It has been so much fun being back I have lost track of time, so I am ushering in the new year a little late. I cannot think of a better way to start 2015 than being in Grenada among our cruising and Grenadian friends! Grenada is such a wonderful place, especially if you are a cruiser because they make it so easy to live here in our little boats. Grenada's location, specifically the first Caribbean island that is located outside of the 'hurricane box', makes it a desired location for many cruisers who want to stay on their boats from July 1st through November 1st (hurricane season). The country and it's people have welcomed the cruising community with open arms and hearts. Heck it is such a wonderful place, we have cruising friends who never leave the island anymore!

No sooner had we tied up to a mooring in Prickly Bay than Barry was on the phone to the True Blue Resort. Every year they have a Christmas Bazaar that features arts and crafts including local baked goods and sauces. Barry thought it would be a good time for me to start selling all the beaded jewelry I was busy making throughout the last year. I knew the deadline for the entries had past so I had no worries and knew I could drag my feet for another year - selling your stuff can be pretty intimidating. Well, lucky me, they accepted me - yikes! I had a week to get everything together and figure out how to display it. I was a nervous wreck the day of but it turned out well, I sold nearly 20% of what I brought more than covering my expenses. Unfortunately I didn't think about taking a picture at the beginning of the day, this was taken at the end of the day..









The Mount Airy Young Readers is a great program to help the local kids with their reading and math skills. Every year many cruisers devote their time to this program every Saturday, last year I spent every Saturday from September through most of January helping these kids. While I was unable to help tutor this year because of our late arrival I was still invited to the Christmas party. I felt guilty enjoying all of the fun without putting in the work!



Of course we can't forget the fantastic sunsets - probably the most photographed thing by cruisers, lol!



We managed to get all of our broken bits and pieces and sails repaired with the help of Turbulence located and Spice Island Marine and our friend Doug from s/v Hana. I haven't quite got up the nerve to go up the mast yet. I have been up the mast of our old 27-foot Catalina, but that seems like a miniature mast comparted to Smart Move's





It seemed that no sooner had we arrived than Christmas was upon us, it was time for our (now annual) lobster barbeque potluck. The wonderful Hope of s/v Star Shine is responsible for all of the lovely lobsters that all of us cruisers enjoy every year - Thank You Hope!











Umm, did we really eat all that?!? Can you say food coma!





This awesome team (of which I was a part) won Trivia Night three weeks in a row, that is quite a feat!



Here we all are enjoying the fruits of our Trivia labors. Barry must have been worried the beer would jump overboard because he kept holding on. Not a chance though, we were putting them away quick. The pizza was devoured so fast it didn't even make it into the picture, lol.







Lilly in her old age is doing amazingly well. She has completely gotten over any form of seasickness and is as spunky as ever. The one concession to her age (soon to be 19) is she lays
down to eat - it is a very messy process.





A project 2-1/2 years in the making was completed. Our new Garmin chartplotter tied all of the new electronics together in one interface - radar, AIS, speed and wind instruments. We got it in just in time to find out the AIS transponder was not working - no wonder that freighter didn't see me. A lot of stuff had to be moved to get access to the spaces that we needed to run wire through. All of the stuff was moved to the v-berth, here are a few pictures to show how much stuff our new cabinets will hold! Note, I have taken the sliding doors off for the pictures and the work. Also, I knocked off the light, Barry was not happy -- it was a easy repair though.











Finally, there is no better way to ring in the new year than at the Tiki Restaurant and Bar at Prickly Bay Marina. We enjoyed a very delicious buffet dinner of fish, turkey and pasta with all of the sides and an open bar for the night. How many (mostly) free drinks can a cruiser consume in one night? Apparently enough to fall out of a dinghy - I am bound to secrecy and cannot reveal the identity of this person, but I will say it was not anyone aboard Smart Move.

















The cast of the New Year's Eve celebration.


My little snuggle bug, Barry -- he's gonna hate that!


Mirielle and Pierre-Yves s/v Umido, Pierre-Yves put down that phone -- we are suppose to be having fun!


Jan s/v Hana, you have no idea how hard it was to get that smile out of her -- love this woman, gotta watch out for the quiet ones!


Ted s/v Aurora, he is always fun and has some much sailing knowledge to pass on and great stories!


Gary s/v Inspiration, all of us women that love to dance love Gary -- he will dance all night but sometimes he loses his shoes!


Donna s/v Merlin, a great friend and sailing buddy -- lots of spunk and she snorts when she laughs, just like me!


David s/v Merlin, another great friend and sailing ninja -- taking Smart Move and her crew to school! Sorry for the grainy pic David, it was a pretty dark pic.

Happy New Year Everyone!!!!



In memorandum: this blog is dedicated to Keith, one of my two favorite taxi/bus drivers (the other is Paul, Best Cab). He was a kind and gentle person that helped me navigate my way around the island the first year I was there, I didn't always understand what he was saying - but he always got me where I needed to go. He passed away last summer of a brain tumor, you will be missed my friend.