December 30, 2017

Fill the fuel tanks, cast off the lines, and motor out of the harbor at Rodney Bay and into the Caribbean Sea.

Captain Bill and I are sailing south.   My first trip on a sailboat.

The prevailing northeast winds are behind us.  Main sail raised.  Head sail raised.  Destination plotted.  Auto pilot engaged.  Motor disengaged.  We “fly” south along the west coast of St. Lucia, past the mountains and the Pitons on the southern tip of the island.

Bequia (“Island of the Clouds”)

13°0′N 61°14′W

7 sq mi (18 km2) 

Pop 4300

St. Vincent and the Grenadines

January 1, 2018

Happy New Year!           

With his head of windblown hair and his beard of whitecaps and waves, we are greeted at the dock with his welcoming smile and his tee shirt that reads, “Livin’ the Dream.”

Here in Bequia locals “Live the Dream.” 

And since there is no convenient way to travel here except on a boat, Bequia is one of those places in the world known only to sailors.  Sailors and their crew and passengers also “Live the Dream.”

Saltwhistle Bay

Mayreau

St. Vincent and the Grenadines

January 5, 2018

A Kite.  That’s how I describe St. Vincent and the Grenadines.  An archipelago that looks like a Kite.

At the head of the Kite is the main island of St. Vincent.  The smaller islands form the Tail.

We "fly down" the "tail" to Mayreau.

Mayreau is the smallest inhabited island of the kite-like archipelago.   Only 1.5 square miles and a population of 271.

And yet, Saltwhistle Bay is a delightful anchorage with a bar and restaurant and a good WiFi connection.