When we were in Tobago Cays, we did lots of snorkelling. It was amazing!
At Petit Bateau, I saw a ray among the coral reef, only a few metres off shore. It was incredible! It was the first ray I had ever seen in the wild, and the closest I have ever got to one.
At Petit Rameau, which is a turtle sanctuary, I saw lots of huge starfish, each around half a metre in diameter. There were also lots of small rays close to the seabed, when you got into slightly deeper waters. We also saw three turtles. One larger one and two smaller ones. They would dive down to the bottom and then come up for air. They were beautiful.
In Petit Byahaut, St Vincent, there were some interesting shapes of coral. There were some large ones that looked like giant leaves, and some curved ones that looked like brains, but my favourite were the yellow tubes. There were lots of small clusters of them, dotted all over the bay. They looked like straws, or chimneys, stuck together in a bunch and painted yellow.
Back in Tobago Cays, in the section of the reef near Jamseby, there was a pufferfish. It was blue around the edges with some greenish brown in the middle. I followed it through the seagrass for a bit, before it turned into deeper waters.
There was so much more to see at Tobago Cays and the other islands, but these were my favourites.
On the 8th January, we crossed back overnight from Barbados to the Grenadines, where we first spent a couple of days in Bequia in order to check in, before heading down to Tobago Cays. We met up with our friends on English/Swiss family boat Epiphany and had a lovely few days with them paddleboarding/kayaking between the small islands, snorkelling and enjoying the clear water and plentiful sea life. Sophie will write a separate blog post about what she saw on her snorkelling trips.
The winds were very strong at Tobago Cays, although the islands are protected by a horseshoe reef, and while we were there another boat whose anchor was not properly dug in to the sand started to drag its anchor along the sea floor. It was lunchtime, and the first we knew about it was the strange vision of a boat appearing alongside, an unknown boom flashing past the saloon and an unexpected noise. The dragging boat had brushed our bow and started to move quickly down the starboard side of our boat – with the anchor not digging in, there was nothing to stop it from drifting fast in the direction of the nearest island. Luckily we had the dinghy tied on to this side and it worked very well as a fender and stopped the boat causing any serious damage. The boat’s owners were not on board to do anything about it, so acting quickly Will stepped across from our boat to theirs. Luckily they had left the key in the engine so he was able to start the boat and take control of the steering before it hit anything else. Will was just working out how to raise the dragging anchor when the rather shocked boat owner came back by dinghy, climbed back onboard and together he and Will raised the anchor and got the boat back under control. The boat owner and his crew were relieved to find that we had sustained no damage in our close encounter, and after driving back to the anchorage Will jumped overboard and swam back to Valent. The yacht departed giving profuse thanks and Will settled down to enjoy the rest of his lunch.
After all that wind, it was time for us to make progress further north. Together with Epiphany we set off for Saint Vincent, with the wind and swell quite strong between the islands, and after a lively passage we arrived at a tiny bay, Petit Byahaut, where we stayed overnight. The bay was so small that as well as putting our anchor out from our bow, we used a long rope to tie our stern to a palm tree on the beach, to stop the boat from swinging around.
A couple of hours’ sail up the coast of Saint Vincent the next day took us to Chateaubelair bay, where we were met by a very friendly local, Kemroy, who looked after us during our stay. Our purpose for stopping in Chateaubelair was to visit Saint Vincent’s active volcano La Soufriere, which last erupted in April 2021. At 6.30 one rainy morning we started our trip, going by dinghy to the black sand beach caused by volcanic ash. The hot ash had forced its way through the rocks to make a path from the volcano down to the beach, and guided by Kemroy we followed this path up the mountain, seeing lush green vegetation turn gradually to sparse and broken branches and finally to dark grey volcanic rocks with no greenery as we climbed higher. After three hours we reached a ridge which led up to the summit, at 4,048 feet (1,234 metres) where swirling clouds and strong gusts of wind made the last part of the climb perilous. After a while the clouds cleared and you could look down into the volcano’s crater, where a lake filled with rising steam was visible.
It was interesting to hear from Kemroy and other locals about their experience of the previous volcano eruption. One lady told us that they received warnings of an upcoming eruption in December 2020, and she had her bag packed and ready, but nothing happened for a few more months. In February 2021 Kemroy could see the edge of the crater glowing red and everyone started to worry, but the Seismic Research Centre which monitors the volcano didn’t give orders to evacuate until 8th April 2021. On that day, the lady we spoke to told us that everyone had to run down to the water and get into boats which were leaving the island as quickly as possible. She was not allowed back to her house for a year, and there is still evidence in the town of buildings destroyed by the weight of the hot ash, with no money to rebuild them. This lady had lived through the previous eruptions of 1979 and 1971, but she told us that she always comes back because Saint Vincent is home.
Another natural feature of Saint Vincent is its waterfalls, and we visited the Dark Falls waterfall with our friends from Epiphany on a much less challenging walk the following day, where we were able to swim in the cool freshwater pool.
After Saint Vincent it was time to continue our progress further north to Saint Lucia. The weather was rainy and cloudy for our passage, and the journey between the islands was marked by considerable swell with the boat slamming into the waves and some gusts reaching over 30 knots of wind. We were pleased to see the Pitons coming into view, although they kept disappearing behind the rainclouds.
We are now in Rodney Bay marina, Saint Lucia, where we’re staying for around a week. We need to get our dinghy repaired/replaced (the seam split on Boxing Day in Bequia), give our batteries a full charge, and see if our generator can be salvaged. We’re catching up with our friends on Canadian family boat Rum Cat, who were also with us in Barbados, along with Epiphany who are moored alongside us. Adding in a couple of other boats from the ARC and ARC+ rallies, it’s a sociable place to stay.
We hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and New Year. We certainly had a different one this year, starting with a Norwegian Christmas Eve celebration on the beach at Bequia, the Grenadines, attended by over a hundred people. This was very well organised with party games and fun swimming races for children and adults, followed by a short Christmas service with some beautiful Christmas carols, including dancing, all in Norwegian of course.
The family boats from the ARC+ rally remained in Bequia over the Christmas period, meeting up for a relaxed Christmas Day lunch on the beach, and a floating party on Boxing Day. We hiked up Peggy’s Peak for a spectacular view looking down over the bay, encountering snakes and a couple of tortoises on our way.
After a few days it was time to move on to Barbados, for a rendezvous with our Bajan crew member Dwight, his wife Kate and their son Jono, who had come out from London to Barbados to join Dwight for Christmas and New Year. They kindly hosted us on New Year’s Eve followed by fireworks and music at their local beach (in front of the exclusive Lone Star Restaurant) – a perfect way to see in the New Year.
We have spent a number of days exploring Barbados, visiting Harrison’s caves, watching monkeys at the wild animal park, and travelling to Bathsheba on the rocky Atlantic side of the island. Kate and Jono joined our crew one day to bring Valent down the coast of Barbados from Port St Charles to Carlisle Bay outside the capital Bridgetown. From our new base in Carlisle Bay we have visited the Barbados Museum and the house where George Washington stayed in 1751. We have also watched horses from the local racecourse enjoying a swim in the sea early in the morning.
We’re staying in Barbados for a few more days before we cross back to the Grenadines to spend a bit longer in the beautiful Tobago Cays nature reserve. After that it will be a sail up to Saint Lucia and we plan to be in Guadeloupe for mid February. We wish everyone a very Happy New Year and we hope that 2024 has got off to a good start for you (albeit a wet one apparently).
