It was now time to wind our way to Grenada, the Spice Island. We could now do dayhops along the island chain - no more overnighters for a while. The weather looked good, so we left Bequia on Monday morning. We decided to motor to Friendship Bay (about 4 miles), as this would give us a better sailing angle to Mustique - home of the rich and famous. This strategy worked quite well but we did have to pass between two pretty big rocks, with waves on the nose breaking against the rocks. You can never capture this in pictures although Karen tried. Fortunately the current was slack so we did not have that to contend with as well. Once past the rocks, we could fall off to a close reach and had a great sail to Mustique. For any followers of the rich and famous, Mustique residents have included Princess Margaret, Mick Jagger, Davis Bowie, Raquel Welch and numerous others - definitely an upscale island. We had to take a mooring, as you just do not anchor here, and wandered ashore to Basil's Beach bar to say hi to Raquel. Unfortunately we were in the off season and I guess the rich and famous have other things to do and homes to tend to at this time of year - in other words, no Raquel. The next day, we rented a Mule (which is what happens when you intermingle a golf cart with a small jeep) with two other couples and went off to explore. I got to drive as there was more headroom in the driver's seat and I have been converted to driving on the left (should be interesting when we get home). The island was beautiful. There were incredible homes (difficult to see as the grounds were prepared to maximize privacy), well-manicured areas, and wilderness areas for escapists. We stopped at one of the most picturesque restaurants (they had four cottages to rent) that we have ever seen. The view was incredible, overlooking the bay, and the prices were not for the faint of heart. In general, everything on the island was expensive. I generally judge the cost of a place by the price of a hamburger - sort of hamburger-economy index. At $20US, this was at the top of my scale. The anchorage was quite rolly (read uncomfortable), so with Raquel gone, we decided that we had enjoyed the good life long enough and it was time to down-scale and move on.

Our next stop was Canouan, a trip of about 16 miles. We love this island hopping. The anchorage was again rolly. We had a squall (high wind and rain weather event) come through in the middle of the night (when else). A wind gust picked up our dinghy (I did not lash it down properly) and stood it on end on our fore deck. No harm was done but it was a bit exciting. The next day we moved to Saline Bay on Mayreau - finally a non-rolly anchorage. The day was sunny and we had a quiet afternoon snorkeling. From Mayreau we went to Union Island. Here we had to clear out with customs, as we would be leaving St. Vincent. Customs were friendly and we wandered the town. That evening we went to The West Indies Restaurant with Safina to celebrate. I made the mistake of ordering shrimp and got the whole thing - head and all. Now I like shrimp but I am really a tail man. I do not like things looking at me from my plate. Next time I will follow Karen's lead when ordering. It was still a lovely evening.