A Smelly Washing Machine Filled with Bats.

We found ourselves at the mouth of the Bat Cave this morning, off the west coast of St. Vincent. There was a 2-3 foot swell that was concentrating itself right at the cave, and it looked pretty gnarly in there. I scouted it first, and decided that it was reasonable enough to send guests through. I prefaced the announcement by saying that each guest should know that they are voluntarily entering what is basically a smelly washing machine filled with bats. 

We brought a few guests through with not a lot of trouble, but when I brought guest Gene through, a big swell came and filled the exit, a narrow crack in the rock, from top to bottom with surging, frothy water. We held our breaths, the surge passed over and around us, and we swam out. Huzzah!  The whole group then swam over the pristine reef here, then around a towering island, and back to the yacht. Back aboard Elvira and Flamboyant, and anchors aweigh.

Before we left the bay we had a visit from our friend Zico and his beautiful collection of jewelry that he makes with his mother.

After our swim, Zack and I (HP) did a little free diving down the anchor chain. A calming visit to my happy place.

Our lengthy stay at St. Vincent has forced us to make some big leaps back to Grenada, and today was the first of those. A four plus hour sail all the way to Canouan, one of the Grenadine Islands, it was a bumpy ride, but we covered a lot of miles going downwind. Jemima made a salad with avocado, shrimp, and basil that I ate over a bed of tortilla chips. Blissful. 

Lots of lounging and napping on our long sail to Canouan.

Our evening swim at Canouan was: swim to a beach, hike to another, swim around a point to a shallow reef, then along the shore and back. Many of us returned in a beautiful sunset. 

A small school of Palometa fish circled us on our return to the boat. - HP

Painkiller cocktails for happy hour that washed down some fried plantains. Assorted sausages over spicy lentils for dinner. Today I finally got to know new guests Janet and Laura, mom and daughter travelers. I also got to catch up with Bill, who went on his first trip with us 16 years ago. 

I’m currently writing this on the stern of Flamboyant, it’s 11pm, and Captain Touché is catching a LOT of snappers with a hand line. He hasn't caught any fish in a few days, so it could be a long, long night…

Hopper