Union Island

Union Island was the first island we visited outside of the Grenadian territory and had always been the first destination in our minds. The island was devastated by Hurricane Beryl in 2024, and we had read that they were only just beginning to rebuild. Knowing that tourism plays such a vital role in recovery, we were keen to visit and support the island in as much as we can.

Originally, we had planned to check in at Clifton on the east coast, where customs and immigration are based. However, we had also been told that in Chatham Bay on the west coast, you could pay a local EC$100 (about £26) to handle the paperwork for you, and that this would be refunded if you ate at his restaurant on the beach. After a long sail, that sounded very appealing.

The passage itself was hard work. It was a windward slog all the way, beating into the wind for around eight hours. Partway through, a friend warned us—slightly too late—that we needed to be careful of the current pushing us too far west. By the final stretch, we decided to motor into the wind rather than continue tacking, and by the time we arrived we were more than ready for an easier option. Chatham Bay it was.

Chatham Bay

The Bay is a wide, open and very beautiful anchorage with good sandy holding. As we arrived, one of the local ‘boat boys’ came out to greet us and offered to organise the immigration paperwork. We had already arranged this with JJ, which caused a brief moment of tension about who should get the job, but it quickly passed and we were able to settle in for the evening.

The next morning we took the dinghy ashore to drop our paperwork with JJ at 8am. However, when he checked through everything, he realised something was missing, so we had to head back out to the boat to retrieve it and then return again. It was a bit of a faff, but all part of the process.

We tend not to do too much on the day after a passage. It’s our time to make sure the anchor is properly set, recover from the sail, and just reset. So we were quite happy to spend the rest of the day relaxing onboard while everything was processed.

Later, JJ returned with all the completed paperwork and just like that, we were officially checked into another country.

Getting to know the place

There isn’t a huge amount in Chatham Bay—just three small beach “restaurants”, which are really more like simple shacks, and a slightly larger resort with just 5 rooms, plus a floating bar that was run by Kim who makes the best Dark and Stormy cocktails from Rum and Ginger (drink and herb). We were told that, apart from the resort, no permanent structures are allowed within 40 feet of the shoreline, which explains the very low-key feel of the place.

Over the next few days, more familiar boats began to arrive. We spent one fun evening at JJ’s restaurant with Marc from Stamina, and another at Sunset Cove with our Viking rally friends Joyce Ellen, Relax, Casa de Brelly and Sea Dreamer. One of the nicest parts of cruising like this is the sense of community—boats arriving and departing, sharing information, helping each other out, and catching up over food and drinks.

One day, a local man, Alex, who described himself as both a guide and a historian and had helped us get off the dinghy on the beach. Later he was kayaking between the anchored boats trying to find work and simply asked if we had any biscuits as he needed some energy. We gave him some and ended up agreeing to go for a walking tour with him and the crew from Relax the following morning.

It turned out to be a really worthwhile experience. He took us to see an old cannon left by the British and shared stories about the island’s history, as well as his own life. After the guided part, we continued walking on to the next bay, and he accompanied us all the way there. It was a simple but memorable way to see more of the island and the real life there. He pointed out his house, which looked no bigger than a single room, and that he was proudly doing an extension of a washroom.

Mayreau

On the 3rd March we arrived into Saline Bay to the sound of steel drums drifting across a bright white beach, which immediately gave us that “we’ve arrived in the Caribbean” feeling. Later we discovered that the steel band plays most days for visiting cruise ships, but at the time it felt like a perfectly timed welcome.

After anchoring, we had a quick swim and checked that the anchor was well bedded in. There was a little grass over sand, which can sometimes make holding less reliable, but everything seemed secure.

That evening we went over to Joyce Ellen for sundowners and settled in for what we expected to be a quiet night. However, at around 10pm both of our anchor alarms went off at the same time—something we had never experienced before. Normally, if one alarm goes off, it’s often just a GPS glitch, but both alarms together was a clear sign that something wasn’t right.

We rushed up on deck to find that we were indeed dragging and getting uncomfortably close to the boat behind us. Chris quickly started the engine while Jenni prepared the anchor to be lifted, all done in complete darkness with headtorches on.

We reset the anchor further towards the beach, hoping for better holding, but ended up slightly closer to another boat than we would have liked. It made for a restless night. The next morning we discovered that Joyce Ellen had also dragged just before us, which made the whole situation feel a little more weird – why would that happen? We will never know!

Following the Turtle Trail

The following day we went ashore at the same time as the Joyce Ellen crew and ended up starting the day with beers and fried chicken at a beach bar. From there, we decided to walk the Turtle Trail, a marked route that loops around part of the island.

The walk took us along beaches and through areas of forest. It wasn’t particularly challenging, but it was a lovely way to see more of the island. Along the way, we passed a small resort and couldn’t resist stopping for another drink.

Eventually we reached Salt Whistle Bay on the northern side of the island. We had considered moving Yanula Blue there, and Joyce Ellen were also thinking about it, but it was completely full of charter catamarans on mooring buoys with very little space left. It didn’t appeal to us at all, so we were glad we had stayed put.

We ended the day with burgers all round before heading back to Saline Bay, making the climb back up through the village to the dinghy. We were all quietly relieved to see that our boats were still exactly where we had left them.

We had planned to leave the following day, especially as we had been a little too close to the other boat after resetting the anchor, however, when we woke up that boat had already moved on – great! That solved the problem for us, and we were able to enjoy a much more relaxed and peaceful extra day at anchor.

Canouan

On the 6th March we had a great sail up to Canouan, sailing close hauled at around 45 degrees. We slightly overshot the bay before tacking back in, and then made our entrance between the channel markers—albeit the colours are on the wrong side to what we would see in the UK, this is a difference in the IALA A system we have at home and the IALA B system  … a bit like driving on the other side of the road.

The bay was quite gusty, so we chose to anchor on the northern side in the hope of finding more shelter. The first attempt didn’t set properly, but the second time the anchor dug in well and we were securely settled in Charlestown Bay.

That night brought more gusty, williwaw-type conditions, which kept things interesting. Most of the rally group joined us in the anchorage, although Joyce Ellen opted for a couple of nights in the marina for a bit of luxury – sensible people!

On Friday evening, we dinghied ashore via the hotel and walked along the beach towards town, as we had been told that was where the atmosphere would be. The town itself felt a bit disjointed, with different music playing loudly from across each side of the street, giving it a slightly strange  and almost competitive vibe.

We ended up eating at a small local Soul Food restaurant where Jenni had fried shark and chips, which turned out to be one of the cheapest meals we’d had so far—and surprisingly very good.

At one point, Brian and Kelly from Casa de Brelly received a notification that their boat was dragging anchor, so they had to rush back. We stayed on at the Soho Beach House Hotel with Orly and Amir from Relax, which is a gorgeous hotel… but had what was probably the most expensive drink of the trip so far.

A cute stray dog took a particular liking to Jenni, curling up at her feet and following her around all evening. A couple of nights later, we spoke to an English guy who was trying to organise veterinary help for the dog, which was reassuring to hear.

The dinghy ride back to the boat was wet and bumpy as we headed into the wind. Once back, we made sure to secure the dinghy carefully. We always lift it up out of the water at the side of the boat and often chain it to the guard rails—for safety and to reduce the risk of theft, as we had heard of a few incidents in the bay.

Pizza Night

Saturday night was half-price pizza night at Soho Beach House, so we booked a table and made an evening of it.

We went ashore a few hours early as always like a walk and to explore the area and so we walked along the beach and up the hill.  The atmosphere felt a little uneasy, with a couple of groups of locals arguing quite loudly and heatedly. We guessed the rum shops had been open most of the day.

We walked on back to the hotel and the restaurant itself was excellent and the pizzas were well worth it.  Another fun night with good friends!

Getting back into the dinghy afterwards was an adventure in itself. The swell was pushing the boats around against the pontoon, so rather than risk the ladder, we opted to jump straight in from the end where it felt slightly calmer. It definitely felt a bit like an action movie moment.

Taking it easy

We took it easy and spent a relaxed day on the boat. We topped up the water tanks with the local waterman, John, and in the evening had dinner with Relax, where they cooked minute steaks on their compact cockpit stove.

Jenni was still getting over a lingering cold, which was really frustrating her given it is the Caribbean, so it was a good day to slow things down.

Bequia

On the 9th March we had another lively sail up to Bequia, beating into the wind with plenty of sargassum weed around and watching several catamarans “camelling” (a term coined by Sea Dreamer to describe the motion of their catamaran!) dramatically in the swell.

We arrived to find ourselves in full mini-rally mode, anchoring behind Joyce Ellen and then being joined by Relax, Sea Dreamer and Casa de Brelly.

Sea Dreamer, the largest boat in the group—a beautiful 46-foot catamaran—invited everyone over for arrival drinks. As often happens, drinks turned into a full dinner, with a generous spread of pasta and meats. It was a fantastic evening and a great example of how social this lifestyle can be.

The next couple of days were quieter and focused on life admin. We booked flights back to the UK, arranged hardstanding for the boat, sorted an apartment for our return, and even organised a campervan to carry on our adventures on land in the UK.

That evening, our smaller Viking rally group all went for dinner at Dawn’s, which turned out to be excellent. All meals came with a selection of rice, potatoes and vegetables, and the French onion soup starter was particularly good.

We decided to get up early and hike up to Ma Peggy, the highest point on the island. We set off at 8am, and it quickly turned into one of the steepest walks we’ve done—some of the roads must be close to a 50% incline.

At the top, we met a couple from the US who told us we had taken the hardest route up. At least that meant the way down would be easier on the knees.

We continued on to Friendship Bay, walking along the beach past a luxury resort, and at one point nearly got trapped inside the grounds and had to squeeze out through a broken gate.

The heat reflecting off the concrete roads made the walk feel even tougher, so spotting a small mini-mart felt like a mirage. Cold drinks were very welcome.

Back in town, we bumped into Vince and Lyn from Joyce Ellen and then attempted to find a full English breakfast, but had missed the cut-off time. Instead, we carried on and had lunch at Cocos overlooking the sea. We tried callaloo soup, which is similar to spinach, and it was absolutely delicious.

Still feeling energetic, we pushed on to Fort Hamilton, which turned out to be fairly minimal—just a few cannons and a very friendly cat.

By the time we made our way back, via Princess Margaret Beach, we had walked around 10 miles and were more than ready to rest, luckily there are plenty of beach bars to try a local beer before returning to Yanula Blue.

Time to take the tour

We joined a taxi tour organised with the Viking group, run by Phill’s taxis. We were picked up from Jack’s Bar, getting a lift there with Brian in his impressively large dinghy.  Brian did happen to drop his padlock in the sea whilst securing the dinghy though – oops!! Luckily there was a chap snorkelling and as the water wasn’t deep he was able to dive down and get it for us!

The tour took us through fishing villages, where we watched fishermen hauling their brightly coloured boats ashore by hand. Chris and Vince of course helped out pulling the returning boats back up the slipway, which was a nice moment.

We also learned about Bequia’s controversial whaling tradition. They are permitted to catch a limited number of whales each year using traditional methods, including a sail-powered boat to approach the whale before finishing the hunt with motorboats. It was difficult to hear that whale hunting continues, although the fact that every part of the whale is used offered a small consolation.

The tour continued around parts of the island we had already explored on foot, as well as to the old plantation areas, which are now home to luxury hotels.

At the end of the tour, we discovered that the $10 fee we had been told about was actually per hour, not for the whole trip. A bit of a surprise, but one of those things.

We were dropped back at Jack’s Bar for lunch, and of course a few drinks, and later in the afternoon headed out again to the floating bar. While we were there, we watched a Hanse 50+ run aground in the mud. Locals quickly came out to help, along with Chris and John in the dinghy, and eventually the boat was freed.

R&R – Rest and Rugby

A relaxed day at anchor. There was a children’s dinghy regatta taking place the following day, so we decided to stay put and watch it.  Funnily enough it was also Super Saturday for the rugby so we happily tucked ourselves in for the day, before planning to leave early on Sunday.

Saint Vincent

Saint Vincent turned out to be a place of contrasts—funky tides, lively anchorages, and some very memorable local interactions.

Our first stop was Buccament Bay, which typifies the Caribbean experience in this region – one side is taken over by a luxury Sandals resort, with imported white sand – the other side is for locals with the real dark volcanic sand and bars that are little more than shacks! Guess which side we preferred?

Our Belgian friend Marc had told us about a bat cave that you could snorkel through. We were the other side of the bay and so we blew up the kayak and paddled over. The cave goes through a small peninsular and we were able to see both sides but not all the way through.

When we were finished kayaking we went ashore and joined some locals on the beach, chatting as much as we could understand with the strong local dialect. They were an interesting and very friendly group – and the beers were cheap too!

The following night Joyce Ellen joined us.  We had been a little worried about being anchored too close to another British boat, although they had said it was fine, and so were surprised when it was Joyce Ellen who accidentally bumped into us and we both found ourselves swinging unpredictably. It felt like a classic case of “magnetic yachts”.  As they had anchored after us the protocols suggest that they should move further away, which they did as great sailors, but bless them it took a while to find another good spot in this rocky anchorage.  When they moved we promptly moved to where they had been, to put more distance between us and the other British boat just in case!

Buccament had just 1 restaurant and we ate there twice – the first night Chris tried Goat Curry and the second night we all had Chicken Tenders which had been thoroughly recommended by Lyn from the night before – masses of chicken strips cooked in a delicious bbq sauce and served with fries – yummy!!

The following day, we helped Joyce Ellen with their engine, which had some ongoing problems and had briefly came back to life when needed in the night, before failing again. They joined us for dinner that evening and used the time to charge everything on board, as they normally rely on the engine for that, but in the morning they had to raise anchor manually and sail away. Well done guys! (and don’t worry – Chris and Vince later worked out a way to hotwire the engine which they did until they could get spare parts!)

We then moved on to Cumberland Bay, where we were immediately approached by a boat boy wanting our business.  This was a bay where we needed their help as we had to take a stern line to tie around a palm tree on the shore so we agreed to take his help.  Little did we know that some other friends who were there had told a different boat boy to expect us (and hadn’t told us this!) so boat boy number 2 came over most put out and started an argument with number 1. The pair of them were shouting and cursing over the back of our boat as we were trying to get the anchor down and a line to shore.

Eventually we went with boat boy number 1 but gave number 2 a little cash as well – anything for a peaceful life!

There wasn’t a lot in Cumberland but we went for a walk to the local town and did feel we were quite noticeable and it was a little nervy as you can see the poverty all around you. But we actually got talking to a few locals who are always interested in where you have come from and what you are doing there!  There were some amazing rock formations that we had gone to see as this island is simply stunning!

The bay itself was calm and peaceful, and we had a good night’s sleep, but as we had already arranged a tour from Chateaubelair so couldn’t stay as long as we might have liked and left the next day.

Chateaubelair has a bit of a reputation due to past theft issues, but Kemroy, the self-proclaimed Harbour Master, is clearly working hard to improve things. We had been in contact with him before arriving and found him helpful and well organised.

The anchorage was busy, which is understandable given it is a port of entry. A number of young lads paddled out to the boat offering services such as rubbish collection and asking for money. Kemroy had advised us not to engage, as it tends to encourage more of the same behaviour, and they just dump the garbage in the sea, but it did feel quite persistent and at times tiring—although it’s easy to understand why they are trying.

The next day, we were joined by Relax and Joyce Ellen for a full island tour. We visited the Heritage Centre, which included a small but beautiful waterfall and some petroglyphs, and called at a roadside stall for Roti for lunch – this is a curried potato and meat (beef or chicken or sometimes goat!) in a wrap – yummy!!

Then headed on to the Botanical Gardens. Our guide, Lennox, was excellent and explained the uses of many of the plants and flowers, and introduced us to many gorgeous smells including Ylang Ylang and Cloves. There was even a plant with abrasive leaves that can be used as a nail file!

We continued on to a viewpoint, although unfortunately it was quite cloudy, and then to Wallilabou, where parts of Pirates of the Caribbean were filmed and some of the set still remains.  It was fascinating to see a huge anchor that was hollow, and lots of coffins and skeletons and original sets – there was even a hangman’s noose!

By this point, we were all starting to feel quite tired. The roads are rough and winding, and even sitting in the vehicle can be surprisingly exhausting.

Our final stop was Dark Falls, which was absolutely stunning. Set within lush tropical rainforest, the waterfalls were well worth the visit and gave us a second wind.

That evening we returned to the boat for a few beers and an early night, as we planned to leave at first light the following day.

So how was SVG?

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines had been incredible. The variety between the islands, the landscapes, and the experiences made it a truly special place to explore. Poverty is rife as they are still recovering from the impact of Hurricane Beryl, but the people are just so welcoming and trying to improve things.  We couldn’t quite believe we had spent nearly a month there, and we would definitely return in the future.