Union – St Vincent & the Grenadines
Tuesday 13th June
The day is so nice and calm for once, that we decide to stay on board, plenty dips in the sea, plenty reading, plenty staring at the clouds in the sky. Our nights have been disrupted by the wind so it is good to have some down time. No rain today.
Wednesday 14th June
We need to move to Clifton, on the other side of the island, to check out. The wind has dropped completely today. Not a puff. We have not seen the sea so flat for a while. It is so calm that you can see fishes swimming around the boat from the deck. We watch the fishermen boats, suspended between sky and sea .
It does not take long to reach Clifton. We have been there twice before, so we know not to anchor in the way of the ferries in and out all day and night. Glad we came back so late in the season, there are so few boats that we bag a superb position right in front of the island, between the reef and the town. The colours are breathtaking. No time to linger though, the immigration and custom office shuts soon, so we need to go on shore and do the necessary. Does not take long so, and since we are on shore, we climb the nearest hill so we get a bird’s eye view of the bay. Clifton is pretty deserted. Most of the shops and restaurants are shut or empty but it is still a pretty little village. Again, the few people we meet are nice and chatty. They want to know where we come from and where we are going. On hearing that we intend to go down to Tobago and Trinidad, there is a lot of arms waving and tutting. Not a good idea, there are witches in Tobago and too much crime in Trinidad. We also learn that Union does not belong to St Vincent and the Grenadines; they are forever overlooked by the central government. Although it is obvious that there is a certain amount of poverty on the island, it does not feel so desperate from what we have seen.
Back on the boat, the wind has gotten up, dashing our hope of going out to the bar on the island in the middle of the reef to watch the sunset. With speed of nearly 30 knots across, it may not be a good idea of being out in the dinghy at dusk. Oh well, never mind, we’ll have rum on board. Glad we did too, a French boat turned up late in the afternoon and as soon as they have picked up a buoy, they are off out there, kite surfing in the dimming light. Terrific performance, these guys know what they are doing and it is a joy to watch them whizz around and jumping amazingly high. One of them actually jumped over a deserted yacht. Mind you he did get caught in the rigging… not so good. They carry on late in the evening, the kites are now invisible, all you can hear is the whoosh of the boards across the water and the whoops of joy of these two in the dark. Bet these will be out at first light tomorrow.
Thursday 15th June
We should move on but can’t be bothered, it is so beautiful and my view is just the best. Just want to stay here and watch the colours change as the day and the light changes. The waves on the reef are much higher and the noise is deafening. It almost looks like the sea outside of the reef is slopping down. Idly thinking of going up the mast so I can take pictures from 18m up in the air…maybe not.. it is blowing up to 27 knots…another time.
Friday 16th June
Heading to Cariacou, Tyrell’s bay. Not so far only 10 miles to go this morning, should take a couple of hours. Plenty of wind and in the right direction so we should make it easy. We have stopped in Hillsborough the last two times we were in Cariacou, looking forward to see a different side of the island.