Friday, as planned, we did our provisioning at Foodland … along with a trip into Island Water World for more stuff – cleaning products this time. Coming back through the channel we followed a ship leaving harbour – they are really huge when you are in a dinghy – so we were pretty careful not to get too close to get swamped by his wake!! Coming through the anchorage we were amazed by how many boats were still coming in…. pretty busy now as everyone is arriving from far and wide for Carnival.

Back on board we unpacked and were grateful that we were back before it rained cats and dogs. There was a great rainbow during the afternoon too – although struggled to get a good photo as the camera is playing up pretty bad now with focus and zoom problems. Think it is time to replace it – but hope it will see us through, as the selection here isn’t a good as at home. Following a stunning sunset we had a quiet night on board. Well I say quiet – it wasn’t all that, as the thumping sounds from the Soca buses came through loud and clear!

Saturday morning we listened to the cruisers net and found out that two boats immediately in front of us in the anchorage had been boarded during the night. Hmmmm…… Kudos to Mark the net controller who had immediately launched a floating ‘neighbourhood watch’ and, as a result, some boats were going to patrol the shoreline throughout the night during Carnival…   We had a lazy day on board in the rain – and were going a little stir crazy – so decided to go to the national stadium in the evening to watch Promenade, the steel pan band competition. The stadium had a couple of stands open with some concessions – cheap beer but decidedly ropey chicken! The atmosphere in the stands was a bit muted but when we went into the standing area below the stage it was much more fun – even though we had to run for cover a few times to escape the downpours!!! These bands have up to 100 people in them and the age range was from 7 to 80 – amazing energy and great sounds…. It was also a massive logistical effort to move the drums and performers on and off the stage – so by the time we left at 11.30 pm we had only watched five bands perform along with a troupe of African drummers and dancers. There were some comedians talking between acts – but we really couldn’t understand them enough to work out if they were funny!!! Had to really leg it to the cab for the return trip and got absolutely soaked – Martin, our taxi driver, thankfully brought some bin bags so we could sit on them and not wreck his upholstery! Back to the marina – still raining – so had another drink before we chanced heading back out in the dinghy to the anchorage.

Sunday and the rain continued…. We dinked into the marina – met Jim and Sharon – and got the courtesy bus to Whisper Cove for the Sunday jam. Was a great afternoon – and luckily under cover as the rain was relentless along with 35 knots of wind in the squalls.

One boat in the anchorage was dragging into the mangroves so there was an effort underway to help them – then there was a call from Mt Hartman Bay that Troubadour was dragging. I will never forget the look on both Chris and Linda’s faces when they heard that come through on the radio – but they were able to get back and sort it out. Phew – no harm done thankfully. Had a lovely afternoon listening to all the performers – with the addition of a fiddle player and an accordion this week – good time had by all. Especially Sharon who showed off her barefoot shuffle skills along to an Irish jig played on the fiddle – think Riverdance without shoes! Back on board and we sat on the coach roof of Morphie listening to the sounds from shore until we gave in and retired to bed early.

Monday morning and the alarm wakes us at 4.00 am. Are we mad??!!??   No – just want to go to J’Ouvert!    This starts at 5 am – and the main event is that the jab jabs come out to play and parade. They are mainly men (although not exclusively) – covered in dirty oil – portraying devils, dragging chains around, not wearing much, and who jab you when they come by…. We think there is some slavery simulation here too although not mentioned in any of the SpiceMas adverts we’ve seen.   Anyway throwaway clothes and shoes were necessary – I was armed with my £2 flip flops – as the roads (and spectators) get absolutely covered in oil, paint and coloured baby powder!!!! As well as oily jab jabs there are also coloured men – so we saw blue, pink, orange, green, silver and purple men – and loads of girls wearing very very little!  Much to Richard’s delight…   Anything in the way got covered in something – and the funniest sight was one of the oily jab jabs pushing a commode…. what a time for the camera to fail again!  Everyone was gyrating to the beat of the boom boxes and, when the lorries come by, you feel like your whole body is vibrating too from your feet through your head. So significant I reckon it would restart a pacemaker!!!!   We had a great time – got jabbed a number of times with paint as well as oil – and came back on board about 8.30 am having drunk and partied a bit. Phew…. washed up and back to bed for a couple of hours.

Noon and we met up with Jim and Sharon for Pageant Mas. This is the traditional parade of fancy costumes – so we took up residence in a bar alongside the road and had some local food and watched the activities. There were loads of “short knees” who represent each village – and parade singing, dancing and spraying baby powder around – then there were wild Indians and calypso dancers following the incredibly loud music from the lorries. Great to see so many kids involved too…. During the afternoon we were joined by John and Georgina as well. Of course, this being island time, the parade didn’t start until 3pm rather than the advertised 1pm – but hey, who cares…. Fun time had by all – especially Jim and Richard who managed close ups with a number of the scantily clad young women – although Jim did look a bit surprised when one of them proceeded to throw herself to the floor in front of him…  Check out the last photo!!!!

Tired and emotional we all went ashore to the marina for dinner and decided to call it a day – said sad farewells to Jim and Sharon as we have had so much fun with them but they are heading back to the States so this really is it this time….    In the evening there was another (adult!) parade which Richard and I watched from the foredeck of Morphie with a glass of wine in hand in the end.    Amazing sight to see literally miles of people parading with lights… and, of course, the music was still very audible in the anchorage….

Tuesday was a quiet day relaxing (recovering?) on board and we didn’t even get dink down off his davits.   What a nice way to spend the day for a change….

Today – Wednesday – work starts!  We had a miserable trip in big seas on the nose round to La Phare Bleu marina to tie up and start dismantling and winterising Morphie.   So far dink has had a makeover….. and we are shattered.  Early night me thinks.

Bye for now

Jan

Tuesday we did some more boat jobs and another visit to Budget Marine.  It’s a good job that we get all goods 30% off (duty free) as we still need more – although they are spare parts mainly so will only have to be replaced when we actually use them… Seriously we do need this stuff but it is amazing how much we come away with every time that we didn’t know we couldn’t live without!!   Whilst out and about we bumped into John from Shamal – and they are moving the boat to Prickly Bay in the afternoon – so we arranged to meet for sundowners later.

We headed back on board, having stored all our purchases, and decided to head out on dink to explore.    Really enjoyed looking at the really pretty waterfront and we pulled dink up the beach at the Calabash – oh dear, left it too late, the hotel has closed now for the season.   Grrrr….  Never mind, the dive shop sells beer so we had a couple and enjoyed our surroundings.   The anchorage is stunning today – really calm and clear water.

Went ashore for happy hour with John and Georgina – really nice to catch up with them again.   They are heading down to Trinidad to haul out in a week or so, so really good timing!    Had a good evening – listened to the start of the trivia quiz and were pleased we weren’t playing for real as the questions were really hard!   Back on board for dinner and to bed….

Wednesday morning up bright and early and caught the sunrise…. Spectacular!

Got ourselves ready to go back out to sea as we are moving back up to anchor near St Georges and Grand Anse beach in readiness for Carnival…    Felt bad though because Chris and Linda on Troubodour were heading south today – we keep passing like ships in the night!!   Never mind, will catch up with them at the jam on Sunday.  Met Jim and Sharon from Sha Sha for a bobbing session and enjoyed watching a really special sunset.   Early to bed.

Thursday we were really looking forward to going to the dinghy concert at the  Carenage – one of the first Carnival events.    Unfortunately the concert was cancelled because someone failed to get the permission of the Port Authority.   Bad mistake!!!! In the meantime the anchorage is filling up – with some way too close for comfort – and we end up surrounded by South Africans flying the British Ensign…   How does that work??   Disappointed by the cancellation we arranged to meet Jim and Sharon in the marina pool….and we had a fresh water bob….between rain showers.   On the dinghy ride through we saw Necker Belle, Richard Branson’s huge catamaran, tied up to one of the superyacht docks – but apparently he wasn’t on board…

We went back to Morphie to check all OK and we were pleased that one boat had moved.   And we had done a 180 degree turn but appeared to be holding.   Wind really really flukey and gusty in the rain squalls….but we have loads of chain out, so we are not moving anywhere!

Back to Sha Sha for dinner and had a lovely chicken meal followed by Red Velvet cake.   Thanks both – fun hosts and Jim is a great cook!

This morning – Friday – more boat jobs and shopping later.   As it is carnival weekend all shops will be closed from lunchtime Saturday through to Wednesday, so we must get some fresh stuff in.    Time is running out real fast now – we haul out on 19 August and fly out on the 26th.    So before we get heavily into winterising the boat we are determined to have a party time at Carnival – really looking forward to it!!!

Bye for now

Jan

OK so we did go to happy hour on Wednesday at Prickly Bay marina and were absolutely gobsmacked by the huge amount of locals there – they ship them in by the bus load.   Really?   Oh yes, very serious stuff…. The bingo winnings are more than a day’s pay for many of them….and we got into conversation with the net controller Mark so ended up watching the first couple of games.   Bet the prize of a pig and a chicken – alive and walked on stage – were never on offer at Corals!!    Really funny….

We also got into conversation with an English guy who was sitting on his own and it turns out that he used to own The Dog House at Swanick Marina where a boat that we sailed on used to be berthed!   He has been in Prickly Bay, living onboard, for five and a half years now.  He then began to tell us all his woes because he has been hospitalised down here a couple of times and got a hernia through lifting 5 gallon water jugs.   He then turned to Richard and said “you should be careful as you are getting on a bit!!!”    As you can imagine this coming from an old duffer in his seventies went down pretty well …..!!!!   Anyway, making our exit we went back on board and had a very tasty curry if I say so myself…….

Thursday was a quiet day and night on board just working through boat jobs.    Friday we worked hard all day and came ashore for a pizza dinner….  We went for the pizza as this is the only dinner they can’t screw up!!   We have dined here twice before and were disappointed on both occasions.    We were surprised to see a bunch of cruisers from Port Louis over here – they had come over for a birthday, so nice to catch up with them again.

Saturday dawned and we decided that weekends are for fun not jobs!    We got off the boat and taxied over to La Phare Bleu where a dinghy concert was scheduled.    Walking up the dock I was impressed by an individual floating cabana with a hammock  – definitely fancy giving that a go when we are guests here later in the month…

At the dinghy concert they have a big tug boat hitched up to a barge and dinghies from far and wide join up into a raft to enjoy the music – today by the Wizards.   Some cruisers bring their own drinks and food, whilst those of us on the barge buy from the bar….and some get bottles relayed across the top of the crowd to their dinghy….   Fantastic time had by all

After a great afternoon we watched the sun go down over the marina – nice!

We headed back to shore and our taxi driver was already waiting – took us back to Da Big Fish, where dink was waiting.   Decided to have dinner at the restaurant and were delighted that they had a live band too, Gylfi and Domo.  So really enjoyed listening to them while we had a really good meal.

Sunday morning we decided to head to Rogers beach bar on Hog Island…. So got a cab round to the rum shack in Lower Woburn.   We had spent a very pleasant afternoon here many moons ago – but sadly it was no longer as welcoming….     Anyway, got a local boat boy to take us out through the anchorage to the bar.   Very very busy on a slim beach – not quite the Soggy Dollar – but we still had a good time.   Particularly enjoyed the local food on offer…..

Time to head back and our boy, Lions Paw, was resting in a hammock – after knocking back a few and a couple of spliffs!   He was pretty funny and could well have been a model for Captain Jack Sparrow with all the same mannerisms…..

Back on board for a quiet night.    This morning, Monday, is Emancipation Day here in Grenada – celebrating the end of slavery by the UK – so a public holiday.   We are relaxing, blogging, and doing Internet stuff today.   Richard is investigating all the tasks we have to do for winterising Morphie.

Bye for now

Jan

Friday lunchtime we arrived in Prickly Bay and mooched around looking for a good spot to anchor. Bit deep here behind the reef in the middle of the bay – around 30ft – so we’ll need to put out a lot of anchor chain….. First spot didn’t get a good set, so picked up and tried again – great set second time. Hurrah!!!  Looking around we were amazed by all the huge houses surrounding this anchorage with their manicured gardens running down to the shoreline.

After sorting ourselves out we went ashore later in the afternoon to the Prickly Bay marina and caught up on the internet. While we were there Belinda and her daughter Jean came by – they wanted to sample happy hour drinks and the steel band that was playing later. So we stayed with them for a while and enjoyed the music. We went back on board Morphie around 7pm for dinner and an early night.

Saturday morning we took off in the dinghy to explore. Visited the Big Fish restaurant and enjoyed their great dinghy dock, had a look at a resting Grenadian coast guard boat, and of course this was all in close proximity to Budget Marine…. So inevitably we got some more stuff in the chandlery – all essential, honest!!! Then we dinked around to the nice beach at the top of the bay – and this is where the posh Calabash hotel has their beach bar. We are allowed to use the beach, buy drinks / food, but not use their beach chairs…. Fair enough – will be back another day to enjoy the facilities. Right now we have loads of boat jobs waiting…

The rest of the day we worked really hard on boat jobs and had a quiet night on board.

Sunday morning we had promised Belinda and Jean – who are Australian – that we would pop by their catamaran, Free Spirit, to see if we could help them understand any of the systems. Jean is just visiting her mum Belinda who is living on board awaiting her husband’s arrival. But she knows nothing about sail boats so wants a few hints and tips – well, we know nothing about catamarans but there must be some common ground here. Surprisingly there was quite a lot and we helped her with re-furling her genoa; bilge pumping; shower systems and general battery maintenance…. She was very grateful and we arranged to meet up later to go to the Sunday jam at Whisper Cove.

Courtesy bus turned up and we met with some more cruisers – as well as catching up with Chris and Linda again from Troubadour – and really enjoyed the jam session again, although I realised that in my last blog I called the old guy Harry and his real name is Jerry… Oops!!!  More people attended this week – both watchers and performers – and good time was definitely had by all.   I am definitely turning into a Chris groupie!!!   Oh yes, almost forgot, got some great steaks from the resident butcher as well….

Monday morning and more boat jobs looming…. Jean is going home to Australia later this week so we have arranged for them to come to us for sundowners at 5pm as neither of them has been on a sailing monohull before!!!  Amazing…. We worked like stink and managed to get everything straight for their arrival…. Lots of ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ as they looked around Morphie – always nice when people admire her – combined with a few more technical questions from Belinda. Feels great to be of some practical help!!! During the evening – fuelled by rum punch – they asked if I knew anything about sushi as they had found loads of specialist ingredients on board Free Spirit. Well I know that I like to eat it and roughly how it is made!! Belinda admits to not being very culinary minded – and I fancied the challenge – so they promised to drop the stuff over to me in the morning and invited us on board for sundowners on Tuesday afternoon to eat the results… No pressure then eh??? We had a lovely evening on board.

Tuesday morning we were up early – Jean came by with the ingredients – and we carried on with boat jobs. Later in the morning I started on the sushi preparation – finding some mahi mahi and prawns in the freezer to go with the vegetables – and spent the next few hours playing around with sticky rice!!!! Couldn’t work out how to smooth it out on the seaweed sheets without ending up with a sticky mess until I realised that a wet spoon was the answer…. All done and in the fridge to chill – and time for a relax and a swim before heading over to visit them.

Well – I have to say I was pretty pleased and impressed with the results of my first sushi attempt – and the others agreed with me. They tasted pretty good too!!!! But you don’t have to take my word for it – check out the photos…. Back on board around 8pm – having said our final farewells to Jean – and early to bed.

This morning (Wednesday) we were up early again – headed off to the bank for more drinking vouchers – and then did a bit of essential shopping before coming back on board to get on with boat chores again. Loads to do right now – and we have decided to get things done sooner rather than later so that we can enjoy the carnival here in Grenada in the middle of August. Later on we are heading into Prickly Bay marina for happy hour but I can guarantee we won’t be stopping for the bingo, which is tonight’s scheduled entertainment!!!  We have a curry night on board planned instead…..

Bye for now

Jan

In the afternoon we all piled into the minibus down to Whisper Cove where the Sunday jam is held. Apparently this week it was a poor turnout…  Oh well, never mind, they obviously didn’t know we were coming to watch and listen!!!

Basically a number of musicians come along with their instruments – as well as a couple of singers – and they all sit round a table and take it in turns to take the floor. Sometimes it is a solo affair and more often it is a collaborative one when others join in…. The only exception is 80 year old Harry who sings unaccompanied each time – his favourites are show tunes – and this may be because he is a bit deaf and, although he has a really good voice, he doesn’t really hold a tempo or even stay true to the original!!!!   Anyway…. it is all a bit of fun….and we really enjoyed ourselves. An added bonus was that at Whisper Cove they have a butchers shop selling their own organically produced meat – so I was able to pick up some really nice cuts for the freezer. About 7pm we travelled on the courtesy bus back to the marina and had an early night. Really good time and something we plan to do again whilst we are here in Grenada.

Monday morning and we headed off on the local bus to wander around St Georges. We managed to pick up some t-shirts and a local SIM card for Richard’s phone as we are going to be in this area for a while now…. really reasonable pay-as-you go for around £4 with a bundle of free texts / talk-time included!!  Bargain…. In the afternoon as we were walking down J dock we were told about the Full Moon Party the cruisers were planning for the picnic area behind the pool later in the afternoon. So having done a few boat jobs – and had a quiet time on board chilling – we headed out to this event. Maurice (from Motivator) had made up some posters to advertise it – and you can see for yourself his sense of humour with the initials of the organising committee!!!  We went suitably garbed with Richard in his full moon t-shirt – right event, wrong venue – and I just had to go out in my new Carib shirt from Carriacou….

Had a really nice time – and it was funny when it started to rain – as all the cruisers headed off under the splendid palm to stay dry while the food table got allocated the only umbrella around!  Had a nice time chatting to new and old faces and admired the beautiful moon when it rose…. Back on board and so to bed.

Tuesday we spent most of the morning and into the afternoon getting Morphie ready to go back to sea, as we are heading out of the marina on Wednesday. Filled up the water tanks, charged everything we could lay our hands on whilst we have shore power, and generally tidied up. Went to the pool for happy hour and had a nice time there with a large crowd of people – including ShaSha’s guest Alice who is over for a holiday. In the evening we were tempted out to have dinner in the marina with Jim, Sharon and Alice. They were a bit frustrated that Alice’s luggage had gone missing on the flights down so they were going to have to stick around the marina until it turned up – so curtailed what they may be able to show her…. Oh well….nothing much they can do. We had a really good evening.

Wednesday morning we went and settled our huge bill for water and electricity – came to a grand total of £30 for two weeks – amazingly cheap!!!  Very happy with that!!! Made the most of the unlimited water in the shower block and we were ready to go….. Went and said our goodbyes to a few people and organised to purchase the transformer that we had been using. Very happy with that extra bit of kit!  Anyway, we backed out the slip easily and I drove Morphie round the corner whilst Richard tidied up ropes and fenders. Leaving via the main harbour channel we had to slow down as we were following a large tanker… We escaped from him as he turned away and we looked for a good anchoring spot, although the swirls and currants he created made the steering unresponsive at times and I felt like I was driving on snow!! Very strange feeling indeed…..

Really excited about being back on anchor again – we get so much more privacy on board and being able to jump into the beautiful water on a whim is really important to me…. Anchored up – cleaned the water line, the fenders and soaked the mooring lines from all the gunk of the dirty marina water – and headed to the beach. ShaSha were there…. and we had another great bobbing afternoon. Final farewells said this time – as they are heading northbound on Thursday – and we had a quiet night on board. A bit rolly at times during the night… but nothing too terrible.

Thursday morning we had a lie in…. Lovely!!!  Then we freshened up by jumping in off the back. Oh how I’ve missed this… Had a lazy morning on board and went ashore about 2pm for a couple of hours bobbing and catching up on the internet at the local beach bar. The beach was rammed with kids having fun – they have the same school holidays as we do in the UK – and it was fun to watch them, although they got a bit boisterous at times chucking each other in off the dock!!  We also chatted to a nurse who was there with her eight year-old grandson – who was digging his way to Australia last time we checked!! Had a really chilled time and we headed back to Morphie just in time for the lovely sunset. We are definitely back in holiday mood….

This morning we picked up our anchor and motor sailed down to Prickly Bay on the south coast of Grenada…. Looking forward to exploring this area….

Bye for now

Jan

Tuesday morning we got up late… although we did listen (from our bed) to the cruisers net which starts at 7.30 am.  Nothing was mentioned of particular interest to us so probably won’t bother that much in future – definitely not something I’m planning to set the alarm clock for!!!  We did a few pink and blue jobs down below and continued to compile lists of things we need to get sorted out…  It was also a rainy and grey day. But in the afternoon we rallied ourselves and headed off to the marina pool for a dip. We then had a quiet night on board.

Wednesday we had made arrangements to go to Grand Anse beach with Jim and Sharon from ShaSha…. Luckily the sun had returned and the skies were blue. Hurrah!!! They picked us up by dinghy and we motored out of the marina and around the corner through the anchorage. This is probably Grenada’s best beach with gorgeous sand and sparkling clear water against the lovely backdrop of palm trees and flowers. Had a really nice bobbing time, including lunch at the local beach bar, and came back on board around 4pm. And that was it for the day!  Lovely time had by all…..

Thursday more boat jobs and we also organised a hire car for Friday…. In the afternoon we went to the pool to cool off and bumped into Nick and Pam from Knot Yet who told us that there was going to be a TexMex ‘pot luck’ party that evening on J dock. So we quickly went back to Morphie – via a dinghy stop at the local supermarket for a few essential items like jalapenos – and I made Mexican tortillas to take with us. This is our first cruisers ‘pot luck’ party where everyone takes a dish, their own plate / knife and fork, and brings their own drinks – and we really weren’t sure what to expect. When we arrived shortly after 7 pm the party was in full flow and there were about 40 people there – with loads and loads of different Mexican dishes. We tucked in and enjoyed catching up with old cruising faces and meeting some new ones.   The cruising community here in Grenada is huge and pretty much everyone knows everyone else – all a bit daunting to newbies like ourselves!   Back onboard about 10pm and we’re tidying up and I ask Richard where the knives and forks have gone????  Oh dear… he dumped them along with our rubbish in the bin! Good job I took plastic plates…   A good excuse to get some new cutlery next season???

Friday and we have a car organised for 9am – and our pimped up “rent a wreck” arrived just after. Doing the paperwork and we are driven to the police station to get a temporary driving permit for Richard. Oh dear….. we are only carrying our plastic credit-card sized photo driving licences – and the Grenada police want to see the paper part of the licence too. What!!!!????!!!! That’s tucked away at home and has never been asked for – EVER – by anybody else throughout the island chain. Getting frustrated and after some backwards and forwards we eventually get issued with a permit. But talk about hassle…. Grrrrrr…..  Glad it’s valid for 3 months so we don’t have to go through that again before we leave to fly home at the end of August. Not a great start to the day to be honest.

Finally we are on our way – so we head off first to visit Grenada Marine. This is where Morphie will be hauled out and living on the hard for a while so we wanted to check it all out – and to confirm the date with them. We were pleased with the security at the gate, the local restaurant / bar, and the space between boats which is plenty big enough for us to do the work we’ve planned like renew Morphie’s anti-fouling – using a product that actually repels growth this time!!!  We also came across two Island Packets we had spent time with this season – Blue Pearl and Cutter Loose – so we gave them a pat. We also noticed Zero to Cruising as we drove away from the yard.

Whilst at the marina office we confirmed our haul out date of 19 August – so then headed off round the corner to Sagesse Point where there is a hotel which had been recommended to us. Really convenient location and nice large rooms but no (working!) air conditioning in the one they had available for our dates. As we are going to be working on Morphie in the dirty and dusty environment of the marina during the heat of the day I really did want a cool room to return to. So didn’t commit and decided to have a look elsewhere, although we did get offered a special deal on the price. So we headed off to La Phare Bleu marina which has a boutique hotel attached. Not such a convenient location but the one-bedroom apartments are huge with air conditioning, TV, wifi, surround-sound, sitting room, a fully equipped kitchenette, huge bed, swimming pool and I’m sold.

Please pretty please Richard????  The only fly in the ointment was the published list price of US $200 a night….  Asked whether there were any special deals going for August and the English manager agreed a price of US $120 a night if we stayed for a week. Job done – so excited – paid the deposit and we’re sorted.  I really didn’t fancy staying onboard on the hard – climbing up and down ladders to go to the loo in the middle of the night was my main concern!!! Richard was also happy to go with this as our end of trip treat. Hurrah…..

Moving on we visited some of the other anchorages that we are planning to visit when we leave Port Louis. Really liked Prickly Bay and its facilities and had a soda there to check it all out.

Then we headed off to Mount Hartman Bay and followed the signs down to Secret Harbour. This was a trip down memory lane for us – we stayed in this hotel in the late 90s before and after a sailing holiday with Moorings, who were based here at that time. Oh dear…. the hotel has been virtually abandoned and has fallen into disrepair. What a shame – in such a beautiful setting too. Oh well, never mind, our memories of this place remain pretty special!!!

We were also surprised to see that the private residence that we had nicknamed the ‘mushroom house’ had been extended and was no longer the almost invisible house built into the side of the cliff complete with grass roof…. apparently this has now been turned into a hotel too…

Moving on from memory lane we visited more chandleries and hardware stores – this is getting expensive, particularly the spare macerator pump!  Most popular purchase was the new toilet seat… Amazing how easily pleased we are getting…. Back on board via the bar for happy hour sundowners, enjoyed the sunset, and another early night.

Saturday I turned a bit girlie and headed off to the spa for a long overdue haircut and a neck and back massage. Completely restorative and thoroughly enjoyed it – Richard enjoying the peace and quiet on board without me!!!!  Rest of the day was spent cleaning and polishing along with food preparation as tonight we are hosting ShaSha for dinner on board – and we have a hard act to follow after Jim’s spectacular roast lamb last week. Managed to prepare a three course meal which we ate down below in the saloon – which was a first – and, thankfully, they appeared to really enjoy the food! Phew…that’s a relief!!!! Very late night and so to bed…. Really good evening.

It’s Sunday now and we’ve just had breakfast…and are taking it easy., recovering from the excesses of the night before.  This afternoon we are heading off to Whisper Cove for the Sunday “jam session” with Chris and Linda from Troubadour – never been before and don’t really know what to expect, but looking forward to it.

Bye for now

Jan

Thursday afternoon hot and bothered we went to the pool and found out that this is where the cruisers congregate for happy hour!   Met loads of old faces like Jim and Sharon from ShaSha and Pollie and Maurice from Motivator along with some new ones too – including Nick and Pam from Knot Yet who have offered to lend us a transformer they had on board so that we could plug into shore power (as 110 volt is not available on our dock). Lovely time had by all…..

Friday morning we headed round to see Nick and Pam and had the official handing over of the transformer…. Then it was shopping time and we headed off on the local bus to the supermarket and the hardware stores as we have a huge list of products we need to purchase to ‘winterise’ Morphie when we leave her on the hard here in Grenada at the end of August. Quiet night on board.

Saturday morning up bright and early and Martin (our taxi driver) – looking like Ronald McDonald in his garish yellow outfit – picked us up and we headed off to True Blue to collect Carolyn and Ron. We first went to St George’s to visit the spice market – something Carolyn was really keen to see. Well – it was interesting – but definitely not the assault on the senses that she had been led to believe by a recent UK press article!!  Spices purchased and we drove through the busy streets and admiring Carenage, the harbour and the sights of this capital city.

Moving on we went to the Arrandale Water Falls and were met by a travelling minstrel who made up songs and names for us …. all really flattering, but of course that is what you do when you want a tip!!! The falls were nothing special really but enjoyed the show of the local lads who jump into the shallow water to entertain the public.

Heading across the island we visited the botanical gardens where Martin showed his significant knowledge of, and enthusiasm for, the spices, flora and fauna of the island. Really interesting time…. Then we had a quick pit stop at Mark’s bar where we enjoyed some cold caribs while Ron and Richard enjoyed rum tasters…. with them both buying a small bottle of Mark’s spiced rum to take away with them. Lovely place…. with a great bar sign too.

We then moved on and driving along steep roads and hair pin bends entered the Grand Etang National Park and looked out for monkeys but didn’t see any – but enjoyed the views of the rainforest as we drove into the volcanic crater to admire the lake… The viewing platform was taken over by a family – with the young woman doing yoga on a mat in the middle. They were not impressed that we turned up and invaded their space – er…. hello – this is a public platform not a private one!    Oh well….. didn’t detract from the beauty of the place and we enjoyed watching the huge koi carp moving under the water.

We then drove down to Grenville for lunch and ate a hearty meal in a local restaurant called Good Food – yes, seriously! Not a place we would have chosen but it was good wholesome grub although the plastic covered seats were a bit uncomfortable in the heat of the day! After lunch we drove up the Atlantic coast – continuing to enjoy the lush vegetation and beautiful scenery – to see the old airport which is where the Americans invaded Grenada and saw the remnants of the Cuban and the Russian aircraft. Oh yes – did I tell you – that Ron and Martin talked cricket so we visited pretty much every cricket ground in the country during our tour!

Driving back down the Atlantic side we travelled through many villages and towns. There are huge contrasts here in Grenada – from very large substantial brick-built properties through to shanty shacks with no amenities and people bathing and doing their washing in the river. Very poor and very rich co-exist side by side…. along with remnants of destroyed properties from the devastating hurricane that came through here many years ago.   We particularly enjoyed the lush landscape and the continuous display of flowers everywhere. Last stop a view across a spectacular beach on the southern side of the island and then we started back towards True Blue. Great day – really informative – although all of us were flagging with the heat by this stage…. Dropped Carolyn and Ron off and we returned to the marina.

After a restorative shower we headed back out again to True Blue where we had our final farewell dinner with Carolyn and Ron. We had a lovely meal at the Dodgy Dock restaurant and enjoyed their company for the last time this trip. Carolyn and Ron have been great boat guests – we have seen some beautiful sights – and have had many laughs along the way. They have also been very generous to us by bringing us gifts from home and treating us to dinner a couple of times. Saying goodbye was difficult and I was pretty tearful on the way back to the marina….

Sunday morning and back to boat chores…. and compiling lists…. and finally getting some blog published. Hurrah!  Sunday night we went aboard ShaSha for a wonderful roast lamb dinner. Lovely time had by all.

Monday and we ploughed into boat jobs … I scrubbed topsides, cleaned the wood, and then scrubbed away all the rust and polished the stainless…. Richard was down below in the bilges compiling more spares lists…. and then came out and scrubbed down Morphie’s hull. Phew – hot bothered and shattered! Went to the bar for happy hour; visited cruisers in the pool and said hi to Linda and Chris from Troubadour who are home from their visit home; and had a quiet night on board having enjoyed a spectacular sunset here at Port Louis.

Bye for now

Jan

Sunday (7 July) we left Mayreau – saying a fond farewells to Saltwhistle Bay – and had a great reach down to Clifton, Union Island, our destination for today. Into the Anchorage Hotel for lunch and I hoped to get the blog published – to no avail as the connection was way too slow – and just spent the time chilling. Well, actually, it was more like steaming!!!! Really really hot today with very high humidity and all of us were feeling it….  Back on board and after a while we headed over to Happy Island to say goodbye to Jonti. Bobbing off of his island in the cool water as the sun went slightly lower in the sky was completely restorative! Phew…. Back on board for dinner and so to bed.

Monday we were planning on going to visit Petit St Vincent for the day and to have a special dinner there as Carolyn had had a birthday just prior to arriving in Grenada. However, on Sunday the makings of a tropical storm had turned into a ‘named’ storm called Chantal. Although forecast to pass 100 miles north of us it was potentially going to bring some rough conditions – so we sadly decided to abort going to PSV and decided to move back to Carriacou into Tyrrel Bay which is more protected. But of course to do this we have to check out of St Vincent and the Grenadines in Clifton. Oh ho…Customs office shut! Apparently it is a Bank Holiday – shut for Carnival – so Richard and I went off to the airport to do the proceedings, leaving Carolyn and Ron to wander the town and get our fresh bread, fruit and veg. Having paid overtime fees – again! – we headed off out. The sky was grey and the seas were a bit lumpy – but, even so, we had a great sail with Captain Ron again honing his helming skills.

Into Hillsborough to check into Granada waters – got tied onto the dodgy dock – and went into clear immigration. Queue of four boats ahead of us and one of them hadn’t cleared out correctly from SVG so we all had to stand in line and listen to the tirade from the immigration man. He gave the guy in front of us a hard time too…. so while I was waiting I double-checked everything and was relieved to find that I passed the test with flying colours! And I didn’t get charged either – although all the others had to pay. No rhyme or reason really but hey, who’s complaining…. Over to customs and the port authority – paid the fees – and finally we are legal once more. Wandered Hillsborough and brought some more tee-shirts then back on board, hoisted the new flag and got ready to move again.

Motored around the corner to Tyrrell Bay and found a nice anchoring spot. Sorted ourselves out and went ashore to check the latest weather info. Looking rough for Tuesday with winds and rain forecast so have decided to stay put here another day and head down to Grenada on Wednesday – which was our original plan anyway. Had a nice afternoon chilling ashore and then back on board for dinner and to bed.

Tuesday morning we all woke early but didn’t bother to get up as it was raining and we are staying put here today. Had a lazy morning and went ashore at lunchtime to the Lambi Queen for some food that we had pre-arranged with the owner. Had some really really cold Carib – lovely! – and then was surprised to find that the internet connection was good enough to publish some of the blog. Great news….. After a few hours we wandered down the road to the Twilight Bar where we could sit in our own private cabana over the beach and Carolyn could have a decent glass of wine. Very very chilled today…

Back on board for a snack dinner and enjoyed the peace and quiet – grateful that Chantal has passed by as a non-event – when suddenly in the dark we hear a horn being sounded. This is a common signal and usually means that someone is dragging. Oh dear…looking ahead towards the beach…we spot that a catamaran has collided with a large motor trawler. Clearly tangled up as it took some time to get them apart and the catamaran moved off to re-anchor. We were willing to offer international rescue assistance but the radio was quiet – we were monitoring it just in case – and dink was already hoisted up on his davits ready for the passage to Grenada tomorrow. Oh well – excitement over – we all turned in relatively early.

Wednesday morning up bright and early and we headed out just after 8.00 am for the run down to Port Louis Marina in St George’s. Conditions were perfect – 15-20 knot winds on a reach, although the seas were a little lumpy. We made really great progress with speeds above 7 knots and then the seas grew and changed direction – then they absolutely bubbled like a Jacuzzi with white caps and large breaking seas – then they went flat and then they grew again. So confused it was hard to know what would happen next – and quite testing conditions for our novice crew! But they took it in their stride and totally enjoyed the run south.

Arriving outside St George’s and we can’t get the marina to answer the radio, we think they were at lunch!   Finally they answered – after we had Ron driving us around in circles for a while – and we went into the marina into an alongside slip nice and gently. Tied up and after booking ourselves in for a week we all trooped off to the showers for a long luxurious soak in unlimited water…. absolute bliss!!!!….. and then ashore for happy hour and a really great dinner wearing our crew shirts in the marina restaurant.  Struggling to stay awake after a few bottles of wine, some good food, and loads of fresh air – we retired to bed around 10pm. It was so hot that Richard and I slept in the cockpit….

Thursday morning up and showered in unlimited fresh water again… boy I feel really clean!!!… and we had breakfast together on board. After that Carolyn and Ron said their farewells to Morphie and headed off to their hotel where they are going to really enjoy that Jacuzzi, air conditioning, and a (large) bed that doesn’t move!    We had had an absolutely amazing trip with perfect sailing conditions and weather for most of the time. Shame we missed out on Petit St Vincent – but hey tropical storms have to be taken seriously!  Really sad that they have left us again but it’s only until Saturday when we are all going on an island tour.  Time for us to get on with boat jobs like laundry and gas refills…..

Bye for now

Jan

Friday (5 July) we sailed to the Tobago Cays – and Ron and Carolyn were thrilled by the sight of the different colours of the sea. There is no way of describing this place and the photos really do not do it justice. Suffice to say they were amazed with the beauty that surrounded them. After anchoring safely in the most beautiful turquoise water we went off in the dink to view the horseshoe reef and climbed to the top of Baradel island to see across the anchorage.. Stunning!

Then, to top it all, we snorkelled in the turtle sanctuary area off of Baradel Island and saw numerous turtles swimming, eating and just generally liming around. Richard even had four tuna follow him around too….   Felt very blessed to be able to swim with these gorgeous creatures – and to get so close to so many with them taking no notice of us whatsoever as they went about their business.    Fantastic!!!!   As the sun went down we were enjoying the sounds of the sea crashing on the reef and then the guy on the German boat next to us started playing a clarinet – very very badly. He had already entertained us by preening naked on the back of his catamaran…. So to block it out we played some chilled out music as we enjoyed watching the sun go down and another starry starry night.

In the morning (Saturday) we enjoyed a lovely swim in the crystal clear water and then sailed around the corner – with Captain Ron on the helm – into Saltwhistle Bay, Mayreau. This is another jewel in the crown – a stunning half-moon crescent beach rimmed with palms. Carolyn injected some money into the local economy by buying a pretty new beach wrap – and then we went bobbing off the beach using our floatie chairs and had a couple of cold ones in the Saltwhistle Bay hotel. Had a fantastic chilling out time and then, suddenly, like a mass invasion three large local motor boats came in and they all spilled out along the beach and into the sea. They were dancing and having fun for a couple of hours – and then, as quickly as they had arrived, they were gone and it was all silent again! Back on board for sundowners and an early supper – and we actually stayed up really late until about 10 pm.

Wonderful time had by all….    Part four to follow.  Bye for now

Jan

Wednesday (3 July) morning we were on the move again – just around the coast to Hillsborough to check out of Grenada. Enjoyed going through the cut alongside Sandy Island -with dink enjoying being dragged for a change rather than lifted – we spotted another big ship wrecked on the beach.

In Hillsborough we anchored easily and went ashore with all our paperwork. Got into the immigration office first – oops….shutting for lunch!  So we got the forms to fill in and wandered the town. Found a local bar overlooking the bay and had a couple of beers whilst filling them in. All completed we wandered the town and ended up shopping for some t-shirts and I got a new rucksack at last! Back to the immigration office and there are four people waiting in line – but, thankfully, the guy returned and dealt with me first. He even gave me forms for when we return – nice man! Off to the customs and port authority office and we are now legally checked out. So back on board and off we go again – destination this time is Clifton, Union Island, to check into St Vincent and the Grenadines.

We sailed across – it wasn’t very far – in very light winds watching squalls of rain around us, and occasionally we got wet but nothing major. Arrived into Clifton and got to the customs office. By the time I’ve filled in the forms it has gone 4 pm – so we get charged overtime!   And, of course, they don’t have any change….. but luckily we managed to scrape it together. Then we were told to go to the airport for immigration as the guy has left for the day. Damn…. so annoying.   But Richard became our hero when he went off to do that for us all while we sat in the Anchorage hotel with a cold one!   All legal – back on board, changed the courtesy flag, and headed off to see Jonti on Happy Island.  We had planned to eat dinner here too, but unfortunately his cook has left to go to Carnival – we thought that maybe she has left permanently??   Anyway, had a happy time there watching the local kite surfers enjoy themselves; looking across the channel towards Palm Island;  loved the sight of the Windjammer sailing past;  and the sun going down.   After a chilled few hours and a quick change we headed off into town for dinner at the Bougainville restaurant. Great food – but the waitress was really miserable and surly – which was a shame. Back on board for a couple of pontoonies up on the deck where we marvelled at the beautiful starry starry night – have rarely seen a more beautiful sky or as many stars. Amazing!  And so to bed.

Thursday morning we went ashore for a quick shopping expedition and an internet fix – unfortunately the signal was just too weak to get the blog published…. Grrrrrrr….. jAnd we got badly bitten by no-see-ums whilst trying!   Having provisioned up with fresh fruit and salad we departed from Clifton towards our next destination on Union Island, Chatham Bay. Had a bit of a lumpy start but as we headed around the corner of the island we had absolutely perfect sailing conditions with a beam reach and a comfortable sea – so Captain Ron tried his hand at the helm and did brilliantly, whilst Richard just enjoyed the ride…..

Arriving in Chatham we were greeted by Tony and Tim from Bollheads who were out in their boat drumming up business. Then Vanessa from Shark Attack came by and tried to entice us into her bar with offers of cheap drinks and good food….. But she was flogging a dead horse really as we had already seen Tony in Clifton that morning and told him we were going to come by. First we popped into Aqua for a couple of cold ones to enjoy the top-end surroundings – even though the infinity pool was still filthy – and then went down the beach, dragged dink up onto the sand, and visited Bollheads. Had a great few hours catching up, set Tony and Shauna to work knocking up some appetizers for us, and then went bobbing. Divonty a local lad was playing in the surf and was really interested in Ron’s camera – his eyes nearly popping out of his head when he saw Ron dunk it in the sea!   Explaining that it was waterproof he wanted to use it – so we let him loose and he got some great results and showed some real natural talent!!!!   We thoroughly enjoyed the bobbing and then went back inside to eat the most amazing fish cakes I have ever tried in my life!!!   Fantastic. Shortly after we settled our bill – to find the fish cakes were on the house – what really great people…. Going back to dink and Divonty was there showing Ron what he had written in the sand for us – and that was before he knew that we were going to give him a photographer’s tip.  What an absolutely smashing kid…..

Back on board for dinner, music, singing, laughing and generally having a great time. And so to bed – very late – having had such a very special day together.

Part three to come.  Bye for now

Jan