What a beautiful night. It was cool, there was no wind at all and no rain. We started calling both Sea Dream I and Lil Ollie at 7AM to see if they could be ready to leave this morning. Sea Dream didn’t have their radio on and Lil Ollie was still sleeping. When we finally reached Sea Dream they didn’t think they could be ready before noon so we decided to hang in here one more day. While having breakfast in the cockpit we watched 3 cruise ships come into port. I didn’t think there was room for the second one let alone a third. Later in the day there were 2 more at anchor outside the harbour. I was glad there was nothing we needed from the Carenage area today. Rick spent the day waxing the hull and I sat around and read my book. We went to the Grenada Yacht club for dinner with Elsie and Walt.
We had arranged with Sea Dream I that we would depart at 9AM. Normally we would leave earlier but I wanted to reach the north end of the island just as the tide changed. The waves in the passage are much more comfortable if the wind, waves and tide are all in the same direction. Anchors were raised right on schedule. There wasn’t a lot of wind but what there was seemed to be a little north of east. There was also a northeast swell in the lee of the island. The wind was right on our nose so we were just motoring. While still in the calm of the island we had lunch. Once into the passage between islands it was a little rough but it seemed no time at all and everything settled down. The tide had changed. The waves had been forecast to be 6 to 8 feet. I think they were closer to 6 feet. The winds were about 15 to 20 knots from the east and there was definitely a northeast swell. The drift caused by the tide really slowed us down. In fact after checking our track I mentioned to Rick that if we continued on same course we would be in Cuba before reaching Carriacou. So although we were motor sailing we started tacking east so that we wouldn’t completely miss the island. During the passage we discussed having nice stuffed pork tenderloin with fried sweet plantains and a salad for dinner. So just before heading into Tyrrel Bay I took the pork out of the freezer. At 5:30PM we pulled into the bay and we were just about to choose our perfect little spot to anchor when the engine started making a very ugly loud noise. On the way, I thought I heard a noise that sounded like a bit of a rattle. Rick could hear it as well and said we would check it out later. Well I guess this was later. He quickly determined it was the alternator and that we had better shut the engine off quickly before it destroyed the regulator. (We have a high output 150 amp alternator with a separate regulator.) We dropped anchor immediately and didn’t even take the time to really back down on the anchor. This made me a little nervous that we might drag. Since the engine was hot, nothing could be done for a while, we launched the dinghy and put the outboard motor on it just in case we had to deploy another anchor. It would be done using the dinghy. Malcolm and Margo from Kiwa stopped by in their dinghy to say hello and when we told them of our problem Malcolm offered Rick help if he needed it. They also let us know that this was carnival week in Carriacou.
Rick carry’s enough spare parts to almost build another boat and at times like this I’m extremely pleased with his foresight. Way down under everything else that was stored beneath the aft bunk was his spare alternator. It took him (with my assistance) about 1½ hours to remove the old alternator and install the new one. Dinner plans were quickly changed and the pork returned to the freezer. Instead we had wieners and beans. Dinner was finished and dishes finished before 9:30PM. It didn’t take either of us much longer to get ready for bed after that.
My fears about the anchor not being set were unfounded when in the morning we awoke and the anchor alarm had not sounded at all even with some pretty strong winds during the night. They say things happen in threes, well I hope that’s true because this morning our antenna tuner for the HAM radio was not working. Rick pulled everything out of the aft cockpit locker and found that when he had stored our beach chairs the other day they hit and damaged a solder connection. So the morning was spent testing the antenna, relocating the tuner to a safer spot and soldering new connections. Afterwards we decided to move the boat a little further into the bay. The winds were forecasted to increase and we would have less roll in closer to shore.
We spoke to David and Lenora from Midnight on the VHF radio. They and Tiger Lily II are planning a lobster beach barbecue in the Cays Wednesday night and they hoped we could make it.
In the afternoon it was nice to jump overboard into crystal clear water again. Mt. Hartman Bay consists of mangrove mud. Tyrell Bay has beautiful turquoise water with a sand bottom.
Free Spirit arrived in the anchorage and called to say hello. Kiwa, Sea Dream I and Just ‘N Time joined us at the Yacht Club for drinks and snacks before dinner. It was interesting meeting David & Dianna from Just ‘N Time. They found our web site last season and sent us an e-mail telling us that their boat was stored in True Blue Bay, Grenada but live in the U.S. We were hoping to meet up with them someday and without even trying it happened.
Today was the Carnival Parade in Hillsborough. It was scheduled to
start at 1PM but we have learned that start times don’t mean an awful lot in the
islands. It seems to be a terrible habit with Canadians, they like to be
punctual. So Elsie and Walt met us at the yacht club dinghy dock at
10:30AM. We walked along the beach until we could get up to the road.
Almost immediately a bus came by and asked if we were going to Hillsborough. We
jumped in and knew that we were going to be extremely early. On our way we
went through a small town called Brunswick. There was quite a crowd
gathered there and we saw Walt and Elaine from Island Girl so we told the bus
driver we would like to get out. The crowd was watching a group in
costume. Each person would shout out a line of Shakespeare and his partner
would have to respond with the correct reply. If they got it wrong the
first person would beat them with a rubber hose. They were very good at
it. Later they would continue the game in Hillsborough.
We joined Island girl in walking the rest of the way to town, which wasn’t
very far. We arrived at 11:30AM and bought some fruit before the stores
close at noon.
Around lunchtime we stopped and had a bite to eat thinking that we would finish a little after 1PM and then be ready for the parade. We finished right on time but of course there was no parade to be found. We killed time all afternoon with Kiwa, Island Girl, and Sea Dream I. Eventually we spent time dancing in the street with the locals to the Soca music blaring through gigantic speakers.
The parade that we had almost given up on started about 5PM. We laughed
because when we had asked where it actually traveled, we were told “oh,
just up
and down the street”. It did, it went up the street one way, went around
the block somehow and then came back down the street the other direction.
It was not a long parade but it took forever to go any distance because everyone
was dancing. We left a little after dark and we were able to get a bus
before the crowds started leaving. The bus took us right to the yacht
club, which saved us a long walk in the dark.
Simon, one of the boat boys came by. He had stopped at the boat yesterday and I asked him to return today. He sells French wine that he brings in from Martinique. Since we have a friend arriving in a few weeks who really likes her wine, we bought a case of red wine from him. I sure hope she isn’t into white wine.
Later in the morning Dominique who does stainless and aluminum welding came by to estimate what work would be required to build a support on the bimini for a couple of large solar panels. We agreed to have the work done in May when we also plan to haul out here for hopefully no more than a week. We want to raise the waterline a little more and put some fresh bottom paint on the hull.
When Dominique left, a dinghy stopped by and Richard and Laura from Purrfect Passage introduced themselves. Evidently Laura was following our web site for a while before they left home. When they saw Wind-Borne III they decided to come over and let us know. That’s two boats we’ve met this week through our web site, which I think is pretty amazing. We had talked Walt from Island Girl into bringing his guitar and singing for us at the yacht club and Malcolm from Kiwa agreed to accompany him with the harmonica. It was a fun evening. We had Kiwa, Island Girl, Lil Ollie, Sea Dream I, Purrfect Passage, Kiana and ourselves all singing along.
Rick spent the morning making a shopping list of what we will need to complete all our projects when we haul out in May. We left it with Roy the manager of Tyrrel Bay Haul out. He will order everything and try to have it here for us when we return.
We checked with Sea Dream I and agreed to leave in the morning. Since this was our last day here for a couple of months we went to the yacht club for an inexpensive dinner.
We had a rolly night for some reason and when we awoke the sky looked a little threatening. We waited until 9:15AM and nothing developed. The storms seemed to be passing to the north of us. Sea Dream I and we lifted anchor and headed around the corner of the island to Hillsborough. There we dropped anchor again and the guys went ashore to check us out with Customs and Immigration. It didn’t take long and we were on our way to Clifton, Union Island. Rick was complaining because the wind was on our nose again when after a couple of more miles we had just enough of a wind shift that we were able to have a nice sail almost right into the anchorage. Sea Dream I wasn’t confident that their anchor was set so Walt wanted to leave someone with the boat. That didn’t create a problem at all. The women stayed aboard and relaxed while the guys went ashore and checked us in with Customs and Immigration again. We had a call from both Tiger Lily II and from Midnight who were both over at Chatham Bay on the other side of the island. I told them we would try and get there this afternoon but by the time we were all checked in it was 4:30PM which I felt was a little too late to be setting off to another destination. We told them we would leave early the next morning.
It was a little after 8:30AM when we left Clifton and headed around the island to Chatham Bay. We arrived a little before 10AM. Arleen from Tiger Lily II was just going in for a swim so she checked our anchor for us. As soon as we were settled in, we jumped into the dinghy and went over to say hello to David and Lenora on Midnight and then Tiger Lilly II for a quick visit with Denis. Tiger Lily II left for Petit St. Vincent after lunch. Rick and I went for a swim and then later about 2PM the three boats (six of us), Midnight, Sea Dream I and Wind-Borne III took the dinghies around the point and snorkeled for awhile. We finished the afternoon on the beach with a beer and watched a couple of storms go by. David and Lenora invited everyone aboard Midnight for Sundowners.
We left Chatham Bay with Sea Dream I at 9AM, and headed for Salt Whistle Bay on the island of Mayreau. As usual, we had the wind and waves and current against us so a one hour passage took us almost two hours. Since the wave height was quite comfortable and we weren’t in a hurry it didn’t really matter. David and Lenora on Midnight were just getting out of bed as we were leaving, yet they pulled into the bay right behind us.
Salt Whistle Bay is a lovely place to anchor but I’m glad we arrived early because later in the afternoon the population grew from half a dozen boats to 20 boats. We went ashore with Midnight and explored the island a bit. I picked up a ripe coconut while wandering and Rick and I ate the whole thing for a snack in the afternoon. The water was crystal clear but the sky was very overcast and hazy so we didn’t go in for a swim. According to David Jones, the Caribbean weather forecaster, the haziness was caused by sand from the Sahara Desert blowing our way again.
We were ready to leave by 8AM but had told Sea Dream I that departure time was 9AM so we waited. It just so happened that Lenora on Midnight had finished her second cup of coffee by 9AM so they pulled out at 9AM as well. Midnight was going straight to Bequia but we wanted to stop Canouan. It only took us one hour to get to there. Corbay, Canouan was described as a small but very protected bay. The emphasis should have been on small.
There was just barely room for the two boats to anchor there. There wasn’t really anything scenic or interesting on shore but there was some good snorkeling. On one side of the bay the coral was better than the other side while the opposite side had a great variety of fish. Rick cleaned the bottom of the boat while snorkeling and I was assigned the bottom of the dinghy. There was very little breeze in the bay, so little in fact that perspiration was a problem while just trying to make cole slaw. The breeze is so constant here that one forgets the cooling factor associated with it. During dinner a catamaran came into the bay and ended up tying to a retaining wall in the centre of the bay because there really wasn’t room for a third boat to anchor.
At 8AM we raised anchors one at a time, as there wasn’t enough room for both boats to be maneuvering in the bay at the same time. Sea Dream I went first and then called us after leaving the bay to say they had dropped a shoe overboard and were unable to recover it. If we could come to the rescue they would appreciate it. We continued raising the anchor and then looked around for the shoe. It was just outside the entrance to the bay. We conducted our “shoe overboard drill” without a hitch and then called Sea Dream I to let them know that the rescue mission was successful.
The problem with a bay that is so protected is that you really have no idea
what the conditions are really like until you get out of the bay. The
waves were definitely 8 feet and the winds were 20+ knots. This was the
high side of the forecast. We should have listened to Denis our weatherman
friend who told us yesterday was the better traveling day. At least the
wind was not on the nose. We sailed close-hulled with a reefed main and
staysail and at times hit almost 9 knots. Needless to say it didn’t take
us long to get to Bequia. We tacked (can you believe it), into Admiralty
Bay and had the anchor set before 11:30. We, as most cruisers down here,
don’t normally tack. The sails go up and down and the motor goes on if you
want to get some where. Today however, the waves would have tossed us all
over the place so we actually tacked three times coming into the harbour.
We no sooner had the anchor set and a dinghy came racing over to visit us. It took both Rick and I a few minutes to recognize who it was. Michel, who used to be our dock neighbour in Toronto and his new wife Melanie, who we had never met before. They have a boat called Take Two and cruise down here part time. Melanie said that Michel was checking out boats flying a Canadian flag as they came into the bay. He saw our boat but didn’t recognize the name but when he saw Rick through the binoculars he literally jumped in the dinghy and yelled “It’s Rick!!”. It was really great to see them. Before we had a chance to make it back inside we had a visit from Nero, a boat we met back in Punta Macao, Dominican Republic, and then Midnight stopped by. They just left and Tiger Lily II stopped by for a chat. Denis, of course asked what the sea conditions were like. I told him that they were just as he forecasted, higher today than yesterday.
Sea Dream I arrived in the harbour a little more than an hour after us.
They had a bit of a rough ride but were pleased to see that the shoe made it
back safely.
In the afternoon we went to shore with David and Lenora and arranged for a sailmaker to come to the boat to provide an estimate for sail repairs. We need the entire UV protector on the sails re-stitched and we need a patch on the mainsail at one of the reefing points. I don’t know if I mentioned it before but we have had the mainsail reefed since we left Florida and the one of the reefing lines has chafed a hole through the sail. Withfield, the sailmaker, arrived shortly before dinner and agreed to have the work finished by the 21st of the month.
The first job of the day was to remove the sails. It was obviously going to be a little tricky because the wind was still very strong. We let out some extra scope on the anchor road so that we would hopefully not sail off our anchor. The mainsail was a snap since we didn’t have to raise it. The timing on the staysail was perfect, Rick had it down seconds after I unfurled it. The genoa provided a little more difficulty. When I unfurled it Rick found it had jammed in the furler and needed it furled again so he could rethink the issue. I can’t furl the genoa in strong winds so he had to run back to the cockpit to help. Eventually we tackled it again and this time I had to run forward and help because the sail was flapping so hard I thought it would toss Rick into the water. As he lowered it I climbed on top of the sail and sat on it. By 10AM we had all the sails bagged and Rick transported them in the dinghy to the sailmaker.
I started cleaning the inside of the boat. After a rough passage there is a “salt feel” everywhere on the boat so I washed ports, bulkheads and floors (windows, walls and floors for my non-nautical friends). When Rick returned he washed the salt off of the stainless steel and decks outside. In the afternoon I made some “Chile con Queso Dip” for appetizers tonight and we both sat and relaxed. Michel and Melanie came over for Happy hour a little after 5PM. It was a great Happy Hour because before any of us even noticed, it was 11PM. We had had a wonderful visit with them but called it a night and hit the sack.
Rick spent the morning going back and forth from the boat to town. I
think he was just having a dopey dinghy day. On one of his trips back to
the boat he let me know that the sails were ready to pick up. I didn’t
want them yet, as it’s still too windy to try and put them up so he returned and
told them we would pick them up tomorrow. While he was gone, I made water
and ran the engine in the morning. We both spent the afternoon reading and
relaxing. Tiger Lily II and Midnight came for appetizers and drinks at 5PM
and we all left at 7PM to go to dinner at Mac’s Pizzeria. Mac’s Pizzeria
is on the other side of the Bay near the Frangipani Restaurant where they have a
jump up every Thursday night. The pizza was great and after dinner we
walked over to the Frangipani to listen to the steel pan band for awhile.
Today was a holiday “National Hero’s Day”. The morning ferries were packed with people arriving from St. Vincent for a big high school track and field competition at the stadium. Our morning was dedicated to fixing the furler for the headsail. The foil had sheared off a pin and slipped down. This probably happened during one of our “pounding” passages. We hadn’t noticed it before because we very rarely use the genoa (too much sail). It was only when we tried to remove the sail that Rick found the luff tape jammed. The work began in earnest after Rick’s morning visit in the dinghy with most other boats in the anchorage. The repairs went well leaving us lots of time to work on other things. (My husband is a slave driver.) I defrosted and cleaned the fridge while he cleaned the dust off of the fans. At 5:30PM we went to visit Sea Dream I for Happy Hour.
We were up with the alarm at 4:45AM. This gave us time to have a coffee, get washed and be ready leave by 5:45AM. We were in the dinghy right on time and joined Sea Dream I, Midnight and Tiger Lily II at the dinghy dock by 6AM. We all took the 6:30AM ferry to Kingstown St. Vincent for market day. Poor Rick never thought to take anything for seasickness on a ferry so while we were eating breakfast in the dining area he went to the outdoor deck to get some fresh air.
The market place in Kingstown was packed. We went to the local fruit and vegetable market and then the fish market. I think we were all turned off a bit with the fish market because they were selling dolphin. I don’t mean dolphin fish. This was Flipper! One of St. Vincent’s industries is whaling as well. They are allowed to catch up to four humpback whales each year and as many pilot whales as they wish. A lot of their souvenir carvings are made from whalebones. We left the fish market and headed for a few department and hardware stores. We eventually made it to the grocery store. Groceries on Bequia are very expensive and the difference in price in Kingstown makes it worth the cost of the ferry, even for the locals. After shopping we stopped in the bakery for a croissant and met Calico Clam who we haven’t seen since before Christmas.
After buying and administering some Stugeron (seasickness medication which is not available in Canada), to Rick, we headed back to the ferry. There was a lot of yawning during the 1 hour passage back to Bequia. Siestas were in order for the afternoon.
Today began with church bells ringing while we watched the local ladies dressed in their Sunday dresses and hats walking along the roads and up the hills with their children on their way to church. Others were out sweeping the grounds around their houses and still others were just meeting and passing time on a beautiful Sunday morning.
Rick started cleaning the stainless steel again while I cleaned the hull from the dinghy. I first cleaned the area on the hull where the ladder folds down. I thought this was very smart because then I could put the ladder down and if I fell in, never being able to get Rick’s attention, I could just climb aboard without his assistance. Next I decided it would be wise to have the dinghy key in the dinghy just in case it started to drift away. I did a great job washing the starboard side of the boat and decided to walk the dinghy under the anchor line around the bow to get to the port side. Being careful not to hit the hull with the outboard engine on the dinghy I accidentally grabbed hold of a cotter pin on the bobstay and ripped a couple of my fingers. I quickly let go and as I did, the dinghy started to drift away from the boat. I could have grabbed for the boat again but I just thought that with my sore hand it would be easier to start the motor. So after checking my injuries I gave a pull on the pull cord but nothing happened. That was not a big deal since the outboard doesn’t always start on the first pull. I gave it a little gas, opened the choke and tried again. It still didn’t start. I checked the fuel connections and still nothing. I am now drifting away very quickly and wouldn’t you know it, Rick is watching. He gets worried and dives in to swim after me (my hero). Meanwhile another dinghy is passing by so they stop to give me a tow. Just as they took my line I noticed that I didn’t have the key in the outboard (no, I don’t have blonde roots). I put the key in, gave it a pull and the engine started immediately. (So much for all of my safety preparations earlier.) I thanked the people in the other dinghy and motored past Rick who was now swimming back to the boat. I bandaged the cuts on my two fingers and went to read. I would not be able to put my hands back in the salt water today.
While recuperating, I discovered that we have a great TV station here in Bequia. Although there’s only one station it provides CNN, Lifetime and I’m not sure what other stations depending upon the time of day. We watched a local program about whaling on Bequia and I learned that it’s really three not four humpback whales that they are allowed to catch. Evidently, the whaling station on Petit Nevis is being closed because the owners are trying to sell the island (only $6M).
They are reopening an older station on Semples Cay. Green Peace was here in the bay when they taped the program.
We finally picked up our sails this morning. They were ready 4 days ago
but when we didn’t pick them up on Thursday we had to wait until Monday because
of the holiday. They did a nice repair job on them but missed fixing the
luff tape on the Genoa. We put up the staysail and main and then Rick
returned the Genoa to the sailmaker. After lunch we finally went to roam
the stores. It’s an extremely clean, well-kept and picturesque town. We
compared prices in some of the grocery stores. Butter was $12EC in one
store and $7EC in another. There were these types of price variances in
each store depending upon the item. On our return, we stopped at the
market, which is referred to as the Rasta Market. I had a lot of fun with the
venders they would have sold me everything including a bag to carry all of it.
I ended up with some nice bananas, mangos, a pineapple and a small watermelon.
We stopped to visit Midnight on our way back to Wind-Borne III. They
mentioned that there was a new bar opening tonight (St. Patrick’s Day), and they
were having a “Name the Bar contest”. We agreed to go because it gave me
an opportunity to wear my St. Patrick’s Day top hat and Rick got to wear his
green bow tie. We had a good time with some Brits that we met who were
here on a one-week charter. The closest thing we could get to green beer
was ordinary beer in a green bottle. Some times you just have to rough it
in paradise.
Rick picked up the genoa in the morning and in between gusts we got it up without a problem. After that he checked and topped up batteries. We spent the afternoon reading. Sea Dream took us out to dinner at Coco’s. Not only was the food great but there was a fantastic view of the bay and a string band to entertain us during dinner. Although we enjoy steel pan bands it was nice to hear something different for a change. Coco’s is on the opposite side of the bay from where we are anchored but when there are four or more people for dinner they provide free transportation.
It’s a good thing we don’t have to make many major decisions living this lifestyle. It took us quite a while to determine which laundry service to use today. There are three choices here. Two companies will pick up and deliver to your boat. Most will line-dry your clothes or use an automatic dryer depending upon your preference. All provide same day service. Since Rick was going into town we decided to drop our laundry off at the service by the dinghy dock. Then we were free to go to Lower Bay with about 5 other boats and not worry about being around for a delivery back to the boat. We went to DeReef Restaurant for lunch, which is on the beach in Lower Bay. On Wednesday they have a pan band playing during the afternoon. After lunch we had a swim and then went back into town to pick up the clean laundry.
What a change in weather! It was like a millpond all day. We celebrated the first day of spring by cleaning all water strainers and washing all cockpit cushions. Our cockpit cushions are covered with sunbrella upholstery fabric. We’ve been very pleased with the cushions because unlike most boats that have vinyl-covered cushions these don’t get hot in the sun and they are very comfortable to sit or lay upon. They do however gradually become salty and grubby. When this occurs I remove the covers, hand wash them and put them back on while still damp to prevent shrinkage. They dry very quickly and then look and feel like new again.
Now that we have no wind we are running the engine everyday to charge the
batteries. It is so calm at night that it feels like we’re tied to a dock
rather than at anchor.
Rick somehow lost our sail ties when we took the sails in to be repaired. We have looked everywhere since then but have not found them. We went to Bequia Canvas and ordered some new ones. They will have them ready within an hour or so but we’ll pick them up tomorrow.
We then went to the Fish and Rasta Market. They were blowing the conch horn at the fish market to let everyone know that the fishermen were in with their catch.
We dinghied from there over to the Gingerbread Restaurant on the other side
of the bay for lunch. They make the best sandwiches in the islands.
We met a lady there who was from
Maine. She said they also make one of the best fish chowders that she’s
ever had. That’s quite a compliment considering where the lady was from.
After lunch we went down to Princess Margaret Beach where we gave each other a hair cut and then went for a swim.
When we got back to the boat Rick wasn’t feeling very well. We think that he had a little too much sun today because after resting in the shade and having a cup of tea he was feeling better.
It was only 8:10AM and a stream of vehicles were driving down the main street
honking their horns. We were anchored close enough to shore that we could
see the bride and groom standing in the back of the pick up truck that was
leading the procession. Midnight called to tell us that all of the honking
meant that they had caught a whale. We thought it strange that everyone
would be dressed in white with decorated vehicles for a whale and yet it was
awfully early in the morning for a wedding. The main street only goes so
far and then the traffic reaches the end and has to turn around and come back.
So we all got our binoculars out and waited for their return. Sure enough,
it was an early morning wedding. (Pick up trucks are used as taxis here
and similar to Virgin Gorda, the back of the pick up truck has seats along the
side and a surrey on top. The surrey had been removed so that the bride
and groom could stand and be visible.)
After all the excitement, Arleen from Tiger Lily II stopped by and brought me her recipe and some starter to make some yogurt. I didn’t make it right away because we had a serious game of dominos scheduled for 9:30AM. It had been quite a while since Rick and I had played and Denis and Arleen from Tiger Lily were just learning. We had a riot and at the end of the game, the top three scores were held by the women, which meant we wiped the guys. /p>
InIn the afternoon Rick returned to his favourite pastime of cleaning stainless steel. David, Lenora, Arleen and I went for a walk up the hill to an old fort. The lookout provided a great view of Admiralty Bay (a Kodak moment).
I bought some banana bread from one of the boat boys this morning. Some fresh oranges, banana bread and coffee sounded like an easy breakfast to me. Rick commented that my homemade banana bread is much better than the loaf I bought. He was such a smooth talker and I just happened to have 6 over-ripe bananas that had to be eaten or tossed. After breakfast I baked “Beverley’s Banana Bread” for him and made some homemade yogurt using a recipe Tiger Lily II gave me yesterday.
I had planned to clean the boat today in preparation for our company. I don’t know whether it was the smell of the bread in the oven or an after effect of too much sun, but Rick took over. He had a rag and a pail of Pinesol and he was everywhere. I watched but didn’t want to interrupt or disturb him, as he seemed to be in deep concentration and doing a wonderful job. By lunchtime the boat was sparkling. He stopped for lunch and then continued on with his pail and rag in the cockpit. When the cockpit including the floor and the coamings had been scrubbed, he resorted to polishing some more stainless steel. The man was definitely on a mission. It was 4PM and I promised him if he would stop for a while we could go to shore and I would buy him a beer. It worked. He didn’t even change his clothes. It was our fastest trip to shore. Once in town there was a bit of a problem, since it was Sunday all of the stores were closed and we couldn’t find a beer anywhere. He eventually settled for a double scoop ice cream in a waffle cone.
This was the big day. Our friend Carol arrived late in the afternoon.
We spent the morning provisioning everything except the fresh fruits and
vegetables. I wanted Carol to enjoy the fun of shopping in the market with
us. We were finished by
lunchtime so we stopped at a small local place for
a Chicken Roti before returning to the boat. We rested until it was time
to leave for the airport. The trip to the airport was on a local bus while
the return trip was by taxi. It was nice to have Carol aboard.
We began Carol’s first day onboard Wind-Borne with some homemade yogurt,
homemade granola and homemade banana bread for breakfast. We were all
pleasantly surprised and everyone asked for seconds. Our first mission of
the day was to stop at the Rasta market for fresh fruits and vegetables.
We had a fun time and bought more than the three of us could carry. We
loaded it all into the dinghy
for Rick to take it all to the boat. Carol
and I walk through town visiting
some of the tourist traps. Rick eventually caught up with us and we went
to the Frangipani restaurant for a drink before lunch. After the
Frangipani we went next door for lunch at the Gingerbread Restaurant.
Our next stop was Princess Margaret beach for a swim and a little sun. On our way back to the boat we stopped to say hello to Midnight and Tiger Lily II who had gone diving in the morning. The big news of the day was that they saw a humpback whale less than 50 feet from their dive boat. Wouldn’t you know it, no one had a camera.
We agreed to meet everyone at the Bistro for Happy Hour before dinner. I think there were 8 or 9 boats that gathered at the Bistro.
We had steaks for dinner purchased from Doris Fresh Foods. We had been
warned that Doris’s products were very expensive. They were, but the
steaks were worth every penny. They were very thick and so tender you
could cut them with a fork. The flavour was to die for and we had not
added anything to the meat before barbecuing them. We haven’t tasted
steaks like this since leaving Toronto. So the only comparison are the
steaks at The Butcher Block Café in Toronto.
AfAfter dinner, Carol was asleep within 5 minutes of hitting the pillow.
Our departure date has been set for tomorrow so after breakfast we called
Daffodil Marine. They came over almost immediately with one of their fuel
barges and we filled up with diesel for tomorrow. Since they were here I
gave them some laundry so we could leave with everything clean. This was
all finished by just after 8AM.
We left at 9:30AM to go snorkeling with Tiger Lily II to Devil’s Table which is a reef just around the corner from where we’re anchored. It was a great snorkel spot. There were lots of different kinds of coral and a great variety of fish. We even saw a baby sea turtle. When we finished snorkeling we dinghied over to De Reef Restaurant in Lower Bay for lunch and another swim. David and Lenora from Midnight joined us and we stayed for a while to listen to the steel pan band. When we returned to the boat, I jumped into the water to clean the waterline on the boat. Rick went to town to buy a new snorkel mask as his is starting to leak. Carol our enthusiastic guest fell sound asleep in the cockpit.
We raised the anchor about 9AM to head for Canouan. It was a perfect
day, the waves were forecast to be 3 to 5 feet with 10 to 15 knot winds South of
East. Rick took some Stugeron (seasickness medication before leaving).
We had a lovely sail most of the way but the wind started to die around the half
way mark. Even though the swells and waves were small, the roll started to
upset both Carol’s and my stomach so we joined Rick in partaking of some
Stugeron. We arrived in Grand Bay Charleston about 2PM. We called
Brian and Anne from Nativa on the radio and found they were in Salt Whistle Bay.
They reported that it was quit crowded and rolly there so we agreed to meet them
tomorrow in Saline Bay, Mayreau. Jodi and Ron from Voyager stopped by the
boat to say hello on their way to shore. We all had a little siesta in the
afternoon and went ashore at 5PM looking for Happy Hour. The Tamarind
Hotel was beautiful but expensive. We each had one beer and then walked
along the shore a short ways back to the dinghy dock. Back on board we had
green banana salad and hamburgers for dinner.
I’m glad we decided to move on today because the roll in Grand Bay overnight
was quite significant. We arrived at Saline Bay, Mayreau and shortly after
anchoring I called Nativa to see what they had planned for the afternoon.
Brian was going for a swim but Anne was going to have a siesta. Although
we said we were going for a swim we all fell asleep before that could happen.
In the end we eventually went for a short walk along the beach and then returned
to the boat in time to prepare some snacks for Happy Hour. Brian and Anne
joined us at 5:30PM and Happy Hour continued until 9:30PM. When our
company left we all hit the sack again. You really could say that we slept
most of the day.
We started the day with pancakes and Canadian Maple Syrup served in the
cockpit. Rick tried to fix the fan/blower for the engine. It stopped
working yesterday while we were underway. He removed it and found it was
toast. He just sent an email to our friend in Tyrrel Bay and ordered a new
one to arrive in May. It was 10:30AM before we were already to go ashore.
We pick a spot on the beach under a small palm leaf sun hut and relaxed for a
while with Brian and Anne. Eventually Carol, Brian, and I went for a swim.
Afterwards when we were all sitting under the hut we cut up a small watermelon.
It doesn’t seem to mater how small a watermelon is it’s always too big. We
ate about half and fed a little to the Cackles (black birds on the islands that
are always mooching food). The remainder we cut up and gave to some of the
local children who were playing on the beach.
We returned to the boat to shower and rest before tackling the road to town.
It was extremely high and steep but not as bad as those in Grenada. At the
top of the road is the village of Mayreau. We stopped at Island Paradise,
which is almost at the top of the final hill for a beer. We then went into
and behind a small Catholic Church where there was a beautiful view of the
Tobago Cays. On our way back down the hill The Flamingo Bar had advertised
a barbecue for this evening. It was only 5:30PM and the party didn’t start
until 9 PM. We explained that 9PM was well past our bedtime so we wouldn’t
be able to come back that late even with the free ride they offered us. So
they changed the clock so that Happy Hour would start now. They turned up
the music and
invited us to dance. In the end we had our own little party.
Once down the hill we walked over to the salt pond. It appears as though
they are still harvesting salt from the pond. I was quite interesting the
way it was divided for raking.
We were running the water maker in the evening and it started making a hissing noise. This will be the number one item on Rick’s to-do list tomorrow.
We had a really rolly night. Carol is quite a trooper. A few things rolling and rattling near her room awakened her. She found the flashlight and resolved the noises by herself in the middle of the night. I, on the other hand, kicked Rick out of bed to go on deck a put the windless handle away so it would stop rolling on the deck above my head.
When Rick got up in the morning a large cruise ship was just pulling into the bay. Our quiet little bay was about to turn into Coney Island. We raised anchor and left for the Tobago Cays at 9:30AM. It was only 3 ½ miles so it didn’t take long.
As soon as we arrived, Carol and I went in for a swim. Rick started taking the water maker apart. He spent most of the day working on it and did resolve the problem. Carol and I spent the afternoon in the cockpit talking to boaters that dinghied over to say hello. David and Dianna from Just 'N Time came over and offered to trade Chardonnay for some of our Merlot. Since Chardonnay is really Carol’s favourite wine, we jumped at the offer. Reid & Akke, Canadians from Edmonton on Changes in Latitude stopped by to introduce themselves.
There were a few other dinghies and swimmers who we got to talk to.
Happy Hour was aboard Nativa in the evening. Anne prepared enough nibbles
that when we arrived back on our boat no one was really hungry enough for
dinner. So at the late hour of 8:30PM we hit the sack.
We awoke to a perfect day. Rick prepared his famous poached eggs with
bacon and toast for breakfast. Later on our way to let Nativa know that we
were heading out to snorkel we passed a Man-o-war floating by our boat. We
kept a close eye out for any more while in the water. The variety of fish
and coral was
great on the reefs. Afterwards we all went over to Baradel
Island and sat in the shade under some palm trees for a while. The
afternoon consisted of a siesta for everyone. Gladys Kravitz, AKA Carol,
is becoming an expert with the binoculars. She can tell us what boats have
arrived and left the anchorage. She recognizes those we have met before
and searches for vessels flying Canadian Flags. Just before Happy Hour
Barb and John from Emerald (It’s a green boat), stopped by to introduce
themselves. They are from Brampton, Ontario and plan to keep their boat in
Grenada this summer. Dinner was barbecued chicken with rice and sweet
plantains.
Everyone was in bed shortly after dinner.
