Just off our sailboat...

This morning marked our tenth day and we left our skipper Raphel with the boat and headed to our hotel. We had a great time, and pretty close to perfect weather for what we wanted to do. Some of my days blog entries are up on word press, but the summary is:
We were annoyed by the start time of our charter, the captain was a bit too strict and controlling, we quickly grew tired of people trying to "help" us for money, and then we went 10.5 knots on the first day and caught a 40.3 kilo Marlin and we went to Bequia, Mustique, Mayreau, 3 days in Tobago cays, PSV, Carriacou, and Grenada with stops in Union and Mopian.

Our captain got sick on day 5, and our new captain was awesome. I will do a special write up on him soon. Snorkeling was fun, but coral is fairly damaged. We got tired of the boat boys, but Willie from union did a killer beach BBQ for us one night (friend of the captain). We love Grenada and its islands.

Rich

Glad to hear you had a mostly enjoyable time!

I found that the agressiveness of the boat vendors is in direct correlation to the economy. Like everyone else, there is less to go around, so they become more insistent that they deserve whatever share you have to spend.

Usually they aren't too bad if you just say no, but saying no 15 times in one day can sometimes be a little much!

Can't wait to read more on your blog - have been following along! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

I agree on the boat boys. I wonder if they are any less aggressive when it's busier since there are more people to get money from.

The older vendors always seem to be a less aggressive than the youngsters. On occasion I’ve mentioned aggressive vendors to Willey or Walter in the Cays and have noticed a vibrant conversation going on after. Away from the anchored boats. After that everytings mo beta.

We found that Carriacou and Grenada have been our favorite islands partially due to the lack of boat boys and things being a lot less "opportunistic". We are still touring Grenada over the next 4 days (on land), so I'll keep writing and eventually posting more pictures.

Rich

Most of the islands that went independent are now poor and the Boat boys all though bothersome are out there trying to make a living. You won't have that problem in the French and the Dutch islands where the French and the Dutch control the government and education.
When I'm in Boat boy territory I usually hire one to purchase some fruits or other things I might need.

I figure the boat boys are just trying to make a living, and as said with less potential customers they have to try harder. I pay $62 dollars a month for satalite TV and my programs are still interupted every ten minutes with commercials, so a few boat boys coming out as we anchor to try to sell goods or services doesn't really bother me. A smile and a no thank you usually does the trick. In Union the druggies that prowl the dingy dock are another story altogether, and is why we now prefer to go to Chatum Bay.

Shhhh, let's keep that quiet. We really do not want the riff-raff that reads this forum to find out about Chatham. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Groovin.gif" alt="" />

As I look back on it, I can see that the boat boys are just trying to make a living, and by picking one (as our captain did), it shuts any one of them down pretty quickly. Willey from Union was very nice and we did buy some bread and water from him besides the very delicious bbq.

The real annoyances were on St Vincent, where the Taxi driver was taking some liberties.. the group didn't ask for guides to show up and then want to be paid when they went to the botanical gardens and fort. When asked for the amount it would cost for the all-day taxi up front, there was no answer (and we let it slide).. so it ended up in a hefty fee that seemed a little unreasonable. We also had a taxi (water & land) who was mad that he didn't get the fare for all of us to the airport and back from young island that wanted $100us for driving the captain back and forth to the airport and then ferrying us to our moored boat. Then the guys that showed up out of nowhere to help us carry our bags from the taxi to the dock (which we had to tell to leave), and then mooring cost at Clifton/Union for even an hour is annoying (40ec and 80ec overnight). They are shooting themselves in the foot if you ask me. Everyone at union asked us how many people we have and if we were staying the night for the band -- besides it being hot/no wind, we were turned off enough to not want to stay there.

again - with that said, we did have a fun time. The sunsets were amazing, the sea life was good, food we made and restaurants we went to had great food, and the fishing was fun.. the one sailfish on day 1 and some barracuda, tuna (which we made ceviche from) and one Jack that pulled REALLY hard initially and then when it got to the boat we found that it was hit by a shark and only half there. One highlight was risotto made from one of the Lobsters from the beach bbq and some crab. Simply amazing.

In both my trips through the Grenadines, I never had any real problems with the boat boys. They are more aggressive than you are accustomed to in the BVI....that's for sure. I found that a "no thank's",and a cold beer worked perfect. Sure, I probably gave away 8-10 beers or so...over the week, it seemed like a good way to keep everybody happy...you're mileage may vary <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Cheers.gif" alt="" />

We haven't had issues either, in any of our trips. The vendors @ Union were much more aggressive than at the Cays, but still pleasant and no one minded a pop, beer with a refusal.

We always pick one vendor and stick with him during our trip. He arranges another vendor to come if he doesn't have what we want, and we tell all the others that we're dealing with so & so.

I've had some great conversations with them over a beer, and nothing purchased.

Sounds like a great trip! Enjoy my favorite island, Grenada. Such a lovely place. Try to head over to La Sagesse Nature Center (beach) and spend the day on a beach that looks much like South Pacific, have lunch there at the restaurant there. Lovely day.

Be sure to pick up spices, and yummy Grenada Chocolate Factory chocolate bars (and if someone is a cook - fantastic cocoa too). Can't wait to go stock up this summer!!! (sailing in many places, and ending up in Grenada before heading home)