We were also forced to dinghy ashore every day with iPads in zip lock baggies, buy a requisite beer ( or two...) from the bar with fast wifi, just to stay connected to the Internet world. After getting our daily wifi fix, we'd venture onto some more exploration of Bequia.
One such day we took a turn up from the harbor which lead up a very steep hill with a good view of Port Elizabeth. Look closely and you can see how long term parking restrictions are enforced!
Eventually, and with the help of a very nice young lady's kind offer of a ride, we made it to the Firefly Plantation where the view of the windward side of Bequia was only surpassed by the delicious refreshments we found there.
After the hike back to Moonshadow a swim was in order.
These little guys had the same idea.
We all wanted a closer look.
Another day, we hiked up a steep road to see if we could walk to the venue for the Bequia Music Fest featuring blues bands. Along the way, we found a great vista of Princess Margaret's Bay with Moonshadow anchored in the foreground. We also learned that a taxi to the Music Fest would make a lot more sense than hiking this very steep road in the dark.
Now here in the islands, a "taxi" is more likely a pickup truck with a canvas roof over vinyl seats in the truck bed.
It was fun to be breaking the California Vehicle Code so blatantly, but mostly we were glad to be out of the rain. On the dinghy ride in from Moonshadow we found ourselves in a giant downpour with rain and wind so hard we almost turned back for our masks and snorkels. By the time we reached the dinghy dock, we were laughing hysterically!
It was all worth it though. We dried out over dinner then walked down the road to "De Reef", the beachside bar where the Music Fest featuring several blues bands mostly imported from Britain played well into the morning hours.
Our WiFi booster finally showed up in Bequia so we found it was time to move along "down island" to explore more of the Windward Islands. Next stop was Mustique, a private island where the beautiful people like Mick Jagger and Tommy Hilfiger own homes. We had also visited Mustique before and drove around the island in a rented golf cart. This year the island was closed while some VIPs, who are evidently much more than just merely beautiful people, with enough VIPness to be able to close down an entire island just so others won't see them (or, perish the thought, photograph them), stayed over...translation: William and Kate.
We stayed aboard Moonshadow overnight and sailed on to Salt Whistle Bay on the island of Mayreau. We had a lazy sail downwind and once again appreciated our new Spectra genoa from North Sails. Look how obediently it hangs out without a spinnaker pole while sailing "wing and wing"!
Our efforts to have the island closed for our personal privacy went basically nowhere, possibly because the bay was already full of yachts.
But this is an ideal Caribbean setting where we commoners come to photograph trees...
...and beautiful people!
On a stroll down the beach we stopped where Deb saw a dress on the line that caught her attention. It turned out to be a dress Deb gave to one of the "boat boys" who helped with anchoring Moonshadow. Now, Moonshadow doesn't need no stink in' help anchoring, but the boat boys here offer to help and you repay their efforts with something. It's how they make a living and better than begging or stealing so we play the game. Deb asked if our boat boy had a girlfriend her size and when he said yes she gave him a dress she loved but didn't like the fit so never wore it. We had a good laugh seeing it on the line for sale.
From Salt Whistle Bay, our plans were to motor an hour south for lunch at the Palm Island Resort; then proceed 15 minutes on to Clifton Harbour on Union Island to clear Customs out of St. Vincent and the Grenadines; and finally motor another hour on to Carriacou Island to clear into Grenada.
Fifteen minutes into the trip, the engine wasn't developing high enough RPMs and finally quit. Fortunately it was early, calm and shallow enough to anchor. A combination of some previous odd fuel starvation issues with the generator and some fast detective work led us to discover the problem was fuel starvation caused by a faulty electric fuel pump. When the pump, which simply lifts the fuel from the tanks in the keel up to the engine room, was bypassed and after bleeding the engine, all was well.
Three and a half hours later we were back on our way to Palm Island where lunch was waiting and came with much needed Pain Killers!
George Backhus who sold Moonshadow to us had an expression we use a lot: "Our plans are carved in the sand at low tide".
Our engine adventure reminded us that George's expression is not just good policy, but also sometimes a fact of life for cruisers. And sometimes these events lead to unexpected pleasures, like putting off customs till the next day means having more time to just enjoy the beauty of the beach at Palm Island...
...and more time for shopping the open air vegetable and fruit stands on Union Island!
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