Rejoining the crew in Grenada

On April 3rd, I flew back from Philadelphia (having flown home to be with my brother and sister following our mothers’ passing) to rejoin Andrew and our guests, who were sailing the boat to Port Louis Marina, Grenada. After waking up in Devon, Pa. at 2am, I was back on the boat twelve hours later. That evening, we went out to dinner with Jeff & Kathys’ friend, Chris and her business partner, Lilo. We enjoyed delicious fish sticks & tuna on the beach as the sun set over Grand Anse Bay.

The next day we sailed to Prickly Bay, which was packed with moored boats and little room for anchoring. No one answered our radio call, so we picked up a mooring off of the marina and took the dinghy in to see if we could stay. The folks (that we eventually found) in the marina couldn’t have been nicer. They suggested we move to a two screw mooring because of the weight of our boat (over 0 tons) and luckily they had one available for a few days. The Prickly Bay Marina is not big but they have a lot of nice amenities like a laundry, a boucher that sells meats, cheeses, wines and bakery products as well as a small grocery that had everything a sailor would want including homemade dinners for the freezer! 

Prickly Bay is a quick 15 minute cab ride to St. George’s, the capital of Grenada and easy walking distance to a half dozen nice restaurants. The next day, we taxied to the Craft Center in town to visit Chris and Lilo’s shop, Art Fabrik. They make clothing and artworks out of their fabulous batik designs. Since it is all handmade, they only had a few children’s dresses (my soft spot with granddaughters) but Lilo came down from the workshop upstairs with two “hot off the press” that were the perfect colors. I found a third dress for the baby, a top for myself and some colorful napkins that I had to have. It was very difficult to stop! 

After the shopping spree, we went next door to The House of Chocolate, where we had hot chocolates, coffees or ice cream and another shopping bonanza. A local drum teacher that Chris and Lilo knew dropped in and they encouraged him to play on one of the bongos set around for customers to sit on. The entire store was moving to his groove, while enjoying their chocolate delicacies.

To work off the sweets, Andrew, Jeff, Kathy and I walked up to Fort George for the best view of the colorful town and back down through the market, where we learned what nutmeg looks like in it’s original fruit. Before catching a taxi back, we stopped at Nutmeg’s, over looking the harbor, for their famous rum punch but they only had two left, so some of us had to make do with Ting’s. 

Next stop was The West Indies Beer Co. Brewery, within walking distance (if you didn’t have too much to drink) of the marina. It’s a really fun place! Owned by Marc, an Englishman who has been in Grenada for years before starting the brewery 10 years ago. It’s grown into this fabulous converted warehouse with dozens of steel vessels, a shiny motorcycle parked in front of them and comfy couches, stools and tables. I especially loved the beer taps for faucets in the ladies room! The best part is that they have dozens of ciders made from local fruits (mango, pomegranate and melon, for example) and excellent beers. We had a split of each, every one of them being better than the last!!

We stumbled back to the marina and took the dinghy out to the boat for a swim, showers and naps, after which, we went out for Jeff and Kathy’s last night on board, to eat fish and ribs at The Sandbar, a short dinghy ride from the boat. The next day, after a swim off Calabash Beach and lunch at the Marina Tiki Bar, Jeff & Kathy left for the airport and Andrew and I went back to the boat to think about where our next adventure might be.

Sailing The Pitons & St. Vincent

On March 22nd, Andrew and I returned to St. Lucia from a fabulous time in California with my mom and my sister and her husband at my brothers wedding. We arrived in Rodney Bay around 3:00pm after a harrowing ride with our favorite new taxi driver, Vitus. He speedily took us thru back roads (and back yards, it seemed) in an effort to be efficient and avoid traffic. 

Billy Ruff’n looked great as she was well taken care of by our friend Vision who waxed and polished her. We had a nice Sushi dinner at Ritual’s and went to bed early in preparation for a big day ahead. 

The next day Vision and I hoisted Andrew up the mast to feed the previously severed spinnaker halyard back down and to inspect for sharp objects that may have cut it in the first place. Nothing was found so that part is still a mystery. We spent the rest of the day doing laundry and cleaning in preparation for our boat guests in two days. That night we had fresh fish from a local fisherman and dirty rice to reward ourselves for a hard days work.

The next day we continued boat work and caught up with The Ripples, friends on s/v Capers that we met three years ago thru the couple we bought the boat from. They gave us some good tips on what and how to ‘do’ Trinidad.

Our former boat partners, Jeff & Kathy arrived at Rodney Bay Marina around 3:30. We moved them on board and broke open the liter of homemade rum punch (with anise & bay leaves in it) that we purchased from the fisherman for $50! Sometimes, we get a little exuberant in supporting the locals and forget to ask “ how much”! That evening we had a really nice curry dinner at Sea Salt, one of our favorite restaurants in the marina.

The next day, we checked out of St. Lucia, fueled up and set sail for The Pitons. The wind was on our port quarter, blowing 15-20 knots and we sailed at an average 7.5 knots on one tack almost all the way. A boat boy in a white boat (with bright pink interior) called Father’s Blessing, motored out to meet us just as we came in sight of the bay. The young man said he was sent to help us with a mooring, which basically wasn’t true but that’s the way it works in this popular spot.

The boy actually ended up being helpful and proficient at feeding our lines thru the mooring ring quickly while the swift current pushed us around. We asked how much he needed for his assistance and paid the requested $40EC. Later that evening the National Rangers came to collect the mooring ball fee ($55EC) and they confirmed that the boat boys should only require $20EC. 

Probably 15 minutes after we had settled onto our mooring, another fellow came by selling trinkets. We said “No thank you but appreciate you coming by” but he wasn’t taking that for an answer. He laid his necklaces and carvings, etc across the deck of our boat and said we must take something. He proceeded to tell Kathy and me how he grew up on the island, learned to make these items out of local seeds, wood and stalls, etc, etc. We asked how much and bargained him down to two necklaces for $20 US. Of course, later we saw them for $5 in the markets!

Not 5 minutes later, the next fellow came by selling fruits & vegetables. Fortunately, we needed limes so when he offered a bag, I took them. That evening, Andrew cooked up his new specialty of fish with lemon vanilla sauce as we enjoyed a green flash sunset and shortly thereafter went to bed poorer but happy.

On March 27th, we left St. Lucia for an ocean crossing to St. Vincent. The plan was to anchor out somewhere and check in at Bequia if we missed the customs office on the main island. Sadly, I got a phone call from my sister that my mom was in the hospital and my plans changed dramatically. I flew home from St. Vincent the next day and Andrew, Jeff and Kathy proceeded with the cruise down The Grenadines.

Hello again St. Lucia

On March 1st, we said goodbye to the green flash sunsets in the French speaking islands and hello to St. Lucia, which felt like returning home a bit since we spent 3 months here during COVID in 2020. We had a lovely sail between the islands of Martinique and St. Lucia and arrived in Rodney Bay early in the afternoon. We anchored in the Bay right next to our solo sailor friend, Amy on s/v Wahine.

Check-in was easy so we spent the rest of the day looking into providers for our boat projects. We found Kenny would be available to repair the stack pack & awning, Chinaman could come look at our water pump to see if we needed a new bracket (or some other fix) and John at Regis Electronics was around to consult on Navionics updates and other electrical concerns. With that under our belt, we went back to the boat for sundowners w/ Amy and got to bed early.

The next day, our friends John and Lisa showed up on s/v No Wahala so while they settled in on their anchor and checked-in, Andrew got a haircut and I got a pedicure (the most civilized things we have done in some time)!  That afternoon, we gave John & Lisa a walking tour around Rodney Bay Village and had an excellent lunch of octopus and other delights at Keebee’s Sports Bar & Grill, where locals and visitors meet to watch soccer and other events.

On Friday night, Andrew & I, along with John & Lisa took our dinghies to Gros Islet, where the locals have a rowdy street party every week. We were early, so the crowds weren’t too wild yet, but the loud, thumping music had started and the booze and food vendors were set up. Some locals had little trinket stands and this one young man was showing us his skill for making an origami-like bird, cricket, fish and flower, out of the local ferns. He gave one to me, gave one to Lisa and then asked John for $20… what a scammer! When we heard the locals calling us WEGO’s (a derogatory term for white people), we decided to leave before the vibe got worse. We went back to the boat to make lobster salad out of the catch we purchased right off our boat from a fisherman on his way in to market earlier that afternoon.

The next day, we went hiking in the National Park with John & Lisa, along the beach on Pigeon Island and up to to the Old Fort, where there are spectacular views and we could take pictures of the cannons aimed at our boats in the harbor. After the hike, we went to Jambe de Bois, a delightful restaurant and art gallery in the park, and rewarded ourselves with beers and some of the best roti (chicken, lamb and/or vegetables stuffed into a crepe like pancake) in the islands.

On Monday, our friend Simon, a British bloke who has lived in St. Lucia servicing boats for years (and had worked with us in 2020) came over to consult on our projects; advise us on who to use and who to pass on, etc. We hoped to work with him as a general contractor, while we leave the boat for a few weeks to fly home for my brothers wedding. Simon decided to take on the water pump project himself and hooked us up with a diver to clean the bottom of the boat and (hopefully) a refrigerator expert to recharge our freezer & fridge.

The evening before John and Lisa were to head south, we treated ourselves (and our friend, Wayne) to Jacques Restaurant, a lovely spot on the water, with it’s own dinghy dock (along with valet dinghy parking) and very pleasant service. Andrew ordered lionfish and I ordered lamb. Both came with an assortment of artfully presented sautéed vegetables and everything was fabulous! 

On Tuesday, John & Lisa left for Marigot Bay and Amy (and her new boyfriend, Steve) left to sail north, each in their own boats. A fresh set of old friends appeared that afternoon on s/v Frog’s Leap and today, we will enjoy catching up with them at Bosun’s, an excellent Indian Restaurant in the marina.

Tomorrow, March 9th, we fly home to Philadelphia and a week later we’ll fly out to California with my mom for my brothers’ wedding. We return on March 22 to prepare for the fantasy trip to The Grenadines  & Grenada that never happened in 2020, but we’re going to make happen with our old boat partners this year!

Le Marin & St. Anne: the largest anchorages in the Caribbean!

On Feb. 21st, we had a nice sail from Fort de France to Le Marin, ~ 20 miles down the western coast of Martinique, past Diamond Rock, a giant boulder that was thrown into the ocean by a volcano years ago and whose size you can only appreciate when a sailboat the size of your own sails by it!

Marin is a pleasant town on the southern end of the island and is one of the largest yachting centers in the Caribbean. People say yacht owners come here to have work done on their boat or to abandon it. From the looks of the boats in the harbor, of which there were thousands between here and the nearby St. Anne, I’d say a good quarter were abandoned. Like the rest, we were here for boat work.

We knew our friends on Dream Weaver were in town so we hailed them on the radio (and eventually found them on AIS) so that we could pick up a morning ball nearby. The moorings were pretty inexpensive compared to what we see in the U.S. and worthwhile in this busy harbor where anchorage was hard to find.

The day after we arrived, we went to town to look into the solution for our broken water pump that supports our generator. In Fort de France, we had identified a store in Marin that had a replacement pump but we needed to pick it up and see if the fittings matched. Unfortunately, the new pump didn’t come with fittings for the hoses and the old fittings wouldn’t come off the old pump, so our next task was to find a metal worker that either had the tool to remove the old fittings or could fabricate new ones. 

We found just the guy for the job at Caribe Metal. After talking our way thru a locked gate, a greasy worker in overalls referred us to the production manager, Pierre Leon (who calls himself PiLo). PiLo looked at our pumps and asked when we needed them done. We said by Monday and he said to leave the pumps with him and to call him on Monday.

That evening, we met Dream Weaver and crew in town at a place on the water in Marin called Indigo. Mike and Mary had recommended it because of the good food and a fabulous server named Marie Claude (known as MC). Arriving just before sundown, we got a beautiful show with our cocktails, had a great meal and enjoyed meeting MC, who entertained us with stories of her professional running days and treated us to spiced rum shots (on the house) and handwritten messages on our dessert plates.

Our boat buddies on Dream Weaver left to sail north but luckily we ran into new playmates, Edwin & Karen (on s/v Frog’s Leap) to hang out with the next day. We moved the boat to St. Anne, a few miles away, where the vast anchorage has crystal clear water. Here we could make water, snorkel and enjoy the amazing green flash sunsets. 

One Sunday, Andrew and I took a dinghy tour up a creek, past many abandoned boats and back to Fugier Beach, a local hangout, where we had lunch and watched the locals prepare their barbecues, sunbathe and play vigorous games of dominos.

The thing about getting work done in Martinique is that, because of the language difference (and my mediocre French), we never really knew if what we wanted was communicated or what exactly we were agreeing to, so when we called PiLo the following Monday, he didn’t remember us (at first), then he hadn’t gotten to the job yet, and finally he agreed to have it done by Tuesday.

In St. Anne, we ran into our friends on s/v No Wahala and showed them the town, pointing out the nude beach and walking past the fish market just as the fisherman was blowing his conch to announce new catch for sale. We swam, watched the little sailboats from the nearby Club Med, witnessed a few green flash sunsets and gathered with other Salty Dawgs from s/v’s Koa, Frolic and Zephyr for sundowners at night. Overall, a relaxing few days before we were to pick up our water pump from PiLo and continue working our way south.