Grenada October 31-November 5

After completing marina projects, and generally being over marina life, we provisioned and pulled out of Port Louis Marina on Saturday, October 31. Our last order of business was acquiring the paint for our upcoming haul-out and bottom job. This paint is ablative and prevents growth under the water line, being made to slough off as the boat moves through water. An annual maintenance chore. Proud of it too, they are. $300/gallon. The answer to your question is 4 gallons.
We headed down to Clarke’s Court, setting the anchor in Calvigny Bay.

There are many chores to complete but it is great to be swinging on the hook again in a beautiful anchorage. The first order of business is to complete interior clean-up. Our mildew bloom was small, but what evil lurks in the hearts of men and crevices of boats. The entire interior gets a light Clorox wipe down and follow up with lemon oil. Tedious work but we are glad that this issue is contained and that there are no other issues (read: ants, bugs or other vermin like everyone else gets when attached to land for extended periods). The second order of business is putting the watermaker back together with the new membrane. This took a whole day with lots of slow, deep cleansing breaths, but well worth the effort. We are fresh water junkies. The third order is scrubbing the bottom. The lagoon was, to put it nicely, a nutrient-rich environment. We still have bottom paint, but it being at the end of its useful life and after sitting for 2 months, S/V Hakuna Matata is covered in barnacles. Get out your paint scrapers, put on dive gear and get busy…82 feet of water line x 5 feet of depth = whole bunches of square footage, and don’t forget the propeller which needs its own special love. Then, horror of horrors. We were med-moored in the marina on a 150 foot line. We had 2 lines to the moorings given hurricane season, so that’s 300 feet of line in the water that came up covered in muck, algae and creatures. Stinky and stained. Oh hell no, that will not be occupying any locker on this boat. We got out brushes and scrubbed these lines inch by painful inch.
Finally, chores are done and it is time to play. Lobster season is upon us and a local fisherman dropped by in his panga. We have been working rather than hunting, so we relieve him of 2 of his catch and cook them that evening: Blanch for 3 minutes, then broil with a touch of heavy cream, salt, pepper and scallions.

We went into a happy hour at Clarke’s Court and caught up with friends Donn and Kitty on S/V Falcon. Having recently required a new fuel injector pump and chart plotter, their woes are more expensive than our dinghy engine. I wore my new switch flops, a Christmas gift from Craig’s sister Kristie. Not only comfy and stylish, I am the envy of everyone. THANK YOU, KRISTIE!

Starfish, even.....bonus.

On Thursday, November 5 we weigh anchor and head over to Prickly Bay. It is crowded with all the boats coming back into the water, both from hurricane storage on the hard and those just returning from riding the season out in Trinidad.

It is great fun to attend Happy Hour at De Big Fish and catch up with several friends we have been loosely traveling with since the Dominican Republic.

Sailing Vessels Wind Whisperer (Terry and Barb), Emerald Seas (Jim and Renatta), Opus (Jim and Linda), Absaroque (Jean-Pierre and Denise) and Blue Heaven (Jim and Marlene):

We are going to rest and play this weekend. Emphasis on play. We are scheduled to haul out on Monday and are scouting cool places to stay. Not seeing cheesy low-rent apartments in the forecast for Team Yakel….