Sailing in the Grenadines

Scott swam to the beach and went for a run. I lounge on the catamaran with my book, dipping beskuit in my coffee. Our host Christine had baked the delicious, traditional South African rusks. She makes our breakfast while her husband Roux does boat chores.

Our sailing trip in the Grenadines at the end of April was spontaneous. We’d been on our friends’ sailboat the summer before and suggested that Melissa and Jim might want to come down and cruise with us. After I’d done the research we couldn’t find a date that worked, so Scott and I decided to go anyway!

We were nervous as we boarded the ferry in Saint Vincent, on our way to Bequia. The only boats I’d toured on had been big ones, and we were on our way to spend 6 days on a 40’ catamaran with two people we had never met. We’d first booked with a boat that friends had been on, but after we already had flights arranged there was a problem and we were offered a different boat.

We shouldn’t have worried. I’d done enough research to know it was a legitimate charter boat, and there were no red flags in the few reviews.

Boat people, especially those who give up their land life to live on a boat, are a special breed. They tend to be flexible, open-minded and accepting. And boy, do they have good stories!

The places we saw were spectacular— actual Pirates of the Caribbean locations. We swam with fish and turtles, wandered empty reaches of sand and surf, ate grilled lobster on the beach while the sun set, sat in tiny beach bars after wandering through rustic villages.

Unlike some of the catamaran captains who mostly motored, Roux put us under sail whenever possible. Even I, queen of busy-ness and multitasking, was able to do nothing but be when the sheets were taut and the spray splashing onto the deck.

You’d think that as retirees living in Barbados we would already be experts at relaxing, yet we found new levels on our trip. I read two books. Scott would sit for hours on the deck with his coffee, or a beer. Our phones were used for pictures, navigation, and little else.

I never imagined I would do anything like this, but I would go on SV Era again without hesitation.

In the midst of our holiday, we fantasized about buying a boat—the true measure of a good trip. Even then we knew they were “boat dreams,” but perhaps, now, more of our brave travels will be on the water.