De Caribbean Regatta 2009
Day 1 - Canouan to Mayreau & Righteous Roberts

De Regatta is about de people. There were 80 people on the trip this year. We have learned through experience that when you get the group together at night, a spark happens and De Caribbean Regatta begins to heat up.

This year's first stop was the island of Mayreau, just to the south of Canouan. Canouan is where the Moorings base is located (picture above). And this year, Moorings, under the direction of base manager Scott did a superb job in preparing and provisioning the boats. This was a significant change from 3 years ago when there were some supply challenges. But this year, Moorings had improved so significantly that all of the experienced skippers left the dock just saying "Wow, great job!"

The first sail was a short reach and many of the boats pulled in to Salt Whistle Bay which is often featured with the palm trees and white beach on the cover of Moorings brochures. Some other boats continued around to the busier anchorage of Saline Bay.

The relaxation began immediately. Once the mooring was secured, there was not much to do except prepare lunch, swim, sit on the beach, read a book, and swim some more. As evening rolled around, grills came to life on the backs of the boats and happy boaters began preparing their first meal afloat.

Night set and in this part of the Caribbean, there is very little light pollution and even less on an island like Mayreau. So we were treated to a glorious sky which lit up from end to end with stars, satellites, shooting stars and the milky way.

This first evening, the regatta gathering was held at Righteous Roberts (picture on left), a reggae bar near the top of Mayreau. The island is steep and there is one main road which goes up to the top. At the highest point is a church which offers a lookout to the nearby islands including the Tobago Cays. We had visited Righteous Roberts 3 years ago and knew this was the spot for day one. It did not disappoint, from the steep walk up the hill in near darkness to the Caribbean style of slow service with ease and "What, you want ice in your drink?" The rum punches took all of the New Yorker in us and told us we had arrived in a different part of the world and to relax, enjoy and become one with the spirit of nature.

As the beat of the music filled our crowd and sailors got to meet each other, De Caribbean Regatta started with a spark. We were off on another great journey. The next morning, we woke up in Salt Whistle Bay with the sun shining, the bathing suits drying and the palm trees blowing in the wind (picture below).

Click any of the pictures below to enlarge.