Salt Whistle Bay from the top of the hill.

Our next stop 19nm to the South west of Mustique, was Salt Whistle Bay on the island of Mayreau. We had drinks and dinner at the “Last Bar before the Jungle”, a Rastafarian joint where you can also smoke pot.

Walking along the Salt Whistle beach before dinner.

Unlike Keith Richards, I was not climbing up to pick a coconut and fall on my head.

Salt Whistle Bay restaurant strip!

The last bar before the jungle.

The wind came up overnight and after heavy rain the next morning, we motored the mile south to the sheltered anchorage of Saline Bay. The anchor winch gypsy started slipping whilst we were anchoring, so after settling down, we stripped the winch, cleaned and serviced it, with a note in my diary, to do it again in 60 days. At sea, the salt buildup inside the anchor winch is substantial and needs constant cleaning.

View down to Saline Bay with Union Island in the background.

We walked to the highest point on the island, to orientate ourselves with the Tobago Cays which lies next to and to the east of Mayreau Island.

Walking down to the anchorage.

The unique Rastafarian architectural style.

The next morning we motored into the Cays through the South Passage and anchored between two small islands, Petit Bateau and Petit Rameau, which are located in the National Marine Park costing us EC$10/person/day. After a swim and relaxed Sunday afternoon Nanna nap, we tackled the walk to the crest of Petit Bateau to check the dinghy pass through Horseshoe reef.

Our anchorage between Petit Bateau and Rameau.

View from the top of Petit Bateau – Petit Tabac on the other side of the reef..

The dinghy pass through the reef led us out to sea, to do the short one mile hop to Petit Tabac Island, where there are good dive spots. Unfortunately, the swell coming out of the East resulted in huge breakers on the beach, ruling out a landing and the swells on the reef would have smashed us while snorkelling. So we bounced back in the dinghy, to safety inside the reef.

Petit Tabac out at sea – too rough to land.

The reefs inside the outer Horseshoe reef, are disappointing, but the water and sand is quite clear. In the afternoon the heavens opened and so we had to shelter from the tropical rain through the night. We picked up the anchor at 8:30 the next morning and motored out through the North Passage into a 30 knot wind on the nose, to Canouan Island 6 nm to the North and anchored in the sheltered Grand Bay.

A dinghy ride to the rough concrete ferry wharf, got us into Charlestown, which from a distance looked quite pretty, but up close, down at heel and dirty. Photos won’t do justice to the squalor. I spent the afternoon doing a long overdue service on the high pressure desalinator pump, replacing the oil and the filter. The strong easterly wind predicted  for Wednesday night the 12th August, hit us with force during the night, tearing the canvas infill panel over the cockpit – more repairs to be done when we get back to Bequia.

Grand Bay anchorage and Charlestown, at Canouan Island.

The wind settled down the next morning, so we had a relaxed sail down to Union Island, 11 nm to the South. Quacey, of Marine Tech Services in Clifton harbour came highly recommended as an outboard repair specialist, so we had him test our Suzuki 6hp dinghy outboard motor. The motor has for the past two months, just spun and cavitated at higher revs.

Clifton harbour anchorage at Union Island.

Quacey stripped the propellor and found that the rubber hub on the lower drive shaft had stripped and hence the prop slipped at higher revs. He didn’t have the correct prop or hub kit in stock, so he refitted the prop. Hopefully, we will find the correct parts soon – we just need to be patient about puttering around slowly.

Small bar on a rock in the bay.

Union Island history.

Quiet main street of Clifton.

Now we know where to run to in case of a tsunami.

Union, like Canouan and Mayreau, being smaller islands close to the Tobago Cays are totally dependant on tourism. Covid-19 has wiped out their small economies and the towns have hardly anybody on the streets, with the locals lazing about or fighting one another, zonked out on beer and ganja. It is quite a sad situation.

Our anchorage in Clifton Bay behind the reef – lots of kite boarding and Palm Island to the right.

Palm Island – we didn’t stop, as it is a private island.

Esprit’s track in the Grenadines.

On Saturday the 15th August, the wind changed to the South east providing us with a good apparent wind angle to sail back North to Bequia. We left Union Island at 9am and anchored off Jack’s Bar in Bequia at 2pm – in time for drinks and a BBQ at the Upper Deck at 5pm. On Monday we will check if my Visa renewal card has arrived at the Fedex agency. We will hopefully report from Grenada, in the near future, as Trinidad is still closed . Until then, cheers for now.