Union to Mayreau to Bequia

On Thursday morning, WW and I donned our snorkelling gear and swam to the overgrown causeway that connects Frigate Island to Union Island. The water was lovely and clear with clouds of reef fishes on the leeward side...also armies of very spiny black sea urchins which we circumnavigated with great care. Arrived at the causeway, Enn delivered our sandals from his seat in one of the kayaks. We crossed to the windward side where there was a definite swell. This made the sea urchins that much more of a challenge. Nonetheless, we managed to get into the water beyond them and out to Lagoon Reef. We'd heard the snorkelling there was good. We found, however, that the surge was making the water murky and there were far fewer fish than on the leeward side.

On the other hand, there were lobsters. Dozens of lobsters. Lobsters lurking under every coral head and snuggled up to every bit of rock. WW poked them and they tucked themselves in more tightly. At one point, we found a pair trundling between shelters. At WW's urging, they demonstrated proper lobster propulsion and zoomed quickly back whence they had come. Alas, we had neither gloves nor bag. Spiny lobsters are...spiny. Painfully spiny. You don't go grabbing them without gloves. And once you've grabbed one, you want a nice sturdy bag to hold the little fellow, or fellowette. So we did not bring home dinner.

Instead, one of the local boatmen came by with four lobsters, each about a pound, which we purchased and put on ice for our dinner.

We raised our anchor and set off for Mayreau, another of the Grenadines, about five miles north of Union. We sailed west then north, so we could see the far side of Union, then set a course for Salt Whistle Bay on Mayreau's northwestern tip.

The other side of Union Island

It was a beautiful bay with the usual surge. We dined on barbecued lobster with a rum-lime-butter sauce sweetened slightly with guava jelly. It may sound bizarre, but it was yummy.

The entrance to Steam Whistle Bay, Mayreau

Sunset in Steam Whistle Bay, Mayreau

In the morning, the Captain and the EC went exploring while the galley slave stayed to oversee the bread. I've been making bread and yoghurt. Mostly the bread is Irish wholemeal soda bread, but on this occasion I was making actual yeast bread which required my love and attention.

The explorers returned with tales of a lovely walk over the tiny island, up into the hills where they'd found a pub. Robert Righteous runs the place and is grateful to cruisers who have brought increased prosperity to the area. Passengers from the cruise ships don't penetrate as far as the intrepid cruisers, who enjoy a tramp and, more to the point, a cold beer on a hot day.

Once we were all on board once more, we made everything secure and set off for the long run up to Port Elizabeth.

It was a squally, rainy run. We managed to rase the sails about 6 miles from Bequia, but then the wind shifted and down they came again, so most of the run was motoring into the weather. Then the sun came out and we sailed into the end of a rainbow.

Rainbow's end: Port Elizabeth, Bequia