Grenada -  Carricou  - Canouan  -  Bequia  -  St Vincent  - St Lucia

On January 29 Joshua Bell and Samantha Smith arrived in Trinidad. We took a day to show them the sights. It was a whirlwind tour. First off to the Caroni Swamp home of the Scarlet Ibis. The National bird of Trinidad. Once down to a breeding pair and now numbering in the thousands.

Then to St Anne's for a mountain top dinner overlooking the Port of Spain. And finally an evening visiting several Pan Yards to hear the steel bands practicing for Carnival. How could we leave Trinidad without one last taste of that amazing music.

At first light January 31 we weighed anchor and set a northerly course for Grenada. The wind was howling out of the east north east and seas were whipped up by the  wind blowing against the westward moving current. It was a bumpy ride with our nose almost into the wind, a double reef in the main but we averaged 9 knots. Josh at the helm had a great time hand sailing a big cat.

Since our guests had flights scheduled from St Vincent on February 7th we didn't have time to linger very long at any one stop. February 2nd we arrived in Carricou the following day Canouan and then on to Bequia by February 4. The trips between the islands were brisk and fun. With short distances between islands we had time to rest and relax once we arrived and checked in. Monday evening we were settled in to Young Island Cut on the Southern end of St Vincent. 

After Josh and Sam departed we sailed up the St Vincent coast to Wallilabu Bay. There is a picturesque waterfall only a short walk from the bay, a nice restaurant right on the water and a customs and immigrations office open for 1 hour a day. The agent comes from Kingston on his way home. 

Just Lovely! except for "the boat boys"  The entrepreneurial spirit is thriving here and elsewhere in the Grenadines. The "boys" will do anything and everything for your money, whether you want help or not. It certainly put us off! As lovely as St Vincent is we were glad to be gone from there. We felt like prisoners in our own boat. 

The crossing to St Lucia is about 30 miles and the winds were easterly at 30 knots. We had a grand sail across to St Lucia arriving at beautiful Jalousie Bay between the Pitons. We spent the weekend off of the Hilton resort. Stu had a massage for his aching shoulder and arm. We had a lovely dinner and danced at the Pier restaurant. There were only a few Boat Boys here and they were kept at bay by the local marine rangers.

On Sunday we motor sailed on up the St Lucian coast to Rodney Bay. Winds were out of the east but we were in the lee of the island. The ride was smooth and the scenery gorgeous. We were pleasantly surprised to find The Rodney Bay Marina had space available. This marina is the terminus of the ARC Atlantic Rally for Cruisers. This is the nicest facility we have found so far. There are a number of boats still here after the rally which was held the end of last year after hurricane season. It's been fun to trade ocean crossing tales and to compare boats and equipment.

We head off soon for Martinique. It will be another 30 mile trip. The winds have been 25-30 for the past few days and are expected to be the same out of the northeast. We'll head for Fort de France at 345° It should be a fast reach.