Larry's Grenada Uproar Cruise
14 October 2017
Larry Fortress is my best friend from college, room mate, fraternity brother, little brother and craft beer drinking buddy. Now we can add shipmate to the list. Larry may be a dirt dweller but he adapted fine to life afloat. He even skippered Uproar over 10 miles of open ocean passage, north of Grenada.
“Hey, this is fun, handles like a sports car.” said Larry at the wheel. We normally press the “auto” button and Uproar steers herself but Larry wanted to make the passage like a real sailor. We sailed north of Grenada to Ronde Island, anchored for the night and sailed back. The guide book said about 20 people live on this island. Fortunately, two of them approached us with big lobsters for sale. They were at a good price and tasted even better.
We snorkeled at Ronde Island and the Grenada underwater statue park. We rounded the airport end of the island twice and caught a pair of Jacks each time. They provided more fish than we could eat but we did our best. Grenada Roti, Callalou and pumpkin were culinary delights Larry sampled for the first time, as well as a variety of fruits Cutty harvested on our island tour.
Cutty is a driver/tour guide that will show you and teach you as much about Grenada as possible in a single day. Lisa has had the tour 3 times and this tour was my second. The tour included swimming at a waterfall, sampling a bit of most foods that grow on the island, River Antoine Rum Distillery, nutmeg processing plant and vistas and beaches we never get tired of. We even caught up with a former Prime Minister, Tillman Thomas, in his driveway and had a 10 minute chat. His friendly dog was his only “secret service” agent. Tillman Thomas was imprisoned during the 1983 invasion and was liberated by US forces.
A big shock to us all is the River Rum Distillery. This plant has been in operation for hundreds of years and I would add without a maintenance shutdown! They still use the oldest waterwheel in the western hemisphere to crush cane, fed into the rollers by hand. Their pot stills would make a moonshiner green with envy, almost as green as the sugar cane sludge that is fermented and distilled in them. The end product has all of the character of the distillery. It couldn't be more rough and strong! We all took a sample and did not go back for seconds! They could care less, they sell every bottle they can produce right in Grenada.
Twice we found ourselves drawn to the Grenada Brewing Company. Craft beer is as rare as tender beef in the Caribbean! The GBC did not disappoint. They had live music and darts to keep us occupied. Felt like old times that Larry and I shared at his favorite haunts in Indy.
Weather was pretty good while Larry was with us but the anchorages were ridiculously rolly for 4 of the nights. Lisa and I did our best to find quiet spots but had some uncomfortable nights. It is seldom like this, Larry. But you put up with the Uproar dance just fine.
The last thing I heard from my fraternity bro Larry as his cab pulled away for the airport was, “Thank you sir, may I please have another?” Sure thing, Larry, you are welcome back aboard Uproar any time.