Bequia
The tiny island of Bequia has a unique, magical charm that is hard to find anywhere else in the Caribbean. With fewer than six thousand inhabitants, and just seven square miles in size, it feels like home from the moment you arrive; friendliness is the watchword, and the pace is relaxed and easy-going. Don't be surprised if you are greeted with a warm hello as you walk along the street - a centuries-old dependence on inter-island shipping and trading has meant that Bequians have been eagerly welcoming visitors to their shores for generations. Many people say that it is the Caribbean as it was years ago.
The island's enduring seafaring heritage is one of its most striking features. Virtually every Bequia family has some connection to the sea either past or present, and today's fishermen, sailors and boat-builders are quietly proud to share their marine traditions with newcomers to the island.
Bequia fulfils many dreams of the perfect small Caribbean island: beautiful sandy beaches where more than ten people may constitute a crowd, lush green hillsides, attractive little villages, intimate, well run hotels and guest houses, hardly any traffic, places to get together and places in which to find that perfect solitude.
Bequia is situated at latitude 13 N and 60.15' West, in the southern part of the Caribbean chain known as the Windward Islands. After the capital island of St. Vincent (pop. 110,000) situated nine miles to the north, Bequia is the largest of the thirty-two islands and cays that make up the island state of St. Vincent & the Grenadines. The other main islands in the Grenadines chain south of Bequia are Mustique, Canouan, Mayreau and the Tobago Cays, Union Island, Palm Island and Petit St. Vincent.
Daytime temperatures consistently average between 24°C (75°F) and 30°C (86°F) throughout the year. A "chilly" evening in the winter months (January to March) might see a low of around 21°C (70°F) and in the summer months the temperature will occasionally reach 32°C (90°F). Tradewinds bring cooling breezes for most of the year; the famous Christmas Winds bring stiffer steady breezes, lively seas and perfect sailing weather.
Diving
Bequia offers a wonderful array of gently sloping reefs - ideal for the novice or intermediate diver. The sea-life ranges from Hawksbill turtles to black-tip sharks to tarpon six feet in length. And don't forget to take the time to spot the near-invisible creatures - the sea horses and basket stars, the harlequin pipefish and the odd grumpy bat fish, and the thousands of beautiful damselfish.
LONG POINT
Long Point is on the north side of Anse Chemin, an uninhabited bay on Bequia's northern coast. There is often current in this area, and it then done as a drift dive. The current can go in either direction, and on a bad day you will set off with the current only to meet a counter current halfway down, stopping you in your tracks.
Long Point is a slope of large boulders ending in sand at about 40 feet at the anchorage, and 90 feet as you follow the coast. The boulders are large - in some cases 10 feet high, making for a dramatic landscape enhanced by giant vase sponges and forests of gorgonians, particularly various sea whips but also sea rods. In places you can swim right through them with the top branches well above you.
A most delightful aspect of this dive is that it attracts huge schools of small feeding fish, particularly gray and blue chromis, but often also visiting youngsters of pelagic families. They feed on passing plankton which sometimes lowers visibility a little, but adds a feeling of mystery and romance to the fairy-tale underwater views. In the shallower water there are many beautiful smaller fish such as spot fin butterfly fish, saddled blennies and spotted drums. As in nearly every Bequia dive there will be trumpet fish and also sergeant majors who can often be seen guarding their patches of eggs.
NORTHWEST POINT
Northwest Point is below the cliffs just north of Admiralty Bay. Currents are sometimes strong and they are usually strongest right at the northwest point. In this case one can dive a little further south more in the lee of the land. Dive shops sometimes run this as a drift dive. The underwater topography is a steeply sloping bank of big boulders and corals which start right off the cliffs and continue down into a more gently sloping sandy bottom. This sandy bottom is at 25 feet to the south, deepens to about 80 feet at Northwest Point and then get shallower again if you continue round the point to the northeast. The boulders that form this slope, both big and small create many caverns, hollows, overhangs and pockets which make an ideal habitat for all kinds of reef fish.
The surface is generously endowed with many sponges and corals both hard and soft. Both on the slope and at the bottom there many tree-like soft corals. Northwest Point is a rich feeding ground for small schooling fish and it would be unusual not to see magnificent schools of blue chromis feeding above the coral. You will also see big schools of gray chromis and probably yellowtail snapper.
There are excellent examples of pillar coral here as well as many kinds of encrusting star corals which have completely covered many boulders. You will also find flower corals and solitary fleshy corals. Some of the giant vase sponges have grown into twisted unusual forms, and there many azure vase sponges, encrusting star sponges, and finger sponges.
Numerous moray eels hide in crevice, and among other reef fish you can find four eye butterfly fish, damsel fish, filefish, trunkfish, angelfish, puffer fish and hog fish. Trumpet fish are common here, as on most dive sites, but here you can get granddaddies here that have grown to their full three feet. Three spot goat fish are quite common on this dive and you sometimes see them undergo dramatic colour changes as they move from one background to another. You will often see a barracuda or three patrolling the bottom of the reef where it joins the sand.
THE WALL
Bequia's southwestern coast is formed by a steep ridge of land which is broken by the sea at the western tip to form two islands. The outer island is called West Cay. There is nothing beyond West Cay till Panama. The Wall, around West Cay, is deep and dramatic, right on the edge of the fathomless blue. It is accessible in most conditions but strong currents make it a drift dive.
There is a shallow pass between the two islands where you swim through a narrow sand cut with rising walls on either side. The last part of this passage rises to just a few feet from the surface and the current here can be strong. Sometimes you have to grasp on a rock or two and pull your way through. As you rise over this last ridge the bottom drops away steeply into what seems like nothing. The bottom of the wall is at around 120 feet, and if you look out to sea as you round the western side you have a good chance of seeing giant groupers, sharks, rays or turtles. It is easy to get distracted by both the shape and beauty of the wall itself, or the myriad of sponges and corals which call it home.
As you come round to the southern side of the wall, the bottom rises, and you start to make your ascent. There is plenty of time to enjoy the big schools of chromis, the sea fans the crinoids and other creatures. Divers normally ascend as a group when the first one runs out of air, the dive boat stands by waiting for the pick up.
BULLET
Bullet is a rock 144 feet high, which rises out of the sea with sheer vertical cliff faces. It is at the north end of Bequia's east coast a few hundred feet offshore. It is open to both wind and sea and the currents can be fierce. For a lot of the time the seas in this area gives a dive boat a good imitation of being inside a washing machine. This means the dive is only accessible in very calm settled conditions. This adds to the excitement and feeling of accomplishment when one does this dive.
If there is no current it is possible to anchor the dive boat in on the shore side of the rock and swim right round. More often there is a current and it is best done as a drift dive in the direction of the current, going around the sea-side of the rock. The dive boat will normally anchor where you come up so you can come up the anchor line, make a safety stop and avoid spending too long in rough surface water.
Bullet drops below the surface as steeply it rises and its wall-like sides are covered in a wide variety of colorful corals and sponges. It bottoms out at about 90 feet around the outside edge. Around the base of the rock there are valleys, plateaus, big boulders and a smaller pinnacle rock. The views are always dramatic with Bullet forming a wall on the inside and other rocks providing a wild underwater seascape. There are many overhangs and caves. You will usually see many big snappers, jacks and tunas, large angelfish and schooling chromis plus the occasional great blue parrotfish up to four feet long. If you peer in hollows and crevices you will find lobster. There is always a good chance of finding a nurse shark napping under a ledge or a turtle or giant pelagic swimming off into the blue.
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Great destination if you like excellent diving mixed with the genuine ambiance of the Caribbean. Quite heavenly in many ways but not for those who need nightlife and glitzy hotels. You can fly direct from Barbados, or get a ferry from St. Vincent.
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