We had a brisk wind pick up early this morning about 7a.m. which made it possible to get to almost full sail again. The Sea Cloud under sail is a thing of beauty and is aptly named as we glided effortless across the seas at 6.6 knots. We heaved ever so slightly to port but the ship sails as solidly as one could hope for. Its sleek lines and deep keel make it—to paraphrase Captain Irwin Johnson—an “A number 1, sailing vessel.” Our plans were to board a catamaran and visit the sea turtle sanctuary but due to the brisk breeze, our other option landing on the island of Mayreau had to be changed. The sea made landing there too dangerous. Always enterprising, our expedition leader Tom O’Brien chose as a perfect alternative to Mayreau a visit to a beautiful beach on Union Island in Chatham Bay. Union Island along with Becquia and other islands make up St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
The archipelago of the Grenadines consists of some 600 islands, many of which are uninhabited. These islands are located at the very southern tip of the Lesser Antilles and are a chain of volcanic peaks. The volcanic action in this part of the world is still quite active as the main island of Saint Vincent had an eruption in 1902, which killed 2,000 persons and devastated half the island. Some of us will also remember that the island of Montserrat only 100 or so miles north of here erupted about 12 years ago and destroyed the capital of Plymouth and a good bit of the island. Volcanism is a fact of life in the formation of these beautiful Caribbean Isles. Although as everywhere in the Antilles tourism is crucial to the island economy, Saint Vincent has many small subsistent farmers and the commercial crop is bananas and arrowroot, now in addition to being used to make baby powder, it is being used to make computer paper.
Tom Heffernan gave a talk An Introduction to the Creole Languages of the Caribbean, just before lunch. After one of our typically splendid lunches, those of us who chose the snorkeling option boarded Zodiacs for a wet landing on Union Island. The landings were exciting as the surf was up but not too rough and of course we had the distinct pleasure of landing on a tropical beach. We laid our towels under what ‘Shark Attack Jack’—the local legend who runs a bar by the same name on the island—calls an “almond” tree. It did not look to me like an almond tree but who am I to argue with a man named “Shark Attack Jack” who planted it 20 years ago! We had a delightful time lolling on the beach and swimming in the bay. The snorkeling was not particularly good because the winds had stirred the bottom and the water was cloudy. Those who did go on the catamaran did see green turtles at the preserve and other reef fish. We clambered abroad the Sea Cloud between 5 and 7p.m. tired but exhilarated.
Tonight we had a wonderful a special maritime dinner. The fish on the Sea Cloud is always local and fresh. Peter played the piano after dinner on the lido deck, some sang, conversation flowed and all was right with the world. Off to bed after a wonderfully varied day.
