Pimms and the Flying Gurnard
We have been commuting between boats, people and supplies (like wine glasses). These quick trips have made for fun and funny memories. - HP
One of our goals this trip is to get as far north as possible and check out some new swimming spots. We left from Rock Island early, and sailed up to Chateaubelair, just the cutest little seaside village. We anchor and see soaring cliffs, swaying palm trees, and black sand bottom. Kids from the village had a ½ day off school, so we were visited by several of them on old paddleboards with home-made paddles. They bring us coconuts for a few bucks and we give them cold drinks. One young boy showed an interest in driving the dinghy, so Captain Touché gave him instructions and handed him the keys. Later, I saw Touché tuck a piece of paper with his phone number into the boy’s vest, telling him to call him for more boating lessons. These kids don’t have a lot of opportunities, and Touché helps out when he can. It’s pretty touching.
Our early morning sail treated us to a day-moon and perfect temps for working and drinking coffee on the bow.
During our swim, some of us could smell hibiscus on every breath! Magical. Alina looked up the meaning of Chateaubelair and it means House of Sweet Air. Of course.
Our swim on St. Vincent’s north west shore was a new one for us! Volcanic shorelines offer low slung palms, beautiful black sand and clear waters, along with lovely reef environments.
After our swim a young island boy came up to us having dropped his spear gun and had no mask or fins to retrieve it. I grabbed mine and free dove down to get it. He thanked me with a cocoa fruit and avocado. A lovely interaction. Thank you Zack for the pics! - HP
Just around the corner from our morning swim is a set of stepped cliff faces that gave us all an oppoertunity to jump from various heights. The water directly beneath is 150 feet deep!! So much fun and beautiful - check out the video at the bottom for our cliff jumping antics! - HP
Our sail to our next location gave us stunning views of Chateaubelaire Islet and a pod of dolphins playing off our bow!
Our cruise close to shore on Elvira gave us picturesque views of our sister ship, Flamboyant.
We want to hit a few more spots along St. Vincent before we head south, so after our swim we sailed for Happy Hill Bay. Along the way, more dolphins! Happy Hill Bay pulled out all the stops for us, once again. We swam along healthy reefs at the mouth of the bay, then along the black sand beach to a set of caves. We say flying gurnard fish, lizard fish, a filefish, and even a sponge spawning event, clouding a portion of the reef. Janet spied two Atlantic Devil Rays, a rare sighting.
The wildlife show at Happy Hill bay was outstanding this afternoon. Sea stars and urchins, lazy lizardfish and showy flying gurnards.
Most spectacular were the clouds of life we witnessed on the reef - the sponges were spawning!!! Jason has only seen this twice in his very long career in the sea, and after 30 years of ocean work, this was my first chance to see it. I was beyond excited. And the nutrient load brought in another lifer sighting for me - two pygmie devil rays appeared, swimming in tandem. Janet spotted them and I managed to get some video you can see below!! Mind blowing experience. XO HP
Challenging to photograph - the milky clouds surrounding the sponges are actually these invertebrate colonies spawning. Life in the making.
Pimms cocktails and samosas for sunset. Chef Jemima outdid herself once again with lamb chops, broccoli, and cassava mash with a tropical sauce that was over-the-top yummy.
Hopper
Below is a little video of our day of play and dolphins and other amazing wildlife sightings, set to the vocal only composition by my son, Finn Weafer. XO HP