The End of the World in the Tobago Cays!
May 3, 2009
Sunday
We're sitting in a beautiful anchorage in Clifton Harbor, Union Island....just returning from "Happy Island" bar!
It's an island built by a man in Clifton Harbor, initially from conch shells and now has a cement breakwall and sand brought in with a small building that he and his girlfriend live in. They serve beer, rum drinks, and if you call 4 hours prior to arriving will have a BBQ waiting for you! We met Steve and Helen from DIGNITY there for drinks at sunset.
Last Sunday, the 26th of April, we sailed from Canouan to The World's End Reef in the Tobago Cays. It's exactly that....the end of the world as we know it!! There's nothing between the reef and Africa!
Well....it was blowing 20-25 and the waves were breaking over the reefs....and it became a bit rolly about 1700...a little too late to move in the decreasing daylight. So.....we stayed the night and rolled all night long. But it was beautiful.....no lights so there were a zillion stars and all you could hear were the waves breaking. Plus....we were the only boat anchored there.....wonder why????? 
The next morning we scooted just around the reef to the Tobago Cays Marine Park....which consists of four little islands, not inhabited...but white sand beaches and alot of marine life and big turtles just swimming lazily around the anchorage. I just love the pattern on the shells of the turtles, hawksbill and green....as they munch down on the sea grass and swim by so close.
We spent the week here....mostly snorkeling the waters, walking the beaches and hills, enjoying the peace and quiet. There are alot of boats coming in and out of the anchorage, about 15-30 boats at any time
....some anchoring, some picking up a mooring. But everyone is swimming or snorkeling and enjoying all the marine life. The bottom sand is white and the water is sooooo clear, we could watch 2 flying gunards kissing under the boat this AM!
Besides all the turtles, there were squid,
some of the largest we've ever seen.....the flying gunards which are beautiful with their blue-tipped wings flying under water
................................................................the trunk fish
and cow fish.....
turning colors as they swam over sand or grass....moray eels 
snaking along the sandy bottom; southern stingrays gliding along the bottom
.....and all the other little fish just swimming by.
One really interesting friendship we saw was a remora hanging onto a turtle's shell...
the turtle just kept eating and swimming....the remora would move from the top to bottom of his shell and the turtle would touch the sand to get the remora off his belly! There were peacock flounders that were hiding in the sand along the bottom of the sea....but we caught a few on the camera. 
Jim and I hiked up Jamesby Island
to see the views and sat on a rock watching all the sooty terns flying by, just playing or mating, and building nests in the rocks.
It was really entertaining......their feet dropping down just as they were landing and being blown by the wind. Plus....as we were sitting on the rocks a few iguanas would walk along the rocks nearby
.....and according to a website, might be endangered. They just look so prehistoric to me!!
We visited Petit Tabac Island
where Johnny Depp was left in the first "Pirates of the Caribbean".....he buried his rum and then found it again....only to have it burned! It's a small island that we just walked around, but full of coconut palms on the East end. We didn't see Johnny though!!
One evening we were invited over to ARCTIC TERN's for cocktails. They are a great couple that, again, Jim met in Venezuela, Devi and Hunter. They had some friends onboard from Alaska that were just a riot and a joy to get to know all of them. The next night we all gathered on the little island, Baradel, to watch the sunset and enjoy cocktails with Helen and Steve, Devi and Hunter and their friends Deb and Jay....and Jim and I.
Again...lots of fun!
Are you catching a bird theme here???
We left Tobago Cays to venture about 2 nm to Mayreau.
...downwind sail for a short time. We anchored close to the beach....
only the third boat in the anchorage.....until everyone else arrived and there were about 12 boats total by evening. Luckily, DIGNITY arrived and we decided to go on a pub crawl on Mayreau. Since it was "May Day"...the island was having a big celebration this weekend. They had May Pole dancing and sailing scheduled for Saturday. So....off we went hiking up the hill to go to the May Pole dance. On the way thru the village there were a bunch of goats but alot of baby goats. Of course we picked up a couple of baby goats and held them....not more than a few days old and bleating for their mother.
(Picture of Helen and I with the baby goats and the Maypole dance in Mayreau are courtesy of Steve on DIGNITY, posted on his blog at: aboarddignity.com/blog.) They were soooo cute.....would love to have one living on Bees Knees with the bird and geckos!!!!! We continued down the hill to the park where they were dancing and having fun around the May Pole. 
We didn't join in, but it was fun to watch. That started the "pub" crawl with a few Hairouns (local St. Vincent beer). Then we ventured back up the hill to another bar that was upstairs and overlooked Saline Bay and the Caribbean....pretty nice. After 2 pubs we decided to get food and went to "Dennis' Hideout" for a delicious meal. Jim and I had the Grouper Creole and Steve and Helen had Snapper....excellent meals and great conversation. I'm learning "English" all over again!! They are originally from Burma and Great Britain...then on to New Jersey.....but still have the British "accent" and "phrases" that I can't quite understand at times!!! Which makes it all more interesting....especially since we're basically speaking the same language!!!!!
We left the next morning to go back to the Tobago Cays while DIGNITY left for Union Island. Jim and I just hung out and snorkeled around Jamesby Island and just enjoying watching the turtle heads pop up every now and then. That evening we watched "The SecretLife of Bees" on DVD on our TV. Kinda appropriate.....the bees and all.
We left the Tobago Cays this morning, heading toward Palm Island
...just South of Union....another whopping 2-3nm sail.....but the anchorage just looked too rolly from waves wrapping around the small island. So....we motored over to Union Island to anchor about 100' from DIGNITY in Clifton Harbor. 
Helen was jumping up and down on the deck, as was I, when we anchored....guess we missed each other, huh? So...we made plans to meet at Happy Island for sunset drinks. 
That brings us up to date. We found WIFI here....the first in a long time....probably since Bequia. So...we're catching up with emails and news about Swine Flu. We're starting to feel the stress of having to be somewhere at a certain date....we're scheduled for a haul-out in Grenada on May 15th...to paint the bottom....then I leave on May 30th to work the summer in Maine while Jim stays onboard Bees Knees. Doesn't seem fair does it.....that I get a break from the heat....or he has to work on the boat all summer....or he gets to stay in the tropics while I go back to work. Which part isn't fair???? Ask me!!!
Bye for now!
Sunday
We're sitting in a beautiful anchorage in Clifton Harbor, Union Island....just returning from "Happy Island" bar!
It's an island built by a man in Clifton Harbor, initially from conch shells and now has a cement breakwall and sand brought in with a small building that he and his girlfriend live in. They serve beer, rum drinks, and if you call 4 hours prior to arriving will have a BBQ waiting for you! We met Steve and Helen from DIGNITY there for drinks at sunset.Last Sunday, the 26th of April, we sailed from Canouan to The World's End Reef in the Tobago Cays. It's exactly that....the end of the world as we know it!! There's nothing between the reef and Africa!
Well....it was blowing 20-25 and the waves were breaking over the reefs....and it became a bit rolly about 1700...a little too late to move in the decreasing daylight. So.....we stayed the night and rolled all night long. But it was beautiful.....no lights so there were a zillion stars and all you could hear were the waves breaking. Plus....we were the only boat anchored there.....wonder why????? The next morning we scooted just around the reef to the Tobago Cays Marine Park....which consists of four little islands, not inhabited...but white sand beaches and alot of marine life and big turtles just swimming lazily around the anchorage. I just love the pattern on the shells of the turtles, hawksbill and green....as they munch down on the sea grass and swim by so close.
We spent the week here....mostly snorkeling the waters, walking the beaches and hills, enjoying the peace and quiet. There are alot of boats coming in and out of the anchorage, about 15-30 boats at any time....some anchoring, some picking up a mooring. But everyone is swimming or snorkeling and enjoying all the marine life. The bottom sand is white and the water is sooooo clear, we could watch 2 flying gunards kissing under the boat this AM! Besides all the turtles, there were squid,
some of the largest we've ever seen.....the flying gunards which are beautiful with their blue-tipped wings flying under water................................................................the trunk fish and cow fish.....turning colors as they swam over sand or grass....moray eels snaking along the sandy bottom; southern stingrays gliding along the bottom.....and all the other little fish just swimming by.One really interesting friendship we saw was a remora hanging onto a turtle's shell...
the turtle just kept eating and swimming....the remora would move from the top to bottom of his shell and the turtle would touch the sand to get the remora off his belly! There were peacock flounders that were hiding in the sand along the bottom of the sea....but we caught a few on the camera. Jim and I hiked up Jamesby Island
to see the views and sat on a rock watching all the sooty terns flying by, just playing or mating, and building nests in the rocks. It was really entertaining......their feet dropping down just as they were landing and being blown by the wind. Plus....as we were sitting on the rocks a few iguanas would walk along the rocks nearby.....and according to a website, might be endangered. They just look so prehistoric to me!!We visited Petit Tabac Island
where Johnny Depp was left in the first "Pirates of the Caribbean".....he buried his rum and then found it again....only to have it burned! It's a small island that we just walked around, but full of coconut palms on the East end. We didn't see Johnny though!!One evening we were invited over to ARCTIC TERN's for cocktails. They are a great couple that, again, Jim met in Venezuela, Devi and Hunter. They had some friends onboard from Alaska that were just a riot and a joy to get to know all of them. The next night we all gathered on the little island, Baradel, to watch the sunset and enjoy cocktails with Helen and Steve, Devi and Hunter and their friends Deb and Jay....and Jim and I.
Again...lots of fun!Are you catching a bird theme here???
We left Tobago Cays to venture about 2 nm to Mayreau.
...downwind sail for a short time. We anchored close to the beach.... only the third boat in the anchorage.....until everyone else arrived and there were about 12 boats total by evening. Luckily, DIGNITY arrived and we decided to go on a pub crawl on Mayreau. Since it was "May Day"...the island was having a big celebration this weekend. They had May Pole dancing and sailing scheduled for Saturday. So....off we went hiking up the hill to go to the May Pole dance. On the way thru the village there were a bunch of goats but alot of baby goats. Of course we picked up a couple of baby goats and held them....not more than a few days old and bleating for their mother. (Picture of Helen and I with the baby goats and the Maypole dance in Mayreau are courtesy of Steve on DIGNITY, posted on his blog at: aboarddignity.com/blog.) They were soooo cute.....would love to have one living on Bees Knees with the bird and geckos!!!!! We continued down the hill to the park where they were dancing and having fun around the May Pole. We didn't join in, but it was fun to watch. That started the "pub" crawl with a few Hairouns (local St. Vincent beer). Then we ventured back up the hill to another bar that was upstairs and overlooked Saline Bay and the Caribbean....pretty nice. After 2 pubs we decided to get food and went to "Dennis' Hideout" for a delicious meal. Jim and I had the Grouper Creole and Steve and Helen had Snapper....excellent meals and great conversation. I'm learning "English" all over again!! They are originally from Burma and Great Britain...then on to New Jersey.....but still have the British "accent" and "phrases" that I can't quite understand at times!!! Which makes it all more interesting....especially since we're basically speaking the same language!!!!! We left the next morning to go back to the Tobago Cays while DIGNITY left for Union Island. Jim and I just hung out and snorkeled around Jamesby Island and just enjoying watching the turtle heads pop up every now and then. That evening we watched "The SecretLife of Bees" on DVD on our TV. Kinda appropriate.....the bees and all.
We left the Tobago Cays this morning, heading toward Palm Island
...just South of Union....another whopping 2-3nm sail.....but the anchorage just looked too rolly from waves wrapping around the small island. So....we motored over to Union Island to anchor about 100' from DIGNITY in Clifton Harbor. Helen was jumping up and down on the deck, as was I, when we anchored....guess we missed each other, huh? So...we made plans to meet at Happy Island for sunset drinks. That brings us up to date. We found WIFI here....the first in a long time....probably since Bequia. So...we're catching up with emails and news about Swine Flu. We're starting to feel the stress of having to be somewhere at a certain date....we're scheduled for a haul-out in Grenada on May 15th...to paint the bottom....then I leave on May 30th to work the summer in Maine while Jim stays onboard Bees Knees. Doesn't seem fair does it.....that I get a break from the heat....or he has to work on the boat all summer....or he gets to stay in the tropics while I go back to work. Which part isn't fair???? Ask me!!!
Bye for now!
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