Happy Hill
03 August 2007 | Grenada
Randy
We had perfect conditions for a sail to Grenada today so up came the anchor. The cruisers in Cariacou were having their "Around Cariacou Race" today. It was fun to watch them have at it and I must admit a latent desire to join in. We exited the harbor just as the first heat was coming in to the finish. We carefully steered clear as they raced to the final mark.
Once on course we had 13 to 16 knots of wind. The trim I had set was working well and we were doing over 9 knots. It is a blast to sail fast but on these short trips it does tend to make them a little too short.
Most of the west coast harbors of Grenada have some sort of short coming. The northwest is too exposed, Gouyave has the famous fish fry but the fishing boats take up any usable spots and don't really welcome intruding yachts, Halifax has power lines running across the two bays too low for a sailing boat with a tall rig to clear and Grand Mal is a tanker port with various drawbacks. Dragon Bay did look nice however and there were some recommended five sights there.
Upon arrival at Dragon we noted that it was fairly tight with cliffs and reefs on the sides. Should you miscalculate your swinging range in a clocking wind it would be unpleasant. One anchorage back was Happy Hill which had looked nice and also offered good snorkeling and diving.
We anchored in Happy Hill and found it to be roomy enough for a few boats, fairly well protected for the time of year and rather peaceful. As the sun set we had the place to ourselves.