We arrived in Tyrel Bay Carriacou which is a beautiful location with a ton of cruisers. We had planned to stay here awhile but we had received some bad news from home that Mom Hart had passed. This was not unexpected as she had been ill for some time, but that didn’t make it any easier. I booked my flight back to Canada and made a mad dash to St. Georges where I got Judy and the boat settled in Port Louis Marina for the week. This is a lovely place to stay, right in the center of everything and has all the amenities plus a pool. Once I got back from the funeral, we headed up to Mount Hartman Bay for the hurricane season. Secret Harbour Marina puts on a wonderful selection of activities including yoga, aerobics, volleyball, dominoes, jam sessions, etc., something for all ages and it is free. The shopping buses are a hoot in themselves and we will never forget Chris yelling at us to pay attention and get with the program or the Island tour with George. We did get back to Tyrel bay for the regatta for the Carriacou Childrens Education Fund. We entered At Last and did four days of racing. We did very well and won some great prizes and got to complete against our friends on Banyan. As the month of July passed we had to start thinking about hauling Jacobs Ladder and At Last for some much required bottom paint, we booked into Clarkes Court and got hauled. Judy and I decided we would get an apartment for the month. This was a good call. Dave and Corrine lived onboard which I don’t believe they will ever do again. In 30+ C heat we worked on both boats for 21 days and did our bottoms in Copper Coat so that we won’t have to haul out for the next 5-10 years. We even had the rep from the states that teaches how to properly apply this paint and give us thumbs up on a job well done.
Back in the water we go and get ready for our flight back home for 3 weeks to Halifax, we would be attending our nieces wedding and I would be doing the wedding pictures. The flight back was not without mishap, as LIAT was late, making us miss our connecting flight in Barbados. Oh well, there are worse places to be stuck overnight and we got everything sorted out after a long chat with expedia.
We were glad to finally be home as it had been 14 months since we left (how time flies). The wedding went well, the bride was stunning, and the groom was his handsome self. It was lovely to see family, especially our boys, whom we had missed very much. We spent a lot of time with close friends, who put us up in their homes and took us sailing on their new boats. The weather was great, it was very exciting to see everyone and talk about the journey, and we did a slideshow presentation at the yacht club. The last week we got to house/dog sit while the groom and bride went to Ireland on their honeymoon. It was a great way for us to wind down and finally relax. Three weeks came and went extremely fast, and the last day of our trip home we ended up in a bad car accident. We totaled our friend’s car, sorry Steve, and Judy ended up in the hospital with a severely bruised sternum. Steve was selling his car and was able to get more than his asking price so he forgave us. It was the other drivers fault, so that was a relief to us. Judy is still not up to par as the doctor told her it would take several months to heal.
Headed back the next morning to Grenada and, as always, the flights were frustrating, with lost luggage and idiot regulation’s regarding customs and return flights. Zoe was very happy to see us and Dave was relieved as he said she was a total terror while we were gone.
Back to boat maintenance in the heat with much to be done before our second season, which was approaching very quickly. We ended up having all new canvas and sunshades installed and the dodger raised along with a new bracket for the solar panel and hand rails. This took 3 weeks off patience and some not so nice vocabulary. In the meantime after a scary and hilarious Halloween party, a lot of our good friends had headed north including Banyan, Kool Kat, Mowzer, Slow Waltz and many more. We have had a great time and have made a lot of wonderful friends form all around the world, but after spending 4 ½ months in Grenada we have decided to move on to more adventure and not to return this year. Instead we are going to explore the Western Caribbean. So with that in mind, we ended up ordering a much needed auto helm as there will be a lot of long passages in our second season.

Season Two, Cuba, Mexico, Belize and Guatemala.