Our next stop was to be Canouan. The sail from Mustique was straight forward, maybe 12 miles with no dangers on approach. We anchored at the NE cornerof Grand Bay (as usual on the leeward side), trying to minimize the roll, as the bay is quite exposed to any swell with N component. We were advised that the place is rolly, as the NE wind will accelerate over the hills to become offshore again as it “falls”, leaving your boat facing West with a northerly swell.
We used a 2nd anchor astern, the lighter of our 2 kedge anchors(a 7kg FOB, the other is a 9.5kg Fortress, which is as good as a main anchor but requires more work to launch) and a weighted line, which kept us facing the swell. It worked for a few hours, and I was savouring the moment as our boat was nicely facing the swell whereas the neighbours where rolling uncomfortably. Unfortunately the wind backed gradually and we pulled the 2nd anchor out, only to start rolling as the rest of the community here.
Canouan means the Island of Turtles in the Carib language. As in Bequia and Mustique, we soon were visited by very shy sea turtles…but no boat boys.
There are about 1,000 islanders relying on fishing and farming. The island is dominated by the 300m high Mount Royal which somewhat splits the pear shaped island into East and West coast. Our pilot book says that the island was the birthplace of the shipbuilding industry in the Grenadines under the supervision of British. Unfortunately, in general there is very little left of the islands history due to unorderly construction (although the island is mostly deserted), but it remains a natural beauty in terms of the quality of the waters and the views.
Grand Bay is pleasant with only a very discretely built resort. There is a large dock for ferries and larger fishing boats. The town has no tourist amenities, with 1 school, 1 police station and a small drugstore / supermarket. Plenty of stray dogs, but they are as peaceful as the rest of the island. Getting outside of the main street and heading towards the sea, we found small hut serving food with a couple of tables on the beach. The place is hidden, as you need to get through the ferry docking area with containers and abandoned machinery here and there. We were welcomed by the cannabis smoking owner-chef, which said he could scramble some eggs, bacon and vegetables, and offered his own very special Ti punch at noontime. It took him close to 1 hour, but it did not matter, as we were sipping the punch and enjoying a good time in this improbable place together with Beach Boy, the local dog.
The next morning we went for a hike, getting on top of Mont Royal. The road was easily a 15-20pct climb, and the sun and temperature strike as soon as you get away from the sea. I think that by now we have also lost some of hour fitness…anyway, from the top you can enjoy a view of the Windward Bay, protected by the coral reefs and facing the Atlantic Ocean. Another 15 minute walk and we descended onto a beach, probably Riley Bay.
On our way back, we walked slowly and had a better look at local housing, with their rain water collecting tanks in the garden, and the omnipresent sheeps and dogs laying under the shadow of a tree. In the afternoon we indulged ourselves a rest at the Tamarind resort, with cold sparkling water, beer and if I recall correctly a good portion of French fries. That evening we saw a very pretty steel hull boat anchor nearby, flying the Swiss flag. This young(er) couple had arrived also in December, and are planning a similar tour of the Antilles, with a return passage early May and then further sailing crisscrossing the Mediterranean. It is pleasant to share the experience with the like-minded, from impressions about the places and people to tips and technical matters. I trust we will be crossing paths again around Guadeloupe or the BVI, and most likely in the Azores on the passage back to Europe.
The next morning we set sail towards Mayreau, a short but very nice reach and then beat, with 18-20 knots of breeze. We changed our target twice as we initially wanted to try Salt Whistle Bay on Mayreau, then Clifton on Union Island. Only when we got there we were welcomed by a squall, throwing rain and gusts at us, which made the approach to Clifton touchy. Hence we made a U turn and motored 1 mile back towards Saline bay on Mayreau. What a discovery, this was going to be one of the nicest anchorages so far, not rolly, with a beautiful view on the entire bay, its palm trees and good snorkelling.
Mayreau is small, 300 inhabitants, actually the smallest of the inhabited Grenadines. They are leaving mostly on the village overlooking Saline Bay, which is not at all focused on tourism (except the beach itself, which is rented out to large cruisers for a day stop, as mentioned below). Mayreau is already part of the Tobago Cays national park, but I guess it does not see much benefit out of that label, except you can’t dive without a dive guide (hard to find). It seems that leaving is earned by the boat boys selling fish, bread and arranging lobster barbecues, and then the luxury resort at Salt Whistle Bay which was established by some Canadian investors in the 70s.
We met Patrick, our favourite boat boy so far. A local, he looked a young fellow, but as we discovered later that night, he is 50 and the father of 8, 3 girls and 5 boys. Patrick arranged a lobster barbecue for the family in their hut on the beach, after some minor negotiation. As we were ready to head towards the beach, our outboard started sputtering again. It was pissing gasoline and a quick check showed the floater in the carb was blocked….sorted…and we headed towards the beach right on time, very Swiss.
It was a peculiar moment, so dark around that we were wrapped by a sky full of bright stars, walking the long wooden dock and then under the palm trees where we could see the reddish light of the barbecue and some folk dancing at reggae. As we were waiting for the lobster, So we got sweet potatoes, cooked bananas and then the nicest lobster ever seen, complete with rice and a bottle of red wine. Over dinner we had a chance to talk with Patrick about his kids schooling (they take the ferry daily to Union Island), how they make a leaving and how Mayreau is trying to improve to attract more tourism. For instance, Saline Bay is one of those beaches where the cruisers will unload passengers for a day, inclusive of sun umbrella’s, massage tent, music band etc. but the whole thing is done in a clean and relatively non invasive way (we did see one of those events).
It was interesting to hear their views of what the St. Vincent government is doing, or not doing, including the crackdown on cannabis on one hand (which locals consider a traditional harvest and means for living) but the absence of prosecution of crime on the main island of St. Vincent (which we indeed bypassed because of several reported security incidents involving yachtmen) which deters tourism…while they are spending heavily on a new international airport.
Interestingly, his elder son has been recruited by the British Army (commonwealth) and will become a professional soldier based out of London (and is likely no to come back), whereas his elder daughter started to work at the luxury resort nearby Salt Whistle Bay.
In the morning we had a walk up the hill. Again very steep and hot, but worth it as we visited the island’s church which has the privilege of overseeing the entire Tobago Cays from its perched position on top of the hill. We could see the sand banks and reefs we would soon have to negotiate to get in the Cays….will we follow the shorter but twistier South passage (forbidden to most charter boats), or turn around Mayreau heading north and then East for the less challenging North passage…we will discuss during appero time. On our way down we checked the 2 minimarkets, but were put off by the outwardly prices.
Problem is, sooner or later we will be short of food. We are already out of fruit and vegetable, but that more or less we cover thanks to boat boys, but eggs, butter, milk, juices, biscuits etc are missing or soon to be. We should’ve made a much larger reserve while in Martinique.
Both Gianluca and I also took a change to windsurf up and down the bay. Somewhat frustrating to see how the kids are so at ease with a new sports…ok, way to go though, I am still and by far more proficient…
It is a true pleasure to read your blog and look at the beautiful pictures!
Thank you sir. You will be enjoying in not that much time from now 🙂
Always nice pictures !
Good wind