Miss Daisie

Miss Daisie enjoys a swim with Robert.

It's Sunday morning; time to share a picture of Miss Daisie's cruising life. We anchored for ten days in Admiralty Bay, Bequia. Tony Gibbons beach (also called Princess Margaret), is one of the best swimming beaches in the Grenadines.

Moon Hole in the Caribbean

Forty years ago today Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon. It seems appropriate that we share some photos of one of the most amazing man-made and out of this world communities we would never expect to find in the Caribbean. Oh, I can vouch for the authenticity of these images.

Moonhole, Bequia

The rocky cliffs present a real challenge for landing. Most people arrive by road.

At the same time as Neil Armstrong was making momentous history landing on the moon, Thomas Johnston was creating a monument of sorts, to the challenges of living side by side with the relentless sea. He had sold his advertising business in New York city and purchased land on the northern tip of the island of Bequia in the beautiful Grenadines. Here he built a unique community. Forty years later we visited the site known as Moonhole.

When we visited, some locals were preparing a cook out of freshly caught fish.

The Moonhole buildings are built of concrete and local stone. No wells or electricity, rain water is collected as it flows from the roof. Windows are large and mostly open to the breeze. A few have plexiglass panels.

With the sea lapping at its footings and rocks falling from above, this building has been abandoned.

Some of the buildings perch atop the cliffs.

The views from Moonhole are spectacular.

Today many of the buildings are desserted, some are still inhabited and others can be rented for a truely unique vacation.

Bequia has a history of boat building and whaling. Just around the corner in Friendship Bay is the whaling station at Semplers Cay. The people of Bequia are granted permission to take up to 4 whales per year. Some years they don't take any.

Whale bone verandah rails, seen on a walk around the island.

Jack's Bar at Tony Gibbons Beach, Admiralty Bay, Bequia.

St. Lucia and St. Vincent, Skipped for The Grenadines

Sailing past St. Lucia and St. Vincent, both islands look lush and in some areas such as the Pitons in St. Lucia, truly spectacular. While our travel buddies headed from Martinique to St. Lucia to reunite with Diane and Ken of Annie II, we skipped to Bequia (pronounced Beck-way). Customs and Immigration in St. Lucia would have presented some difficulty for us with Australian passports and also because we have Daisie Dog on board. We spent some time with Ken while Annie II was under tow by Spectra from Luperon to Puerto Rico and we were sad to miss the reunion.

Basil's Bar sits over the water at Mustique

A small section of Balinese carved ceiling at Basil's Bar. Unfortunately I was not able to climb over the other diners to get a better shot.

We rely on Noonsite for cruising safety and security reports. Unfortunately St. Vincent has a reputation for not doing what is necessary to protect the safety of cruisers on the mainland. There are so many wonderful places to visit that we don’t see any need to place ourselves or our boat in such areas.

Gingerbreads are a feature of Mustique architecture, as well as an abundance of Bali carvings, doors and garden sculpture. We wondered if we had crossed the Pacific!

The Grenadines includes Bequia, Union Island, Mustique, Canouan, Tobago Cays, and various other small islands. As July 1 and the forecast of unsettled weather approached, we moved through the area more quickly than we would have liked. These are the areas we’d like to return to with our sons when the hurricane season is passed.

The most expensive mooring ball in the world? At Mustique the moorings are $75US for 3 nights minimum.

Every island has it’s own unique character. Our favorites include Conception Island (one of the out islands in The Bahamas), Saba, Guadeloupe, Mustique and Tobago Cays. While mountainous islands and deep water anchorages are the norm in the Northern Caribbean, throughout The Grenadines we anchored or moored up close to reefs and sandy cays in crystal clear water, reminiscent of the gorgeous waters of The Bahamas. The Grenadines are spectacular for swimming and snorkeling straight over the side of the boat. We swam with turtles and so many kinds of fish we couldn’t count them all.

Tobago Cays mooring. A chance to swim with turtles.