Bequia
We sailed out of the town of Soufriere in St. Lucia last night on our way south to the nation of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. There was a little chop in the sea during the night and it lulled me into a better sleep. Sunrise was at approximately 6:15am and the weather was a balmy 78 degrees Fahrenheit at 8am. The crew went to sail stations at 8:30am to add more sails, and by 10:15am we were making about 7.8 knots.
The Sea Cloud II is designed as the most advanced of the sailing vessels when sailing reached its apogee in the late 1870’s and, in addition, it has the most up-to-date modern navigational aids. We sail as a living part of late 19th history aided by 21st century technology.
At 10:30am Roger gave a very interesting illustrated talk on the biology and evolution of the various species of Sea Turtles.
Bequia is one of the larger of the 600 odd islands which make up the Grenadines and is part of the island nation of St. Vincent, which has approximately eight inhabited islands. The name Bequia is difficult to work out etymologically. The locals are emphatic and believe that Bequia got its name from the original indigenous Caribs who lived here centuries ago and it meant, in their language, “Island in the Clouds.” Bequia is 13 degrees north latitude by 61 degrees west longitude. The island is quite mountainous and made its living before tourism principally by fishing.
Fishing is still the number two industry after tourism. The natives of Bequia were whalers in the old days and they are still allowed to take from one to five whales a year. This harvest is strictly regulated and it appears that over a five-year period they average about three whales. The island is only seven square miles and its small size (population 6,000), plus the real lack of adequate water, has made all but subsistence farming impossible. However, it is one of the most beautiful and certainly friendly islands one can visit. It is relatively unspoiled and is not visited by the largest of the cruise liners.
We took Zodiacs ashore and boarded the open-air pick-up truck taxis for our first stop on the Atlantic side of the island to the turtle sanctuary in Sal Bay. Here, Brother Orton King, a former fisherman who killed many turtles in his day, began a turtle sanctuary for the hawksbill turtle – the most endangered of the Caribbean turtles – some 13 years ago. He rescues turtles which would otherwise be killed, receives sick and wounded turtles, harvests them from their nests which would otherwise be raided, and raises them until they can manage to survive in the sea unaided. To date, he has released 850 five year-old turtles. We saw turtles from just a few weeks old to those who are about to be released.
Sea Turtles are about 25 years old before they reach sexual maturity and Brother King hopes that he will live to see the first of his turtles return “home” to breed. Some of us chose to go swimming and snorkeling with a mandatory visit to Jack’s Bar and others decided to stroll the attractive street of Port Elizabeth. Some did it all!
The village has a very good little bookshop in the middle of the town and it is always stocked with best-sellers as well as a good selection of books on local history. The last zodiacs left the beach at Jack’s Bar at 6pm with a full complement of smiling faces. Rum punches, perhaps?
We had a special treat this evening after dinner, as Tom O’Brien invited a terrific local Bequia string band “The Kings of Strings” aboard to perform. It was a wonderful way to end a perfectly idyllic day, sitting on the Lido deck in the moonlight in Port Elizabeth Bay listening to the music and the lilting voices of the band. To bed…
We sailed out of the town of Soufriere in St. Lucia last night on our way south to the nation of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. There was a little chop in the sea during the night and it lulled me into a better sleep. Sunrise was at approximately 6:15am and the weather was a balmy 78 degrees Fahrenheit at 8am. The crew went to sail stations at 8:30am to add more sails, and by 10:15am we were making about 7.8 knots.
The Sea Cloud II is designed as the most advanced of the sailing vessels when sailing reached its apogee in the late 1870’s and, in addition, it has the most up-to-date modern navigational aids. We sail as a living part of late 19th history aided by 21st century technology.
At 10:30am Roger gave a very interesting illustrated talk on the biology and evolution of the various species of Sea Turtles.
Bequia is one of the larger of the 600 odd islands which make up the Grenadines and is part of the island nation of St. Vincent, which has approximately eight inhabited islands. The name Bequia is difficult to work out etymologically. The locals are emphatic and believe that Bequia got its name from the original indigenous Caribs who lived here centuries ago and it meant, in their language, “Island in the Clouds.” Bequia is 13 degrees north latitude by 61 degrees west longitude. The island is quite mountainous and made its living before tourism principally by fishing.
Fishing is still the number two industry after tourism. The natives of Bequia were whalers in the old days and they are still allowed to take from one to five whales a year. This harvest is strictly regulated and it appears that over a five-year period they average about three whales. The island is only seven square miles and its small size (population 6,000), plus the real lack of adequate water, has made all but subsistence farming impossible. However, it is one of the most beautiful and certainly friendly islands one can visit. It is relatively unspoiled and is not visited by the largest of the cruise liners.
We took Zodiacs ashore and boarded the open-air pick-up truck taxis for our first stop on the Atlantic side of the island to the turtle sanctuary in Sal Bay. Here, Brother Orton King, a former fisherman who killed many turtles in his day, began a turtle sanctuary for the hawksbill turtle – the most endangered of the Caribbean turtles – some 13 years ago. He rescues turtles which would otherwise be killed, receives sick and wounded turtles, harvests them from their nests which would otherwise be raided, and raises them until they can manage to survive in the sea unaided. To date, he has released 850 five year-old turtles. We saw turtles from just a few weeks old to those who are about to be released.
Sea Turtles are about 25 years old before they reach sexual maturity and Brother King hopes that he will live to see the first of his turtles return “home” to breed. Some of us chose to go swimming and snorkeling with a mandatory visit to Jack’s Bar and others decided to stroll the attractive street of Port Elizabeth. Some did it all!
The village has a very good little bookshop in the middle of the town and it is always stocked with best-sellers as well as a good selection of books on local history. The last zodiacs left the beach at Jack’s Bar at 6pm with a full complement of smiling faces. Rum punches, perhaps?
We had a special treat this evening after dinner, as Tom O’Brien invited a terrific local Bequia string band “The Kings of Strings” aboard to perform. It was a wonderful way to end a perfectly idyllic day, sitting on the Lido deck in the moonlight in Port Elizabeth Bay listening to the music and the lilting voices of the band. To bed…
