I had planned to stay here in Canouan for one day and take a walk to the windward side of this narrow island. But the anchorage is not great, the wind wrapping around the headland and almost making it a lee shore. I still put the dinghy in the water, grab my stuff and motor to town. But the swell is so significant and there isn’t a good dinghy dock and the city dock is big and unprotected. Our poor dinghy would be bashed into it the whole time I am ashore. No, my excursion isn’t important enough and I make a snap decision to leave.

By 10:30 I am off and on my way to Bequia, the last of the Grenadies islands before St.Vincent. Bequia (pronounced like “back-way”, which I didn’t know for the longest time) is famous as a sailor’s island and has a long tradition as a dream destination for many cruisers.

I set sail as soon as I leave the anchorage and once I round the headland we are on a straight course to our destination, some 20nm off. The wind is slight ahead of the beam at 16-20kn. The sea is lively and JACE is laboring, heeled over and working her way upwind. The conditions are quite to her liking and at around 6kn she gracefully takes whatever wind and waves throw at her. Once again I am reminded how much more of an offshore boat she is.

I am having a ton of fun with it and hand steer most of the way. The autopilot works but is a little all over the place and veers back and forth a bit too much. Or maybe that’s just my excuse because I quite enjoy taking the helm and working the swell and wind shifts. Wonderful!

Once we entern the big bay of Port Elizabeth it is dead upwind. I unfurl the inner staysail to make tacking the big genoa easier (it now gets pushed through the slot between forestay and staysail instead of getting stuck on the furled-up staysail). After a few tacks back and forth we are almost there. Engine on and sails furled, JACE approaches the large anchorage.

It is very busy and I select a spot close to a beautiful beach that is less busy. It is a bit rolly here so maybe tomorrow I look for a better spot. But good enough for now. It is 3p and I am famished and spend the rest of the day eating and resting.

It was a wonderful sailing day. Tomorrow I will explore Bequia.