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Full Text of this section from the 11th (05-06) edition. CUMBERLAND BAY
Click to enlarge This deep and enchanting bay is part of an estate in
the heart of St. Vincent’s wildest and richest land. A forest of
coconut trees and bananas flows down the valley to the beach. At dusk
cattle egrets roost together in nearby trees, and at night the tree
frogs set up a rich throaty chorus. Sometimes the bay becomes a boiling
mass of jumping tuna and fishermen can often be seen with their seine
nets waiting patiently. Cumberland is unspoiled by tourism. There are
many here happy to take you on a tour or feed you, but it is all so
unsophisticated that it still has the charm of an untouched settlement.
For the cruising sailor, there is a river to do a freshwater clothes
wash. Enter toward the north of the bay to avoid the large rocky shoal
that extends from the southwestern part of the bay. Cumberland is very
deep and you will need to anchor bow or stern to a palm tree. There will
be many eager to help. Do not tow anyone into the bay; wait till you get
right in and choose one of the people inside the bay itself. Regulations There is no customs at Cumberland Bay, but you can
clear in or out at Wallilabou near by. Ashore Although
many of the locals look like bad guys in a spaghetti western, for the
most part they couldn’t be nicer and more helpful. You can buy vegetables from Maxwell, fish from Joseph and
crayfish from his brother, Uncle Sam. Carlos sells attractive calabash
ornaments that he handpaints himself. Other locals you will meet include
Dande, Zaquie and Sydney. Sydney guides people on walks and Kiki sells
jewelry. New people are turning up on the waterfront. You will have to
be their judge. Under no circumstances should you do business with
anyone you find aggressive or objectionable in any way. The old hands are good about not overwhelming yachtspeople when they arrive, and they generally keep an eye on the bay, but very occasionally, in the wee hours after they have gone home, dinghies have been known to go missing and once or twice the lines tied to the palm trees have been stolen. There have also been a few armed robberies along this coast. It is therefore advisable to keep the outboard on deck, the dinghy locked to the boat, use an older piece of line across the beach, and try to visit when other yachts are in the bay.
Restaurants Bennett [$D] has the bar/Restaurant in the middle of
the beach. He will cook you a good inexpensive meal, and it is an
amusing place to hangout. Bennett also has a van and he does tours,
including the volcano, Vermont Nature Trails, Trinity Falls or straight
into the rainforest up the water pipe road. Ask him for prices; they
sounded inexpensive to me. The bar at the south
end of the bay belongs to Steve and Jane from Wallilabou. It is called
Captain Cumberland and is mainly a bar, though there are plans to do
meals also. Stephens Hideaway is
right on the beach. As we went to press it was in flux, but check it out
for yourself. Maxwell and Joseph
have shacks from which they do beach barbecues; just ask in advance.
This is a very local experience. You should definitely take a walk here. An easy one is up the
hill to the north, which rewards you with a great view of the anchorage.
Walk back to the road, turn left and keep going. (Unless you land at the
north side of the bay, you must ford a small river, but that is part of
the fun.) There is a rum shop in the village just at the point when you
are dying for a drink.
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