Bequia

Hi everyone,

We've spent five great days in Bequia.  The island reminds us of St Helena and Bermuda - all places which have a rich sailing history and really 'get' cruisers.  Bequia's Admiralty Bay provides excellent protection and used to be a popular port for careening (cleaning the hull of) wooden ships.  It has a strong wooden shipbuilding heritage.

The anchorage from Port Elizabeth

The small town of Port Elizabeth is neat and tidy.  It has bars, cafes and hotels, and good facilities for cruisers.  There are several dinghy docks.  The main one has nearby rubbish and toilet facilities, and the main taxi rank.  Dinghy docks at the Frangipani and Gingerbread hotels can be used by cruisers too.

Approaching Port Elizabeth in the dinghy

Main dinghy dock

Nic and Zen Again

Port Elizabeth has the common Caribbean arrangement of Front Street (for the cruisers and tourists) and Back Street (for the locals).  But Front Street is simple bars, cafes and shops - no Gucci shops here.

Part of Front Street, Port Elizabeth

Maria's Cafe on Front Street

Upstairs at Maria's

Gingerbread Hotel - one of several on Port Elizabeth waterfront

Beautiful Anglican Church in Port Elizabeth

We walked around the waterfront and visited the model-making workshop.  Very impressive craftsmanship with models of traditional and modern craft.

Models on display in the workshop

Modern vessels too

The hills above Port Elizabeth give a great view over the island.  Mt Pleasant is about 220m above sea level so we took a walk.  There are quite a few modern homes there, owned mostly by expats I presume.

Going Up!

Admiralty Bay from Mt Pleasant

Looking E from Mt Pleasant

With our friends Anna and Kevin of Gosport-based UK yacht Lady of Lorien we visited the Bequia Beach Hotel on the other side of the island for lunch.  The meal was very good, albeit more expensive than places in Port Elizabeth, and the small steel band was great.

Taxi to the Bequia Beach Hotel

Lunch at the Bequia Beach Hotel

The steel band

Nic and Anna having a go!

Local craft sailing in the bay

Also with the Lady of Lorien crew we visited the Bequia Heritage Museaum.  Very good indeed.  Known history of Bequia goes back to 400AD.  Most of the older exhibits were exposed by a hurricane.  There's also information about Bequia's whaling history and modern practices.

Locally built whaling boat

Whaling tender

Whaling display

400-500AD Amerind 'bat' Incense Burner

Cruiser faciltiies in Admiralty Bay include a water boat, fuel boat, laundry boat and bread boat.  The moorings cost EC$40 to EC$50 per night which puts you very close to the town.

The water boat

We expect to head south very soon, visiting several Grenadine islands before continuing on to Grenada.

Trust all's well where you are!