It's been a busy month since last we wrote. Back on July 28th we left Grenada (the Island) for Carriacou (Tyrell Bay) to enjoy the Carriacou Regatta. (Carriacou is part of Grenada like Newfoundland is part of Canada.) We were there for six days and were busy throughout.
The first day we took the bus around to Windward to watch them build traditional boats like the Carriacou sloops. Then we hiked back around the north-west corner of the island.
One of the nicest aspects of the Regatta is the Carriacou Children's Education Fund (CCEF). These cruisers organize potlucks, dominoes, auctions, raffles, treasure of the bilge sales etc. and all the proceeds including nominal admission charges go to local schools for school lunches, computers and computer labs, etc. This year they were delighted to top their cumulative $100,000 EC target by $6,000. Quite an achievement over their 9 years of activity! (http://tbyh.kyak106.com/index.html )
The major aspect is the racing - both a yacht program for the cruiser / racers and a workboat program for the local boats. (Local in the sense that they are traditional designs - they came from as far away as Bequia for the races.) These boats have lots of sail, removable ballast and no keels to speak of. The races start from the beach and are exciting to watch - especially the start and whenever they take the wind! We watched races at both Paradise Beach and in town at Hillsborough.
On the yacht racing side, Leona had a chance to crew on Spirited Lady of Fowey (a one year old 57' traditional sloop) for the last yacht race. Leona ground the port sheet in a crew of four plus captain Susie - including one token guy! After three days of racing Spirited Lady came in second overall.
Carriacou is a beautiful island with lovely people and a slower pace than many of the other islands. On August 4th we returned to Hog Island, Grenada to rest up for the Grenada Carnival. The trip was a bit more strenuous than planned since the autopilot would not engage so we opted for the leeward side of Grenada to get out of the beam swells.
For Carnival, the new Port Louis marina offered one day free for every two days paid and a free bucket of beer (5 Carib) per day. Since Port Louis is right in St. George's it was an ideal location without the complications of transportation. We moved in for six days along with a bunch of other boats. Water was free but no power since we were using the megayacht docks -however the pool was a welcome attraction.
Carnival is a four day long weekend that ran from August 8th to the 11th this year.The first night a group of us attended Panarama - a competition between six of Grenada's pan bands at the National Stadium. Despite frequent rain delays, they completed the program and our favorite - the third entry, was the winner.
Sunday, as always in many of the islands, was a day of rest!
For the next few days, beer, rum and food tents line the parade route in St. George's. Sound trucks with megawatt speakers playing the same beat shake everything within a two block radius. All the parades are competitive with judging stations set up along the way.
The first event is Jour Overt (pronounced Jouvay) which is a parade that starts around 3AM Monday with all manner of costumes, props and political messages, all overlaid by flying paint in every shade along with motor oil resulting in the slickest technicolored group you ever did see. (Wear old clothes!) By the time we showed up around 6 AM the street was so slick people were sliding down the slight grade in front of us. From time to time the folk in the parade would select one of the spectators and bring him onto the street for a paint or oil treatment. (You could decline!)
Late that day (around 7PM) the Mas (Masquerade) parade took place. We bought parade costumes and joined the Caribe camp, while many of our friends were with the Lime (Cable & Wireless) camp. Basically, we and thousands of others chip along the parade route swilling booze from the beer/rum truck that is an integral part of each camp's section. It is nearly impossible to stay still - the music is annoyingly repetitive yet curiously infectious. I've never seen so much back field in motion - clothing is barely a barrier between the revelers! Fortunately we were in one of the first parade sections, so we actually made it to the end of the route in the Carenage around midnight. Our friends in Lime barely made it half way.
The final parade on Tuesday is intended to highlight the costumes of the King and Queen of each participating camp, and show the enthusiasm of their entourage. The costumes are truly amazing and the pictures don't do them justice! Once again, each camp includes all manner of different costumes at different price levels - although the ladies don't seem to get much material for their money.
Unfortunately, the heavens opened up on Tuesday of the parade so it was postponed to the following Saturday, August 15th. Since a number of the participants were tourists who wouldn't be on the island next Saturday, a couple of sound trucks and the all important booze support trucks did the parade route fueling a happy contingent of primarily off islanders. The rain stopped and a good time was had by all.
We left Port Louis and moved around to Clarke's Court Bay to have our freezer system tested and repaired preparatory to heading out for Trini.
On Saturday, we took the bus into town to watch the deferred parade in St, George's.
As the announcer said: "All de colors hea!" As you can see from the pix, size doesn't matter! Everything is in motion and the refreshment stands do a roaring trade.
The Grenadians put on a great spectacle, even more impressive when you consider the country's population is only about 110,000 and St. George's is less than 40,000. This shortage is offset by the fact that 50% are under 30 years of age!
We arrived here in Trinidad on August 19th after an overnight passage from Grenada. We have a list of things to do here that we missed last time (Maracas Beach, Pitch Lake, Trini turtles, Nariva Swamp, etc.) and another list of stuff to repair or improve on the boat. There are lots of the folk we've met along the way hanging about so the social scene will be lively. We haven't decided whether to haul out here or delay that until we get up island - likely St. Martin. If the hurricane season is as benign as expected, we hope to leave here in early October and visit Tobago before returning to Grenada.
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Well, we've been travelling more and more slowly as we get to our hurricane season hang-out. It's getting so that 10 miles is a big deal!
After Bequia we spent three days (again) in beautiful Salt Whistle Bay in Mayreau. On our third anchoring, we had made it to the front row in the NE corner along the beach, where no one blocks the view and the swell is not noticeable. After that, it was off to Chatham Bay on the west side of Union Island. This is a big bay with beautiful beaches and several eateries / drinkeries (is that a word?) along the beach. There were only 5 boats in the bay, compared with about 15 in much smaller Salt Whistle. We had dinner ashore courtesy of Shark Attack - the tuna was overdone, unfortunately. On Sunday we moved to Clifton and walked along the ?? beach.
The next morning we cleared out at the airport and sailed down to St. George's, Grenada, anchoring in the lagoon. Tuesday morning we checked in - including a mandatory visit to the health inspector, part of the new clearance procedures to reduce the likelihood of swine flu reaching Grenada. (It has already reached Trinidad and Barbados.)
There seem to be many more boats here than we recall from last year. It seems as if folks are trying to avoid Trinidad in favor of hanging or hauling in Grenada for the season. The opportunity is not lost on the local marine industry which is working hard to make the cruising community welcome while encouraging the government to understand the impact of cruiser dollars. New marina developments like Phare Bleu and Port Louis have lots of room and there is a growing community of yacht services available.
Like any port we get to these days, there are a lot of boats we know so we need to re-acquaint ourselves, and we are always meeting new folks. Canadians seem to be the dominant cruiser species here, followed by Americans, Brits and everyone else. Since we arrived late on June 29th, we had only a day to prepare for Canada Day. We celebrated at Clarke's Court Bay Marina along with 70 other Canadians and 20 wannabees. We have simple tastes, dining on cheese burgers with Canadian Bacon - wow! Our friends Grif and Cheryl (Mystic Journey) from Fort McLeod, AB won the costume competition as Captain Canada and consort.
On Monday, July 6th we left the lagoon and anchored just outside the harbour near Ross Point. While the lagoon is flat calm, it also is noisy and doesn't get much breeze so it is hot and stuffy. And you certainly wouldn't swim there! Ross Point is quite close to beautiful Grand Anse Beach with all its resorts and restaurants. Ross Point can be rolly, but you can swim with abandon!
On Tuesday we said goodbye to Jules, another IP, with Nani and Peter heading off to the Testigoes en route to Australia. We first met them in January in Sint Maarten.
On Wednesday we motored around to Hog Island, the definitive cruiser hangout on the south coast. Imagine a pond about ½ mile in diameter with a reef bound entry to the south, a small island with a lovely sand beach to the east and a peninsula to the north and west. There is a dinghy passage under a bridge at the NE corner so you can get into Clarke's Court Bay to visit the marinas, go shopping, etc. Oh, yeah - almost forgot there is a bush bar on the island! There are presently about 40 some boats at anchor, on moorings or tucked up into the mangroves ranging from derelicts to "wow, I want one!"
Someday soon the Island will be a Four Seasons resort - but not yet!
Cutty, one of the local taxi and tour guides invited the cruisers to an Oil Down near his house on July 11th. By the time the buses rolled there were over 40 cruisers signed up to join the local folks for the party.
An Oil Down is Grenada's national dish which consists of salted pork, beef and/or fish, leaf and root vegetables, stewed in coconut milk. This is cooked in a large pot over an open fire by the side of the road. The feast takes all afternoon to prepare as each item is sliced or chopped and put in the pot in layers. All male guests help in peeling, chopping and grating, and placing the food in the pot. (In truth several cruiser ladies stood in for their less adept spouses including yours truly.) The bush bar at the same location provides the beer necessary to adequately lubricate the chefs. Best of all was the opportunity to chat with Grenadians about all manner of things. The day started about 2:30 and we were back on the boats by late evening.
On Monday the 13th, 12 of us hired Cutty to take us to Levera Beach to watch the leatherback turtles come in and lay their eggs as well as watch the hatchlings start their perilous journey to adulthood. Leatherbacks are the largest turtle species, the females weighing 200 to 600 Kg. with shells alone typically 4 ½ to 5 ½ feet long. Hatchlings weigh a mere 2 oz and are about 2 ½ inches long. While leatherbacks range as far north as Norway (and Atlantic Canada) and as far south as New Zealand, they nest in the tropics. They can dive to over 1 km deep!
We left at 6:30 PM prepared to return around 1 AM. Along the way Cutty picked up our guide Dora. To avoid disturbing the turtles, everyone used red headlamps and flashlights. We were extremely fortunate, since by the time we got to the proper part of the beach one turtle, 7 feet in overall length, was preparing her nest.
Unfortunately, she was digging up a previous nest, so the researchers were encouraging her to move away by filling the hole as quickly as she dug. Once she was a couple of feet away, they allowed her to proceed while collecting the eggs for reburial at a more suitable location. While we were watching, another turtle came ashore behind us, moved along the beach and started digging her nest. The nests are over two feet deep - as deep as their hind flippers will reach - and a foot in diameter. They lay about 100 eggs at a time, and may lay up to 6 times in a season. Once the first turtle finished laying she started to camouflage the nest so we left.
Along the way we stumbled upon a bunch of hatchlings sticking their heads up through the sand and starting their scramble to the water. They are so small that they can get stuck in your footprint! Therefore we had to help them along by smoothing the sand and turning them around when they got disoriented. Only one in a thousand survives to adulthood.
We were very lucky to see everything we had hoped for and were back on the boat by midnight. Unfortunately, we had no moonlight and flash was not permitted, so the pictures we have are from the internet but do parallel our experience.
The next day we moved into the marina at Clarke's Court Bay to carry out maintenance and arrange for some repairs and quotations.
Today (a thoroughly rainy day) we are back on the hook in Hog Island, and planning to go up to Carriacou for the regatta.
People wonder how we fill our days! Well, much the same way anyone who is retired does, although most things take longer. Friday (at least) is shopping day, cause that's when the bus takes us from Clarke's Court Bay marina to the IGA at Grand Anse. Any other day, you have to carry whatever you buy, so you shop frequently. There is always a list of required repairs to be attacked or ignored, depending how you feel. And invariably when you start, you have to go to town for a necessary part or tool. When the weather is bad (like today), who feels like getting the dinghy down and riding through the rain. So reading, or catching up on the blog moves to the top of the list. Then there is sightseeing, hiking, visiting and Liming (having a brew while yarning and hanging about)!
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Vive La France! Unlike the British Caribbean islands which all became independent with all that entails in terms of self - sufficiency and dependence on tourism, Guadeloupe and Martinique remain part of France with a resultant high quality of public infrastructure (roads, parks, docks, etc.) that reflects the subsidy from Europe. In concert with the thoroughly European availability of goods and the French flair for food these are great places to visit and stock up, albeit at prices that are higher than St. Martin.
This time around we spent another two days in Fort-de-France including an evening at their L'Atrium watching folk dancing. The markets are great and the shopping quite interesting - especially if you like ladies shoes! Unfortunately the anchorage is right beside the ferry terminal which is very busy on weekdays starting at around 6 AM. Don't put your coffee cup down or you'll be wearing it! Having been reunited with Bonanza in Dominica, we were in company with them and Daniell Storey on our Martinique visit.
Then we moved 2 ½ miles across the bay to Anse Mitan and had a delightful dinner at La Manureva, a beachfront restaurant overlooking the harbour.
The next day it was off on the 6 mile journey to Grande Anse D'Arlet at the SW corner of the island. Lo and behold, we were there for Martinique's third long weekend in May - that's right, the third - this one commemorating emancipation. (The others were FWI wide holidays - Labor Day May 1st and Armistice Day May 8th.) This is definitely something to be aware of if you want to provision.
The anchorage filled up but it was still quieter than we had expected. After a morning hike to Morne Champagne and wandering around the picturesque town of Anse D'Arlet which is in the next bay we returned to rest up for Emancipation Day celebrations which would probably keep us up after boaters midnight (9 PM). We went ashore for a cocktail with Roy and Michelle and discovered a very quiet little town with lots of family dining. Net result - back and into bed by 10. Wow!
Next morning we went 15 miles to Le Marin, leaving at 6AM to get around the corner before the wind came up. �'�39 for laundry and �'�78 for groceries later we are sitting in the cockpit enjoying a sundowner. While we were there we took the dinghys and explored a nearby river, the Riviere Grande Pilote.
After 3 days in Le Marin, we set sail for Rodney Bay, St. Lucia. It was the kind of sail they put on the yacht brochures, hence the opening photo of us enjoying the sail. Wind 10 to 15 knots on the beam, small wind chop, 4 to 5 foot seas on the beam, sunny - what a shame it was only 4 hours!
May 26th marked our third time in Rodney Bay, but we had never explored the area before. We anchored off Reduit Beach with flat water, offshore wind, rock solid (free) internet and great swimming. The only negative is jet skis circling us when the cruise ships come in to Castries, the capital.
We explored Pigeon Island, where Fort Rodney has a commanding view of the harbour (logical) and from the second hill which once was the lookout and signal station, you can see Martinique. Great hiking to get the land legs back in shape. Thought for the day: The Brits and French didn't drag those mortars and cannons up 45 degree slopes to the hilltops. If the water was deep enough to bring a warship close to shore, and the hill was steep enough, they would rig lines from the masthead to the hilltop and winch the cannons across and up!
On Friday we enjoyed the jump-up in Gros Islet, sampling the street food and beverages and meeting some interesting characters. Being both cruisers and seniors, we left before the music hit 100 decibels and the dancing got underway. Hit the sack at the late hour of 2230!
On the weekend the ladies visited the market in Castries, the capital. Believe it or not, Monday June 1st was yet another holiday - somehow we've hit 4 in the last five weeks.
Last Tuesday and Wednesday we rented a car and toured St. Lucia. This has now become mandatory on every island - you get a totally different perspective than from the water side and quickly appreciate that each island is unique. We hiked to the top of Mount La Combe on the Barre de L' Isle Trail , were guided around the Fond D'Or park by Paul, met the radio operator at the top of Cap Moule a Chique on the SE corner of the island and enjoyed the unique view overlooking the Piton's from the Dasheen restaurant at Ladera resort and on the highway above Soufriere. We wore ourselves out over the two days - especially the three hour near vertical hike in 90 degrees and 90% humidity. Guess what? There is still enough stuff left for another tour!
Friday we went back to Gros Islet and enjoyed a great dinner at Tilly's, followed by a walk around the busy bars and street vendors. The boat is now in the Rodney Bay Marina while we fly home for a brief visit from June 7th to 18th. Believe it or not, the marina claims 35% of its business is Canadian.
The trip home was a wonderful break, albeit full of appointments. It was great to see everyone and we truly look forward to getting home next summer.
Meanwhile, back in St. Lucia we spent two days putting the boat back together, provisioning and catching up on sleep. Then it was an overnight stop at the Pitons and onward to Bequia on the 22nd. After a couple of nights in Bequia we set sail for Mayreau in the Grenadines.
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Nell and Phil
Moon Dancer
