Admiralty Bay is a large, protected body of water on the southwest end of the island of Bequie, which is in the St. Vincent and the Grenadines island chain. Bequia is 75 miles northeast of St. Georges on Grenada and only 14 miles southeast of Kingstown. Admiralty Bay lies off the town of Port Elizabeth, which sits in the shadow of 760-foot-high Mount Pleasant.

Due to its isolation and relatively unspoiled environment, Bequia and Admiralty Bay are very popular with the yachting set, as evidenced by the many anchored and moored boats in the image above. Ashore are a handful of businesses that cater to cruisers including dive shops, canvas repair facilities, the Bequia Marina, a large ferry terminal and several good dining establishments.

Bequia's earliest inhabitants were small groups of Amerindians - first the Arawaks, and then later the Caribs, who along with their fellow Caribs in St. Vincent and Dominica, successfully resisted the ravages of European colonization which swept through the Caribbean in the 16th and 17th centuries. 

But by the early 18th century the French were showing renewed interest in the lush and fertile island of St. Vincent. After developing if not an alliance, then at least a working accord with the Black Caribs, the French were permitted to develop small settlements there.  Bequia itself was first settled by a handful of French smallholders in 1719, who fr the next forty or so years made their living producing indigo, cotton, sugar and lime.

Information Courtesy Bequia Tourism Association

The entry into Admiralty Bay is simple and straightforward. As the bay is wide and deep, it can be entered in most any weather, but if you enter at night, we recommend clear weather and a GPS to help you in. Admiralty Bay is approached from the west via the Caribbean Sea between Devils Table and Lower Bay. If you are arriving from the north, be sure to give the reef at Devils Table north of Rocky Bay proper distance.

Once you have lined up in the center of the bay, you can simply head in toward the ferry dock (far center in the image above), and then pick a spot to anchor depending on the wind direction. If the wind is blowing strongly out of the north, the southern portion of the bay around Bareboat Reef can get rough, and if the wind is strong out of the west, things can also get a bit bumpy.

Be sure to keep a clear channel between the anchorages to allow the ferry boats access to the aforementioned ferry terminal.

See our “Local Notices to Mariners” blog for updates on the latest conditions and advisories for this area.

Bequia Tourism Association

St. Vincent and the Grenadines Ministry of Tourism and Culture

Bequia Calendar of Events