On January 7, 2025, I flew down to Trinidad to join Andrew on board for our 6th season of Billy Ruff’n Sailing! Andrew came down a week earlier to get the crew cracking on finishing up our maintenance work. We had the boat painted top to bottom, rust spots repaired inside and out, thru hulls replaced, refrigerator & freezer repairs, as well as new water tank gauges and an additional freezer installed (the later two being game changers so we can measure our water usage and carry more fresh fish from the sea/ ice for drinks)!
We worked with the crew on the final touches before launching on Jan. 14th. The night before launch, the boat was lifted off the stands so the last applications of paint could be applied to the bottom & keel. The next morning, we were in the water by 10am, but a quick inspection of the thru hulls revealed two leaks. The boat was pulled back out of the water and over lunch our crack crew had the thru hulls fixed. We splashed a second time around 2pm. Although we had tested the engine the day before, as luck would have it, the engine wasn’t expelling water. The mechanics came down to have a look and she fired right up once they re-primed the system. Finally, we got to our dock around 3pm, just before our guests arrived.
Cathy Piccoli & Dick Rosene, two of our besties from Phila/Newport, RI, joined us in Trinidad to do some touring and help move the boat to Grenada. We introduced them to some of our favorite eats: Doubles for breakfast, Roti for lunch, and dinner at The Wheelhouse, where they serve huge portions of perfectly cooked fish or ribs that can be shared and still be filling. On our last full day in Trini, we went to ASA Wright Nature Center, joined by some sailing friends we met last season, Ted & Barbara on s/v Raven. The Center is a beautifully preserved estate, developed for nature walks, a delicious lunch and relaxing on the porch to watch the 15 varieties of hummingbirds on campus.
The night before we were to leave, we had a party in the Roti Hut for our crew. There was beer, music, dancing and food ordered from Sails restaurant, as well as an exchange of Billy Ruff’n crew shirts for the wonderful folks who did such great work for us; with honorable mention going to Rawle, Ricky, Kachelle, Shawn, Raymond, David, Curtis, Avi, Denis and so many others.
On Sunday, Jan. 19th, we checked out of Trinidad, tied down our new life raft and made ready for the crossing to Grenada. We left Scotland Bay around dusk for the 90 mile trip that started out with 20-25 knot winds (gusts to 30) and 6- 8 foot seas. It would have been a long, dinner-less voyage if the conditions had persisted, but fortunately by 1700, the wind and seas calmed. I made chili for dinner and we set a rolling watch (which meant everyone was on for four hours and off for four hours). The rolling part meant that watch-mates changed every two hours, so you got to be with two different people and have a fresh set of eyes. I think it worked out well and we all enjoyed the 13 hour sail to Prickly Bay, Grenada.
After settling the rest of the day on Monday, we started to explore Grenada with Cathy & Dick. We went for a few walks but it was too bloody hot to go far. Dick and I swam around the boat at least twice a day (a precursor for short showers). One night we went to our favorite Indian restaurant, Spice Affair, which Dick has now proclaimed his favorite in the world! That night, we returned to the boat to discover our wind generator had been pulled over by a loose topping lift and shattered a few blades. Ouch! (said the wallet) but grateful it didn’t appear to do too much collateral damage!!
Cathy & I explored St. George’s University, True Blue Bay Resort and its Dodgy Dock Restaurant one day while the boys did boat projects. We ate at all of our favorite restaurants, including St. George’s University Club and Dexter’s (where a former cruise ship chef serves 6 to 8 tables a night from his garage converted to a kitchen and the front and side porches of his home. He does a five course meal with 5 choices of main dish, 3 choices of dessert and 3 appetizers of his choosing. The highlights that night were cheesy risotto, pumpkin soup, corona fish & plantain, beef bourgeon, lobster, etc. Too much to mention but all in small enough portions that we didn’t explode!
On Dick & Cathy’s last full day in Grenada, we did an island tour and visited Annandale Waterfall (where you can pay $15 USD for a rotund guy to jump off a cliff into the pool), Grand Etang Rain Forest & Lake, The Rivers Rum Factory (where our guide, Lyons told us how they still make rum 90% the way they’ve made it for 200 years) and the Belmont Estate Chocolate Factory (a beautiful estate, where we only had enough time to buy their delicious chocolate and briefly view the grounds).
Sadly, on Jan. 25th, it was time for Dick & Cathy to leave. The boat is very quiet without them but we are so glad they were here to kick off our 6th season of adventures on Billy Ruff’n. Next stop, Carriacou, on our way to pick up guests in Martinique in February.
