Sunday, April 21, 2013

Palm Island & Union, Southern Grenadines

Friday, April 19 - Saturday, April 20

After a beautiful morning run on PSV, we set sail towards Palm Island.  On the way over to Palm Island, we stopped at Pinese, another tiny sand bar island surrounded by reef, where there is a great dive site.  Nicki and Tim were able to get in one more dive before heading back to Atlanta.

We spent the majority of the afternoon anchored just off the coast of Palm Island which is home to an elite resort.  There is a beautiful reef off the southern shore that we snorkeled around.  I spotted a nurse shark within the first 5 minutes!  We saw a bunch of lobsters hidden under the reef, and Gene managed to snare one of them. 


Palm Island

We sailed over to Union Island later in the afternoon where we anchored for the night.  Nicki and Tim had arranged a flight out of Union on Saturday to get back to St. Lucia in time for their flight back home to Atlanta.

For our last night with Tim and Nicki, we took the dingy ashore for dinner in Union.  

 The anchorage in Clifton, the port of Union Island and the center of yachting in the southern Grenadines.  There's a floating bar just off the beach (the yellow boat).

 We had dinner at L'Aquarium overlooking the bay.  The restaurant had a huge aquarium.


Slipper lobster inside the tank


 One of several huge spiny lobsters


 Nurse shark 
(smaller than the one I saw earlier in the day while snorkeling)


 The next morning, we dropped Tim and Nicki off for their flight back to St. Lucia.  We had so much fun with them during their visit / Honeymoon Part 2.

 Nicki & Tim's "taxi" to the airport

 Gene and I walked around the town of Clifton and had lunch in one of the cafes.  Here's Gene in the main square - such a colorful little town.

 Goats grazing around the town.  Gene calls them "the island land mowers".




PSV Island (Petit St. Vincent), Southern Grenadines

Thursday, April 18

We left Mayreau in the morning and sailed south towards Petit St. Vincent, attempting to fish along the way.  


We caught two bar jacks!

Nicki perfecting her fish filleting skills

Chumming the waters for the next catch!

Gene's giving Tim a sailing lesson

We arrive at our beautiful anchorage off the coast of PSV


Petit St. Vincent is a private island with a boutique resort.  We had drinks at the bar of the resort later that night.

Tim is teaching us his technique for husking coconuts and draining the coconut water!

We took the dingy over to Mapion which is a tiny sand bar surrounded by beautiful reef just off the coast of PSV.  It's basically just a patch of sand with an umbrella on it.

Here we are on Mapion sand bar with PSV in the background

Snorkeling around the reef, I saw this eel (looks like a sea snake)

Later, back on the boat, we had some delicious shots made by Tim 
(this one is called Jam Doughnut)

Unique sunset picture!











Mayreau, Southern Grenadines

Wednesday, April 17

The next day we sailed over to the small island of Mayreau which is part of the Tobago Cays Marine Park.  We anchored in Salt Whistle Bay which is surrounded by reefs and a beautiful beach.  


Tim enjoying the sail over to Mayreau 
(we love his shirt! "It's Timmy Time")

Salt Whistle Bay

Me and Nicki kayaking around the bay

We set up shop on the beach complete with the umbrella, hammock, beach chairs, and cooler of drinks.  Great beach day!




 Looking out at Kalalau from our beach spot

Later that night, we had a bongo/guitar jam session

Tobago Cays, Southern Grenadines

Monday, April 15 - Tuesday, April 16

We left Bequia on Monday afternoon and sailed down to the Tobago Cays.  The Tobago Cays are a group of small, deserted islands protected from the sea by Horseshoe Reef.  The waters surrounding these little islands are the brightest shades of blue and filled with turtles, coral, and fish.  We anchored in Horseshoe Reef for two nights and spent our days exploring the islands and snorkeling around the turtle sanctuary.


 Tim and Nicki kayaking around Baradel island

 Gene and I hiked to the top of Baradel island.  Here's the view of the anchorage from the top of the hill.

 Swimming with the turtles!



 Huge starfish

 Not exactly sure what type of fish this is but I call it a Cow fish

 Gene with Kalalau in view in the background.  The island in the distance in Petit Tabac which is where a few scenes from Pirates of the Caribbean were filmed.

 We went to Petit Tabac island the next day 
(Pirates of the Caribbean scene)

 We had the island all to ourselves for most of the day!

 Me and Nicki Kubuli beers cheers

 Me trying to knock down a coconut with a bamboo stick

 Gene focusing hard on husking the coconut

 We took a walk along the beach and found a boulder scarecrow

 The Honeymooners!

 Me and Gene completely relaxed and enjoying the view



Bequia, Northern Grenadines

Thursday, April 11th - Sunday, April 14th

We left St. Lucia on Thursday and set sail towards St. Vincent & the Grenadines.  The seas were really calm - our calmest crossing since the initial crossing to St. Thomas in November. We figured this was a great way to break Nicki & Tim into sailing-mode.

After a long 8-hour sail without catching a single fish, we arrived in Bequia which is the northern most island in the Grenadines chain of islands.

Here's Nicki practicing her fish-reeling maneuver in preparation for the massive mahi we planned to catch during the crossing (but we were sadly unsuccessful).

Tim and Nicki, clearly worn out from all the honeymoon activities, snoozing during the crossing to Bequia.  Tim still has his GoPro strapped to his chest so he's prepared just in case we catch a fish.

We finally arrive in Admiralty Bay, Bequia.  Here we are sailing into the bay where we'll be anchored for the next few days.

We met up with our good friends Bob and Christine from S/V Virginia Dare on Friday night to have a picnic happy hour and watch the sunset from the top of the northern hill on the bay  where the old fort is located.  

Here's the group having some tuna sashimi and rum drinks as we enjoy the sun set.  Bob is in full-on story-telling mode as Gene listens intently. 

View of Admiralty Bay from the old fort

Sunset over the ocean

Christine & Bob - two of our favorite cruisers, hiking/running buddies, and great friends!  
We always have a blast with these two!

 


We stopped at a store that had a "live lobster" sign and decided to buy a couple of spiny lobster for dinner.  We had lobster tails and lobster bisque for dinner that evening.

We got to pick out our own lobster from the tank.  We took turns trying to catch a lobster with the snare.  I got one!

Here's Bob bravely holding up one with one of the lobsters without gloves!


Boulder Dive with Bequia Dive shop

Nicki and Tim

Spotted eel

So many spiny lobsters! 



Slipper lobster

Spanish lobster


We bought a tuna from one of the local fisherman and made ahi poke and sashimi for dinner one night.  Here is our version of the Hawaiian Ahi Poke dish.

Saturday lunch at Jack's Bar


View of our anchorage from Jack's Bar