We departed Charlestown Bay on Canouan at 8:15 and soon found ourselves with sails set and sailing along in a nice 15 kn. breeze. I had put in the first reef on the main when I raised it and furled the genoa to the second reef point as I suspected that the winds would soon get stronger. Sure enough, as soon as we were clear of the lee of Canouan Island the wind strengthened to 18 – 20 kn. We sailed close hauled at a speed generally ranging in the 6.5 to 7 kn zone.

My displeasure with how this boat is set up to handle the sails was only heightened when on the second tack I released a jibsheet too early and ended up with rope burns across all four fingers of my left hand. As soon as I had the sails under control I plunged my hand into the cold water in our ice chest which helped considerably. With an expert bandaging job by Linda I was soon able to continue with the sail handling duties albeit somewhat gingerly. Fortunately we only needed to tack a couple more times before we were able to drop sails and motor into Britannia Bay on the island of Mustique. Despite the mishap, it was a pretty good morning’s sail!

Mustique is privately owned and home to the rich and famous – there are lots of huge expensive homes. The residents value their privacy and while visiting yachts people are welcome ashore to visit the shops or stroll along the roads you are not allowed to wander up any driveways or otherwise disturb the locals. You must tie up to a mooring buoy. Anchoring is only allowed for large boats or if you have special permission from the harbour master. Whether anchored or moored, a conservation fee is charged based on the length of boat. For 70′ or less it is $200 EC for 3 consecutive nights (no discount for shorter stays). Our plan was to stay for 2 nights.

We picked up a mooring fairly close to shore and drank in the beauty of this bay. Long sandy beaches line most of this bay. Just around the bay from us is the ferry dock and just beyond is a dinghy dock which you can use to visit the local shops. After lunch we headed to shore to find some groceries.

Susan with Stanley

Our first stop was Stanley’s Market for some fresh produce. Stanley is a very friendly man who loves Canadians (he lived in Canada for a while until his father died). Our next stop was the grocery store which was actually fairly well stocked. The air-conditioning was a welcome respite from the heat of the afternoon but the store was very crowded between narrow isles and a number of shoppers so it was equally nice to get back outside. Rick and I took the provisions back to the boat while the ladies checked out a couple of other shops. Returning to “town” we all met up again for ice cream. On the way back to the dinghy we stopped at Basil’s Bar & Restaurant for a wee refreshment.

Back at the boat the crew enjoyed a swim to cool off from the heat of the afternoon. With bandaids on my fingers I opted to skip the swim – maybe tomorrow I’ll go in. Happy hour soon followed while watching the sunset.

Pizza and wine was on the menu for dinner. A perfect ending to a perfect day.