Dear Rob;

We got back on Saturday night, February 12th.  We all had a great time in the Grenadines for the most part.   The only thing that was below par was the skipper on our yacht, and the ship’s cook literally could not cook at all.   Everything else was fantastic and exceeded our expectations!!!   The weather was really good, with the exception of light winds that made our time aboard Le Large, alias The Barge with Captain Pennypincher, even longer between island passages.

Captain Pennypincher’s real name is Michel Brassard.  Michel is a French Canadian expatriate who has lived in the Caribbean for the last 12 years.  His female companion of 20 years, Alberte’, left him and went back to Canada two weeks before our arrival.  Lucky us!  Instead of Alberte’ cooking the delicious meals advertised on the boat’s website, Michel hired a 25 year old French girl named Marin who had just completed a transatlantic crossing in January.  Marin was found cleaning catamarans for switch.fr (a low-cost French-crewed charter company based in Martinique.  Marin is a sweet and wonderful gal who just simply cannot cook at all.  She was willing to work for low wages, so BINGO, she was our “cook”.  Of course, Michel provisioned the boat with the cheapest crap he could find.  Onboard, we survived on toast and coffee, burnt eggs, and overcooked fish and rice.  YUM!  As you may ascertain, I do not recommend the Le Large or Captain Pennypincher to anyone.  The yacht is not very well maintained and we ran aground on two different evenings while anchored.  We got stuck on the bottom for six hours in Tobago Cays, and once again the next evening while anchored on the other side of Petit Bateau.  It’s a miracle that the rudder made it out intact.  Our captain was a real safety conscience fanatic, huh?

Michel was really heartbroken over the loss of his long-time companion, so we tried to be patient with his escapades.  It was difficult because he was a self-described expert on every subject on earth and he would barge into every private conversation.  I am surprised he didn’t stick his head into our cabin hatch and try to help us with our love making techniques.  Politics are his main subject and he is not a fan of the U.S. or the English-speaking parts of Canada, so it got a little tiresome since we were all Americans just wanting to relax.  Michel and I had a private little conference after a couple of days and I tried to very strongly suggest that he relax a bit.  That worked for all of about a day!  Then it was back to “Workers of the world unite”, and “ Quebec should break away from Canada ”.  He is a real character!

Our trip began when we flew direct from Indianapolis to Hewanorra Airport St. Lucia.  We took a taxi to Marigot Bay through the mountains of St. Lucia, a trip well worth the $70.00 U.S. that we paid.  It was nice to see the beautiful people of St. Lucia and their homes on the 50 minute taxi ride.  We didn’t have a chance to meet JJ or Herman at JJ’s Paradise in Marigot Bay.  We arrived a little late and everyone was a little tired after the flight from Indiana.  Marigot Bay is quaint and beautiful, though!  It could be the world’s most perfect natural little harbor.  

Our ten-hour sail from Marigot Bay to Bequia was really nice.  Sailing past the Pitons of St. Lucia and then past the beautiful island of St. Vincent was fantastic.  St. Vincent is a most awesome island to just gaze at as you quietly slice through the navy blue waters.  It was truly a wonderful experience.  We sailed the last two hours to Bequia in total darkness because there was no moon at all.  The night sailing was kind of thrilling and a little scary for an amateur sailor/passenger.

All of us (my wife, Rick, Cyndi, and I) aboard Le Large very much enjoyed Port Elizabeth, Bequia.  The girls liked the shopping and we all fell in love with the people.  We had drinks and a little lunch at Le Bistro which is very close to the Customs Office.  Mitch, the owner of Le Bistro, also owns the liquor/convenience store attached next door.  Mitch’s girlfriend and the mother of his baby, works in the restaurant and is a really nice lady with a wonderful laugh.  Mitch shared a great story of how he was mentored by the famous “Foxy” of Jost Van Dyke in the BVI.  We all met Foxy seven years ago while drinking several Rum Runners at his famous beach bar on Jost Van Dyke.  He actually made up a song with the info he gleaned from us about where we were from and what we did for a living.

It seems that several years ago (around 7 or 8) Mitch was living in what Mitch described as “a shack” in Bequia.  While in Port Elizabeth, he met an older black man that asked about where he should stay for the night.  Mitch offered the old man to stay with him in his shack for the night.  The old man readily accepted and stayed the night at Mitch’s place.  Mitch fed him and would take no money from this old black stranger in town.

The next afternoon the likeable stranger asked Mitch if we would like to accompany him to a formal dinner he was invited to that evening, as his guest.  The old man told Mitch that there would be free food and drinks, that it should be a good time and he should wear his best clothes.  Mitch quickly agreed and went with the old man to the dinner.  Upon entering the hall Mitch and the stranger caused a standing ovation.  The dinner was in Foxy’s honor and the hall was full of government dignitaries and island VIP’s.  They starting cheering, “Foxy!, Foxy!”.

Needless to say Mitch had no idea who he was helping that day.  Mitch told me he couldn’t believe it and Foxy was so impressed with Mitch’s kindness and intelligence that he has helped Mitch to start his business and to mentor him through it’s growth. 

We also stopped by the Green Boley and had a couple Hairoons and bought a couple things in the gift shop.  I did buy my daughter a handmade medical smock that she really likes.  It even fits her and she likes it and actually wears it to work!

If you want the absolutely coldest beer in the islands visit Nelly’s Bar across from Sargeant Brothers Model Boat Shop which is located north of the Shell Depot and up the hill a bit on the main street in Bequia.  Nelly is an older woman with a club foot and she is a real sweetheart and her bar is kept immaculately clean.  Great prices too.  I bought a nice model working schooner that they wanted $900.00 U.S. for and I ended up paying $650.00, plus $50.00 shipping.  I didn’t want to take the chance of damaging it on our yacht or on the plane home.  The boat I bought is a real beauty and the ultimate souvenir, in my opinion, of Bequia.

Our next stop was Mustique.  We anchored in Britannia Bay and because of the abnormally light winds, the yacht that often reported rolling at night was quite tolerable for sleeping.  We arrived in Mustique around sunset so by the time we dinghied to Basil’s Bar, the sun had already sunk below the horizon and it was dark.  I had already made reservations at the The Firefly for dinner that night, so we had a couple of drinks at Basil’s before being transported up the hill by Adrian our waiter at The Firefly. 

Basil’s service was very slow and actually a little disappointing.  Unfortunately, we were there a week too late.  It seems that on Tuesday February 1^st ,  Mick Jagger gave an impromptu performance.  I later talked with some very nice Brits that just happened to be there.  They said that it was really great.  Mick sang about five songs and finished with “Jumpin’ Jack Flash.”  I guess the “crowd” of around 25 people went wild.  I wished we could have been there for that!  He was backed up by a group of Jazz musicians, the Rolling Stones were not there with him.

The Firefly was a great time and the food was fabulous.  The crab cakes should not be missed, they are mouth-watering good.  We all had a great time and loved the food.  I treated Captain Pennypincher and Marin to dinner and they were very appreciative.  Captain Pennypincher had never been there, even though he has visited Mustique many times in his 12 years of chartering.  The experience changed his opinion of Mustique, which he had tried to talk me out of visiting when he saw my proposed itinerary.

We all watched a six-foot Atlantic manta ray the next morning swimming around our yacht in the pristine waters for about 30 minutes in Britannia Bay.  That was really cool.

We also had a stupendous beach barbeque with the “real” Seckie.  We then also hired him to run us all around the next day in his 26 foot fiberglass pirogue with a 65 horse Yamaha outboard motor.  Seckie picked us up in the Tobago Cays and we then went to Petit Tabac (with an iced down cooler of Hairoons) for a couple of hours.  We then motored over to the Mopion Sandbank for a few minutes for pictures then we motored around Petit St. Vincent and checked out the beautiful resort.  

Then we slid into Petit Martinique (Grenada) without any Customs visit for a couple of drinks.  It was too hot there with no wind there so we decided to motor over to Palm Island and the resort for lunch.  The resort on Palm Island is first class with really nice people and great food, albeit a little bit pricy.  Seckie, our guide, ate lunch with us and we then decided to motor clear around Union Island on the east coast.  Wow, it was fantastic and unspoiled.  We had a chance to watch a group of fishermen using a huge circular net to catch bait fish in Chatham Bay.

After motoring past Bloody Bay on Union we then motored across the channel to Mayreau and met our yacht that had anchored in Salt Whistle Bay while we were exploring.  It was really a fantastic day.  Seckie is a great guy and we had dinner with him two days later at Nola’s in Clifton.  Seckie told me you have him mixed up with someone else (Larsten) and you have the wrong guy in your website.  Seckie is great and I highly recommend him for beach barbeques and tours.  Seckie can be reached by calling 784-530-5913 or 784-492-0787.  Beach barbeque for $60 U.S. per person and the 4 of us only spent $150.00 for the day trip on his boat.  We did extend the day trip for an additional $50.00 because it was so much fun.  

We had a delicious lunch of Red Snapper with some sort of fabulous sauce with Robert Righteous. Rick and I spent too much time in his place partying so we hired Curtis to take me and Rick down the hill in his taxi.  Our wives made the mistake of leaving us alone while they returned to the boat.  Robert is truly a great guy and we met some of the kids on the island.  A little girl was celebrating her 5^th birthday and she and Robert demonstrated some new dance moves for us.  It was really fun and entertaining.  We simply underestimated the power of the rum drinks we were drinking.  Be careful they are powerful!

Rick and I saw Yellow Man playing dominos so we hung out with him and some locals near the dock in Salt Whistle and got even more wasted.  By the time we got back to the boat our wives and the captain were pissed off and a mutiny was nearly completed. :~) 

Somehow we managed to make it to Clifton, on Union Island, before dark for our last night aboard on Friday.  We docked at the Anchorage Yacht Club (AYC) which made it nice to get on and off the yacht at will, instead of using the dinghy.  The airport is also within walking distance to the airport, although we later used the little electric tram provided by the hotel for $2.00 U.S.

Friday night we all, including our Captain Pennypincher and Marin, our cook imposter and Seckie ate dinner at Nola’s Restaurant in Clifton and I think we had a good time (what I remember of that night).  We would do anything to avoid eating Marin’s cooking.

When we awoke on Saturday morning we got a room at the AYC for $45.00 U.S. and they had the best showers in town.  We all were in heaven with water pressure and clean bodies and then we got to enjoy a little air conditioning in the room.  The showers are actually outside of the room and are plenty big enough for two people to enjoy.  After showering and cooling off we walked the streets of Clifton and tried to spend any money we had left.  

Around 1:45pm we went to the airport in Clifton and met our chartered 5-passenger twin engine plane from Mustique Airways to fly us back to Vieux Fort, St. Lucia.  We had to meet our ride home to Indianapolis aboard a Boeing 737 on ATA.  The flight onboard the little charter plane was about 50 minutes total and costs us a little over $800.00 U.S.  This allowed us to see a lot of places without ever having to backtrack to return our boat.  We simply kept sailing south from St. Lucia until we ran out of our allotted 7 days.  One big advantage of chartering over bareboating is that you don’t have to take the boat back to where you started, this gives you more range.

I really appreciate your website because it helped me plan our trip to the Windwards.  Your info was most helpful and I want to thank you again for your help.  Our trip was greatly enhanced by your reports.  Without your help it would have been a lot less predictable and less fun.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I will send you some pictures of Seckie (Cletus Alexander) so you can “fix” his write up.  I told Seckie I would.  I also talked with Free Willy, Robert Righteous, Sam (the Boat Boy), and a host of others.  I told them that you had helped me and I told them all “hello,” from Rob Charuk!  They all know who you are and remember you.

Thanks again,
Tim and Connie Cree