4/6 - The day after Jeff & Kathy left, Andrew and I woke up lazily to dinghy across the harbor in Prickly Bay and check out the Budget Marine, then get ice and gas to take the boat around the corner to Hog Island. With some big wind coming, this area offers a huge protected bay with lots of nooks & crannies to explore, however since it was Good Friday, we found very little was open. We anchored off Clarke’s Court Marina (closed) and took the dinghy to Whisper Cove Marina (closed) but got the lay of the land in this pleasant anchorage.
Fortunately, the full moon party at Roger’s on Benji Bay was on for the evening so we took the dinghy over there around 5:30pm. We clamored up the rickety dock to an open space with chairs, a stage, a bar and picnic tables. Some Salty Dawgs on Dark Horse saw us coming in the day before, so the plan was to meet up there. Only a few people were to be found except the band that was warming up. We ordered up the local Hairoun beer (made in St. Vincent) and while looking for the restroom, eventually poked around behind the boats on the hard and found the restaurant. Our friends had been waiting there, which was a good call because the music got very loud and we were able to eat our chicken & fish skewers, w/salad & rice in relative peace.
After dinner, we went back around to the stage area just as a great drum band from Trinidad started playing. By now, a crowd of locals and yachties had gathered and everyone was grooving to the music, under the cloud covered full moon. We went back to the boat well after sailor’s midnight (9pm) but the band continued into the night, which we could tell from our bunk, as the music travelled across the calm water.
On April 8th, we headed to Halifax Harbor, a lovely little bay just north of St. George’s (Grenada), for a night, in order to break up the 25 mile run to Carriacou the next day. It took multiple attempts to anchor on the hard bottom off the cliffs between Black Bay Point and this strange looking wooden structure on Calypso Island but eventually we held and settled in to watch a few other boats attempt the same feat before dusk.
Just as the sun went down, we heard the screeching noises of bats so I went into full bat protection mode, having heard awful stories about bad infestations on boats. I battened the hatches, left a fan on outside to create reverberating noise, hung tin foil in the doorway and draped dish towels over the fruit in our handing basket. Andrew thought I had gone crazy but no bats were found in the morning!
On Easter Sunday, we motored to Carriacou with wind and waves on the nose for 4 hours. We arrived in Tyrell Bay and rigged the dinghy to go ashore. Not expecting customs to be opened, we dropped by to check their hours for the next day and lo and behold, someone was there. We checked out of Grenada and walked the beach to town to get more EC. We’ve found that vendors in Grenada & the Grenadines seem to have broken credit card machines all of the time and prefer to take cash (which slips through our hands at great speed)! From the small town, we walked back to Slipway Restaurant, near the Customs dock, for really good burgers and beer.
On my birthday (April 10, for future reference), we sailed to Chatham Bay on Union Island. We anchored and from the beach, walked up the rocky/boulder path to the main road, where Seckie (from Seckie & Vanessa’s restaurant) drove us to Clifton to check into St. Vincent & the Grenadines. A walk around town afterward revealed a post holiday mess along with a number of fruit stands and restaurants serving local fare. We bought some fruit from mama and chose Tipsy Turtle for lunch. Our server, Pam had just had her birthday the day before so she and I took our picture under the birthday banner still hanging in the bar.
Seckie and Vanessa picked us up for the ride back to the boat but first we joined them in finishing their errands for the evening. We stopped for a cooler of ice (stashed behind us in the truck) and a fresh baked pineapple upside down cake, placed in our care between us in the back seat. After winding our way up the hills, it was time to go down the rocky (l’m gonna say, boulder) path to the beach. It was worse than our worst day offshore, bumping and slipping over the rocks and boulders, while Andrew and I tried to keep the cooler and cake from jumping off the seats.
That evening, we had a plentiful lobster dinner at Seckie & Vanessa’s and were the last customers to leave after chatting with them for a nice while.
The next day, we sailed into Saline Bay on Mayreau. Here, we walked along a rocky road by the shore following the signs to Ranch Escapade, where we found a beautiful beach, a lovely bar and fun swings on the deck upon which we enjoyed some pina coladas. Yep, this is what it’s all about… going from one idyllic island to another, meeting nice people along the way and if you’re lucky, not having too many boat issues!!
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