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Bequia at 40 to 50m is the bracket's northern anchor stop in the Grenadines and the chain's only town with a year-round resident charter community at the supporting size below the bracket. A 40 to 50m motor yacht Bequia in winter 2026 (December through April) runs $185,000 to $275,000 per week plus 30 percent APA, takes 8 to 12 guests, and embarks Rodney Bay in St Lucia 80 nautical miles to the north. The active 40 to 50m fleet calling Bequia through any given winter is roughly 16 yachts, the majority running Bequia as a two to three-night opening anchor on a Grenadines chain charter rather than a destination in itself. There is no alongside marina at the bracket; the bracket holds at anchor in Admiralty Bay or on the Princess Margaret roads.
Why the bracket reads Bequia as the chain opener
Bequia sits 9 nautical miles south of St Vincent and 12 nautical miles north of Mustique, and Admiralty Bay on the western leeward side is the Grenadines' largest workable anchored bay at the bracket. The bay holds the bracket in 6 to 18 metres on a sand bottom across the central area, the customs and cruising-permit clearance for St Vincent and the Grenadines runs at the Port Elizabeth dock at the head of the bay, and the Princess Margaret Beach roads on the southern shore form the day-anchor position with shore landings to the Tantie Pearl and Jack's Bar restaurants on the beach.
Lower Bay at the southern tip of Princess Margaret Beach forms a secondary day-anchor position with shore landings to Lower Bay village. The Friendship Bay anchorage on the southeast side of the island holds the bracket for an alternative day-shore at the Bequia Beach Hotel. Spring Bay and Industry Bay on the windward east side handle limited day-anchor in flat conditions only and are not workable for the bracket through most of the winter.
Weekly rate map for 2026 to 2027 season
Rates below are for peak weeks (Christmas through New Year, President's Day week, late January Mustique Blues Festival week) for the 2026 to 2027 season, before APA at 30 percent and gratuity at 12 to 15 percent. Bequia sits in the St Vincent and the Grenadines charter VAT regime at a moderate rate against the French Caribbean. The Port Elizabeth customs and immigration fees run at clearance and through the APA.
| LOA bracket | Motor yacht (low to high) | Sailing yacht and large catamaran (low to high) |
|---|---|---|
| 40 to 43m | $185K to $215K per week | $155K to $185K per week |
| 43 to 47m | $215K to $245K per week | $180K to $215K per week |
| 47 to 50m | $245K to $275K per week | $205K to $245K per week |
Off-peak Caribbean season (mid-January outside the Blues Festival, March outside President's week, and early April) runs roughly 22 to 30 percent below the peak headline. The Bequia premium at New Year tracks the broader Grenadines premium and runs marginally below the Mustique equivalent because the Bequia anchored programme does not operate under the Mustique Company's controlled-mooring scarcity. The all-in cost at peak in Bequia runs roughly 5 to 8 percent below the equivalent Mustique week at the same LOA.
What is in the bracket in this bracket
Cabins. Five to six. The Grenadines chain pattern at the bracket runs across Christmas family weeks, New Year multi-couple weeks at the wider chain with Bequia as the opening anchor, and friend-group February weeks. The 5-cabin Caribbean standard runs the inventory.
Crew. Nine to twelve. The Bequia crew bench is among the deepest in the southern Grenadines because the island carries a year-round small-yacht and bareboat charter community, with substitution and contingency cover available at Port Elizabeth on a same-day basis at the smaller LOA. At the 40 to 50m bracket the substitution still flies in via St Lucia or Barbados but the local-knowledge contingency layer is meaningful. Confirm captain prior Admiralty Bay tenure at inquiry.
Tenders. A primary 9 to 10m fast tender plus a 6 to 7m beach-landing secondary. The Princess Margaret Beach landings, the Lower Bay landings, and the Friendship Bay landings all run on sand approaches and the secondary is operational. The Port Elizabeth customs dock takes the primary on the inner approach in calm conditions.
At-anchor stabilizers. Mandatory. The Admiralty Bay anchorage takes residual western swell wrap when the trade winds drop and rotational chop on building tradewind days, and the Princess Margaret roads on the southern lobe of the bay sit on a more exposed position than the northern central anchor. The at-anchor differential is the comfort variable that decides whether the stationary nights work.
Helipad. Useful at the upper end of the bracket. The J F Mitchell Airport at Paget Farm on the southern end of Bequia handles fixed-wing arrivals from Barbados, St Lucia, and St Vincent on Twin Otter rotation, and the helicopter improves the Mustique day-shuttle and the Barbados crew rotation. Touch-and-go capable yachts hold a marginal advantage on the bracket here, less structural than the Mustique equivalent.
Trip shapes that fit the bracket
The Grenadines full chain seven-night with Bequia opener. Embark Rodney Bay St Lucia, position south to Bequia for two nights at Admiralty Bay, Mustique for two nights, Canouan for one night, Tobago Cays for two nights, disembark Union Island or Port Louis Grenada one-way. Seven nights. Bequia as the opening anchor is the standard chain pattern and the destination's structural role at the bracket.
The Bequia stationary three-night opener with Mustique New Year. Embark Rodney Bay, position to Bequia for three nights with Princess Margaret Beach day-shuttles and the Friendship Bay shore programme, position south to Mustique for four nights at New Year on assigned buoy, return Bequia for one night, disembark Rodney Bay. Eight to ten nights. Suits multi-couple New Year weeks where the Mustique window is the trip's anchor and Bequia provides the opening and closing landings.
The Bequia and Tobago Cays five-night family. Embark Rodney Bay, position to Bequia for two nights at Princess Margaret roads, day-shuttle to Friendship Bay, position south to the Tobago Cays for two nights inside the reef, return Bequia for one night, disembark Rodney Bay. Five to seven nights. Suits family Christmas weeks where the Mustique scene is not the social driver and the Tobago Cays snorkel programme anchors the day product.
For destination context see Charter Grenadines, Charter Caribbean, and Best charter yachts Caribbean.
What the bracket does not do well at Bequia
Stand-alone Bequia seven-night charters at the bracket. The Bequia anchored programme is a structural three to four-day product and the seven-night standalone charter compresses materially after the first half of the week. Build Bequia as the opening anchor of a Grenadines chain week, not as the entire week.
Windward east-coast attempts at the bracket. The Spring Bay and Industry Bay anchorages on the windward east handle limited use in flat conditions only and are not workable through the bracket's season. The leeward Admiralty Bay and Princess Margaret roads are the structural product.
Hurricane-season weeks. The Grenadines hurricane exposure runs through August and September with reduced amenity capacity across the chain. Weeks priced into June to October carry weather risk that the Mediterranean reposition does not.
Charter weeks that compress Bequia into a single-night day-stop. The Bequia anchored programme rewards two nights minimum at Admiralty Bay because the day-shuttle programme to Princess Margaret, the customs round at Port Elizabeth, and the Friendship Bay extension all need a full day's window. We would push back on any chain itinerary that lists Bequia at one night without a structural reason.
Inventory
The live 40 to 50m Bequia and Grenadines chain inventory through the 2026 to 2027 season updates weekly.. For broker-side inquiry, see the brokers pillar and the Caribbean charter weekly rates report.