It was a great start to the New Year. I continued working on the dinghy cover in the morning but the wind was so strong I had to use some diving weights to hold down the fabric as I cut a large piece on the dock. I stopped at high tide and made lunch. We put the motor back on the dinghy and went over to Hog Island for a New Years day get together. It was great fun. Those that felt up to it had a volley ball game on the beach the others drank champagne and had a few snacks. We left Hog Island and went to visit Ian on Manx Cat (a catamaran) who was having a New Years day open house in Hog Island Bay. I’m sure that there were about thirty people visiting and partying when we arrived. We left his boat just in time to make it back to Hartman Bay before dark. Wouldn’t you know it, Happy Hour was in full swing when we arrived back. We had another great sing song and limerick night at the Rum Squall Bar. The Brits are crazy and we love them.
We had received an email from Jonathan at Island Water World that their container ship had arrived and brought a few parts that we had ordered, so it was time to go to town. We picked up our parts and then went grocery shopping.
I had a siesta in the afternoon and was all rested in time to prepare a nice roast beef dinner for the evening.
We received a call on the radio a little after 8AM from Keith who is one of the taxi drivers at Secret Harbour. He had noticed a postal notification for Wind-Borne III some where on the island in a wrong postal box. He picked it up and brought it to the marina for us. The locals on this island are some of the kindest and most thoughtful people. Needless to say Rick thanked him very much while I was back in the boat quickly getting dressed to go to town again. Rick stayed and worked on his boat projects while I went to the post office, Internet Cafe, duty free store and even had time for a Chicken Roti at the Nutmeg Restaurant. Last but not least I stopped in the grocery store under the restaurant to see if they had green peppers. We haven’t been able to buy green peppers for almost a month. It was my lucky day. They were in. I bought 9 green peppers. We’ve learned that if you see something you want or need, buy it right then because it may not be available again for a long time. So we will pig out using green peppers in everything for the next while.
When I returned to the boat I learned we had received a card in the mail as well. This was an exciting day. The card was from my daughter Karyn from British Colombia and included some really great pictures of her. The parcel that I picked up from the post office was from my other daughter Kelly in Toronto. It contained my favourites, Starbucks Coffee and Jelly Bellies. There is a little problem in that I am probably going to be sick from eating all of the Jelly Bellies. I learned from a lady who has a candy store here in Grenada that Jelly Bellies do not keep well here. She has no idea why because it happens even in her air-conditioned store but they turn to mush. So knowing that they will go mushy quickly I am eating them non-stop. I considered sharing with friends but quickly decided against it. I let Rick have a few. It’s a huge bag but I will do my best to have it empty by next week.
We’ve been here 6 six months and never even think to check for any mail. Today, two days in a row we received more Christmas greetings from friends and relatives. Getting mail here creates major excitement for us anyway. My fear is now that people know how to reach us we could have mail sitting here long after we leave.
I decided to continue with the dinghy cover today so immediately it started to rain and the wind picked up to 30 knots. With Rick’s help we were able to hold the cover reasonably in place while I made a few measurements over and over again. High tide was a little later in the afternoon so I was able to get on and off the boat for the measurements until almost Happy Hour.
The morning was spent working on the dinghy cover, which is coming along regardless of the havoc the winds are playing with my measurements. We went snorkeling in the afternoon with Denis and Arleen from Tiger Lily II and Bob and Brenda from Siesta Dos. We all went by dinghy to a reef off of Hog Island. It was a little tricky because the winds have been very high for days now so the waves were really breaking over the reef and the current was very strong. We saw a huge Sting Ray half buried in the sand and a lot of colourful small fish. The reef wasn’t spectacular but it was interesting. The excitement of the afternoon was when I managed to get back into the dinghy from the water by myself. Until now this had been an impossible task for me. After everyone cheered we went over to Hog Island for a celebratory drink.
It was a quiet Happy Hour at the Rum Squall Bar and when it was over Bob and Marta took Rick and I to The Choo Light Restaurant as a thank you for watching Sirena while they were back in the U.S.
The saga of the dinghy cover continues and so does the wind. We had our last dance lesson for a while since everyone is trying to leave and head up island a bit. We told Grant our instructor that we would be back next hurricane season as advanced students.
The dingy cover is really starting to take shape and I’m getting quite a few complements on it.
We skipped Happy Hour today and instead spent the time in the preparation of pizza for our potluck Italian night. It was a fun evening and the food was amazing. Everyone brought some great dishes but Carol from Moonrise brought some home made Almond and Chocolate Biscotti. She promised to share the recipe for the web site.
I did a quick bit of work on the dinghy cover in the morning before getting ready to head over to Hog Island. It was Pam’s, from Night Owl, birthday and her husband Chas had arranged a party. Beach Volleyball began at noon. Roger of Roger’s Bar had agreed to prepare a special barbecue for the party and Lori from Pride brought her Guitar. The women who were not really into volleyball all got together for a gab and float. We all just floated around in the water gabbing about everything. The last volleyball game was of tremendous importance. The yachties had challenged the crew of the Queen of Diamonds (another 100 foot plus motor yacht). The battle was great and wet as the water got deeper with the incoming tide and the yachties won. Meanwhile as the game was going on Lori was strumming away on her guitar for those still sitting around the circle.
The morning was again spent on the dinghy cover. In the afternoon I arranged for a gang of us to go see the Harry Potter 2 movie which has been playing for about a week. Dakare, Serendipity, Sunday’s Child and Wind-Borne III all wanted to see it. On our way to the theatre I asked Keith our taxi driver, to stop at the roundabout by the Sugar Mill. We go by this location every time we go into town and there is a man under an umbrella with his barbecue on the corner. He wears a white jacket and chef’s hat and everyone says he makes the best chicken on the Island and we have never stopped. We stopped this time and got some “take away” chicken. I don’t think I’ve mentioned it before but when we have chicken it is always the leg and thigh. The wings are used in the rotis and the chickens in Grenada do not have breasts. This is an ongoing joke because you just can’t seem to find chicken breasts anywhere. We think they all go to the restaurants. Anyway, the chicken we bought was very good, it cost us $5EC each ($2.50 CAD). We ate it sitting on the benches in the Excel Market by the theatre. A new TCBY store recently opened next door to the theatre so after the chicken, we had hot fudge sundaes for desert. No we did not have popcorn or candy in the theatre. I had forgotten about the air conditioning and froze during the show. We all thought the movie was great.
It was a good working day and that’s what we did all day. Happy Hour was “black dress night”. Many of us have been to the garment factory and bought a lot of colourful dresses and we all bought a black dress. Although the “black dress night” had been discussed only a few days ago, because I didn’t remind everyone on the Net, most forgot. It’s a good time to mention however that the longer we’re down here the less I seem to wear shorts. Sundresses are the coolest and most worn garment by long term cruisers.
The dinghy cover is virtually done except for a few finishing touches which will have to wait for another day. The wind generator is painted, looks like new and it’s reinstalled on the stern. Today consisted of work and Happy Hour.
I am so glad we are retired. This way we get to work seven days a week
rather than five. The bowsprit is all fixed, painted and ready to be
drilled. The dinghy cover is finished and on the dinghy. The cover
for the dinghy fuel tank is 80% complete. The last thing I will make this
month will be a cover for the outboard motor and that’s it. No more sewing
for awhile.
First thing in the morning Rick paid a visit to our Immigration Officer who shares a very cute little building with a Customs Officer near the Marina office. Our passport stamp expires again this week. Last time we wanted an extension the other cruisers told us we had to go to the main Immigration Office. This time Rick decided to check and see if that was really necessary. It was a good move; it took him 5 minutes to get another extension and saved us a trip into town. Extensions are granted for 3-month periods in Grenada. They cost nothing and you can renew for an unlimited number of times.
Finished! And that goes for both of us. Rick re-drilled the holes in the bowsprit. There are six of these big honking holes that go right through a 6x6. They are used for the bolts that hold the forestay/furler. I finished sewing both the fuel tank cover and the cover for the outboard engine. I think that’s the end of our major projects for this season. The sun had set and we had done enough for one day. We left the forestay, in fact all stays to be re-attached tomorrow.
We reattached the forestay with absolutely no problem. Rick had attached a block so we could use the winch and pull the forestay down. It moved into place and we easily slipped the bolt in as our friends stood on the dock and cheered us on. I think they were a little in awe that it went so smoothly.
We both then worked on changing the stern mooring lines so that we (this we is really Rick), could clean all of the barnacles and growth off of the existing lines. If that wasn’t enough when he finished, Rick then dragged the anchor chain out of the locker and cleaned it. I moved back inside while he was in his cleaning mood and started reorganizing containers and taking inventory of all existing provisions. It certainly sounds like we getting ready to leave dock doesn’t it?
What a morning! I was just beginning the Net when all of a sudden there was a loud scraping noise happening on the outside of the boat. It didn’t take long to realize that it was George scraping our bottom. We had asked him to clean the bottom of the boat today but we sure didn’t think he would start as early as 7:30 AM. It was a little distracting and later Pam on Night Owl was laughing as she described how I rushed through the Net that morning. I evidently would ask for input, give people all of 2 seconds and then say, “nothing heard” and move on. When I the explained distraction to her she said I should have just stated that “someone was scraping my bottom” and they all would have understood.
By 9 AM we had delivered the laundry to Claire, and we were ready for a trip into town. I had to purchase a few groceries for dinner. We had planned a potluck British Night. Everyone was preparing British dishes and I had said that I would make Shepherds Pie. Our friend Graham on Rasi asked what I put in a Shepherds Pie. When I told him I used lean ground beef, he said he figured so. He then asked me how many shepherds I have ever seen watching a herd of beef? Shepherds Pie is supposed to be made of mutton. It made sense but I couldn’t believe that even my recipe book could be so wrong. I consulted with a few more Brits and learned that what I have thought of as Shepherds Pie all my life is really Cottage Pie.
I normally would not discuss food and then move on to discuss the waste system onboard the boat but Rick was upset that I would even consider omitting such an important thing from my journal. In the afternoon, he removed our manual pump, which we have used to empty the holding tank overboard since arriving in the Caribbean and replaced it, which a new electric macerator pump. He feels that the mechanization of this system was important because the muscles in his right arm can now be used for raising the anchor rather than operating the overboard pump.
The evening was a great success. Some of the Brits came draped in flags or wearing them as aprons. We had bangers and mash, beef stew and dumplings, a few different Shepherd Pies and my Cottage Pie. There were some curry dishes and other dishes that didn’t have a label. Pot luck desert consisted of Bread and Butter pudding, Treacle pie and custard etc. The Brits true to form got a sing song started after dinner which digressed to the point that we moved on to Pam’s recitation of Albert and the Lion (which was taught in the British schools as far back as 1937), then on to their terrible limericks.
Rick set the alarm so we would be up early to help Carol and Tom on Moonrise leave the dock. I felt 5:30 AM was a little too early. The sun wasn’t even up. As it happened, it wouldn’t have mattered how early we got up the wind had been howling all night. It’s crazy to try and leave these docks unnecessarily when the wind is up. Since they were only leaving to anchor 100 metres away in the bay, they decided to wait. I started cleaning and getting ready for our first inaugural guest (not crew or a family member), who arrives this Monday. I discovered that the bunk in the aft cabin was still in existence. I thought that for sure it had been lost forever. Rick checked the engine and steering, which is accessed through the same aft cabin. The room was scrubbed clean ready for company.
I continued cleaning the boat and Rick work on some of his small boat projects. In the afternoon I stopped for awhile picked up a book and decided to relax. In fact, I stated that I was taking the rest of the day off. That evening we even went to the Rum Squall barbecue for dinner because I refused to cook on my afternoon off.
Our day started at 3:30 AM when the bilge alarm went off not once but 3 times in a row. We checked all of the easy access areas and could not find anything even damp. The only other location that we could check was the bilge under the engine. So in the early hours of the morning, Rick reluctantly removed the engine panel. Sure enough, for some reason the stuffing box was dripping away at a ridiculous rate. Rick spent the next half-hour or so tightening things up and by the time he was finished I was already fast asleep again.
Moonrise left dock before we had finished our first cup of coffee in the morning.
We went grocery shopping in town. The stores were all very busy since the St. George’s University students had all just arrived for a new semester and it seemed that they clearing out the grocery stores. We returned to the boat and put everything away and I was able to do a little hand laundry before noticing that the winds had abated a bit. When I announced to Rick that I thought if we wanted to finally leave dock we should do it within the next half-hour. We called Rasi and Moonrise to give us a hand and Odyssey came as well. The timing was perfect. There was no wind at all as I backed the boat out between the mooring balls (which is normally impossible). Graham from Rasi was onboard and as the bowlines were let go he pulled them in. Rick was standing at the stern pulling in the last stern line from the windward mooring. We had let the others go a few minutes before.
The sky was darkening as we turned the corner around the other boats to pick
up a mooring ball. Tom from Moonrise was already at the mooring to take
and tie our lines for us. We had truly pulled out in the calm before the
storm. The sky was really turning black. I called Pam and Chas from
Night Owl on the radio to see if they were still coming around from Hog Island
for a dinghy drift. Without looking outside they said, “sure, we are just
about ready to leave”. They did come about a half-hour later when the
skies cleared a bit. We never did have the dinghy drift, everyone just
passed the appetizers around at the Rum Squall Bar. The storm got worse
and now that we couldn’t just walk down the dock to get aboard we had to wait
for the wind and rain to ease. When we did decide to leave, Luis from
Coqui needed help. The outboard on his dinghy wasn’t strong enough to make
headway against the wind and waves so we towed him to his boat. Totally
drenched with salt water we arrived back at Wind-Borne III, we had a quick
shower and then sat and listened to the wind. It felt good to be away from
the dock but Rick thanked me for requesting a mooring ball for a few days since
we had received a call from both Moonrise and Serendipity telling us they had
both dragged a little.
It was an enjoyable day away from dock. I vacuumed and washed the floors in the morning. In the afternoon both Rick and I finally relaxed and read for awhile before going to Happy Hour.
We had a wonderful night. It was cool with reasonably strong winds but
no rain. We had breakfast in the workshop, which has now been transformed
into a cockpit. Rick went to town and picked up some fresh fruits that we
had not been able to get when we went shopping the other day. I remained
with the boat and ran the engine for a few hours and made some water. It’s
nice to be able to make our own water again.
At about 3PM I received a call on the radio from the marina office with a message. Pam had called from Barbados, she was able to get an earlier flight and would arrive here at 6:05PM. Rick and I went to Happy Hour and then left for the airport at 5:45PM. When we arrived, her plane was already on the ground. We only had to wait a few minutes and she was out the door so we returned to the Rum Squall Bar before 6:30PM. Everyone was still at the Bar to welcome her.
A quick dinghy ride to the boat and the Rick served Caesar’s in the Cockpit while I prepared dinner. We had a lot of news to catch up with so it was after 11PM before we finally went to bed.
There was almost no wind overnight at all so our landlubber guest was not
even rocked to sleep. We relaxed over breakfast and headed up to the hotel
for lunch and a swim. It rained off and on all day
long. On our way back to the boat we stopped at the Rum Squall Bar and
waited for one of the little rain squalls to pass before getting into the
dinghy.
When we stopped at Serendipity to say hi, Karen and Tom invited us aboard. We had a nice visit and Samantha gave us an official tour. She provided tickets and made signs throughout the boat.
We had dinner on board Wind-Borne.
We started the day with a relaxing breakfast in the cockpit after which Rick
put Pam to work polishing the stainless steel on the steering wheel. He
went to get some gas for the dinghy and I cleaned up below. We hadn’t done
much and already it was lunchtime. We had a light lunch and then all
hopped into the dinghy to head for Hog Island. We stopped to visit a few
boats on the way and gradually made our way to the beach. We were one of
the first dinghies to arrive but everyone
showed up within a short time. Pam and I played volleyball with the gang.
Rick took pictures and cheered us on. By the time the game was finished
(Pam’s team won, mine lost), Roger had dinner almost ready. The regulars
were a little disappointed because this was the first time ever that there was
no chicken being served. We had a choice of Swordfish, Lambi or Lobster
Salad with our meal.
After dinner we headed back around the point before dark. We stopped at the Rum Squall Bar for a short time and then back to the boat.
Rick made his famous poached eggs on toast for breakfast and then we all
quickly got ready for an Island tour.
Anju, Misty and Friends of Rasi joined us. The first stop was the
garment factory where a lot of us bought some more clothes. Next we went
to the Annadale Falls. Oh, no! There is a huge cruise ship in the harbour
and I think the majority of passengers from that ship were visiting Annadale
Falls. Many ladies with fruit and flowers on their head were there
allowing people to take a picture of them for $1US. The wandering
guitarist was there as well but none of them were to be outdone by the divers
who would jump off the cliff, again for money. We saw the falls and then
moved on. Our next stop was the Grand Etang National Park in the
Rain
Forest where I tried to coax the monkeys to come for a banana. I think
they had already been fed too many bananas earlier in the day. On our way
from the Rain Forest to Gouyave for lunch we stopped many times while Henson,
our driver, showed us nutmegs, cocoas, clove trees, banana plants, golden
apples, mangos etc. At one point he even climbed a tree to find the
perfect nutmeg to show everyone. We stopped for lunch at Kelly’s
Restaurant and found Michael one of our previous tour guides there as well.
Our last stop was the Dougaldston Spice Estate where the cocoa beans were being
dried. The last time we visited this plantation the large rolling drying
racks were being used to dry mace. We returned to Secret Harbour just in
time for Happy Hour.
I’m certainly starting to feel a little older. All of the many Birthday
wishes I received were very nice but didn’t help me forget the aging issue.
We were up early enough and two minutes before I started the Cruisers Net I threw some oatmeal muffins into the oven. As soon as the Net was finished, we quickly ate, washed and ran. This was Pam’s day to ride the Darries bus into town and explore St. George’s. We started at the Market and then walked her up and down Young Street exploring some of our favourite stores. We walked around the Carenage and back just in time to meet the Darries bus to take us back to the boat.
The plan was that we were going to have a siesta and be well rested for the evening. What actually happened is that we had a couple of drinks and gabbed all afternoon.
It was about 4PM when we stopped and got ready to go out for the evening.
Although we walked over to Prickly alone we met Rasi and Moonrise when we got
there. Pride and Anju arrived a
little later. All together there were 15 of us. We stayed at Prickly
for Happy Hour and then walked to Castaway’s Restaurant. Pride,
Anju and Moonrise decided to have dinner
there. We chose to eat at The Choo Light Restaurant with Rasi. We
had a great meal and then went back to Castaway’s for karaoke until 11:30PM when
everyone was looking a little “nackered” we decided it was time to call it a
night.
It’s been a busy week and today was Pam’s last day so we slowed things down a
bit. We took the Darries Bus into Grand Anse and spent the morning
relaxing on the beach and working on Pam’s tan. We swam for a while and
then walked back along the shore to the Spiceland Mall. We stopped for a
cappuccino and cinnamon roll at Boulangerie and then just roamed a few more
stores until it was time for the return bus.
I’m not sure what Rick did in the afternoon but both Pam and I had a siesta until it was time to go ashore for her last Happy Hour. We didn’t stay too long and then returned to the boat for dinner. It was almost 11PM when we went to bed with the alarm set for 3:45AM. Pam had an early morning flight.
The alarm went off at 3:45AM. Rick made coffee and Pam showered and packed. When we arrived at dock both Pam and I were a little nervous because our taxi wasn’t there. Rick jumped back into the dinghy and went over to George’s boat to get him. He was awake so we’re not sure why he was late. We left for the airport at 5am and arrived in plenty of time. Her flight was at 6:05AM and in Grenada you don’t really have to be there too early. Rick and I returned to the boat, we were sorry to see Pam leave but happy to go back to bed for awhile.
In the afternoon Rick wanted to take a look at the engine and check out the muffler where he thought we had a small leak. It checked out fine there was a tiny leak at the mixing elbow and he just had to move the clamp up a bit. That was a joint effort so when we finished that I had some laundry to do by hand and then baked a peach pie (canned peaches). We had been invited to Anju for dinner. Phil roasted a chicken with olive oil, garlic and tarragon. We had roast potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots and lots of wonderful gravy. Phil told us he made the best chicken and gravy and he was not kidding. It was great. We had a lovely evening, but it appears as though Chris’s Dad who is visiting with them is being very mistreated. They gave him the chicken carcass and told him he had to pick it clean before it could be thrown out. Under duress he accepted the task with a bit of a snicker.
Things were quite relaxed today. While I cleaned the boat, Rick went grocery shopping. There was one little snag. I was supposed to charge the batteries and make water while he was gone. I turned on both the engine and water maker but when I took a look at the AMP meter to see how many AMPs were being generated it read zero. Wouldn’t you know it. I removed the engine cover and checked the belt on the alternator and checked the lights. Everything looked fine to me and that was the extent of my trouble shooting so I turned the engine off. When Rick returned and checked a little further he found that the wires to the AMP meter had been loosened and even though the meter had read zero the alternator was charging.
We put the groceries away and headed back to shore to go pick Kelly up at the airport. Her flight was supposed to arrive at 3PM and I wanted to be there at 2:30PM so we could wave. The plane was a half-hour late due to de-icing. (I can’t relate to that anymore). She waved to us as she stepped off the plane. We returned to the boat and checked out all the goodies she had packed in her suitcase. Other than the list of things I had asked her to bring, she brought us some DVD’s. My sister, true to form sent movies with snow scenes in them. She doesn’t want me to forget what the white stuff looks like. I had a nice surprise gift from my niece Sarah. She sent me a great DVD with no snow scenes in it. We eventually had a late dinner and went to bed.
We were a little rushed in the morning. Rick was supposed to help Luis
take his boat Coqui to dock. Kelly and I were going out on a ladies day so
we wanted to go ashore as well. In the end the three of us in the dinghy
all helped Luis with his lines. Tom from Moonrise was there with his
dinghy and Bob from Pride was helping from the dock. When we finished,
Lori from Pride called us back to the dock so that she could return some flag
fabric I had loaned her. She returned the fabric but she had used it not
for herself but to make us a lovely gift. Pride has a picture of a moose
under a palm tree. This is their boat’s burgee and emblem. It’s
painted on their dinghy as well as their flag. Here, she had designed an
emblem for us. Wind-Borne III now has a burgee. On the burgee is a
Beaver with a Pan Drum. I think it’s a great
representation of Canada and the Caribbean. She must have been working on
this for awhile because she got the drawing of the beaver from Serendipity and
everyone else seemed to know about it except me. Even Rick was in on it.
The rest of the day was great. 15 ladies and 2 kids squeezed into the van and we went again to the garment factory. They really are getting to know us there. We then went to Grenville and stopped at a bamboo/basket maker’s place and had lunch. Our last stop of the day was a little closer to the boat at a pottery-making place. It seems that no matter how large or small the business is the Grenadians love to have visitors to show around.
We finished the day at Happy Hour, which Rick seemed to need after a very frustrating day working on the boat. He cleaned the dinghy, tightened the staysail, put the jack lines out and played with the wind vane, which appeared to have seized a little.
This was departure day. We were leaving Mount Hartman Bay. The problem was we had three different opinions as to the best departure time. I wanted to leave just after 9AM when I would obtain my clean laundry from Claire. Kelly wanted to leave at noon after a swim and lounge by the pool. Rick wanted to wait and leave tomorrow so he could continue his work on the wind vane, which was coming along but needed a little more TLC. The best solution was a compromise. Rick worked during the morning while Kelly and I went to the pool. We left at noon and just went as far as St. George’s. We tried to anchor in Martins Bay just outside of the Lagoon but after the forth try we gave up and moved into the Lagoon. It was a little crowded but the anchor set after only two tries. We had arrived early enough for us to have appetizers, and then dinner, still leaving Rick daylight hours (with Kelly’s assistance), to finish the work on the wind vane. He is proud to announce that Jane the Vane is ready and waiting for action.
We were up and ready to go by 8AM. Motor sailing up the lee of the
island we had a few really strong gusts hitting us so before reaching the end of
the island, we reduced sail and waited to see what we would be into as we passed
the point. Wouldn’t you know it, wind right on the nose. Although
the wind was strong the waves hadn’t built yet (I told everyone to touch wood
when they said that) we estimated they were 3 to 4 feet. We heard Tiger
Lily II on the radio, they were in Petit St. Vincent so we said hi to them.
Kelly being the guest on board took over the lee side of the cockpit and
chuckled, as I sitting on the windward side would get a little spray once in a
while. Eventually she offered to switch sides so that I could at least get
out of the sun. She made this nice offer just as we were approaching Kick
Em Jenny. Well Kick Em Jenny kicked up a few good
waves. The best came right at us over the dodger and bimini and broke
right on top of Kelly. It was great fun, she was totally soaked with salt
water and very pleased that she was watching Rick’s eyes rather than the wave or
she would have had a mouthful. The forecasted 8 to 10 foot waves were here
but it was still a great passage day with lovely blue skies and sunshine.
We didn’t see any whales or dolphins but did see a very large sea turtle
swimming by us. It was almost 4PM when we arrived in Tyrrel Bay, Carriacou.
Rasi was there and came over to let us know that Happy Hour at the Carriacou
Yacht Club started at 5:30 PM. Graham and Ann still had their guests Carol
and Win so there were seven of us until Malcolm & Margot from Kiwa arrived.
It was just like back in Secret Harbour. We didn’t stay too long because
the mosquitoes were vicious and everyone was hungry.
When we had anchored the night before, what we thought was a fish trap maker beside our boat was really a marker for a private mooring. It banged against the hull until about 11:30PM when Rick went out and tied it to our boat to keep it quiet. It was a bit of a noisy night so none of us slept soundly. At 6AM the anchor alarm went off, I rolled over to go back to sleep and Rick got up to check it and start the coffee. A minute later the propane alarm went off. It was just Rick re-setting it but I had a feeling it was a hint that it was time to get up. Rick made us his world famous poached eggs on toast for breakfast and we lifted anchor by 8AM. We arrived at Hillsborough to check out with customs about an hour later and I heard Dakare on the radio. They were in Tobago Cays and just heading to Union Island to check out. Meanwhile, Union Island was our next stop to check in. We had a great sail there. The winds and waves were perfect.
Check in at Union Island was quick. We walked along the shore to
customs and then headed along the road in the opposite direction to immigration
at the airport. Afterwards back at the Anchorage Yacht club we found Rasi
and joined them for a drink. Graham let us know that they were going to
have dinner in the dining room that night so we decided to join them. When
we were all leaving to go back to the boats, a sharp piece of metal caught
Rasi’s dinghy and put a large cut in it. Quick thinking Win held his hand
tightly over the hole while Graham and crew raced back to the boat. We
followed closely behind just in case. Graham patched the dinghy but
couldn’t inflate it for 12 hours so Rick offered to play taxi service when it
was time for Happy Hour. Meanwhile Kelly and I went for a swim by the boat
in the crystal clear turquoise water. The dinner reservations were for
seven of us at 7PM. Our table was overlooking the water where there was a
walled in area of pet nurse sharks. We asked the waitress what to feed
them and she bought us some fish scraps from the kitchen. Dinner was very
enjoyable and we were quite impressed with the band.
