BEQUIA

Named the island of the clouds by the Caribs, Bequia (pronounced "beck-way") is the northernmost of St. Vincent's Grenadine islands. It's also the largest (7 sq. miles) and most populated, with 5,000 people. The island is a delightful place, neat, quite hilly and well forested with a great variety of fruit and nut trees including lots of flowering bushes and some fine golden sand beaches. Bequia attracts quite a number of visitors, chiefly yachtsmen and also the smaller cruise ships and land-based (returning) visitors.

The main village is Port Elizabeth, which is located along the curve of Admiralty Bay. It is an appealing seaside community and the island's commercial centre. Admiralty Bay offers a safe anchorage for yachts and small cruise ships.

The island was once the region's most important whaling station, and there is also a strong boat-building tradition. Modern vessels are usually steel-hulled, so today local boat-building manifests mostly in scale models. More than 90 percent of the boats pulling into beautiful Admiralty Bay are visiting yachts, and in the height of the season the harbour is packed with yachts of all shapes and sizes.