The Grenadines by Superyacht: Bequia, Mustique and the Tobago Cays

The Grenadines are the Caribbean at the scale most people picture when they imagine it: a chain of small islands strung south from St Vincent towards Grenada, each a few hours at most from the next, with reef, sand and anchorage in between. There is no single hub and no long passage. A week here is a series of short, well-chosen hops, and the three names that anchor almost every itinerary are Bequia, Mustique and the Tobago Cays.

How the Chain Fits Together

The northern Grenadines, from Bequia down through Mustique, Canouan, Mayreau, Union Island and the Tobago Cays, belong to the nation of St Vincent and the Grenadines. Carriacou and Petite Martinique, further south, belong to Grenada. That matters on board mainly because it means a border and some formalities if a week crosses it, all of which your captain and agent handle. Most weeks start from St Vincent, St Lucia or Grenada and run in one direction, so that the crew can place the best anchorage on the best day.

The cruising is different from the Virgin Islands, where everything is in sight of everything else. Here the water is deeper between the islands, the trade wind blows steadily from the east, and the reefs are real. The reefs are the reason a charter yacht in the Grenadines is worth having a professional crew on. Your captain will know which passages are used, where the shallows lie, and which anchorages to leave before dark.

Bequia: The Gentle Start

Bequia is the largest of the Grenadines that belong to St Vincent, and it is the natural first stop. Admiralty Bay is a broad, deep, well-sheltered bay with the small town of Port Elizabeth along its shore, so it works as an arrival point and as a place to stock up. A waterfront path runs the length of the bay, with a market, craft stalls and small restaurants, and nothing about it is staged for visitors.

Bequia has a seafaring character that its neighbours lack. The island has a tradition of wooden boatbuilding, and it has a long whaling tradition that survives today under a small, tightly regulated aboriginal quota. The island is also known for its Easter regatta, which brings the working sloops and the visiting fleet into the bay. If the dates line up, it is a good reason to be here.

Beyond Admiralty Bay, the beaches on the southern and eastern coasts, Friendship Bay and Lower Bay among them, suit a first lazy afternoon with the tender in the water and nothing planned.

Mustique: Private by Design

A few hours south lies Mustique, which runs differently from every other island in the chain. It is privately developed, administered by the Mustique Company, and lined with villas that most visitors will never see from the road. The island has been a retreat for the famous since the 1960s, when Colin Tennant, who had bought it in 1958, gave Princess Margaret a plot as a wedding gift.

For a yacht, the point is Britannia Bay. Yachts take moorings in the bay, and at its edge stands Basil's Bar, built on stilts over the water. It has been the island's gathering place for decades, and a long lunch there is as close as the Grenadines come to a fixed institution. The rest of Mustique rewards a slower approach: a drive across the island, a walk on Macaroni Beach on the windward side, and a swim off the yacht in water that stays quiet because the island keeps development low.

Canouan, Mayreau and Union Island

Between Mustique and the Cays the islands change character, and a week can pick from them according to taste. Canouan is the quiet southern neighbour, with a sheltered western shore and a long reef off its eastern side. Mayreau is the smallest inhabited island of the group, with a single village on a hill and the horseshoe of Salt Whistle Bay on its northern tip, a small anchorage ringed by palm-backed sand.

Union Island is the working port of the southern chain. Clifton Harbour is where yachts clear in and out, and the reef that shelters the harbour is a draw for kitesurfers. For a yacht it is practical rather than glamorous, and the practical stops in a good itinerary are worth having.

The Tobago Cays

Everything above leads towards the Tobago Cays Marine Park. It is a cluster of small uninhabited islets, among them Petit Rameau, Petit Bateau, Baradal and Jamesby, sheltered from the Atlantic by the long arc of Horseshoe Reef. A fifth islet, Petit Tabac, sits just outside the reef, and it is the one used for a scene in the first *Pirates of the Caribbean* film.

The Cays are a protected park, and park fees and the rules that come with them apply. You will find green turtles feeding over the seagrass, usually within a few metres of the anchored yacht, and snorkelling off the tender is the main activity. Water inside the reef is shallow enough that sand shows through the turquoise in every direction. Local boat operators come alongside in the afternoon with fresh lobster and fish, which is a long-standing tradition here, and many captains arrange the evening around a beach barbecue on one of the cays.

The Cays are the best-known place in the Grenadines and are busiest in the middle of the day, so the sensible plan is to arrive in the afternoon, stay the night, and be in the water early the next morning before the day boats arrive.

Seasons and the Weeks That Book First

The Grenadines follow the Caribbean calendar. From about November to April the trade wind is steady, the days are dry and the sea is warm, and the charter season runs through those months. Atlantic hurricane season runs from June to November, and most yachts leave the region for the summer. Christmas and New Year attract premium rates and the longest minimum stays, so those weeks want booking well in advance, while January and February are quieter and the cruising is just as good.

A Grenadines week also pairs naturally with its neighbours. Yachts positioned here are often within reach of St Lucia and Grenada, and many weeks combine the Grenadines with one of them. The Leewards to the north, covered in our guide to Antigua by superyacht, are a very different kind of week.

Planning the Week

A good Grenadines charter is a loose plan with a few fixed points: a night in Admiralty Bay, a long lunch at Basil's, and two nights near the Tobago Cays. Everything else can follow the weather and the mood on board. Our guide to what a Caribbean charter really costs explains how a quote is assembled, and none of it depends on a published figure. Explore the charter fleet and speak to the Ahoy Club team, who will match a yacht and crew to your dates and handle everything from the first mooring to the last tender run.