Bequia
St. Vincent & Grenadines

Bequia, the largest of St. Vincent's Grenadines, has long been a favorite of yachtspeople. Isolated enough to remain relatively unspoiled, yet lively enough to be stimulating and entertaining, it provides a blend of the old and new that many find perfect. It is well connected to St. Vincent and the other Grenadines both by the new airport and by the cheaper and more traditional ferries. The Admiral makes four trips a day on weekdays: the first ferry normally leaves Bequia at 0630 and the last returns at 1900. Some yachtspeople leave their boats anchored in Bequia and take a ferry over to visit St. Vincent. Check the free Caribbean Compass newspaper or the tourist office behind the main dock for the latest ferry schedule. The traditional sailing schooner Friendship Rose which served as the Bequia ferry for many years, has now been refitted as a charter boat.

Bequia is an island of sailors and boats. Linked to the outside world mainly by the sea, the old traditions still go on. Boats are built on the beach in the shade of palm trees. Everything from little "two bow" fishing boats to grand schooners are built by eye, using only simple hand tools. A big launching is always a festive occasion with rum flowing freely, music playing and hundreds of brightly dressed people helping to roll the boat down the beach into the sea. Bequians travel all over the world on cargo vessels and quite a few have ended up owning their own. Some are intrepid fishermen who venture all over the Grenadines in little open boats.

The island used to be an active whaling station, and though the tradition is now dying out, Bequians still make an occasional foray during the whaling season, between February and April. At this time of year humpback whales have left their northern feeding grounds and arrived here to mate and bear young. Few people are left in Bequia with the skills necessary to hunt them --  a daring feat in an open sailing boat, using hand-thrown harpoons. On the rare occasions that they make a kill, the hunters tow the whale to Petit Nevis for butchering.

Bequians are a proud people, descendants of settlers who came from North America on whaling boats, from farms in Scotland, from French freebooters and from Africa.

Bequia's main harbor is Admiralty Bay. There is a harbor on the south coast called Friendship Bay, and a daytime anchorage at Petit Nevis.

Mariann fra "Fredag"