Just back from our first Grenadines charter after 9 or 10 in the BVI. We were planning one week but Barefoot gave us 9 nights for the price of 7 so the men on the trip decided to fly down before the women and get things rolling. The resulting itinerary looks a little strange on paper but it worked out.

After an overnight in Barbados (and a great meal at the Oistins fish fry), Liat got us to St. Vincent on time and with all our luggage. The barefoot staff handled the paperwork quickly and we did a great chart briefing with Phillip. Our provisions arrived from CK Greaves during the boat briefing and none of us bothered to compare the delivery with the order list until we were on the way to Bequia. Turns out they missed about 25% of the order – someone probably forgot to print one of the pages. The good news is we were only charged for what we received. The bad news is we had to supplement in Bequia where everything was more expensive.

1st night we anchored off Princess Margaret beach and had pizza and Hairouns at Mac’s. Good start. Next morning at 7:30 AM the Rasta fruit/veggie market opened and we finished the provisioning. The place is exactly as described here and elsewhere: you need to spread the love to keep the peace, pricing is very fluid and no one seems to have any change. One of our crew accepted a complementary shot of “ganga wine” from "Sunshine." We’re not sure what’s in it but no ill effects were reported.

The wind came up as we took off for Mayreau under full main. At 18 to 23 knots we were doing 10+ without really trying. Our FP Belize 43 “Double Down” sailed well in every condition we encountered.

Phillip told us Salt Whistle Bay empties around 10:30. The goal was to arrive between 11 and 1. We arrived around noon but the anchorage was already crowded – maybe 15 boats. We eventually counted 23. Originally we squeezed between 2 large cats near the beach but decided it was uncomfortably tight and ended up in about 6 ft of water a little further south where we had some elbow room.

Mayreau is cool. We walked over the hill, through the village and over to Saline Bay, stopping for a cold Hairoun at Robert’s on the way. Dinner that night at Salt Whistle Bay Club was OK. Back on board all was well until the wind shifted to the North around 11PM and a swell started building. We ended up setting a stern anchor at 1AM (under full moon) to keep us off the beach.

Over to Canouan the next day to pick up the ladies. Shortly after we arrived the “Ice Man” came over and offered to top off our water tanks. We declined but accepted his offer to pick up the ladies at the airport. After a beer at The Tamarind, we sailed back to Salt Whistle Bay. It was 3:30 and we were prepared to keep going to Saline but found only 8 or 9 boats at anchor. The swell had been pounding the beach all day and probably kept the crowds out. It was obviously dissipating so we tucked into the NE corner. After a nice dinner at Island Paradise, the dogs followed us down the hill back to the boat where we spent a very comfortable night.

The ATMs on Bequia were not working so the next morning we hit Clifton (Union Island) on the way to Chatham Bay to re-provision our cash supply. The seas were rough and very confused between Mayreau and Union. The wind was up and, despite a reefed main and about 2/3 jib, we were flying. The sailing was great but we had our first sea-sickness casualty. She recovered quickly and later started a regular Bonine regimen. She now swears by the stuff.

Chatham Bay is big, quiet and beautiful. Definitely recommended. We pulled in around noon and tried to drop the hook but the windlass wasn’t cooperating. The rough seas on the way over must have shaken a wire loose because the up button worked but not the down. After a “manual set” we spent the day lounging on the beach. The grilled lobster prepared by Secki (sp?) and his wife (?) was great. We tried Shark Attack first but his lobster inventory was done for the season.

Barefoot arranged Lauren at Unitech (Clifton) to look at the windlass the next morning. So we headed back to Clifton, grabbed a mooring and headed over to Happy Island for a late breakfast beer while Lauren took care of the windlass. Then down to PSV, where we dropped the hook off the dinghy dock. The water off PSV is beautiful. The perfect white sand beach ringing the island is empty. Another great stop.

That afternoon we buzzed over to Petite Martinique to check out the dinner options. We chose Palm Beach restaurant (in part based on Doyle's recommendation) and made arrangements to be picked up by their water taxi at 7 PM. Following happy hour on the boat we cleaned up a little, put on collared shirts and went up for a pricey cocktail at the PSV bar. The boat from Palm Beach arrived right on time and we finished the night with good food and friendly service on Petite Martinique.

Next installment: Off to the Cays.