The Voyages of "KINGDOM": A Day at the Beach!

Our last day in Grenada, Wednesday, December 3rd, we decided to spend at the beach. We took a maxi taxi a couple of miles down the coast, to Grand Anse, a lovely two-mile long beach. There were a number of beach vendors who provide umbrellas, lounge chairs, and offer you food and beverages, all of which we were glad to purchase! We had a lazy afternoon, swimming and goofing with the locals.

The beach was fairly active, since there were two cruise ships in port. Our maxi taxi took a long loop through the town of St. George, so we got to see the place bustling with tourists. We were very glad we had anchored in the lagoon. No crowds!

I had an appointment at Grenada Customs at 4:00pm, to obtain our clearance for departure early Thursday morning. Then we began readying the boat for the next leg of our voyage.

We hoisted anchor at 8:30am Thursday, December 5th, bound for the little town of Clifton, Union Island. It is the southernmost of the St. Vincent group of islands. We hove to in Clifton at 2:05pm. The harbour is bounded on two sides by long reefs, which provide a good barrier to the sea swell. It is a picture-perfect anchorage in good weather. The water is crystal clear, and perfect for swimming, which we all enjoyed. I went ashore to clear customs and immigration, and found the village to be small, but well-kept, with a modern bank and a good small grocery store. There is a small airport right near the village, with quite a bit of traffic going and coming. We counted a half-dozen commuter flights within an hour or so of our arrival.

After a peaceful night, we raised the hook Friday morning at 8:00am, heading for Wallilabou, on the West Coast of the island of St. Vincent. We arrived there at 2:00pm, and were met by the local boatmen, who took a stern line ashore and tied it to a strong tree. This is a steeply sloping shore, dropping in depth from 15 feet to 100 feet within 50 yards of shore. So here we set the bow anchor in 40 feet of water, then back the boat toward the shore. This procedure keeps the bow pointed toward the open sea, and into the path of any swell that enters the harbour. This arrangement makes for a most comfortable anchorage, as the harbour itself is ringed by tall cliffs to the north, east, and south. The little village sits at the base of the cliffs, and the local restaurant caters strictly to the visiting yachts. We took the crew ashore for dinner here.

Wallilabou, you may recall, is the location where much of the original "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie was shot. A lot of the sets and props remain. I remember the very funny scene where Johnny Depp casually steps from the mast of his sinking boat onto the dock, looking for all the world like he planned the whole thing with absolute precision.

Saturday morning, we departed at 8:00am for St. Lucia, and reached the lovely marina at Marigot Bay by 2:00pm. We had to wait a half hour to enter, while an enormous mega-yacht maneuvered out of the marina. We were welcomed by the dockmaster, and given the berth just vacated by the "big boy". We're no longer the biggest private yacht in the harbour as you will see from the pictures I'll post later.

This is a shot of a small island in the bay at Clifton (Union Island). It is built entirely of conch shells, and is the private home of a local Rastafarian man. He built his little island, and welcomes visitors to a small pub he maintains for his income.