Bequia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Bequia (Pronounced Beck-way) The passage from St. Lucia to the lee shore of St. Vincent was pretty easy (always appreciated), and we then coasted along the shoreline enjoying the view. St. Vincent has a pretty sketchy reputation among the cruising crowd, with quite a few incidents circulating of boat break-ins and thefts, so although very striking visually (much of “Pirates Of The Caribbean was filmed there), we decided to pass it by.

The seven mile hop between the southern tip of St. Vincent and Bequia was a little windy, but with the main reefed down and some jib rolled in we had pretty comfortable sailing and were still making over seven knots. Neither Emmy or I had ever been to Bequia, so as we barreled along towards the harbor we were checking the chart and piloting around rocks and shallows, mentally preparing to drop the sails and getting ready to anchor or grab a mooring, and snatching glimpses of the new scenery when we heard a sound like a cell phone ringing? It seemed to be coming from a small inflatable boat off our starboard bow, and the lone occupant was pointing a large plastic covered tube at us…??

As we looked closer we finally figured it out - the cruising guide mentioned that there’s a guy who takes digital photos of boats sailing into Bequia, and then offers them for sale. The cell phone sound was a whistle the guy blows to get you to look at the camera! You can see one of the pix the fellow took of us posted here - that’s what we look like when underway.

Bequia has a rich sailing and whaling history, as well as a reputation as a very laid back , off the beaten track kind of tropical island, and along with the Tobago Cays had served as sort of our destination for this winter’s cruise, so we were pretty excited to be finally getting here. Gliding over the clear water of the beautiful harbor amongst dozens of sailboats flying flags from the UK, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Switzerland, Italy, South Africa, along with a few US, it seemed we were part of a little nautical United Nations! We found a mooring with the help of a local “boat boy,” shut everything down and relaxed in the cockpit, enjoying the calm quiet, the view, and a cold rum drink. Ahhh…now that’s what I’m talking about!

The harbor offers pretty good protection, so we had a lovely, quiet night of sleep, very welcome after the crazy, rolly night at The Pitons in St. Lucia the night before. The next morning we went ashore to clear Customs, which was a snap. I spotted Emmy down the street, engrossed in conversation with an older gentleman. Mr. King, a Bequian of Scottish descent, drives a small safari taxi, and is full of interesting info and stories, so we agreed to go for a tour of the island.

After a Mexican-Bequian lunch we met back up with Mr. King and went off on our tour. First stop was a small battlement overlooking Port Elizabeth with a panoramic view of Admiralty Bay and the surrounding waters over towards St. Vincent, then we were off to the turtle nursery at the other end of the island.

Brother King, a relative of our driver, has taken on the monumental task of trying to save hawksbill and other sea turtles in his privately owned and operated facility on the south coast. In Bequia hunting and killing turtles for food is still legally and culturally acceptable, and in addition to working with the turtles themselves, Mr. King also teaches schoolchildren about endangered species and conservation of resources. Quite impressive, he even had a couple albino turtles!

Our tour continued by Spring Bay and then to Friendship Bay, another famous anchorage in Bequia, home to the last remaining whaling activity in the islands. The islanders are permitted to take two whales per year, using traditional sail powered whaleboats and hand thrown harpoons. They’ve been doing this for a couple of hundred years, from this same lovely white sand bay, with Mustique in the background. After bouncing around in the back of the truck for a few hours and lots of horn blowing later (Mr. King literally knows every soul on the island, and he can’t seem to resist giving a couple toots of the horn to each and every one) we arrived safely back in Admiralty Bay , and were ready for showers and a nap.

Bequia is the kind of island that grows on you…it just kind of gets under your skin. The weather was fine and it was easy to just hang around the boat, occasionally jumping into the clear, pale green harbor for a swim, and just enjoy the sights and sounds. We walked about the town, stepping into every open door , one of which was the Bequia Bookshop, where we found one of the most eclectic and extensive book selections in any of the islands we’ve visited. The manager, Cheryl Jones , once lived on St. Croix and worked at UVI! We visited the fresh produce market where we developed an interesting relationship with the Rasta vendors and the local jewelry maker, Chris, who has an incredible technique for painting calabashes.

On Sunday we decided to do what everybody here does, we went to the beach! We both needed our hair cut, so we packed the scissors and took a short dinghy ride to Princess Margaret Beach. We walked over to some rocky cave-like formations and set up shop. You won’t find a barbershop or hair salon with a better view - beautiful sailing yachts sliding by a few hundred yards away, with the water lapping at our feet while seagulls cried as they flew overhead.

We couldn’t quite manage a decent wifi connection to the internet from the boat, but no worries, there are a couple places ashore that have free access. We holed up a few times in a little open air, second floor French restaurant that overlooks the harbor (just about everything here does!). It was nice to be able to look out and see Avalon while we munched away and checked email.
We found almost everyone in Bequia to be pretty happy and relaxed, and it genuinely lived up to its “laid back” reputation. One day flowed into the next, and we realized that after nearly a week we should push on to a few more of the Grenadines before we turned around and started back to St. Croix. So, time to go Bequia…it’s been fun!