November 11 Seven Sisters Falls

On Tuesday, we joined S/Vs Absaroque, Opus, Blue Heaven and Emerald Seas for a land adventure to Seven Sisters Falls, a series of waterfalls deep in the heart of Grenada. This was described in the literature as a relatively easy 45 minute hike. Huh?? Well. Among such wonderful things as Target and ATMs on every corner, apparently the third world doesn't believe in switchbacks either. It is a precarious climb down (walking stick recommended) and a tortuous climb up. Nary a flat piece of earth to be found. After the climb, Craig and I learn that we had been sharing repeating brain tapes since it was too hard to talk: broken ankle, broken leg, heart attack, broken ankle....We wound up only doing three falls.
These things I know now: Craig's graft is patent and, clearly, my pipes are clean too, or else we would both be DRT, which is emergency room speak for "dead right there". We had decided to join the hike but would not be doing any jumping. I am a chicken and am grateful to have Craig's freshly healed sternum as an excuse not to jump. Fortunately, no one else in the group wanted to do the jumps either. Whew.

Our group. Denise and Jean-Pierre of S/V Absaroque. Also the highlight, Honeymoon Falls:

The guide backflipped off Honeymoon Falls. I was skeerd. Craig practicing for his swimsuit modeling career:

Back at Spice Island Boat Yard....things are going exceptionally well. The work is meticulous and on time. Two of my favorite things. And only $27US/hour. Comparable rates in the United States are $60-80/hour. In addition to the bottom job, we are having them repack the seal on the shaft (where the propeller shaft enters the boat, preventative maintenance, a big hole you do NOT want to fail) as well as perform some (minor) repair of deep gelcoat scratches above the waterline.

As it turns out, I did pop an ankle on the waterfall journey. Ugly but doesn't really hurt too bad and nothing that can't be overcome with ibuprofen, ice packs and rum.

Some views from our balcony and the pool. We are in it every afternoon.

Oh. I guess I am officially a cruiser now. I do not steal the soap and toilet paper but do take the opportunity to use resort water to wash the bits we have dirtied up during the last couple of days.

Here are some videos of the waterfalls. For the big one, you either have to turn your head sideways or figure out how to rotate it for viewing. I could not get the rotate to save.

That's about all the news for now. Not too much on deck for tomorrow. We splash the boat 0800 Friday.

November 9 Haul Out Day

Today is the day we haul out for an annual "bottom job", in which the boat is hauled out of the water, powerwashed, sanded and repainted with ablative paint. We are very nervous. This is a highly reputable boat yard but just last week a strap broke. They dropped the boat 10 feet to ground which totaled it. This story actually has a good outcome. First, for us, it means they have brand new straps. Second, the owner had been trying to sell his boat for two years because his wife is sick of it. Isn't Craig lucky?? The owner is happy because now he has all the insurance money and no boat to sell. But I digress....



Here we are, pulled into the slip. The travel-lift is positioned so that the canvas straps slide under the boat.

Up, up and away. As always, it is disconcerting to see your home swinging on canvas straps.

She looks good, too. Some heavy sanding to be done and work related to a prior paint job, but no blisters. We have taken good care of her and she, us. Hakuna Matata is loaded onto a skinnier truck, and then they slide here into a spot and put her on chocks.

Some people stay on their boats in the yard. We contemplated it to save money but it is inconceivably hot inside the boat. Prevailing trade winds do not penetrate the yard and there is no A/C since boat systems are water-cooled. Plus, the heads do not work out of water. Can you see yourself trucking up and down this ladder for a late-night pee? Me neither.

Editors Note: A bottom job is from the lowest white line at the waterline down to the very bottom of the keel. The royal blue part. To paint under the chocks, they will place new ones and move the existing ones. Ours is going to be black this year since the island is almost completely out of bottom paint and is completely out of blue bottom paint. The usual island supply chain issue. If I were a chandlery or boatyard in Grenada, where hundreds of boats congregate and all have bottom jobs this time of year, I think I might stock up on paint to keep the jobs and moola coming here instead of Trinidad. But that's just me.

Having Hakuna Matata all situated, we set about to other business of the day. We ran off to get checked into the resort which was quickly justified due to a killer rate. Then we proceeded to the local marine chandlery to buy a new dinghy engine. Gawd. The one we bought two weeks ago lasted two weeks before the spring on the pull cord broke, followed by loud clanking noises and inability to idle. Now, I promised Craig that I will not buy some new hottie low slung six speed when I get back to Texas, but I want a NEW dinghy engine. I'm dinghy-challenged as it is and it is something upon which we daily rely. Good news there is that when we bought the used one, there was a woman at the store who was 30 seconds behind me. Her husband wanted it for the lower unit and parts. We ran into her again the other day at a happy hour, where she reiterated her desire for this engine. Well. We rang her right up on the VHF and sure enough, she still wants it. We discounted it $50 since it is all jacked up.

So, we went to Island Water World and put down good money for a new 15-horse 2-stoke Mercury. Not as popular with the local crack-heads as Yamahas but even so, we are going to jack up the exterior with paint. Plus a new fancy locking system. After that, we went over to the market to get some snacks for our spot at the resort ( kitchenette included).

People down here are very serious about energy conservation. This spot has A/C but is rigged with not only a motion detector but also trip wires at the doors which cut it off. Reason #147 I like traveling with Craig. He knows how to overcome the motion detector...the bandana flutters enough to keep it going. Any of you criminals out there know how to overcome the door sensors??

Perfect. Fruity Gilchrist and Soames bath products with fluffy towels. I'm hitting the shower....

Waterfalls tomorrow with the southbound group. More to follow. This spot comes with free high-speed....

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….