After a delightful sail from Mustique on the afternoon of Monday 29th January, we dropped our anchor in Charlestown Bay, Canuoan, near a modest Cateremaran flying this flag ...
I assumed it was of a Carribbean country but Mick's research revealed it to be the flag of Namibia. Having never encountered a Namibian vessel before, we were intrigued and suspected we would find interesting company on board and so decided to invite the crew over for drinks. By the time we emerged on Tuesday morning they were already ashore and so it was not until Wednesday morning that I rowed over to invite them for 'sundowners' that evening.
I spent a large chunk of the rest of they day in the water scrubbing the bottom of the boat with the broom. A film of weed had developed and whilst not excessive, I decided it would be better to tackle it now before it became more established - especially as I had heard that it grew rampantly in Prickly Bay, Grenada, which is where we are heading.
After a few hours of scrubbing I emerged quite convinced that I had had quite enough of the wet stuff for one day. We then took a quick trip ashore to top up the Purcer's dwindling stock of non alcoholic drinks.
The minimarket was up a pretty steep hill and so refreshments were required before returning to boat. We therefore stopped off at this charming beachside Cafe/Bar for a beer and carrot cake! Nevertheless, by the time we got back to the boat I was so hot that despite my prolonged immersion earlier, another swim was most definitely called for.
Henry and Nina from "Ataraxia" arrived at the appointed hour of 1700 and as we suspected were fascinating people. Henry was born in South Africa but moved to Namibia in his youth. A serial entrepreneur he had done business in so many sectors I lost track, but they included both aviation (he was a qualified pilot) and insurance (he established Namibia's first insurance company).
He had become thoroughly disallusioned with the rampant corruption in all governments he had come across and their exploitation of indigenous people and was now most relieved to have left all that behind. He had previously sailed extensively in the Far East and the Indian Ocean and was enthralled with Madagascar.
He crossed the Atlantic on his own in 2023, and suffered a series of gear failures forcing him first to Acension Island and then Brazil where he was mistaken for a drugs smuggler. So, with the authorities threatening to impound his boat he decided to make his escape under cover of darkness and eventually made it to the Carribbean via Suriname and Colombia!
Nina had only joined Ataraxia a few weeks ago in Grenada. A wandering, highly educated, free French spirit with a phd from the prestigious University of Sorbonne, she had been running her own training company for years, but was now preparing for her retirement by travelling the world on her own. She met Henry in Grenda and as an experienced sailor joined him as crew for the passage to Martinique from where she will return to France. They were heading north and we were heading south and so we swapped information on the various places we had visited.
Nina had taken a hike to the North East coast of Canouan the previous day and found a deserted beach inside the extensive coral reef that thronged most of the island's east coast. We had been contemplating leaving the next day, but her description of her time there and of the wonderful views overlooking the reef, convinced me we should stay and visit the same spot.
We had a most convivial evening and wished eachother safe travels. They were moving on to Bequia in the morning.
We undertook the walk to Twin Bay.
The walk took us through town...
The views over the lagoon sheltered by the coral reef were gorgeous. Torquise water seen first hand is really quite something - these photos don't do it justice ...
Our destination was the beach seen in the middle left of the top photograph. Just before getting there we came across....
Very sadly the Learning Centre had clearly fallen into disrepair and had been abandoned for some time. Given Mr Desmond's new road to the ultra plush gated Mandarin resort, further up the coast, goes straight past it, you might have thought he could have found his way to funding it's restoration and thereby make a small return to the island he's so intent on exploiting. Perhaps Prince Charles could have a quiet word with him!
But that's enough sour grapes. Onto the beach.
Gorgeous fine light golden sand but not quite prestine due to bits of man made debris here and there. The water was the clearest we had yet come across, no doubt thanks to the coral reef about half a mile off-shore. I quickly donned mask, snorkel and flippers (thank you Rayelle and Elliot) and headed out towards the reef. I really wanted to see it and its inhabitants close up, but half way there I chickend out. I was starting to feel tired and decided not to push my luck and so headed back. There was not much life to see in the sandy bottomed lagoon, but then just as disappointment began to set in, I noticed a dark flat broad diamond shape two or three metres below me on the floor of the lagoon. It was moving away from me with a slow undulating motion. Then I noticed its long narrow tail.
A Stingray!?
Most definitely it turns out - this is the creature I saw..
I was fascinated and more than a little scared. I was pretty sure, a sting from one of these could be very nasty indeed!
Back on the boat I did a little research...
"Not only does the puncture itself cause injury and pain, but the stinger also releases a complex venom, which leads to intense pain at the puncture site. Uncommon effects of the venom include headaches, nausea and vomiting, fainting, low blood pressure, arrhythmias of the heart, and even seizures."
I followed it for a couple of minutes at what I hoped was a respectful distance and then resumed my return to the beach.
Delighted as I was with my encounter, I was still a little disappointed not to have reached the reef. Then I noticed that both extremes of 'our' beach had rocky outcrops. I'd learnt from Barbados that such places often had coral and fish and so I went to have a look. Sure enough I was soon up close and personal with a whole variety of colourful fish - some very small others up to six inches long. They were all beautiful. The rocks and their attached coral were between a few inches and a few feet from the surface and so I really was very close to them. Of course as soon as I tried to touch one it avoided my hand, but I was most definitely in touching distance. Wonderful.
The state of the coral was though rather sad. Most of it was dead and the patches of living coral left were not particularly colourful. I wonder what state the main reef is in?
We dropped in at the pleasant beach cafe for lunch after buying a few provisions and then returned to the boat. Mick cooked an excellent fish diner using the second fish we bought from the fisherman in Mustique. 😋!
Tomorrow we head for Mayreau - only 10 or so miles away.
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