Afloat again

I

Sitting here in True Blue Bay, Grenada, on 12 December, it's hard to believe that Christmas Day is only 2 weeks away. It's a month since we left the UK, spending 10 days with Warren, Lara and family in Jersey City en route to Trinidad. We found Follyfin in good shape after her 7 months languishing on land over the hurricane/rainy season. Quite dusty and dirty but no mold as we had left an air conditioning unit connected to prevent the humidity building up. Only slight worry is the occasional sighting of a cockroach on board... at first thought they had flown in when the door was first opened but now have killed 5 so I fear an infestation. Boric acid is apparently the thing to eliminate them...the only positive thing about the cockroach is that it hates humans, so it keeps a very low profile.

The climate in Trinidad is 'challenging' for working in, to say the least, with high temperatures typically over 35°C coupled with 70-80% humidity punctuated by frequent torrential downpours. Factor in a dose of nasty Caribbean flu and what do you get? A Skipper and First Mate virtually unable to move! For the first time ever we employed someone else to sand Follyfin's bottom and apply one coat of primer then two coats of antifoul paint. Also employed someone to polish her top sides (usually my job). Finally Follyfin was ready to be launched, and two weeks after arriving in Trinidad, we sailed away North to Grenada. And a cracking sail that was, in stealth mode overnight to avoid Venezualan pirates, but fast (max speed 8.3 kn, average 6.2 kn), so fast indeed that we arrived 2 hours before dawn so had to slow down to wait for enough light to get into St David's Harbour.

What did we achieve in Trinidad, apart from fitting out Follyfin for her next sailing season? One special US visa for entering the US on a private vessel and visits to (1) the Angostura Bitters and Rum factory,  (2) the huge open market in Port of Spain, plus (3) meeting two old school chums (brothers from Trinidad sent to Catholic boarding school in UK) of Mick's whom he hadn't seen for 55 years! 

Michael donated an empty Bitters bottle to the Angostura museum: it was so old that they could not date it but we knew it was at least 42 years old. Also met Miss World 1986, now the Angostura PR director, then Miss Trinidad and Tobago. Unfortunately illness prevented us from any other planned sight-seeing visits.

At another boatyard in Grenada, Follyfin had her gearbox removed and relapped, an operation we had arranged previously. This work completed, we finally got our old friends Wendy and Kevin aboard on Friday 9 December for a short sail west along the south coast of Grenada to True Blue, where we had arranged to rendez-vous with Ivor and Marina who were at the end of their 2-week charter from there with two friends. So in the end we only had 24 hours together, and unfortunately Marina had had to leave to catch her flight to USA before we linked up. Better than nothing though!

You know the saying "there's always something to do on a boat"? The truth of that saying has been driven home several-fold these past few weeks... As we turned on the engine to come into True Blue, a horrible burning smell emerged from the engine. The starter motor plus it's relay had decided to burn out. Since then the outboard motor for the dinghy has given up the ghost too. Other ongoing problems include the internal water pump which has a leak - somewhere - and we have been unable to fit the Duogen (hydro and wind power generation) back into its place on the stern. At least the engineer/mechanic/bosun won't get bored! Assuming the new starter motor relay piece arrives today, we hope to get away this evening or tomorrow, and make for Martinique direct. That will be a good place to stock up for Christmas!

STO PRESS: The outboard was fixed this morning after I drafted this blog. Hooray!

Stop press! This really IS a fish!

Shortly after my most recent blog post, a local boat arrived just down the pontoon from us, and look what they brought back from their day out

A 90 lb yellow fin tuna! And just look at those spines…

As a little extra, rather a large Wahoo was caught

Naturally this young man was very pleased with the day's catch. Now that's what I call real fishing!

St George's, Grenada

After a month being out at anchor (apart from one night by mistake in a marina 10 days ago - see Follyfin's progress south part 3 post), it has been quite a luxury to be berthed on a pontoon for the past 5 days in the Grenada Yacht Club marina. Getting quite used to having The Spout (yacht club bar) very handy, not to mention showers etc. and shops a few minutes walk away instead of having to get in the dinghy.

Yacht Club from our berth

We climbed the steps up to Fort George, built in 1706 by the French, it is now the police HQ. It has a battery of cannons pointing out to sea

and towers above its surroundings providing an excellent view of the harbour and city.

Looking North over the main city

Looking over the Carenage

and over the harbour lagoon.

Some may remember that this is where the then Prime Minister, Maurice Bishop, and many of his cabinet members were executed by the army in 1983; the infamous bombing and military intervention by American troops that followed made headline news around the world. Though some of the buildings are still used by the police, others have fallen into complete disrepair and would give the UK Health and Safety Executive nightmares.

An impressive British legacy still in daily use is the 103 metre Sendall tunnel, built in 1894, which links the inner harbour, known as the Carenage, to the main town and the cruise terminal.

So, apart from having a little taste of civilisation, our main purpose for spending a few days here in St.George’s is to re-provision the boat, fill up with water, generally clean up the boat and - desperately needed - catch up on the washing. However, Tuesday the 5th April marked the official end of The Ruby Cruise as it was our 41st wedding anniversary. 

Rum punches to round off The Ruby Cruise.

A day for celebration called for an outing: a long lunch in the heat of the day at a delightful restaurant with a balcony right out over the water, and where you can arrive by dinghy if you wish. Main courses were goat curry (sorry neighbour Peter!) and seared tuna steak (nice and rare in the middle) in red wine sauce.

Afterwards we generally took in the scene whilst wending our way back to the boat, a little shopping on the way. 

Today is our final day in St George's. We are off on another cruise with friends (Able Seamen R and R Herbert) on board for a few days before making the 90-mile crossing to Trinidad with them. So the next post will probably be from there.

View of St George's lagoon from our harbour-side restaurant, which houses the Yacht Club Marina on the left (north) side.

Follyfin's progress South towards Trinidad: part 3, Carriacou and Grenada 23 March - 2 April 2016

Stopping Island Hopping

Two very small islands - Petit St Vincent (PSV) and Petite Martinique (PM), belonging to St Vincent and Grenada respectively - lie a very short sail south of Union, which we had just left. Reading the pilot book, they seemed worth an overnight stop mainly for PSV’s scenic qualities - an exclusive hotel and spa ensures the long sandy beaches are kept in pristine condition, and for “the best price fuel in the Grenadines” said to be on PM. The heavy tropical rain somewhat marred our stopover but we hope to call in again next year on our way north. The photo could not capture the sheer volume of water dropping out of the sky.

So then a mere 10 nm further and we had arrived at Tyrrel Bay on Carriacou which belongs to Grenada.

and it wasn't long before we met Henry who was very proud of the yellow fin tuna he had caught with his line. Unfortunately with just two of us, and no freezer, we could not buy it from him. 

Whilst negotiating another unpleasant ‘clearing in’ procedure (see "One week Caribbean cruise", posted 19/3/16) - the customs and immigration officials in these islands must all have had charisma bypasses - we met another English couple and shared our grievances and experiences over an excellent pizza at the Lazy Turtle restaurant, overlooking the bay.

The following day, realising that we had completely run out of cash, and the ATM in Tyrrel being ‘temporarily out of order’, we managed to get the bikes ashore in the dinghy and then cycle the 5 miles to Hillsborough and the nearest bank. On the way we passed Paradise Beach.

Paradise looking south,

And looking north... paradise!

and decided that Follyfin needed to see it too. So this would be her, and our, Easter Day treat. Once there and safely anchored, Skipper nobly took me across to Sandy Island in the dinghy, where the snorkelling over the reef is superb.

That's me in the mask….

Easter Monday dawned, somewhat overcast. Anchor was weighed early to sail the 40 nm or so down the east coast of Grenada and just round the corner into St. David's Harbour. A little frequented inlet, it was charming with a palm-fringed sandy beach and only 5 other boats in it - apart from the small, low-key marina at the top. The marina also ran the one and only bar and restaurant where technicians, crew and owners enjoy the hearty tasty food at excellent value.

We had run out of bread so I made an attempt at baking a loaf according to a recipe I have for ‘No knead bread’... suffice to say that most of the very wet dough was left behind on various utensils, bowls and tea towels before the ‘loaf’ finally went in the oven.The resultant product was, shall we say, crusty, very crusty, and was more like a flat bread than the loaf I was expecting. Obviously the 'no knead' was too good to be true. We managed to eat about a third of it before the rest was consigned to the deep.

Come back Jim lad, Cabin Boy, Master Baker… All is forgiven! There'll always be a bunk for you aboard Follyfin!

The south coast of Grenada is heavily indented with bays and inlets but also has protective and dangerous reefs encircling virtually all of the coastline. We wanted to explore as many of these interesting places as we could but without rushing. After all this is still a holiday isn't it? We spent one night in St. David's before moving west to Phare Bleu Bay, at the head of which is another marina, La Phare Bleu marina, so named because of the light ship that forms an integral part of the marina. Originally Swedish, this lightship was decommissioned in the late 1990s, bought at auction by the Grenadian company behind this marina, and moved to Rostok to have a complete overhaul. During the 6 months for the refit, 12 tons of steel were welded onto the outside of the hull to repair the weaker patches. The ship was then loaded onto a huge tanker which sailed to Grenada, into St George's harbour. From there it was a short passage back along the south coast to Phare Bleu bay. Quite a history!

Actually we ended up in the marina by accident since we had intended to anchor not far from it where the sailing directions said was an excellent and sheltered spot behind a small island. What they did not say was that the bottom is weed and very poor holding for our anchor. So after 3 failed attempts, we relented and went into the marina. The showers on the light ship were most welcome. What with rum punches in ‘happy hour’ and 2 for 1 pizza night in the restaurant, we were very happy indeed.

Tearing ourselves away the next day (Wednesday), we headed out again, round the next point made by Calvigny Island and into Clarkes Court Bay, anchoring just off Whisper Cove, the site of yet another small marina. A good view was obtained from a small restaurant terrace overlooking the bay and Hog Island (centre in photo below). 

Risked life and limb again (see Follyfin's progress South part 1, posted 22/3/16) on a ‘bus’ trip to St George’s, the capital of Grenada, as provisions were urgently required. Compared with all the towns we have visited as we have been hopping down the Windward Island chain, St. George’s is definitely the most cosmopolitan and civilised. But more of that anon as we plan to spend 5 days there with the boat in the Grenada Yacht Club marina; a separate post will be devoted to it.

Two nights at Whisper Cove were enough. So we moved west again next door to Mt Hartman Bay, weaving our way in and out of the numerous reefs and shoals. We anchored right up in the top, at Secret Harbour where - yes you've guessed it - there is another small marina. It is so sheltered, there is almost no swell BUT there is a lot of wind! As long as the anchor holds we don't mind, as wind = power. This morning, Saturday, we walked over to the next bay to the west, and passed some amazing palatial houses with beautiful gardens. A particular speciality seems to be bougainvillea - this white one was one of many splendid cultivars in a myriad of riotous colours. 

Many examples of cacti grow in the gardens and on the roadside verge, some of which are huge and very prickly, presumably giving rise to the eponymous bay: Prickly Bay.

Tomorrow, Sunday, we sail west again and around the SW tip of the island and up to St. George's, about 12 nm. It'll be sad to leave the laid-back island life but there are several jobs need doing back in civilisation, not least of which is the washing! 

Follyfin’s progress South towards Trinidad: part 2 The Grenadines in pictures 9-22 March 2016

I Still nominally part of St. Vincent, the Grenadines are a collection of islands that spread south-west for about 37 miles from St. Vincent towards Grenada. The main inhabited islands are Bequia, Mustique and Canouan in the northern Grenadines and Mayreau and Union Island in the south, each with its own particular flavour. Also in the south are the most wonderful and beautiful uninhabited Tobago Cays. So what else could we do but go island hopping?

BEQUIA: 9-13/3/16

Admiralty Bay

Follyfin dead centre right in the distance near Princess Margaret beach … because she swum there once.

Sunset from Admiralty Bay

Sunday morning visit to:

Running from 1995, dependent on charity donations

Baby Hawksbill turtles raised in tanks from egg (collected locally) to 6-years old then released to the sea

A Hawksbill raised from egg

A Leatherback rescued from the beach after losing a leg

CANOUAN: 14-15/3/16

View from Tamarind beach; Follyfin anchored in the distance

Tortoise crossing road

Skipper performs daring rescue

Unfortunate Caribbean sheep; the grazing is wanting (not like North Yorkshire!)

TOBAGO CAYS: 16-18/3/16

Wonderful snorkelling on Horseshoe reef which protects the five uninhabited islands

Follyfin anchored inside the reef

Turtle watching beach, Baradel Island

Baradel resident - one of about 20 iguanas that we saw; probably quite a few more that we didn't.

UNION ISLAND: 19-22/3/16

Sunset from Clifton - a very crowded anchorage

Entrance to just one of many eateries

The best thing about Clifton was discovering the Yummy Stuff Bakery and Cafe, hiding down a back alley, where Rose bakes delicious breads and cookies. She will also rustle up a sandwich even when she has run out of her daily specials. Unfortunately no photo of her nor the shady little terrace area with no view but a big overhanging shade tree.

And that's about it from St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Having cleared out on Monday 21st, we departed Union Island on 22nd March in high winds and rain. Many boats were coming in for shelter as we were leaving. We felt safer out of the mellée! We were on our way to Carriacou and Grenada.