We had originally planned to do our annual haul out in Trinidad due to the variety and concentration of services found in Chagaramas. I was however impressed by the speed and quality of the work done on Blue Star. Jay managed to get hauled one day, have his boat painted the next, and then he was back in the water on day three. In the Caribbean, that is beyond impressive.

So when we contacted Grenada Marine and they said they could take us, we felt it was worth the wait. We had originally planned to be in Venezuela or the ABCs by now but that is the nice thing about cruising, you don't really have to adhere to your plans. There are also only so many places that can haul us and having one that can haul us offer us a spot and bottom paint in what is peak season for boat yards was motivational.

Hideko had rented a car so that we could be mobile while at the yard but she would need to drive the car over to the yard. That left me to single hand Swingin' on a Star over to the yard. I was not too worried about the prospect but it is always easier with at least one crew aboard to handle lines while you drive the boat. Jay on Blue Star had a friend, Andy, from Canada aboard. I asked Jay if I could borrow said friend.

So Andy and I set off to Saint David's Bay. You always have a knot or two of current running west on the south side of Grenada but the trip was fairly eventless and Andy was a great help. We anchored up in Saint David's Bay less than an hour after we departed. Jay and Hideko had driven over so we picked them up with the dinghy and relaxed on Swingin' on a Star waiting for the yard to hail us on the VHF.

When our number was up Hideko took the dink ashore and went to the slip to help from the dock and Jay and Andy took up positions port and starboard. The slip is about 31' wide and we are just over 26', a little tight but nothing like what Jay had to deal with (Blue Star is 30' wide). We dropped the topping lift and backed in to make sure that the lift cross bar didn't tangle with the rigging. There was a bit of a cross breeze but not too bad so getting in was pretty easy. There are certainly conditions occurring here within which it would get interesting.

The haul out was uneventful. The yard crew pressure washed her and chocked her up in a nice spot. It was the second time we'd seen her out of the water. It made me think of how some folks in more extreme climes never see the bottom of their boats except for once every year or two when they haul them. When you sail in the tropics you see the bottom of your boat several times a week, and typically give it minor inspection each time. This is, upon reflection, quite a luxury.

The yard is pretty large and full of catamarans. It was very interesting being able to inspect so many different types of cats in one place. The yard has the usual services, mechanical, fiberglass and paint, rigging and sail loft, as well as electronics. There is an Island Water World branch on site also which is very convenient. The bar and grill on the beach is a little dodgy but they have very cold beer. It seemed like a good place to work but I was looking forward to getting out already.