PART FOUR: THE BEGINNING OF SAILING WEEK!
June 23, 2012
Well, off the ferry in St. Vincent we were whisked away to Blue Lagoon and the Tradewinds Cruise Club office. We were met by the base manager, took care of details, and stowed our luggage. We would be welcomed aboard at 5pm, so we spent our day at Young Island. I had emailed ahead of time and made reservations for lunch and had permission for us to utilize the beach for the day. We had not been to Young Island before, so was excited to go.
The taxi driver was quite insistent about me going to the green phone at the dock before we got on the small launch to go to the island. I called and let them know we were on our way over. The reception desk was quite welcoming, so I thought all was well. When we got off the launch, my husband was questioned by the security guard about our purpose on the island, who had given us permission to be there, etc. I explained who I had been communicating with, our 12:30pm lunch reservation, etc. The security guard accepted my explanation and we went on to the beach. There was a row of beach chairs and umbrellas, not one guest in sight. I sat my bag down by an umbrella, and the security guard approached once again. He said the umbrellas were only for resort guests, and went on to move four chairs away from the umbrellas letting us know we could utilize those chairs. Hmmm. I was quite surprised – this felt rude and unnecessary, after all – there were no guests! We followed the rules we were given, and got a drink and enjoyed the warm water of the turquoise ocean. We had a delightful lunch – we knew we were in heaven when the waitress brought out a long board full of freshly baked breads. YUM! Lunch was delicious. We spent more time on the beach, and escaped a squall in the shelter of the bar area. Our day at Young Island had ended. It was a great way to spend the day, even with a watchful security guard.
We took the launch back to St. Vincent and made our way back to the Tradewinds office. We took a shower and got ready to see our home for the week, Jo.
Andre and Liezle (captain and first mate) welcomed us aboard Jo with tasty cold drinks and appetizers. There were eight of us coming aboard for the week. We represented Alaska, California, Washington, and Alabama. Once we were all settled in, we took off to tie up to a mooring ball in the beautiful lagoon. We had a fantastic dinner aboard! What a great sleep – sleeping on a boat makes you feel as if you are being rocked to sleep. Extremely comfortable!
Sunday, June 24: HAPPY ANNIVERSARY DAY! After a breakfast anniversary treat of mimosas, we set sail for the island of the rich and famous – Mustique! It was a lively sail, and a few of our friends were not feeling too well… We have been to Mustique before, taken the island tour, but going with people who have not seen the island is always a treat. We had a fantastic tour guide, who seemed to have a great deal of information and loved to share his knowledge. Well worth the $15! We ended up having anniversary drinks at the Firefly, a great way to end a wonderful experience on the island. Dinner was fantastic aboard our boat.
Monday, June 25: After breakfast, it was time to set sail for our best stop of the whole trip – the lovely Tobago Cays. We had such fun there… swimming, snorkeling, floating in the water. What a great day!
Tuesday, June 26: We had a sunrise snorkel with the turtles as they were feeding on sea grass. Our divers (my husband and son) went diving. It was an amazing day, just after the dive boat left with the divers, a huge storm blew in! Wow – what power. Quite amazing to experience! After lunch, we took off for a quick sail to Union Island. We had just an hour or so here, then on to Carriacou (the country of Grenada). Dinner ashore at the Round House. What a beautiful round restaurant made of old stones.
Wednesday, June 27: After breakfast, we set sail for the island of Mayreau. Andre dropped us off on one side of the island, complete with cool drinks, and off we went for our hike up and over to the other side of the island. It was a HOT walk, but the view from the top by the church is outstanding and not to be missed. After lunch in Salt Whistle Bay, we set sail for a small harbor off Canouan to spend the night.
Thursday, June 28: Today is a long sail – off we go to Bequia. By this time, we all had our sea legs, and our people who tended to be sea sick were not even taking medication anymore. Everyone had a great time sharing in the splashing at the front of the boat as we made our way through the swells. We arrived in Bequia around 2:30 or so. In time for a swim! Then off we went into town. Andre had to clear us all back into the country, so he went to do errands, while we showed our friends around the cute town area on Bequia. We hit all the hot spots, Mac’s Pizza, the batik store, Doris’ market for spices… Great day.
Friday, June 29: This day is always a melancholy day… our holiday is about to come to an end. We had time for swimming; Willie sailed his tiny skiff over to us to share his homemade wares… but it was time to take off on our sail to St. Vincent. We stopped at a huge rock by Young Island. You can climb up a stairway to the top, and at the top you will find Fort Duvernette. The view from the top is outstanding! After a late lunch, we returned to the dock in the late afternoon.
We saw one of Tradewinds new 59’ catamarans which had just come in about 20 minutes before we did. We toured the new boat, wow! Luxury all the way…
We had a great dinner at the French Verandah. Fantastic evening.
Saturday, June 30: Time to say goodbye to the Caribbean, and our friends. We all went to the St. Vincent airport together, but went off in our different directions and different flights from there.
Our part of four made it to Miami that night, to experience a huge customs line (never have seen it like that before). It is a good thing we did not have a connecting flight, and spent the night in Miami.
We returned home late the next day. What a great trip… Now the Dreaded Island Fever sets in and we have to work on a planning a return trip to get our Caribbean fix! Goodbye pretty blue ocean...
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P.S. Next trip planned! St. Martin on a 59' Cat. Can't wait... <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Joy.gif" alt="" />
