Grenadines: Places You Didn't Like and Why

[Saleen411]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

My information is not fresh -- I was cruising there sometime in the 00's -- but FWIW:


Salt Whistle Bay was indeed crowded, but so lovely, it was worth it


Clifton was OK -- Caribbean towns are not meant to be beautiful -- but sometimes it's good to have access to a good market and other town amenities


Tobago Cays of course hardly needs any introduction -- it is indeed a magical as its reputation, but CROWDED


St. Vincent is a hole and worth getting away from ASAP.


We had lively sailing in boisterous conditions in the Bequia Strait.


Everywhere it was really hard (like impossible) to get rid of garbage.


Some marvelous natural beauty, epic snorkeling, but hard to get away from the crowds. In that regard very different from the Baltic, which I prefer.

Thank you sir. We are planning Salt Whistle Bay and of course Tobago Cays. Hoping not too crowded as we will still be in hurricane season.

I didn't know about the trash issue...thanks for that. I think there will be boat boys I can pay for trash and ice.

I've read that once past the lee of St Vincent on the way to Bequia, winds and waves can be lively. We are actually looking forward to that for the experience.

[daletournier]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

My information is not fresh -- I was cruising there sometime in the 00's -- but FWIW:


Salt Whistle Bay was indeed crowded, but so lovely, it was worth it


Clifton was OK -- Caribbean towns are not meant to be beautiful -- but sometimes it's good to have access to a good market and other town amenities


Tobago Cays of course hardly needs any introduction -- it is indeed a magical as its reputation, but CROWDED


St. Vincent is a hole and worth getting away from ASAP.


We had lively sailing in boisterous conditions in the Bequia Strait.


Everywhere it was really hard (like impossible) to get rid of garbage.


Some marvelous natural beauty, epic snorkeling, but hard to get away from the crowds. In that regard very different from the Baltic, which I prefer.

Zero problems getting rid of your trash that I've experienced.

Haven't seen any what I consider good snorkeling, but I'm probably abit spoilt in that area.

[daletournier]

No, I'm talking about a little island called Sandy island
12° 29.052N
61° 28.95w

Its a pretty little island.

No reason to spend a night at Frigate IMHO, Chatham bay is much nicer only a couple of miles away.

Originally Posted by Saleen411

Would you be talking about Frigate Island?

That's supposed to be nice.

[Saleen411]

Originally Posted by daletournier

No, I'm talking about a little island called Sandy island
12° 29.052N
61° 28.95w

Its a pretty little island.

No reason to spend a night at Frigate IMHO, Chatham bay is much nicer only a couple of miles away.

Great..thanks Dale.

[daletournier]

Originally Posted by jmh2002

Saleen, I just wanted to say, it would be nice to have an update from you after you have done this trip please.

And Dale, you are currently cruising there aren't you? It would be nice to have a thread from you too please.

With all the negativity in a lot of Caribbean related posts, to be honest as much as I have the best and fondest memories of this area I think I'm starting to shift my long term cruising goals to tropical Australia, with the option of the western Pacific (I think I'm mostly done with long ocean passages for pleasure) and Asia if boredom sets in.

This will end up being retirement cruising, so age and health and just 'things being easier' starts to become a factor at that point to consider by that stage too.

Thanks guys

I don't get the negative reviews on other threads, I think it's more to do with a different cruising mentality here.

Now my intention isnt to upset anyone and I'm not making a right or wrong judgement call,so please dont take it that way.

I find the cruising fraternity to be different here from what I've experienced, obviously theres a higher percentage of Americans (not a bad thing). To be honest I find it more of a caravan mentality, some store theirs boats for half a year then relaunch move to the next bay and play dominoes on Sunday. A long passage is 70nm.

The expectations from the cruising fraternity is higher here, they expect more, they come from a society where they have all the conveniences therefore expect them here. I'm amazed at how well equipped the windwards are, I've been like a kid in a candy store.

I find most locals to be friendly and courteous, crime isn't as outrageous as some threads make out, and I haven't felt threatened.

It's not particularly cheap here and IMO the food sucks ( except for doubles)but we work around that.

I won't be staying in the Carribean for years, not that theres anything wrong with what I've seen ,it's just that there's an incredible amount of boats here and for what ever reason it dosent excite me to stay more than a season.

Jmh2000, I'll probably be back home in 3 years and my plans are similar to yours, western pacific and the Australian east coast. Australia is a wonderful place.

[jmh2002]

Yeah I think I might be disappointed now by the crowds there, and the various nonsense. As time passes that gets old pretty quickly. I don't need American style comforts (no offense intended, but it is particularly descriptive) and being flexible I never wanted for anything even 25 years ago in the windwards. A roti and a beer or a flying fish burger and a rumbo was just fine as far as eating ashore was concerned. I can easily cook something of a higher standard on the boat instead.

NZ and AUS are totally unspoilt by comparison (they are not of course, but it's all relative) and I've already lived in FNQ and done a lot of sailing on the east coast.

Watching channels such as Free Range Sailing and Sailing Tangaroa is a good reminder of how nice (if simple) it can be.



Sorry for the derail Saleen411

[jmh2002]

Originally Posted by Saleen411

I will be happy to write about this trip when I get back.

I will also regale you with tales of how i single handedly repelled all armed boarders in the middle of the night in St Vincent and St Lucia.

I expect nothing less of course!

[jim King]

Don't miss Sandy Island off Carriacou (my favorite spot to snorkel). You could spend a couple days there. Also not mentioned, and by far the most impressive marine park in the Caribbean, would be Tabago Cays Marine Park. Most locations we dropped hook rather than using mooring balls. Every major bay you pull into the overly friendly ball boys will pull up and try to guide you to a mooring ball. A friendly, "thanks, we are going to drop anchor, could you advise a good location" will due. They will also try to sell you some of their lobsters. Usually at around $5 a pound. Whether in the larger bays or choosing a more secluded bay we had a great time in the Grenadines.
cheers,
Jim

[Saleen411]

Originally Posted by jim King

Don't miss Sandy Island off Carriacou (my favorite spot to snorkel). You could spend a couple days there. Also not mentioned, and by far the most impressive marine park in the Caribbean, would be Tabago Cays Marine Park. Most locations we dropped hook rather than using mooring balls. Every major bay you pull into the overly friendly ball boys will pull up and try to guide you to a mooring ball. A friendly, "thanks, we are going to drop anchor, could you advise a good location" will due. They will also try to sell you some of their lobsters. Usually at around $5 a pound. Whether in the larger bays or choosing a more secluded bay we had a great time in the Grenadines.
cheers,
Jim

Thanks Jim....I've read mixed reviews on the ubiquitous boat boys. I will say that most folks I've recently spoke with have mostly positive things to say.

We will be more than happy to pay for some lobsters...one of the things we are REALLY looking forward to.

[Saleen411]

Originally Posted by jmh2002

Yeah I think I might be disappointed now by the crowds there, and the various nonsense. As time passes that gets old pretty quickly. I don't need American style comforts (no offense intended, but it is particularly descriptive) and being flexible I never wanted for anything even 25 years ago in the windwards. A roti and a beer or a flying fish burger and a rumbo was just fine as far as eating ashore was concerned. I can easily cook something of a higher standard on the boat instead.

NZ and AUS are totally unspoilt by comparison (they are not of course, but it's all relative) and I've already lived in FNQ and done a lot of sailing on the east coast.

Watching channels such as Free Range Sailing and Sailing Tangaroa is a good reminder of how nice (if simple) it can be.



Sorry for the derail Saleen411

No worries...it's all good. I will be asking about the South Pacific and maybe even OZ next year.

[johnnyH]

Think of the epicenter of the pirate world, Port Royal, in the 1600's/1700's and that will give you a decent idea of Union Island. It dirty and unsafe. The zombies strung out on meth and crack and the ones panhandling certainly makes things interesting. Anchoring is difficult to come by as well and the easterlies that blow through there can be difficult

[Saleen411]

Originally Posted by johnnyH

Think of the epicenter of the pirate world, Port Royal, in the 1600's/1700's and that will give you a decent idea of Union Island. It dirty and unsafe. The zombies strung out on meth and crack and the ones panhandling certainly makes things interesting. Anchoring is difficult to come by as well and the easterlies that blow through there can be difficult

Thanks Johnny...Have you been to Chatham Bay?....supposed to be really nice..

[fahtcha]

I personally did not find anchoring at Clifton to be at all bad. Some of the boat boys will try to get you to use mooring so they can get a cut. Anchoring is free. One of them tried to park their boat on the side of ours without fenders, so we had to fend him off. Th town of Clifton is just like the rest of the larger towns in the Grenadines. A place to get business done and get away from. I found Hillsboro on Carriacou to be about the same. The Customs officer there was a hoot. Nit picked everything from the neatness of hand writing to the size of signatures. I suggest clearing at Tyrell rather than Hillsboro. No problems anchoring in either though.

[daletournier]

Originally Posted by fahtcha

I personally did not find anchoring at Clifton to be at all bad. Some of the boat boys will try to get you to use mooring so they can get a cut. Anchoring is free. One of them tried to park their boat on the side of ours without fenders, so we had to fend him off. Th town of Clifton is just like the rest of the larger towns in the Grenadines. A place to get business done and get away from. I found Hillsboro on Carriacou to be about the same. The Customs officer there was a hoot. Nit picked everything from the neatness of hand writing to the size of signatures. I suggest clearing at Tyrell rather than Hillsboro. No problems anchoring in either though.

With respect I beg to differ. How well do you back down on your anchor? I anchor alot, like everyday and have a good Manson Supreme, I do back down hard with a powerful (in reverse) maxprop. I watched many charter boats anchor at Clifton that didnt back down hard on their anchor and believed they were set. As I said I do this fulltime and on 2 separate occasions when put under load the anchor dragged, better then than when 30 knots comes through and you have a reef 50-70m behind.

Tyrell bay is better but still not great to get the anchor set, it's a grassy bottom which takes a little bit of a technique change to be assured of digging in well.

That's my experience for what's it's worth.

[fahtcha]

All I can say is that I made sure to find a sandy patch to drop the hook, and didn't drag. I was on the Clifton Harbor side of the bay. It sound like you were closer to Happy Island if there was a reef behind you. It did take a bit of patience in Tyrell to find a good sandy spot. There were plenty of mooring balls in both harbors, if those are preferred.