Port Elizabeth, Bequia tide times

Port Elizabeth is the main settlement on Bequia, the largest of the Saint Vincent Grenadines islands, occupying the sheltered Admiralty Bay on the island's west coast. Admiralty Bay is one of the finest natural anchorages in the eastern Caribbean — deep enough for large keel boats, protected from the prevailing northeast trade wind by Bequia's northern headland, and open to the southwest for ventilation. The anchorage regularly holds 80 to 150 yachts through the main sailing season from December through May. Port Elizabeth's waterfront is oriented entirely toward the bay and the boats in it: the ferry dock, the water taxi jetty, the Frangipani Hotel's dock, the dive shops, the chandlery, and the beach bars along the shore.

The tidal regime at Port Elizabeth is Caribbean mixed semidiurnal, spring range 0.3 to 0.5 metres — microtidal. Admiralty Bay's sheltered configuration means the effective tidal range at the anchorage is at the lower end; there is no significant tidal current inside the bay. Two unequal high tides and two unequal low tides per day. The water depth in the anchorage ranges from 7 to 20 metres depending on position; the tidal range is negligible relative to the anchorage depth.

Bequia's character is defined by its working connection to the sea. The island maintains a small but active whaling tradition — one of the few indigenous subsistence whale hunts authorised under the International Whaling Commission's cultural exemption — which has operated from the Paget Farm fishing village on the south coast for at least 150 years. The quota is 4 humpback whales per year; the hunt typically occurs in February and March using traditional wooden boats and hand-thrown harpoons. This is a genuine cultural practice, not a commercial operation, but it is significant and sometimes controversial for visiting sailors and tourists.

The boat-building tradition at Bequia, particularly at the Model Boat Shop and the workshop at Friendship Bay, produces scale models of traditional schooners and sloops using the same techniques as the working boats — no CNC routing, hand-carved hulls from mahogany and cedar. The craft is specific to Bequia and represents a genuine continuation of a regional wooden boatbuilding tradition.

Swimming and snorkelling from Port Elizabeth waterfront is accessible at the southern end of the Belmont Walkway — the paved waterfront path running south from the ferry dock — where the water is clean and shallow reef structure begins within 50 metres of shore. Lower Bay and Princess Margaret Beach, both accessible by water taxi or by foot over the southern headland, have calmer and clearer conditions than the anchorage area.

For shore anglers, the reef structures on both sides of Admiralty Bay's entrance hold snapper, barracuda, and small pelagics at dawn on the flooding tide. The deep water outside the bay entrance is accessible by charter for offshore fishing; wahoo (kingfish) and mahi-mahi are the primary targets.

Tide predictions for Port Elizabeth come from Open-Meteo Marine, a global gridded ocean model. Accuracy is typically within plus or minus 45 minutes on timing and 0.2 to 0.3 metres on height.

Bequia's position on the Caribbean sailing circuit is that of a genuine waypoint rather than a tourist destination. The anchorage sees yachts from Europe, North America, and the Pacific in transit, stopping for provisions, repairs, and the socialising that characterises the international cruising community. The Bequia Boatyard at the southern end of Admiralty Bay provides haul-out facilities for vessels up to 90 feet; the haul-out crane and the repair workshop are a practical infrastructure for the cruising fleet. The island's chandlery and provisioning are proportional to the yacht traffic that passes through.