Caribbean Sailing Adventure with Family

Ian’s mum was finally here, and it was time for what can only be described as our “Greatest Hits Caribbean Tour.”
As we slowly worked our way back down towards Grenada for hurricane season, we decided to revisit some of our absolute favourite islands from earlier in the season. You know… purely to confirm they were still paradise. Very important research.

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First stop: Bequia.
One of those islands that instantly slows your heartbeat the moment you arrive. This time we explored more of the island, wandered little streets we’d missed the first time around, and fully embraced the Caribbean pace of life, which mainly involves deciding whether one should have another coffee… or move straight onto rum punch.

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Then came a short and rather lovely sail down to Canouan, one of the hidden gems of the Grenadines. We anchored on the west side of the island for the night and explored from a more local perspective instead of just seeing the glossy yacht-club version. Tiny shops, friendly faces, and that wonderfully relaxed island atmosphere where absolutely nobody appears stressed about anything. Frankly inspirational.

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The following day we moved over to the beautiful Sandy Lane Yacht Club and Marina, where we stayed for a night. Now, let me tell you something deeply unglamorous about sailing life: eventually, laundry becomes your entire personality. We used the marina facilities, washed approximately seventeen years’ worth of salty clothing, and felt reborn.

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Naturally, after such exhausting labour, we rewarded ourselves with drinks at Shenanigans Beach Club and spent the afternoon floating around the swimming pool pretending we didn’t still smell faintly of saltwater and sunscreen.

But then came my favourite place in the Caribbean.

Tobago Cays.

Honestly, I cannot explain what this place does to my soul. There’s just something magical about it. The impossibly turquoise water, the tiny islands, the silence broken only by waves and laughter from passing dinghies… and of course, the turtles.

Swimming with turtles in the Tobago Cays Marine Park is still one of the greatest experiences of my life. Every single time one glides past me underwater, I become emotionally incapable of acting normal. Absolute happiness. Pure joy. Tiny flapping snorkelling panic.

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After a few blissful days there, we sailed over to Clifton Harbour on Union Island so Ian’s mum could experience the famous drinks at Happy Island.

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Now… if you’ve been to Happy Island, you already know where this story is heading.

Let’s just say the afternoon escalated magnificently. There was laughter. There were cocktails. At one point I’m fairly sure we solved several world problems before immediately forgetting the solutions. A completely standard Caribbean afternoon, really.

Next stop: Carriacou, specifically beautiful Sandy Island, which somehow looks like somebody accidentally dropped a screensaver into the Caribbean Sea. We spent our days snorkelling in crystal clear water, walking barefoot along the beach, and having dinners at Paradise Beach Club, which absolutely lived up to its name.

Evenings ended around beach fires with sailing friends, swapping stories under the stars while pretending we weren’t all secretly avoiding thoughts of boat maintenance waiting for us in Grenada.

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But eventually, reality arrived.

It was time to say goodbye to Ian’s mum after two wonderful weeks island hopping through the Caribbean. And yes, in true island style, we literally dropped her off at the airport by dinghy.

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I’m not joking.

One minute you’re bouncing across turquoise water in a tiny inflatable boat, the next you’re checking in for an international flight. Caribbean life is wonderfully absurd like that. She hopped onto a tiny 20 minute flight to Grenada, before connecting onwards back to the UK.

And just like that, the holiday chapter ended.

Now it was time for the less glamorous side of sailing life: preparing the boat for the off season haul out. Which basically means endless cleaning, packing, sorting, storing, scrubbing, and discovering mysterious damp towels you thought you’d already dealt with three weeks ago.

Ah yes. The true sailor’s ending.

So, Grenada… here we come.

Until next time, Caribbean. 🌴

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