Subject: May 13th- May 18th
        Date: Fri, 19 May 2000 01:16:00 -0500
        
        From: W2LSI@cho.win-net.org
        To: rudys03@ibm.net
        
        
        One significant thing we accomplished while in the harbor at Bequia was to get our
        Ham E-mail system working again. For some reason we ceased having the ability
        to receive and send E-mail. This lasted for about 9 days. We tried everything
        including reloading the Software and adjusting all kinds of parameters for sending
        E-mail via radio. All of a sudden one morning it worked again and hasn't stopped
        since. Without E-mail we really do feel out of touch! We hope whatever caused the
        problem is gone
        forever!
        
        Back to our trip!
        
        The trip to Mustique was under 2 hours.  The seas were a little confused at 4 to 6
        ft. with a couple of eight footers to keep you awake.
        
        It is now onto Mustique! This is truly a fantasy island. It is primarily owned by the
        "Rich and Famous" of the world. Mick Jagger, Tommy Hilfigger, Princess
        Margaret, etc, etc. Each estate has a name like Shogun, Calliloo, or Windswept.
        There are a couple of boutiques and restaurants with a small harbor that is not well
        protected, but does have expensive moorings and the water is crystal clear. Most
        of the homes/estates are for rent while their owners are away. There are a few with
        2 or 3 bedrooms and one that has 9 with many more in between. In many cases
        these bedrooms are in separate guest houses so it is very practical for several
        families to get together and rent a larger estate. The prices start at about $2000 per
        week and go as high as $25,000 per week for the largest estate. Each comes with
        cook and servants. You purchase the food, but they prepare and serve. Most of the
        people that 
        work on the island are imported from surrounding islands. It is pretty, well
        maintained, and quiet. The restaurants tend towards the expensive. If you like
        island life this may be the place for you!
        
        We decided to spend only one night at Mustique. Our next stop was Canouan. This
        island has a reasonable harbor with a good anchorage. It is small and we didn't even
        venture much beyond the Tamirand Bay Hotel right on the harbor. We had a good
        pizza with a nice pumpkin soup to start. The Prime Minister of these islands, a
        couple of Senators, the owner of the hotel and some lady friends were seated a
        couple of tables away. Yesterday we were among the "rich and famous" and today
        it's politicians!
        
        Our next stop was Mayreau. Only an hour away! This is a small island with a
        couple of hundred residents. The harbor is nice. We hiked over the hill to the main
        town to have a drink. We stopped by the church and school at the top of the hill for
        a magnificent view of all the surrounding islands and our next few island stops!
        
        Another hour and we're in the Tobago Cays. This is a series of several small islands
        surrounded by reefs with no permanent residents. The anchorage is protected by
        the reefs in 10-12 ft. of crystal clear water. The big draw here is the amazing reefs
        where you can spend days exploring the never ending coral gardens inhabited by
        schools of brightly colored fish. We saw snake eels and even a shark! We'll stay
        here for several days. There are plenty of people from the local islands that will
        bring us vegetables, bread, ice, fruit or almost anything we want. The dress code
        out here in the middle of nowhere is lacking in some cases. The Europeans do their
        thing. Others are less inhibited and some boats come out here just to party!  One
        such boat was named "In Excess"...they certainly weren't talking about clothing.
        We are still developing our own cruising style and it still consists of clothes most
        of the time on deck.
        
        We had dinner last night on Feisty, previously mentioned, with another couple
        from Chance which is a 43ft. Shannon. A nice cruising boat. Kristen and Craig
        have a combined age of about 75 and THEY ARE RETIRED!! She started and
        grew her own business of selling and delivering executive aircraft after receiving
        her pilots license for jet aircraft right out of college. She was the basis of an article
        in Entrepreneur magazine because she was a millionaire and retired by 34.  Her
        husband hit it big as a stock broker. After they cruise for a while, they plan to stay
        on land to start raising a family! They will be leaving here in a few days for
        Bonfire. From there they plan to go the Virgin Islands, Bermuda, the Azores and
        Spain. Not bad!
        
        We'll spend another couple of days here snorkeling and just hanging out. All is
        well!