Bequia, Fit for Thieves and Scoundrels

We flew around the point under full sail. The ten-foot waves that had been battering us from the main island of St Vincent had relinquished their grip, leaving us with a comfortably surfable 4-foot wave pushing us around the corner. We tucked in against a giant mega yacht, rolled in the headsail and surveyed our destination: Admiralty Bay, Bequia, one of the most protected anchorages in the whole Caribbean. The perfect place to hide out the coming windstorm, reconnect with sailor friends from Trinidad, and prepare the boat for a couple weeks of self-sufficient lonely island hopping.

The Starship II rests alongside us between squalls in Admiralty Bay

The village on the hill above Admiralty Bay looks like a set from Wes Anderson - the homes cling to the mountainside wearing every color of the rainbow. The cars rushing to and fro seem to climb vertically. The buses and taxis and locals zipping around honk frequently, especially when making blind corners on sharp inclines to warn one another they are on the way, and very likely in the way. There are plentiful markets, restaurants, a chandlery, and lots of dinghy docks to choose from. In general, the tourist doesn't have to worry much about crime, just mischievous children. A friend had to swim after his sailing dinghy and sail the children back, despite the fact that he had told them to keep it on the sand they had overloaded it with young boys and were unwittingly drifting out to sea. From that moment on we all got more vigilant about locking our dinghies, the winds are strong and not all of us can swim as quickly as Tommy.

French maps from the early explorers charted this as a good place for boat repairs. Otherwise, they noted it as only fit for thieves and scoundrels. This actually tracks historically; Blackbeard seized La Concorde at the neighboring island and right here in Admiralty Bay is where she received her full compliment of stolen cannons, a pirate crew, and her name was changed to Queen Anne's Revenge.

Typical taxi on Bequia - Toyota or Nissan pickups with a bench down each side of the pickup bed above the wheel well. The tax driver puts out a stool and drops the tailgate to let customers in and out. The canvas sides are rolled down when rain threatens.

The island has no fresh water of its own, and is therefore horribly unsuited for agriculture of any sort and the ruling class recognized this. But the government wanted the land populated so they granted land to "poor people of good character" who wanted to make a go of growing sugar, the popular commodity at the time. It was really only economically feasible with significant slave labor effort and cheap trade with the American colonies. But after 1776 the young country of America felt disinclined to continue the cheap trade and the prices for tools and raw materials increased significantly. Not long after that slavery was abolished. Sugar quickly became a losing proposition for the plantations of the island. Other crops were tried but in the end the people of the island were starving, plantation owners and freed slaves alike.

On the south end of the island in Friendship Bay is a shallow reef with a small island. American whalers recognized its value as a place to process their kills. Enterprising locals noticed an opportunity forming. One particular islander sailed to the Northeast USA to learn the craft of whaling, and even managed to bring a whale boat back to the island as a prototype and a new industry was born. Boat builders, whalers, all kinds of boat support popped up and the island's people once again had a purpose and a path to profitability. The industrial revolution was lubricated by whale oil, the night was illuminated by whale oil and everybody on the island developed a taste for whale meat. In no time at all whaling became a permanent part of Bequia culture and acts of bravery bestowed a source of pride, the story-telling shared from elder to child.

Friendship Bay, as seen from the boat museum.

To this day, Bequia is one of only four countries that holds special dispensation for whale hunting, up to four per year although last year they killed only one and some years none at all. The locals view whale hunting as integral to their culture, the anchor that keeps them from getting swept away by tourism, which is now by far the more prevalent commodity of the island. 

Whale boat, seats 6. Freeboard clearance, mere inches. Bravery required, much.

The school children developed a song to announce when a whale spout is seen, and the island joins together in the energy of the hunt. The whales are processed on the same reef they were hundreds of years ago, and the meat is shared among the locals. Beautiful crafts made from the whale bones can be bought at the outdoor market.

Locally made bone jewelry

It's moments like this that I remember that I am merely a visitor. My opinions on the matter of whale hunting matter not one bit, as it's not my culture and it's not my life; it wasn't my people that were saved from starvation by the hunt. I am a guest - my job here is only to learn. Whether or not to buy beautiful jewelry made from whale bones? That's a question still being debated.