Back In Grenada

Grenada

Once relaunched from Power Boats in Chaguaramas we spent a short while in the Bay, just making sure everything was OK. No leaks from the new stern gland etc. We also had the rib on the deck and needed to get it back on the davits. It was calm enough just to drift at half a knot whilst we both tackled getting the heavy rib into the water. This is when the electric winch comes into its own!

Our aim was to make for Grenada, a passage of about 85nm which at 5 knots would take around 17 hours. We arrived at the entrance to Clarke's Court Bay at first light the following day, then went to check in. 

For the next few days we did a provisioning shop, and prepared the starboard aft cabin for the arrival of Phill. On the day of his arrival, we checked our Flight Radar app. This showed that Phill's flight should be more or less on time. Our taxi driver duly picked us up on time and we met Phill at the airport late afternoon. His first reaction was "wow, it is hot!"

The next day we just pottered around to allow Phill to get over his jet lag. We tested out our new intercom headsets which worked really well, and went ashore for lunch at Nimrods.

Lunch at Nimrods

We had not divulged to Phill the plans we had in store for his stay and wanted to keep some a surprise. The next day it was up and at it and ashore to be collected from Whisper Cove. Lynne and Phill did a 'Cutty's Island Tour' as Cutty (real name Cuthbert) comes highly recommended for his knowledge of the island, including its flora and fauna. The weather was lovely and sunny as we set off but that didn't last long. The north of the island had suffered some severe flooding and there were many landslides and standing water on the roads. Despite this and the continued rainfall, we enjoyed visits to the Rivers Antoine Rum Distillery and the Grenada Chocolate Factory and associated Belmont Estate where we had lunch. 

Even though it had been a long day, it didn't stop there. We met Steve and some other friends in the evening at the Dodgy Dock bar in the True Blue Marina and resort for the Wednesday night 'Street Food' evening. There were various food vendors all offering typical Grenadian dishes. After seeing what each one had to offer, we made our choices and sat back to enjoy the delicious food whilst a local band played.

The following day, Phill and Lynne went out on yet another trip. River tubing on the Balthazar River had been organised to celebrate the 70th birthday of one of the bus drivers, 'Shademan' (a.k.a Patrick). Shademan is a real character in these parts and drives a red mini bus, specialising in transporting cruising yachties to and from various marinas into town to do shopping, or visit the chandlers, or take part in the hash. If an event needs transport you can bet Shademan will be involved. 

Shademan's chocolate birthday cake...

...and the vanilla one

Birthday Boy Shademan (front row, second from left)

 






The next day we sailed to Bequia, an island located just below St Vincent. We had perfect conditions for the first half of the journey and were flying along at over 8 knots for the most part. Sadly, as we passed Carriacou on our starboard side, we encountered a huge squall. This was to be the first of many that day. We were still making good progress but each squall brought a lot of rain and choppy seas. Considering Phill is a non sailor, he coped very well with the conditions but was very relieved when we finally dropped anchor in Admiralty Bay in Bequia at about 11.30pm. The Bay offers good protection and we all slept very well that night, and all was calm the next day.

Beautiful Admiralty Bay in Bequia

We stayed in Bequia for Phill's 50th birthday. Lynne had baked some chocolate brownies so we popped a few candles on top and made Phill blow them out whilst we sang Happy Birthday, much to his embarrassment. Later that evening, we met up with Nautilus at the Plantation Restaurant, where we all enjoyed a pizza. 

Our next trip was the short sail to Tobago Cays, where we took a mooring ball and booked ourselves a place at the Lobster beach BBQ that evening, being organised by the boat boys. 

Preparing the lobsters...

...and the delicious end result

 

  

Once settled, we donned our snorkel masks and went snorkelling to an area cordoned off around a reef. We saw some turtles, star fish and a few other fish. Once back at the boat, we saw some Trunk fish swimming underneath Azzy. They are funny little fish and really curious. I had the GoPro with me and they swam right up to it and appeared to almost kiss the lens. 

Snorkelling in Tobago Cays

The next day we checked out of the Grenadines at Union Island and had a fast sail to Tyrell Bay in Carriacou, touching 9 knots at times. 

Speeding along!

 
We went to Carriacou to check back into Grenada. After a night here at anchor, we sailed around the corner to Sandy Island where we took a mooring ball in the marine park. Sadly, due to the squally weather the water clarity wasn't great and we didn't see much when snorkelling. 

Sandy Island in squally conditions

 
Our journey to St George's anchorage in Grenada was a mixed bag of conditions - squalls, sunshine, strong winds and no wind. We sailed in company with Nautilus but soon saw them disappear on the horizon once they put up their cruising chute!

Nautilus passing us with their pretty cruising chute

Before Phill headed back to the UK, we went out for one last celebratory meal at Umbrellas on Grand Anse beach. As usual, the food and live music were great and even the rain didn't dampen our spirits. 

We had a fantastic two weeks with Phill and as you can see from Phill's video below, he thoroughly enjoyed himself too. 

Next up, we sailed North to St Lucia to have a new part fitted to our watermaker, but ended up needing more spare parts than we bargained for thanks to near hurricane force winds that ripped through the anchorage. Yachts aground, our anchor destroyed, our rib with engine washed away...