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A Sailor’s Escape 
©iStockphoto.com/SlidePix
With its flower-lined waterfront and shops, Bequia is the jumping-off point. Its bay and beaches would themselves be the ultimate destination if only the Tobago Cays weren’t so near. This blissful little group of islands in the southeast of the Grenadines is the jewel of the Lesser Antilles. Just east of Mayreau Island, the cays are difficult to approach. From the south, you have to find a narrow, unmarked channel between coral tufts. Coming from the north is easier, but several reefs offer only two options for a final approach, and both are shallow over rocks. Every time my wife and I sail in, though, we feel a fresh shock from the sheer beauty. An enormous horseshoe-shaped reef several miles long and 50 yards wide protects four tiny islands with perfect beaches, accessible only by boat. Landfall is on thick white sand, backed by palm trees, then lush tropical growth. Between islands is white sand under shallow sea, much of it less than ten feet deep, turning the water a brilliant light blue. The Tobago Cays are exactly what we imagine when we conjure a tropical paradise. As soon as we anchor, we’re in the water. The snorkeling is by far the best I’ve ever experienced, rated as one of the top three sites in the world. Under a bright sun, the clean, clear water plays host to miles of living coral reef in every color and thousands of fish. We’ve followed whole schools, seen new species, felt the warm water on our skin, the light current and waves rocking us gently. I’ve loved tropical fish all my life—at one point in junior high I had eight aquariums spread throughout the house—so this is heaven for me. I wouldn’t have believed such a place could be real. There’s a funny thing about paradise, though. I ran a charter for a family of 16 from Spain on a 90-foot sailing catamaran I built. They complained that on one of these islands the sand didn’t extend far enough into the water. There were a few rocks, bits of reef. They went scuba diving and complained there were too many fish. “Just fish everywhere,” they grumbled. A few days earlier, the same family demanded I take them through a major channel in 50 knots of wind and 18-foot seas. They said they’d insist on a full refund of about $30,000 if I didn’t do it. I blew out one of the forward trampolines in the steep breaking waves, but the boat was so stable, they could still drink on the covered aft deck and their refreshments didn’t even slide on the tables. Drinks in hand, they next complained I was a sissy for not going faster. One of them came up to the helm to tap her watch and let me know I’d better speed up. For some, even the Tobago Cays aren’t enough. And the truth about the Caribbean is that it’s far rainier than any charter captain would admit, including in the best months, February through April. But even when it storms, you can still snorkel, you can still sail, you can still buy a fresh, live, enormous lobster from one of the locals and have a feast. And if you do all of this in the Tobago Cays, you can be assured you’ve seen the very best. ACCESS American Airlines (aa.com) flies from JFK to Barbados from $515. Grab Grenadine Airways puddle-jumpers for the 45-minute flight to Bequia ($240 round-trip; grenadineairways.com). LODGING The 300-acre Raffles Resort Canouan Island (doubles from $575; raffles.com) offers 156 rooms, an 18-hole golf course, four restaurants, and 11 palapa spa suites, two of which stand on stilts about 300 feet offshore. ATTRACTIONS Founded in 1969 in Tortola, the Moorings (moorings.com) has bases all over the world delivering what many bareboaters consider to be the gold standard for the charter industry. If you’re a licensed captain, the Moorings can set you up with either a monohull or a catamaran for your Tobago Cays adventure. > Grenadines Dive ($60 for a single dive; grenadinesdive.com), a Union Island–based outfit, makes frequent trips to the idyllic Horseshoe Reef. Comments (0)
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