Welcome to the adventures of Ron, Dee and the good ship Zahara. We hope you enjoy reading about our travels and look forward to hearing your comments.

Tuesday 1 November 2011

Sorry...........

....it's been rather quiet on here but life has been a tad manic to say the least. Ron heads back to the Caribbean shortly so the list-making is in full swing. I seem to have masses to do at work so I can "swan off" (and that's the polite version from my work colleagues!) so the time will fly before I leave in December.

Bear with us, folks.......normal service will be resumed, promise!

Tuesday 26 July 2011

The Grand Tour 2011

Ron and I are off on our travels round the UK again. We'll be visiting family and friends starting on Friday in Topsham and ending in Ely at the end of August via Manchester, Bradford and the Lake District (and possibly a few other places along the way). It doesn't look like outdoor Shakespeare or cricket will feature this time round but we couldn't pass up the opportunity of racing at Newmarket.

Providing I manage to remember the camera and the lead to connect it to the PC, we'll be updating the blog periodically.

Monday 2 May 2011

The REAL Wedding



Well, we did it, it was wonderful, words cannot describe the emotion of the day. The weather was worryingly wet first thing, but our combined meteorological might ensured it dried up in time, but bright rather than sunny which is why the photos look a bit flat, but hey, it is the tropics......!

If you are wondering why why we don't have sand between our toes, we realised the villa was so beautiful and the view so stunning, and the champagne easier to keep cold, that it was a bit of a no brainer to relocate the ceremony to Tamarind Villa (http://www.bequiatamarind.com/photo.htm)

In the days since the wedding, we've done very little other than eat very good food. We arranged for a local lady to prepare a meal a typical West Indian meal for us one evening and ended up with enough food to feed a large family (or us for at least a week).

We return to Zahara tomorrow and we leave for St Lucia on Thursday. After a few days in Marigot Bay putting the boat to bed for the hurricane season, we return to the UK on 13/14th May.

Mr and Mrs Greig-Dunn

Wednesday 27 April 2011

Return to paradise



The trip to St Lucia went remarkably smoothly and although I had been concerned about making the connecting flight to Bequia, I couldn't have asked for a better transfer....in fact, I now know how celebrities feel. I was met off the Virgin flight, taken straight through immigration and once my bag appeared on the carousel, it was straight on the 8 seater islander aircraft. We actually took off 10 minutes early! The other 5 American passengers were going to Canouan so now I've been, albeit briefly, to a Carribean island that Ron hasn't visited yet. A short hop later, just me clearing through customs and immigration, and I was being met by Ron in arrivals. It was a lovely taxi ride into Port Elizabeth (the Bequian taxis are open pickup trucks with bench seats in the back), the calm and sunny weather in stark contrast to what Ron had been experiencing for some considerable time! We had time to take my bags to the boat then return ashore to Coco's place for a creole kingfish dinner.

The days have flown by, the weather has been fantastic and we've been surprisingly busy getting ourselves prepared for the week in Tamarind Villa. We did manage a day sail last week, circumnavigating the island, which eased Ron's desire to go sailing (at least for a while!). We decided to give the regatta a miss this year; in the end the conditions would have been perfect for a small boat with a clean bottom but there's always next year..... We arrived at the villa yesterday and it is even more beautiful than the photos on the website suggest (http://www.bequiatamarind.com/), despite the rather cloudy skies and frequent showers.

The photos are of Montreal Botanical Gardens on St Vincent which we visited early last week. It's taking time to upload them, there will be more, promise!

Sunday 3 April 2011

Counting the days

If truth be told, I have been counting the days since I arrived back in the UK on 22nd January. It started at 83 and we're now down to 12 and I am manically writing lists so I don't forget anything (I don't fancy a repeat of last time where forgetfulness meant I missed my train to the airport!). Ron is managing to keep himself busy (apart from writing lists....there's even a list of lists now...!) and we're both very excited about my arrival in Bequia on a very small plane.

My flight from the UK is now leaving 2 1/2 hours later than originally scheduled. This means a close call to catch the connecting flight if there are any further delays as it is due to leave 45 minutes after the Virgin flight arrives. SVG Air assure me that I will make it onto the plane but have advised packing essentials into my hand luggage as it's pretty certain that my suitcase won't make it and will have to follow on the following day's flight.

The next update will probably be after I arrive, WiFi allowing (and to say it's been variable on Zahara would be an understatement!).

Friday 25 February 2011

Zahara, in Bequia... 25th February 2011 (pay day, yippee!)



OK, got there in the end and I managed not to throw all my things out of my cot. Trouble is, if you do on a boat, it's hard to get them back again!

I thought it was about time I made an entry. I've got rather lazy since Dee took over the blog (or did I delegate the job... hmmm?). I realised that I'm actually quite good at delegation. We now have a system of working together on board which was developed when Dee was here for her 6 week trip recently. We had a lot to learn; Dee, a lot about the boat and what living on board is like (especially with me!) and how to keep cool at 4 in the morning on New Year's Day when you find that you are no longer attached to the seabed! I had to learn what it's like to have someone else taking part in the running of the boat and, of course, the sailing and socialising as well. It all went amazingly well and I quickly realised that there was a very easy way of consolidating our new found teamwork and turning it into a recipe for future tranquility...... It may have been born out of the laid back Caribbean way of life or, perhaps it was just my laziness or, maybe even the realisation that Dee is actually better at most things than I am! Whatever the reason, it was simply a case of teaching Dee how to do it, letting her get rapidly better at it, then delegating the task...... By the end of the trip I had a navigator, purser, bosun and a very good mate! My role had reduced largely to the odd bout of looking knowingly at the sea and sky and pretending to understand what a Frigate bird in flight at dusk has to tell us about the weather tomorrow. Oh, yes, and of course the obligatory shouting at French charter catamarans! There was one area where, perhaps I was slightly more 'on the ball' and that was keeping the fridge stocked with beer. She has promised me she will try harder next time!

Anyway, folks as I sit here at anchor in this delightful part of the world, I can't help thinking that life is pretty bloody good. I just can't wait for Dee to reappear than we can move onto the next chapter in our adventure.......

Thursday 24 February 2011

We apologise for the...

....lack of posts recently.

Ron is doing battle with his laptop in an effort to email me some photos so I can provide an update. Those who know Ron well will know that he doesn't suffer technology gladly, especially when it won't co-operate. He is determined to finish the job even if it does result in him occasionally turning the air blue and having to resist the temptation to donate said laptop to the turtles living in Admiralty Bay...

Watch this space, folks!

Saturday 22 January 2011



We ended this phase of our adventure with a fabulous lobster dinner at L'Auberge. There was live music provided by Stan and Cora, a keyboard player and saxophonist respectively accompanied by a great guitarist and the evening turned into a bit of a party.

We've met some wonderful people during our 6 weeks and I can't wait to go back in April....I expect Ron will know most of the Bequians by then!

My journey back to the UK was uneventful (a good thing) and included a flight from Bequia to St Lucia on an 8 seater Islander aircraft....it was lovely to see some of the islands from the air.

84 days and counting till I fly back......!

Wednesday 19 January 2011

Return to Bequia

We ended up staying in Saline Bay on Mayreau until Saturday 15th due to the strong winds but we had a lovely relaxing time while we where there and met a lovely German couple off a boat even smaller than Zahara called Fira. We both thought Max and Gouda were very, very brave to sail across the Atlantic in a boat with no guard rails and practically no freeboard (the distance from the waterline to the deck)!

The beach is wonderful, especially when it isn't covered in passengers off the cruise ships that stop in once a week. There was a very amusing incident when the inflatable swimming platform that they'd towed in from the ship, broke, taking its payload of overweight Americans out to sea to their dismay and consternation but to everyone else's amusement.

We had an exhilarating sail back to Bequia, close hauled in a force 5 to 6 wind and a very confused sea. It felt like coming home and we picked up a mooring close to L'Auberge, Ron's favourite restaurant and I am very much looking forward to sampling their renowned lobster tonight.

We were delighted to see Eric from Pouletou again and even more delighted to discover he's met a lovely Argentinian lady called Jimena from Buenos Aires. We hope to see them again in Bequia at Easter.

Sadly, I have to return to the UK on Friday (not looking forward to having to wear clothes....) and Ron will be staying in Bequia until I return in mid April, though he'll have the odd trip with guests between now and then.

Ron will be updating the blog in my absence and if life gets interesting in the UK (please, no more snow!), I'll update as well so keep watching!

We'd love to know how the blog is being received so please feel free to comment.

Monday 10 January 2011

The Grenadines tour continues



We left Bequia on 27th December having had a fabulous Christmas Day which ended with a lovely meal at the Gingerbread Hotel. The sail to Saltwhistle Bay in Mayreau was amazing, force 4 to 5 winds on the beam and glorious sunshine......until we came to anchor and then the heavens opened. The bay is not huge and was pretty crowded but we managed to squeeze Zahara in and stayed for a couple of nights. The beach is stunning, I'm not sure the photos do it justice. We played beach boules on the "Atlantic" side and Ron won the first series 10-8.....!

It's just a short hop to Tobago Cays and we anchored in turquoise waters very close to a cordoned off area where the turtles collect to feed......and we got to swim with them!

On New Year's Eve we headed off to Union Island and anchored in Chatham Bay, another gorgoeous beach with just a few local beach bars although there is now a development at the southern end of the beach where we had a drink and dip in the seawater pool. We spent the evening on the beach at Tony Bollhead's bar and bbq and enjoyed some local food with a Frenchman called Eric and a group of 6 from Guernsey. The weather turned nasty overnight with squally showers and we ended up reanchoring at 4.30 in the morning. New Year's Day was spent recovering from the excitement. We decided to stay an extra day as the weather had quietened down so we went snorkelling for a while once Ron had sorted a problem with the water pump fan belt then had a slow walk on the beach, visiting a couple of the beach bars along the way.......

On 3rd January we set sail for Clifton, also on Union Island, checking out the anchorage near Frigate Island on the way. We picked up a mooring as we were going to be there for a few days and spent some leisurely days exploring Clifton and nearby Ashton, reprovisioning the boat and discovering a lovely little restaurant that made wonderful pizzas. On the last day we climbed Fort Hill.......sadly it was a spur of the moment decision and we didn't have the camera so no pictures of the view, I'm afraid!

We headed off to Frigate Island for one night then onto Saline Bay in Mayreau and we'll be here a few days probably as it looks like the winds will get pretty strong for a few days. We intend to visit Canuouan and Mustique on our way back to Bequia but who knows...........?!