January 29/06 – Canouan and Bequia

After seeing Ted and Lilly off, we picked up our laundry and a few groceries, then prepared the boat for travel. This involves, among other things, lifting the motor off the dinghy and fastening it to the stern rail, then lifting the dinghy onto the forward deck. We’re getting pretty good at the operation, and can do it now in about ten or fifteen minutes.

Winds NE 15 – 20, seas 6 – 8 ft, ON THE NOSE!! Orma thought Cliff had promised no more upwind sailing. Another rough trip, and we decided we couldn’t make it to our intended destination of Bequia before dark. Instead, we stopped at the upscale island of Canouan. We had hoped to go ashore for dinner, but there was no way we could have landed the dinghy in the big swells coming right in to the anchorage. Surprisingly, this is a Moorings charterboat base, and in the bay there were about fifty of their boats unoccupied and bouncing around. One wonders how viable the investment would be to own one these boats! We made supper on board, eating with one hand while holding onto our dishes with the other, as the boat rolled from side to side. After dinner Cliff rigged a bridle which held us facing into the waves, and we had a more comfortable night than most of the boats around us.

After another 25 miles of 6 – 9 ft. seas, we arrived at Admiralty Bay, Bequia. Because of the northerly swell, we took a mooring ($20 the first night and $12 thereafter). We enjoyed this pretty island five years ago, and it still looks good, with small hotels surrounded by frangipani and bougainvillea lining the sandy shore.