These trip reports are becoming more and more difficult to write.  Even I have an annual quota of superlatives I am permitted to use.  Thankfully, there is no self-imposed cap on BS.  I am certain that you have a limit to how much of it you will read.  This paradise thing has become all too routine.  For example:

“The airlines delivered us to our destination and back with precision.  Mount Gay turned out yet another perfect batch.  Every Hairoun was ice-cold.  Each restaurant we patronized turned out a sumptuous meal.  Not a single cloud passed before the sun.  The boat found its way back to Blue Lagoon without a single problem.  The dinghy outboard failed on the last day in Bequia, as it always does.”

See what I mean?

Ho hum.

The Shmoopy Trip

This was a couple’s trip.  Sort of.  There was Debbie and I, Keith and Dawn, and then there was Peter (Manual Man).  His job, other than reading every technical manual on board, was to be sick of all the schnuggling that was going on.  Anybody remembering that Seinfeld episode “The Soup Nazi,” where Jerry and his girlfriend-du-jour schnuggled and called each other “shmoopy” every few seconds, will understand.  Enough to make anybody sick.  That was us. 

Sorry.

A Most Excellent Itinerary

I have been working for many years on the perfect Grenadines itinerary.  I think I finally have it.  My refined schedule significantly reduces exposure to the longer and more tiring passages, enables you to arrive at an anchorage before it gets full, and maximizes your beverage time at each stop.  We put this plan into action on this trip, and I am very happy with the results.

Here it is, and the rationale that goes with it:

• Day 1 – Sail Blue Lagoon to Mustique (2 hrs).  Do everything in your power to leave early, no later than 11am.  That gets you to Mustique by 1pm, with enough time to have lunch, tour the island, go snorkeling, get fried on Martinis, or just relax on the boat.  Arriving early makes all the difference in making you to feel that your really visited the island.

• Day 2 – Sail Mustique to Salt Whistle Bay (3.25 hrs).  Again, depart no later than 9am, and you will be in SWB by noon, when most people are just leaving.  This is a tight anchorage and an executive parking spot associated with early arrival is worth the effort.  You can enjoy the entire afternoon relaxing on the boat or on the beach.  Mustique-SWB is less better than pressing on to the Cays or Union, as it is already one of your longer passages.  Why kill yourself sailing when you can be having an ice-cold beer? 

• Day 3 – Stay in Salt Whistle Bay.  Enjoy a lazy day doing nothing.  That’s the point of it all, right?

• Day 4 – Motor over to the Tobago Cays.  Leave by 9am and you are at anchor in the Cays an hour later.  If anybody sleeps in, their day will start in the Cays.  This gives you an entire day to snorkel and explore this islands.

• Day 5 – Sail Tobago Cays to Canouan.  Leave late in the day - 3pm - allowing you to enjoy the Cays as much as possible.  For anybody who does not particularly enjoy anchoring unprotected from this wind, this strategy also allows you to enjoy two full days on the Cays, but only one night.  Canouan is not a great stop, but keep in mind that you are only using it as a stepping stone to shorten the next day’s sail to Bequia.  It is my least favorite anchorage.  There is really not much ashore, and a wicked groundswell sometimes makes docking a terrifying experience.  This would make a great night to cook aboard.  Your water tanks should be nearly empty, so this is a good place to have Marcus come alongside with his barge and refill.

• Day 6 – Sail Canouan to Bequia.  Leave no later than 8:30am, allowing you to be on a mooring in Bequia by noon.  This is your toughest sail, as it is close-hauled into the waves, so you want to reduce your exposure to it.  By leaving from Canouan, you are at its mercy for only 3.5 hours.  If you leave from SWB or the Cays, add an extra hour and a half.  That extra time on the water is the difference between arriving in Bequia ready to rumble, or arriving totally pooped and unable to do anything.  This way, you can enjoy a roti at the Green Boley, take in an island tour, and still hit one of the great restaurants.
  
  

• Day 7 – very early sail to Blue Lagoon.  Make sure you are packed the night before because you have little time to dock, check out, and hop in the taxi for the 10:40am LIAT flight to Barbados.  Leaving from Bequia instead of Blue Lagoon the day of departure effectively gives you another night out there.

If you have ants-in-your-pants, then you will not be able to stay still in Salt Whistle Bay for two nights.  In that case, I recommend motoring over to the Cays on Day 3, and add Union as a new stop on Day 4.  If you have more than seven days, then add Union, PSV, Chatham Bay, or additional nights in Bequia, Salt Whistle Bay, or the Cays.  The objective is to shorten the two longest passages.

The Supreme Suspect

There are many Prime Suspects who sail on the boat.  I am The Prime Suspect, and so I legitimately thought that made me important.  Until this trip.

This was Debbie’s first trip to The Grenadines, and her first cruising experience.  I was concerned that she may not share my enthusiasm for it, and had played out several scenarios in my mind, depending on the successful or unsuccessful outcome of this trip.  I was concerned that the boat would be declared surplus inventory and require asset disposal.  Would I need the services of a yacht broker?  A lawyer?  A hospital?  Perhaps some tranquilizers.

I was uncertain.

Given her early experience as a waterbaby on the Island of Mauritius, it did not take long before she was tanning on the foredeck, sipping a cold beer at sunset, modeling tropical sarongs, or eating grilled lobster.  One thing led to another.  Soon, she was diving off the bow of the boat, snorkeling among the fishes, and swimming into shore for a cold one.  From there, she began operating the anchor windlass, running the diesel to ensure the beer supply remained at optimum temperature, and checking the bilge for water.  This was good, I thought.

When she insisted on driving the dinghy, I began to fear for my job.  On the second last day, she wrestled the helm from my hands and I knew that all was lost.  I knew then that my title of The Prime Suspect was no longer worth the paper it was printed on, because she had become the Supreme Suspect, and how do you beat that?

At the conclusion of the trip, I was happy that I would not have to get rid of the boat.  I will still need a yacht broker, however.  She now wants to upgrade to a large catamaran, and after all, who is going to argue with the Supreme Suspect?  ;)

One Great New Experience

Each time I am anchored on the Cays, I look across the Horseshoe Reef at the island just beyond, Petit Tabac, and wonder what it would be like to visit.  On occasion, I have seen a few boats anchored there for the day, and even fewer for the night.  I was intrigued.

When I saw the movie Pirates of The Caribbean, I learned that Petit Tabac was used to film the scene where Captain Jack Sparrow and Elizabeth were marooned. I wanted to check it out.  My buddy Free Willy offered to run us out there for a few hours and we accepted.  The trip over was interesting, and quite rough, as we had to leave the protection of the reef through the gap and make our way to the island with large waves on our stern quarter.

When we arrived, it was obvious that this was the crown jewel of all the islands in the Cays.  Totally uninhabited, lined with white sand and shallow protected waters, it was the highlight of the entire trip.

We found the spot where the scenes were shot (above).  The campfire spot was still there, and it was pretty obvious where the rum cache might have been.  There was no rum, however.  It was just a movie.

I strongly recommend a visit to this island.  Better still, I recommend that you arrange it with Free Willy to take you over in the morning, cook you a lobster lunch on the beach, then run you back at the end of the day.  Without question, this will make the Top 15 Experience of The Grenadines for next year.