North to Frigate Rock at Union Island: Well, we did it, cut the umbilical cord to Carriacou for two months at least. After checking out and getting a few groceries, we motored a mile or so north to Sparrow Bay where we had to raise the genoa. After doing some sail repair on the sewing machine, the sail had been tied down to the deck awaiting lower winds. It was still a little breezy, but the sail was up, and we were ready to leave. The five mile trip north to Frigate Rock with the dinghy in tow was uneventful, and we arrived in the late afternoon. The next morning we went to Ashton by dinghy to catch a mini bus to Clifton for the check-in procedure. Kathleen wore her foul weather coveralls because she got tired of being soaked with salt water during the ride. At the airport where Customs and Immigration are located, we met Bob and Kathleen on S/V Windshadow who were checking out to go back to Carriacou. There is a lot of traffic between the two islands, and that’s one example of why it would be nice to be able to clear into the CARICOM countries ONCE. We did see Dougie, one of the boat men we met last March, but had little time to talk to him. Another fisherman told us that Dougie is rich now and doesn’t have to work out on the water. Since we didn’t see Dougie after that, we didn’t get the scoop, but I’m sure we’ll hear the rest of the story from him or from Mark on Sea Cycle when we meet up.

Palm Island: Why? Just to say we did, but we won’t do it again. We spent only a couple of days at Frigate before we made the easterly motor-sail to Palm Island. This is a very small privately owned island with a resort hotel and a few houses. While you are "allowed" to tie up at the dinghy dock, and visit the beach and the beach bar at the resort, the rule is that you can only go ashore as far as a "chain" above the high water mark, a chain being 22 yards - we think. The anchorage is not well protected by the small reef at the corner of the island, and we spent a very rolly night. Couldn’t wait to move on to Mayreau the next day to enjoy some peace and quieter water.

Saline Bay, Mayreau: As if all the bays aren’t salty in the Caribbean! We like this place with it’s long white sand beach and friendly folks. And there in the anchorage was S/V Lone Star, Pat and Tom, from Colorado although the boat is registered in Texas. We had not seen them since Georgetown in the Bahamas in March 2006. On Saturday afternoon we met at the dingy dock, and hiked up the hill to have a delicious lunch at Robert Righteous and de Youth Seafood Restaurant and Bar Extraordinaire! And who should be there to greet us with squeals of delight but Shirley whom we had met last year. We had a great time catching up and telling Pat and Tom about our experience in Venezuela. Leonette, the other young lady who had worked there no longer did. She had her baby last year, but sadly the little boy died shortly after birth while they were still in the hospital in St. Vincent.

Under the Palms: Roland loves to lie under the palms and take pictures looking up at them, provided there are no coconuts ready to fall on his head. On Sunday we packed a picnic lunch, wore our bathing suits under our clothes, and made the trek to the top of the hill and down the other side to Salt Whistle Bay. Same as last year the bay was occupied by more charter boats than you could shake a stick at. We found ourselves a spot under the shade of the palm to eat lunch first. Then we walked across the narrow spit of shore to the windward side where we were entertained by a young boy trying to get his kite-surfing kite in the air. Even with his father helping he had a difficult time, but he did get one good short ride. Then it was back to the other side for a swim and a rest in the shade. We waited until the sun started dropping lower in the sky before making the hot uphill trek home. After a few pleasant days, we bid adieu to Mayreau and headed up to Canouan.

Canouan: There is a big mound known as Glossy Point or Glossy Hill at the southeast end of Canouan that obscures the view of Charlestown Bay until you get past it. Then the first thing you see is the break wall that protects the runway for the international airport on this tiny island. Eventually we saw the masts of boats, mostly Moorings charter catamarans, near the shore. We arrived in time to fix lunch, and wondered if we wanted to stay in this rolly anchorage with winds howling down the hillside sometimes gusting to 35 knots. S/V Jubilant, flying the red SSCA commodore’s swallowtail, came by just as Kathleen was raising our own pennant. Later we met Denny Morgan from Seattle, and took a short shopping excursion down the main street of Charlestown, checking out several small grocery stores to find the best prices. And we did find a few, relatively inexpensive Fritos, and New Zealand butter in a can. The next morning, after a very rolly, gusty night, we made a walking tour of a good portion of the island, mailed some birthday cards at the tiny post office, and ate lunch at Ingrid’s, a lovely inexpensive restaurant where we had rotis. This walk took us to some heights around the southeastern side of the island, including a short walk down a path between roads, and a very steep downhill walk back to the main street. Later in the afternoon we moved to the northernmost part of the bay about a mile or so away because it looked much calmer than our present spot. And, yes, it was much, much better after we put the anchor down in about 20 feet of water. Our nearest neighbor was a small catamaran, Taraipo, with Nicole and John aboard, whom we had first met in Tyrrel Bay in January. The weekend was pleasant so we did some snorkeling, made some water, and did laundry with the great drying conditions. The seas were still up and the trade winds had yet to relax so we waited until Monday morning to leave for Bequia. It’s nice to be able to move between all these island without clearing in and out at each one.

Bequia: Someone said that the winds and seas were supposed to be down on Monday. They forgot to tell that to Mother Nature, but we did have a good sail on a starboard tack most of the way. The second tack to port, turning to get into the bay, was slower, always is. That’s when this really feels like an older heavy boat. Good thing we took the precaution of putting the dinghy on the deck this time. Already it was the 10^th of March. The first thing we noticed when we came into the Admiralty Bay anchorage and got close to shore was that there were twice as many mooring balls as there were two years ago. This greatly reduces the ability of boats to stay on the anchor, but greatly increases the meager incomes of the young men in the water taxis. And speaking of water taxis, the drivers seem to think that if they don’t got 30 miles an hour in this small harbor, they’ll be late for whatever! Another observation concerns the land taxis. There are none of the inexpensive minivan local buses that other islands have. Because of the tourists who come here on various cruise ships and charters, the fees seem exorbitant to us, as much as $30 US per hour for an island tour. It’s a good thing the island is small enough to do some walking tours.

Sunday Night at the Gingerbread House: "Farine" is the name of a group of local musicians and singers who perform every Sunday night in the restaurant. They offer local folk songs like "Pack She Back", standards like "Island in the Sun", oldies like "Cecelia", and country western songs like "The Gambler". Quite an eclectic mix that all are invited to sing along with. "Pack She Back to She Ma" is patois for "send her back to her mother". It helps if you can find someone to translate for you.

Day Trip to St. Vincent: On St. Patrick’s Day we took the 8:30 AM ferry, Admiral 1, to the capitol of St. Vincent, Kingstown. The pleasant hour-long trip was a treat on calm waters that allowed us to relax instead of navigate and steer. The city reminded us of a smaller Port of Spain, Trinidad, busy, noisy, and a little on the dusty, dirty side. Good AA batteries and new sandals for Roland were on our shopping list. A hunt through the stores yielded Energizer batteries for our digital camera which had recently rebelled against the cheaper brands which we had to buy. Roland’s feet weren’t so lucky. We didn’t find one pair of decent sandals so he will have to wait until we go back to Margarita. After a big lunch at a Chinese restaurant, we did a little grocery shopping, heading back to the ferry terminal long before the next ferry would be there to take us back to Bequia.

Mad Max: Picnic tables in the shade outside the ferry terminal waiting room made the two hour wait comfortable, and that was where we met Mad Max. That’s what the kids in Canouan call him for the crazy way he dressed up for their Carnival celebration. He’s really the gardener for the bank there. It was great talking to him because we learned things that most cruisers don’t. There has been talk that the government made people move out of their homes to make way for the Raffles Resort. Max told us that couldn’t be farther from the truth. "Papa" Mitchell, the former prime minister, had come to the island to meet with the people to find out what they wanted. All of the homes but one were unoccupied, having been abandoned for many years, and the church had not been recently used either. The resort was given a 99-year lease, creating enough jobs for anyone who wants to work. All in all, the Canouan people are happy with this, but still some visitors boycott the island, saying it is wrong that the government has literally blasted away part of Glossy Hill for the airport. And what good does that do the locals who count on tourism for their livelihoods? We, however, have an open invitation to visit Max whenever we go to Canouan.

Mail Delivery: Our FedEx delivery arrived in five days, including the weekend. We were pleasantly surprised that the Customs agent did not charge us any duty on the computer battery, fuel pump diaphragm and AC/DC multi-tester that were is the box with all the magazines and letters. We guess that our being a yacht-in-transit and the Bequia Easter Regatta may have had something to do with it, but it was a welcome change from Grenada’s duty charges which are sometimes 37% of the value.

Swell Weather: Yep, "dangerous north swell" moving into the area was reported by NOAA the Wednesday before Easter, grabbing the attention of all the boaters. Some moved to the protected north side of the bay, but we stayed where we were, mostly because each time a boat left the mooring in front of us another took it before we could get the anchor up. So we weathered the swells for several days, watching the surf hitting the beachfront break walls and spraying sometimes 20 feet in the air. Hmm, shades of the Outer Harbor in Buffalo.

Writers’ Brunch Compass Newspaper: Bequia is home to the "Caribbean Compass" free newspaper that circulates among the islands. The office on Back Street is the business home of editor Sally Erdle, originally from Rochester, NY. When we met Sally there, she invited us to the writers’ brunch provided Roland promised to write something for the "Compass". Never one to take that challenge lightly, Roland whipped up an article on our haul-out in Venezuela and emailed it to her right away, including photos. We didn’t feel the least bit guilty being introduced as special guests at the get-together the Thursday before Easter. Former Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the Honorable Sir James Mitchell gave an impromptu talk about the efforts to eliminate "uniformitis" and "formitis" which afflict many of the Customs and Immigration officers throughout the Caribbean. Instead of making the paperwork for checking in and out easier, some countries have added even more forms. As a "yachtie" himself he appreciates the hassles cruisers experience, having had some of his own over the years. Sharon MacIntosh from the Caribbean Marine Association, formerly with YSATT in Trinidad & Tobago, spoke about the CMA, Caribbean Marine Association, which has been recently formed to aid the tourism industry in the Caribbean. The insights provided by Sir James and Sharon seldom reach all the way down to the cruisers so it was very good to hear their remarks. Ann Vanderhoof, Toronto author of An Embarrassment of Mangoes, was there as well as the staff of the "Compass", contributors and guests from other islands. Chris Doyle, who writes the guides to the islands was not there due to illness, but he was anchored off our stern in his catamaran, Ti Kanot. The spread provided by Mac’s Pizzeria included pizzas, quiches, samosa, conch fritters and more goodies.

Shopping in Port Elizabeth: Kathleen misses her Saturday morning shopping with Rufus in Tyrrel Bay. In Bequia produce is available at the Rasta market and from local vendors along the streets. The Rastas are high pressure salesmen, and frequently charge higher prices so we avoid them when we can buy what we need from the local vendors. Ready Dragon is a local boat that delivers bread in the harbor. It usually costs double the price of bread at the store on Main Street, and isn’t necessarily as fresh. And, as we have found in other places, the further from the beach the stores are located, the lower the prices on identical items. St. Vincent and the Grenadines also has a 15% VAT (value added tax) that vendors include in the prices shown. So this is a tax that everyone pays, not just cruisers.

Close Calls: We have learned to be wary of catamarans with bright yellow sail covers proclaiming "switch.com", a French chartering business based in Martinique. We are serious when we tell you that their captains are poorly trained and not too bright. They have this reputation with most cruisers. As we sat in the cockpit finishing dinner after dark one evening, we saw a Switch Cat heading for our bow as they attempted to squeeze between us and the catamaran on a mooring in front of us. What we should have done was immediately start yelling at them that there was no room, not that they would have understood English anyway. They caught on our anchor chain which stopped them short as Roland dashed to the bow to fend them off. Two of our port stanchions were bent slightly inward as the fellow on the cat tried to push off as well with Roland yelling @)!*$^(*&) at them. Our dinghy which was up for the night on our port side acted as a fender of sorts, and fortunately no other damage was done to our home. We don’t know about the cat as they frantically reversed, turned around and headed to the far rear of the anchorage, leaving hastily early the next morning. The following night we were headed to the dinghy dock after dark when the fellow in another dinghy almost hit us head on because he wasn’t looking where he was going. Roland changed course in time, but got a wet butt from the wake. Guess why we like quiet places like Tyrrel Bay so much!

The First Tropical Wave of the Season: An early wave brought a late Easter blessing to the island in the form of rain that lasted off and on all day on Wednesday - Friday after Easter. We’re sure the locals were happy to get some rain water into their black plastic holding tanks. There were a few good gusts, one strong enough to blow one of Roland’s Crocs and a glove overboard which we didn’t notice until much later. We should tie everything on deck down the way we do our spare anchors, jerry jugs, and the like.