This was not one of my favourite days. I awoke to the aroma of the coffee being made but when I stepped into the main salon, I found that we were into “workshop mode”. Rick was already working on the engine. I was able to persuade him to take a break long enough for me to make some arepas con queso for breakfast. After that, there was no stopping him. He drained most of the oil from the engine which was a difficult chore as he had no way of warming it therefore it was a slow process. While the oil was draining, he disconnected hoses and anything else that had to be removed prior to lifting the engine. This went on from before breakfast until Ralph and Karen (KaraDream) arrived at happy hour. They had just returned from Bequia and as soon as they were anchored, they came over for a visit. Rick put away his tools for a while but when they left and returned to their own boat, he pulled them out again.
Seeing as we had skipped lunch, we had a very quick pasta dinner before going to bed as we were more tired than hungry.
We had a quick breakfast and waited for Roy who arrived with a dinghy to tow us to the travel lift just after 8AM.
It was an easy docking. All I had to do was to steer. Roy provided the power with the 15 hp Yamaha and Ralph (KaraDream) stood by in his dinghy as “nudger”, just in case we needed one. It was so easy going to the dock with the dinghy providing the power; it made me wonder why we have a 44 hp diesel engine.
Rick had disconnected everything except for one bolt on the engine mounts. He
had put some penetrating oil on it last night hoping it would be easier to
remove in the morning. He couldn’t budge it. I suggested to Roy that we needed
Gus’s muscles but Gus had left on one of Jerry’s tug boats 30 minutes ago. Roy
called Sam to help. Sam claims to be very strong so Roy wanted to let him prove
it. Both Sam and Rick worked for three hours trying to release the one stupid
bolt. Finally, they gave up and we called the Tool Meister. He had an impact
wrench and an electrical power wrench. The island had been without power all
morning but if it was 110 volts rather than 220 volts we had our generator that
would provide power. We were lucky and it was 110 volts. It took another 30
minutes but eventually the bolt was removed.
The actual removal of the engine was a little stressful. Roy and Rick worked
well together but still the engine scratched the teak bulkhead a little. A
scratch in the wood was not a major issue as Rick can refinish it to look like
new so really it was a good non-eventful morning. We were towed back to anchor
before noon. As soon as we were settled in I realized that I had gathered the
laundry to take into the yacht club and during all of the excitement, I totally
forgot about it.
After tidying tools etc., Rick went ashore to order a few new hoses through
Roy and to deliver the laundry. While he was gone, I washed our bimini and
dodger. I was almost finished when the sponge I was using went flying overboard.
I scrambled for the boat hook and fish net but I was too slow. The sponge was
quickly traveling out of Tyrrel Bay. Although I was wearing a bathing suit, I
wasn’t going to jump overboard and swim with the current as it would have been a
hard swim back. I sat in the cockpit and watched my sponge head out to sea
knowing that there were no
sponges available on this island. When I had just
about written it off, I saw Rick racing back in the dinghy. As he came close to
the boat, I sent him off to rescue my sponge. Hero that he is, I can continue my
cleaning for many more days.
The leg of lamb had been removed from the freezer and placed in the fridge yesterday. This meant that I was committed to cooking it tonight. I used a modified Julia Child recipe and it was wonderful. The only issue was that I should have invited many more people to dinner, as there was a lot of meat on this leg. I will search for leftover lamb recipes tomorrow.
Rick rushed through breakfast and quickly got ready to go into town. He wanted to buy some fuel for the dinghy and generator. I also had a list of a few grocery items we needed, which kept him busy until noon.
While he was gone, I was able to wash the rest of the cockpit canvas and cushions.
In the afternoon, I made some flour tortillas. I usually have a huge supply of tortillas on board but they have dwindled to the point I had to make some. While I was busy in the galley making cream cheese roll-ups, Rick was working in the engine room. We can call it an engine room while it’s empty but when the engine is returned there is no more than a few inches of work area. Anyway, he was in there removing the muffler. We have a stainless steel muffler that Rick wanted to take to Dominic to check. We were hoping Dominic could make a new one for us but he didn’t have any stainless steel 3 inch tubing. A new muffler will just be another item on the “engine shopping list”.
It was 5pm when we left to go visit Graham and Anne (Rasi) for sundowners. We had an enjoyable evening with them.
In the morning, Rick was coerced into putting away engine parts and tools as I was not pleased with the workroom décor in the main salon. When that was done, I had only one more request before he disappeared into the void of the engine room. That was to fix a small leak on the watermaker. It was almost less than a drip but the water maker manual indicates that leaks of any size must not be tolerated. Unbelievable but Rick thought that it would take him about one hour to change the filters (might as well since he was working on it) and fix the leak. It took him exactly one hour.
He might have disappeared at this point but Graham and Anne came over to have a few things printed. Their printer died a few months ago. It didn’t take long to print the things they needed but by then it was lunch time.
I carved up some of the left over leg of lamb and made sandwiches. They were wonderful. If Matheson’s Supermarket ever has these legs of lamb available again, I will make sure to buy another. We had just finished eating lunch when Graham called to see if we had a scanner (which we do). He wanted some of the forms I had printed for him scanned back into the computer so he could send them by email. It was not a problem but by this time, Rick had given up on the engine room today.
When Graham left we had about 20 minutes before we were to leave and meet Graham, Anne (Rasi), Ralph and Karen, (KaraDream) at the yacht club for a game of dominoes. Another Canadian couple Cheryl and David (Ginseng) also joined the game. When the game was over, Anne was declared the winner. We sat around for a while longer and then it was time to return to our boats. Before leaving, we had to say goodbye to Ralph and Karen who are going to return to Venezuela to store their boat and fly home to Squamish, British Columbia.
It must almost be spring. Without realizing what I’ve been doing I’ve found myself in a spring cleaning mode. Today I washed the small carpets and removed the upholstery from the bunk in the aft cabin to wash. There is no such thing as “steam cleaners” in the islands so upholstery must either be washable on the mattress or the settee or it must be removable. Our settees have buttons so I don’t like to remove the covers. Instead, I wash them well with laundry soap and use the small shop vac to remove a lot of the soapy water. The shop vac is used after each fresh water rinse until I’m confident that they are well rinsed. The cushions are then left on the deck to dry in the tropic breeze and sun. The mattress I washed today had no buttons so I was able to wash and rinse it then put it back on the mattress while still wet. It was then put on deck to dry.
Rick spent a good part of the day removing the shift cable. The binnacle on Wind-Borne is and Edson brand. They make good quality products, well, at least they make expensive products. When Rick first attempted to take it apart, he found that all of the stainless steel screws had welded themselves to the aluminium casing. I know that there are aluminium screws available in most large hardware stores, maybe Edson is not aware of this. After a couple of hours of heating the screws, he was finally able to pry them out.
With both of our chores complete, we moved directly into happy hour. While watching the sunset, I put some chicken into the oven to cook. Rick had found chicken breasts when he was in town the other day and this time they were frozen in a small blob of three breasts. Since it was necessary to thaw all three to get at one, I cooked them all. We’re still working on leftover lamb so leftover chicken will make meals easy to prepare for the next few days.
I have been very hard on the water supply over the last few days so today I let the watermaker catch up with my cleaning requirements. Instead, I did a little hand sewing.
Rick went ashore to order a new water lock muffler and shift cable. He then went to visit our poor engine, which was in pieces in the shop. The Tool Meister, with all his tools could not get the pistons out without breaking something so he broke the sleeves rather than the pistons themselves. We have all determined that the seawater had been entering the engine for a long time. There was a lot of rust inside the block. Tool Meister is cleaning it up like new. The pistons themselves are in good shape so we are now down to new sleeves, valves, rings and gaskets. Rick meanwhile is replacing the hoses and muffler. The muffler was the original and sized much too small for the 3 inch hose that our Yanmar engine required. He has also ordered an anti-siphon unit that should have been installed between the seawater intake and the engine from day one. We believe that while in fresh water, the effect of water in the engine was not as damaging as the salt water but still would have eventually caused problems. Prior to having a generator, we ran the engine, almost every day, which didn’t give it an opportunity to seize although it was becoming difficult to start. Live and learn. I found a brochure that provides proper plumbing for engines that are close to or below the water line. This brochure has now been added to the web site under Tips.
After having had leftover lamb for lunch we had leftover chicken for dinner.
Rick climbed into his little empty cubby-hole right after breakfast. He was
painting the engine mounts when I questioned his colour choice of “red”. Silly
woman that I am, I did not know things that are red go much faster than those of
any other colour. It was also explained to me that the primer colour would not
be visible when the real paint was applied at a later date. I questioned whether
a hidden colour of red on the engine mounts would still increase our speed and I
was assured that it would.
Meanwhile, I continued to work on having a clean if not a fast vessel. I washed and hung the curtains to dry Then washed the upper walls while the curtains were down.
In the afternoon, we heard that John and Deb (Sea Witch) were in the anchorage. They were incognito on another boat (Wind Dancer). We joined them and Debbie (Illusions) for pizza at the Turtle Dove Restaurant.
Rick applied another coat of red paint while I started washing woodwork. The only areas of woodwork that takes time to clean are the louver doors. I was finished by lunchtime and then defrosted and cleaned the fridge/freezer.
Rick went to the Haulout to see Roy who called to say that many of the things we had ordered were in.
Sundowners were interesting. Recently we had noticed that the boobies had disappeared for a few days and the terns had moved in. We had been watching the Frigates chase the terns to steal the fish as they had caught them. Now all of a sudden the boobies were back. The Frigates won’t chase the boobies as they are much larger than the terns and much closer to the size of the Frigates.
The winds had died and it was the perfect evening for a barbecue. We had pork tenderloin for dinner in the cockpit as the sun set and the last few boats arrived.
It was not quite 7:30AM when we headed to the dinghy dock at the Haulout. Susan met us there and we all went to town in her vehicle. It was produce day but it was also Compass day. This month’s Compass newspaper had arrived and needed to be distributed to the stores and restaurants around the island. As Susan drove from location to location, I, sitting in the back seat, would count out the papers and pass them to Rick who would jump out and run them into each store. When we got to Hillsborough, Susan and Rick continued to deliver papers on foot while I ran around to the different supermarkets to complete my shopping list. Each time I returned and saw Susan she would ask what I had found. Other than still no celery, it was a bonus day and I found everything that was on my shopping list. A few times when I showed Susan things that I had found, she or I would run back in to get the same for her.
When the shopping was finished we made our way out of Hillsborough and over to Windward where we continued our deliveries. It was almost lunchtime when we finished so our next stop was the Hard Wood Café for lunch.
There was a tiny little lamb sleeping on the floor of the restaurant (the restaurant is outdoors). It was only a few days old and had been abandoned by it’s mother. When it awoke, Joy gave me a baby bottle of milk and I was able to feed it. The little lamb was so cute and just barely walking around but since I was the new mother, it followed over close to where I was sitting. After lunch and before leaving, I fed it one more time.
When we left the Hard Wood Café we went up to Susan’s place where I tried to fix a computer problem for her while Rick checked out an electrical problem. Eventually we returned to the Haulout where our groceries were loaded into the dinghy. We made our way back to the boat with just enough time to put things away before sundowners.
There was a wind shift overnight and some very strong gusts. It was a little after midnight when I woke Rick to tell him that the anchor didn’t sound quite right. We both went out on deck to check and sure enough, the snubber had fallen off the primary anchor. Together we fixed it and let a little more rode out on the secondary anchor, which should prevent it from happening again.
The sky was very overcast in the morning but that was fine as the clouds moderated the temperature. Rick checked the batteries and I washed the hatch screens and the floor.
In the afternoon, he went to visit the engine and while he was gone, a rain cloud appeared out of nowhere. The rain did not begin as a sprinkle it came full force. I tried to close the butterfly hatches first but normally Rick takes care of them as I can’t quite reach that high. The rain was driving in through the hatch so I had to run outside and close them from the deck. By the time I returned inside, there was water coming in everywhere. I was able to close the other hatches and ports and then started drying the table, counters and floor. It didn’t last more than 15 minutes but it sure gave everything on board a good fresh water rinse.
Susan called to tell me that she was in Hillsborough and the large Osprey ferry seemed to be out of service. This was not what I wanted to hear because I am taking the ferry to Grenada tomorrow and with the north swells that have arrived again, the large ferry is much more comfortable. Susan called a second time to tell me that the small ferry was at the dock but the people waiting to board would not get on. Eventually we saw the large ferry go by the gap of Tyrrel Bay headed for Grenada. They had somehow been able to put the large ferry back in service.
When Rick returned to the boat, it was time for sundowners. As we sat in the cockpit, we saw Luciana sailing into the bay so I took as many pictures as possible. It’s difficult to get pictures of your boat under sail so I knew she would appreciate these. While we were watching her, Harry (La Nostra) came by to let us know that he had visited with our engine this afternoon. He came aboard and joined us for sundowners.
When Harry left we had dinner was onboard and then we both went to bed early.
The winds were climbing again but not to abnormal speeds it seemed just the normal trade winds.
In the morning, I backed up some files on the computer and burned a few picture CD’s for friends. The boat was clean tidy and ready for Kelly who arrives in Grenada tomorrow.
I took the ferry to Grenada ahead of her arrival mainly because it doesn’t run Sunday morning. So if I wanted to meet her at the airport on Sunday, I had no choice but to leave on Saturday and spend an extra day at the Blue Horizon Resort by myself.
It was a nice ride down and I arrived at 5PM. All the taxi drivers were at the ferry but I walked off past them and took a bus to the Spiceland Mall. There I picked up a few groceries and then grabbed a taxi to take all my bags and me to the Blue Horizon Resort. The room they had assigned me was nice but much smaller than the one we stayed in during our previous stay. It had only one bed so I went to reception and told them that it was fine for tonight but that I needed a room with two beds. They agreed to move all of my belongings to another room tomorrow afternoon. I put the refrigerated items away and settled in to watch TV for the evening. Then my cell phone started ringing. I heard from Susan in Carriacou, Graham (Rasi), Karen (Misty) and Kelly a few times. Kelly called right up until 1AM my time to let me know that although her flight was late leaving but that she should still make her connection in Barbados.
I had set the alarm but was awake just before it was supposed to go off. It
was a good thing, because it didn’t go off. I had lots of time so I made myself
a coffee and bagel with cream cheese for breakfast. When I had showered and
dressed it was almost 7:30AM so I walked down the road to the main street where
I caught a bus. There was only one other person on the bus so I asked the driver
if he would take me all the way to the airport. He did and it cost me 10EC
instead of taxi fare of 40EC.
At the airport, I went upstairs to the waving gallery and found that it had been closed. It was the U.S. Homeland security in action again. I’m not sure what harm there could be in standing on the balcony waving to friends or family but it’s no longer allowed. Instead, I sat in the restaurant and had a coffee while I watched for her plane to arrive. It landed a little early. We took a taxi back to the hotel and left her bags in the room.
When Kelly was nicely settled by the pool, I walked down the road to the
Spiceland Mall. I had not only my own grocery list but I also had one for Susan
and Anne on Rasi as well. I found almost everything on our lists at the Real
Value (IGA). While I was there, Karen (Misty) joined me. She picked up a couple
of things and while I was still shopping, she talked a friend of hers into
giving us a lift back to the hotel. When we arrived back at the hotel I was
pleased to see that they hadn’t changed our room yet. This room was right at
street level and it was very easy to carry the heavy bags from the car to the
door of the room.
I threw the frozen and refrigerated items into the fridge and Karen and I joined Kelly at the pool. We had a nice dip in the pool and sat around there for a while. When we were ready for a salt water dip we walked down the road a little way to the sister hotel, Spice Island Resort and used their padded beach lounges that we moved under a nice shady palm tree. There was quite a surf but Kelly and I went in anyway and rode the waves for a while. Afterward as we lay in the shade on the lounge, the sound of the waves put us all to sleep. When I awoke, I suggested we return to our own resort, for a drink (much less expensive) and another fresh water dip.
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When we arrived back at Blue Horizon we found our things had been moved to
another room. As I expected, this room was way up the hill. The room was now an
apartment with separate living and sleeping areas. All of the groceries had been
moved as well and everything was in the fridge and freezer just as I had left it
in the other room. Karen, who is a masseuse, offered Kelly and me a back
massage. We didn’t need much arm twisting to accept. Afterwards we sat around
and watched TV for a while. Karen left to catch a bus and be back at her boat
before dark. Kelly and I remained in the room and had a homemade dinner of
shrimps and salad.
Kelly and I both awoke shortly after the sun came up. We repacked all of the
groceries and our suitcases so that we would be ready to check out at lunchtime.
We then went to reception to see if the business centre had internet access
available because Kelly still had some reports due for work that she hadn’t had
time to finish. When that was done, we went over to Grand Anse Mall and down to
Foodland to pick up the last few items on the grocery list. We took the bus back
and as we were walking down the road to our hotel we saw Karen, having a coffee.
We stopped and joined her then continued towards the hotel as it was very close
to check out time. I asked for help with our eight very heavy bags. They sent a
young guy who carried them all down the hill to his little cart. He wheeled them
to reception where they were stored in a room for us and we left to go to St.
George’s.
We stopped on the way and had lunch at the yacht club while it rained then we
walked down the road a ways to see an art exhibit. After the art exhibit, a bus
came by just in time for us to climb aboard as the rain began again. We rode the
bus to the end of the line which is now the new cruise ship terminal. After
roaming around for a while we made our way to the Carenage café for a lime
squash (lemonade). While we were there, a real down pour began and looked like
it would last quite a while. I asked the Café to call a taxi for us as it was
almost time for us to get our bags and return for the ferry back to Carriacou.
As we were waiting for the ferry to arrive, it started to rain again but by this time we could see the ferry coming into the bay. We got aboard found a nice seat and let the crew take care of our bags. I had been watching the wind build for the last few days and decided to take a Gravol before getting aboard. Kelly had been taking cold pills and wasn’t sure if she should be taking both so she didn’t. It wasn’t a bad ride back but of course as we got near Diamond Rock, Kick’em Jenny had the seas all stirred up. There were some screams from behind us as we flew through the air and dove back into the water a few times. Kelly even commented that she hadn’t realized we were taking a submarine ride back to Carriacou. We arrived in Hillsborough right on time and Norbert had his van on the dock, waiting for us. I had called to tell him that I had many heavy bags. He loaded them into the van and we drove to the large wharf in Tyrrel Bay. Susan, Roy and Rick were there waiting for us. Rick took Kelly and her suitcases to the boat and while they were gone I gave Susan her frozen things to take home. I sat in the van with Norbert and waited for Rick to return. Norbert helped us load the remaining bags and me into the dinghy. We got to the boat and after lifting everything aboard, I gave Rick back a few refrigerated items to take to Rasi. While he was gone I put our refrigerated items away. Every thing else I left for morning. Rick had just returned and climbed aboard when a very heavy squall went through. There were strong winds and rain until almost midnight when finally things settled down a little.
We all slept well and awoke to weather that seemed much like yesterday. I put
away the remaining groceries. Kelly read for a while. Ben brought some nice
fresh lobsters to the boat for us.
Since it rained on and off all day it was a perfect time for Kelly to catch up on some much needed relaxation and sleep.
We did absolutely nothing all day.
The rain let up during dinner allowing Rick time to barbecue the lobsters. We pigged out on lobsters and cole slaw.
We made up for our lack of exercise yesterday. When we had finished breakfast, we went over to the Haul Out by dinghy where we all walked up the hill. Normally that would be more than enough exercise to last me through the day but we all walked down the road until we reached the Tool Meister’s house and workshop. I looked down all of the steps and knew that if I went down I would have to climb up again. Oh well, it’s suppose to be good for us.
We all walked down to the workshop where our engine now looked very small. The Tool Meister had finished taking everything apart and cleaning it to look like new. He was ready to place the order and have the new parts delivered and while waiting for the new parts he was going to paint the existing engine parts. Rick had the paint back at the Haulout and had to go back and get it. Kelly and I agreed to climb back up to the road and continue the downward trek towards town. We agreed to meet at the Lambi Queen.
When Rick caught up with us, we walked from Harvey Vale to Paradise Beach. We
walked along the beach until we arrived at the Hard Wood Café. Susan was there
waiting for us so we had lunch and then after saying good-bye to Susan, we went
for a swim. Although it was very hot it wasn’t sunny due to a lot of African
dust in the air. Getting into the water without the sun made it feel chilly
until we dipped right under. It was fun and refreshing. We walked back along the
beach and then the road to make our way to Harvey Vale.
Everyone was very thirsty by the time we reached the Lambi Queen so we stopped for a drink. I did not have enough energy left to climb the hill so we walked along the beach toward the Haulout and the dinghy. On our way we stopped to visit our friend Fitzroy.
It was time for sundowners when we finally returned to the boat followed by pork chops baked with apples for dinner onboard.
The winds died overnight and the seas were not as bad as they have been.
Graham and Anne (Rasi) were sailing to Petite Martinique for fuel and water and
they invited us to come along. They had some charter guests arriving on Friday
but we agreed to be pretend charter guests for today. We ended up having a
comfortable motor trip between the islands. Kelly, Rick and I sat back and
enjoyed the trip while Anne, Graham and Auto (their autopilot) did all of the
work. After getting the water and fuel at dock, they anchored the boat and we
all went ashore.
It was lunchtime so we stopped at the Palm Beach Restaurant where we all chose to have hamburgers and fries, something that is definitely not available on Carriacou. After lunch we walked a short distance to a little store that had souvenirs and clothing. We didn’t buy anything but enjoyed just looking around.
Our sail back to Carriacou was downwind and so relaxing that Kelly and I had
a hard time keeping our eyes open. When the anchor was reset in Tyrrel Bay, Anne
served us a true British cup of tea and cookies before Graham transported us
back to our own boat.
It was time for sundowners but Rick took a couple of minutes to first go by dinghy to say hello to Celine and Marcel (Allie Cat) who had returned and anchored near us.
I made some baked chicken and rice for dinner but the big hit was some wonderful fresh asparagus with cheese sauce. Susan had picked up the asparagus for us in town the other day and Roy brought it down to the Haulout this morning.
When breakfast was finished, Kelly and I helped Rick hoist the dinghy up on a
halyard beside the boat and flip it over in the water. While Rick sat on the top
of the upside down dinghy and cleaned the bottom of it, Kelly and I floated
around with our noodles. We swam over to see Celine and Marcel (Allie Cat) but
really we spent most of the morning just drifting around.
In the afternoon, we all had a short siesta to rest up for a night out at the Lambi Queen. Marcel and Celine joined us. We left the dinghies at the Haulout and walked along the beach. Susan and Roy were already at the Lambi Queen so they and Kenroy joined us for a while before dinner. There was not a green beer to be found but they did have Guinness so we had a very small St. Patrick’s Day celebration.
The entertainment was excellent as usual and Kelly seemed very impressed with both the steel drum music and Kenroy’s performance as ‘Stickman’.
It was later than usual when we arrived back at the boat so we all went right to bed.
The sky was lightly overcast and there was a light tropical breeze. It was the type of day that was perfect for doing absolutely nothing. In the morning, that was exactly what we did. Kelly lay on the deck of the boat and read. I went back to bed. Rick took over the main salon and read for a while then he fell back to sleep as well.
In the afternoon, we met Marcel and Celine (Allie Cat) at the yacht club for a game of dominoes. Kelly wasn’t all that interested initially but quickly got into the spirit as she appeared to be winning during the first half of the game. In the end however, Marcel’s experience dominated over her beginner’s luck.
We left the yacht club and walked along the beach to Harvey Vale and the Old
Rum Shop. After arriving there, the guys decided to go back and get the dinghies
so that we wouldn’t have to walk along the beach in the dark later. We decided
to have dinner there while listening to Keith (Nomad) perform. He had his guitar
and gave us a night of Jimmy Buffett, Country and Western with a little old
fashioned Rock and Roll thrown in. We had to move inside the Old Rum Shop while
a squall passed by. It’s a very tiny building so we didn’t have a lot of room.
Finally after an hour or so, our chicken was ready, the squall had passed and
the tables and chairs had been wiped dry, we moved back outside for dinner. When
we finished eating, it was time to dinghy back to the boats. It was a good thing
that the dinghies were on the beach by the Rum Shop otherwise we would have had
to walk under a lot of wet Manchineel trees to get to them. Water dripping off
of a wet Manchineel tree can be more toxic than Poison Ivy.
After a large breakfast, Rick settled down with a book while Kelly and I used the dinghy to work our way around the boat scrubbing the topsides. With the boat sparkling clean, Kelly and I fell off the dinghy for a swim.
We had a late lunch and relaxed afterward. While we were just sitting around, Steve & Shenda (Sea Sett) came by with a couple of huge kingfish steaks. They caught them just off Grand Anse Beach yesterday. It certainly saved me the effort of planning dinner.
During sundowners we watched the boats arrive. Although it had been a nice day the visibility was very poor. The sky was full off Sahara dust and made it seem overcast, cutting the visibility to less than five miles.
Rick barbecued the fish in the cockpit while I cooked the vegetables down below.
It was a lovely morning. Rick took laundry into the yacht club and then went
into town to get some fuel for the generator. Kelly caught some rays on the
deck. I didn’t even have to prepare lunch as Rick returned with chicken rotis.
After lunch, Kelly and I went for a swim. We climbed back on board and showered
just in time to prepare the snacks before Marcel and Celine arrived for
Sundowners. We had a fun evening and it was 8PM when our friends left and we
retired below.
Our friend Susan was going to take Kelly (and us) on an island tour today. We had agreed to meet at the Haulout between 8:30 and 9:00 AM. I phoned Susan at 8:30 because the sky was filled with big black clouds and if there was a clear spot it wasn’t visible due to the Sahara dust in the air. Susan and I agreed that it would be a waste of time touring the island while the visibility was so poor. We agreed to wait an hour and see if there was any indication of the weather clearing. An hour later it had worsened and we were receiving a dry season downpour that sure looked like rain. The tour was postponed.
When the rain let up for a while we hopped into the dinghy and went ashore. Norbert’s bus was going by and he saw us so drove down the wharf to get us. He was going the opposite direction from Hillsborough, which was great. We told Kelly she was getting a free mini tour. When we reached Belmont, one lady asked Norbert to stop so that she could run into the bakery. I chased Rick in as well to get some nice fresh bread. We went a little further and Norbert picked up a lady and her 2 large propane tanks. She asked him to drop them at the gas station for her. These little stops went on (as usual) as we travelled to Hillsborough. When we got to town, Kelly said she thought that the buses on Carriacou reminded her of a moving concierge service.
We weren’t in town long when another downpour was about to begin. We had done most of our shopping and it was almost lunchtime but we stopped at a little bar overlooking the sea and had a drink while most of the rain passed by. It seemed like a drizzle when we walked out and headed for the Garden Restaurant but Rick was soaked. Kelly and I had the umbrellas and Rick only wore a hat to keep dry
After a nice lunch, we walked back through town and found Richard, another bus driver, waiting for us. Just so that Kelly would understand it was not just Norbert who provides the concierge service. Richard made three stops to pick up boxes and bags of groceries for a lady whose name we learned was Ruby. Again, we went the long way back to Harvey Vale so Kelly has definitely seen the south side of the island.
Back on the boat, we cut up a nice fresh pineapple that we bought in town and had a snack.
A little later, dinner consisted of a huge salad that used all of the fresh produce I had been able to find today as well as some sweet fried plantains that Kelly requested.
Although it seemed a little risky after all of the rain we had experienced today we went to bed leaving all of the ports and hatches open.
The weather was much better today but the visibility was still very poor due
to the large cloud of African dust that was still over the Windward Islands.
Regardless, this was our island tour day. We met Susan at the Haulout just
before 9AM and she drove through Belmont to the old Cassada Resort for a
wonderful view of Saline and White’s Islands. When we reached Six Roads Susan
took the road that led to Hillsborough. She was on a mission to find beer. The
island was just about out of “1664” Beer which is the type she likes. Sure
enough, she found a small store that was a little out of the way and stocked up
on enough beer to last her and Roy a few weeks until the next shipment was
brought in.
We left town and went up to the hospital in Belair for a nice view of
Hillsborough and Sandy Island. After Hillsborough, we made our way to Windward
on the east side of the island. There our view was of the long line of reefs and
Petite Martinique. Susan offered to drive up the north side of the island but we
chose to skip it and head for lunch at the Callaloo by the Sea Restaurant.
After lunch we drove up to Susan’s house which of course has the most spectacular view. The dust in the air limited the visibility to in and around Carriacou. Unfortunately we couldn’t see Grenada.
Kelly floated around in the plunge pool while Susan and I prepared dinner,
which didn’t take long. I joined Kelly in the pool, Susan and Rick sat by the
pool so we could all talk. Later when we were out of the pool and all sitting
around we watched the ferry “Amelia” come into the bay as usual
but this time he
went a little closer to the shore where a new marina is being constructed. From
up above we could see that around the marina the water was much shallower
probably due to the fill that is being dumped. We watched the ferry sit there
for a while and finally Susan called down to the Haulout to ask Jerry if there
was a problem. Jerry, meanwhile asked if we could see one of his tugs racing
across the bay? The ferry was aground and the tug was on it’s way to rescue it.
It didn’t take long until it was free again. Meanwhile the large wharf was full
people watching all of the excitement. A while later Roy arrived home, we had a
great dinner of barbecued chicken wings and salads. When it was time to leave,
Susan drove us back to our dinghy.
Rick made a quick trip into town during the morning while Kelly sunbathed on
deck and I relaxed in the cockpit. It was almost lunchtime when he returned. We
all climbed into the dinghy and went to Turtle Dove Restaurant where we shared a
pizza.
After lunch, Kelly and I were having a “noodle float” around the boat and Rick was changing one of our anchor markers. He returned to the boat for a shower and Kelly and I “noodled” over to say hello to Rasi and their charter guests. It was quite a paddle with the noodles and we weren’t wearing fins. When we had almost reached their boat we saw Graham get into his dinghy and head toward us. He was going to our boat to see Rick. We continued on knowing that the trip back would be a lot easier with the tide and current.
Back at our boat we had just enough time for a quick shower before
sundowners. We were having a special sundowner drink of French Champagne this
night to celebrate our house being listed for sale. After sundowners, we quickly
changed and went ashore where Norbert was waiting for Fitzroy and us. We were
all going to the Round House for dinner. I had learned that Havana Good Time and
Skitter Scamp were going to the same restaurant for dinner with Susan and Roy so
we had them join us in Norbert’s bus.
Dinner was excellent. It wasn’t inexpensive but it was worth every penny especially since Kelly was treating. Norbert arrived just after we had finished our coffee and drove us all back to the dinghies at the Haulout.
This was Kelly’s last day and after telling her she could do anything she
wished, she chose to stay and just swim around the boat. We had the nicest
weather since her arrival. The air had cleared of all the African dust and there
was hardly a cloud in the sky. We floated around in the water for a while with a
noodle and then somehow started swimming to shore. It wasn’t an energetic swim
to shore because we all still had a noodle. When we got there, Kelly sat in the
sand for a while and then we headed back to the boat. We had assumed that since
we fought the current a little on our way in that we would have a little boost
from the same current on our return trip. It didn’t happen. When we reached our
boat, Rick climbed aboard and passed Kelly and I drinks. He sat on the deck
while she and I continued to float around. All of a sudden, I got a strong leg
cramp and it was all I could do to climb the ladder and get out of the water. We
obviously had exercised our legs a little more than mine were used to.
After lunch, we watched Nativa arrive. We knew that our friend Anne had flown
back to England last week so this was Brian and his son Adrian bringing the boat
in. Rick charged over in the dinghy to invite them to come to the Lambi Queen
with us in the evening. Meanwhile Kelly was ready for another swim. She dove off
the boat again and again and then suggested we swim over to Nativa. I wasn’t
willing to trust the calf muscle that far yet so we just floated around. Before
we knew it, it was time to climb aboard and shower for sundowners.
We left just before 6PM and picked Brian and Adrian up in our dinghy. We arrived at the Lambi Queen in plenty of time to get a good table. Sherwin knew this was Kelly’s last night and he served her the largest lobster he had. Kenroy joined us for a while before his performance. Many of our local friends stopped buy to say both hello and good bye to Kelly. It was a very nice last night on shore for her.
We went to bed a little after 10PM with not one but two alarms set for 4AM. We have never had a problem with one in the past but Kelly wanted assurance that she wasn’t going to miss the ferry back to Grenada
We were awakened a couple of times during the night with not just rain but real good squalls. All I could think of was an extremely wet dinghy ride ashore in the dark.
The first alarm went off at 4AM and I immediately shut the second off before it had a chance to wake the anchorage. Rick was about to make a pot of coffee but found the propane tank was empty. Instead we all chose to have juice instead.
Everyone was ready to leave by 4:40AM and although it was too early, the rain had stopped and I didn’t want to wait until it started again. We arrived at shore and it was less than 10 minutes before we saw the lights of Norbert’s vehicle coming down the road.
We were much too early for the ferry when we arrived in Hillsborough but there was nothing open so we just sat and waited at the edge of the dock. The large Osprey ferry pulled up to the dock and we watched Kelly get aboard before leaving. As usual, we saw Norbert waiting for us again as we walked back down the dock. He had us back in Harvey Vale and in our dinghy just before we saw the Osprey (with Kelly on board) race by Tyrrel Bay.
The sun was up and burning off the clouds as we climbed aboard Wind-Borne III and returned to bed.
We slept until just after 9:30AM. Neither of us wanted to do anything this day. We sat around and watched thousands of fish jumping all over the bay. I thought of how hard Kelly had to look to find just a few jumping the other day.
Every so often, I would check her flight on the internet to make sure she was getting home ok. At sometime during the night I received a text message on my phone from her to let me know that she had arrived home ok. I went back to sleep and slept soundly for the rest of the night.
Everything was back to normal. No more eggs for breakfast. I think we
overdosed during Kelly’s, (who doesn’t have to be concerned with cholesterol)
visit. We’re back to old fashioned oatmeal.
We had a few small chores to take care of in the morning but we were still in wind-down mode.
We had a large meal at lunchtime because we were going out in the evening and would not have time to eat later in the day. We had just finished eating and we were still sipping on our wine when Kenroy came by to visit for a while. He was going to perform at the local talent show that we were attending this evening. We had a nice visit with him but as soon as he left, we rushed to shower and change.
While Rick was still in the shower I saw Gary and Sharon (Elusive) arrive. We
stopped by their boat to say hello on our way to shore. The first thing they
asked was “where’s Kelly”. They had heard she was visiting and hoped to see her
again.
Susan and Roy picked up Harold (Hallelujah) and us at the Haulout and drove into town. Harold is a Canadian who is 83 years old and still lives on his boat. He has lived in the Caribbean long enough to help build more than 60 churches on many different islands.
The evening of entertainment was in aid of the new Carriacou Health Centre
and it was a great show. It was comprised of many local artists from
Carriacou
performing and it was unbelievable the amount of talent that is on this island.
Individual voices that were so wonderful we could have listened to them for much
longer than the evening allowed. The musicians who accompanied the individuals
and groups were in most cases professionals but all donated their time and
talents.
There were dancers as well as singers but the highlight and finale of the show was the performance by our friend Kenroy. He had everyone cheering and wanting more.
After breakfast, I got the laundry together for Rick to take ashore. It was reasonably early when he left to go to shore but I started to think he had jumped ship when lunchtime rolled around.
He redeemed himself by bringing lunch back to the boat with him.
In the afternoon, we went for a swim off the boat. Later we met for happy hour at the Yacht Club with Windmiller, Softkin, Elusive and Midnight Rambler.
Gary and Sharon had to go into town to check out with Customs and Immigration and we needed to extend our time on the island with immigration and Howard and Marlys (Midnight Rambler) wanted to pick up a few items so we all went into town together. They were a good group to go to town with as they got us in and out and back to the boat by lunchtime.
We rested in the afternoon and then met the same gang again at the Turtle Dove for Howard’s birthday party. We were partially finished our meal when another cruising couple arrived for dinner. We invited them to join us, which they did, and we met Roger and Jennie (Marionette). Both Marionette and Elusive are sailing north in the morning so they will keep each other company on the way.
It finally seems like dry season has arrived. Occasionally a few drops of rain will fall but not enough to even bother closing hatches.
Rick took advantage of the dry weather and began painting the binnacle, which he had taken apart and sanded previously. I rearranged and organized drawers and cupboards in the head. While I had the interior of the boat in a mess, Rick took care of the cockpit.
I’m making an effort not to write about food. I think that my weight gain is attributed to writing and thinking about food too often. I have to make note however that with our meal this day, I cooked some okra, which is something I’ve never cooked before. Both Rick and I had avoided okra in the past because we understood it to be a slimy vegetable. Not so, when cooked properly it’s quite nice. End of food discussion.
We were both up early in the morning enjoying a light tropical breeze that was blowing through the hatches. I sipped my coffee and listen to the weather while Rick sanded and applied another coat of paint to the binnacle.
It was Thursday and we didn’t really need many vegetables but going to town on Thursday has become a social event. So as soon as we had finished with breakfast, we made our way to shore and went into town. While we were waiting for a bus to come by Bubbles stopped by us in his pickup truck so we started into town with him. We didn’t get very far when we heard a fisherman blowing a conch shell to let us know he had fish. Bubbles stopped the truck and went to check. A few minutes later he returned with a bag of small jacks. We continued towards Hillsborough and noticed a smashed mango on the road. Mangos are just starting to ripen on the trees. Bubbles noticed another mango on the grass beside the road so backed up a little so he could stop and get the good mango.
In town, the streets were busy. The Mandalay clipper ship was at anchor in the harbour so there were many tourists roaming the stores.
Normally the very first thing I try to buy in town is some hydroponic lettuce but the man who grows it hadn’t arrived yet. I stopped in at the marketing board and found some fresh baby spinach. The rest of our shopping was obtained from the small stands on the street. I was able to get beautiful tomatoes, cucumbers and green peppers. I had picked up some feta cheese in Grenada and was saving it and my black olives until I could obtain the veggies I needed for Greek salad. Today was the day.
We stopped at the fish market and found they had large King Fish, Mahi Mahi and Barracuda. We hadn’t had Mahi Mahi for a while so I had them cut us some nice large steaks.
The highlight of our trip to town on Thursday is always the bus ride home. We got into Norbert’s bus and made a couple of stops to pick up boxes and bags at different supermarkets. After we went around a couple of blocks we picked up a lady who we had ridden with previously. She is one of Norbert’s regular Thursday riders. She asked him if he had picked up her groceries at the supermarket we just left. He apologized and told her that he had forgotten. She chastised him and told him to behave as she had her big stick (cane) with her and hadn’t forgotten how to use it.
We laughed all the way back with the antics that were going on with the riders and Norbert. Norbert had a package he was supposed to drop off on the way and almost forgot until I reminded him as he passed the location. One younger lady that was onboard with her baby, thanked him for the tour when she got out but told him to deliver her home faster next time. She and everyone was laughing as Norbert lugged the large stroller and baby bag up the steps of the house for her. The interaction between everyone on the island is wonderful. They have all known each other all of their lives.
We finally made our way back to the boat. After a quick lunch, we had both settled down for a siesta when we heard someone calling us. It was Susan. She had come over by dinghy for a visit.
We had a nice conversation with her and showed her some pictures that I though she would like to have.
WWhen Susan left, it was almost time to think about sundowners and preparing dinner. The sundowners were easy but the wind had picked up and hindered Rick’s skill with keeping the flame lit on the barbecue. Needless to say, he conquered the barbecue, although the air was a little blue when he finished.
It was a pleasant day. In the morning we went to the beach by dinghy and thought we were partially hidden in the shade of a large Machineel tree. Rick sat on an upsidedown pail while I cut his hair. School is finished for the summer in Grenada so there was a young boy on the beech who’s name was Renwick. He watched closely and commented that I was doing a very good job. Sherwin drove by and waved. Rod, Marci (Windmiller) Janet and David (Softkin) stopped by when the saw us. Susan drove by and asked if I had taken over her job of hair cutting. We weren’t as secluded as we had first thought. When the cut was finished we both waded in the water for a swim.
When we returned to the boat, we again jumped in the water for another swim.
We had a siesta in the afternoon, as we wanted to stay out a little later than normal tonight.
It was 6PM when we arrived at the Lambi Queen and 11 PM when we returned to the boat. It had been a fun evening and the highlight was Edwin. Edwin is normally a very quite shy individual who works in the boat yard. In fact, it’s rare that we see him in town at night because usually when he is finished work each day, he goes out in the bay fishing until after dark. This night he had had a little too much Jack Iron (local rum). He sang at the top of his lungs as the steel drum and bongos were played. He danced by himself in the middle of the floor as Stickman tried to perform. He did no harm and was just very happy so no one was upset with him.
