October 2009 eBook all pages (free PDF, 36.6 - Latitude 38

oat — our wives, who,
although twenty years
their senior, still have
curves in the right places
and abundant beauty.
What I love about sail-
ing vacations is simply
this, control. Control of
your food supply, control
of your gear (having
to unpack just one
time), control of your
transportation mode,
sleeping arrangements
(an ocean-view room every
night), and to some
degree, control of your
security. The water is
your castle moat. Plus, of course, the
freedom of choice — just pick a heading
and go. I love that.
It is also about turning back the clock.
Schedules that quickly become ruled
by the rising and setting sun. Teaching
your kids and reminding yourself about
limited resources such as water, food,
petrol and, of course, beer. Sharing a
small space, boat safety, navigation
and seamanship. Best of all, though
— and the antidote to our fast-paced
home life — is the simplicity. There are
few decisions to be made. You might
say it's akin to the Club Med recipe,
but different because each day's plan
is prescribed by us, for us. T h e
mystique of Mustique: (I'm sure I'm the
first to come up with that catchy phrase.)
At some point in our pickup-truck tour
of the island, Scott christened Mustique
"perfectville." Distinct from all the West
Indies that I have come to know, this
place has got it together! It's pristine, yet
charming; well ordered and still relaxed.
The thread, of course, is money and lots
of it. I will spare you the who's who of
seasonal palace owners there, but in
a way it doesn't matter. What matters
is how well it appears to function. The
Mustique Corporation uses a business
model to run the island as if it were a
country. The BOD as parliament, CEO as
king, CFO as the minister of the treasury,
and, of course, all the lords, ladies and
landed gentry have seats on the Board. I
get it, corporations actually are the new
monarchy. The Corporation, however,
is allegedly merciless when it comes to
misbehavior of a misdemeanor variety or
worse. You will be thrown off the island
and not welcomed back.
On a recommendation, we dined the
first night at Firefly, then enjoyed a
dark and windy walk home, getting lost
enough that the jungle around us grew
ominously in my 11-year-old's mind.
The threatening shadows and the jungle
noises contrasted with the fact that only
10 minutes ago she had been seated in
an elegant restaurant.
More in line with
our budget and
quite enjoyable,
with an equally dramatic
top-of-the-hill
view, was Lucy's
barbeque, where we
ate the next day. It
also offered outdoor
patio dancing.
We sailed off the
mooring at Mustique
by simply raising
the main while still
tied to the mooring,
after everything had
been made ready to
get underway.
A quick note to
OF CHARTERING
all you catamaran virgins: If you're a
cat-curious monohuller (like I was) who
is considering stepping over to the 'dark
side' via a bareboat charter, I can tell you
that although we had our challenges, we
found the cat easier to handle than a
similar-sized monohull, especially when
motoring, due to the cat's twin screws.
By jockeying the throttles, you can hover
in place, despite the wind, while your
crew fusses about trying to pick up a
mooring ball or set an anchor. With one
engine in reverse and one in forward, you
can spin on a dime.
Cats are also much more stable platforms,
of course. I found it to be not only
easier to handle, but also more comfortable.
The kids loved the trampoline, and
somehow we got used to their being out
there in 8-foot seas and 23 knots of
wind.
Cats are vastly superior if you plan
to transport gear, scuba or otherwise.
That said, the sailing is not as sexy or as
much fun. And, in my humble opinion,
most cats are not as beautiful to view at
anchor or when underway.
Horseshoe Reef and the Tobago Cays
National Park beckoned us, but we first
made a stop at The Moorings' facility in
Canouan for room service (a change of
linens and refill of our water tanks). This
was quite a convenience.
The plan was to push just a little
south to Petit St Vincent and Petit Martinique,
then lolligag northward with,
theoretically, a better sense of where to
spend time. In this part of the Grenadines
interisland distances are short,
and inviting anchorages are plentiful.
Our plan served us well.
Our one regret was being blown out of
the Tobago Cays. On the southbound leg
For newcomers to these latitudes, the cultural
exchanges while shopping were part of the
fun.