We first flew to St Lucia and experienced a very rollercoaster type hour and a half ride (although very scenic) from the Hewanorra airport to Ti Kaye Resort. Our taxi driver, Winston from Fabian Tours, was more like a tour guide and stopped many times for us to take pictures. Ti Kaye is made up of secluded cottages high upon the cliffs overlooking the beach of Anse Cochon. It is a very popular snorkeling area for tour boats. One afternoon we counted 7 large snorkeling catamarans and 4 other sailboats. A large tall ship came in our last day. Going to and from the beach was a workout since the resort is located on a cliff with 166 steps that we had to climb. Everyone at Ti Kaye was so eager to please us and we were amazed that they remembered our first names. We ate at the resort every meal and everything was excellent, especially the yellow fin tuna. There is a restaurant at the beach which serves huge delicious sandwiches. We split an order each day and there was plenty. They even had a Happy Hour.

Later in the week, we again ventured into a taxi to make the trip to Rodney Bay where we stayed at the new Coco Palm. We were within walking distance from the marina and many restaurants. The meals at our hotel were outstanding. We ate one night at Spinakers and I made the mistake of ordering a tenderloin. I should have known better.

We flew to St.Vincent and arrived at the Sunsail Base at the Blue Lagoon just in time for cocktails. The next morning while the guys attended the briefing, my friend and I headed out to select our provisions. The Sunrise Supermarket by the airport was not very well stocked but we did talk to several people who suggested we head over to Aunt Jobe's, a new store on the other side of Kingstown which had more American type food. We toured the botanical gardens which is the oldest in the Western Hemisphere. The gardens are free but you are suppose to tip the guide. I made the mistake of asking if there was a charge and he said $15 US plus a tip. We didn't know what to say so we each handed him $20 and then later we could have kicked ourselves for not confronting him. We filled the back of the van with all our provisions from Aunt Jobe's. They had a much better selection.

When we returned, the guys had unpacked the delivery from the first store and the kids had arrived. We had a delicious meal at the marina ( onion soup is to die for) and slept aboard the boat at the marina.

The next morning we sailed to Bequia and anchored in Admiralty Bay. We went exploring Port Elizabeth for a couple hours. One of the Sunsail employees gave us a fishing pole to use. As we were heading past the Bequia airport, we got a hit. To make a long story short, the line backlashed. What a mess, but we wanted that fish and started pulling the line in by hand. It was almost to the stern when we saw that it was a 30 pound plus mahi mahi (dorado). What a magnificent creature with its beautiful shades of iridescent blue, and chrome yellow. Our poor captain was trying to do his job at the helm while six other people are practically on top of him either trying to take pictures, just looking or trying to figure out how to help land it since we didnt have a gaff hook. Just as we had it up and about to grab it, it spits out the hook and leaps back in the water. The worst part was that no one managed to get a picture of it. We had MANY cocktails while trying to get the line unsnagged. Everyone thought it should be scrapped but I was determined to get all the knots out and with a little help at the end, we did it. By borrowing screws from the cockpit table, the guys even fixed the clicker so we returned the rod in much better shape. We anchored in Friendship Bay that evening. We stoked up grill and had great pork tenderloin even though a fresh mahi mahi would have been perfect. We had a rolling night due to a strong northeasterly. Nobody got much sleep and the roosters made sure that we were awake at the crack of dawn.

The next morning we headed to Mustique, the island of the wealthy. We picked up a mooring ball and actually it was reasonably priced. Had a disappointing dinner at Basils, but caught a courtesy golf cart up the hill to the Fire Fly for wonderful after dinner drinks. What ambiance! What a view! FYI, if you are in Mustique and want croissants for breakfast, go to the bakery before 9 AM. We were so disappointed when we came back empty handed.

We sailed the next morning around Mayreau to Tobago Cays. It was breathtaking. There must have been forty boats anchored including two large yachts. This was the best snorkeling I've done in 30 years. I've never seen so many fish. I was working in the galley the next morning when someone called "come up but don't stare". On the catamaran next to us were four men preparing to leave. Three were nude. One guy pulled up the anchor, which was quite the site, BUT then all three nude guys in unison pulled up the sail. It was a Kodak moment AND I managed to get one. As they pulled away, their captain was also nude. The cats have the high helm seat so that was also a site to see. Someone said, "this was real bare boating". Don't feel sorry for our guys because there were plenty of other boats with girls to watch. Sailing the Grenadines along with the French is quite an eye opening experience.

Sailing on to Canouan we encountered heavy seas. Waves were estimated 8-12 feet, but unlike Lake Michigan the waves had a very long period. Winds were piping up to 30 plus knots. The sail was quite enjoyable. In fact, this trip no one needed the TransDerm patch (anti-nausea patch). We picked up a mooring ball in Charlestown. The boatboys were quick to come and offer us everything from ice to lobsters. The one lobster must have been at least 4 pounds. We settled for hamburgers on the grill instead. (Are we crazy??) We paid $8 a bag for ice.

We had a great sail as we headed for Petit St Vincent. We noted that we were at 12.3 degrees, our furthest point south. We anchored off Petite St. Vincent had lunch aboard and walked the beach before heading to Mayreau. We picked up a mooring ball at Salt Whistle Bay and headed to the club to pick up the menu. You have to put your order in before 5 pm. There were four choices and none sounded very good to me. I was looking forward to lobster. The club is very unique with circular stone booths topped with thatch canopies. We enjoyed a walk on the beach and watching the clipper put up her sails as she sailed away at dusk. We had an enjoyable evening celebrating our captain's birthday but were very disappointed with dinner. We all had red snapper BUT it was some other type of fish. One of the boys catches it often and said this was something else. Mine was so fishy that I only had one bite.

The next day we pushed 23 nautical miles to Admiralty Bay, Bequia with good quartering winds of 25 knots. This would be our last night at anchor this trip. It was a windy night with strong gusts and we were glad we had a mooring ball.

Before we knew it, it was our last day on the boat and our most exciting sail. The winds were not only strong but also very gusty. We were sailing along and all of a sudden a gust hit and we were railed down. I was on the starboard side and thank goodness for the center table or I would have slid across. The first time was a little scary but I got use to it fast. My only problem was trying to hold on while trying to take pictures.

We docked at the marina late morning, packed up our gear, gave away our leftovers, and checked into our rooms. We spent all afternoon playing in the pool. We were like little kids on the slide. We watched our last sunset from the balcony at the bar and then enjoyed our last mahi mahi dinner in paradise. Everything at the marina restaurant was outstanding.

The next afternoon we had a flight to Barbados, which has a beautiful new airport that is almost complete. We had a connection in Charlotte and touched down at 11pm in Milwaukee and thank goodness there wasn't any snow left.