St Vincent

• Nelson got it wrong, Antigua is fab! - Antigua
• I don’t like Antigua. I love it! and so will you! - Antigua
• My Millionaire Week - Bahamas
• The Bond hotel to die for - Bahamas
• Join the stars in the sun - Barbados
• Short Cut to Paradise - Barbados
• My Adventure on the wild side - Barbados
• How to find the bed of your dreams - Barbados
• My Barbados Love Affair - Barbados
• The Urban Spice Man - Grenada
• The island that time forgot - Nevis
• Heaven, no news for a week - St Lucia
• The Spice Island girl - Grenada
• Slow Time! - Grenada
• Star Grazing - Necker Island, Antigua
• Where Nelson won his spurs - Nevis
• Chill Out Caribbean - Spas
• Chicville-sur-mer - St Barts
• The Most Exclusive Island of All? - St Barts
• Spring into the Caribbean - St Barts
• Frightfully Fabulous - St Kitts
• I Love Lucia! - St Lucia
• So you want to live like a millionaire? - St Vincent & the Grenadines
• My perfect Martini - Turks and Caicos
• The plot thickens in Antigua - Antigua
• Sun, rum and my Mum - Caribbean
• Call me Anneka Spice - Grenada
• My Caribbean dreamland - St Lucia
• A right royal getaway - Antigua
• Babymoon in Barbados - Barbados
• Treasure Island - Barbados
• Every whim included - St Lucia
• Dance with a complete stranger? I’d love to! - St Lucia
• Me and my boys on ash cloud nine - Antigua
• Gourmets of the Caribbean - St Lucia
• St Vincent plays an ace - St Vincent

I STOOD IN HAPPY SILENCE, cocktail in hand, gazing out to sea, as a fiery sunset seeped across the horizon, streaking the deep-blue sky in orange, mauve and magenta.

Most of the other women aboard our yacht were not looking at the spectacular ocean view, however, but at my 6ft companion, tennis legend – and surely the best looking grandad in the universe – Pat Cash. I smiled smugly and hummed an updated version of the Pussycat Dolls hit to myself.

‘Don’t cha wish your boyfriend was hot like mine…’ We’d come to the Caribbean to look at Buccament Bay Resort, the first five-star property in St Vincent and the Grenadines. It’s also home to a Pat Cash Tennis Academy, where the 1987 Wimbledon men's singles champion had promised to give me a lesson later.

We were also going on a hike in the local rainforest and out to sea for some snorkelling with turtles.

Pat is awfully fit. Sadly, I am not and my feet haven’t touched a tennis court since I was at school, but I could bluff it, surely? ‘Playing tennis is like riding a bike, you never forget how to do it,’ I rashly informed Pat as we arrived back at the resort after our cruise and headed for our separate villas. He’s not my boyfriend, of course, but a girl can dream… Pat kept a dignified silence.

These days Pat is a TV commentator and plays tennis on the Champions Tour, which takes him all over the world. Divorced with four children, he has lived in London since 1986.

The Jewels of the Caribbean

His first grandchild, a girl, was born to daughter Mia in May last year. Pat is 45 but you’d never guess it to look at him. Must be all that sport – he was off on a bike ride the moment he’d landed on St Vincent.

Buccament Bay Resort is on the south-west coast of this volcanic island. At 18 miles long and 11 miles wide, it’s the largest in St Vincent and the Grenadines, an archipelago of 32 islands and cays known as the Jewels of the Caribbean, 100 miles west of Barbados.

St Vincent is also the most populated in the group. The capital is Kingstown and most inhabitants live near the southern coast. The north is mountainous, with some parts accessible only by boat.

The resort is a 15-minute drive from the existing airport and £112 million new Argyle International Airport due to be completed in April 2012. This opening could change sleepy St Vincent, bringing direct flights from the UK. At the moment you go via Barbados, St Lucia or another major gateway.

The resort is set in a lush valley wrapped in green hills and beside a fabulous wide bay. Accommodation includes villas and apartments of varying sizes and in different locations, by the beach or in the gardens by little lagoons. The villas are chic, with lots of elbow room and privacy.

St Vincent seems quiet, undiscovered by mass tourism, and sightseeing isn't taxing. The botanic garden boasts one of the original breadfruit trees brought from Tahiti by Captain Bligh and the Bounty in 1793.

St Vincent is quiet, undiscovered by tourism

You can climb to the top of active volcano La Soufriere or visit a number of waterfalls such as Dark View Falls. What St Vincent and the Grenadines is famous for is the stunning blue sea and idyllic islands. Wallilabou Bay was the fictional Port Royal in the Pirates Of The Caribbean films. Pat and I (OK, and a large number of other guests) took a trip out to beautiful Tobago Cays, a group of five small uninhabited islands including Petit Tabac, another Pirates Of The Caribbean location.

The Cays are surrounded by a spectacular Horseshoe Reef that is a playground for turtles. You don’t even have to get off the boat to see them as they surface all around you. We followed the Vermont Nature Trail that winds through lush rainforest, home of the rare St Vincent parrot.

Pat strode up the steep pathways faster than a mountain goat while I puffed and panted after him. We certainly heard but failed to spot any birds among the giant trees, despite me spending a long, long time gazing into the shrubbery while I tried to get my breath back.

I felt slightly better when Pat told me he was in training for Orchid Trek Peru, a hike in aid of the men's cancer charity he supports.

Later, Pat created a rather refreshing cocktail, the Grand Slam, that perked me up no end. A Trader Vic’s bar is planned for the resort, and restaurants including The Pearl, a 120ft galleon moored off-shore.

Crashing out on the beach or by the pool will be a tempatation, but when fully operational the resort will have plenty to keep you busy. Apart from the Pat Cash Tennis Academy, there’s a Liverpool Football Club School, Harlequin Performing Arts Academy, fitness centre and classes.

There’s also a diving and watersports centre offering PADI tuition, boat trips, kayaks and fishing – St Vincent is renowned for its amazing marine creatures from frogfish and seahorses, to eagle rays and barracuda and great dive sites such as the Bat Cave and Capital Wrecks, featuring three wrecks. Pat has plans to establish a number of tennis schools over the world. ‘The academies are to encourage all ages and abilities to play tennis,’ he said.

‘Hopefully some future elite players will get the tennis bug.’ He was very good at encouraging youngsters staying at the resort to pick up a racket. Sadly, it was soon apparent that I'm well past it. He was very gentle with me to start with and I even managed to get the ball back over the net a few times in a rally.

‘Breathe,’ he suddenly shouted at me. In all the excitement I’d forgotten, and gone the same shade as my pink tennis top.

Pat has plans to start a number of academies

I wonder what it’s like to face the famous Cash serve, so I asked Pat not to hold back, to give me all he’s got. ‘Go on then,’ I yelled, after a pause.

Pat had in fact already served and the hair-ruffling whistle past by right ear had been the ball. ‘Let’s have a look at your serve then,’ said Pat.

I whacked a few balls over. ‘How fast were those?’ I asked, all proud. ‘Let’s just say if the ball was a car it would still be well within the speed limit,’ he replied diplomatically.

Oh well, what’s my direction like then? Pat positioned a number of plastic cones for me to aim at and I started serving. Half an hour later I still hadn’t managed to hit them. ‘Tennis, it’s just like riding a bike,’ Pat murmured in my ear as he passed me ball after ball. ‘Still, you’re determined, I’ll give you that.’

I hit serve No 197 I think it was - and hurrah! The scrape of plastic on hard court proved I had done it at last. Pat and I exchanged high-fives.

I was completely exhausted, while Pat was planning an afternoon of kayaking and cycling. He did award me one of his distinctive black-and-white check headbands though. I’m very proud.