Our internal time clocks are a bit of a mess so we were up before the alarm which was set for 4:30AM. I was first in the freezing bathroom for a shower. I ran the water at full blast for more than 20 minutes but it wasn’t getting any better than tepid. I had to take advantage of the tepid water before that disappeared.
Since we were up and ready to go it seemed best to leave this place (Russ Hill Hotel) and get to the airport where we could be a little warmer and a lot more comfortable.
Thinking we had arrived very early, we expected to be the first by the check in counter but there was already a line up. The flight to and from Grenada and London is a 747 which holds a lot of people so it was good to be early.
Again after checking in we went for a full English breakfast before roaming all the airport stores for a few more souvenirs.
Boarding took place when the waiting lounge was overflowing. We were again a little late departing but with each of these flights that were all over 8 hours long, the pilot can usually make up a bit of time so we didn’t care.
The first stop was in Tobago where in the pouring rain the majority of passengers disembarked. It was only another 30 minutes from there to Grenada.
There were still enough of us on the plane to create a line up out the terminal door for immigration. Once we worked our way to the front of the line it was a quick pass through to pick up our bags and whizz through customs.
We took a taxi from the airport to the Tropicana Inn where we were staying for the night. The Tropicana is an old hotel that we chose for its proximity to the ferry dock which we would leave from in the morning. I don’t know if it was because we had just experienced the Russ Hill Hotel in England, but the Tropicana was a pleasant surprise. We had a large room with a king size bed, an air conditioner that worked well and a shower with nice hot water. The service was good and the food reasonably priced. I wouldn’t stay for a vacation but I certainly would stay again for a stopover.
Rick and I had coffee and toast for breakfast, not because we weren’t hungry but because we were about to take the Osprey Ferry up to Carriacou. We began walking toward the ferry dock when the sky opened up and it started to rain. I quickly pulled out our London umbrellas and we continued on a little ways until a bus honked and asked if we wanted to go downtown. We told him only as far as the ferry docks and asked how much for us and our bags. He quoted 5EC ($2.30CAD) for both of us and our bags. His conductor lifted all of our baggage into the bus and then they delivered us into the fire station across the road from the dock. We would wait there until it stopped raining or the ferry arrived.
The rain stopped and the ferry arrived almost simultaneously. We
purchased our tickets and got onboard before the downpour began again. We
had been checking the marine weather forecast and knew that the seas were
still very high so both Rick and I took a sea sickness pill before getting
onto the ferry. Good thing, we hadn’t even left the lee of the island when
the majority of the passengers were sick. Each sat with a little sea sick
bag looking very green for the 2 hour trip to Carriacou.
When we arrived Norbert was at the end of the jetty and gave us a grand welcome. We had him put our luggage in the back of his bus and asked him to pick us up next time through town. Meanwhile we would pick up a few groceries.
We were able to find everything we needed to get us by for a few days except eggs. We had anticipated this because during the Christmas season, the island ladies go crazy baking and there is always and egg shortage. Our friends at the Marketing Board told us that they should have more by Wednesday. This is Friday.
Norbert was waiting when we finished our track through town and took us to the Lambi Queen where Sherwin was waiting to take us to our boat.
We learned that while we were gone there were some extremely strong winds and many boats had dragged and even broken away from their moorings. Wind-Borne held firm but poor Sherwin lost his floating bar, Angels Rest. It went to sea with a fully stocked bar and stereo system.
It was good to be back onboard even though it was raining again. We started up the engine and refrigerator. Both worked well and I was able to put the food in the fridge immediately. Rick worked on getting the generator fuelled and started.
We received our first phone call from Fitzroy welcoming us home. He had saved us some Black Cake (Grenada Christmas Cake) and wanted us to come and get it. By then Rick was fuelling the outboard engine and so going ashore was not a problem. When he was returning to the boat with the cake, Sherwin was coming by in his boat and had 6 eggs for us. Where else but on Carriacou!!
Today it caught up with me. It is the dreaded airplane travel disease. My throat is so very sore I can hardly swallow.
I took Tylenol and did nothing all day. Rick replaced a part on the watermaker and got it running. He fixed a couple of other things but I was feeling too sick to notice what they were.
I’m still sick and feeling in need of a little pampering. Rick made breakfast and dinner. For dinner I wanted chicken soup which there just happened to be a couple of cans stored away.
In the afternoon we both jumped overboard for a swim. I didn’t do a lot of swimming just floating around but being in the water felt soothing.
It must have been the chicken soup because when I awoke in the morning my throat no longer felt like it was coated in razor blades. I took some cough syrup and even the congestion has improved.
We were both going into town today but I didn’t feel quite up to that. Instead, Rick went into town for fuel and a few groceries and dropped off laundry while I remained behind with the generator and watermaker running. As soon as the water tank was full I was able to do a little laundry that requires hand washing.
Each day I am feeling a little better. My throat feels fine but now I have a terrible cough. It doesn’t bother me but I don’t want to pass it on.
Rick went ashore in the morning to pick up the clean laundry which we both forgot about yesterday.
His project this morning was to change the sea water impeller on Wind-Borne’s engine which is not quite a five minute job but close to it. It was a pain getting the old impeller out as it is sort of to the back of the engine. If getting it out was difficult, getting the new one in was impossible. We both tried unsuccessfully many times finally when it was 4PM in the afternoon we decided to call for help. We called Yerk to ask if he could come by tomorrow and give us a hand. He said that he would come immediately. Well, it wasn’t quite a five minute job, it took him 10 minutes. As he was putting in the impeller he asked Rick to turn the engine over a little by hand. That’s all it took.
No chores today!!! We jumped overboard for a swim in the morning and went to the yacht club for lunch. The afternoon was dedicated to having a siesta but friends who we hadn’t seen in a couple of years Michael and Louise (Mistress V) stopped by. They were anchored in the bay with engine problems. Their oil in the engine was growing in volume. This was a similar problem to what we had a couple of years ago however we allowed the engine to seize. Our advice to them was to run the engine every day until they could get a mechanic. Uwe is off island but Yerk may be able to help them. We agreed to meet at the Lazy Turtle for dinner and try and contact Yerk for them.
Yerk was at the Lazy Turtle last night and he is going to see Mistress V sometime today. Meanwhile Mistress V had checked out of Carriacou and was on their way north so Louise and I went into town so she could check back in while the men waited onboard for Yerk. Wouldn’t you know it Lyndon was on duty at the Immigration office so I got the big welcome home while Louise filled out the forms.
That was it, I was exhausted for the rest of the day.
The good news is that Yerk found the engine problem and was able to fix it same day. Their anti-siphon on the engine was blocked and causing the salt water to enter the engine when it was shut down.
I didn’t do much in the morning but by lunch time when I was still down below and Rick was out scrubbing the rub rails I figured that I had better fend for myself. There were enough tidbits of things in the fridge that I decided a good homemade chicken soup would be an excellent cure-all. It hit the spot and although I didn’t do a lot in the afternoon, I did take some pork out of the freezer for dinner. As it reached the thaw point, Cigarette and Punto came by with a nice size butter fish for us. No problem, the pork went into the refrigerator and we had fish for dinner.
After a good night sleep without coughing all night I awoke with lots of energy (finally). I made French toast for breakfast and we had just finished eating when my friend Susan called. She picked me up at the end of the jetty and we both went into town shopping. It was a very successful grocery day which was a little unexpected. The stores close at noon on Saturdays but we found a lot of fresh produce at the little stands throughout town. In fact, I think I overdid it with the number of mangos I bought but Celon mangos were in and they are our very favourite. I also found some nice pineapple and avocados, to add to the normal fresh fruit purchases.
As we were driving through town we saw Ann and Steve (Receta) and stopped to say hello. They had just arrived from Trinidad.
After I returned to the boat and put everything away, Ann and Steve stopped by to say hello to both Rick and I. Hopefully they will be around for a while and we will get to spend some time with them. Ann let us know that she has written an article about Carriacou that will be in the February issue of Gourmet Magazine. A quick call to Canada was necessary to order our copy.
There was no putting the pork back in the fridge tonight it was definitely on the menu.
After dinner, I boiled potatoes and eggs to make potato salad to take to Susan and Roy’s house tomorrow for a barbeque. I let the potatoes cool in the cockpit and put the eggs in the fridge before going to bed.
It was a terrible night; I just can’t seem to shake this cold. I was up multiple times with coughing fits throughout the night even after taking Buckley’s cough syrup ugh!
Well, the salad didn’t take long to throw together and we finished making a short slide show of our vacation pictures to take with us.
Initially, it was just Susan, Roy, and Susan’s mom, Marjorie for the barbecue but while we were there Brad and Alana phoned so Susan invited them as well. Then as Alana and Brad were walking up Fitzroy drove by and offered them a lift. Susan invited Fitzroy to stay also but he had other plans.
It was a wonderful day the view as usual was spectacular, the food was plentiful and great. It was also nice to see the new addition and changes Susan and Roy had made to the house while we were gone. I couldn’t believe that I didn’t have my camera. In fact, we haven’t taken any pictures since arriving back on Carriacou, probably because I haven’t been feeling very well.
It was late afternoon when I suggested that Rick and I make our way down the hill. Susan wouldn’t allow it. She drove us into Harvey Vale and we walked from there to the haulout where we left the dinghy.
We had a quick breakfast so Rick could be on the 8AM bus into town. One of our propane tanks is empty and the boat that takes them to Grenada to be filled leaves Hillsborough at 9AM on Mondays.
While he was gone I reorganized the clothes we have here that were only used in England and the Middle East. They were sitting in a suit case on the bunk in the aft cabin but Kelly is arriving this weekend and will claim the aft cabin as hers.
The winds were very strong all day and are expected to continue through until at least the weekend with 13 foot seas in a northeast and east swell. I’m glad we decided to stay put.
The Carriacou Sailing Series regatta begins this Wednesday. Our friends Jerry, Susan, Roy and Tim will be racing Bloody Mary. It should be a very fast and rough race with the weather conditions. I sure wouldn’t want to be racing.
I threw together a little plate of cheese, apple and dates which we took to share with Louise and Michael for sundowners onboard Mistress V. It was an enjoyable evening and we were back onboard long before the overnight rain showers began.
It rained many times overnight so all ports and hatches were closed. The strong winds continued but we are close enough to shore that they don’t affect us too much.
I worked on reorganizing a few things but it was a laid back day.
We didn’t expect to see any boats arrive or leave the bay but there are always a few who are gluttons for punishment. I think that at least half a dozen boats arrived in the 10 foot seas and 20 to 25 knot winds.
January
14th, CarriacouThere was rain overnight again with winds gusting to about 35 knots.
In the morning, Rick polished the brass taps while I made potato salad and coleslaw, his favourites for lunch.
Denis and Arlene stopped by and invited us to their boat for sundowners. I’m in a quandary as to what to take. We have been eating down everything in the fridge so we can get everything fresh when we go shopping on Friday. I did have a few nice Ceylon Mangos, a fresh pineapple so a fruit platter was about my only choice.
We went for a swim in the afternoon and made it out in time to have a quick shower before it began raining again.
Michael
and Louise (Mistress V) were also invited to happy hour on Tiger Lily II. It
was a fun evening and even though it rained again we were comfortable and
dry inside the cockpit enclosure on Tiger Lily.
We had a little cleaning to do in the morning. Rick scrubbed the rub rail and polished our maroon stripe on the port side of the boat. In the afternoon we sat and watched a little of the regatta racing, read our books and basically relaxed in the cockpit.
Kelly is on her way to Barbados. She left Toronto this morning but will overnight in Grenada and fly to Carriacou tomorrow. Meanwhile it was time to stock up. We went to Hillsborough and bought everything from meat, vegetables, fruit, booze and juice that we could find. A few things that I was hoping for and found during last shopping were no longer available. Camembert Cheese, gone. Ground beef, gone. Ceylon Mangos, gone. Pineapple, none on island. No Problem mon. I found other things and who knows, as fast as things disappear, they reappear on Island. When we returned to the boat, we had so much, including our returned propane tank that Rick had to make two trips to the boat with the dinghy, one with the food and the other with me. While he was gone with the food I walked to the fruit stand on the beach to see if there were any spring onions which was one of the things I couldn’t find in town. Sure enough nice fresh bunches on the counter of Denise’s fruit stand. I put in a special request with Denise to keep an eye out for some nice mangos and she thinks there might be some coming in tomorrow.
Back at the boat I was just barely able to fit everything into the fridge. Rick and I ate some leftovers for lunch to make a little more room.
We watched many boats arrive today and were amazed with the sea conditions. The forecast was for 20 knots of wind and 12 foot seas. What happened was that the wind direction changed from northeast to southeast and knocked down the waves and swells. Everyone had a very gentle trip up island and there were a lot of smiling faces. The only exceptions were the racers competing in the regatta. No air was their complaint. The ridge that changed the wind direction also blocked the strong winds during the day making for a very long and slow race.
It was little after 5PM when Sherwin came by and picked me up to help hustle business from the new boats for the pan band and restaurant tonight. We did but he doesn’t really have to hustle, as soon as the band begins to play, it becomes a street party at the Lambi Queen.
There were a couple of things that we hoped to pick up in town today and knowing that the stores closed at noon, Rick was anxious to get there. It was 10AM when he dragged me into town. We were able to pick up the couple of things we needed before 10:30AM and then had 4 hours to kill before Kelly’s flight arrived from Grenada.
We walked through town a few times and stopped at Cuthbert’s bar a couple of times. Finally it was close enough to noon that we could kill some time by having lunch. We went to Lorel’s on Back Street and since it was Saturday she was only serving rotis which was fine but they were ready in no time. When we finished eating we returned to Cuthbert’s where we sat around a little longer. Norbert stopped by again and asked if we had done enough eye shopping (island term for window shopping). We had and the seats in Norbert’s bus are much more comfortable than the wooden benches in Cuthbert’s so we decided to ride around with Norbert for a while.
We were almost as far as L’Esterre when he received a call from a lady who needed a ride to the airport. We picked her up and a few others before heading back to town and finally the airport. We told Norbert he could drop us at the airport and come back later when he saw the plane land.
At the airport we sat outside in the shade and limed with a couple of locals who were seeing their niece off.
The flight arrived on time and we were able to head back to town. Norbert
was hired as a taxi to take us from Hillsborough to the Airport and back.
Once we were back in Hillsborough we stopped to listen to the pan band which
had set up at the end of the jetty to greet the small cruise ship that had
arrived.
We re-boarded Norbert’s vehicle which was a bus again not a taxi and headed the long route back to Harvey Vale by way of Belmont. Norbert stopped for me by Denise’s fruit stand where I picked up a couple of bags of mangos she had put aside for me. He dropped us at the main jetty where we were able to get the suitcase and three of us into the dinghy and back to the boat.
Kelly had picked up a few copies of February Gourmet Magazine for us because our friend Ann (Receta) had written an article in it about Carriacou. So once onboard we called and invited Ann and Steve to happy hour when we could give her the copies of the magazine.
There was barely enough time to eat some of the happy hour snacks when a
deluge began.
We quickly moved the party below where everyone was able to
finish eating and drinking while I first showed the souvenirs that I
purchased while on vacation and then proceeded to bore them with our
pictures on the computer of Dubai and Oman although they politely said that
there really enjoyed seeing them.
The rain continued off and on throughout the night, heavy at times so we slept with ports and hatches closed. The sun was big and bright when we awoke in the morning. After breakfast in the cockpit Kelly and I donned our bathing suits and went for a swim. Actually we went for a float on our floaters while Rick remained aboard and served us drinks. When we got back onboard we found it was after 1PM and time for lunch. I made a quick salad then Kelly and I proceeded to siesta in the cockpit while Rick snoozed down below.
Oops, we awoke to a pink Kelly. She had applied sun screen before going
in the water and she had put up a sun shade before falling asleep but still
those rays found her. She moved into the shade and Rick dug out the blender
and prepared some nice cold piña coladas to ease the sunburn pain.
In the evening we walked up the exercise hill and strolled to the Lambi Queen. After a quick beer, we strolled back up the hill to Ronnie’s place for dinner. Brad and Alana had stopped by in the afternoon to let us know that Ronnie had killed a pig and was serving a pork dinner tonight at his house. The pork marinade was a little spicy but we enjoyed it and so did the others who were able to find Ronnie’s place in the dark.
We
had breakfast and slowly got moving in the morning. It was almost 10AM when
we went ashore for a walk to Paradise beach. Once there we strolled along
the beach and found ourselves a secluded little spot in the shade of some
trees. I was able to lie on the blanket for a while but I explained to Kelly
that it is difficult after being able to do the same in the comfort of the
boat. On the boat, there are no flies or mosquitoes, you don’t get covered
in itchy sand and yet you can jump in the water any time.
We didn’t last too long on the beach and then started to stroll a little further to Miss Joy’s (The Hardwood Bar) for chicken and chips lunch.
After lunch we strolled back along to the end of the beach to see Curtis
at Off the Hook Beach Bar. There we moved his Adirondack chairs into the
shade and relaxed there for a while.
When we began our walk back to Harvey Vale we met Natasha (from Sonny’s restaurant and bar) between L’Esterre and Harvey Vale. She said that she normally doesn’t walk because it’s a boring thing to do but since we were walking she would join us for conversation.
It started to rain a little just as we were climbing into the dinghy but stopped before we reached the boat. Kelly and I jumped in for another swim to get rid of the sand before having a shower.
Everyone rested for a while as Rick ran the generator for a while to charge up the batteries. Everything was charged up before 5:30PM when we shut it down and left to see Fitzroy.
We are having a party at Fitzroy’s house next Monday and it is really my party so I needed to find out what I should take care of with regard to food and drinks. Kelly brought a huge bag of balloons and decorations that should last a few parties for Fitzroy. After a nice visit with him we returned to the boat. It was only a few minutes later and I looked over at Kelly who was on the settee supposedly reading but in all actuality she was sound asleep. It was only 8PM Carriacou time and 7PM back in Toronto.
This
was a day to stay out of the sun. Both Kelly and I have a couple of very
pink areas so no swimming today. Instead we went ashore to Harvey Vale to
drop off laundry and pick up a couple of things and order food for the party
on Monday. Phyllis was watching the beginning of the Obama inauguration on
TV so we had to time our requests during commercials. She will order and
take care of everything for the party. Kelly was amazed at the fact
that the main street in Harvey Vale is only a few blocks long but it takes
forever to walk the few blocks because we stop to talk with everyone. It
would be rude not to.
We stopped at the Lambi Queen for a few minutes and the kids (who have
grown a little) came by to visit.
When we returned to the boat after a quick lunch and short siesta it was time to prepare appetizers to take with us this evening to Hans and Francis’s house (http://www.travellingourmet.com/). Norbert picked us and Receta (Ann and Steve) up at the main jetty and drove to their house. Rick remembered where it was from our last visit as there are no street numbers just laneways.
The house had certainly changed since we were last there.
They
have completed enough construction to be able to really enjoy the place and
slow down the pace a little for the finishing touches. To us the house
looked beautiful.
Needless to say the meal was amazing. Francis served Yellow Fin tuna seared with black sesame seeds. There was a side dish of ginger flavoured mixed vegetables, grated christophene with cashews and garlic roasted potatoes. The finishing touch was a melt in your mouth chocolate dessert.
True to his word, Norbert picked us up at 9:15PM and returned us to the main jetty where we had left our dinghies.
This was a stay onboard (out of the sun) and relax day. Kelly and I did just that while Rick went into town for fuel and a couple of things. Late in the afternoon when the sun was not so hot we went for a float on the swim-ways and a little swim.
We were going to White Island for a lobster BBQ . Sherwin picked us and Receta (Ann and Steve) up at 10AM. He brought along his friend Devante to help him and Devante brought his girlfriend Denise.
The sea was a little choppy but not bad getting there considering the
forecast was still indicating there were 12 foot waves from the east.
The
word Carriacou means land surrounded by reefs and we could see the waves
breaking on many of the reefs which was probably keeping the seas nearest
the island much less than 12 feet.
As we neared White Island however the waves were breaking right on shore. It didn’t look like a very safe place to try and get into or out of a boat. We had been there and done that before and it can be scary at the best of times. I quickly asked Sherwin if we could go to Saline Island instead. Saline Island is right next to White Island but it has a bay at an angle opposite to White Island and it appeared quite calm.
It
was a good choice. Sherwin and Devante built a fire and barbecued potatoes
and the three 4 lb lobsters with lots of butter and garlic. Ann brought
coleslaw and we had lots of water, beer and rum to drink.
We all ended up in the water after lunch singing Carriacou carnival songs.
It was after 4PM when we started to get ready for the return boat trip to Tyrrel Bay. The waves behind us provided a much more comfortable ride home.
Once onboard Wind-Borne we jumped overboard to get rid of the sand before
having a quick shower. Dinner was also pretty simple.
We
had pasta and as soon as the dishes were done, everyone was in bed reading.
I had no bread on board so breakfast was delayed until 8AM when fresh warm bread is delivered each morning to Alexis Supermarket. Rick went ashore for bread and we had fried egg sandwiches.
This was a scheduled “run the diesel engine day” so after breakfast Rick started the engine and Kelly and I got ready to go ashore. Rick has been asking for a haircut so the morning was haircut on the beach and swim afterward. In fact Kelly and I swam from the beach back to the boat against an incoming tide. It wasn’t all that far but it was good exercise.
Rick went back ashore and picked up some chicken wings for me. I had asked for about 4 lbs but the smallest bag he could get was 8lbs. No problem, I thawed the wings and put them in a marinade in the fridge.
We had another swim in the afternoon then showered and dressed to go ashore for the evening. As usual, Rick likes to leave the dinghy at the haulout dinghy dock and walk up the exercise hill and down the road to the Lambi Queen.
We were the first to arrive, what else is new, and reserved a table for
Ann, Steve (Receta) and Heather and Don (Asseance). Many other friends
arrived after the band started to play but we were there for dinner. Kelly
had a choice of lobster, chicken, lambi, red snapper or barracuda and
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I
was very surprised to hear her order the barracuda as she is not normally a
fish eater. As usual the crowd got larger as the night wore on and soon
the street was jammed with dancers.
I awoke to my normal cup of coffee and many emails wishing me a happy birthday. Interestingly, Rick didn’t say anything. On my birthday I don’t normally make breakfast so I lounged around and sipped coffee, read my book and a few times asked what the time was. Finally at about 8:30AM Rick asked if anyone else was hungry and I let him know that I was starving. At that point Kelly wished me a happy birthday and Rick caught on. ‘Oops’ he said, ‘I guess you might like poached eggs this morning’. We laughed and I waited for my poached eggs to be served in the cockpit.
Kelly
and Rick took off in the morning to pick up the list of groceries for the
party that Phyllis acquired for us. They loaded everything into the dinghy
and transported it across the bay to the shore by Fitzroy’s house.
By the time Kelly and Rick returned to the boat I had the first batch of chicken wings in the oven. They were ready just in time for lunch. Eight pounds of chicken wings in a small oven took most of the afternoon to cook in batches.
It was 5PM when we went to Receta for happy hour. Ann and Steve had
invited Heather and Don (Asseance) and our land lubber friends Frances and
Hans. As usual there were so many appetizers it became a multi course meal.
Everyone
knew it was my birthday so there was a card from Frances and Hans, a
beautiful beaded necklace made by the Orinoco Delta Warao Indians from
Heather and Don. Ann made some wonderful pecan tarts and served them as
dessert with birthday candles as everyone sang. It was a very enjoyable
evening.
We had arranged to meet Ann and Steve at the main jetty at 9:30AM to hike up Hopper’s hill (about a 300ft climb) . At exactly that time the sky opened up with a downpour. We waited a half hour and although it rained again we still headed to shore and just took a few umbrellas with us.
The
walk up the hill was not near as difficult as I imagined. I have walked down
it many times but normally Susan or Roy drive us up to their place. I was
determined to walk it this season and now that I have I will walk it again
without so much trepidation.
We encountered a little rain and mud along the way but once there, it no longer mattered. We sat under the roof of the large deck and admired the scenery and the rain showers which continued to come and go. As Kelly said, it was sure a lot nicer than being closed up down below in the boat while it rained.
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Susan,
knowing we were coming, baked a loaf of bread and roasted a large cut of
pork for lunch. We hadn’t planned to stay for lunch but there was no way we
could refuse. It was a lovely meal and a very pleasant afternoon. When we
left, we walked down the opposite side of the hill from our walk up. This
route took us by Punto and Barb’s house where we stopped for a little visit.
Punto made us some of his Santa Maria tea which we all enjoyed. Finally we
made our way down the rest of the hill and back to the boat. It was 4PM.
Kelly and I jumped overboard for a swim. We all got ready after another
cloudburst and went ashore again this time to the Lazy Turtle for dinner.
I think today can be referred to as a very busy or productive day. This is only because we all actually accomplished something today.
Kelly made a stencil on the computer for the lettering on the mooring ball. Rick got the printer working (which I had been ready to toss) so that it could be printed. It was Kelly’s job to cut the reflective tape using the stencil. It took two of them to hold the mooring ball out of the water and apply the lettering but it looked very professional when finished.
Meanwhile, I was down below cooking potatoes and boiling eggs for potato salad.
Cigarette and Punto came by with a huge red hind (fish) for us.
Rick
cleaned it and I stored it in the fridge for dinner tomorrow.
Kelly insisted that we all have a siesta in the afternoon because she wanted to ensure that we would be able to stay awake during the party at Fitzroy’s this evening.
It was a short siesta and then we all jumped overboard for a swim. While
Kelly and I floated around on our noodles, Rick passed us our drinks. He had
not hit the water yet when Ann and Steve (Receta) stopped by in their
dinghy. They had just motored off when Sherwin came by. We made sure
everyone was shown the mooring ball which now says Wind-Borne III on one
side and Lambi Queen
on
the other.
While Sherwin was visiting with us, he in his boat, Rick in our cockpit and Kelly and I in the water, Don and Heather (Asseance) stopped by and joined the group in their dinghy.
The party at Fitzroy’s started at 6PM and we watched the people streaming along the beach to his house. It was a great crowd, wonderful food and good loud music. Everyone referred to it as a birthday party for me but really that was just an excuse for a party at Fitzroy’s so Kelly could experience one while here.
She had a great time and very seldom did she leave the dance floor. I on
the other hand had a very good game of pool with Daniela who
I
very rarely beat but I did this night. Rick and I lasted until 11:30PM which
is extremely good for us. Kelly wasn’t even thinking of leaving yet so we
left her at the party with assurances that she would be safely returned to
the boat later. She was, Sherwin brought her back at 1:30AM.
It rained overnight and during the day the sky would clear just long enough that we would open the hatches and then it would quickly cloud over and rain again.
This happened so frequently that Rick got fed up and installed our squall
proof wind scoop. The next squall that went through gave us a tunnel of wind
through the cabin but no rain water.
We mainly sat around and read or slept most of the day except for Rick who went into town for fuel and a few groceries.
I cooked up some local fresh beets and the fish for dinner which we ate in the cockpit between rain showers.
Kelly’s vacation is almost over. She wanted to pick up a souvenir to take
to her friend who is looking after her cat. We walked through town to
Scraper’s where she found exactly what she wanted. Along the way we stopped
and picked up a few things for a dinghy drift that I had organized for this
afternoon.
Last stop was Lambi Queen for a cool drink and to pay Cigarette for the fish before walking back the three blocks to the other end of town.
After lunch, Sherwin came by and picked up Kelly to take her along with Rosy and her sister Vivian (visiting from Montreal) to Sandy Island for a swim. He promised to return in time for the dinghy drift.
The dinghies gathered at a large mooring and then we powered the group of dinghies into the mangroves for a safer drift. The wind was extremely strong and none of us wished to be rescued at sea making our way to Panama or Honduras.
Inside the mangroves it was a good drift with plenty of snacks and drinks
passing from dinghy to dinghy. Devante and Denise brought a couple of
bottles of wine but no cork screw. Rick came to the rescue with Rolland’s
Danforth dinghy anchor.
The
metal rod on the anchor was perfect for pushing the wine cork into the
bottle. Meanwhile I brought a bottle of champagne because I know that Kelly
likes to pop the cork but she and the Sherwin gang were late so Rick and I
went ahead and drank it between the two of us. When she did arrive the
explanation was that Sherwin drove very carefully in the extremely rough
seas and she was happy with beer.
Back at the boat, I whipped together a shrimp in a vodka cream sauce for a quick pasta dinner.
This is Kelly’s last day in Carriacou and Sherwin had a gang of friends
that we know who wanted to have a lobster BBQ at White Island.
There
were enough of them that he needed to make two boat trips to transport
everyone so he invited Kelly to join them. Kelly chose to go on the
second trip which would allow Sherwin a chance to give her the status of the
seas before venturing out.
With her gone for the day it gave me a chance to backup the computer so I could send backup copies home with her.
She returned to the boat at almost 5PM. Initially we discussed all going to Denise’s house for the evening but in the end we had a quiet dinner at the Lazy Turtle with Sherwin. While at the lazy Turtle we received a phone call that her 8:15AM flight would be delayed in the morning until 9:30AM. We could sleep a little longer.
What a night. The wind roared through the bay with 30 to 40 knot gusts all night. We were awakened continually by the sound of the wind and rain. At 4AM I went outside with a flashlight to check if the dinghy was still afloat or whether it sank with all the water. It was still floating but there would be a lot of bailing before we could leave in the morning.
Everyone was awake by 6:30AM without the assistance of an alarm clock. The wind and rain had not let up at all. We had breakfast and when everyone was ready even though it was early we took an opportunity between squalls when the rain was not as heavy to go ashore.
We just stepped onto the jetty when my phone rang. It was Norbert and he had just passed by a few minutes before. He turned the bus around in L’Esterre and came back to pick us up.
It was just after 8:30AM when we arrived at the airport which in Carriacou is too early to check in for a 9:30 flight. Sherwin also came to the airport to see Kelly off.
The flight arrived on time but the rain and cloud was going to delay the flight a little longer. It was 9:30AM and Kelly had checked through security. She was talking to Sherwin through the security door while Rick and I were standing by the other door talking with the pilot. He was waiting for Grenada airport to clear a little before taking off. Norbert returned for us so we left Sherwin to wave good bye as we headed into Hillsborough. While in town and walking along Back Street I heard the sound of the small airplane above. Since there is normally only the one plane we knew it was Kelly on her way to Grenada.
I received a phone call from her in the afternoon.
The
lady manager at the hotel where she is staying (Dr Grooms Beach Hotel)
knocked on her door and told Kelly she couldn’t spend all day in her room.
The manager had some banking to do so she took Kelly with her to the
Spiceland Mall to kill some time.
Kelly was very impressed with the hotel rooms, bar, pool etc. as well as it’s convenience to the airport.
We touched base with Kelly a few times during the day. In Barbados she
had a five hour layover between flights that stretched to nine or ten hours
when her flight was delayed. The last conversation we had with her sounded
like there was a fun party going on at the airport bar so I think she
enjoyed being stranded in paradise.
Meanwhile, back at the boat, Rick went ashore in the morning and assisted with the Tyrrel Bay Junior Sailing Club. While he was following some of the children sailing the bay in their optimist sailboats, I sat in the cockpit and read. I saw him come very close to our boat and called to offer him crackers and cheese that I was snacking on but he didn’t hear me.
Later in the afternoon we jumped overboard for a swim and untangled the mooring lines that had became a little twisted in the high winds we had the other day.
We didn’t go to Lambi Queen last night because of the weather. Tonight, a
Saturday night, Sherwin was having a special evening of Pan Band and a
pre-Carnival Road Show so we had to go.
It
was either go to shore and watch or sit on the boat and listen because the
road show speakers were pointed directly at our boat.
The pan was excellent and the road show was a riot. Kevin and his friend did a practice jump-up to this year’s new carnival music. There were also a couple of singers standing and singing on the huge speakers. The road was totally blocked to any cars that wanted to drive by during the road show.
