Sailing to Union Island

A last circuit of Tyrrel Bay to say goodbye to Philip, Claudia and Rhys before departing   

We had seen very little of Carriacou island itself but, nonetheless, had really enjoyed staying in Tyrrel Bay. We had had a lovely time catching up with friends, snorkelling on the coral reefs and, the highlight, done some great scuba dives. However, we both felt that it was time to move on. That there is more to see here, we have decided, is merely a good excuse to come back next season. After breakfast, Nicky went ashore and cleared us out from the Grenadian Grenadines with Customs and Immigration whilst I stayed on board and got BV ready to go. With everything sorted out we did a quick circuit of Bruno’s Girl and Quadrille to say goodbye to Philip, Claudia and Rhys and then headed out of the bay.

The ‘Whirlpool’ dive was on the left side the of Mabouya island (top left) and ‘The Sisters’ dive did a figure of 8 around the 2 rocks (R).
(Bottom L) Looking back at Carriacou with the Mabouya in the middle and The Sisters out to the right    

The logical route from Tyrrel Bay towards Union Island goes out on the western side of Carriacou right past our dive sites. We passed Mabouya island on our right, where we had done the ‘Whirlpool’ dive, and ‘The Sisters’ went down our left side. It was nice to see them with blue skies as a background because it had been a bit grey and rainy when we did the dives.

Union Island ahead of us   

Now the passage to our next stop, Union Island, was only 11 miles and so I have to admit that we cheated. With the wind on the nose and our batteries needing some love we spent the next 2 hours motoring north. Part way there we took down the courtesy ensign for Grenada came down and put up our yellow “Q” signal flag along with our rather small courtesy ensign for St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Our anchorage (bottom right) was totally exposed to the wind but protected from the swell by a reef   

It might have been a short distance but as we approached Union Island we felt as if we had moved to a different part of the Caribbean. The peaks on Union Island are much more pointed and the anchorage off the capital is much more exposed to the prevailing wind than the anchorage at Tyrrel Bay. With the trade winds blowing briskly and no land to windward we knew the anchorage would be windy but we hoped (and anticipated) that it would be protected from the swell by its off-lying reef.

Palm Island   

Reefs and shallow water meant that we took things carefully as we navigated our way in but the scenery was fantastic. To our right was Palm Island. With golden beaches fringed by palm trees, tree-covered green hills, and being quite small, again this gave a different feel to the area from where we had come from.

Approaching Clifton Bay anchorage with yachts anchored behind the reef   

Clifton Bay has a shallow reef right in the middle of it with anchoring space to the east and west of that. We went up the eastern side, let the boat boys know that we didn’t want to pick up a mooring buoy and then started to work our way past the multitude of other yachts that had got into the anchorage ahead of us. The shallows just west of the reef are a kite surfer’s mecca and so all the while we watched their amazing antics as they sped up and down, whizzing past us, sometimes jumping up and flying through the air. Several also had foils, so their boards were completely out of the water riding on the lift of a small foil at the bottom of the board’s centreboard.

Palm Island (L) and Happy Island (just in front of the catamaran)   

What would you build on a ‘Happy Island’- a bar of course!   

We were a little concerned as to how much protection the reef would provide from the swell but for the 2 days we were at anchor it was absolutely fine. The shallow turquoise water marked the limit of where we could get in to drop our anchor and so it was just a case of finding a space amongst the other yachts. After a meander through the anchored boats, we eventually dropped our anchor between 2 yachts sitting on mooring buoys and then let out enough chain to be very comfortable in a blow and nicely spaced from the other yachts around us.

Settled down at anchor, we had the reef (and a couple of yachts) ahead of us. Out to our right was the Happy Island, a tiny island with a bar crammed with people watching the kite surfers zipping up and down and showing off their latest tricks right in front of it. It all looked wonderful, but for us the official arrival admin needed to come first.

Clifton and, somewhere in the town, Customs and Immigration   

We sorted out BV, putting on the covers and generally preparing her for life at anchor, inflated the dinghy and then headed ashore. The Customs and Immigration offices are only open until 3pm and by the time we had started inflating the dinghy it was already past 2pm so we needed to get there quickly or risk being stung for an overtime bill. Fortunately, they were able to deal with our arrival paperwork and passport checks without any difficulties and so we just needed to pay for our Cruising Permit to allow us to sail in St Vincent’s waters. Phew! After 2½ hrs at sea with arrival and departure admin at both ends of the passage, it was definitely time to relax on board with a rum punch. Clearly this Caribbean sailing lifestyle’s hard work!

Clifton Bay, Union Island