Islands Overview — Just Imagine Vacations

As I write this article my heart is breaking as we watch Hurricane Beryl head straight for these islands that have captured our hearts. Our first visit to the Grenadines was aboard a Windstar Cruise in 2015. We were so taken by their beauty and their people that we always wanted to return. We did that this June, 2024 on a 10-day bareboat charter. We spent 2 days at the beginning of our sail on St Vincent and 2 days at the end of our sale on Grenada. Very little had changed in the 9 years – a few more buildings, but basically the pristine beaches and incredible rain forests still remained as unspoiled as we remembered them.

St Vincent and the Grenadines is a southeastern Caribbean nation. St Vincent is considered the “mainland” or the main island of this chain of 32 smaller, inhabited and uninhabited islands. Some of the inhabited islands are Bequia, Mustique, Union Island, Canouan, Palm Island, and Mayreau. Other uninhabited islands include Tobago Cays, Petit Mustique and Petit Nevis.

St Vincent is a volcanic island with 2 volcanos – the old volcano crater is now a lush and extremely fertile settlement. It is said that you can just drop a seed and it will grow. La Soufriere volcano last erupted in April 2021. They are still using the ash from that eruption for building materials.

We had an opportunity to tour the island with Joel, a cab driver, who picked us up at the airport and took us to the volcano, the windward side of the island, as well as through the mountains, where we stopped at the crater of the ancient volcano so we could capture the breezes and the beauty of this lush landscape. At points of the island we were surrounded by cool clouds, a world apart from the warm Caribbean beaches.

We stayed two nights at Blue Lagoon, where Horizon Yacht Charters is located and where we would board out 40 foot catamaran to sail throughout the grenadines.

The islands we have stopped at on our two trips include Bequia, which is a lovely island, home to a turtle sanctuary, protected coves good provisioning, excellent restaurants and even a floating bar in the middle of the bay where we moored.

Mustique is one of the most expensive islands – and you can tell the wealth just by the huge number of solar panels that power this small, exclusive island. The white sandy beaches are world famous, including one named after Princess Margaret. Many a celebrity has vacationed or owned a home on this island. Basil Bar is a hot spot for those hoping to catch a glimpse of someone famous. We personally preferred to throw on our snorkel and mask and enjoy what was beneath the water.

Canouan is an island that is a favorite of many yachties. We chose Sandy Lane Yacht Club, which was sadly affected badly by covid. It lost a lot of business when they closed the island down and has had a struggle to rebuild since. It is a beautiful marina with modern housing and spaces for a lot of shops. When we visited only a few were open. It had 3 restaurants and a bakery as well as a beach club and pool. Their showers are known far and wide as a favorite for boaters. We had a great meal at Shenanigans,but be prepared to spend a lot of money here.

Tobago Cays is a series of small islands and part of the protected marine park that also included Mayreau and Union island. This is one of our favorite spots in the entire world. We spent 2 nights moored here and it is pure heaven. The sand is snowy-white and the marine life is abundant. As we were mooring the boat, we saw turtles popping up to greet us. The snorkeling here is amazing – star fish, turtles and rays all in crystal-clear water with a white-sand bottom. There is no night life on these islands, save for the various barbecues thrown by the “boat boys.” If you are on a boat the boat boys will find you and issue their invitation and offer menu choices. Remember, these barbecues are a primary source of their income.

Mayreau is a gorgeous island which we visited the first time around. The beaches are gorgeous and the views from the top of the hills are amazing. Unlike the nearby Cays, Mayreau is inhabited and has a couple of restaurants.

We spent 2nights on Union Island. Our mooring in Clifton Harbor was a short swim from the big reef that protects the anchorage and town. We had a view of Palm Island, which is my idea of what a tropical island should be - white sandy beaches, water in every shade of blue and palm trees everywhere. Palm island is a private island with homes and a 5-star resort. Clifton is a very friendly little port town, ramshackle at first glance but with a few surprising amenities, like a cute upstairs coffee shop with a little gourmet market below. The people were very outgoing and proud of their island home. There are no strangers on Union Island. In addition to the shops and eateries in town, there are two “boat to” restaurants out on the reef in the harbor. Again, the people are delightful and will engage you conversation. And, if you stopped at Tobago Cays first, you’ll probably recognize some of the boat boys, as they zip across the harbor. Finally, Union is the last stop in St. Vincent and the Grenadines (or the first). Here you visit customs/immigration on your way to or from Grenada.

Carriacou is one of Grenada’s out-islands and our last stop before reaching the big island. It is another favorite for yachters and when we were there we were astounded by the number of boats both in dry dock and moored in the bay. Tyell Bay, where we spent 2 nights, has two marinas, one on either side of the bay, and several restaurants along the water. Slipway was one of our favorite restaurants that we experienced. The boat boys are wonderful here and come to check if there is anything you need.

Grenada is located at the very end of the Grenadines, and is its own country separate from St. Vincent and The Grenadines. Is made up of 3 islands. The Grenadines have St Vincent and Grenada at either end of these islands. Our favorite and longest sail was from Carriacou to Grenada with some of the most spectacular scenery. We docked at St Louis and had a wonderful shower and dinner at Knife and Fork. We spent our last night on the boat at the marina and the next morning we Toured the island with Cutty before checking into True Blue Bay Resorts for our final two nights.

Grenada is a magical island! It touched me as much this time as the first time. The people are so welcoming and they love to share their island with you. The island has everything you can imagine in a tropical paradise – spices, fruit trees, rainforests, waterfalls. I can’t help but think that the movie Avatar was inspired by the lushness of this island.

We couldn’t have picked a better place to spend our last two nights than the magical True Blue Bay Resorts and its Dodgy Dock Restaurant.

UPDATE – We left Grenada on June 24th, 2024 and on July 1, 2024 Hurricane Beryl a devastating category 4 storm hit Grenada, St Vincent and the Grenadines. In Grenada the islands of Carriacou and Petite Martinique saw 95-100% of the homes either damaged or destroyed. In St Vincent and the Grenadines the most damage was to Union Island and Canouan.

Our most chilling thoughts were of Canouan, with the bustling harbor and two packed boat yards. This was ground zero. A small, hilly and very dry island (due to a prolonged drought) was absolutely ravaged by Beryl. As we think back it’s hard to imagine how almost everyone survived. There really is no place to hide on this mile-wide bit of land in the middle of the ocean.

Our hearts also go out to the folks on Union Island (and of course everyone effected) because we just can’t forget all the happy and open, “we -live-in-paradise” faces in the town of Clifton, a town that, to us, looked very vulnerable.

Finally, put this calamity in perspective, Beryl set just about every hurricane record you can think of. It was way too early. It was way too strong. And, it was way to south. For us, our memories will always be brushed with a tinge of sadness. We feel blessed to have seen these islands and their people when we did, but sad that their world changed so dramatically after we left.

True Blue Bay Resort became a home base for Central Kitchen to coordinate and feed communities affected in Grenada, Carriacou and Petit Martinique. Blue Lagoon Resort and Horizon Yacht Charters also pitched in to help the islands in the Grenadines most hard hit.

Soon after we returned, I received this message from Horizon. Horizon Yacht Charters Grenadines:

And we have personally been involved. With a monetary donation from our owners of “Calia” Ollie and Sarah, Harry and Lynda of “Altair” letting us use their yacht and Horizon SVG donating the diesel for the trips, we have been able so far to take much needed relief supplies three times to Mayreau and our mechanical service providers in Union and Canouan who have literally lost everything. So far we have taken down from water, food, hygiene & cleaning products, mosquito repellents, work gloves, a chain saw & wheel barrow, some generator fuel, solar lights, solar panels with battery charge controller inverter and related hook up equipment. As per Ollie’s request we are installing a solar powered charging station for devices and a star link for Salt Whistle Bay. The star link is being sent to us by past clients (Pidgley & Gilkes) who made a solid friendship with one of the small businesses on Salt Whistle Bay, they are currently living out of their small retail shop and a tent. These items are all going through Capt Greg who is their point person and who was their captain each time they sailed with us. Greg, Laura (chef for same clients), Brandon a past employee with technical knowledge, Sonita and the rest of the team from the base coordinating with our Operations Manager, Lisa, have been volunteering wherever they can for the relief effort.

To help the Grenadines: https://grenadinesinitiative.ca/ To help Carriacou and Petite Martinique: https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-people-of-carriacou-and-petite-martinique