Arriving in Tobago and “closing the loop” in Bequia, St Vincent and The Grenadines. Circumnavigation complete! ( Leg 47)

May 2026

The remaining 4 days of the crossing to Tobago were very settled and easy going and they arrived in Scarborough at 09.30 on 4th May to clear in, having sailed 3058nm. For both Ally and Shawn, it was a relief to finally be there after 23 days at sea. It had been an especially challenging time for Ally emotionally, because on top of all the “little things” that cropped up along the way, her beloved dad passed away 4 days into the voyage ( April 15th). She will be eternally thankful that they had starlink which enabled her to remain in close contact with her family during her dad’s final days and over the days that followed, during a crossing that seemed to take an eternity.

As soon as Imagination had been sorted out, they went ashore to find Immigration. The lady in the office told us the Immigration Officer shares her time between the Port and the airport and was not currently there, so she would give her and Port Health a call. It took over an hour for them both to arrive, but as Ally had downloaded and completed the necessary paperwork ahead of time, once they arrived the process was quick. They walked up the road to Customs where there was another form to fill out, but it was a quick and simple process with a friendly Customs Officer. Ally and Shawn had lunch ashore before heading back to Imagination, remaining in the Harbour overnight. The next morning, they moved around to Store Bay which was a much more pleasant environment than the harbour, and they remained onboard relaxing/recovering for the rest of the day. They had hired a car for a couple of days, so they were up the next morning and walking to the airport, 15 minutes away, to pick up their vehicle. They returned to Imagination to pick up all the jerry cans to take them ashore, along the beach to the car and then to the filling station. They did the trip twice to make the most of the cheap Trinidadian fuel prices, and a couple of young men assisted with carrying the full cans back along the beach to the dinghy. Going ashore to Sparrow beach in Store Bay in a dinghy was a little awkward as there were people in the water all day long, but with Shawn and Ally approaching very slowly, they moved to one side, waving, smiling and watching with interest as they negotiated their way to the beach. That afternoon, Ally and Shawn repaired a tear in the mainsail before taking a couple of beers ashore late afternoon to enjoy in the water while chatting to a lady from Trinidad who was there on holiday.

On the 7th, they drove the length of the Island, visiting Charlotteville for lunch and enjoying the very scenic route along the coast before vising a place in the cloud forest where they could feed hummingbirds which was a special experience – they are so very tiny, pretty and delicate. The following day, they drove through parts of the island they didn’t see the previous day, including a very pretty drive up to the cloud forest where they did a tranquil 1.5 hour walk. They stopped at Bloody Bay, a lovely beach where Ally picked up a handful of lovely pink shells, but the new looking facilities ( changing rooms, showers. toilets and lifeguard station) were all closed. Afterwards, they went to Englishmans Bay where they watched a group of guys, with the help of a few holidaymakers, pull in a huge fishing net that seemed to span the whole bay! They had planned to visit both here and Bloody Bay on Imagination in the coming days, but they quickly realised that getting ashore would be difficult due to the rolling waves into the beach and there were no jetties. The same was the case for Turtle Beach in Plymouth, where they were hoping to take the dinghy ashore one evening to watch the leatherback turtles laying. Because of this of they remained in Store Bay for the rest of their stay. The day was spent onboard on the 9th, going ashore for sundowners in the shallows and on the 10th ( Mothers Day here), they went ashore for lunch. On the morning of the 11th, they took a hailing taxi for $10TT each ( just over a £1) for the 20 minute drive into Scarborough to clear out in order to leave later that day. They arrived at Immigration just after 9am, and this time, it took over 2 hours for the Immigration Officer to arrive! It’s a very frustrating system and they don’t seem to really care that yacht crews are left waiting indefinitely in a hot and humid stairway while there is plenty of space in the air-conned office to accomodate them. Customs, again, was quick and simple and after a fried chicken lunch, they returned to Imagination.

They were away by 13.55 for the overnight sail up to St Vincent and The Grenadines, arriving in Bequia, St Vincent and The Grenadines at 08.20 on the morning of Tuesday 12th May after a fast 18 hour sail along the windward side of Grenada and the Southern Grenadine islands. After 4 years, 3 months and 40,743 nautical miles, their circumnavigation loop was closed and it felt wonderful! When they went ashore to clear in, they were recognised and greeted by several locals who were pleased to see them back. After a restful day, they went ashore after dinner to say “hi” to their friend Torsha, working in Mac’s pizzeria ( fabulous place to go for sundowners and dinner right on the waterfront, by the way) and after a couple of beers, they moved next door to another favourite place, The Green Boley, that was having a music night. It really did feel good to be back “home”. On Wednesday afternoon they met up with friends Andy and Indra on Princess Margaret Beach ( and later on their daughter Chelsea who had got engaged and then married while they had been away!), and they had a brilliant time catching up, swapping news and stories with much laughter. On Thursday, there was another meet up with friends, Torsha and Stu, this time in Lower Bay where they went to Dawn’s Restaurant for a delicious lunch before heading to the beach for drinks and catching up. Friday ( 15th) was a day onboard, sorting, tidying and cleaning – the engine room flooring was finally in place both sides, having left it out for easy access in case of any leaks or other issues during the crossings, and so finally, the engine room contents could be removed from the cabins where it had been stored since the engines were replaced.

On Saturday16th, Shawn set about sorting out fans that weren’t working and a fridge compressor that had stopped functioning. Ally continued clearing cabins, got some laundry done and made some bread rolls for a BBQ on Princess Margaret Beach with Andy and Indra on Sunday 17th. It was a wonderful afternoon and they christened the brilliant flat pack BBQ that had bought in South Africa. They cleared out with Customs and Immigration on Monday morning ( a super easy process after so many long winded procedures around the globe!) and had a great fast sail down to Tyrell Bay, Carriacou, Grenada, where they were greeted by friends JK and Nelia on their arrival that afternoon. By the time Imagination had been ” put to bed”, it was too late to go to Customs and Immigration, so they took up the offer of drinks on Wind Kat with JK and Nelia for a very happy catch up.

Ally and Shawn went ashore just after 9am on the 19th to clear in after which they caught up with another friend, Angie, as they made their way across the anchorage. The rest of the morning was spent provisioning in preparation for the arrival of friends, with the afternoon being spent relaxing onboard. The following day, they pottered onboard and later in the day JK and Nelia joined them for an enjoyable evening of drinks, chat and dinner. Once Ally and Shawn had finished breakfast on the 21st, they pulled the anchor up and sailed down the windward side of Grenada, around to Prickly Bay, arriving at 15.45. It was a day of more provisioning the next day, followed by a day of laundry, making up cabins, running the watermaker to fill the tanks and make drinking water on the 23rd.

Ally left Shawn and Imagination on the afternoon of the 24th to fly home for her dads funeral. Shawn had Monday 25th to himself to finish preparing for the arrival of 3 of his friends late afternoon on the 26th. They arrived safely and the anchor was up on the morning of the 27th for the 2 week itinerary Shawn had planned for them. Probably just as well Ally wasn’t onboard…boys will be boys! 🙂

A note from Ally and Shawn :

It is almost unbelievable to think that our circumnavigation is done – we did it!!

As we reflect on our journey, we have so many fabulous memories of stunning places, beautiful people and once in a lifetime experiences amongst some of the remotest communities that we feel very privileged to have had the pleasure of visiting. We have too many stories with too few words to describe. Of course there were difficult times when things broke or didn’t go quite to plan, there were very sad times with the passing of Shawn’s mom and Ally’s dad, there were challenging times when crew members weren’t quite the right fit and there were humbling times when visiting the poorest but most generous villagers on tiny islands, but always, always, it was an incredible adventure!

We are excited to be spending 7 months from November this year visiting some Caribbean countries we have not yet been to ( with one or two revisits) with a great mix of returning crew, friends and “new to us” crew, and so the blogs will continue. After that?? Who knows! x

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