Retracing our steps from St Lucia to Grenada

Pitons, St Lucia

Highbury Terrace at sea.  Some things are different: the scenery, the colour of the water, the temperature.  Other things are similar: the quantity of white wine consumed, the snoozing by the gentlemen from number 9 and 10, accompanied by the occasional sussuration; the golf shots that are so nearly there and accompanied by an intake of breath as though surprise the ball is actually not on the green is an accurate reaction.  We played St Lucia which was very good fun – Bazza won by keeping it low and short – and then the extraordinary course of Canouan where you play nine holes through palm-fringed fairways alongside white sand beaches, and then climb maybe 150m up a hill to play a series of undulating, nay precipitous, holes.  Very good fun and I am glad to say the skipper came out on top.

Bequia

Eating (and drinking) has been an important feature.  Cap Maison, on St Lucia, the Fig Tree and the Auberge on Bequia, the Cotton House on Mustique and an excellent BBQ of lobster and mahi mahi on Tobago Cays.  Lunch out has seemed best with delicious dinners aboard.  Bazza’s hand on the pepper sauce seems to be a bit shaky these days, so wehad very hot chicken.   John and Margaret are coming along very well as competent crew.
We cruised this way before en famille and have enjoyed some of the same and some new places.  Excellent anchorage between the Pitons with great snorkelling.  We didn’t anchor at Bat Cave Bay where the children spent hours on the stern line.  We tried unsuccessfully to make an afternoon visit to the waterfalls in St Vincent.  Margaret and I had two excellent dives in Bequia which remains the right mix of laid-back bustle and commercial opportunities.  Mustique is an airbrushed – beautifully so – bubble,

Forced to walk Mustique

Canouan’s resort well done but too juxtaposed with the village next door.  Now clearing customs in Union where the reef I “touched” those years ago is very visible.  
Boat boys in general seem to have got the message that aggressive sales techniques backfire, and polite asking with a smile wins, so in the last 24 hours we have bought the lobster BBQ on the beach, accompanied by rum punch, baguettes, T-shirts a-plenty.  So we have helped the local economy, particularly when John-tipper-Skerritt is in charge of the purser’s wallet.
In Bequia, Nicky found out without really asking that there is a volunteer reading programme for the local kids, so she, Sue, and Margaret all joined in reading, and Lucky the Pakeman bear was able to say hello and explain that some things are the same here as in London.
Sailing has been very good, F4/5 gusting 9 from the east, so fast reaching with some beating up to the islands east. Ms Too-Tippee being well behaved.
News of Alex completing his walk the length of Rwanda made us feel proud and glad that his feet has recovered to let him complete the last 83km out of 400km in 24 hours.  He is now in Malawi – follow amanby on tumblr for his entertaining blog.