I have another oppt to complete my report while on the "high seas" with the 1st chance in 4 days...so I'll try again although the power just went out & wiped out my 1st attempt.........uuugh

Undaunted, here I go.....I will keep editing to avoid another wipe out......

Provisioning - Gotta eat!
1) Sunsail - Pre-order al a carte
Available (their web site) after you book the charter. Did it for the first time in a while to eliminate need to shop & lug heavy items like water, beverages, etc. Pls note: make sure you pay attention to quantities & size of each item....most in metric system......as one item did not specify & they did not answer my e-mail so we returned it after arrival because it was too small for too much $$.
Otherwise, it was nice to have those items delivered & sitting on the boat when we boarded. Yes, a service fee is added but was worth it in this case.

2) Local Produce Market - I always include in my pre-departure to do list. A great way to sample the local culture & learn stuff. Kingstown now has a separate bldg with stalls set up. It was slow on Monday but we got what we needed. We have learned to buy less because with only two people it is easy to get carried away especially with the "salesmanship" on display......and the heat (or no fridge <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />...could not resist) can accelerate the spoilage.

3) Gonsalves Liquors:
After seeing all the ads & hearing folks pre-order, I wanted to see the store for myself. So it was another stop along the way in Kingstown. The signage is not great but ask a friendly local. What a place, a mix between a very upscale wine store & polished Duty Free shop in a big airport. Well appointed & air-conditioned for slow shopping.

4) Aunt Jobe's - Again, after hearing about this "new" place we had to check it out. It's at least a 15 min warm walk from the center of Kingstown. We got general directions at breakfast & details from friendly residents along the way. Yes, it was worth the trip. Nicely appointed, friendly/helpful people and good variety of foreign & store brands. We got almost everything we needed but a few things were not available due to Monday (limited deli / cooked items) or out of stock. Watch out for pricing (true in any store overseas) of certain USA branded items that are shipped in....they provided checkout shock & later comedy as we ate some very expensive cold cuts that were grabbed in a rush....oh, well. Our taxi driver, Desmond (more on this wonderful man later) met us and helped us return our bounty to the Sunsail base where we placed them on board.

5) Other shopping along the way:
We knew from TTOL notes & the Cruising guide that provisioning along the way was avail so we did not worry too much or even try to buy everything up front. Here's a sample of what we bought along the way.
A) Bequia - We visited the famous Doris Fresh Food Shop (it has moved......behind the Post Office / Customs & Immigration bldg now)...2nd street back. Unbelieveable selection.....of all sorts of items including many frozen lockers.....a little pricey but you will probably find what you want. We bought a few produce items from the also famous Rasta produce market without too much "hassle" as we had gotten to know a few of the characters by buying a beautiful Tuna in the adjacent fish market = if you hear Conch horn....fish is avail.......also saw red snapper.
We also stopped in a couple of other stores & open stands and bought items to fill out our provisions.
B) Tobago Cays - Boat Men - Ice was a almost daily need & warm bread - french bagettes were addictive (more under boat men)...along with the banana bread......some good some better
C) Union Island - we stopped on Sunday.....almost everything closed.....Lambi's = very little stock or variety.....and local produce stands were OK.
D) Mayreau - We bought a fresh red snapper in Salt Whistle from Patrick - boatman.
E) Mustique - we bought a few produce items from small stand on main street just down from Basil's.

Sailing - Now that's what I came for
After sailing most of the chain, I wanted to see how SVG compared. If you like more wind (I do) and bigger seas (depends how big) then this was the pace to be for our 9 days.
Best sail was on 5/22 from Admiralty Bay in Bequia to Tobago Cays about 20nm. Beautiful day, winds 12-18 kts and seas 2-4'......mostly beam and some close haul........boat sailed great & so did we.
There were other days when we just had to get there ie; TC to Union......short hop and we took southern exit from TC....(shhh, don't tell anyone), chart, cruising guide & boat man confirmation helped..it was not that bad.
Also Union to Saline or saline to SWB...just get there.
2nd best sail but rougher was Salt Whistle bay to Mustique. Most wind 17-22kts, more upwind and seas definitely bigger especially north of Canoaun......winds started backing & seas got bigger, so in the interest of safety & happy crew it was time to roll up jib & start motor sailing the last piece.
Tougher still - but if you like rocking & rolling, Mustique to Bequia and Bequia to Sunsail base....last two days.....winds over 20kts & seas in the open channels from 5-8'....some rogue waves 10'..........I climbed a few heading back to Sunsail believing everything I ever heard about the Bequia channel. But the little 35' Jeanneau held it's own. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Wink.gif" alt="" />

Getting Sick on Vacation - Felt like a Local
Try this at home not living on a sailboat in the Caribbean.
The night of 5/22, I started getting a sore throat.....figured it was just the crazy travel, being tired, etc. But that night & the next am when it felt like a bowling ball was stuck down there, something was going wrong. It was closely followed by a stuffed head/sinus clog that would block niagra falls.........I'll spare you the more vivid details. Needless to say, it was not fun fighting this underway. I had a bunch of the typical over the counter stuff which only masks the symptoms but it was enough to allow me to function on some level during the day albeit "drugged up". Sleep was awful & my ship mate suffered indirectly from being around the patient.
When mentioning to the boat men or other locals, they all remarked on the recent out break of the same stuff which they blame on dust storms from Sahara which come thru between weather systems. So I was feeling like a local citizen.....it did not help yet. I say yet because the last symptom was an ear ache that had me thinking about van Gough. This came on out of no where on Monday 5/26. So we walked Mayreau(from saline) in search of some relief....not sure walking Mayreau is a cure but we got info from the bartender (@ 9am) at the resort in SWB and he mentioned a clinic in the village. Well, the universe shined on me. We walked back into the village, found the clinic & the lovely nurse practicioner on duty and what came next put the USA medical system to shame (not that it's that hard to do). She listened to my symptoms (i was the only person there), mentioned she too had the same thing..........where's my SVG passport?......never asked who i was, where i was from, did i have Insurance, etc.....she just handed me a RX - bottle of ear drops......this all took less than 5 mins. Wait, here comes the big finish <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/circle.gif" alt="" />.....at no charge. I asked again.....she said no. But accepted a clinic donation reluctantly because she wanted to make sure i did not feel obligated........So off I went, shocked by a simple & professional medical transaction that I will probably never expereience again in my lifetime. BTW, the ear drops helped albeit slowly over the next 5 days. Oh, almost forgot the coughing. As we left SVG, our taxi driver/tour guide (did I mention he had some of the same symptoms a few weeks before?) stopped on the way to the airport and a pharmacist also demonstrated a simple transaction, with syrup in hand off I went to Barbados.

Eating / Drinking Out - Why Not
As I mentioned, we do most on board but we do get out too.
1) Sunsail Restaurant - we ate beakfast and lunches there. It was Ok....lunch being better than breakfast.....
2) X-cape Restaurant - Young Island Cut (bet Sunsail & on the way to the airport)......locally owned & broad array of dishes on the menu. I had a great grilled mahi-mahi. Right on the water very nice........we walked but I would not suggest unless you like dodging cars & rain drops.
3) Bounty - Kingstown.......it's in the crusising guide. Toni (a proud Canadian) was wonderful. What a character. Full of info, stories and of course a wonderful assortment of choices for breakfast or lunch. We started our "day in Kingstown" there. It was delicious & very helpful....she guided us with our list of stops.
4) Green Boley - Bequia, Admiralty bay.........based on forum notes, we decided to try it. It was a long day & we wanted a break, so we started with happy hour on the picnic tables.......bring your own bug spray. My ship mate just bought Conch fritters from Mac's Pizza (nearby) and it was Ok with the folks from Green Boley...so we watched as the sunset started & enjoyed. They were so nice & we were tired so we decided to eat dinner......fish/chips + Roti.....we left happy, well fed & for a very reasonable price.
5) Lime & Pub - forgot...it was the same night as X-cape @ Young Cut.......started raining hard on our way back.....one thing led to another & we had a night cap there entertained by the owner who chatted us up about everything including all his restaurant had to offer.
6) Basil's - Mustique - We only had a happy hour drink and I left unimpressed about it all.....not sure why that place is so special.........that includes the whole damn island....more on that later.
7) Crane Hotel - Barbados .........don't go there. Overpriced & Underserved
Azure Restaurant - Breakfast 2x......wonderful setting, pretty dining room but mixed reviews. Both times we went late 10am ish..........only a few people.....some how it took waaay too long to get our orders & when it came they were luke warm...humm.
Zen restaurant - Sushi & Thai...indifferent service with a waitress that did not know about the meanu & told me that sake was rice wine when I asked her about the brands & type of cold sake they had available. The food was average, over priced and small portions.

Tours - Yup we did that Too
1) Montreal Gardens - St. Vincent ...I'm not into flowers or plants but I walked away very impressed. Our Tour guide (and Taxi driver Desmond....don't worry, I'll add full details) showed us the windward side of the island on the way........knew all the names of the flowers, plants & trees........he was the perfect host. This was right after we dropped our provisions at Sunsail......nice break after a busy am & before the boat business started......ah, things were lovely then <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Wink.gif" alt="" />
2) Turtle Sanctuary - Bequia........This was high on out list for the SVG. So we went right to it the 1st avail am. 5/21. African arranged for our Taxi ($70ec)......humm, I would do it separately & negotiate separately...lesson learned. It's a pretty short ride. The turtles were lots of fun......even some personalities......there were no special events ie releases or egg gathering underway but still worthwhile especially local (not the founder0 person on had shared lots of info...only a few people there at the time. I will share photos soon.
That's about it for formal tours. We did our own thing the rest of the time:
1) Tobago Cays - snorkeled & hiked every island
2) Mayreau - walked the walk
3) Bequia - should have done more but we did OK
4) Mustique - after they told me I could not even carry a camera because of a "special person"....and the other unique things there like mooring balls with no lines, hot anchorage and more rules than should be allowed......the charm was lost on me...............never again, what a waste.
5) Union - It was Sunday...too many things closed & i was not feeling that good.

Boat Services - Sometimes Ya need some
1) Bequia - Admiralty Bay.......what a cool service = Daffodil Marine Services- VHF 67. They have a specially designed boat that brings Water & Fuel to you....along side just put out your fenders & they show up. Friendly & reasonable......we bought water because since we were out 3 days already, I wanted to top off just to be sure. They have other stuff too ie; ice which as you know we needed everyday <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Wink.gif" alt="" />
2) Anchorage Yacht Services - Union Island - friendly & helpful .....we needed water at this point again plus ice and took garbage (for a small fee).

It looks like this will carry over to a 3rd and final chapter because I need to dig out a few more details (full names & numbers) which I do not have at hand.
I want to touch on BoatMen - very professional, nice, mature & helpful at least at Tobago cays, Transportation (on land), The Neighbors (other boats - warning = Switch Charter cays) and other random thoughts.

Plus I will have to leave this great a/c hideout I had this afternoon (after a long night of sailing).
So until the next port........ <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Groovin.gif" alt="" />