A Private Paradise

The sail across from Bequia was short and uneventful although we were hard on the wind as the island is on the outermost eastern edge of the Grenadines. We were not sure what to expect but we were welcomed by the harbourmaster who guided us to a mooring in the bay. Anchoring is not allowed and there 30 or 40 mooring bouys available.

Dianne and I had read a book by Colin Tennant’s wife about the island and then decided we should go and have a look. The book is called “Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown”.https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780306846366 It is an autobiography by Anne Glenconner, who was a lady-in-waiting to Princess Margaret and a close friend of the royal family. The book was published in 2019 and is an interesting read both for the comments on Mustique and for the observations on her life and marriage.

History

Mustique is one of a chain of volcanic islands formed by the collision of the Atlantic and Caribbean tectonic plates. The island covers an area of 1,400 acres (5.7 km2) and has several coral reefs that provide habitat for marine life.

The history dates back to the pre-Columbian era when it was inhabited by indigenous people who arrived from South America around 2500 BC. Later, it was occupied by the Arawaks and then by the Caribs, who left behind some simple tools that can still be found on the island.

The first European settlers arrived on Mustique in the 17th century when the island was claimed by France. The name Mustique comes from the French word for mosquito, moustique, as the island was once infested with these insects. The French established sugar and cotton plantations on the island, using enslaved African labor. The island changed hands several times between France and Britain during the colonial wars, until it was finally ceded to Britain in 1763. The British built three forts on the island to protect it from pirates and invaders.

However, after the abolition of slavery in 1834, the plantations went downhill and in 1958, it was purchased by Colin Tennant, 3rd Baron Glenconner, a Scottish aristocrat and entrepreneur. At the time it was a desolate island covered in shrubs, cacti, and jungle with no natural water, roads, or jetty. Tennant had a vision of transforming Mustique into a private paradise for the rich and famous.

He gave a 10-acre plot of land on the island as a wedding gift to his friend Princess Margaret, the sister of Queen Elizabeth II, who built a villa called Les Jolies Eaux. Tennant also invited other celebrities and royals to buy or rent villas on the island, creating a very exclusive community

In 1979, Tennant sold his shares in Mustique to a consortium of villa owners, who formed the Mustique Company to manage the island’s affairs. The company is responsible for maintaining the island’s infrastructure, security, environment, and services. The company also owns and operates the only hotel called the Cotton House.
The company also runs a beach café and another restaurant called the Veranda. The company also offers ferry service from Saint Vincent on the M/V Endeavour².

Current Day

Today, Mustique remains a private island that is owned by its homeowners. There are around 120 villas on the island, many of which are available for rent through the Mustique Company https://mustique-island.com/about/the-company. The villas come with staff, including chefs, butlers, and housekeepers, who cater to every need of the guests. The villas also have access to amenities such as tennis courts, golf carts, horses, and water sports equipment. Mustique is an ideal destination for those who seek privacy, tranquility, and luxury.

You can only go to the island if you are staying at one of the accommodation options. The island has nine beaches that offer pristine sand and turquoise water. Some of the beaches are secluded and quiet, while others are more lively and social. The island also has a network of trails that allow visitors to explore its natural beauty and wildlife. The island is home to tortoises, herons, iguanas, and many other species. The island also hosts various events throughout the year, such as music festivals, cocktail parties, and charity fundraisers.

The island has a reputation for being discreet and respectful of its guests’ privacy.

Privacy
Mustique is a private island that is owned by its homeowners, who have formed the Mustique Company to manage its affairs. The Mustique Company has the authority to grant or deny access to the island and its waters, as well as to impose fees and charges for various services.

Before you go to Mustique you need to obtain permission from the Mustique Company before entering the island’s waters. You can contact them by phone, email, or VHF radio. You will need to provide information such as your boat name, registration number, flag, length, draft, number of passengers and crew, arrival date and time, departure date and time, and intended anchorage or mooring location. You need to clear customs and immigration into the Grenadines at either St. Vincent or Union Island before sailing to Mystique but you can clear out of Mystique at the airport.

You need to pay a mooring fee of US$75 per night for boats up to 60 feet in length, and US$150 per night for boats over 60 feet in length for a minimum of three nights. The mooring fee includes very well-maintained moorings in Britannia Bay, access to water, garbage disposal, security patrols, and dinghy dock facilities. You can pay the mooring fee at the Mustique Company office or at Basil’s Bar.

You must respect the island’s rules and regulations while sailing and staying on Mustique. These include observing the speed limit of 5 knots within the harbor area, keeping a safe distance from other boats and swimmers, avoiding anchoring or fishing in prohibited areas, refraining from loud music or noise after 10 pm, respecting the privacy of the villa owners and guests by only going on land in the allowed areas which are very small, and following the environmental guidelines for waste disposal and conservation. You can get a tour of the island by taxi but it only takes about one hour as there is not much you can see.

You need to book any activities or services that you wish to enjoy on Mustique through the Mustique Company. These include dining at restaurants, visiting the spa, playing tennis or golf, renting water sports equipment, taking island tours or taxi rides, or attending any events or parties.

Arriving in Britannia Bay

We went ashore to book the restaurant at Basils Bar https://basilsbar.com/ and found there were few other people there. There were some in the bar from a couple of charter yachts in the harbour but only one other couple for dinner. Very quiet for a place that has a reputation for parties. Perhaps we were there the wrong day of the week or the wrong season!!

Since you can’t go more than 100 meters on the island without a guide on the first day we just snorkelled and rested. There was no hurry as we had paid for three days and we were not sure how we were going to fill the time.

Island Tour

On the second day Di, Pete, and I took a taxi tour. The island was very neat and tidy, manicured in all the public spaces, but you could see very little of the private houses except distant views.

Public Areas

Area Around the Airport

The airport was interesting as the runway was like a banana, curved up at both ends. There was a reasonable terminal but only turboprops came in. I checked out of there as our next stop would be Carriocou which is part of Grenada and the checkout was friendly and easy.

Houses and Mansions

Here are a few photos to give you an idea of the layout but if you would like to have a closer look go to the Mustique company website https://mustique-island.com/villa/

The Terraces on the top of Mustique is the largest villa there and sits on 17 acres of land.

Macaroni Beach

Macaroni Beach is one of the most beautiful beaches and is in a very natural setting with smaller villas peppered in the hills above. Most of the bush is allowed to stay natural and it is all interspersed with the Flamboyant tree a favourite of the islands.

Macaroni Beach

There is a local village just to the north of the wharf with a small town but we did not visit it while we were there. Many of the workers on the island come in live on other islands and commute by ferry for extended work shifts.

The friendliest individuals on the island were the laughing gulls who visited us most days. One decided it particularly liked the Starlink dish.

The snorkelling was not bad but not very exciting. I went out further to the reef but the water was murky and the reef was really bare. A few schools of fish but again not very exciting.

The sunset on the last evening before we left was spectacular with large buildups in the distance.

Departing

As we left the next morning I wanted to take some more photos but it was directly into the sun so not have much luck. We did pass the large solar energy installation which was interesting as many islands only have diesel generators, a few have wind generators and solar is only just appearing.

Overall we found that the visit was interesting but we would not return.

Next Blog: The Outer Islands

Maho Beach

We decided we had to come and see this tourist attraction and it didn’t disappoint. You cannot anchor near here due to the approach/departure path of the airport. Between watching the aeroplanes coming in and out and watching the photographers getting thrown across the beach it was a lot of fun. Despite all this, it is a beautiful beach. There is a large casino and hotel to the north side with a restaurant close to the beach which we tried out called Tortuga. There is also a real beach bar – the Driftwood Boat Bar.

On the other end, there are several other restaurants which you can watch from. They will serve cocktails and food in takeaway containers so you can go down to the beach to be closer to the action.

The rocks below the bars and restaurants contain several birds that seem totally unmoved by all the activity and noise.

Road Trip

When we asked what was good to go and look at there were only two places that were recommended one was Loterie Farm and the other was Parrot Ville. On the way there we thought we should stop in Philisburg the main town on the Dutch side. The area has many of the big retail shops/chain stores as well.

Philipsburg

This trip was the first time that we had been to the Dutch side – other than the area around the marina. Philipsburg is a cruise ship town. It is dead if there are none there which was the case this weekend and so it was very quiet when we walked around and all the shops were either shut or had about 5 staff and no patrons. There is quite a pretty beach and the boardwalk caters to tourists as does the first street back from the beach so it was all very quiet even at 10am. Here are a few photos to give you an idea of the town.

The electricians who were working on the alternators on the yacht were out racing in trimarans this weekend so here are a few pictures of the yachts.

Parrotte Ville

Parrotte Ville is privately owned and operated https://www.facebook.com/parotteville/. It is a very low-key large aviary in one of the suburbs of Philipsburg. They give you a small cup of seeds to feed the birds and the birds can hold onto the edge of the cup so they are quite happy. They are very friendly birds and if you don’t move much they will climb all over you. I had to give Hew my cup as I was trying to take photos but the birds were happy to come and talk to me anyway. At one stage Hew had 5 birds on him. It was great fun and very relaxing to see so many happy friendly birds.

There is a viewing platform in the middle of the aviary and some of the birds like to hang out underneath it. You can see parts of it in the pictures. There were many forms of climbing frames and ropes for the birds to play on. There were also birdhouses all around the enclosure and many had been opened or had the entries made larger by various birds to suit themselves. There was also a lot of vegetation in the gage similar to Taro plants that they both used as shade and occasionally nibbled on. The guide for the days says they do not usually wreck the plants as they just regrow so a good one to have.

The Toucan is kept in a separate enclosure because it is a meat eater and the meat attracts rats and mice. Funnily there were lizards in the Toucan enclosure as well and they did not seem particularly concerned. His favourite place is under a table, probably for the shade.

Loterie Farm

Loterie Farm https://loteriefarm.com/ is a private nature reserve of 54 Hectares on the french side. There are walking tracks, a zip line, swimming pools, and a restaurant. It was midday by the time we got there and we felt it was too hot to go walking so we just took in the restaurant with a nice lunch, a lovely cocktail, and a large iguana walking over the roof. We then had a relaxing couple of hours around the pool for our afternoon siesta.

Sundays

We decided last week that we would get a rental car as we had several jobs to do that needed to go all over the island.

Since it was Sunday and all the shops are shut or shut at lunchtime we thought we would go out for a late brunch and then onto the beach. We walked around Marigot town and it was empty and only new thing was another painted wall I hadn’t seen before. I love the street art you find in these islands and wonder why we do not make more use of our blank walls in New Zealand.

We finally found an open cafe for breakfast near the airport. We then headed up the coast past Maho to find a beach. After driving up and then back down the coast past many gated communities we finally went and had a swim at Mullet Bay beach. A lovely beach and surprisingly sheltered. It is one bay over from Mahoe so you can still see the arriving aircraft. It has a very steep sand bank at the moment. There is only a small beach bar and no big development like Maho. The beach is backed by a golf course which I assume has kept it from becoming totally developed.

Iguanas

On Monday Hew needed to get a new gas bottle and fittings as our Italian ones could not be fitted here and we couldn’t find adaptors so off to Philipsburg again. We managed to get all the parts and a bottle at one stop. Just down the road, we watched as a huge Iguana near the bus stop decided to move out of the sun and up the hill. the Iguanas are very common around the island and often sun themselves on the rocks around the bridges. Their colour really depends on their background. You can see the difference between these two photos and the one above at Loterie farm which was very green being on a very leafy tree.

We also needed sheets and went to a great store called Cost for Less which was very like Costco in the USA – everything in bulk. We decided that we really did need a list so we did not buy anything extra and left the shopping for another day.

Seamog

Matt and Jo friends from the South Island who we met cruising last year had turned at the end of the week. We had a lovely dinner at Dock 46 with them on Friday. Then on Tuesday, they needed to come into the marina and since it was fairly full they tied up alongside. They too are off to Europe.

It looks like it is going to be a social week again.

The alternators are finally in and the belts arrive today. We are expecting Di and Pete tomorrow and to be off the dock the day after. I hope all will go as planned.