New Year’s Eve: Bequia, The Grenadines
The sun rose at 6:28 and we were in the midst of a first class squall. The clouds were low on the horizon and the rain lashed across our decks for about an hour. The temperature was 79F with an east northeast wind of 16 knots. Our latitude is 13 degrees N. The crew assembled at sail stations and at 8:30am they were unfurling the sails to sail across the St. Vincent strait to the island of Bequia. The rain stopped by 9, the sun shone radiantly, and we had views of one of the highest hills on Bequia, which rises about 750 feet from the sea. After lunch we launched our Zodiacs and arrived off the charming little village of Port Elizabeth, named after the present Queen of England in 1937. Bequia was a protectorate of the United Kingdom until 1979 when they received their independence. They are now a member of the British Commonwealth of Nations. The island is administered from St. Vincent, the seat of the legislature. It is well governed and the present government seems popular with the people. Bequia is a small island with a population of about 6 thousand permanent inhabitants. It still maintains a small cottage industry of fine ship building which today is directed chiefly at the fishing industry.
We all boarded small covered mini-trucks for the short ride to Park Beach and the wonderful hawksbill turtle nursery run by Brother Orton. Formerly a fisherman who actually hunted the turtles for resale, Brother Orton gave us a talk about how he first got interested in saving this beautiful sea turtle and today it is his full time vocation. He had tanks with turtles ranging in age from 2 days to 10 years. He rescues the newly hatched young and keeps them until they are beyond the point of vulnerability, usually about 5 years, and then they are released. There were at least 25 larger animals which had been injured in a variety of ways - a flipper damaged or a cracked shell. These are kept until they are healed and then released. I asked how successful the program has been and he said that in 25 years when the turtles reach sexual maturity and return to lay their eggs they will know. Now that is faith and conviction in the future!
We left Park Beach and returned to the charming town of Port Elizabeth and some of us joined the group who were swimming at Princess Margaret Beach. Long graceful coconut palms provided us with shade and the sea was so clear that we could see to a depth of 25 feet at least. Since today is New Year’s Eve the staff of Sea Cloud II provided us with a fabulous dinner under the stars on the Lido Deck. Emma arranged for a great Bequia string band to play and we had dancing, champagne and toasts until 12 when a great fireworks display animated the sky over Port Elizabeth. Hugs and good cheers and wishes for a healthy and happy New Year and off to bed for a refreshing sleep.
The sun rose at 6:28 and we were in the midst of a first class squall. The clouds were low on the horizon and the rain lashed across our decks for about an hour. The temperature was 79F with an east northeast wind of 16 knots. Our latitude is 13 degrees N. The crew assembled at sail stations and at 8:30am they were unfurling the sails to sail across the St. Vincent strait to the island of Bequia. The rain stopped by 9, the sun shone radiantly, and we had views of one of the highest hills on Bequia, which rises about 750 feet from the sea. After lunch we launched our Zodiacs and arrived off the charming little village of Port Elizabeth, named after the present Queen of England in 1937. Bequia was a protectorate of the United Kingdom until 1979 when they received their independence. They are now a member of the British Commonwealth of Nations. The island is administered from St. Vincent, the seat of the legislature. It is well governed and the present government seems popular with the people. Bequia is a small island with a population of about 6 thousand permanent inhabitants. It still maintains a small cottage industry of fine ship building which today is directed chiefly at the fishing industry.
We all boarded small covered mini-trucks for the short ride to Park Beach and the wonderful hawksbill turtle nursery run by Brother Orton. Formerly a fisherman who actually hunted the turtles for resale, Brother Orton gave us a talk about how he first got interested in saving this beautiful sea turtle and today it is his full time vocation. He had tanks with turtles ranging in age from 2 days to 10 years. He rescues the newly hatched young and keeps them until they are beyond the point of vulnerability, usually about 5 years, and then they are released. There were at least 25 larger animals which had been injured in a variety of ways - a flipper damaged or a cracked shell. These are kept until they are healed and then released. I asked how successful the program has been and he said that in 25 years when the turtles reach sexual maturity and return to lay their eggs they will know. Now that is faith and conviction in the future!
We left Park Beach and returned to the charming town of Port Elizabeth and some of us joined the group who were swimming at Princess Margaret Beach. Long graceful coconut palms provided us with shade and the sea was so clear that we could see to a depth of 25 feet at least. Since today is New Year’s Eve the staff of Sea Cloud II provided us with a fabulous dinner under the stars on the Lido Deck. Emma arranged for a great Bequia string band to play and we had dancing, champagne and toasts until 12 when a great fireworks display animated the sky over Port Elizabeth. Hugs and good cheers and wishes for a healthy and happy New Year and off to bed for a refreshing sleep.
