Richard Hewson

We sailed into Bequia, late afternoon on the 7th December after a two week crossing from Cp Verde.

Bequia is a beautiful little Caribbean island with the basic needs to re provision fresh veg and clear customs.

The next day we enjoyed the beach and walking around the town. We were invited to join the local kids in a “reading session” at a local Cafe. Issy and Max enjoyed the integration with kids their own age.

The next day we got a tour of the island with a driver called Fat Man. Fat Man showed us the old British fort, then drove us across island to visit the Turtle sanctuary.

The Old Hegg turtle sanctuary was created by Orrin “Brother” King in the 1990’s. He takes the turtles hatching at the nearby beach and raises them in the protection of the Sanctury until they are three years old. Giving them a better chance of survival from their biggest predator – humans!

Did you know that hawk bill turtles don’t reach sexual maturity until they are 55 years old! http://turtles.bequia.net/

We also visited the fishing village on the west side of the island. Lobster is the primary industry of Bequia, with the majority being shipped to the US. Sadly only the tales are shipped and the head and legs (the best bits) are thrown back in the sea.

Bequians fish out of fast skiff designs, powered by 85hp Yamaha Enduro outboards. They are a sleek looking and seaworthy skiff, and I would love to find the plans and make one myself one day.

The next two days it bucketed down with rain so we made the most of the wet days doing maintenance on the boat and using the fresh water to give Sunday Island a good wash.

We departed Bequia in 15th December and sailed south to Tobago Keys to meet up with an Australian family onboard “What Next”.

We are enjoying snorkeling the coral reefs with the turtles and fish. On the island today we saw some iguanas who were 80cm long.

While in Bequia a beautiful Swan 65 ketch sailed into the bay. As it turns out she was owned by the same previous owner of Sunday Island. You can see a striking resemblance between the two designs and I was told that Sunday Island was commissioned by Dutch designer, Koopmans Sr. to redesign his succesfull standard centerboard 45’ hull and make it a ketch with a deck – layout of the swan 65’.

Sunday Islsnd is a cruising yacht yet sails remarkably well thanks to the designer, before starting a serie of centerboard- designs he made different hullmodels in scale and had them tested in the testtank and researchlabaratory of the shipdesign- departement of the Technical University in Delft. And he was a member of a research team that made a lot of studies and recommandations for the Dutch Yachtbuilding organisation.

Our days now we are amongst the islands, consist of a long morning swim while the family wake up, followed by a family sup, walk along the beach, snorkel, then school, lunch, afternoon chill out of the sun, another snorkel, then meet and make friends in the early evenings before dinner and early bed.