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Dec. 23, Mystique
It was a nice morning when we awoke; we took the dingy to shore for some stocking up as it this will be the last chance for a few days. I withdrew some money from the ATM, topped up my digicel and bought more rum for the WARC (World Arc). The plan today was to sail to Mystique, and after last years experience of the island being on lockdown, Dan tried to call ahead to check on the situation. The main office wasn’t answering the phone so he tried Basil’s and they gave the vague answer of “we are open”.
So off we set, tacking our way around the end of Bequia and then turning towards our destination under a moderate breeze. We made Mystique in good time, only to find the island was once again locked down since most of the owners were there for the holiday. We watched as several small planes made their landing about 5 minutes or so apart, there were so many we lost count. A few of us went to Basil’s for a drink and some pre-Christmas wifi. We didn’t spot any celebrities, not that I would recognize them anyways, but the signal was strong and so were the drinks. Dan prepared a nice dinner onboard for us, and we had a few drinks in the cockpit afterwards; then it was an early night with our departure to the Tobago Cays moved up to tomorrow.



Some large yachts anchored off Mystique

Dec 24, Christmas Eve
We had a good breeze carry us swiftly to the highlight of the trip, the world renown Tobago Cays. The weather forecast for tomorrow didn’t look promising so we moved our dinner plans up a night also. There were a lot of boats in the anchorages as we approach, including some very large yachts. As we passed Mr. Fabulous spotted Skyelark and greeted us from the shore of Petit Bateau. We soon had our anchor down and park permit paid, when the Fabulous One arrived to say hello in person, his son accompanying him. We made dinner plans for 5:00 and then took the dingy over to Baradel for some snorkeling.



Now that's a yacht!



Approaching th beautiful blue waters of the Tabago Cays

There were quite a few turtles this year, including some of the biggest I have seen here yet. It’s amazing the way the turtles don’t even seem to notice you as they eat the grass off the bottom. I snorkeled down next to a couple to get a better look at them and they would just give a push with their powerful flippers and glide away to a more comfortable distance. This is a magical place and I would encourage everyone to experience it at least once in their lives.
Back on board a squall came through as we were getting ready to leave, but passed as quickly as it appeared. We went ashore and found our table that Jean Claude had set aside for us, our traditional rum punch in hand. Another squall came through while our lobsters were being cooked, sending us and everyone else scrambling for cover. Some of the people elected to have their meals aboard their boats, but Dan went back to Skyelark and checked the radar which showed a break in the rains so we opted to stay on shore and eat.


The Fabulous One preparing our Christmas (Eve) meal

Mr. Fabulous did a fabulous job for us as always; the lobsters freshly taken from the sea, cut in half and slowly grilled to perfection. (side note: as I’m writing this Jean Claude just came up alongside and dropped off a nice fresh tuna for us as promised) The meal was accompanied by all the sides we have grown to love; stuffed potato, steamed veg, rice and peas, and deliciously tender stewed lambi (conch) and a whole extra lobster that will make a nice salad, he really appreciates our loyalty. The rum punch did it trick and when the rain returned earlier than expected it didn’t even faze us.



Jan and Robin

Once back aboard Skyelark we had finished off almost a full bottle of Captain Bligh before being forced down below by the now driving rain. During the night a storm moved in, the wind was howling like a banshee and the lightning putting on a non-stop display, lighting up the nearby island as though it was daytime. Dan and Em were stuck on deck all night, tending to Skyelark and making sure no one dragged down on us. I meanwhile stayed dryly in my bed watching the great flashes of lightning through the hatch window, I love crewed charters! The boat anchored next to us had a mishap with their headsail, it came loose during the worst of it and the sail was shredded in the wind before they could get it under control; we also heard over the radio that a yacht had dragged up on the reef at Clifton. The storm carried on until almost dawn the rage of it being heard more than felt on the solidly built Skye 51.
Dec. 25 Happy Christmas!!!
Well at least it isn’t snow; the skys were charcoal grey, it was a gloomy island day (apologies to the B-52’s). The forecast for today wasn’t promising and the clouds around us were evident that the weatherman had called it right. Our usual stops after here are Petit St. Vincent and Petit Martinique, neither of which would be any fun in the rain, so the consensus was to stay here another night and hope for better weather tomorrow. Dan made his usual Christmas breakfast of smoked salmon on a bagel with egg, a taste of home for Jan. The balance of the day was spent watching movies interspersed with recorded episodes of Faulty Towers. It was all for the better as even though we wouldn’t admit it the lingering effects of last nights rum punch made a lazy day just the ticket.
When dinner time rolled around, I cut the beef tenderloin I had brought for the trip into some nice thick steaks; Dan made some mashed potatoes, grilled carrots and corn on the cob to round out the meal. A bottle of Oak Cellars wine (from my friend’s winery in California) was the perfect complement to a great Christmas meal. Once all the phone calls home were finished we called it an early night, hoping for better weather tomorrow.


Our Christmas gift from Mr. Fabulous

Excellent. Love this trip. Miss doing it.
Cheers
irina