anchor behind the reef and among the little uninhabited islands.

 

Shown here is the anchorage with the reef off in the distance.  Of course there is no protection from the wind because you are out in the middle of the ocean but the breeze is welcome especially at night when the temperatures are high 20s.

Our friends Dennis, Arlene and their son Scott are here in the anchorage for a couple of days.  We joined them for dinner on Tiger Lily and then the next night they joined us on Celebrian.  After cruising in the Caribbean for 20 years they are fountains of information and stories.

 We went snorkelling with them out to the reef in their dinghy.  The reef drops off and the wall of coral is quite lovely.  For the first time in my life I swam with a turtle that wasn't in a hurry to get away.  It was such a thrill.  The turtles seem to know that they are safe in this reef sanctuary unlike in other islands where the locals are allowed to hunt turtles.  It was lovely to swim in clean and clear water again after some of the harbours we have been in.

The next day Rob and I took our kayaks to the turtle sanctuary area and at one time I had five turtles in sight.  The largest ones had shells upwards of three feet.  The sanctuary is a sea grass area where no one is permitted to anchor.

The only down side of the Tobabo Cays is that the wind is very strong and the paddling is very hard.  Paddling into steady chop and a plus 20 knot wind is challenging especially when the kayak fills up with water.  After four days we decided it was time for a change and we motored around to the island of Mayreu.

Mayreau is part of the marine park area as but the island has a community and a population of fishermen.  We went ashore and found a group of children involved in their local track meet.

 They had put chalk on the ground to make lanes for their track.  The kids run in bare feet and go like the wind.

When you arrive in many of the areas of the Grenadines you are greeted by what are called "boat boys" offering everything from moorings, fish, bread to lobster BBQs.  While in the Tobago Cays we had both bread and salmon delivered to Celebrian.
At Mayreau we decided to go to Freddy and Dennis's lobster BBQ.  This picture shows Dennis getting the lobsters prepared for the BBQ.  Each boat boy brings his sides to the BBQ for the guests that they have wrangled to the BBQ.

This picture shows us with Freddy and our spread of 3 lobsters, coleslaw, rice and garlic potatoes.  Dennis had 8 Norwegian guests and Freddy had us.

Rob tried the local beer Haroun made in St. Vincent and I forced down a rum punch!?

Today is Thursday March 28th and we are anchored in Bequia, an island in the Grenadines about 22 nautical miles north of The Tobago Cays and Mayreu.   We are here for the Bequia Heineken Easter Regatta.  There are four days of racing planned with both modern and local wooden boats. We are especially looking forward to seeing the local boats.

The anchorage is chock a block with boats and activity but the water is clean enough to swim in where we are anchored.  It is entertaining just sitting in the cock pit watching all of the activity.  Some of the boats we see are huge.  In fact we saw the largest catameran we have ever seen ....probably a hundred feet long which means 200 feet of hull!?!?

These pictures show the anchorage and some of the activity.  The large boat in the background is the Star Clipper sailing cruise ship which probably takes about 250 passengers.  When it got dark it put on quite the light show.

Today we plan on going ashore and checking out the regatta information as well as picking up a few groceries.  Bequia is a yacht friendly island.

                                                                 Ebony and Ivory!?!

Deh Life in Port Egmont

The captain is back in the locker again! 

 This time he is re-wiring the fridge which has been acting up this last week.  It is a worry when you see the temperature rising on the freezer plate.  We definitely do not want a melt down. Once again the captain amazes me and our fridge seems to be behaving properly once again.  We have also had to BOAT (Break Out Another Thousand)...gratefully not a thousand but a couple of hundred for another battery.  We were hoping to limp along on the one good new one and the three others but even with Hal charging up a storm of wind amps we haven't been able to hold our charge.  We bought four new batteries last winter in The Bahamas and now Rob is suspecting that they may not have been Trojan batteries after all.  The tropical climate is very hard on batteries but we shouldn't have needed to replace the two we have this year; however we are our own public utilites so we do what we have to do.  

This picture shows laundry day on board Celebrian as well as the captain doing his varnish work.  Washing sheets and towels on a boat is no small feat but they certainly dry on the life lines in a hurry.

We met Dennis and Arlene Webster and their son Scott (Tiger Lily 2) for lunch at The Phare Bleu and Marina yesterday.  They are old friends of Rob's from many years ago and have been sailing in The Caribbean for 20 years.  Dennis is a retired meteorologist and does a weather net on the short wave radio each morning.  He will be a fantastic resource for us when planning any passages. 
This picture shows me relaxing after sending the three blog updates.  I spend many hours writing and working on the pictures for the blogs on the boat but once I get an internet signal I have to put it all together and upload all of my pictures.  This can take hours as well if I have a lot to post or the signal is poor. 

The flora and fauna in Grenada is incredible.  I don't know what this plant is but it sure is huge?!?

Today is Tuesday March 19th and we have decided that there is a weather window to sail north to Carriacou and then on to The Grenadines.  Carriacou is part of Grenada and about 30 miles north of where we are now.  We cleared into Grenada in Carriacou last spring.  From Carriacou we will sail north to the Tobago Cays.  These cays are part of St. Vincent and The Grenadines. They are small islands lost in a mass of coral and the anchorage is protected by a huge barrier reef.   There are beautiful beaches, clear water and wonderful snorkelling; however Rob has already warned me that the anchorage will be saturated with sailing boats.  That being said it is a cruising destination that shouldn't be missed and we will see it for ourselves.  It will be awhile before you get any updates from us since we will be sailing in more remote areas.  With any luck we will have some good diving pictures to post with Rob's new underwater camera after we return to civilization.    

Deh Seven Sisters

Today is Saturday March 16th and yesterday we took a day off from "fixing deh boat" and spent the day up in the rain forest hiking to St. Margaret's Falls, known locally as the Seven Sisters.  The falls are a series of cascades with the three lower sisters being the tallest and the three upper sisters being a series of smaller cascades. The seventh sister is off on another trail and is called Honeymoon Falls because the pool at its base is heart shaped. Most people hire a guide and end up for a swim at the lower sisters with the deep pools.  We decided to brave the hike on our own and climb to the upper cascades.

 This was a challenging scramble up a steep, muddy, rocky and very slippery cliff side and after getting up there we were a little concerned about how we were going to get down. Gratefully there were lots of strong roots and trees to hang onto on our descent and we made if safely down without a muddy behind!?!  When you pay your entry fee they you a good stiff walking stick and it is a life saver.  

 The locals have their own way of getting down the falls...jumping from pool to pool....not an option for us and in fact there is a sign that says no jumping; however we did see a local lad with two young fellows in tow begin their descent at our picnic site.  Over the years people have been killed trying to jump from pool to pool so they certainly don't encourage it. They were the only other brave souls who challenged the upper sisters. Ann Vanderhoof in her book "Embarrassment of Mangoes" said that she thought there were at least 13 vindictive sisters at St. Margaret's Falls.

The first part of the walk is through a plantation that has nutmeg, cinnamon and cocoa trees.  Shown in the picture is a whole nutmeg with the red mace covering the inner nut and the outer fleshy pulp along with some cinnamon sticks.

  The fruit in my hand is a cocoa plant.

The local folks are sitting under a nutmeg tree.

As we continued our hike we saw many stands of beautiful bamboo and at one point they had made stairs out of the bamboo.

 We saw many beautiful flowers along the way as well.

Sisters one and two have deep pools and cool refreshing water to swim in.  The upper cascades are cool and refreshing but unless you are prepared to jump, it is not possible to access the deeper pools.

We chose a picnic spot midstream and cooled off in the shallow pools.

As we were waiting for the bus back to St. George's we noticed this incredible fern.  Things sure do grow well in a rainforest.

This was a quick shot taken from the bus of the communites nestled in the hills.

Once back in St. George's we picked up some groceries and our usual veggie roti to go and caught the bus back out to Port Egmont. We had challenged the sisters, returned tired and a little muddy but looking forward to returning another time to make the climb to Honeymoon Falls.