Carriacou

Internet connection still not great for adding photos.  Soon.

We had a good sail to the Tobago Cays.  "Beautiful" is an understatement.  Simply a few small green islands with sandy white beaches and a double reef surrounded by watery bands of vivid colors from turquoise to deep blue.  Normally we anchor in a bay or in the lee of of a large island to have protection from ocean swells without a long fetch for wind chop to develop.  Here we anchored behind Horseshoe reef where, as Scott says, the next stop is Africa.  It is actually a double reef where the top of the reef lies at the water's surface and gives protection from the ocean swell and wind chop.  It was blowing around 20 knots so actually there was a moderate swell but not too uncomfortable.  Abeam of us was tiny Baradel Island where a turtle sanctuary is located.  Many turtles, large and small, swam by as we watched from our cockpit.  The reef made for wonderful snorkeling.  Because it was so shallow, the colors were bright with many shades of lavender.

We left the Tobago Cays on Monday.  I discovered right after we lifted the anchor and were wending our way through the reefs that though the chartplotter was on, it was only showing our route over the base chart, not the detailed chart that shows depth.  After some scrambling to pinpoint the problem, we discovered that the chartplotter was not reading the SD card which contains the detailed chart.  Fortunately we were able to follow our buddy boats whom we alerted to the problem and made it without a problem.  We do use paper charts and plot points along the way as we go, but in such close quarters where the underwater reefs are hard to read in early morning light, it was a little tricky.  We checked out of St. Vincent and the Grenadines at Clifton, Union Island, where we stopped just for an hour to do so.  We then motored on to Tyrell Bay, Carriacou, which is part of Grenada.  The wind was in the mid-twenties with squalls and gusts to 30.  Not the most relaxing trip, especially since our sail was drooping all over the bimini.  I will contact Garmin about the chartplotter when we get to Grenada later this week.  Our handheld GPS works and my old chartplotter sort of works.  Also we use paper charts as well, so we'll be fine. 

We are only 30 miles from St. George's in Grenada.  This will be our first major stop where we will check out the services available for the many boat projects that need to be done, both by us and by professionals.  We will most likely rent a slip for at least one month.  We will find out about other marinas and boat yards on the south coast as well.  We will have boat projects but we hope to do a lot of sight-seeing.  This is a good place for visitors as we'll be staying put for a couple of months and the island of Grenada is supposed to be lovely.  Hint.  Hint.

Today Bella Blue will head for Grenada as their son is arriving for a week's visit in a few days.  We met up with "old friends" on Alibi here in Tyrell Bay.  Last night they and Celtic Rover stopped by for a sundowner and it was great to catch up.  As mentioned earlier, Darrell and Ann used to own a dive shop in Florida.  Darrell told a story of when he took a group of students down for a dive.  He had a little bit of bait fish in his vest pocket which he put out to entice a moray eel to leave its hole in the rock so the students could have a better look at its sleek form.  The bait worked so well that the moray not only swam out of it hole but continued toward Darrell who still had a little bait fish in his pocket.  In search of that last morsel, the moray swam inside Darrell's vest through the armholes and neckhole and out the waist and pecked at his pocket.  As the wide-eyed students gazed in awe at their daring dive instructor, Darrell was sweating bullets while trying to stay calm and cool and gently encourage the moray to keep moving.  Now THAT'S what I call becoming one with nature! 

We'll explore Carriacou for another day or two then head to Grenada.  Hope everyone is well. 

  

Highlights

We have traveled to many places since Dahaies so will try to capture some of the highlights. Unfortunately our internet connection is slow so no photos for now.

Guadalupe

In Guadalupe, we visited the Botanical Gardens. Jan, a florist who studied under a Dutch master, was a walking encyclopedia of flora facts, so we received a lesson in tropical botany. As you can imagine, the colors and shapes of some of the plants were unbelievable. Many, however, were familiar as "house plants" back home. And so many varieties of bananas.

One afternoon several of us snorkeled the nearby rocky point. Darrell and Ann are master divers who until recently owned a dive shop in Florida. They are naturals in the water and move calmly and gracefully. Darrell can hold his breath for what seems like an eternity. He showed us so many small critters that we would have normally overlooked. One was a crab that resembled a daddy long-leg spider with small purple claws. Later I noticed something long sticking out of a rock. It was a golden moray eel. When it saw us, it popped back into its hole so that only about the front six inches were sticking out. A nice find. Dave saw an octopus, but it scooted away by the time the rest of us came over. Darrell said that he enjoys showing people critters and we appreciate it.

We needed a little sail repair so Linda went just a little ways up the mast to sew some new webbing on one of the slides and replace a nut on another. Sat in the bosun's chair so I could use both hands. Kind of fun actually.

Iles des Saintes

Sailed to and took a mooring ball off of Ilet Cabrit near Bourge des Saintes on Iles des Saintes. What a quaint and artsy village. We read that because there was no agricultural potential on these small islands, that there were no slaves hence no slave descendents settling the islands as most of the others. Bourge des Saintes has evolved into an artist community. Wish we could have spent more time here.

We celebrated Dave's birthday with, what else, a sundowner on our boat. The treat was bananas sauteed in butter, brown sugar and rum. Yum!

Martinique

We sailed in brisk and bouncy conditions and motor-sailed behind the lee of Dominica where the winds all but died to Fort de France, Martinique. Celtic Rover and Bella Blue stopped over in Dominica for a few hours of sleep. My "rage de dent" was really bothering me so we opted to continue overnight so as to arrive in Fort de France on Friday morning, hoping to clear in and get to a dentist early. Didn't want to have to wait through the weekend, espcially as it was Bastille Day on Saturday. The night sail was glorious with perfect conditions. Scooted right along. Made it to the dentist, got treatment and meds and felt much better. We walked to the open air market where we bought bananas and treated ourselves to the creole chicken special for lunch washed down with a guava and passion fruit smoothie. It was delicious and a lot more expensive than we expected. Ah, well.

Fort de France is a bustling small city with a lovely boardwalk and park where families, swimming kids and smooching couples spend their time. It is alive. We shopped at the local Leader Price market where we were often the only white people in the busy store. Got some good deals. A favorite was Bibb lettuce with the little root ball still intact. So sweet and tender. One thing I noticed was that each of the three times we were there, at least one person dropped a glass bottle on the tile floor causing a big mess. Curious, that.

There were several "five and dime" stores with all sorts of plastic stuff usually run by a Chinese family. In one, we found some interesting potions -- Jinx Removing sprays and Do As I Say bath liquids. With the bath liquid, you are supposed to read a psalm whilst soaking. Wonder how they work?

On Sunday afternoon, Dave and I enjoyed a walk along the promenade where everyone was out enjoying the sun and rain shower. We heard what sounded like live Cajun music and found this human powered carousel. Wonderful.

St. Lucia

We expected 6-foot seas and instead found 2-foot seas and 12 knot winds for a beautiful sail.  Dave caught a small Jack along the way.  We sailed to Marigot, St. Lucia where we picked up a mooring ball in the protected inner harbor.  Bella Blue and Wayward Wind shared a mooring ball and Celtic Rover got her own mooring ball nearby.  All three rafted together which was fun as we could just hop aboard each other’s boats, if needed.  Kim offered to cook up some chicken curry, Jan made a salad and I made rice and brought chocolate chip cookies, so we had a delightful dinner aboard Bella Blue.  Bags of books were brought out for sharing, and we planned our next moves. 

Men paddle over in small boats to sell fruit, bread and woven baskets.  One was sporting a Latitude 38 T-shirt.  Latitude 38 is the SF Bay Area boating magazine, so we got a chuckle out of that.  

As the weather was still good before the next tropical wave, we decided to press on.  On the south coast of St. Lucia lie the striking Pitons.  Stunning!

Wallilabou, St. Vincent

Had another lovely sail to St. Vincent.  Dave tried to outrun a squall but we were caught by the tail end of it.  Had a gust or two up to 30 knots but not a problem. 

We’d read about the “boat boys,” actually men who approach you in their small boats to “help” you to a mooring and handle your lines.  There is always a fee and you never know the condition of these private moorings.  We’d seen the photo and recommendation of Bagga, a dread-locked guy, so went with him.  Since the anchorage is tight, we had to stern tie to the dock piers as well, so Bagga helped with that.  We paid $8 US for his service.  I also bought a beaded bracelet and an enormous avocado each for $4 US.

Part of the deal with the moorings is that thet cost $8 US but if you eat at the restaurant (owner of the mooring balls), you don’t have to pay for the mooring balls.  We enjoyed mahi mahi, plantains, a fried vegetable that was good but I don’t remember what it was called, along with rice and carrots.  Everything was delicious.  I also had the strongest rum punch I ever had and was smashed after only drinking half.  (Probable cause of aforementioned memory lapse.)  The view was beautiful as we watched the setting sun. 

The film Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed in Wallilabou.  The film company built a building set which now houses a gallery of glossy photos and artifacts – coffins and such – from the film. 

In the morning, we intended to have Bagga take us for a hike to the waterfalls, but it rained all morning so we decided we needed to bag Bagga’s hike and head south.  I hope that we can return to these lovely islands to do more exploring.  Alas, hurricane season is nigh.

Bequia

After the rains stopped, we traveled the 15 miles to Port Elizabeth, Bequia where we anchored in Admiralty Bay, a slightly rolly anchorage.  Post Elizabeth is a small town where local boat builders ply their trade on the beach. 

Needing to get some exercise, yesterday we went for a walk up Mt. Pleasant and had a sweeping view of the bay.  Treated ourselves at the top to the local ginger ale.  Lots of lovely flowers along the way including the fiery flamboyant tree and the fragrant frangipani used in Hawaiian leis.  

After lunch we snorkeled Devil’s Table, the reef off of the nearby point.  It was especially nice because it was rocky with various depth levels and little canyons.  Saw a bulbous balloon fish.  Other than that, many small reef fish and abundant coral.  Afterwards, Kim and Scott who have been sailing these parts over the past 23 years and Dave commented on how few large edible fish there are such as groupers and flounders compared to years ago when they were here.  Twenty-three years ago, Scott had visited a local hardware store here and been sold a lure with which he successfully caught many fish.  It was pink.  He said that within thirty minutes, he’d have a fish on the line.  The day before yesterday, Scott visited the same hardware store which had changed locations and spoke with the very same proprietor.  They discussed this lure and the man said that the pink lure doesn’t work anymore.  He also said that there are no more big fish.  At another dock, Scott had seen the locals cleaning an eel and we’d heard that they’d been cleaning rays which supposedly taste like scallops.  It is sad to know that the fisheries are being depleted.  Fortunately many countries are setting up marine parks with no fish zones.  These are wonderful places to explore by snorkeling.  In many, you must take a mooring ball because anchoring chains scour the bottom as the boat swings.  We have seen evidence of this.  Most likely the problem lies with the large commercial fishing vessels.  It is a dilemma. 

Today we will head for the Tobago Cays.  It is a favorite spot of Scott and Kim as it is remote and the snorkeling is incredible.  We’re looking forward to this.  Better get ready.

Bequia

We have had good sailing (poor internet connections) the past few days.  After Marigot Bay, St. Lucia, we stopped in Wallilabou, St. Vincent where Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed.  Just spent one night.  Arrived in Admiralty Bay, and the town of Port Elizabeth on the island of Bequia which is part of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.  Having trouble downloading photos so will try again in the early morning.  We are well and still traveling with Celtic Rover and Bella Blue.   Hope to go for a hike today.  Much love to all.

St. Lucia

It is late so this is short.  Unfortunately Blogspot/Blogger.com was blocked, or should I say, "bloqued," in our last ports so I have not been able to post.  Since Dehaies, Guadalupe, we have visited Iles des Saintes, Fort de France in Martinique and are currently in Marigot, St. Lucia.  We will leave at sunrise tomorrow for Wallilabou, St. Vincent with Celtic Rover and Bella Blue.  Alibi headed straight to Grenada as they are unable to easily get clearance for their dog, Roxie in the islands along the way.  I have a lot of catching up to do on the blog.  Hopefully within a few days...

All is well.   

Dehaies, Guadalupe

Sailing, sailing...

Yes, I cut my hair!  No more hair blowing in the eyes and mouth.  Short hair on a boat is the way to go.  Plus you use little water when shampooing, always a concern.  In the photo we are about 10 nautical miles from Guadalupe.  On Friday morning, we (Celtic Rover, Alibi, Bella Blue and Wayward Wind) passed under the Dutch bridge at the 9:00 opening at Simpson Bay Lagoon, St. Martin, where we'd spent the past several days at anchor.  It was a bouncy sail with five and six foot seas and 20 to 25 knot winds for the first 10 hours or so.  Not exactly relaxing.  Celtic Rover and Bella Blue chose to stop and anchor at the south end of St. Kitts until 2:00am to wait for the seas and wind to calm a bit and to attend to some minor repair.  Alibi and Wayward Wind decided to press on as we thought that things would calm somewhat after sunset, which they did.

Heeling as we approach Guadalupe

We had a wonderful sail only needing to turn on the motor for three hours as we passed Montserrat as the winds were fluky.  Clouds and smoke surrounding the peak of the volcano on Montserrat were eerily beautiful in the moonlight.  The clouds dropped rain on us twice here, but nothing major. 

Dehaies, Guadalupe

Twenty-seven hours later, we sailed into Dehaies, Guadalupe arriving on Saturday morning at 11:45.  The small bay surrounded by lush mountains with a quaint town at the base is picture perfect.  Guadalupe is a department of France so has that lovely French atmosphere.  The French seem to be relaxed about clearing customs as it took us about 10 minutes at the computer and cost a grand total of $5.00.  (Much better that the formality and $300 of the Bahamas.)   This time we only had five things break, but we hope we can fix them all.  None of them are things that would keep us from moving on. 

Today six of us went for an incredible hike up a rock-strewn small river beneath a canopy of green.  It was lovely.  We stopped along the way several times to dip in the pools.  So refreshing.  Dave, nick-named "The Mountain Goat," was usually up front hopping from rock to rock.  We were hoping to get to a waterfall but didn't quite make it.  We'll have to come back.



Linda, Darrell and Dave

After we cleaned up, we visited our buddies aboard Celtic Rover.  It's always fun to get together with our friends.  It's also interesting to see other people's boats - how they're configured and how people have set things up.  We talk about our trials and find out if anyone has a certain shackle or tool that could be borrowed.  We tell about our pasts and dreams for the future.  It's good to commiserate.  We talk about the next weather window, when we might leave this place and where the next port might be.  We whine.  We laugh.  And we sure eat well.

Jan, Kim and Ann aboard Celtic Rover



And the guys, Darrell, Bruce and Dave (Scott is behind Dave)

Three dinghies at one boat...a sure sign of a sundowner taking place

Guadalupe

After a 27-hour sail (with only about three hours of motoring...Yes!), we made it to Guadalupe.  Will post more tomorrow.  All the best!

Leaving St. Martin

We plan to leave St. Martin tomorrow morning for Guadalupe.  It will take about 21 hours.  All is good.