Day Sail on Bella Blue

Sailing aboard Bella Blue

On Sunday, September 30, four couples boarded our sister sailboat, Bella Blue, another Freedom, and sailed up to the Grenada National Marine Park.  Two of the couples keep excellent blogs and have photos of the day.  Kim and Scott of Bella Blue have a blog at http://home.earthlink.net/~kimdickens/   And Ann and Darrell's blog is linked to this blog.  We all enjoyed a well-earned day of fun and relaxation with our dear friends.

We met Jan and Bruce on Celtic Rover back in March on Mayaguana in the southern Bahamas and have traveled with them on and off until Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands where we've traveled together since.

We met Ann and Darrell and their Brittany Spaniel, Roxy, on Alibi in Luperon, Dominican Republic in April.  We saw them again in Salinas, Puerto Rico where they stopped for one or two nights.  We met up with them again in St. Martin in July and traveled for the most part with them to Grenada. 

We first spotted Bella Blue in the Virgin Islands at the end of May but did not speak with her crew.  A month later, while anchored off of Virgin Gorda, we looked up from our cockpit to see a Freedom sailboat very much like ours arrive at the anchorage.  We yelled to each other, "Hey, Freedom!" and waved.  An hour later, our new friends, Kim and Scott, were enjoying a sundowner aboard Wayward Wind.  They were headed south just as we were and asked if they could join us.  We said that we were traveling with Celtic Rover, and the more the merrier.  The next day, Celtic Rover said the very same.

Scott, Kim, Jan, Darrell, Ann, Bruce and part of Dave

I wanted to give some context as to how long we've been traveling with our friends.  And while a few months might not seem like a long time to form a friendship, the time has been jam packed with experiences from the mundane to the marvelous.  Between riding on the cruisers' van to visit the grocery, marine and hardware stores; helping each other with never-ending boat projects; exploring new walking trails throughout the enchanting Caribbean, communing over food and beverages while watching yet another magical sunset; putting our heads together to plan and watch for the next weather window; sailing together as buddy boats and providing much appreciated moral support, it feels as though we've been friends for a long time.  We are all very close.  Plus we all adore Roxy!

Roxy and one of her people, Ann

So after two busy months of working on boat projects, we decided it was time for a day of play.  Kim and Scott graciously offered to take us all for a sail and snorkel.  We sailed west around the SW tip of Grenada and north to the Grenada National Marine Park, about two hours total.  There we found the many statues sprinkled between the reefs.  Check out the sculptor's website for more info
http://www.underwatersculpture.com/index.asp 

The first sculpture we saw was a tribute to the slaves who died at sea on the arduous journey to the New World.  Two statues were lying on the ground and one was knelt in prayer.  It was very moving. 

Dave, Linda, Bruce and the kneeling woman

Another is a circle of 26 children of diverse backgrounds holding hands, facing outward.  Coral and sponges growing over the surface of the children give an unusual texture and somehow infuse life into them. 

Circle of Children, officially titled Vicissitudes

In another spot is "Lost Correspondent," a tribute to journalists who have perished in the line of duty, while writing stark observations. 

Lost Correspondent eternally telling the truth

We also saw some interesting marine wildlife.  Dave saw an octopus that scuttled away before we could get near.  We spotted a spotted eel and an entire group of cuttle fish just hanging out, not bothered a bit that we were several feet above them. 



What's the deal, Eel?



One of the many cuttlefish that we spied