This was our second charter out of St. Lucia with the Moorings. We did pretty much the same route 2 years ago. This year we chartered a Moorings 4300 cat. This was from the Moorings "club" line and definitely starting to show a little age, but still a great boat overall. Having recently chartered the 4000 cat, the 4300 has much more spacious forward berths plus two additional heads. I do wish there was a retractable "sunroof" on the 4300 over the helm, like on the 4000. I am a monohull sailor at heart, but after two straight charters on cats I do have to confess that I'm starting to like all the extra room and the manueverability under power. As always seems to be the case, the boat and dinghy had their share of minor issues, but the Moorings was always quick to help us out.
Day 1 - We did the "evening start" and spent the first night on the boat at the Moorings base at Marigot Bay. Marigot Bay is a very scenic location for a charter base. Had dinner ashore and some of the crew went into town to shop for provisions. No problem provisioning on your own here.
Days 2 & 3 - Sailed down the west coast of St. Lucia to the Pitons. We picked up a mooring ball between the two pitons and spent 2 nights here. The location is very dramatic, right between the two mountains. The Jalousie Plantation resort on shore has tons of water sports equipment for rent...I rented a hobbie wave and had a fun time speeding back and forth through the anchorage. The second day here the rest of the crew went to hike one of the pitons. Since I had done this on a previous trip I decided to scuba dive directly at the foot of gros piton. The diving is very good here but, as was the case through this trip, the visibility was somewhat reduced due to algae/plankton or whatever was in the water...giving everything a greenish tint.
Day 4 - After clearing out the evening prior in Soufriere, we sailed direct from the Pitons to Bequia in SVG. We departed at first like (around 5:45am) and arrived at Bequia around 4pm. In the winter this would probably be a reach, but we were heading upwind most of the sail. We hit a couple squalls on the way down but overall had a great sail in 20-25kts winds under reefed main and jib. Large swells in the passage but these diminished significantly (along with the wind) in the lee of St. Vincent. Sailing down the coast of St. Vincent seemed to take forever. After arriving in Bequia we anchored at Princess Margaret Beach in Admiralty Bay. It was pretty crowded (for the middle of summer) but no problem finding a spot to anchor. We hear it is wall to wall in the high season. We had dinghy issues and by the time we got the dinghy going it was too late to clear in to SVG. We cleared in the following morning. Had a very good dinner on shore at Gingerbread.
Day 5 - Did a couple dives in the morning with Dive Bequia while the rest of the crew explored the island. After diving, we departed for Britannia Bay on Mustique and again had a great sail in 20-25kt winds out of the ESE. Arrived at Britannia Bay in the late afternoon and picked up a mooring ball (mandatory, but there are tons of them). Had dinner on shore. This place is totally different than the other Grenadines...very well manicured with huge estates everywhere. Unfortunately, Basil's was closed for renovations during our stay.
Day 6 - We rented a "mule" (golf cart on steroids) and had fun exploring the island. It only takes a couple hours to drive around the whole island and check out all the famous peoples' houses. The windward side is beautiful...particularly Macaroni Bay. After exploring Mustique we set sail for Mayreau, arriving in the later afternoon at Saltwhistle Bay. Saltwhistle Bay is gorgeous...but it was very crowded compared to the last time I was here when there were only 2 other boats. This is a must stop in my opinion. We enjoyed swimming along the beach, hiking up the road to the small village (very scenic), and I went and found my geocache that I had placed on Mt. Carbuit 2 years before.
Day 7 - Did another two dives in the morning with Glenroy Adams Dive Grenadines. This is a great operation that will come out and pick you up off your boat anywhere around Mayreau, Union, the Tobago Cays, and perhaps elsewhere. The diving around Mayreau is fantasic. Dove the Purina Wreck which is always full of sea life. Unfortunately did not get to dive Mayreau Gardens on this trip, but if you get the chance don't pass it up. Mayreau Gardens are spectacular drift dives to the east of Mayreau.
After diving headed out to the Tobago Cays. This is a short motor (maybe 45 minutes from Salt Whistle Bay) but we had to make our way through a couple squalls on the way out. When we arrived, I was surprised to find mooring balls. I might be wrong, but I thought I remembered anchoring here 2 years ago. In any case, we picked up a ball to the southwest of Baradel just outside the protected turtle-watching area. Went to explore Baradel and hike around this small island, and also did some snorkeling out on the horseshoe reef (there are convenient dinghy moorings all along the reef).
Day 8 - In the morning we explored Baradel, Petit Bateau, and Jamesby. You can get some spectacular views of the surrounding reefs by hiking to the summit of these islands. You'll also find turtles and huge lizards all over the place. Feels very wild. We also snorkeled again out on the horseshoe reef. The Doyle guide downplays the snorkeling here, but I think it is very good. You can tie up your dinghy to a mooring and snorkel forever along the reef.
In the afternoon, we motored out of the cays, raised the sails, and headed for Chatham Bay on Union. I like Chatham because it is very quiet, although it is getting busier with the addition of new restaurants and a small charter base along the beach. Had a delicious beach bbq here with Bollhead. If the sky is clear you can count on a great sunset at Chatham Bay. Plenty of room to anchor in 10-15 feet of water.
Day 9 - Dove a couple more times here with Glenroy Adams Dive Grenadines. There is some great diving to be had right at the mouth of the bay. Very good site for macro life, but we had that same slightly greenish tint that plagued us throughout the trip. Still, great diving. Later in the morning we departed for Petite St. Vincent - the southernmost stop on our itinerary. PSV is a beautiful island dominated by a single resort. The highlight here is the chance to dinghy over to the Mopion sandbank, which is not to be missed. It is a tiny spit of sand with a single thatch-roofed umbrella out in the middle of nowhere. Awesome.
Day 10 - We started early and sailed back to the Moorings base at Canouan. This is another very scenic base and Canouan is a great island to explore in its own right. Unfortunately, we had little time as we had to catch our charter flight back to St. Lucia to make our connection. Two years ago I was able to fly American Airlines out of Canouan. Flight schedules have been greatly reduced, and this time we found it most economic to charter our own small prop plane to take us back to St. Lucia. This allowed us to book our airfare from the US as round trip, ultimately saving us some money. This is definitely an option to look into. We used SVG Air for our charter. As a bonus, the flight back was spectacular and we got a nice aerial tour of the route that we had just sailed.
Some general observations - Boat vendors were not a problem and were generally very helpful. We were able to obtain fresh bread, ice, and fish from the vendors. At some places the competition is fierce and they can get a little pushy, but overall they are a great help and part of the charm of the place.
Weather was very good. We had 18-25kt winds most of the week. A couple waves came through mostly at night, keeping the winds up. We sailed with a single reef in the main most of the week and the boat handled it very well. Winds were out of the E or ESE most of the week. Water temp was very warm - around 85 to 86 degrees F.
I was surprised by the crowds compared to last time I was down here in May. I suppose July is almost becoming a mini high season. Still, we had no problems finding a ball or a place to anchor at any of our anchorages.
The Moorings - As always they provide a top notch product. You will always have minor issues on any charter boat, but the Moorings is quick to provide assistance when needed. This was one of the older boats I'd chartered with the Moorings (probably nearing the end of its service life), but still held up pretty well.
Navigation is easy. Compared to our last charter in Belize, it was nice to not have to be constantly on edge about shallow water and reefs. There are a few hazards, such as around the Tobago Cays and Mayreau, but if you follow the Doyle guide you'll be fine. The bluecharts on my Garmin GPS seemed to be very accurate here.
Overall - I love sailing in the windwards. Next time I'm back I hope to be able to go all the way the Grenada. Nice combination of short island hopping mixed in with a couple longer sails. Good mix of isolation and shortside services. We had a great time, and I hope to return soon.
Pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sseana1/sets/72157624365481587/Fair Winds,
Sean
