UNION
( ST-VINCENT GRENADINES)

Union was settled during the 18th and 19th centuries first by English, then Scottish colonists. Just 17sq km, it was both verdant and well tilled. Until the end of the 19th century it boasted up to 5000 inhabitants. Then it was completely abandoned.
Divided between the two villages of Ashton in the SE and Clifton in the E, only a few folk remain, most of them fishermen or smallholders.
The population has grown naturally to 2000 people but nothing much else changed over the years until the end of the 1960s and the arrival in Clifton of a French béké from Martinique.

Clifton
The béké, André Beaufrand, is now part of the legend of Clifton and it’s development. After acquiring a plot of marshy land to the east of Clifton, he drained it and built a small airstrip and then a house-cum-hotel. It was the birth of the Anchorage Yacht Club and the beginning of Clifton’s development as a centre for tourism and sailing. With access by air, a good anchorage for boats and a hotel and restaurant to provide a welcome, everything was in place to make the Anchorage, only a few miles from the Tobago Cays, a tourist focus in the Grenadines. In the mid-80s André and Simone Beaufrand took well-earned retirement and their property was bought by a genuine Austrian prince. This scion of the Austro-Hungarian Empire entrusted the management and revamping of the Anchorage to Charlotte Honnart. She restored the complex in keeping with the charm of its wonderful location, with bungalows on the beach front and pontoons where all the boats cruising the Grenadines come to tie up. But Charlotte’s departure brought a change in management and a reduction of the Anchorage’s range of activities. It is now run by the hotel group Palm Island. Meanwhile, the spotlight in Clifton has moved to Jean- Marc Sailly’s Bougainvilla, a small complex further W on the same side, with a jetty and buildings including a restaurant, guest rooms and the charming boutique selling souvenirs and books run by the omnipresent Charlotte Honnart.

Because of all the tourist and yachting development on Union during the past few years, and the consequent increase in air traffic, the government has improved Beaufrand’s tiny airstrip and doubled the length of its runway by extending out into the sea. Unfortunately, instead of taking advantage of these improvements, the local airline companies have actually reduced the number of direct flights (particularly the ones going to Martinique’s international airport), because these routes are not profitable. This in turn has made getting to this little island in the middle of the Grenadines more difficult all round. Nonetheless, Clifton remains a busy destination for yachts and for day charter boats taking their daily groups of tourists to cruise the crystal-clear waters of the Tobago Cays with their reefs and corals. Among the boats on offer are the maxicatamarans chartered by the Bougainvilla or the Scaramouche, a large locally constructed schooner, rebuilt authentically by Martin Janet, a Scotsman by birth and Unionian by adoption. In the evenings their crew members and visiting yachties meet up at the Bougainvilla’s bar-restaurant or in one of the village’s other establishments.

The small village of Clifton hasn’t been left behind by the changes. Thanks to local initiatives shops and small hotels have been started up. Most of these line the main street along the waterfront. WiFi available. For some the local feel of the village hotels is ample compensation for their simplicity. The restaurants are also charming with seafood menus cooked to local recipes.
In the centre of this small village is the new market with colourful huts offering a wide variety of fruit and vegetables. Nearby, the customs office, various stores for provisions, the dock-side fish market, a small post office, tourist information and a bank complete the village’s services. Bar the days when the schooners and other coasters arrive from St Vincent with their cargoes which liven up the waterfront atmosphere, not a lot goes on.

Pilotage
Note
1.whether approaching Union’s E coast from the S or the N, you should be very wary of the numerous reefs around both the main island and nearby Palm I. Plenty of yachts have ended their days here!
2. returning from the Tobago Cays, a late landfall with the sun ahead dangerously reduces visibility; night arrivals, despite the buoyage (unreliable), aren’t recommended for newcomers.

Clifton anchorage
This anchorage on the windward coast is well protected by a reef barrier. In principle access during daylight is easy because the reef edges and the pass towards the village are marked by beacons. That said, any approach should be made with care and for preference in good visibility in order to spot the reef surrounding the anchorage.

Approach from the NE (Tobago Cays) Steer 222° on which course you’ll see in the distance the hill tops of Carriacou. Once in the offing follow around the S end of the extensive barrier reef that hems Clifton in.
Approach from the S It’s best to pass W of the isolated Grand de Coi, normally marked by a beacon, in order to stay clear of the reefs around Palm I.

There are two usable passes into the anchorage at Clifton. The more W’ly one towards the village is buoyed, the other going behind Roundabout Reef is not. If it’s your first approach, head for the village jetty on 330°. Once inside you can either anchor off the Bougainvilla’s jetty, off the Anchorage Yacht Club or further to windward in the lee of the barrier reef once you’re past Roundabout Reef. The second is less crowded but further from the village. You should think about an anchor watch because the holding is unreliable, especially off the docks. Snorkelling is possible around the large coral reefs nearby.
In the middle of the reefs is a tiny islet called Green Island. A local has made his home here amongst the sand and rocks and he crafts simple handmade goods for the few tourists that visit. Further S is Happy Island, a manmade islet built by another local. Using a huge number of conch shells left over from intensive fishing, he has built a bar right in the middle of the the coral and the blue sea (Janti VHF 16). Both islets can be accessed by tender or simply by swimming.
You’ll need a flat bottomed, preferably rigid, dinghy to negotiate the coral that emerges from under the water. You can also use a buoy, though you’ll need to negotiate with the boat boys who will take the opportunity to insistently suggest that you also eat in one of the village restaurants. It is a good idea to lock up if you go ashore after dark; it pays to be careful here.
The pontoons of the Bougainvilla (VHF 16/68) and the anchorage have several visitors’ berths. You can water ship. Fuel can be found at the tip of a pontoon further S but it’s only available for boats with <1·8m draught.
Ashore Clearance formalities are now dealt with in a building near the village dock. An office near the market covers immigration. Clifton has a few basic boat repair services. These include a mechanic specialising in HB and inboards whose workshop is en route to the airport. More information about getting hold of spares, and other services, can be found at the Bougainvilla; a small holiday complex whose restaurant terrace overlooks the sea and an aquarium. Minimarkets in the village are good for re-provisioning as is the small local market for essentials, though prices are quite high (as in most of the Grenadines). Fresh produce depends on local fishermen or the arrival of the schooners from St Vincent.

Other moorings in Union :