Trip to Bequia 26/27 January 2024

Following the safety briefings and weather and passage planning checks, we were ready to go to Bequia. This is an Island which is part of St Vincent & the Grenadines and is approximately 100 nm away and is a place that Stormbird has been before. We planned to leave just before dark and Predict Wind said that the wind would be light for the first few hours and then would be 18-20 kts with gusts up to 24 with little rain.

Bequia is 18 sq kilometres in area and is the largest of the independent St Vincent Islands and volcanic and a ridge of hills from one end to the other. It has a population of about 7,000 consisting of black African ex slaves and old European colonists mainly French & Scots. In addition fisherman from New Bedford who came here in the 19c to hunt whales and taught the local population. It is a favourite Island of Yachtsman full of sailors and boats and it still has an active whaling station which is only allowed to take 4 whales a year. The main harbour is Admiralty Bay on the southwest with Port Elisabeth being the town.

We upped the anchor without difficulty just before the sun went down and put up the mainsail and headed off on our course about 284 degrees. I had put a waypoint to the North of Bequia where there is a 6-mile channel between it and St Vincent where it says “it can get rough”. The other option depending on our course would be to go round the south of the Island but that meant going between certain other small Islands. At first we were able to make our course on a wind angle of 130 and I expected that the wind was going to back according to the forecast which would make it even easier to make our course. Initially we saw the sun go down and the lights of Barbados light up and before long we could see the full length of the Island. The wind was gentle 10-14 kts and there was a light swell which slowly increased as we got out of the lee of the Island.

Simon heated up the chilli con carne which we had with rice and courgettes in dog bowls (very nice Mark!) as we watched Barbados get smaller with the lights twinkling and the aeroplanes quite visibly landing and taking off. The watches would start at 8.00pm with Simon and I were on the first watch. The wind began to build in strength and so did the swell and by 11.00pm we were sailing well and fast but it was quite rolly which unfortunately made Stig feel unwell. We then started to encounter rain clouds which drove driving rain into the cockpit making us and everything quite wet. Stig sat up bravely but then went down to bed. Simon went to bed after our shift from 8-11 pm and David and Cari took over until 2.00am when Ian and the brave Stig took over who got up despite his seasickness to fulfil his shift.

In short it was a rough and rolly crossing with winds up to 30 kt (and regularly at 25-27 kts) gusts and lots of rain and clouds with wind. This meant quite regular reefing and adjustments and also that the wind instead of backing was veering which meant that our course pushed us towards ST Vincent and St Lucia. We knew we would have to gybe at some point but on our Starboard tack we were moving more toward our waypoint than our port tack would mean. The combination of strong wind and waves of 3-4m made for quite a challenging crossing for the new crew and Simon was not able to make his shift at 5.00am and although I tried to rest I could not sleep so between David,Ian and I we were up all night. The cockpit and everything was wet and we had to use our wet weather gear for probably the first time.

At 5.00am I took the decision to gybe which meant pulling in the Staysail, taking back the running backstay line (it supports the mast) used with the Staysail and bringing in the main to the center, getting the running backstay line on the other side. We then have to detach the boom preventer and rig it on the other side ready before gybing. Then gybing, letting the boom out, tightening the preventer and putting out the Staysail. This takes time and meant that I had to go out on deck and do this on rolly decks and where water was running down into the drain holes and it took about 5-8 minutes.

The gybe meant we were heading for the waypoint now but we were North of St Vincent and I had decided to do it on one gybe. It soon became light and we could see St Vincent shrouded in cloud and mist and it was a damp morning and I felt damp too!!. Stormbird was doing well but I am afraid most of the crew were in bed trying to sleep despite the washing machine motion. There was quite a strong current up to 3 kts pushing us toward the east coast of St Vincent which I had to be careful of. Eventually we came to the Bequia passage and I decided to motor as we were all tired and it would have meant a number of gybes before we could enter Admiralty Bay. The motion under engine was no better and the water in the channel was quite rough and lots of breaking waves and white horses. Bequia began to reveal itself as we came down the west side and there was a ridge of hills covered in green trees/bushes and little sign of life. Before long Admiralty Bay began to open and we could see as cruise ship anchored at its entrance. We avoided the reef and there were hundreds of yachts and other boats moored or at anchor in what was a very attractive bay in a horseshoe shape. There were lots of coloured little houses on the banks as they rose up to a ridge. You could see a little town ahead which expands from the ferry dock in the center.

I had looked at the pilot books and worked out ideally where I wanted to anchor but as there were so many boats that this was going to be difficult. A boat came out and offered a buoy quite close into the town which was not unreasonable and I thought that may be a sensible option rather than trying to find an anchor spot, as long as the buoy was sound. Once moored we had a quick celebratory beer. Stig and Simon had come up to watch our entry and were now feeling much better. As we came in a lady in a dinghy seemed to recognise Stormbird.

After the beer I had to get my head down which I did for a couple of hours. Then we all went ashore and checked in with customs and got some cash. The restaurants are all along a concrete walkway (Belmont Walkway) which scouts the bay and they lead to Princess Margaret Beach. We found a nice one called the Fig Tree and initially had a beer and then of course a rum punch!! This was delicious and quite gingery.  This morphed into a good meal with creole fish, lobster and conch on the menu. We returned to Stormbird in the dark and had a chat in the cockpit (nightcap!) before turning in. We were all in good spirits and it was good to be somewhere new with all the other trips now being relatively short before Grenada.

The blog will continue as we explore Barbados and beyond.

If you have any comments or suggestions about the blog do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com  I can only upload one picture a day.