It's For Sail: 71) Mayreau Island

Port Elizabeth, Admiralty Bay, Bequia (Bek-way), The Grenadines 13° 00.618 N 61° 14.455 W

Before we departed today we were going to take on fuel and water from the local delivery service. You have to admire these guys in that they were pretty clever to come up with this. Prior to the fuel guy at 9 the bread guy came out and sold us some bread. If you want it someone will deliver it, for a price. This bay is very beautiful. It is quite a treat to come up from below after a night’s rest and be overwhelmed with the feel of a tropical breeze while looking at the lush hills and blue water.

We planned one more trip to shore this morning before we departed. While waiting to leave I was in the cockpit reading and happened to notice that the pedestal instruments and panel were put back in place. Uhm, with duct tape. At least the 3 gauges worked. This proves the point of never starting a boat project unless you have all the pieces and parts you will need to complete it. This panel will stay this way until it is finished when the boat gets to either Ensenada or San Diego when it will be in a boat yard for all the repairs and maintenance.

We took the dinghy in to one of the small docks with many things we wanted to do such as: check Wallace & Co for scuba tanks (sold out), Internet (air-conditioned and brand new), fresh produce at the outside market, and trade paperbacks at cruiser book shelves. The darn ice cream place was closed otherwise…

...not the ice cream store.

The short walk through town revealed some more gems. The little house above had some very interesting religious and other statements scrawled all over the front. And, there were several very nicely done houses and yards with boats. On the way out of the bay we saw these structures on the slim rugged peninsula that appeared to be made from concrete as well as carved into the hillside. The designs appeared modern yet they all looked abandoned and neglected.

A marine supply shop found a way to store and sell epoxy and paint thinner in oil and wine bottles. I’m not sure what the stuff was or where the hardener was or the ratios. Maybe when you don’t have the stuff the little details just don’t matter much. You tend to be very thankful if you find something on your list of needs. It is amazing what we take for granted in the US. For this entire trip we have always come up short in our quest for items. You tend to take what you can get and except it.


Bequia

Mayreau, The Grenadines 12° 38.851 N 61° 23.495 W

Mayreau

After turning left at the point and heading southwest to our next destination we were greeted with views of many islands and lots of sailboats on the move. The winds were in the high 20s, the seas were a bit lumpy and the boat was moving along at 8 knots. Our destination was a tiny island called Mayreau. The anchorage was small and crowded and we found our place aft of all the other boats. This anchorage appears protected but in reality it is pretty sloppy and rolly. The isthmus does stop the waves effectively but they wrap around the point, come in the bay and bounce off the other side creating a constant roll. One of the best things here is that there is no hill blocking the wind. The wind comes right over the low level beaches dividing the windward side and the leeward side. The isthmus is literally less than 100’ across.