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On the southern end of the island is the community of Industry, home of the Old Hegg Turtle Sanctuary. Brother King and his small staff rescue just-hatched Hawksbill turtles and care for them for two years then release them into the sea. A just-hatched turtle has a one-in-one-thousand chance of surviving. Brother King saves 900 of 1,000 turtles, giving them a much higher chance of survival in their native habitat, at which time man is their greatest danger. Turtles reach sexual maturity at age 25 when they return to their beach of birth. The females lay three nests of eggs and leave them to hatch on their own. The females will not return for another three years at which time they will lay another three nests. Brother King's project does not have funds to trace electronically the movements of his turtles so, to identify turtles as part of his project, they drill two small holes in the tail of the shell before release. The sanctuary is said to be solely responsible for having increased the seriously dwindling turtle population in Bequia. |
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Turtles of different ages are separated for their safety |
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Bequia is a delightful place with two internet cafes allowing cruisers to plug in laptops. We have thoroughly enjoyed more than a week here, visiting the area, socializing with other cruisers, and doing maintenance on the boat. Bob replaced three fuel filters and had to purge the engine to get air out of the fuel line. He also cleaned the raw water filter and changed the intake filter on the watermaker. Something always needs to be done. |
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During our tour of the island we ran across some good looking horses in fields along the road. |
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Using local guys to clean the bottom of our dingy is good for Bequia's economy and cuts down petty thief |
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Laundry boat that comes out to visiting yachts and picks up and delivers laundry washed and folded |
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Bequia's waterfront has quaint colorful buildings, |
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Carnival in Bequia |
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