Caribbean Compass Yachting Magazine - December 2021

DECEMBER 2021 CARIBBEAN COMPASS PAGE 18
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Walking up to Coull’s Hill to the north of the anchorage offers great bay views and a
taste of local life.
You will need transport to get to the Cumberland Nature Trail in the central range.
A good place to start is at Ben I’s restaurant, as he has a taxi. All the surrounding
scenery is lovely, and in a picturesque old estate house across the main road is an
arty little fishing lure factory and store called 2-Socks, with hand decorated lures
that have caught me quite a few fish.
Heading south, Wallilabou is a sweet little bay, with a couple of restaurants
ashore. This is where much of the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie was made.
Wallilabou Bay Restaurant has a little museum dedicated to the movie and offers
good local food as well as customer moorings. Walk north and inland and you come
to a small park with a lovely little waterfall.
South, round the headland, in Keartons, is a special, delightful, and very small
restaurant, the Rock Side Café, run by Rosi and Orlando. They need advance notice,
serve a delicious set meal, and will let you use one of their moorings. They are also
the Trans-Ocean support base. Call them at (784) 456-0815/431-3378.
As you reach the south coast the dense rainforest vegetation recedes, and the hills
are much drier. The villages of Layou, Buccament and Petit Byahaut are in this area.
Buccament Bay has a giant resort hotel, once bankrupt, now being refurbished. Petit
Byahaut is an attractive secluded anchorage with a few ruins of an abandoned hotel
ashore. It is far from any road. Snorkeling is excellent along the coast from
Buccament to Petit Byahaut.
To the east are the main yachting centers in St. Vincent: Young Island Cut and Blue
Lagoon. This is a great area to hang out for a while. You will find many restaurants
ashore, along with yacht services. Blue Lagoon has a good marina. You can find a
place to anchor but there are so many moorings that taking one of these is an easier
option. You can take a bus or taxi to Kingstown for supermarkets and the farmer’s
market. This is a good base from which to explore ashore, too. A visit to Montreal
Gardens in the Mesopotamia Valley is special. The drive though a rich agricultural
valley is scenic and the gardens themselves are spectacular. These gardens are the
personal inspiration of internationally renowned landscape artist Tim Vaughan. He
plans carefully and then lets nature run wild. The result is a riotous blend of colors
and shapes, with a steep mountain range as background. The feel is more of an
artistic jungle than a stately garden, and way more interesting and beautiful for that.
Since the volcano erupted early this year, the trail to its summit is still closed.
When it opens it will be a unique opportunity to see a newly erupted volcano up
close. I want to go! More locally, dinghy over to Fort Duvernette and climb to the top.
Bequia
Just an hour and half’s delightful sail away is Bequia, the nearest of the
Grenadines. Sail past Devil’s Table, harden up into the Admiralty Bay anchorage and
choose your spot. It is easy to hang out in Bequia. Some people have stayed for years.
Independent providers offer sailmaking and upholstery services, diesel and
One of Bequia’s most dramatic hikes is up to Ma Peggy, a cluster of rocks
high on the ridge that affords a wonderful panorama of Admiralty Bay.
outboard mechanics, refrigeration, woodworking and more.
A pleasant walkway takes you all along the waterfront from the town of Port of
Elizabeth via a hill and stairway to Princess Margaret Beach. From here you can
walk all the way to Lower Bay. Bars and restaurants abound along the shore. Part
of the easy acceptance for the cruiser is that most Bequians are seamen and many
sail. They used to fish under sail, but as outboards took over, they started racing
their two-bow sprit-rigged sailboats in local regattas. As competition stiffened new
sleek sports boats were designed and added to the fleet.
It is easy to pass away a day in Bequia: coffee outside under the trees, watching
the boats in the harbor, a little shopping, plenty of chats along the way, lunch, a nap,
a little walk and snorkel. The day has flown. The snorkeling in the harbor is good
especially down by the walkway to Princess Margaret Beach. Normally it is a little
dangerous because of all the watercraft. But last year there were few boats and it
was peaceful.
Bequia is small enough that you can walk all over, and it has some great hikes.
Probably the most dramatic is up to Ma Peggy (a.k.a. Peggy’s Rock). This cluster of
rocks high on the ridge affords a wonderful panorama of Admiralty Bay.
When you want a change, Friendship Bay is an anchorage in the south of the
island, and the small island of Petit Nevis is another.
Mustique
Mustique lies south and east of Bequia, a two-to-three-hour lively sail.
Mustique is known as the island where the rich and famous have holiday homes.
Some famous people still visit but these days the owners are probably richer but less
flamboyant. The houses are often rented when the owners are not in residence. It is a
privately owned island and largely self-governing. The only allowed anchorage is in
On the windswept east coast of Mustique you wouldn’t know that the rich
and royal live nearby.
Britannia Bay, where the water shades from pale turquoise to aquamarine, dotted with
snorkeling reefs, and a palm backed beach. In order to discourage the riff-raff, it is
quite expensive, though they do supply a mooring. The minimum mooring fee is for
three nights, so you might as well stay that long. The island is very scenic; the owners
have limited the number of houses that may be built, which has preserved most of the
countryside. It has also increased the value of the property: you would need many
millions to buy the smallest house. This has had the effect of seeing early homes, which
were tasteful and simple, being outnumbered by larger and fancier showoff buildings.
Hiking here is delightful, but you cannot always hike. When royalty or famous
people arrive, access to most of the island is often closed, restricting visitors to the
small hike round the salt pond and the beach in the anchorage. When you plan to
visit, call first ([784] 488-8000), and chose a time when the restrictions are off.
The most popular bar ashore is Basil’s right in Britannia Bay. There are other
fancier eating establishments, and a couple of local ones in Lovell Village.
Canouan
Canouan is some 15 miles south of Bequia, and it’s another glorious sail. The first
of the southern Grenadines, Canouan is a lovely island with spectacular beaches,
pleasant walks, and great views.
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Call:
784.458.4308
Marina: VHF 16 or 68 Email: info@bluelagoonsvg.com
Fuel Dock
24 hour Security
Port of Entry
Customs & Immigration Office - 9am to 6pm
Electricity 110V/220v & Water
Complimentary Wifi
Laundry Service
Supermarket & Boutique
Cafe Soleil & Flowt Beach Bar
The Loft Restaurant and Bar
Indigo Dive Shop
Swimming Pool
Beautifully Designed Hotel Rooms