It was a quiet day onboard our boat and onboard most others. We lazed around, read and went for a swim.
The fresh water system pump has been going off on its own intermittently. Rick traced the leak to the hot water tank so today he removed it and took some of it apart to find the problem.
He contemplated having our friend Gus weld the plate where it was leaking
but Gus is busy working on the tug boats these days.
Dominic, the welder is off island so the next best and cheaper temporary
solution was JB Weld.
He cleaned the problem area and applied the JB weld paste leaving it to dry while we went for our swim.
In the evening, we met Harry and Barb (La Nostra), Gordon and Judy (Dream Catcher) at the Haulout where a taxi was waiting to take us to the Round House for dinner. Kelly and Sherwin met us at the restaurant where we celebrated Barb’s birthday, Kelly’s Birthday and our Christmas gift to each other.
It was an amazing meal and the evening flew by quickly. When we arrived back at the boat we found it was almost midnight again. We have been up late a lot recently.
Sherwin wanted to take Gordon, Judy, Rick and I and of course Kelly to White Island for the local Sunday “liming and BBQ”. It was a perfect day for White Island. I quickly prepare potato salad to take with us and chopped up onions and garlic to season whatever went on the barbecue. I threw in a few plantains, butter and green seasoning just in case. Levi and Mary joined us then Denise and Kurlan arrived. Before long, Slow and his friends with the big black pot arrived to make turkey stew and dumplings.
There were a few tourists with surfing kites on the island when we first
arrived but they soon left as our numbers expanded.
We headed back to Tyrrel Bay before dark and had a quick swim off the boat to get rid of the sand we had collected before climbing aboard.
First thing in the morning, Kelly and Sherwin sailed off with a day charter to Chatham Bay.
Rick went back to work on the water heater but found that the patch job he had done had a pinhole leak and that area needed to be redone. There was no more JB Weld so he took a trip into town to buy more.
While he was gone, I took the opportunity to tidy and clean down below. The cockpit is a write-off at the present time while the hot water heater workshop has taken over the port side.
In the early afternoon Rick and I climbed into the dinghy, and scrubbed the wooden rub rails and trail boards on the Wind-Borne with saltwater and good old Joy dish soap. I knew they needed cleaning but when I saw the dirt that came off and the nice wood colour return I realized how very dirty they were.
We went for our daily swim before happy hour and watched Sherwin, Kelly and guests return to their mooring while we were still in the water.
The final patch of JB weld was applied to the water heater today but we won’t test it until later today after it has had plenty of time to set.
Sherwin was off on another charter today. This one was a tour on the power boat so Kelly stayed behind and helped us.
We took the dinghy ashore near Scraper’s and beached it under the Machineel tree. Rick sat on his bucket while I cut his hair. The wind was gusting 15 to 20 knots so it’s a little tricky to try and keep the hair wet while cutting.
Next we removed the outboard engine from the dinghy and flipped it so Rick could scrub the bottom. Kelly and I watched and said hello to friends as they walked or drove by. Some even came into the water with us.
When Rick was finished I helped replace the outboard and he then joined us for a quick dip.
Another swim by the boat to get rid of any sand before we showered in half of the cockpit and got ready to go into town
It was noon when we went ashore so we stopped at Natasha’s for a nice lunch then waited for Norbert to take us to Hillsborough.
There were a few items that I wanted to pick up, Rick had his jerry cans for fuel and Kelly had a shopping list for Lambi Queen.
We don’t usually come to town on a Tuesday and I forgot that the Marketing Board closes at 12pm on Tuesdays. We purchased everything on Kelly’s list from the vegetable ladies on the street except christophene. The only place with christophene today was the closed Marketing Board.
We returned to Harvey Vale, picked up bread and a few things from the Alexis supermarket while Rick took our groceries and fuel back to the boat and then came back for us.
Just before dark Rick raised his nice clean dinghy in the davits. Later at about 9:30 when we were in bed I could hear the waves crashing on shore. The forecast was for 12 foot northern swells (a change from the previous forecast of northeast swells). North swells can get nasty and cause the boat to roll and since the waves were crashing so hard at almost low tide I was worried what they would be like at high tide.
Poor Rick, I woke him and suggested that if the roll was to get really bad I would prefer the dinghy be secured to the side of the boat rather than singing freely in the davits. Once the dinghy was lowered and secured, I fell fast asleep immediately and the roll never came.
The water heater tested fine with no leaks last night so first thing in the morning (before breakfast) Rick began re-installing it under the aft bunk.
There wasn’t much laundry but I wanted everything clean before we left so Rick delivered it ashore.
Next he had to get the antifreeze back into the engine. We’ve been through this before and it is a little tricky because the heat exchanger is a sealed system and we have to run the engine a few times to remove any air.
I tidied below when we were finished and then we spent the afternoon reading and swimming.
Sherwin had another powerboat charter to White Island and he took Kelly along with him to help.
Rick changed the filters in the water maker and then went to town for a few last minute items.
Selma, the cook at Lazy Turtle asked us to make sure we didn’t leave without coming for dinner one more night and tonight was the night. There was a good crowd there and we stayed a little later than normal.
This was our last day in Carriacou for a while. There wasn’t much left to do, the boat was ready, laundry was done and the fridge was stocked.
We read, ate left over pizza for lunch, uploaded our route into the GPS and had a nice swim in the afternoon.
Since it was Friday night we had once last meal at Lambi Queen with the steel band providing enough entertainment to hold us over until we return in a few months.
Well, I knew that today would not be the most perfect sailing day. The forecast was for 15 to 20 knots of wind and a 6 to 8 foot northern swell mixed with a 6 to 8 foot eastern swell. The seas would be confused and lumpy and bumpy. What I didn’t expect after months of sunshine, was rain. Carriacou has not had any rain for the last month or so and it is so dry that water is being shipped up from Grenada. We awoke to not just a sprinkle of rain but a dark overcast squally sky that would stay with us for most of the day.
Sherwin and Kelly arrived at a little after 8AM and prepared for an 8:30AM departure. Sherwin was in rough shape after an impromptu going away party with JB who can be a bad influence on the amount of alcohol anyone consumes. They partied until well after 2:30AM.
We let go of the mooring line right on time and headed out to sea. Once we cleared the tip of the island we could see a nice large squall coming up from behind us. The main was reefed and we were using the stay sail. When the squall hit we were making a good 7 to 8 knots so the good news was that this could be a fast trip. When the rain started Kelly and I went below and passed nylon jackets to Rick and Sherwin.
It didn’t take long and the mixed swells were tossing the boat in uncomfortable waves. I never thought to suggest to Rick that he take some sea sick medication. Too late!!! He was hanging over the port side of the boat feeding the fish and next thing we noticed, Sherwin was hanging over the starboard side of the boat. Kelly and I thought this was certainly a weird style of male bonding.
If Rick was going to be hanging over the side I passed him a life jacket and tether. Sherwin didn’t want one. We continued on our way with Ray de Pilot doing all of the work. The guys remained on watch in the cockpit and continued bonding for the next couple of hours.
Finally we were off the coast of Grenada and worked our way close to shore where we could get out of the swells. The sun came out so Kelly and I joined the guys in the cockpit. They were looking much less green by this time.
As we worked our way along the coast we would get blasts of wind racing down off the mountains that would speed us along our way at 8 knots.
As we were almost to St George’s there was a doozy blast that pushed us
up to 10 knots. After that it was time to take the sails down.
We made our way into St George’s Harbour and Port Louis Marina at about 2:30PM where we attempted to dock at a finger dock. First time in 4 years. Rick steered the boat in perfectly but the slip they assigned us had to be 20 feet long and we had the wind pushing us from behind. After many attempts to tie off the boat we still had the bow sprit right across the dock and no way to tie it back far enough. Even with the bow sprit so far forward, our gate for getting off the boat was hanging over the water. Finally I told the marina person who was trying to help that the dock was much too short for our boat. He agreed and told us we could move around to the other side where the docks were twice the length.
Now it was my turn to dock the boat because we had to back out of the slip and Rick doesn’t like to reverse the boat. I couldn’t believe the strength of the wind. I had the engine at 3000 rpms and we were barely moving. Not only that but the dinghy in the davits blocked any view I might have had behind us. I almost tried to go forward too soon but Sherwin came to the rescue and directed me back further by standing on deck and watching behind.
I took the boat around and we easily docked it in the much longer slip.
While Rick and I went to the office to check in, Kelly and Sherwin headed for the pool. We joined them a little later. We learned that the dock we are on has only 220 amp service. If we need 110 amps we would have to move again and go against the wall. We asked if we could run the generator and were told that it shouldn’t be a problem. The boats on either side of us were empty.
It was 5pm and Kelly and Sherwin had to check into the Inn where they were staying before 6PM. We gathered their belongings and walked them to the parking lot where a taxi arrived and took them away.
Rick and I returned to the boat and ate some of the leftover sandwiches. Looked at the clock; it was 6:30PM. We both decided to get ready for bed and read, knowing that we would fall asleep almost immediately which we did.
We had a wonderful night’s sleep, 12 hours and even the music from the Horny Baboon in the Lazy lagoon that goes all night didn’t keep us awake.
We were preparing for our big Sunday breakfast when Sherwin called and
said that we were going to the Aquarium Restaurant for lunch not dinner.
Breakfast plans quickly changed to a very light meal. Michael, the taxi
driver picked us up at 11AM and we stopped to pick up Kelly and Sherwin on
the way. There were five cruise ships already at anchor and at the dock so
no matter where we went today it was probably going to be a little crowded.
When we arrived at the Aquarium many of the tables were already taken but the waiter was great. He asked if we had reservations and when we said no he asked one of the many bikers from one of the cruise ships to move (they weren’t eating or drinking just swimming) and told them that the table was reserved for us.
We had a nice afternoon watching the crashing surf hit the beach with many people enjoying the water and being tossed by the huge waves. We chose to remain dry this day. We had a wonderful meal, Rick, Sherwin and I had a huge piece fresh tuna each and Kelly had BBQ pork tenderloin. We all ate from the salad bar.
By 3PM we gave up on the Sunday afternoon band which had not yet arrived and called Michael to come and get us.
We returned to the marina where we could swim in a nice pool with no large swells crashing over our heads. Rick remained at the boat and ran the generator for a couple of hours. He placed it on the dock with the exhaust facing downwind away from other boats. I checked it out. The noise could not be heard when I got off of our finger dock.
Sherwin, Kelly and I had a nice swim and returned to the boat just as the generator was finished. I made a large pitcher of sangria and we all sat in the cockpit and enjoyed it until after sunset when Kelly and Sherwin left to join Nigel at the Horny Baboon.
I’m sure glad we had a good night’s sleep the night before because there was no sleeping tonight. A small Norwegian boat had arrived during the day and docked opposite to us. There were four guys and they began to party. At 2AM Rick asked them if they could take their party out of the cockpit and either down below or off the dock completely. They were a little quieter for a while but every so often, they would get a louder. This went on until we had a rain shower a little after 6AM which forced them below.
It eventually became a non issue anyway because we were up the rest of the night with Rick being sick. We thought it was something he ate but since both of us ate the same thing I have no idea what caused it. He blames it on bad beer, the only thing he had but I didn’t have.
Well things finally settled down around 7AM and I was able to get him to take some Cipro, hoping he could keep it down long enough for it to be effective.
Today Rick needed to rest. He wasn’t eating but his system had settled a little and he was able to sleep. I had a kitchen company arrive in the morning to look at our counters to give me a quote on replacing them with Corian. I tip-toed around after they left then spent most of the day on the computer.
We had a good
night’s sleep and Rick felt much better in the morning. Not quite well
enough to sail along the south end of the island in strong wind rain and
squalls which is what the day was offering. I called the marina office and
told them that we would like to stay another day.
On the cruisers net there was an announcement of a flea market at Whisper Cove Marina today with free transportation from St George’s. We had a couple of things we wanted to do in town but there was time to accomplish that and visit friends at Whisper Cove.
The taxi was to pick us up at 8:45AM so we rushed and made it in plenty of time to the meeting place by Foodland. We were the only pickup in this area so we had a nice taxi to ourselves.
There wasn’t much for sale at the market but many of our friends who we hadn’t seen for a while were there. Jeff and Susan (the Raggy’s) Bobbie and Noel (Sundancer III) and Ernie (Stonecutter)Mary and George (Avalon V) all joined us.
The Marina offered a lunch special of hamburgers and chips for $5EC. The managers of Whisper Cove are French Canadian and the husband is a butcher. Hamburgers are not an island thing but we thought we would give it a try. They were excellent!
When the taxi returned us to St. George’s we stopped at Island Water
World then took a bus to Grand Anse where we hit the bank and grocery store
for a few items.
On our way back to the boat, I commented to Rick that the burger was not sitting well on my stomach. Once on the boat, I knew that Rick’s and Sherwin’s previous problem was not a food issue because now I had the very same illness. As usual though, I seem to have a stronger system than Rick. So yes I was sick but I then proceeded into bed and almost slept the night. I would have except the Norwegian’s have found some friends and now there were about 15 of them screeching at the top of their lungs with music blaring at the bow of our boat which I put up with until midnight. At which time, Rick went to talk to the security guard who had them move the party off the dock, to the pool area. I fell into a deep sleep. It was after 3AM when they returned screeching again for no apparent reason other than to make noise. The security guard was quick to settle them down again.
I was feeling much better in the morning but not wanting food as yet.
I received a call from the kitchen company with the quote, and they are ready to start work this Monday.
We
checked out of Port Louis Marina after what we consider a very disappointing
stay and made our way along the south of the
island. This trip is always a slog but at least today there was sunshine.
In fact we had a really nice passage even though the winds were 15 to 20 knots from the east and the seas were 10 to 12 feet from the east as well there was an incoming tide which of course comes from the east. Along the south coat we were heading east into all of this. At times our speed averaged about 1.5 knots but the sun was shining.
It was about 9:30AM when we started out and 2:30PM when we arrived. That’s 10 miles in 5 hours. When we entered the bay Rick steered the boat by My Island Girl so that we could say hello to Winston and Barabra. As we pulled up to the marina where we are going to dock for a couple of weeks, Bob, the owner was there to help us into dock and standing beside him was our friend Steve (Receta) ready to help as well.
Although I was tired, I was finally feeling like having a little food. We had a can of chicken noodle soup. Clarkes Court Marina was having a burger night. What’s with all of these burgers? We went to the burger night where Rick, fully recovered, joined Winston and Barbara (My Island Girl) in eating burgers but I was fine after having my soup.
After all of the noise we put up with while staying in downtown St. George’s, last night’s silence was more than wonderful. I slept so soundly that I didn’t even know it was raining and didn’t hear Rick get up and close the hatches twice during the night.
We find it interesting that here, even on land there don’t seem to be any mosquitoes.
The little leak in the hot water tank has not been resolved so Rick removed it again and I called a welder who will come and pick it up some time this weekend.
Today was the first day of ripping out our galley. First thing to tackle were the galley cabinets which disassembled easier than we had anticipated. It still took us a good portion of the day but the cabinets and much of the laminate on the counter was removed by the time we finished.
There are always the unexpected things that come up and this was no exception. We found the deck thru-hull drain was leaking and a few tow rail bolts looked very suspicious. We had done enough however for one day so everything could wait until tomorrow.
Although the galley is in rough shape I can still prepare meals awkwardly and I would prefer to save our dinners out for when cooking is impossible. I would also like to use up as much food as possible before we have to empty the fridge. So tonight I made some curried chicken which we ate in the cockpit.
It was Friday and there was a bus into Grand Anse for cruisers to go shopping. We decided that it would be wise for Rick to continue working and that I take the bus as a quick way into town to pick up some caulking for the leaks we found yesterday.
It was a great plan. Steve (Receta) was going on the bus as well so we rode together. The bus dropped us on the main road before pulling into the shopping centre. We parted ways and I grabbed a local bus into town where I made my purchases and took a bus back to the shopping centre. I roamed through the large hardware store and then up and down every aisle in IGA picking up a few items and was finished in plenty of time to be ready for the bus pickup back to Clarkes Court.
Rick and I had a quick lunch in the cockpit and then waited an hour or so until the worst of the midday heat had passed.
He worked below with a wrench and I was on deck with a large screw driver. We re-seated 4 bolts and the drain in time for dinner. I was exhausted and Rick was starving so he ate leftovers and I went to bed more tired than hungry.
We had another wonderful night’s sleep.
The last of the laminate was removed, we gave the bolts a final tightening, removed the sink and faucet and visited with a few people who stopped by to say hello.
Ernie (Stonecutter) stopped by first, and later Jeff (Beach House) came by and introduced himself. He is from Mimico and friends with Stu who we are getting together with on Friday.
Rick suggested lunch in the club house and I agreed. They had a nice
cream of asparagus soup which I chose and a chicken teriyaki wrap that Rick
enjoyed..jpg)
In the evening there was a pot luck dinner but I already had a picnic ham thawing so we joined Jeff and Pat for happy hour and returned to our boat for dinner.
Everything that can be done in preparation for the galley people Monday has been done.
Rick made his famous poached egg breakfast, this time with wonderful sour
dough bread that I had picked up on Friday. Afterward, I did the dishes in a
pail in the cockpit. It wasn’t so bad. In fact it was almost fun, sitting
while I washed and dried..jpg)
With the cabinets sitting there and us having nothing that we had to do, it seemed like a good time to start refinishing the wood. I sat on the dock with the electric palm sander and did as much as possible on the wood then passed the pieces to Rick who sat in the cockpit and hand sanded what was left.
It was Sunday and after many years we were going to Hog Island once again for Roger’s BBQ. The last time we did this was in 2003.
The first person we met was tending the barbecue. His name was Rocket
(his friends in Carriacou know him as Bingi Man)
Things have certainly changed. There were at least half a dozen nice picnic tables and the beach and ground area was nicely raked. We used to find a log or use our towel to sit upon. There was a large crowd and we knew very few of the people. At our table we were joined by Winston and Barb (My Island Girl) Cathy and Ernie (Stonecutter) and Glen and Ulricka ( Bird of Passage). We had a nice BBQ lunch and great visit with everyone but we had to leave before dark as we hadn’t brought a light.
January
18th, Clarkes Court Bay, GrenadaThe weekend is over and things are happening. First we dropped the propane and laundry at the club house. Henry’s Safari will pick them up and take care of them for us.
Nick From the welding company TecNick came by and picked up our water tank. He will weld a plate onto the area that is leaking.
The kitchen company was to arrive early in the morning and early island style was 9:30AM. Three men came, the supervisor and two workers. Later they went and picked up a fibreglass man as well. At any given time there were at least four of us down below. It’s really a very small galley so I’m not sure how we managed it.
The plywood counter top was a pig to remove but Kenny (the worker) was
very careful and methodical. Most of it came out in one piece and the last
bit by the fridge and under the bulkhead, Rick will remove before they
return on Wednesday..jpg)
The fridge finally had to be turned off and Bob (Clarkes Court Bay Marina) allowed us to store our refrigerated items in his large fridge.
We are down to no sink or fridge but we still have the stove and it was a good thing because the Bar doesn’t cook every night and this is one of the nights that they don’t. I was able to make pasta for dinner and drain it using a colander over a pail. Dishes were washed in a pail as well.
Rick needed some items from the hardware and I needed cash from the bank so first thing in the morning we lowered the dinghy and headed to the other side of the bay. There we tied at a rickety dock and walked to the road where we caught our first Woburn bus into town.
Rick and I both thought that we were in St. Vincent (famous for wild bus drivers) on this bus. The driver was taking the hairpin turns and cliffs on two wheels as he raced up and down the hills and around the bends. It’s a good thing we hadn’t eaten yet.
At the bus terminal we anxiously climbed out of the bus and made our way passed the market to the bank. Next, it was time to eat. After the number of years we have been south we still have difficulty eating fish for breakfast so we found a Subway restaurant where we could have an egg sandwich.
A quick stop in Ace Hardware and Rick had some of the items he needed. We walked through the tunnel, around the Carenage and picked up a bus to Island Water World. Now with the last items on the list we walked to the back street where we could catch the bus back to Woburn. Wouldn’t you know it!!! We had another Mario Andretti and made it back to our boat by 10:30AM.
Rick started work immediately but by 1PM I had him stop and we went to the bar for lunch. After lunch he finished the last of his plywood removal for the galley.
The kitchen company won’t be back until tomorrow so we took the day off.
Winston and Barbara called to say that they wanted to dinghy to Mount Hartman and walk to Prickly Bay where they needed to purchase water maker chemical. The hair salon I want to visit is just down the road from there so we went along with them. As it turned out, they had never made this trip before and we had made it many times however it was a few years ago.
The reef marker for the dinghy passage inside the reef was still in place
but when we arrived at Mount Hartman it was sad to see the deterioration of
Secret Harbour. We paid to leave our dinghies at the dock and Steve, a
worker there showed us the way to the new short cut up the hill to the road.
It was a nice walk to Prickley Bay even though we went up and down the hill
we don’t normally take. We went our separate ways and agreed to meet Winston
and
Barbara for lunch. When I arrived at the Hair Salon (Hair Affair) it was
instant relief when I saw the sign, “Trained in Canada”. I knew that Sandra
the stylist would be able to cut straight hair. I was finished and pleased
in no time so we walked back to Prickly Bay to find Winston and Barbara who
were still waiting their turn at the shop.
When we set out again, Barbara and I both wanted to stop in the small boutique at the Calabash Hotel, just to look! Well, it was a very nice boutique and for an upscale hotel, the prices were very reasonable. Needless to say, Barbara and I both purchased a couple of items.
Next stop was the North South Wine shop which was on our way and again, we both purchased some wine.
Finally, we arrived at Choo Light Chinese Restaurant which used to be one of Rick’s very favourite places. Nothing had changed, the same lady owner served us and the food was still very good and the prices reasonable.
After lunch it was time to make our way back to the dinghies at Mount Hartman. This time we would not allow Rick to have us walk the huge hill. We took our old way back around the hill which isn’t really much further and we were still able to breathe when we reached our destination.
Back at the boat we relaxed and read for a while and then it was time to
get ready to go again. The Bar at our marina (Clarkes Court Bay), Oasis, had
their regular Burger Night but they also had the Clarkes Court Rum Factory
providing free rum tasting for most of the evening. As well there was live
entertainment. We had a large group, front row and centre for the
entertainment and it was a fun.jpg)
evening. After we left, which was around 8PM it sounded like the live
entertainment had finished and it became a Karaoke party.
We commented to Winston yesterday that it was a shame that we went to all
the work of removing our galley cabinets for the new counter and then next
year we would have to remove them again to replace the stanchion bases. He
was the only person that we mentioned this to and he was the best person in
the world to tell. Winston and Barbara have a Bayfield 40 (My Island Girl)
and he had already ordered new stanchion bases and had them onboard.
He asked how.jpg)
many we needed and there are four above the galley cabinets and so he
brought four over to us. Unbelievable what a difference having these now
rather than next year makes because they are a special order that we would
have to have custom made and shipped in to Canada or Grenada.
The new countertop was to arrive at 9:30AM. We were ready but not surprised when Nichol called at 10:30AM to tell us they were still at the shop working on it. They would probably arrive around noon. It was 12PM when we went up to the club house for lunch. Then we went up again with Steve at 2PM to meet Ann (Receta) who was returning from her book promotion in Toronto. While catching up with Ann, the truck arrived and our counter top was here.
.jpg)
There was still some final sanding and fitting to be done but it looks great. Kenny and Mickey worked until after 7:30PM to set up everything to their satisfaction. They will return on Monday to complete everything and at that time I hope to have my fridge back.
They left and we opened a can of soup for dinner and then got ready for
bed. Oops! Not to be! The head decided to pack it in. It was almost 11PM
when we gave up and decided we need to visit the chandlery for new hose
before it can be used again. The good news
is that we are at dock and can use the marina washroom until we have time to
fix it.
I crawled out of bed tossed on some clothes and headed up to the marina
washroom. We had to be ready early this morning as I had arranged for
Henry’s Safari tours to pick us up at 9AM. Friends Stu and Karon (Georgia E)
from Toronto are in Grenada after chartering a boat for a couple of weeks
and we are all going on an island tour.
I made a quick telephone call to Budget Marine who agreed to deliver the hose we need. This will allow us to work on the replacing the existing hose tomorrow.
Vaughan, our driver for Henry’s Safari picked us up at exactly 9AM. We then went to Jenny’s Place (Hotel) to pick up Stu and Karon. We were pleasantly surprised to find they had another couple with them, Allison and Mike also from Toronto who shared their honeymoon week on the chartered boat.
Our first stop on the tour was the Concord Falls where Karon braved the
cool water and swam under the falls.
After admiring the view for a while we climbed back up to the road and
visited the little tourist shops. Allison and Karon both purchased
some calabash bowls filled with spices as souvenirs to take home.
Next we visited the Douglaston Spice Plantation where we received an interesting presentation from a local man who described the different spices grown on the plantation and their uses.
We carried on up the west coast of the island to the fishing village of
Gouyave. There we toured a Nutmeg sorting station and watched
as the dried nutmegs were cracked sorted and graded for export. It has been
six years since Hurricane Ivan which did a lot of damage to the nutmeg
trees. They predicted it would take eight to ten years to recover and it has
been only six but it was very evident that the industry is well on its way
to recovery. Karon and Allison purchased some spice necklaces from one of
the many ladies outside the sorting station.
Vaughan next turned inland and drove across the centre of the island
through the rain forest, and stopped for us to visit the Grand Etang Lake.
Near the lake we were fortunate to see one of
the Mona Monkeys that inhabit the area. This was the last stop of the
tour so we headed back toward St George’s and had Vaughan drop us at the
Aquarium Restaurant.
Everyone was a little dehydrated so before going for a dip in the sea we all had a couple of cool drinks.
Karon, Stu and I just went for a dip but Mike and Allison snorkelled for a while. When the tide started to come in the waves started crashing so although the water was refreshing, it was time to get out if we didn’t want to surf.
A quick freshwater shower on the beach and a change of clothes in the
washrooms and we were ready for dinner. We had not stopped for lunch and
everyone was super hungry.
Dinner was excellent and the evening went by quickly. When our taxi arrived we dropped our friends off at Jenny’s place first and they loaded us down with a lot of their leftover cruise provisions before we drove off and headed back to Woburn.
When we arrived at our Marina, the clubhouse was still open so we went in to pick up the hose that was sitting by the door. Ann and Steve and their friend Chuck were enjoying a pizza so we joined them for a few minutes before going to the boat.
We awoke knowing that number one priority was to install a new hose on
the toilet. The thought of the job was worse than actually doing it. Rick
disconnected each end of the blocked hose and
stuffed an old rag in each end. He attached a string to one end and we
easily pulled the whole hose out and placed it in the garbage bin. Using the
string, we pulled the new hose in and everything was connected and working
fine before noon.
We had a quick lunch at the club house then an afternoon siesta.
My Island Girl (Barbara and Winston) had invited Sylvie and Mike and us for dinner. Sylvie and Mike are an interesting couple. Sylvie is French from France and lived in South Africa for many years while Mike is Austrian and was born inside a tank during the war with Russia. They have built their own boat and seem both very resourceful and artistic.
It was an interesting evening and a wonderful meal and Barbara promised to share her chicken recipe with me. We made our way back to the marina well after dark.
Today is my birthday and everyone sent birthday wishes which were not only nice to receive but provided a reminder of the day to Rick who had forgotten.
It was not a problem because I covered for him and bought a birthday gift for myself. I wanted the new book that our friend Ann wrote (Ann Vanderhoff ) called the Spice Necklace. So I downloaded it to my Ebook Reader and thanked Rick.
There were a couple of American football games on the large screen TV at the club house and Miss Kitty was making homemade pizza. We weren’t really interested in the games but did want the pizza. It was a nice evening; we met John and Linda (Kool Kat) who are from Huston Texas so we helped them cheer for the south.
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Today was Monday so it was back to work on the Galley. Rick left early to go into town to Island Water World to buy some new hinges and flush mounted lift rings for the new counter. Kenny and Mickey arrived before he returned and started work immediately.
Around noon, they took the lift out panels back to the shop and installed the new lift rings that Rick had purchased.
It was after 5PM when they finished work and I will be able to turn the
fridge on tomorrow after we replace the insulating panels in the fridge lid.
We debated cutting the counter for the existing faucet but in the end
decided to buy the one I want and have it installed properly now rather than
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We learned last week that Miss Kitty takes Mondays off so there is no dinner served at the clubhouse and we didn’t want to go anywhere else so I cooked pasta for dinner.
Although the counter top has been installed we are extremely busy. First thing this morning the fibreglass man (Mopsy) arrived early and replaced the fibreglass from the counter to the hull. When he finished, Nichol arrived with Corian samples for me to choose a colour for in the head.
Eventually they all left. First we re-attached the insulation panels to the lid of the refrigerator with silicone, filling the old screw holes with foam insulation.
Next we replaced the stanchion bases on deck, located above and behind the cabinets. It took us most of the day to remove the old stanchion bases, clean the existing stanchions and hull then install the new bases.
At lunch time Rick dinghied across the bay and picked up chicken rotis from Nimrod’s.
When the bases where in place (minus the stanchions) we moved on to replacing the galley cabinets to their original location. It took a while to find all of the existing screw holes in the liner and we weren’t quite finished but it was time to call it a day.
It was dark, (7:30PM) we were tired, so a quick shower, forget dinner and off to bed.
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January
27th, Clarkes Court Bay, GrenadaWe don’t have the galley plumbing connected yet but the cabinets, minus the doors are in place so I returned the dishes, pots and pans etc. etc. to their appropriate shelf.
The doors won’t go on until we refinish the wood but meanwhile I need the aft cabin emptied of all the galley stuff so that I can now store the items from the cabinet in the head there. The new laminate on the walls and the Corian counter is to be installed in the head tomorrow.
While I worked in the galley, Rick began demolition of the head. Removing the medicine cabinet and trim was easy but things got more difficult when we had to remove the laminate from the walls and counter top. We both worked away at it and by 5PM (happy hour) our work was done.
We had a quick shower, and joined Steve and Ann (Receta) for happy hour. It was burger night and Rick had a burger and fries. I didn’t need any more food after the huge lunch time roti. There was a steel pan player performing for the evening. He was very good but I find it interesting that both the guitar player last week and the pan man this week both use recorded background music as accompaniment.
When we returned to the boat, we moved all of the drawers and baskets that I had temporarily placed on the forward bunk to their official temporary location on the aft bunk.
I can’t keep up with the kitchen guys! They called in the morning before 9AM and were on their way. They measured, made a template and left. Later in the afternoon they returned with the laminate for the walls in the head and the Corian counter top already cut. There was a little planing and filing required but it was a perfect fit when they were finished. Unplanned, I asked if there was enough laminate remaining for them to replace the top of our nav. desktop. It was not a problem or at least for them it wasn’t a problem but we couldn’t remove the old laminate fast enough. They will return tomorrow and laminate the nav for us. I love these guys and can’t believe that we are the first yacht they have ever worked on. Miss Kitty on Falcon, after viewing our new galley has asked them for an estimate to provide a new counter top in her boat.
We received a call from Sherwin today. He was just checking in but also let us know that the winds and seas (north swells) were so bad that two charters had to cancel. Meanwhile, tucked in on the south coast of Grenada, we certainly have the wind which is lovely (20 to 25 knots gusting to 30 at times) but we have no seas. Clarkes Court Bay is well protected from any northerly swells.
By the end of the day I had two thirds of the laminate removed from nav.
and Rick had connected the galley faucet and drain so I
am back in business for preparing meals. We are both looking forward to
onboard meals.
I got ready to take the shopping bus into town while Rick started stripping the remaining laminate from the nav. It really didn’t want to be removed. To my astonishment, Rick had completed the removal by 9:30AM. I suggested that he quickly dress and come on the bus into town with me. There was no time for him to shave but I didn’t care, it was nice to have him along.
We stopped and topped up our cell phones because it was a “Double Bubble Day”. Whatever amount we top up is doubled.
Next, the bank for more cash and finally the grocery store.
There were so many fresh vegetables available this week it was hard to choose what ones we wanted but we couldn’t take them all. Our cart was overflowing buy the time we finished shopping.
The bus dropped us off at the dock near our boat. There was time for the groceries to be put away, lunch eaten and a short siesta before the guys returned to finish the nav.
As usual, the job was perfect. We thanked them and said our goodbyes. Although their work is finished, we still have a lot to do. The wood work is being sanded. Rick is replacing the plugs where we had to remove screws and we want to refinish the wood with Cetol.
One cup of coffee this morning and then I was on the move. My plan was to do some laundry (not deliver laundry ashore but actually wash it myself) before the cruiser’s net started at 7:30AM. It was a smart plan. The two washing machines had finished and I had our clean laundry hanging on the clothes lines when the line up for the machines started.
The wind was 25 knots and gusting higher so with the sun and the wind, the clothes dried very quickly.
Rick was sanding woodwork when I returned to the boat so I let him continue with even my portion of the sanding as I worked on the computer. I had made a promise that I would update the website which was very out of date and I was doing my best to finish it today.
Next I marinated a couple of pork tenderloins and made a dish to take to a pot luck dinner at the club house tonight. The marina has a lovely large barbecue so we cooked two pork tenderloins while we had the opportunity to use it and will have leftovers for tomorrow.
Doing my own laundry yesterday went very well so this morning I continued the same routine with a couple more loads, this time sheets and blankets.
They were hanging on the clothes line before 8:30AM and completely dry by 10AM.
Rick meanwhile was onboard preparing our Sunday bacon, poached eggs and toast. It was an especially nice treat this week.
After breakfast he made more teak plugs from the old teak fids and continued sanding wood in the head. It was my job later to apply the first coat of Cetol.
I received a note from Sylvie (Albatross) who we met the other night for dinner onboard My Island Girl, asking me to write an article about my Ebook Reader for the Women and Cruising website http://www.womenandcruising.com. She is the webmaster.
Writing the article was not a problem but providing a picture was difficult. Rick took about six pictures and I didn’t like any of them. The camera was making me look old. I told Sylvie that the pictures would be provided tomorrow when I’m sure I will be younger looking.
We went to the clubhouse for happy hour and found that other than Ann and Steve (Receta) who were working on their computers, we were the only ones there. Everyone else was coming later in the evening for a birthday party for someone we didn’t know.
Dinner this evening was in the cockpit which is still also classed as a workshop but even with the mess it was nice to be able to cook and eat onboard.
