Midnight
I had planned on departing shortly after midnight so that I could make it to my destination in Grenada before dark. My escape to the south was delayed by passing showers and squalls. Some heavy rain and intense lightning passed overhead when I wanted to depart. I didn’t get going until about 04:00AM and without my genoa I knew I wasn’t going to make it in time.
The day promised to be a long one. It rained or was overcast for much of the trip. Good for avoiding sunburns, but it made for boring transits close to land. The first part of the trip along St. Lucia had no waves and little wind and I bumbled along at 5 to 6 knots using 1400RPM on the engine along with the mainsail. The sail was generally for show, as there was little wind for it to react to.
Passage to St. Vincent
The passage between St. Lucia and St. Vincent was generally good with strong winds and big waves. But escape to the south wasn’t going to be too easy. About one hour before reaching the lee of the island the conditions got very blustery and I had really big breaking waves and strong winds. Then the autopilot turned off with the error “No Heading”. This wasn’t good at all. Due to the boisterous conditions I couldn’t go below to reset the whole system; I needed to actively helm.
There was a bit too much mainsail out as well, but that, too, couldn’t be rectified quickly. I could lock the wheel but in the quartering waves that would wreak havoc with my course. So I steered very actively and once conditions settled I locked the wheel and reduced sail. Then went below to cycle the navigation electronics and give the Autopilot a good “whack” and shook the connections. That seemed to do the trick, as the system worked after that. I’m going to track down the cables and ensure that there’s no corrosion or loose wires.
St. Vincent Shoreline
It is a pretty island when seen from the sea. I am going to have plan some time to visit here. I did pass the location where Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed. I’ve heard that it is falling apart, but it would still be cool to see the old sets.
Final stretch to Bequia
I was worried that the wind and wave conditions would repeat for the final stretch to Bequia, but it turned out that conditions on the south side of the island were much, much calmer.
I’d read about crime and theft on Bequia, but the anchorage looked nice and the island doesn’t look like it supports enough population for a real criminal robbery class to establish itself.