|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
On the 5th of
September I had the privilege of visiting St. Vincent and Bequia
at the invitation of TDY (Those Damn Yachts) Inc. Yacht Charters.
We visited Barefoot Yacht Charters, Caribbean Compass, SVG Air, SunSail Yacht Charters, Harpoon Saloon, Bequia Slips, Fixman Engineering, and many others.
I wish to thank Mary Barnard & Seth of Barefoot, Sally Erdle & Tom Hopman of Caribbean Compass, John, our pilot, of SVG, Dr. Fred Ballantyne of "Harpoon Saloon", and Dr. Marty Nation of TDY, Inc. for making my visit a most pleasurable experience.
Entry into the Grenadines through St. Vincent was fast and courteous. With in a few minutes we were on our way to the Barefoot Yacht facility to visit the boats that TDY Inc. has under BYC's care and management. We took one of the boats over night to Bequia to give me photo opportunities and to swing the compass on the vessel.
The sail was great with a good breeze over the beam and moderate seas. Anchoring in Admiralty Bay, we went ashore for dinner and rum punch. Dinner was an excellent goat curry and the rum punch definitely had a "punch".
In the morning I paid a courtesy call to the Caribbean Compass and was delighted to encounter Sally and Tom hard at work on a Sunday morning, putting to bed the latest edition of their publication. Our visit was too short for all that we wished to talk about, this being our first face to face visit after a long acquaintance via email. Sally, Tom & the Caribbean Compass being some of the supporters of the fight against the Panama Canal Commission's attempt to raise the canal tolls to $1500 US for all small vessels; the outcome was a graduated payment scale starting at $500 US.
From there we walked to the Harpoon Saloon and had the great fortune to encounter Dr. Fred Ballantyne the owner of the Harpoon. We were given a tour of the facility and I was much impressed with the potential for attracting cruising yachts to the facility. There is a bar, restaurant, fuel, railway, and piers. Definitely is a place to be visited when cruising the Grenadines.
Shortly we returned to the boat and sailed to St. Vincent and Barefoot Yacht Charters
facility. the afternoon was spent visiting with the folks there and with Mary's help we
secured a flight on SVG's AeroCommander the next day. I really wanted to get some aerial
photos of the area;
John of SVG did a really great job of getting me into position for the aerial photos that
you see here.
That night we spent visiting the hot spots of St. Vincent again enjoying good food and great rum punch. We ended the night rather early so as to be ready for the flight back to reality and work the next day.
All and all I recommend that one should find the time to visit the Grenadines and charter a boat there for some great sailing. The people there are super and the sailing is world class.
The Commodore PMBC, Craig Owings
PS. Sorry that the
aerials are a bit blurry,
but all of these images are shot with a Kodak DC260 Digital Camera.
Full images are large graphic files ... the loading time may be long
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
Bequia from the Air
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
Around Bequia
A beautiful harbor with room to spare. Plenty of nice small shops
and eateries.
Home of the Caribbean Compass, a must reader for tourists & sailors.
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Fixman Marine Engineering, LTD., Bequia
The place to go on Bequia for a complete "Smithy" to fix
yachts.
 |
|
 |
 |
Sailing Moods
Sailing is one of life's great pleasures. Sail at every
chance & enjoy it always.
 |
|
 |
 |
|
|
BulletinBoard
WebMaster
Copyright © 1998 by Pedro Miguel Boat Club. All rights reserved.
January 18, 2002
