Salt Whistle Bay, Mayreau Island

08/21
Bad weather was predicted as another tropical waves was closing in, this one was predicted with gusts up to 45 knots so it was best to leave the reef and find a more protected anchorage as this anchorage was pretty rough at almost all times when wind and current played games with each other. We sailed 3 miles back and settled in Salt Whistle Bay the northern part of Mayreau Island
which is a small bay able to hold about 30 boats and is surrounded by a beautiful sandy beach.
You can find it on Google Earth with:
LATITUDE: 12-38.87N LONGITUDE: 061-23.49W).
The northern part of the beach is like a window where you can look through to the other side where crashing waves foamed over the reef. The beach was overgrown with palm trees, hidden between them was a resort which you could not see from the anchorage and beyond the beach a high hill overgrown with lush vegetation. We eventually ventured ashore to find that the resort was abandoned, not sure if just for the season or for good. The anchorage was a bit rolly so the flopper stopper came in handy again and we sat nice and calm while all the other sailboats rocked from ear to ear. After the sun had set and the darkness crept over us the first squalls showed up and pelted us with heavy rain then the wind really let loose and for a good 20 minutes howled at a steady 30 knots with gusts up to 35 knots, pretty intense. It rained for a long time and it took a couple hours for the wind to calm down again to no gusts. In the mean time we collected a lot of water which filled up our sun shower bag. We sat in this most beautiful anchorage for 3 days watching one boat after another leave and new ones show up again while Sid sill recuperated. Were definitely in the land of French charter boats as wherever you looked naked people walked around on their boats and any boat anchoring tries to get as close to the next boat even if they drop the anchor almost on top of the other boats, amazing. We had fun watching though, the anchoring that is!!!