Royal Clipper

St. Vincent and Bequia

1.19.22 - 1.19.22 80 °F

The stop this morning was at Kingstown, St. Vincent mostly for the shore excursion to the Botanical Garden. The town itself is not much to write home about, but walking around you can get a sense of how life in the town is. The modern capital was founded by French settlers shortly after 1722, although Saint Vincent had 196 years of British rule before its independence. The botanical garden, conceived in 1765, is one of the oldest in the Western hemisphere. William Bligh, made famous from the Mutiny on the Bounty, brought seed of the breadfruit tree here for planting, c. 1793.

During lunch we made the short sail to the wonderful little island of Bequia. My brother had been here a number of times, and the highlight was heading to Mac's Pizza and Kitchen for some local beer and a shrimp and garlic pizza.

Bequia is the second-largest island in the Grenadines at 7 square miles (18 km2). It is part of the country of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and is approximately 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from the nation's capital, Kingstown, on the main island, Saint Vincent. Bequia means "island of the clouds" in the ancient Arawak. The island's name was also 'Becouya' as part of the Grenadines.

Bequia has a history of whaling which may have brought in by the Yankee whalers in the 19th century. Its people are only allowed to catch up to four humpback whales per year using traditional hunting methods, however these methods are regularly abused using harpoon guns and speedboats to surround the whales. The limit is rarely met, with no catch some years.