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21 January 2014

Still northwards in small steps

Day Six Canouan to Bequia - Jan 20
Leaving the nice, broad anchorage of Canouan, we wondered if some Santa Ana effect from the island's hills was going on - conditions were supposed to be moderate but we were registering 25-30k gusts. Turning the corner of the island, there was no doubt - the winter trades were at full force, feeling like a wall and the seas like a washing machine, including some respectable 12 footers. We followed two Swedish vessels motorsailing in the same direction and conditions gradually improved as we neared Bequia. In Admiralty Bay, we grabbed one of the much maligned moorings, this being the place where you can (and will) drag anchor with 5 scope chain 3 days down. 


Day Seven Bequia to Chateaubelair, St Vincent - Jan 21
The next morning, a visit to the jewel (or is it jewelry?) of the Caribbean food stores, Doris, was in order before checking out of St Vincent. We set off from Bequia and had a dreamlike experience crossing to StVincy - BEAM REACH. Who remembered this existed? Flying on a magic carpet at 8+ knots to the main island, then a slow 6-7 kt reach to our destination, with time to chat, polish metal and see the little villages of the coast go by. 

A couple of showers refreshed us as we neared Chateaubelair.


The local anchoring advisor, George Small, was again on hand to provide information on the best spots on the narrow shelf and we put the hook down with only one other boat in the bay (Cumberland Bay had about 10 yachts).

After the disastrous torrential rains of end December we were happy to contribute a little bit in the form of clothes, food and money.

A serene evening on board, with tiny fishes jumping all around the boat.











1 comment:

Anne and Chris said...

Welcome back! We saw Raconteur on the hard in Grenada, and were wondering when you'd be back for her. It has been VERY windy, but it seems to be easing up a bit. Sorry we missed you. What's your itinerary - perhaps we'll see you farther north...?