11/4 Sunday

Mustique was next on the itinerary. Since the wind had shifted to a more NE pattern this would require some upwind sailing. We left Canouan and could just point the east tip of Bequia hard on the wind. The wind instrument on the pedestal showed us 60 degrees off the wind and if I sailed any closer we seemed to lose a lot of speed. This didn't seem right and the mystery was solved when after our first tack we were able to sail about 10 degrees off the wind - the windvane at the top of the mast was about 25 degrees off center. With the bimini in place, I had come to overly rely on the instrument and now had to crane my neck to check the top of the mast more frequently. As I write this it occurs to me that maybe the Raymarine unit has an electronic correction that can be programmed - I didn't think to check that at the time.

Though upwind, it was a pleasant sail single-reefed in about 15 knots of breeze and we didn't even have to put the dodger up. Still, we were last into Britannia Bay. Kenzo helped us with our mooring lines and we set off to explore the reef by dinghy. We did some snorkeling near the south end of the bay. It was fair snorkeling, the visibility was not the best that day.

Mustique charges EC$200 for a mooring with up to three nights stay. That makes a single night kind of an expensive proposition and we planned to stay at least two.
Reading about Mustique I had been somewhat put off by the focus on its famous residents. I don't care much for celebrities and I care about royalty even less, so this did not make the island a draw. Once I got past my prejudices I had to admit that it is a really lovely island. I had somehow imagined a high-end marina type environment with spa and concierge, but exploring on land revealed a picture perfect group of buildings, fruit stands, fishermen and their boats, and lots of palm trees. A somewhat sanitized Caribbean scene where nothing run-down or otherwise suggesting poverty is allowed and, as my guidebook writes, "crime is against the law". Still, authentic enough to my eyes and the small food store had the best selection of items we saw on the whole trip and at prices seemingly no higher than anyplace else. It must have been very relaxing because if we did anything else that day my log book makes no mention of it. We looked forward to exploring the island next day.

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