Dear Compass, We “swallowed the anchor” of S/Y Mystique in January 2006 and have recently returned to Carriacou as tour- ists. We read recent editions of Caribbean Compass and were interested in the wonderful poem “Carriacou Regatta” by Nan Hatch in the August 2009 issue. In July 1967, we travelled down the islands from St. Vincent to Grenada, on a schooner as far as Union sland and on a converted MTB from there to Grenada. We overnighted on Union and on Carriacou, where we stayed at the Mermaid Tavern, owned and run by Linton Rigg of Carriacou Regatta fame. The floors had just been varnished so the whole place was rather sticky and rather tricky to navigate. All guests sat together at the same table for meals, with Linton Rigg residing. As far as we recall, he monopolized the con- versation and was an extremely interesting “mine host”. There aren’t many people who remember him, so we count ourselves as especially privileged. We based Mystique at the Tyrell Bay Yacht Haulout rom 2001 to 2006 and have nothing but happy mem- ories of those days, too, which included a fair of amount of hard work in the best yard in the world (we're biased)!). Having worked in Barbados (1966 and 1967) and Guyana (1967 to 1969), carried out occasional volun- tary work in Barbados (between 1999 and 2004), and kept our yacht in Carriacou, we decided to see if being land-based would work, hence our recent trip. We're happy to report on a successful trip, which included the decision to buy a modest house on Carriacou which we will call Mystique. The views are spectacular to the north and northwest, so we'll see yachts on pas- sage crossing Hillsborough Bay, and enjoy magnificent views across to Union and up the islands as well. It seems a fitting way to continue the journey we started as a newly married couple all those years ago in Barbados. And all because someone told me years ago that, if I wanted to see the world (and poor eyesight had disqualified me for the Navy in those days), become an accountant! Weird, but it has certainly worked for us. We used to see Linton Rigg’s former Carriacou sloop, Mermaid of Carriacou, in Tyrell Bay and the fact that John Smith has kept that unique vessel afloat is another reminder of an amazing man to whom racing yachtsmen of the Caribbean should raise their glasses each Carriacou Regatta. [Editor's note: As this issue of Compass goes to press, John Smith is sailing Mermaid Jjrom Aruba to Panama] Wishing all yachties fair winds this winter season, and hoping we'll be able to see old friends at Mystique on Carriacou from February 2010. Sincerely, Christine and Paul Burnett UK Dear Compass, In the October issue of Compass, there was an excel- lent article on “Coming to the Caribbean from the US East Coast” by Don Street. For the past 35 years, | have read virtually every- thing that Don Street has written. To me, he is the Dean of Caribbean Cruising and to not heed his advice is to lose the advantage that is gained by understand- ing what a man of his experience has to say. Notwithstanding my admiration for Don, it appears to me that either the article contains an oversight or else the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico are not part of the Caribbean. There is no question that if one wants to go directly to the Virgin Islands, everything that Don indicates in his article is the wisdom of the ages. However, going south to the Caribbean can include the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico as well. Moreover, if such a route were taken, one could avoid the slog to windward in the Atlantic Ocean to get to the destination. Using Don’s map (see www.caribbeancompass.com/ online/octoberOScompass_online.pdf, page 28), if one were to take Route VI, or any approximation of it regardless of one’s jump-off point, one could take the Windward Passage between Cuba and Hispaniola. The route is safe and most often the wind is favorable for sailing vessels. The south coast of the Dominican Republic is a wonderful cruising ground with numer- ous stops and, instead of working to windward in the Atlantic, you can work to windward in the lee of the second largest island in the Caribbean, Hispaniola. Most anchorages going east are within 30 miles of each other and all are well sheltered. Once to the east end of the DR, you are south of the Mona Passage, and can make for the west end of Puerto Rico. The south shore of PR is another fine cruising area, with many wonderful anchorages and interesting stops. It seems to me if you are in the US and heading directly to the Virgin Islands to get to the Caribbean, you must be in a rush to get somewhere for you are bypassing a part of the Caribbean that is often over- looked, and so very worthwhile and interesting. You can find complete information on all of the Dominican Republic in the free cruising guide to the Dominican Republic at www.dominicanrepubliccruis- ingguide.com. [See related news item on page 6.] Based on Don’s charts we can call this route, “Route Via, Coming to the Caribbean from the US East Coast”, or if such a route is not seen as plausible, then perhaps we should have the title of the last article changed to “Coming to the Virgin Islands from the US East Coast”, Good cruising, Frank Virgintino, Author Dominican Republic Cruising Guide Dear Frank, You are right that the article was mis-titled, and that's my fault. It should have been called “Coming to the Lesser Antilles from the US East Coast". (Don has always said that he considers St. Thomas to be the best landfall for those coming from the north and intending to cruise the Lesser Antilles.) We hope that Compass readers will check out your guide and consider the very interesting option of cruising the Dominican Republic, whether via “Route Via" or coming from any other direc- tion. Sally Dear Compass, I want to advise you that on October 18th my girl- friend and I were robbed by four armed men while anchored at Chateaubelair, St, Vincent, in the north- ern part of the bay. We had broken the autopilot and we wanted to rest there before sailing onward to Martinique. They had time in the afternoon to see that we were only two on board and robbing us would be easy. At 9:00 in the dark night they came on board. One of them got a pistol on me, another one held a cutlass on my girlfriend, another one stayed outside in a little boat with paddles, and another one searched inside the boat. They left when I gave all the money that we had, plus a Breitling watch and a telephone. It was quickly done; my girlfriend received a cut with the cutlass. The VHF was out of order, so we didn’t report the incident until we reached Martinique, where we were told that we were the fourth boat in two years to be the victim of an armed robbery in the same place! Strange that no cruising guide warns about that place. Anyway, we wanted to advise you about this incident if it can help others. Thanks and regards, Emmanuel Yacht Soca Girl Dear Emmanuel, Please tell other sailors in Martinique that reports of crimes against yachts throughout the Caribbean, includ- ing the incidents at Chateaubelair, are collected at www. safetyandsecuritynet.com. After your incident was reported, wiww.safetyandsecuritynet.com posted the following: “At this point, Chateaubelair goes back on our watch list: seven incidents confirmed in less than 2 years, with another four probable, and eight in the 18 months prior to that period. Yachts should not anchor at Chateaubelair and should tell everyone they know of the dangers there.” Reports about Chateubelair can also be found at wiww.noonsite.com, and in his current edition of the Sailor's Guide to the Windward Islands Chris Doyle suggests avoiding overnighting there. (Chris's website also contains updates and feedback from cruisers; visit wiww.doylequides.com.) We realize these are all English-language sources, but hope that you and our other French-speaking friends will make use of them. Meanwhile, authorities in St. Vincent including the Minister of Tourism, Hon. Glen Beache, and the Parliamentary Representative for North Leeward, Hon. Dr. Jerrold Thompson, have spoken recently about the increasingly critical need for yacht security on this part of the St. Vincent coast. We hope to be able to report positive developments soon. cc —Continued on page 49 Yacht ee gE PUR Ee Ee eet il eee oe mgtete list of boats for For a fast sale to European buyers, list your boat with us in USS Us.and European Markets Ee eure UF eeu bi le aus Bae tees tet) ese) easel tel ame Burial] aR a TL! info@caribbean-yachts.com www.caribbean-yachts.com GOOD GUIDES ARE TIMELESS Rocks don't move — or if they do they are shown on up-to-date Imray charts. Regarding marine infrastructure, virtually every island puts out a free marine trade guide every year, which is much more up-to-date than any guide; similarly, the tourist departments put out a free annual guide for bars, eco TU IEAM Uae Tele With all these updates readily available, Street’s guides are timeless. Real sailors use Street’s Guides for inter-island and harbor piloting directions, plus interesting anecdotes of people, places and history. Street's Guides are the only ones that describe ALL the anchorages in the Eastern Caribbean. NEW! Street's videos, first made in 1985, are now back as DVDs. ¢ “Transatlantic with Street” documents a sailing passage from Ireland to Antigua via the Cape Verdes. 2 hours ¢ “Antigua Week ’85” is the story of the engineless yaw lolaire racing round the buoys to celebrate her 80th birthday. 1 hour ¢ “Street on Knots” demonstrates the essential knots and line-handling skills every sailor should know. 1 hour ¢ “Streetwise 1 and 2” give tips that appeared in the popular video Sailing Quarterly, plus cruises in the Grenadines, Venezuela and southwest coast of Ireland DVDs available at Imray, Kelvin Hughes, Armchair Sailor/ Bluewater Books, and www.street-iolaire.com. Full information on DVDs at www.street-iolaire.com HURRICANE TIPS! Visit www.street-iolaire.com for a wealth of information on tracking and securing for a storm. Street's Guides and DVDs are available at all Island Waterworld stores and at Johnson's Hardware, or from www.iUniverse.com and www.seabooks.com Dolly’s Answers a) combustion b) decay (or respiration) c) respiration (or decay) d) eaten by e) photosynthesis ( ( ( ( ( ( f) absorption