July 31 Prickly Bay, Grenada

July 23-31
Donn and Kitty had some work done on their engine and while not completely fixed yet (one problem begets another) it is running. Craig and I took off for Clarkes Court for a change of scenery. We stopped for the night in Mount Hartman Bay and then went on to Clarkes Court. Instead of the main anchorage, we tucked into a secluded alcove that we shared with one other boat. Nights have been spent fishing (many snappers to be caught here) and watching the meteor shower. Saturday morning we attended the swap meet to off load extraneous bits from the boat. Craig shopped and replaced our old bits with some new bits. Good purchases. We bought a new anchor roller last week at the store for $100. We decided against a spare due to availability and price. Craig found an identical new one at the meet for $8. The local marina is a gathering spot for cruisers and one night we attended burger night and watched a presentation on cruising Venezuela. We are not going there but it was interesting information as well a chance to meet and greet other cruisers. It is rainy season here and there have been thunderstorms every day. Things I have learned: if I even think about doing laundry, ominous clouds gather. If I actually do laundry, it will start raining precisely 45 seconds after hanging the last piece, even if aforementioned clouds were way off on the horizon. And finally, clothes pins are not rated above winds of 25 knots. I do not mind the extra rinse cycle…I do mind clothes flying across the deck and scampering about to catch them before they blow of the boat.
They say moss does not gather on a rolling stone but it and barnacles sure do on a boat at anchor in warm water. We spent one afternoon on scuba/snorkel with scrapers and gave the rudder, prop and bottom a thorough scrubbing. With a clean bottom, there is nothing to do but pull up the anchor and take off for a new spot. We headed back to Prickly Bay. There is better access to the local bus system that runs through most of the towns. Adventures in public transportation!! These are minivans that charge about $1US to hop on and ride to whatever destination, packed in with as many people as can fit in the van. We rode the bus into St Georges to pick up a few things. Upon return to the dinghy dock, which is conveniently situated at the local pub, De Big Fish, we saw some new friends and joined them for cocktails and snacks. We are going tonight to a fish festival in Guave, the fishing capital of Grenada and located about an hour away. This is a weekly Friday night event in which the locals close off the streets with bands and fishermen cooking/selling the day’s catch.

Cloudy days in Clarke's Court.

Instead of filets, we have taken to scaling, gutting, deheading and roasting the fish in foil. This Craig victim was seasoned with cajun spices and served with pasta with a cajun/jalepeno and cream sauce. Hurry Jimmy! I am runnng out of fish ideas!!

People do the funniest things with their dinghies. And children.

Speed Racer in action. Dinghy engine cover solutions by Team Yakel with Craig on design and Angela on needle/thread. We can not bring ourselves to scratch it up to make it look old...as if scratching up a foreign Yamaha Enduro on an American-flagged boat is going to fool anybody. We rely on locks and good security practices...a surprising number of people don't.

A new twist on boarding ladders...

Perhaps my new favorite plant. BTW, the plant in the contest was a tobacco plant, its stalk stripped of ripe leaves by an enterprising connoisseur.

The swap meet:

July 23 Grenada

We spent the last week exploring anchorages and checking out marinas (for storage when we travel home) along the southwestern coast of Grenada. From St Georges, we went to Prickly Bay, Hartmans Bay and Clarke's Court Bay. These are all within an hour or so of each other and are popular spots with cruisers. Many are still required to be further south (Trinidad) for insurance purposes so will be traveling onward. Our boat insurance does not have a latitude requirement. We have much more freedom of movement in that regard although with the policy we are financially incented to avoid names storms. It is rainy season and has been quite stormy here with tropical waves and associated thunderstorms. I will have to start consulting weather services prior to laundry! Many of our friends that we met in Luperon, Dominican Republic are now on the scene in Grenada, so it is fun to catch up with them and their travels.

We returned to St Georges July 20 to make arrangements with our selected marina and some other tasks. The lagoon is crowded so we have anchored right in the bay with several other boats. Fine by us as it is much prettier out here. As we were approaching the harbour, we saw a boat on the horizon and sure enough, it was our friends from Texas, Donn and Kitty on S/V Falcon. They were on their way to Clarke's Court but diverted to St Georges after we talked to them. They reported catching a 25# tuna. This report was verified upon anchors being set. We enjoyed fresh tuna sashimi and tuna seared in sesame oil.

Long story short, we bought a new engine for our dinghy today. Ours had gotten sick. Duty-free and the entire process with customs ws surprisingly easy. Hopefully we will not need any for quite some time, but Yamaha parts and service are readily available throughout the islands. For the record and future cruisers out there, not so with Nissan. My friends Donn and Kitty are still in the anchorage and are in their own world of hurt as their main engine has died. This is how it is out here no matter how well you prepare or take care of your systems. Ran fine all day the other day, the next morning it would not turn over. Hopefully the local Perkins man can breathe it back to life. We wait anxiously for news. Down now for 3 days. If it is not resolved today they will have to be towed into a marina.

I have to admit that over these last several days that I have not taken very many pictures. My apologies!!

Prickly Bay and Hartman Bay. Also a long-term dry storage facility, jam-packed with boats up on the hard:

Interesting sites in Grenada: A house being framed with bamboo poles. The local Yamaha outboard dealer...also sells dog food, cat food and litter. ???

An Interesting Aside....

For my ER friends:

So, we met this couple on S/V Inspiration Lady, a 47' custom-built boat. Beautiful inside and out. Took them 23 years to complete in a barn in their back yard. They built the entire boat themselves. The captain had the misfortune of a head v. wind generator fan blades incident yesterday. Wind generator won. Full thickness wound and he needed stitches. Took a cab to the local private hospital "where the yachties go". Round trip cab fare: $59US. Double layer closure of a scalp wound with pretty dressing: $56. Go figure.
A.

St George Grenada July 12-...

July 15 We are currently situated in the lagoon at St George, the capital city of Grenada which is located in the southwestern corner of the island. The bay is Y-shaped, comprised of the lagoon on one side and an area known as “carenage’ on the other. The lagoon is an anchorage surrounded by marinas and a few shops. The carenage, more commercial with shops, businesses and commercial ships, is easily accessible by dinghy. There is also a tunnel that cuts through the mountain to go to downtown.

Views of the carenage...

National government complex in the carenage; local fishermen selling the days catch. Ladies were lined up at the curb/water's edge buying these fish by the bagful. The answer to your question is no.

This is the Sendall Tunnel...episode number 185 on this high seas adventure where I am so scared that I just might pee on myself. A dazzling word salad obliterates all other coherent thought. Here is a sample: auto-ped, multiple trauma, splenic rupture, life flight, crushed pelvis.

I ask a local who was walking with us (single file, please!!) if anyone ever got hit, she assured me no. Right.

This is what Craig refers to as the "water chopper". We were having the tech over at the marina give our outboard a look-see, and they loaned us this for the day. 25 horse. Fun. A local beach around the corner.

This is the fort overlooking the harbour. For you history buffs, here is a condensed but historically accurate account of what happened here a while back.

Maurice Bishop, a local no-account scalawag, staged a coup and took control of Grenada in 1979. He cavorted about doing really bad things like associating with Castro, the Soviets and turning the country into a socialist/communist state, kind of like what Obama is trying to do to the USA. Some of his inside cabinet men did not like these extreme antics and staged another coup, arresting and ultimately executing Bishop at this fort. Pandemonium ensued. The USA invaded in 1983 to establish order and restore democracy. And they all lived happily ever after. The end.

We are working on some chores around the boat today. It is stormy. We are hoping to leave so to check out other achorages around the southern coast.

Carriacou and Arrival to Grenada July 8-12

Wednesday July8 We sail to Carriacou which is under the domain of Grenada, although geographically, it is part of the Grenadine chain of islands. We arrive in Hillsboro in the afternoon with plenty of time to check into Grenada. After paperwork is complete, we explore town a bit and are excited to find a real deli owned by an English woman who imports all kinds of delectable treats. The meat slicer is her pride and joy and we immediately set about putting it to work. It has been a long time since we have found any meats other than chicken breasts and pork chops (and other mysterious bits, frozen and unrecognizable…I refuse to buy), and there are certainly NO lunch meats to speak of. Did you know there are, like, 8 brands of Vienna sausages?? Who knew? Me neither! So, the next time you swing by the grocery store and pick yourself up a pack of shaved turkey breast, think of me while I am digging around my stores wondering what in the world I can fix Craig for lunch…
But I digress. We return to the boat with all sorts of imported goodies, deli meats, relish, pepperjack cheese, bagels and a bottle of balsamic vinegar that I am truly excited to have. Craig noted a fair amount of marine life when doing the routine anchor check this afternoon. We pull out the small spinning rods and try our luck, using mystery chicken franks that I had bought a while back. As soon as it hits bottom, I have a fish and we are excited to catch an elusive grouper. Spear guns are illegal down here, plus, lobster season is closed…disappointing. We try for a couple more hours but only catch a few small yellowtail and grunts. We save a few for trolling. Jimmy: I am waiting for you…
Thursday July 8 We make a quick hop over to Tyrrell Bay, Carriacou. This is obviously much more popular with cruisers judging by the number of boats in the harbour. The only reason we can figure is because it is a bit less rolly and the bottom is better for anchor holding. We walk the town but it is a bit disappointing after Hillsboro, so we return to the boat with an eye for heading on to Grenada. It has stormed most of the day and is to continue through the weekend. Like many other boats, we are waiting for this tropical wave to settle down before the short passage to Grenada proper.
Saturday July 10 We have enjoyed a couple of dinners out and tonight met several other cruisers at Lucky’s: a thriving, off the beaten path “restaurant” where a dinner of grilled ribs, chicken and fries cost about $4.50. We return to the boat early, preparing for the short open water passage to Grenada.

Full moon rising in Carriacou and a hillside shack....

You, my little precious snookums, will be called "dinner":

And you, my little tiny hothouse flower, will be called "trolling bait"....

Cows on the beach in Tyrrel Bay. The captain tries to make friends....

Interactive Blog Contest...sister Christy skunked everyone else on the swamp witch question. What is this plant I found???

Mom: you get to play because of computer handicap!!

Cheater: it has been cropped!!

I have this fascination with storms/squalls at sea.

Craig, as I make you a fresh iced tea, please tell me we are sailing to the blue....

OK. I am intrigued. Powerboat. No doubt, electric heads. Why is he compelled to come out every morning, nekkid, and pee off his stern?? And why are you trying to enlarge this photo to see if you can see his wanker?? Trust me. I did not have binoculars out or a telephoto lens, but I can tell you this: If they are waving it about it front of God and everybody, it is not worth seeing....

Sunday July 11 Craig and I are up early and ready to go. We are restless. The anchor is up at 0700 and we are on our way. Wind and seas have calmed, so we motored for a bit and then sailed the rest of the way (about 35 miles) to St George, the capital city of Grenada. We had heard that the harbor was hot and dirty (worse than Luperon) and were prepared to move on if need be. We were pleasantly surprised to find otherwise….clean and not too crowded. There is an Island Water World, the equivalent of West Marine, within eyesight so Craig is happy. There is also a FoodMart…a large grocery store. I use that term loosely but I am happy. We are erranding tomorrow and are excited to explore the wonders of Grenada. Inland tours and other adventures abound….

Approach and at anchor in St Georges, Grenada....

Petite St Vincent July 6-7

Monday July 6 In the afternoon we sailed over to Clifton again to check out of St Vincent/Grenadines, going by boat was a much easier journey. It is carnival here so everything is closed. We were pleased, however, to learn that the airport and customs/immigration is open. The officers have to be there since the airport is open but the customs man is taking a nap upon our arrival. Embarrass the officer by waking him up to check out? What to do? Craig comes up with a loud ploy…hollering something while we are out of eyesight. He is clever. The officer wakes up and his secret is safe with us. Even though they have to be there, we get charged overtime since it is a holiday. Something like $30, but still.
Tuesday July 7 We sail over to Petite St Vincent, technically still within the Grenadines but it is accepted practice for customs/immigration to look the other way since cruisers want to stop here but not then go all the way back to Clifton to check out since at this point, boats are headed south for Grenada. Petite St Vincent has only an exclusive resort on the island but is a beautiful anchorage. We are expecting storms in the next few days, so I take advantage of the full sunshine to catch up on laundry in the wonderwash and then we have adult swim and dinghy riding in the afternoon.