The Following is the travel log of 2 of our Barefoot friends and regular charterers, Mark Pratley and Olivia.

They sailed for 2 weeks through the islands of St Vincent and the Grenadines this year and documented their experience!

Thank you Mark and Olivia for sharing your island adventure with us.

DAY 1

We had a fantastic sail from St Vincent to Princess Margaret Beach, Bequia. Had a refreshing swim then Olivia made a fantastic dinner and now we’re enjoying a cocktail at the newly renovated Jacks Bar. Life is good!

DAY 2

Woke up to sunshine in Admiralty Bay, Bequia. We enjoyed a morning dip followed by coffee and breakfast. Later we head into town to stock up on some provisions and BBQ briquettes (they get a little pricy the further down island you go). When we got back we had a bite to eat and headed back into town with friends Tim Mauer and Stephany Mauer in time to watch the Americas Cup and Great Britain beat France, yea! Then back to the boat to get freshened up and the four of us headed over to the plantation in time for 2 for 1 happy hour and delicious Pizza! Yum! Tim and Steph invited a charter friend to eat with us so Olivia and I listened in on some interesting charter stories in the Caribbean. Then it was back to the boat for our obligatory lie on the bow netting for star gazing.

Day 3

Woke up to a slightly overcast skies in Admiralty Bay. We had breakfast, coffee and got the boat ready for a 5hr sail to Union Island.

However winds were not in our favour and I only had the main sail up because we were fishing and I wanted to put the drone up to get some video of the wreck on West Cay.

The sail was taking longer than planned so we adjusted our sails and headed for the new Glossy Bay Marina on Canouan. This place is amazing. We feel like we’re in the French Riviera. Fantastic facilities and the staff are great. All for $1/ft US per night.

After dinner we hopped in our own personal golf cart they gave us and headed to the restaurant/bar for a drink.

Who know where the wind will take us tomorrow

Day 4 –

Olivia started her day with one last shower at the Glossy Bay marina, quick breakfast then we motored around the point to the Tamarind Beach Hotel. Anchored in about 8ft of water 30ft from shore then we swam in to get some delicious smoked cheese and meat from the deli there.

After swimming back to the boat and drying off Olivia whipped up a couple of easy over eggs, fried tomatoes and toast and coffee before setting for Clifton Harbour and a drink at Happy Island!

Dinner consisted of curry made from left over rice, BBQ chicken, some corn, zucchini and mushrooms, YUM!

Ended the day on the bow watching 8 kite surfers flying between us and Happy Island.

Hmm… where to tomorrow??

Day 5

We sailed from clifton Harbour to Paradise Beach, Carriacou. Once we were anchored we took the dingy to shore and went for a nice long walk to stretch our legs followed by a beer at the ‘Off D Hook Bar & Grill‘.

Day 6

Well that was a sleepless night. Winds gusting to 30knots and a northerly swell. I now have full trust in this anchor. It’s not a #Rocna (my fav) but it’s a 50lb monster. We didn’t drag an inch

We weighed anchor at 7am and motor sailed with a reefed jib to White Island where we dropped anchor and had a great breakfast of eggs, sausages, toast and coffee. Not sure how Olivia does all that in 3ft seas

We wanted to make Petit St Vincent by lunch so we pulled anchor and headed north. It was a bit of a slog but made good time. We dropped at about 12:30 and had a relaxing afternoon.

I decided to give us a night free of cooking and ponied up for a fantastic dinner and drinks at Goaties Bar overlooking Petit Martinique who were winding up their regatta with fireworks!

Day 7

We woke up to the best weather so far. Decided to head off early so with coffees in hand, pulled up the anchor and headed off for Saline Bay, Mayreau.

Along the way we sailed to Mopian island but the seas were not suitable for anchoring so we just took some pics and continued on our way.

We arrived to a super calm anchorage with a light breeze and clear skies, paradise! We dropped the anchor and dove in for a refreshing swim.

We took the dinghy to shore for a relaxing few hours on the beach. Then we headed back to the boat, got dressed and headed up the hill into the village for some supplies and a cold beer at one of the many bars. When we were done one of the local dogs escorted us back to the dock.

We finished off the day with a great porkchop and scallop potato dinner while watching one of the best sunsets this trip, so far.

Day 8

Woke up to cloudy skies again . Pulled anchor and did a short hop to Saltwhistle Bay, Mayreau. I Managed to get a great spot at the head of the bay right up by the beach. Wind is back up to a steady 30knots and no signs of letting up. No drone flying today.

As we were coming in I noticed a 52 Amel Super Maramu so we took some beers over and introduced ourselves. They welcomed use onboard and gave us a tour of their boat. Beautiful!

We headed back to our boat for a quick dinner then off to visit some of the local beach bars

Day 9

We woke up to, guess what, another cloudy blustery day . But not complaining we’re on a in the Grenadines

After a swim, coffee and breakfast I raised the main with a reef at anchor and peeled off for a quick sail to the Tabogo Cays.
We managed to get a nice spot in about 10ft of water and beautiful white coral sand. We jumped in for a quick post sail swim, dried up and had some lunch.

The wind was up and I didn’t think we’d seen any turtles in behind the spit on Baradal but we grabbed our snorkel gear to have a look, I was right. There were more turtles swimming around our boat than in the sanctuary. But we had a nice hike around the island and saw some wildlife.

It was too windy and the waves were too high to take Olivia snorkelling on the reef so we headed back to the boat.

When we got back to the boat I could tell it was going to be a bumpy night so we hauled the anchor and made for the Channel off Petit Rameau, much calmer! We meat up with Less and Cathy off of the Amel Super Maramu, Sureal for a few drinks on the beach at Captain Harris’s beach bar/BBQ and watched the sunset.

Day 10

We had a quick breaky, raised the main to the first reef, weighed anchor, and slipped out of the Tobago Cays Marine Park headed for Glossy Bay Marina on Canouan to top up with fuel and water.

Once clear of the Channel I unfurled the jib and shut off the engines. Close hauled on a perfect course to clear Horseshoe Reef, cross North Mayreau Channel to the Marina entrance. Skies were fairly clear and winds were 23-28knots great sail!

I radioed the Marina once we’d let down the sails and requested permission to enter the Marina for fuel and water. $290US later and we were ready to go.

However I wanted to try to get some Aerial video and photos of the new Marina so I got the drone out. However they must have built the entire Marina out of steel re-bar because I kept getting compass errors. When I tried to take off from the bow the drone flew straight up into the rigging and stuck there.

Fortunately Yannick, one of the very friendly dock boys, found a pipe pole long enough and we fashioned a lasso around the tip. After a few tries we got the lasso around one of the prop arms and managed to free it from the rigging. WHEW!!

I put the drone away, hands still shaking, and we left for Tamarind Beach on Canauan. We anchored about 30ft offshore and went into town for some provisions.

Back at the boat we tucked everything away and then dinghied in to the Tamarind restaurant for a delicious dinner. Before we ordered I slipped over to the deli for some of their delicious smoked provolone cheese and spicy smoked speck.

Dinner was great and we had a great chat with Felix, the manager who we’ve met from previous trips.

All in all another great day sailing the #Grenadines
On a #Barefootyachts catamaran!

Day 11

Wow! What a rainy stormy night. Boat got a good wash though! .

After breakfast the clouds cleared and we had a super relaxing day laying on the Tamarind beach lounge chairs drinking cocktails and swimming in the turquoise water.

As the day wound down we swam back to the boat to get cleaned up and we BBQ’d up some chicken with rice and veggies.

Day 12

Off to Bequia. We departed Charlestown Bay, Canouan by 8:30am for what normally in favourable winds would be a 3.5hr sail.

Unfortunately Neptune had other plans. Winds were NE 20-27knts Which means we were closed hauled the whole way, which these catamarans don’t like. So we had to make a couple of tacks which made our 3.5hr sail into a 5hr sail. We got passed by about 4 monohulls on the doing the same route! Monohull Next time!! Oh well it was a nice day and any sailing is good sailing.

We arrived at 1:30 and got a sweet spot right off the beach. We had a nice swim, got freshened up and took the dinghy to the Plantation Resort for pizza but they were closed so we doubled back to Jacks Bar just before closing and had a delicious dinner. Looking forward to a chill day on Princes Margaret Beach.

Day 13

No better place to wake up than on a boat off Princess Margaret Beach, Bequia

After breky we headed to town in search of pork chops for our last dinner on the boat. The rest of the day we spent lounging in the beach and snorkelling by the rock cliffs.

I flew the drone one last time in between rain showers to get some shots of the local houses and the many boats in the harbour.

Our porkchop dinner was delicious, after we cleaned up it was out on the bow with drinks and pillows to enjoy our last night trying to catch glimpses of the stars in between the clouds.

Day 14

We woke up to a beautiful morning and SE winds, perfect for the sail back to #BarefootYachtCharters.

The sail back to base after a 14 day sailing adventure is always bittersweet. You look forward to things like your own bed or a nice hot shower, but saddened at the thought of no more morning coffees on the bow, or being able to jump into turquoise Caribbean water at any time, or what island your going to explore that day. As the saying goes, ‘all good things must come to an end’.

The passage back to base was the calmest I’ve ever seen it. We took our time and reminisced over the last 14 days, all the interesting people we’d met and places we’ve visited.

If you’ve never visited or sailed the Grenadine Islands I highly recommend it. The culture is rich and the people are very friendly, when you pass the locals on the street, unlike in North America, they look you right in the eye and will say “good morning ” or “how are you?” often accompanied by a smile and fist bump

When we arrived at base the dock staff dinghied out to meet us and take over the helm. It’s a tight fit at the Barefoot dock and I’m always amazed how perfectly they bring it in. The staff at Barefoot Yachts are amazing form the boat boys that helped us with our luggage, laughing and joking with us and asking how our vacation was all the way to upper management. They always take the extra time and attention to make sure your sailing vacation is special and trouble free.

Unfortunately Olivia, in dis-embarking the boat, hurt her knee  Damn! she almost made it without injuring herself this time. better luck next time.