Grenada – Spice Island Paradise

Entering the Bays of Grenada is somewhat of a challenge and we were glad we managed to make it before nightfall.

The coast is littered with Reefs and the channel markers are not all longer there. Not a problem in daylight when you can see the waves breaking over the shallow reefs but we would not like to have approached it for the first time at night!

As we anchored night fell and we settled down. We were supposed to have checked in within two hours of arrival but had been told the Grenada authorities were pretty relaxed. The problem with checking in after-hours is the additional fees you pay.

 

The following morning just before eight we took the dinghy around to “Le Phar Bleu” where one of the Customs points are located. What a beautiful setting. The marina is pristine. The water is crystal clear. We had mentally prepared ourselves for the customs visit! What a surprise! The officials were warm welcoming and had no “issues” what-so-ever. We had not had a chance to go and draw EC$ (Eastern Caribbean Dollars) yet so could not pay our entry fees. They had no problem at all and said we could come back and pay when we had been to town!

In Grenada the main means of transport is the bus! We were expecting the large (London red bus) type vehicle but their busses are panel vans, like our taxis in SA! Their taxis are the same but marked with “Taxi” and are much more expensive. You can go just about anywhere on the island for EC$2.5 (about R7) each way by bus. The same trip in a “Taxi” is anything between EC$20 – 40. The main difference is in the Taxi you would be the only passenger, in the bus they have even squeezed extra seats in and at capacity hold between 16 and 20 people. J

The Grenadians are open friendly people, always ready with a laugh. Unlike T & T there are no catcalls. No khiss khisses and no inappropriate comments, even when I was in town alone! The only funny chirp I had when I went to town, one man, about my age was sitting on a bench with three young men drinking beer. As I walked past he said “good morning” and I responded. Then he said “do you know something?” I looked at him expectedly and he said “I love you”. I cackled it was done so inoffensively I could only laugh! They also had a laugh.

We had another “incident” that we enjoyed; Andre and I were exploring the market in St. Georges. Wandering between the stalls, he was about 5 meters ahead of me. A group of three Mama’s were sitting in front of their stall. “Hey man, what cha looking for” one called to him. “Nothing” he replied “just looking”! One with a saucy look in her eye and a seductive tone to her voice says “You maybe lookin for a wife? I be a good wife”. We both burst out laughing! I assured them he already had one and he couldn’t handle and more. They enjoyed that!

 The bay we were in, Clarkes Court Bay is quieter with fewer yachts and less marina’s and it takes a little more effort to reach the town. But it’s what we enjoy, however we had heard the place to be for New Year was Prickly Bay. So we raised anchor and sailed round two days before New Year. Prickly Bay is one of the most popular anchorages in Grenada and is packed. We met our friends on Moonwalker and had New Year at “Da Big Fish” restaurant. Live local band was playing, it was great!

Andre had been Hashing in Oz and we discovered there was a New Year’s Day Hash planned. Hash House Harriers is an international club of “Drinkers with a running problem”. We thought New Year’s Day, Party, Short Hash and Beer all the makings of a continuation of the New Year’s Eve party! Boy; were we wrong! It was a B with and ITCH! Two and a half hours later as it was getting dark we got back to the start! So much for a swim and braai! Dehydrated tired and scratched to hell we had finished the hash. It had taken us around the perimeter of the airfield.

We had climbed hills. We had walked over rocky shores and those made of conch shells. We walked through thorn trees and over dunes; over beaches and bitches of hills and every imaginable horrible terrain. If this had been the deciding factor I would never have hashed again! But for my sins and my hubby we hashed the next weekend too! It was hard and wet but beautiful views and this time we took water! What a difference. So much better that I even hashed alone, well with the GHHH group the week Andre went to USA for his annual SIM training. But that is another story!

New shoes have to be drunk out of before you can hash!

No longer a virgin!

We took advantage of being in Prickly Bay and walked around to Grand Anse Beach. It’s a two mile sweep of white-gold sand, with a variety of shops and bars. The main shopping centre of the area is also nearby. The water is clear and warm and we spent the day chilling, or liming as they say here!

We spent a few days at the Prickly Bay anchorage then move back to Clarkes Court. We had booked place on the jetty at Whisper Cove Marina for when Andre left to go to USA for ten days! The owners and most of the other boats at the marina were French. Sitting on the boat listening to the voices I could have been in France! It’s a super marina with a restaurant, shop with good butchery; (they prepare the meat themselves) and a laundry. I took advantage of being alone on the boat and sewed for a week. Sadly not clothes but boat stuff. Wind scoop, a canoe cover, a seat bag for the dinghy and I fine-tuned the dinghy cover to what we wanted!

Andre passed his SIM and is set up for another year of flying. On his return we spent a few days longer and then decided we wanted clean water we could swim in. Clarkes Court Bay has a Rum distillery and the water is brown and yukky! So we moved around to anchor between Port Louis Marina, the new Marina of St. Georges (Grenada’s Capital) and Grand Anse, miles of white sand and clear water!

 

Two miles from our anchorage is the Underwater Sculpture Park. It is the work of sculptor Jason Taylor from England, who has a passion for creating fantastic and unique pieces of work depicting Grenada’s colourful history and folklore and placing them underwater. All of the sculptures are in beautiful clear shallow water easily accessible by divers and snorkelers. The sculptures end up creating artificial reefs, and enhancing the marine environment.

We donned our scuba gear and descended. It was all we had heard, the sculptures are amazing and the coral and growth on them give them life. The anchorage we were on near to the park at Grand Mal bay was so good we decided to stay the night. Lunch and dinner was had at the Sunset View restaurant and it lived up to its name in every way! The sunset was awesome and the food good!

Back to Grand Anse anchorage the next day and we just had to force ourselves to spend a long lazy day on the beach!

We had been waiting for “the right weather” to continue our journey north and finally there was a small gap in the constant prevailing winds. It was time to bid farewell to Grenada’s main island, our destination was Carriacou, the land of reefs! 

Two miles from our anchorage is the Underwater Sculpture Park. It is the work of sculptor Jason Taylor from England, who has a passion for creating fantastic and unique pieces of work depicting Grenada’s colourful history and folklore and placing them underwater. All of the sculptures are in beautiful clear shallow water easily accessible by divers and snorkelers. The sculptures end up creating artificial reefs, and enhancing the marine environment.

We donned our scuba gear and descended. It was all we had heard, the sculptures are amazing and the coral and growth on them give them life. The anchorage we were on near to the park at Grand Mal bay was so good we decided to stay the night. Lunch and dinner was had at the Sunset View restaurant and it lived up to its name in every way! The sunset was awesome and the food good!

Back to Grand Anse anchorage the next day and we just had to force ourselves to spend a long lazy day on the beach!

We had been waiting for “the right weather” to continue our journey north and finally there was a small gap in the constant prevailing winds. It was time to bid farewell to Grenada’s main island, our destination was Carriacou, the land of reefs! 

Carriacou to St Lucia – Worst Passage to date!

The Caribbean Christmas North Easterly winds were still beating across the sea and guess where we had to go? Yes directly north east as well. So we set off into wind as if we waited for favourable winds we would still be sitting in Trinidad. We have realized that a sailboat does not go into wind so well, so the trusty diesels were fired up and tally hoe, off we went into the rising sun. Bouncing and slamming over the swell and the chop because somewhere over the horizon they promised us that the calm  waters of the Caribbean with coconut trees and girls in bikinis (or not) would meet us!!!........Yeah!!

My Captain had decided we were going to the windward of Union, Tobago Keys,  Mayreau and Canouan to try any offset the current of 2.5 kts that would carry us west of our destination. We had a constant 2-3 knot current against us but we were at least able to sail up that side. We cut onto the Leeward side of Mustique seeing them in the distance as we passed! We intend to stop at those we are passing on our way back down. We had planned to night stop in Bequia and then pass St Vincent keep going to St. Lucia.

Gin clear water

Bequia

We cut to pass the windward side of Tobago Keys and as we went noticed the leading edge of our jib had come loose and was getting worse. At the same time the area east of the island that was supposed to offer a clear passage had breaking waves as far to the horizon as we could see. We dropped our sails and cut in between the coral reefs; the water is beautiful you see right to the bottom. Gin clear as they say! With me on the bow watching for shallow areas we wound our way through the Keys and then continued to Bequia  and anchored in Admiralty Bay. The sun was just about to set and we had a quick dive to check our anchor was set properly, and then enjoyed a sun-downer on deck.

 

 

The next morning I had my machine out good and early and we dropped the jib for me to repair. Once it was down we saw there was quite a lot of stitching coming loose and I ended up re-sewing virtually all the seams on the leading edge. We had hoped it be finished quickly and set off for St. Lucia but it was not to be. Instead we grabbed our snorkel gear and spent the rest of the afternoon underwater!

When we returned to the boat; who should be anchored behind us, but South African friends, Bruce and Sharon on Ocean Spice! We tried to call them but it seems they had crashed after their trip!

As for St. Vincent: We had decided that with the reputation for crime against yachties and the fact the local authorities seem to have not received the message from their government to “look after yachties as they bring in currency” and instead heard “go after yachties and get their money”. We heard they fine you for not leaving your boat to check in immediately although the official time is 24 hours to check in and they have attitudes of note. Well true or exaggerated we decided there were many more places beautiful places and they were just not worth the risk.

The next morning early we lifted our anchor and set off towards St. Lucia  to pass on the windward side of Saint Vincent!! Initially the winds were as expected, on the nose. The sea lived up to its reputation of swells of 3 – 5 meters and a chop of about 1 meter! So you ride the swell and bounce over the chop and both slam into the bottom of the boat! In addition to this we had a current of between 2 to 3 knots against us! We were traveling at about 5 to 6 knots and only going 3 knots over the ground! Not much fun.

Then about halfway up the island there is a small headland that we needed to sail around to continue our path North to St Lucia! Oh my word, I swear we sailed around the corner and straight over the bubbling cauldron of one of hells pots! The wind continued at about 25 knots BUT the sea and the current went wild. For about an hour the sea was coming at us from every direction. We were free falling over 5 plus meter swells and burying the bow into the trough until at least half the trampoline was under water. Then we would pop up, but the swells were so short and unpredictable, we would bounce right over the next swell and once again free fall into the trough between them. At the same time the swell and chop were also hitting us from the sides! A crazy, mad, cauldron of bubbling seawater. Everything in the boat was bounced off of the shelves; I finally just left it all on the floor.

This went on for about an hour and then calmed a little so at least the swell and chop were coming from one direction. The current had now turned, thank goodness! We were traveling at 4 knots and making 8! Yeah ha!!!  Caribbean here we come!!

Just as the sun was beginning to set we arrived at Laborie, on the Southern coast of St Lucia, there was a channel between the reefs, which were breaking and we were supposed to navigate between them! One look after that crazy passage and we decided we had used up our luck for the day and there was no way we were going to try and negotiate those reefs. So we moved a little further east and anchored off of the beach.

We had heard from Ocean Spice during the day and knew they were following us in. We waited for them to anchor then collapsed into bed for a rolley night!

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!

Canvas Work Jan 2012

My Wind scoop, rain deflector in action

Table Protector

Kayak Cover Botom

Top

Handle holes

Bike Cover

Map

Click this link and you will see our Travels on a Google map!

http://g.co/maps/eueqv

Christmas 2011 in Trinidad

We had been hoping to get to Grenada for Christmas but the weather had other ideas. With 20 to 30 knot winds on the nose and seas at 3 - 4 meter swells also from the front we decided Trinidad it was.

We were determined not to have it in the working harbor of Chagauramas, so we up anchor and went round the tip of the peninsular to Carnage Bay. It seems so named as old our of commission boats of all kinds and sizes are simply ridden onto the rocks and left to rot.

But the bay we wen into off of the "Trinidad and Tobago Sailing Association" Yacht club was very nice. Much cleaner than Chagauramas. Not that we would swim in it. Also anchored there were our friends on Catamaran Moonwalker, Russel a Kiwi with his wife Karin, a Brazilian and their baby daughter Brisa.  and Yacht Harlequin, South Africans we also met in Brazil with Warren and Tanya and the Rottweiler Cali. The 24th we all had lunch on Harlequin and it was great. Laughs good food and company.

Prison Island.
The sloot on the right is rumored
 to take the heads of executed prisoners to the sea.
 But it is just for waste.

Brings back memories, This is what I started sailling on. 

Ali and Cali

Harlquin lunch on 24th Dec 2011

Tanya. Warren and Cali.

Christmas day the club was deserted so we took over. We set up tables of food and drink and a braai. Of course Caribbean Rhum punch was the order of the day. We swam in the pool. ate drank and had a great time.

Boxing day we woke and went over to customs to clear out so we could use the weather window the next day.

At 04h00 on the morning of the 27th we set sail for Grenada. I use the tern "sail" loosely as we bumped smashed and slammed into chop and swell most of the way.

We made good time and were able to anchor just before sunset.

Welcome to Grenada.

Brisa, our Christmas Angel arriving.

Isn't she precious. Brisa is Wind in Portuguese.

Christmas present was a hit!

Riding Bike with Mum!