ADMIRALTY BAY, BEQUIA

We had a long way to Bequia from Tyrrell Bay, Carriacou, about 35 miles; so we started early, raised our sails immediately and went under way. It was a very pleasent trip, most of it on wind power and quiet, with the exception of occasional rain. We had two of the GPS devices on, and both showed our direction dead on, but Al could not believe that we were headed towards the islands ahead of us, one closer, the other kind of shrouded in the fog. The way we were going, Al thought that we were going to pass them, and go where? No other islands in sight. As we approached (traveling almost sideways due to the push of the current and wind), the land mass opened up, and we spotted Kingstown as a large cluster of white houses on the island at the back. We saw that Bequia also had a southern town apart from Admiralty Bay, which is around the corner of Devils' s Table, the bay facing west.

By the time we anchored at Princess Margaret Beach and got ready to go to Customs and Immigration, it was almost 3:00 pm. Anyway, we had to clear in, so jumped in the dinghy, and rushed there, in order to avoid paying double fees for over-time (after 4:00). When we got to the counter, there was nobody else, so the nice officer gave us his full attention. Al mentioned having EC-clear (central computerized clearence system for the Eastern Caribbean), and the officer found us in the system, which was entered in Nevis and corrected in Monserrat in the spring of 2012. He told us that most of the information was missing, and he started to fill in the blanks. It took him quite a long time, and other people started rolling in. His sargeant came to the counter to help, and subtly reprimanded the nice officer for taking too long. Al thinks that he got embarrassed and forgot to save the changes he made to the form, since when we looked at the printout afterwards, the information did not make any sense. Anyway, we decided not to mention the electronic clearence any more. We will get it fixed in Wallilabou on our way out.

When the formalities were over, we realized that we were dead tired. I asked Al to stop at a cafe/bar close to the dinghy and have a breather before going back to the boat. It was nice to spend some time on land - but we missed Ruyam II immediately. Land is too hot, dusty, full of bugs (my nemesis), noisy etc.

Next day our trip to Wallilabou, St Vincent was not going to be very long, so we decided to get water in the morning. Doyle mentions a marina at Admiralty, a good place to try you would think. We called all the telephone numbers; one was restricted in-coming (sounds like a cellular), the other was out of service. When we looked, we could not see any boats tied to the docks. Al decided that they went out of business, so called Daffodil Marine Services, who bring the water or diesel to the boats. When Al called, they answered very professionally, brought the water on in their boat ten minutes after the order, and waited patiently while Al fumbled with our multiple filters. The whole thing lasted less than half an hour. We had used the same service two years previously as well, and I found them more efficient and professional this time. It appears that they started to make a lot of money from servicing the hundreds of yachts visiting Bequia year round.

We were ready before 10:00, so got underway earlier than anticipated.