The Sailing Capital Of The Caribbean Islands
Posted On November 27, 2009
There is something mesmerizing about the Island of Bequia, Island of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The definition of that something becomes clear once you explore the activities that are there for tourists here. With not a very high population, no large tourist resorts, no shopping malls, this Island has managed to retain the charms of an untamed island. In addition to this charm is the friendly attitude of the people here who will make you feel welcome to their place.
It is an experience in itself to go for water sports in a calm place like this and go for high energy activities like sailing, for which the Island of Bequia is perhaps the capital, given its perfect condition.
Location
The Bequia Island is the northernmost island in the Nation Island of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Island. It is 15 kilometers away from the Capital town of Kingstown. Spread over 18 square kilometers, the Bequia is the largest of the Grenadines Island.
The Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Island is located in the Lesser Antilles and is part of the Caribbean group of Islands.
Best time to visit
While the Island of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines has a pleasant weather to make it a tourist destination that tourists seek to come to all through the year. However tourists have more do to in summers here, with the conditions being just apt then for water sports like sailing and surfing.
The climate of this island is tropical and the temperature hovers around 26 degree Celsius on an average throughout the year. It is more or less consistent.
The Island of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines comes under the influence of easterly trade winds because of it location, as a result of which the conditions here are apt for sailing.
September is the warmest of the months and January is the coolest. The Nation Island receives a good amount of annual rainfall and most of the rains occur in the months of May or June to December.
The annual Easter Regatta is a good time if you are planning to visit Bequia Island.
Transportation in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Transportation system in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is pretty well developed. There are 6 airports of which 5 are paved. St. Vincent is on the significant air routes of Caribbean Islands. The island also has an extensive system of roadways.
How to reach
There are direct flights to Barbados from UK and USA, from which there are connecting flights to the Island of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The major international carriers providing their services to Barbados include the British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, American Airlines, Delta and the US Airways.
Private charters too can be arranged for the Island from Martinique, St Lucia etc if you have the money for it.
From Island of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, you can reach Bequia Island by a ferry.
Attractions in Bequia Island
The Bequia Islands, like the other islands of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Islands, have plenty of scopes for water sports like diving and snorkeling that bring you close to the varied marine life that exist beneath the sea here. These 
include Hawksbill turtles, Lobsters, Moray eels and others.
Sailing amidst beautiful cays, reefs and the pretty rainforest on an azure sea, under the sunshine, is a pleasure you can derive only in Island of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. You can also cross some of the volcanic lands while sailing here. There are plenty of boat and yacht rental centers to boost sailing here.
Other than sailing, the other water sports popular here are of course snorkeling and Scuba diving, without which, your trip to these islands is not complete. You can also go cruising. There are plenty of reputed centers for scuba diving and snorkeling here. The Critter Corner is a 32 foot deep dive centre where there are the yellow face pike blenny, seahorses, pistol shrimp, cardinal fish and other exotic marine animals waiting to greet the divers.
The Bequia Islands is perhaps one of the many rare sites in the world where whaling is allowed by the International Whaling Commission.
There are a number of villages too here on this island that you can explore. These include the Capital Port Elizabeth, Belmont, Spring, Paget Farm, Hamilton, Industry Bay, Lower Bay, La Pompe and Mount Pleasant. A former coconut plantation, Spring is a major tourist site on Bequia Island and shelters many agricultural animals.
Some beautiful beaches too are lined up here. One of them is the Princess Margaret beach on the Admiralty Bay, Bequia’s main port, adjacent to Port Elizabeth on the west coast of Bequia, named so by Princess Margaret herself who visited this island. The other such attraction is the Lower Bay, a long beach where you can swim, go for snorkeling or kayaking.
Friendship Bay and Lower Bay are other good beaches that are worth chilling out at. Just south of Friendship Bay is the uninhabited Island of Petit Nevis that you can come across while sailing.
Another good beach is the Saline Bay Beach, curving across a mile and is the Bay where ferries from Saint Vincent docks. If you are looking for a secluded beach on the Island of Bequia, Saline Bay Beach is just the right place for you.
The Petit Bateau is a shaded beach to the north of the island and with calm, shallow water, is a popular destination for snorkelers.
The Turtle Sanctuary is a major attraction of Bequia Island as well. It was established by Orton “Brother” King, a former turtle diver who dedicated his life to saving the Hawksbill turtles from being extinct. There separate tanks with turtles in each stage of their development and once ready, they are returned back to their natural habitat.
The Horseshoe Reef, besides protecting the 5 uninhabited islands of Tobago Cays is also a good spot for diving and snorkeling.
The Admiralty Bay is the natural harbour of the Bequia Islands and is world famous anchoring spot for yachtsmen across the world. Apart from swimming and other water sports, restaurants too are an attraction here.
A trip to the Bequia Islands is definitely recreational, amidst cliffs and mountains, reefs, lagoons and miles of quiet and long beaches, where you can swim, sail, or do anything that you wish to by the bay at your own leisure.
