Bob comes to pick up Bev, Moe and Stuart for an early morning snorkel/explore of Petit Tabac, the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ island. I am too lazy to go but just steal Moe’s photos when they get back as the island is so lovely.
We arrange to leave at 9.30 am and five minutes before, I give a pseudo countdown to Crazy Horse and Ocean Jasper then we are off, CH then OJ following close behind.
We motor for a while then get the main up and motor sail. After about half an hour we are able to put the genoa out and cut the engine. The wind is with us and once past the short choppy waves around Canouan, we fly the rest of the way to Bequia, averaging 8.5 knots. It’s a great sail although I have to admit to spending most of it in bed trying to go back to sleep (and failing).
Unfortunately, Crazy Horse starts to smoke as we leave the Cays and they suspect her engine cooling inlet pipe is blocked with weed from where they were anchored. (Bill manages to clear this later.)
We arrive in Admiralty Bay, Bequia and expertly attach ourselves to a mooring ball. Immediately we are approached by one of the boat boys who tells us that the buoy we have chosen is not suitable for a large boat like ours and tells us he has a much better one further into the shore. We slip the lines and prepare to follow him when the owner of the one we had moored go arrives and says the buoy is fine for us and asks for our lines. As we tie back on, the second guy comes roaring back saying again that it’s no good for us and the two of them have an argument about it. Apparently this happens all the time as they all vie for the same business. We are not a heavy boat and Mike is quite content to stay where we are. Moe negotiates a good price for us and we settle back to have some lunch.
Crazy Horse come in next and gets given the ball that the other guy wanted us to have and Ocean Jasper comes in a little later.
Matt, Rosemary and Anna come over after lunch to see if we want to have a little explore around town and takes me, Bev, Moe and Stuart over to the dinghy dock then shoots back to the boat to help Bill sort out the engine problem. Port Elizabeth, the town at the head of Admiralty Bay, has most things that yachties need – chandleries, fishing supplies and supermarkets which are well stocked by small Caribbean island standards. There is a good choice of bars and restaurants.
We straggle along the road in little groups, sometimes meeting up and sometimes disappearing from sight and hanging around waiting for other to reappear. Rosemary describes it as trying to herd cats.
We arrange to meet up with Crazy Horse for dinner at the Devil’s Table, an interesting venue built underneath the Yacht Club and into the side of a hill. When we arrive, we find Annie and Jim eating at the bar and the crew from Ariane at one of the tables.
Here I have one of the best steaks I have ever had. No special steak knife is needed and the ordinary one just slips through my perfectly cooked meat as if it is butter. It is covered with a rum and peppercorn steak and is just scrumptious, as is the potato with garlic and gruyere cheese that comes with it. We are a little disappointed with the music when it starts as it is more like soul/pop than the reggae we were promised. However, as the bar starts to fill up with locals and people coming in to the bar rather than just eating, it livens up and the reggae starts. The house wine is good too although when they run out of it and refuse to give us a different bottle for the same price as the house (which, for God’s sake, is only EC$9 different) we refuse to buy another bottle on principal.
Maggie and Bob arrive as we finish eating and join us for drinks although. It’s a lovely evening but we are both tired and leave with Rosemary and Bill earlier than the others.
Our position is: 13 deg 00 min N, 61 deg 14 min W
Distance so far: 24641 nautical miles
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