After a quiet night at anchor off PSV we motored over to the fuel dock at Petite Martinique to top off the tanks and re-provision. As Doyle (and Phillip) note, the prices are relatively cheap and the people very friendly. Great stop if you need anything.

We had a nice sail up past Mayreau, close hauled in about 20 knots true, then tacked over to the north entrance to the Cays. We had planned to anchor off Jamesby, well behind the new mooring field but found moorings installed all the way back to a point about 30 yards off the island. So we picked up the most SW mooring and settled in for an amazing 2 day layover.

Walter came by first to get our bread order and show us his t-shirt collection. We ordered a loaf of his wife’s banana bread and some croissants for delivery the next morning and picked up a few t-shirts (“Born to Sail/Forced to Work”). He was thrilled that we knew his nickname (“Engine”) – thanks Rob, your website is still an invaluable resource for SVG sailing.

Sydney (“Italian”) came next with similar t-shirt stock. He did have cool tie-dyed shirts and we bought a few while hearing the story of his 20+ year career. Almost all of the vendors were great to deal with – friendly, happy to sit and talk, etc.

We did hit a small rough patch with a younger vendor – I think his nickname was “Mr. Wonderful.” He came by offering to deliver cooked lobster. We agreed on a price for three 4 to 5 pounders, split in half (1/2 for each of our 6 crew), grilled and delivered hot to boat for $120 EC each – total $360 EC. When he arrived with the lobsters at 7PM he wanted $120 EC “per person” or double the agreed price, claiming the first person he spoke with (my son) agreed to this price. When I handed his lobsters back he relented saying he didn’t want any trouble. After a few Hairouns, the incident was forgotten. The lobster was great – the last of the season.

Walter showed up before 7AM with the baked goods. The croissants were still warm, the best we had all trip. We wanted fresh fish since our fishing had not yet resulted in any catching. We asked Walter and he promised to “send a guy.” Later that afternoon Walter’s guy showed up with 3 nice tuna and a huge bull Mahi. We bought a tuna and the vendor filleted it on the spot. We grilled it that night – delicious!

The Cays were wonderful. 2 days was enough but we would have been happy staying a 3rd. Jamesby felt like a private beach most of the time, the weather was perfect and the snorkeling great. We saw dozens of turtles snorkeling in the protected area off Baradal. We tried to snorkel outside the reef at the dinghy cut but the current was way too strong. We were pulled 30ft. from our dinghy even before clearing our snorkels after dropping in.

Mustique was in the “maybe” category but we were curious and had 2 more nights so we decided to go for it. The wind was holding at 080-090 degrees, 17–22 kts, and we had a fast beat up the lee of Canouan and most of the way to Bequia before tacking. The going was a little hard on everyone so we furled the jib and motor-sailed. This gave us the chance to chase some birds feeding on bait fish and we finally caught a nice fish. Small yellow fin tuna. Perfect for the 6 of us. We grilled it for lunch the next day. Also caught a barracuda closer to the island.

We wanted to get over to one of the better Mustique beaches but after a beer at Basil’s and a short walk we decided to spend a few hours near the boat before an early dinner at Firefly. The restaurant sent a truck down to take us up the hill. Great meal. Pricey but worth the splurge. The Sweetie Pie bakery the next morning wasn’t up to the standards set by Walter at the Cays.

One trip highlight occurred on the sail over to Bequia the next day: a humpback whale breaching about a quarter mile from the boat. It was moving in the opposite direction and we lost sight of it after 5 minutes but in that span it breached a dozen times. Amazing sight.

We caught and released another barracuda as we rounded the southern tip of Bequia and motored past Moonhole on the way to our first night anchorage off Princess Margaret Beach. Willy rowed over in his tiny boat “No Complain” as we started cocktail hour and we invited him on board to hear his story and look over his cool carvings and jewelry. After doing our part to help support his many daughters, we said goodnight and turned in early.

The last morning we short tacked up the coast of Bequia before a nice close reach over to the Barefoot base. Checkout was easy and efficient. In all, it was a great trip. We will undoubtedly charter in the BVI again but not before several more in the Grenadines. We loved the natural beauty, the friendly people, the great sailing and the quiet anchorages. Yes, it’s takes more time, effort and money to charter in the Grenadines but for us it was worth it. Already planning our next trip!