CLAPOTIS

We are sat in the cockpit in the late evening dark and calm, crickets chirping in the background, 200 metres from, allegedly, the world's 3rd largest super yacht, "Solandge" and 210 metres from the bar in Port Louis Marina in Grenada.

One of the guys we were sailing with today on an Outremer (more shortly) dived yesterday with three of the Solandge crew. Some stats he gleaned....

1. Solandge consumes 1.6 TONS of fuel per week just to run the electrics while at dock.
2. Running costs of $40,000 PER DAY
3. 29 crew
4. $100 million cost.
5. It has big a swimming pool and a jacuzzi.

The only thing missing from the lit flight of steps leading up from the aft deck to the first of three lounge decks is Fred Astaire, complete with top hat and cane.

It's like another planet. And there's another ever so slightly SMALLER one in the dock next to him. I guess that owners pissed off.

Anyway, after our family Christmas in Scotland we headed back for St Lucia on 11th Jan. It took a couple of days to acclimatise, making the change from scraping ice and snow off the car windows en route to the airport to sweltering in Rodney Bay scraping off a months worth of barnacles.

Sweltering and a touch wet as the "Christmas Winds" had only just arrived bringing torrential rain and grey days reminiscent of a bad day on the west coast of Scotland. But we were still in shorts and T-Shirts.

Slightly acclimated we headed of on a mission (when aren't we on a mission?) to get down to Grenada to say hello to my cousin Keith, missus Susie and remaining child Lyndsey. At the same time we could be in place to wave old Almerimar friends off on the next leg of their round the world voyage as they part company with the islands and head for Panama, a thirty mile locking up and down and into the wide Pacific.

We'll be thinking of them as they make the transition to a new, wider ocean.

Meanwhile, back here, we had a severe dose of clapotis.

Our mission was to get here a) before Keith and Susie's next house guest arrived (mum, Kirsty) and before Chris and Frances headed west. We therefore firstly did a short afternoon passage to Marigot so we were positioned to make a quick, up anchor and go early the next day rather than faffing about the marina and pontoon in the dark.

So, at 06:00 as dawn broke we quickly upped and offed, sadly with no wind and so motored down to the south of St Lucia, past Soufriere with its smoking volcano, past the Pitons each trying to pierce the cloud cover and on into a fresh 18-20 knot breeze blowing between St Lucia and St Vincent.

To avoid the massive wind shadow to the lee of St Vincent and the hours of motoring that would ensue we beat up to the windward side for a close reach down the eastern, lee shore. A bit too close to the lee shore as the surf, having rolled all the way from Africa felt some right to pound the reefs and bounce back out to sea causing a terribly confused sea state in which we rocked and rolled for a while. Clapotis it's called and much despised by yachties. (And kayakers. Try going round Seil Island in an onshore breeze)

We travelled the length of the island under the towering rain forrest clad hills (other than where the trees had been cleared for the marijuana fields. allegedly) and made Bequia, 70 something miles south, just before dark; anchoring as far down the beach as we could to avoid having to go ashore for to clear in to customs and immigration.

Up again at 06:00 (relaxing this cruising life isn't it) we headed off for a great days passage in sun and wind reaching Grenada's Port Louis Marina, again, just before dark. Another 70 miles on the clock.

Since then we've been lounging around Keith's yacht club, the pool and the marina.

Digging my two hulled hole idea deeper today we talked our way onto an Outremer 45 for a sail around the bay and spent a very pleasant evening in the company of two new Canadian NBF's swopping stories and plus and minuses of one versus two hulls. It's a big decision and one we're not in a rush to make. One extreme to the other. Check out Youtube; Outremer Three Peaks Race.

Tomorrow, feeling the Velcro factor coming on, that feeling of becoming stuck to one place for too long, we're going to go out to the anchorage just outside the marina from where we will be well positioned to get fired out of bed at.....06:00 by the wash of the 30 or so sports fishing boats that have arrived for the Bill Fishing Tournament as they power out of the bay at 30 knots in what Keith tells us is known as a Bimini Start. I believe the objective is to hook and weigh then release a Bill Fish, one of those guys with the big pointy noses. A Swordfish or Marlin I suspect. Must check!

Just like Christmas itself, the rains seem to have passed and so, the wind has died down a bit, the humidity is dropping and the torrential drumming of stair rod rain has stopped allowing some sleep.....which is what I'm going to do right now.

Thanks for reading.