This is the second half of this trip report, from November 5 through 9 ...Carol Hill
This was our first visit to SVG and our first flotilla. Aboard DELPHINE, a Sunsail Jenneau 36i were my wife, myself and our 13-year old son.
11/5 Monday
We got up early and dinghied ashore to do some walking. Walked along the beach and down the nature trail that circles around the salt pond. Returned via some of the roads. We had heard about bicycle and golf cart rentals, but when we inquired we were told that there were none yet available because it was early season. I wasn't eager to be nicked for the EC$75 "mechanical transport license" anyway, and never found out what the rental rates were. For now, walking would have to do.
By the time we were finished with our walk, the bakery had opened and we bought a few items to bring back to the boat. After breakfast I did some snorkeling and paddleboarding. There is decent snorkeling just south of the mooring field, and a dropoff where the reef extends into deeper water.
I brought a Suunto wristwatch which in addition to the altimeter feature also has a depth meter which records current and maximum depth reached. My maximum depth for the trip stood at 37 feet, and I decided to try to beat it. I got down pretty deep, but the watch only registered to 39 feet, showing just dashes below that. Maybe Suunto doesn't want to compete with its own diving products.
After lounging on the boat a bit, I went back ashore to do another hike on my own. Sometimes I wish I was better at relaxing, but I have a tendency to get restless. I walked north from the bay through the little village where a lot of the locals live, then past the airport and through the Cotton House resort. The Brits had had dinner there on their first evening and reported that it was very enjoyable but expensive (no surprise there).
The airfield is interesting, set in a swampy area inland, the runway curves up at both ends. The approach must be very steep, and there is a warning light telling you not to linger on the road crosses the approach path when planes are approaching; they have to come in very low over the road.
The whole island appears to be beautifully landscaped and there was constant traffic of workers in trucks and mules.
When I returned to the boat, Kenzo had brought out his kiteboarding board and was wakeboarding through the anchorage behind the 10hp dinghy. I would have like to try that too, but the little motor could barely get Kenzo out of the water and I knew I would be too heavy.
On the day we arrived in Mustique, we had done some snorkel exploration including dinghying out near Montezuma shoal, which lies about a half or three quarter miles outside the bay. On that day, the swells were breaking heavily over the shoal, with swells from different directions colliding and throwing up beautiful fans of glittering spray.
Now the swell had subsided, and since I saw no breaking waves all day I decided to go out and try to find the wreck of the Jonas that my guidebook said was in about 40 feet of water east of the shoal. Taking the dinghy in tow, I tried to follow what I estimated to be the 40 foot contour as best I could and started searching. I swam north against the current for a while, then doubled back in slightly shallower water searching the bottom. Visibility was quite good, and there was a lot of coral, but even more striking was some of the remains of what must have been an incredible reef. The bottom was littered with fallen pillar coral and there were standing remains of elkhorn of gigantic proportions. I saw a turtle flying by 25 feet below me unconcerned by my presence.
When some long objects came into view (spars from the superstructure) I knew I was close, and seconds later I saw the hulk on the bottom. It must be a fairly recent wreck, very much intact but encrusted in coral. A large barracuda hovered just over it. I dived down a few times, but was pretty tired by this time from fighting the current so I surfaced and tried sighting landmarks on shore as best I could so I could find it again to show my family.
After dinner aboard, we took our board game along and had a few drinks at Basil's Bar. I imagine this place is probably crowded in high season, but at this time it was fairly quiet. The drinks were good and pricey, but not outrageously so, EC$20 plus a bunch of tax and service charges.
Back on board I took the flashlight to do some night snorkeling... I intended to turn on the nav lights so I could more easily find my way back to our boat, but flipped the breaker for the nav instruments instead, so I had a harder time. Swimming among the boats in the dark can be a bit disorienting. It was pretty nice though, and I saw an eel which I'm not sure I've ever seen in the Caribbean before.
(continued)
11/6 Tuesday
Got up early and my wife and I repeated the hike I did the day before to the northern part of the island. We stopped at the bakery again for breakfast items. Today was scheduled to be a "race" between the flotilla boats back to the anchorage in Bequia. I still wanted to show my family the wreck I found the day before and we hoped to make a stop at Petit Nevis, so at the risk of being a wet blanket I bowed out of the race. I'm really not that much into informal races anyway and my crew even less.
We really liked Mustique and I'm sure we will make it a stop next time we visit these islands.
We headed out in the dinghy together and after some searching I found the wreck again. I wanted to be able to dive without the dinghy drifting away, so I tied the dinghy anchor rode to the end of the painter and dropped the anchor on the deck of the wreck behind a hatchway, where I hoped it would stay put. We snorkeled the wreck and made a foray into the shallower waters of the shoal. It is certainly a large area to explore and we saw some nice sized schools of fish.
Returning to the boat, we left our mooring and headed for the passage between Isle a Quatre and Petit Nevis on a somewhat bouncy beam reach. Dropping anchor at Petit Nevis, we snorkeled the reef to the north of the anchorage which was very nice, with lots of colorful coral and plentiful fish. Definitely one of the better spots we found on the trip.
After lunch, we hoisted anchor and put up the headsail only for a dead run to West Cay at the tip of Bequia. We again saw the wrecked cargo ship and the cave houses and from there motored directly upwind to Princess Margaret beach where the other boats were already anchored.
It wasn't until I got back from the trip and re-read some old threads that I realized this was the spot where a visiting yachtsman was shot on his own boat. In hindsight, this is very hard to imagine and the circumstances must have been very different from the anchorage in which we found ourselves - surrounded by other boats - it didn't seem to warrant the slightest concern.
A group dinner (the last) was planned at the Devil's Table restaurant. Seated around a large improvised table, the flotilla group had the entire restaurant to themselves. The "catch of the day" was salmon, which raised a few eyebrows. Some of the group ordered it and declared it entirely unlike the salmon they were accustomed to at home.
I had the $20 Caribbean hamburger special, which I did enjoy. Once my 13 year old son had endured all the geriatric hijinx he could stand, we paid up and made our way back completely across Admiralty Bay back to our boat, an anchor light needle in a haystack of lights.
(continued)
11/7 Wednesday
Another fine morning. We had breakfast aboard and the Brits had gone ashore. Some of the Okies were flying out the next day so they had to return to base this day. We were going to head to Cumberland Bay on St. Vincent for our last night out and the Okies had already left since they had planned to go to Wallilabou Bay and return to base by evening.
We waited for a while for the Brits to return, but finally left without them. We had a beautiful sail on a close reach to the tip of St. Vincent, then motorsailed up the leeward side of the island. St Vincent is mountainous and covered with lush vegetation - it reminded me somewhat of Kauai.
Halfway up the coast we passed the Okies coming back from Wallilabou. We waved our good-byes to them as they had all congregated on the rail. I later heard someone say that one of them mooned us, but if that's true I didn't notice it, for which I am incredibly grateful.
We soon reached Cumberland bay, and since this bay is so deep it would require anchoring stern-to and tying off to a palm tree on shore. Not having done this a lot, I kept back and let the lead boat get settled first. Boats in my local cruising ground often carry a large spool of poly line for this purpose, but we were not provided with anything like that and had no choice but to tie all our dock lines end-to-end. I backed up toward the beach and gave the order to drop the anchor in about 45 feet of water. Kenzo then took the line and tied it to a palm tree on shore. The locals were possibly a little miffed that he did this because they usually do this for a fee.
Cumberland bay is very rustic looking; the sand is black like all natural beaches on the island. There are a few small bars and restaurants on shore. I got the sense this was the "real Caribbean" that Simon had been talking about - colorful characters on shore and plying small boats. The smell of woodsmoke and ganja wafting off the shore was intoxicating (at least it would have been in higher concentration.) The comparative lack of breeze and the general atmosphere gave this place a completely different feel from the Grenadines. Anchored only a few feet off the primive beach settlement, tied to a palm tree, I imagined this is what a lot of South Seas anchorages must feel like. Not all in my party were completely comfortable here, and some were worried about mosquitos and didn't appreciate the comparative lack of privacy. For myself, being with the flotilla took all the anxiety out of this unfamiliar location.
The reef to the south of the entrance was marked as a snorkeling location, so I went to check it out. Anchoring the dinghy, I got in the water and initially the visibility seemed bad, but it was just fresh water from the Cumberland river mixing at the surface. The reef here had the healthiest and most varied coral we saw on the trip. Lots of intact brain coral, elkhorn and lots of tube coral. I saw a type of basket sponge - irregularly shaped with an edge like shark's teeth - that I have never seen before. The area was also full of ridges and canyons with depths ranging from about 8 to 30 feet which made for very interesting diving.
We had a few showers and saw frequent rainbows here. I made the short trip to shore to have a beer with the Brits and the crew. Walking from one end of the beach to the other requires wading through the thigh-deep cool fresh water of the Cumberland river.
Cumberland bay is a possible launching point for hiking up Soufriere volcano. It would require a taxi and probably a guide - I would have loved to do it but didn't have the time on this trip. This is something I really want to work out when I return.
We had dinner aboard and settled down for our last night out. Loud conversation and smoke drifted into our anchorage seemingly all night long.
(continued)
11/8 Thursday
The dawn of our last day. I took my family out to the reef I tried the day before and we had another nice snorkel there. There had been some rain overnight, and there was a bit more fresh water clouding the top few inches of the water column, but otherwise it was still very nice. The Brits were first out of the bay. I asked the crew to wait for us to leave. I asked a local to untie us - Tyrone who came out to our boat looking rather bleary eyed and with a spliff in the corner of his mouth. I gave him a few dollars and some of our food, and he untied our line.
We motored south and watched the scenery go by. I really hope to do more exploring of the St. Vincent coastline next time around. I suspect there is a lot of good snorkeling there.
We soon reached Blue Lagoon and called the base. A pilot came out and took our boat through the cut. We tied up, and our cruise was over.
We still had part of the afternoon and there was a small party planned for the flotilla members at the base. First we took showers and had a drink at the bar. Some of the Okies (those who didn't have the early flight) were still there. The party was held at the somewhat run down pool of the hotel attached to the base. There were tasty appetizers and more rum punch, and some embarrassing party games which are not really our style.
At some point, Kenzo politely inquired why we chose the flotilla. I don't blame him for asking - we probably did keep to ourselves more than is usual, and in hindsight we could have managed the cruising ground perfectly well on our own. I have no regrets though, the format took a lot of the stress out of the unknown aspects of an unfamiliar area and now we know what flotilla sailing entails. I don't think we would do another flotilla in SVG and certainly not in the BVI, but wouldn't rule it out in, say, the Med.
I still had a chance to talk to Simon the base manager that evening and provided him with a list of things that needed attention on the boat. He, again, was a really nice guy and gave me good ideas for the future and his personal email.
I won't go into detail about our return trip; if you actually read my whole wordy trip report to this point I want to thank you for re-living the trip with me and hopefully I have included some information that might be useful to you should you visit this amazing place. Writing this up has been a nice respite from digging wet leaves out of the gutters!
Last edited by Carol_Hill; 04/22/2013 02:25 PM.
