Here's our recommended St. Vincent Base...

Take the kids chartering...

Typical itinerary...

• ARRIVAL DATE

  .
• SAME DAY.. Provision, visit Kingston. Attend a Jazz club or other, night spot--have dinner. Your host, John West, can suggest a number of active or quiet spots. Depending on the timing, get your check out/briefing this afternoon, or tomorrow morning.

• DAY1...

  (G) Mustique. An easy reach south. Be sure to pick up the shoal marker to s'brd of the harbor. Sail up close by the western shore to enjoy the view and then pick up one of the moorings provided by the Mustique company.
  Mustique is unique among the Grenadines. It is a privately owned island that has been developed as an area of holiday homes for the ultra rich. Mansions with tennis courts and swimming pools sit on rolling grassy hills and long lawns stretch to sandy beaches. Each house lies in spacious grounds; there are only about 80 on the whole island plus one hotel, one beach bar, three boutiques, a small local village and a fishing camp. A roll call of property owners reveals some glamorous names, including Princess Margaret, Mick Jagger, David Bowie and Raquel Welch. Parts of the island are wild; other areas are well tended.
  Plenty of time to explore the island and enjoy delightful snorkeling on the reef just south of your mooring. A great way of exploring the island is by horseback and a late afternoon ride on Frances' horses can be booked in advance by VHF.
  Basil's Bar is a thatch and bamboo structure perched on stilts over the water's edge; this is a prefect spot to enjoy the sunset. If you happen to be here on a Wednesday night, you can try their popular barbecue buffet night followed by a jump up. Should you wish to treat yourselves to an elegant meal out, don your best pants or a dress for dinner at the Cotton House. It's a delightful 15 minute walk, however if you call on VHF to make dinner reservations they are willing to come and get you.
  Warning!!! On a late night walk up the hill at night, one of our party got behind the group and had her purse snatched by a dark figure who ran out of the woods and off down the hill with the purse. While this is unusual, you should always be careful at night and stay together. As nice as a walk sounds, a taxi may be safer!
  

• DAY2...

  (C) Mayreau. A leisurely start heading South, southwest leaving Baline Rocks to port towards the northern tip of Mayreau, keeping a good lookout for the shoal off here and the deep pass to port of Catholic Island. Once through the pass, you round up into Saltwhistle Bay with a sweeping half moon beach of pure white sand. An ideal catamaran anchorage as you can get so close to the beach and see through the swaying palms to the other side of the island.
  Holding is good for mono hulls and catamarans in sand. Excellent snorkeling at the reefs off the point or south west beach. Varied menu and good food at the Saltwhistle Bay Club with a bar on one of the prettiest beaches (on half-moon bay--great moon watching spot!) in the Caribbean. Each table is nestled under a thatched roof and surrounded by boulder partitions around a huge round table that can accommodate almost any sized party up to 10 or so.
  Before heading over to the Tobago Cays, you might want to make a quick stop at Union Island for water and any necessary supplies. It's only an hour or so, and the boat boys will guide you in to a dock where you can get water, and you're just a short walk from other basic provisioning.
  Don't hang around, the ports pretty commercial. Instead, motor across to lovely Palm Island for a lunch dip and then you're just a couple of hours retracing your steps back around the south side of Mayreau and on over to the Tobago Cays. You'll still have the late afternoon to settle in and arrange your beach lobster dinner...

• DAY3-4...

  (F) Tobago Cays. Because of the morning sun, a cautious approach to the Tobago Cays is preferred by sailing north along the leeward side of Mayreau before motoring south east for the two main islands of Petit Rameau and Petit Bateau. Once close to the day markers it's easy to thread your way between these cays and find your own anchorage in the lee of the magnificent Horseshoe Reef.
  The reef colors are a kaleidoscope of gold, brown, blue, turquoise and green. There are small sand beaches on each of the islands and water so clear it is the color that everyone approves of! The whole area is a designated national park and great care should be taken when anchoring not to damage the coral.
  The snorkeling on Horseshoe Reef is superb for those that are experienced, for the inexperienced, snorkeling off the beach on Petit Bateau is ideal as it starts in calm, shallow water.
  There are no bars, restaurants, hotels or stores in this beautiful, natural haven. However, be sure to take advantage of the Boat boys hospitality and sample their lobsters, fresh bread and other offerings. Also, this is the area where we hooked up with Yellow Man. Be sure to make arrangements with John (our base manager) to link with him here. He's famous for his late night beach lobster dinners on one of the local beaches. You arrive by dinghy following the smells and candles into the beach barbecue. You'll be treated to barbecued lobster and a huge volume of home cooked goods provided by Yellow Mans wife just for the occasion. (This may be a preview because the couple is completing a home restaurant on Union Island which is sure to be a hit!)
  If you have younger children under 12 or so, follow this Link to our Yellow Man treasure hunt and make a copy of the map and story.

• DAY5...

  (D) To Petit St. Vincent for Lunch .Head back down the leeward side of Mayreau and then south for two miles between Union and Palm Island taking care to leave Grande de Coi to port then when 3 miles out, make a direct approach east for Petit Martinique and Petit St. Vincent. If you need water, this is another place to get it.
  A pleasant diversion would be to continue over past the North western tip of Carriacou to lovely Sandy Island. Officially, you've changed government jurisdictions and if you plan to go into the big island, you will need to clear customs. But just to anchor out in the pleasant little bite of Sandy Island I'm sure no one will object. With a Cat, you can put her up just off the beach and walk ashore, otherwise get a little further out. This little sand spit surrounded by a beautiful, easy access reef and punctuated by a few palm trees is exactly what one imagines a tropical island to be. You may be so enraptured that you're tempted to stay overnight. In a Catamaran you might get away with it if the weather is settled. In a monohull, there may be too much rolling for all but the hardiest of your crew. Reluctantly, we suggest that you pull anchor and allow an hour and a half or so to beat the sun set over to PSV where the resort on the hill offers one of the most spectacular sunset bars among all of the islands.
  Anchoring close to P.S.V. home of an exclusive resort, you can dinghy ashore or perhaps enjoy some excellent snorkeling on the fringing reef to the east.
  What you cannot miss, though, is the chance to dinghy over to Mopion for a picnic lunch and superb snorkeling. This tiny island only boasts a small thatched umbrella perched on pure coral sand!
  After lunch, haul anchor and motor north west with the sun high and behind you through the narrow pass between Mopion (Carib for crabs) and Pinese (Carib for bed bugs!) and then north for anchoring at Palm Island.
  Home of another private resort the Palm Island Beach Club. Dinghy ashore to Casuarina Beach, a gorgeous expanse of golden sand lapped by translucent, turquoise waters--the ultimate perfect Grenadine Beach. In the evening, you can visit the Sunset Bar which also serves snacks. If you're lucky enough to be here on a Saturday, they have a steel band show.

• DAY6...

  (B) Sandy Island, Palm Island, Mayeru, or Cannowan If you haven't gone to Sandy Island yet, do this! (See above.) Or go to Palm Island. Before heading out, the more athletic can try the well sign posted Highway 90 jogging track around Palm Island (1 1/4 Mi.) and stop off on route to explore the five other magnificent beaches!
  After lunch, head back to (everyone's favorite, Mayeru or go on to Cannowan. You want to get as far North as possible for the last, longish haul back to Bequia and home. A good rule of thumb is that the more unsettled the weather, the more "Northing" you want to get into today. Cannowan is an Island of small rounded hills, varying in color from golden brown to rich green, can be either at Corbay, Rameau Bay or Charlestown Bay (the main anchorage, marked by buoys). With only two small hotels, dining choice is limited but, we suggest you try Tamarind Bay Resort.

• DAY7 or 8...

  (A) Bequia. For your last day, a hint of civilization awaits you at Bequia. Lots of shopping opportunities, beach bars, and photo opts.
  Bequia has a long sea faring tradition, and you will still see boats being built on the beach under the shade of palm trees. They are built by eye, using only simple hand tools. The whaling tradition is dying out, but from FEB. to Apr. it is not unusual to see humpback and sperm whales heading south to mate and bear young!
  This Island is a favorite of yacht people (is that us?). It is isolated enough to remain relatively unspoiled, yet lively enough to be stimulating and entertaining--a nice blend of the old and the new. It is linked to the outside world mainly by sea. An Island of sailors and boats.
  RESTAURANTS: The Pizza restaurant is great and nothing like you expect. The Frangipani, The Whaleboner and Le Petit Jardin are among your many choices! It's almost a crime to mention any one.

• DAY9...

  Base Return to base. Everyone said, "Oh no, civilization." when Bequia was our destination. However after a few hours there, no one wanted to leave! Expect a pretty good wind blast as you round the northern point of Bequia to our base at Blue Lagoon. The approach is actually easy following the range in and identifying the well marked cut through the reef. Give us a call if you need assistance though. In general, you should call when you're within a half hour or so anyway so that we can organize a reception. We'll check you in, organize your taxi a and any other travel arrangements that you may require. Of course one of the best Islands of all is St. Vincent! So, if you have any extra time get John and Gil to give you the best itinerary for exploring anything from waterfalls to volcanoes!
  The only thing wrong with this vacation is that there just wasn't enough time. Now that you've identified some favorite spots, you'll be sure to want to come back and spend more time here and, perhaps, to extend your explorations on the Grenada.

To visit a great site in the Grenadines, click here.

1. Caribbean Travel Roundup
2. Tony Mitchells SVG

Location-Main office

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