Thank-you Jccarr - that's very useful information. I read your trip report a couple times and it is partly what inspired me to do this trip. We will be on a 42' Lagoon so probably not quite as fast as the 4800 you were on, but we'll hope for a fresh breeze and keep the throttle pinned if we don't get one. I'm sure we'll get some good info about the current situation during our briefing, but I've got a couple follow-up questions in the meantime if you don't mind helping me out a bit more:

If we do head straight for Bequia from Marigot Bay I'm sure it will be late afternoon and close to dusk on our arrival. Was it pretty crowded on your arrival at 3:15? Or were there plenty of options for anchoring and/or mooring? And is the holding pretty good so that we won't be struggling to set our anchor as the sun is nearing the horizon?

Second, did you feel more comfortable and secure once you got south of St. Vincent and into the Grenadines? Less aggressive boat boys and less overall sense of crime in general?

It's really too bad this is an issue down there. All it's going to do in the long run is keep sailors like us away from their islands. As a family of five, between dining, shopping and incidentals, it's not uncommon for us to spend $1,000 or more at many of our stops. If I have to worry about my family being robbed or assaulted, or fending off overly aggressive boat boys, I am not going to be visiting those islands and will be spending my money elsewhere.

Matt