The power of nature

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.