Carriacou – Sandy Island

 The sail to Carriacou was as we had expected and as we had hoped it was not! Wind and swell on the nose. So we bumped and bounced and motor sailed all the way.

Carriacou is a Carib word meaning Ïsland surrounded by Reefs”. We were glad to reach Tyrrel Bay at four in the afternoon; especially when we saw how many yachts were anchored in the bay. One of the first yachts we saw was flying an SA Flag!

We had no sooner entered and the vendors started approaching with things to sell or promoting restaurants ashore! Close to us was a floating cool drink bottle attached to a line, we asked one of the vendors what it was and he assured us it was someone’s fish trap.

We were just about to go in to snorkel to check our anchor when we noticed one of the vendors directing a big monohull towards the bottle. He then proceeded to lift it and moor them there. It was actually a mooring. It was a bit close but we checked our anchor and their mooring which was actually a huge engine block to quite sturdy and decided we were staying on our spot.

Our next visitor on his dinghy was John from the SA yacht. He and his wife Shirley have been cruising for some time and made Carriacou their “home base”.

Tyrrel bay is a huge well protected bay. Businesses line the shore with just a road separating them from the beach! Two reefs project into the bay and despite the size quite a few cruisers have managed to run aground! One side of the bay is a huge mangrove swamp.

 This is out of bounds for yachts most of the time unless there is a hurricane warning. When this has happened all the yachts (it can hold 400) enter and tie up in the mangroves. Apparently with the last hurricane not one boat in there was damaged except minor problems from flying objects!

Our stack pack was coming apart and my machine couldn’t sew through the thick reinforced fabric so we went ashore the following day and visited “In Stitches” the local canvass shop. There we met Andy, the owner and Barbara, a South African who, with her husband cruised the world for 17 years and then stopped and set up shop. Barbara’s husband had a workshop and she worked with Andy doing sails and canvas work! Sadly a few days before Christmas last year Barbara’s husband passed away. She says the locals have totally taken her under their wing. She has moved into a little flatlet right on the beach and it is a few minutes’ walk from the shop. Their Warram 47 catamaran is now up for sale if anyone is interested!

Next we caught the bus through to Hillsborough, this is Carriacou’s only port of clearance and we would have to come back to check out! There we discovered “Kayak Café”, a restaurant over the beach with a view of the Bay! Clean reasonable and we discovered Lime Pie to die for! We later heard the owner and baker is a South African lady! It seems we have invaded the world J

That evening we were invited for drinks on John and Shirley’s Boat “Khaya Moya” we had heard there was a band and dinner at “Lambi Queen” and we were going over together after drinks. What a great evening! Dancing in the street, good music and excellent company!

We had planned to leave the next morning but were invited to dinner with John and Shirley at Barbara’s. Thanks Barbara for a great dinner and super evening!

Sandy Island

Check that water!

 

 

Conch

Squid

Look carefully Barracuda!

Flounder

The next day we lifted the anchor and sailed around to Sandy Island. It’s right in the Bay off of Hillsborough! Sandy Island is just that, a flawless strip of sand with palm trees, which have started re-growing after being destroyed in the last hurricane. For a while they thought the island would be washed away as the trees holding it together! It is surrounded by perfect snorkelling, the whole reason we stopped here. We were not disappointed! We saw Turtle, a huge Barracuda; he was almost the same length as me as I swam next to him. Lots of brightly coloured Reef fish. It was lovely. After a day in the water we moved over to the anchorage in front of Hillsborough! There we went ashore for dinner and sun downers overlooking the sea!

 

The next morning we lifted anchor and set off North. Our destination; St Lucia. We had decided that we would stop at Tobago Cays etc. on our way back and we did not want to stop in St Vincent due to its reputation of crime against yachties and difficult authorities. This was one passage we were not looking forward to. You will see why in the next blog!