We're set to sail from Canouan with the Moorings for eight days in April. Any tips or highlights to pass on? Thanks!

We chartered out of Canouan in April '05 with the Moorings. At the time,they was still going through growing pains, as it was a relitively new base for them.Scott and his wife were the base managers at the time.They were working hard to improve service. Hopefully they have succeeded
The boats are all on moorings. There are no slips due to the swell in Charlestown Bay. Everything has to be ferried out to the boats in dinghies.[including your luggage,use duffels or softsided cases] It's kind of a pain, but not too bad.
Due to the lack of places to provision on Canouan, we opted for the Moorings provisioning plan. It was the 1st time in 13 charters the we have not self-provisioned. I would strongly recommend have them provision for you, if you have not already done so. We found it to be highly satisfactory and convienent. I would recommed stocking up on booze yourself. You will save some $$$ by doing so. If you are staying at the Tamarind, they have a courtesy van that will take you to a local store to by beer and Rum. There is a store at the Base, but we found it to be $$$. If you are wine drinkers, you will have to get it at the base store, as the local stores don't carry wine.
The Tamarind is a great place. The rooms are quite nice. The food and service are very good.
Starting from Canouan, you are smack in the Middle Grenadines,a great location. We headed North first to Bequia for a few days then worked our way South to the Cays, Mayreau, PSV, and Chatham Bays on Union.
We have always by-passed Mustique. Never really had any desire to stop there. Unless you need to re-provision, or clear customs if you go to Carriacou,I would avoid Clifton, on Union.
Provision on Bequia is good, you can get just about everything you need there. I would recommend dinner out on Bequia also. There are alot of good places in and around Admiralty Bay. We usually anchor off Tony Gibbons beach. It's quieter than the inner harbor and only a short dingy ride to town. Try Spring on Bequia for dinner.Another place for dinner if you go to PSV is the Palm Beach Restaurant on Petite Martinique. Call them on Ch. 16, and they will come over and pick you we in thier 'water taxi' and bring you back after dinner It's a great experience.
We have chartered in St. Vincent and the Grnadines 4 times over the years, and it is over favorite area. 2nd is Guadeloupe and it off Island of Marie Galante and the Saintes. We are headed there this April.
I am sure you will enjoy the Geradines.Please feel free to email us directly if you have any questions.

Hi Art,
I enjoyed your tips. We are planning our first charter experience to the Grenadines next December and I have some questions:
- Are they easy to sail for non very experienced sailors? Do you see one island from another?
- There is anything interesting in addition to the beach?
- I will check the company you mention, do you have references from Barefoot Yacht Charters?

Thanks!
Burrito

My husband and I chartered with Barefoot in 1999. They were great. They met us when we landed and drove us out to their harbor. We had a great dinner on site. The next day, their driver took us into town to provision. He helped us find our way around the grocery store and the open market. I was especially appreciative of his help with money in the market. It was my first time shopping in the Caribbean, so everything was new to me.
We had a wonderful trip. You can navigate line of sight if you pay close attention, but we carried a handheld gps, and it was extremely useful when the view was confusing.
You will love the Grenadines.

Thank you!

Scott and Deb have the Base all sussed out. They did a great job with a VERY large (too large) group of boats I sailed with this last Jan.

As for the Grenadines being a place for less experienced sailors, you need to be honest with yourself. If you can sail, reef, anchor and plug a waypoint into a GPS, you'll be fine. If you can't ...

You should look at the "Usual Suspects" website. It is filled with a great deal of accurate and important information. I enjoyed all of the subject matter on it, but in particular they re-print the chart briefing from Barefoot Charters, which was very helpful.

Also you might want to try posting questions on TTOL in the Southern Caribbean forum.

http://www.usual-suspects-sailing.com./

http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/ubbthreads.php

I would not categorize the Grenadines as easy sailing. Given the time you are going,December, you may be subject to the "Christmas Winds" which blow from the Northeast at 20 plus kts.Sailing South from St. Vincent if you reef down as required you should be OK. Sailing back North may be more of a challenge.
Most of the navigation is line of sight.You can see Bequia from St. Vincent.If it's clear, you can see Glossy Hill on Canouan from a few miles South of Bequia.This will be your longest sail, from Bequia to Canouan, about 18 Miles. Once you are down in the Middle Grenadines, all of the Islands are visible and the distances are shorter.If you do diligence by plotting your courses on paper and monitor your GPS, you should be OK.
If you like hiking, the Grenadines are a great to explore. Up behind the church on Mayreau is one of the best vistas in the Caribbean.
I would highly recommend looking into Barefoot.They are a 1st class, full service charter company.

Thank you ... It sounds we should leave it for another time and gain more experience.

Our second option is to take a Windjammer, any experience with them?

Another doubt is where we will find more and different things to do: SVG or St.Martin/St.Barth/Saba/Kitts/Nevis/Eustatius?

Thanks again!

Looking for an owners charter in the Grenadines Mid-Late April 2007. Looking for a large cat or monohull for 5 guys (avg age 60) who have chartered from the moorings every year for the past 7 or so years.

Stephen