St. Lucia to Bequia | Distant Shores Sailing Newsletters

St. Lucia to Bequia

Our visit to St. Lucia was a quick one this time ‘round since we had spent several weeks exploring the island in December following the ARC (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers).
LuciaToBequia01
So early morning on Wednesday July 17, just 5 days after our arrival, we set sail from the Rodney Bay anchorage headed for the island of Bequia in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

LuciaToBequia02
It was another morning of relaxed sailing as we travelled along the leeside of St. Lucia passing the port of Castries doing 7.5 kts under main and genoa. When sailing here in the Windward Islands of the Caribbean there is almost always a nice breeze on the beam. Love those trade winds!

LuciaToBequia03
Towards the south end of St. Lucia are the Pitons, famous twin peaks. The local beer is named after them.

LuciaToBequia04
We still had a good signal on our iPhone as we sailed. We have a local sim card in it from Digicel that includes a data plan so we could post updates to the Distant Shores TV social media sites (
Twitter and Facebook) as we sailed along the autopilot steering while we both stood watch.

LuciaToBequia05
Just as we passed by the Pitons a big squall came zooming across the island heading out to sea just missing us!

LuciaToBequia06
We have a radar overlay on our Raymarine chartplotter which shows the squalls (the pinky purple blotches) indicating the squalls passing behind us as they roll off the Pitons. We’re now entering the St. Vincent Channel at the south end of St. Lucia so will be in open water for about 30 nm.

LuciaToBequia07
Although there are squalls behind us, the view ahead is clear and sunny. We have a great sail across the channel to the north end of St. Vincent.

LuciaToBequia08
When we get to St. Vincent we see lots of rain showers along the coast of the island but fortunately none come out to sea.

LuciaToBequia09
We saw this amazing low-level rainbow as we sail along!

LuciaToBequia10
In fact we saw lots of rainbows as we sailed past St. Vincent. Magical!

LuciaToBequia11
In the late afternoon we reached the south end of St. Vincent and headed out into the Bequia Channel. Now close-hauled we furled in the genoa and furled out our small self-tacking jib which is great in these conditions. Just 9 nm to go to Bequia in the Grenadines!

LuciaToBequia12
Sheryl on the stern rail bench steering with the Raymarine autopilot remote. St. Vincent in the background.

LuciaToBequia13
We make landfall in Bequia at around 1830, just before sunset.

LuciaToBequia14
It’s been 21 years since we were last here anchored in Admiralty Bay in Bequia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines! Many fond memories.

LuciaToBequia15
We anchor off Princess Margaret Beach and have dinner on board in the cockpit. Customs and Immigration is closed until tomorrow so we’ll go ashore and clear-in first thing in the morning...

Have a good evening, Everyone!

Sheryl and Paul Shard
Aboard SV Distant Shores II
Bequia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines


Click here to check out our DVDs for more cruising adventures and tips!

Distant Shores TV Show Facebook
Distant Shores TV Show Twitter



blog comments powered by Disqus