All “hands on deck”!

It’s time to leave Martinique behind and sail further south.  At the moment, the hurricane season is active in the Caribbean, for us it means that we have to keep a close eye on the weather reports and as soon as a hurricane threatens to come our way we have to sail directly to Grenada or the ABC islands.  As long as there is no threat of a hurricane, we will slowly sail south.  Bequia Island is part of the island group of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.  After we have picked up the wrench, the last groceries have been received and the dinghy has been hoisted up, all three of us are ready to continue sailing.  We give the sea a sip of rum and raise anchor. The sailing trip is 101 NM and depending on the wind we will take between 20 and 30 hours. A crossing always gives butterflies in our stomach and full of enthusiasm we go out on an adventure.  There is a light breeze diagonally behind us and the boat glides smoothly through the surface of the water on the autopilot. At the moment, there is little to do and let us drift and slow down while we rest our gazes on the sea. 

Sitting at the front of the boat, we watch the Frigate Birds.  Frigate birds cannot land on water, which means that they have to fish their food from the surface of the water while flying. The flying fish are perfect prey for them and they have been jumping around our boat for a while now. Sometimes you see the frigate birds stealing food from the beaks of other birds and that is spectacular to see. We also go fishing for the first time while sailing.  It sounds idyllic, effortlessly angling your own meal at sea. The reality is a bit unrulier, but we will certainly do our best.  After 3 hours of fishing we had some moments where everyone was on edge when the line was tight and someone yells “WE HAVE A CATCH”.  The disappointment is all the greater when it turns out that it is seaweed and not tasty mahi-mahi or tuna.  No home-caught fish tonight, but a delicious home-made fresh Indian Biryani with chicken for dinner.

We sail close to the island of St. Lucia, where the famous Gross and Petit Piton are clearly visible from the water. The wind changes and because of this we decide to pass the island of Saint Vincent below so that we can continue sailing and not have to motor.  This does mean that we will pass Saint Vincent on the rougher Atlantic side, which will bring more waves. The wind will decrease slightly further during the evening.  It will be a rolling evening and night with high waves and sometimes you really had to brace yourself not to fall off or fall off somewhere.  In the middle of the night, during Jeroen’s watch who wanted to change course at that moment, a storm of almost wind force 8 came up out of nowhere. These are action-packed moments when you have to be prepared for anything, the adrenaline is pumping through your body and you have to master the game with the wind and the waves as quickly as possible.  All “hands on deck”, we have all sails fully set.  First quickly turn on the engine and reef the jib sail away, then reef the mainsail and mizzen sail as quickly as possible.  Everything chatters around us and you see nothing, not a star or moon in sight, it is pitch black outside.  You only hear the rain, the waves and the wind raging around you.  After 10 minutes, we have everything under control again, the sails are reefed into small triangles and the engine can be turned off again.  Recovering from the shock, we look at each other and laugh. Good teamwork!  The storm lasted for about an hour, after which it calmed down again. 

Around 7.30 we sail into the bay at Bequia Island.  The water surface is mirror-smooth, what a difference. We find a nice anchorage and the Customs & Immigration office is nearby.  This all went very smoothly. We can sail for 3 months in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines if we want.  I think we’re going to take advantage of this. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines consist of 32 inhabited and uninhabited islands.  First some sleep.  Then the journey of new discovery’s will start.