Granada – HandsOnDeck

The long goodbye

There are times when you know you are in the right place doing the right thing. When you feel a sense of calm come over you; when you feel the gentle embrace of friendship; the slow rhythm of life creating new routines and the sudden realisation that having a day off without feeling guilt is ok!

Our lives soon became a comfortable routine of happy moments and experiences. Our friends on Take Five had finally caught up after last seeing them in The Canaries when they left ahead of us to cross The Atlantic with my sister Bea and brother-in-law, Andy, on board. They anchored next to us in the busy bay which was now a happy community of old and new friends. Together we organised for a group of 20 to go to Carnival together, the first Carnival, or Spicemas, which has been held since 2019 due to Covid, so the island was ready to party.

Carnival is a two day public holiday which starts on the Monday at dawn with J’Ouvert where people dress as devils called Jabs-Jabs, wearing black horned helmets, chains and covered in black oil. Spectators are also covered in oil with back handprints and pale background seemingly being the ultimate prize for the horned Jabs-Jabs’. Monday night Mass is a parade of bands with colourful costumes and feature the Short Knee bands who carry talcum powder as a symbol of appreciation and sprinkle it on those who make a cash donation. Sadly the Festival was lacking a good Event Manager and nothing ran to time, with the Monday Mass starting 4hrs late – too late for most cruisers, so we missed the main part of the show. Carnival Tuesday is known as The Last Lap and dancers gyrate through the streets in bright, skimpy costumes following trucks, each with their own DJ or band playing music with the bass so loud it reverberated through our bodies as they passed us by. The atmosphere was friendly, happy and inclusive even though a lot of the symbolic costumes and actions referenced the days of slavery and the hatred of the white landowners.

With the date of our departure for Bonaire constantly being pushed back while we waited for news on whether our friends on Ilanda had received their new, larger outboard motor so we could buy their current one from them, we decided to take an introductory SCUBA dive. I am not confident under the water and didn’t want to commit to doing my PADI openwater certificate if I didn’t enjoy it. Steve and I were the only students on the day and we were well looked after as we practiced breathing under water and learning how to manage the heavy equipment. I loved it and felt very relaxed in the shallow warm waters at Lance Aux Epines Beach in Prickly Bay. Steve was, surprisingly, not quite as comfortable under the water but we both agreed it was something we wanted to take further once we arrive in Bonaire.

We were keen to see more of the island so, together with four other friends – Zen Again and Take Five – we hired a local guide who had come highly recommended, and spent a day touring the island. We had already been to some of the sights, but were keen to see others so suggested an itinerary which, Cutty, our guide, tweaked slightly before we left for a full day of adventure.

One of the many things we wanted to do before leaving Grenada was to see monkeys in the wild. Only a few of Caribbean islands have monkeys as they are not native to the area, having been brought here from Western Africa on slave ships in the 1700’s. The mona monkey is found in the interior of the island where the rain forest is thick and food plentiful, however sometimes they do come out of the interior and steal fruit crops, upsetting farmers and locals. For this reason, there is a hunting season and locals are allowed to eat their meat for a few months of the year. Cutty was a monkey whisperer and charmed a few cheeky monkeys out of the trees for us, encouraging them to land on our shoulders and heads as he used bananas as a reward! Their soft padded feet gently moved up my arms and they happily jumped from one person to the next, coaxed by the fruit that, when given to them, they ran back into the trees to savour the prized banana, storing it in their cheeks like hamsters, for them to enjoy later!

Our day included a swim in a refreshing pond under one of the Seven Sisters Waterfalls, a visit to a disused airfield where the PM’s old private plane lays decaying beside an old Cuban Airways passenger plane, both unused since the 70’s and now slowly rotting away in a field now used as a children’s playing ground! Cutty delighted in telling us about the wonderful medicinal qualities of the many native plants on the island as well as showing us how Cinnamon is harvested, explained about how nutmeg was the islands major export crop until the devastating hurricane 15 years ago destroyed 80% of the trees, and picked us a cacoa pod so we could suck on the sweet flesh that surrounds the cocoa bean. He took us to the islands oldest rum distillery which still uses a waterwheel to crush the sugarcane, although not open to the public, Cutty had a key and took us on a private tour explaining each step of the process.

It was a lovely day spent with good friends and a fabulous, informative guide. We travelled the length and width of the island, learning about the spices, politics and economy of this beautiful place we have been lucky enough to call home for about three months.

Our time in Grenada was coming to an end. The height of the hurricane season was now upon us and each morning we would study the weather forecast and what tropical waves may be starting to form in the Atlantic. Our insurance would not cover us for any named storms so we had to be ready to sail out of the path of any hurricane as soon as one looked like it was heading towards Grenada. It was time to start heading west, away from the hurricane belt and start exploring new waters.

Steve went up the mast to check the rigging, a task we do each time we are preparing for a long passage. He noticed a crack in one of the tangs that attach the stays to the mast – these are very important as a failure in heavy weather could result in losing the mast. We needed to get it fixed and quickly if we were to keep to our planned departure day in a weeks time. Luckily the local riggers had four of the exact fittings in stock and our friends on Escapade had an industrial rivet gun they lent us, so armed with a little bit of knowledge, some confidence and lots of hope, Steve was hoisted up the mast to replace four of the six tangs. It took two days to complete the task under the hot sun and rolling anchorage of Benji Bay with Steve spending hours up the mast pushing and straining as he rivetted the tangs in place and while I sent bags up the mast of needed tools and supplies. It was huge achievement getting them all replaced and the rigging re-secured.

It was time to farewell our friends and leave the country that had won our hearts and given us such wonderful memories. As we prepared to leave the green hilly shores of Grenada I reflected on why this small, fertile island had won our hearts so much and what lasting impressions we would take away with us. It is the small colourful houses perched on hillsides sitting on long poles that don’t look strong enough to support the house; the lush rain forest that dominates every view; the public buses blaring loud rap music as they career along narrow bumpy roads where it is best not to look as the driver weaves through obstacles and overtakes on blind corners; it is the hairstyles of the women which are really more like works of art; it is the huge smiles on the faces of the children and men (women don’t tend to be as cheerful!); it is the warm, calm waters that we would swim in every day; it is the amazing varieties of fruit that roadside sellers try to tempt you into buying from them; it is the roadside rumshacks that come alive in the evenings as neighbours come together and catch up on the days events; and it is the fabulous group of people we were fortunate enough to call friends and spend special times with as we all sheltered from the threat of hurricanes in these idyllic waters. How lucky are we to have spent three months on this beautiful island? But, as the sun rose on Sunday 4 September, we finished off the final preparations to leave and slipped out of Benji Bay with horns blasting from Take Five and several friends coming to wave us goodbye. The excitement of what lay ahead was tinged with sadness as we slowly headed out into the blue Caribbean sea that lay beyond the protective reef. Our course was set for the west, to Bonaire and the new adventures and friendships that lay ahead.

Home from Home

Going home was something we had both looked forward to with growing anticipation. We missed our family and friends after a two and a half year absence and were looking forward to hugging our family, spending time with our friends and drinking lots of good coffee!

Although the excitement was building, the thought of spending two days travelling back to Auckland was far less appealing and I tried to suppress the growing sense of dread as the days became hours and the time of our departure arrived. As we flew over Benji Bay, I could have sworn I saw King Richard on the deck of the cottage, sipping a can of beer as he enjoyed a few days of peace and quiet on his own in our slice of paradise!

The flight was as awful as we had imagined it to be, missing our connecting flight to LA from Miami due to long delays at immigration, and having to spend an uncomfortable night trying to sleep on the floor in the airport while our pre-paid Air B&B in LA remained unused and unrefundable! However, the thought of the warm welcome that awaited us in NZ kept our spirits high.

We arrived in Auckland ahead of schedule and were first through the doors into the arrivals hall, surprising my daughter and Steve’s mum, with our speedy passage through immigration and customs. It felt so good to give and receive warm embraces to Rebecca and Joy and the memories of the flight slowly faded as the realisation sunk in that we were really back home with our loved ones.

Our time in New Zealand was spent catching up with family and friends – every day it seemed we were with different people, making the most of our time with our children and family. We travelled from Auckland to Christchurch, where I screamed with delight as my son, Jak, surprised us at the airport, confusing and alarming the crowd of people at the luggage belt! I loved being back in Lyttelton, staying with my wonderful, generous and beautiful family – Erin and Dave – and catching up with so many friends. While there I gave a talk to about 60 people at the Little Ships Club about our travels to date and was really surprised and happy to see so many old friends attending. Bex travelled from Wellington and we had one glorious evening with both my children with me for the first time in so long. After a few blissful days relaxing with Jak and Ju in French Farm – the location of ours and Jak and Ju’s weddings and the beautiful second home of Dave and Erin’s – we continued on to Wellington where both Bex and Steve’s son, David, live. The saying, “you can’t beat Wellington on a good day”, is so true and we were lucky enough to have several days of clear skies and bright sunshine. It was wonderful and comforting to see how settled both Bex and David were and once again, will treasure the time spent with them both.

Back in Auckland we mostly focused on Steve’s family and spent time with all his siblings, children and grandchildren. It meant so much to us that everyone took time out of their busy lives to create special memories with us – we will live off those memories for the next couple of years and beyond!

All too soon, it was time to pack our bags and prepare for the long journey back to Grenada and the growing list of boat jobs ahead of us! We were staying with my cousin, Brent, in his beautiful home when Brent and Sandy both came down with Covid, so we sadly had to keep ourselves away from them and only communicate at a distance with a staircase between us! We were returning with more luggage than we had brought, weighing ourselves down with much needed new clothes and boat gear that was cheaper and more accessible in NZ than Grenada.

Although very long, the return flight was not quite as painful as the outward journey, with no stressful tight connections to worry about. We arrived back in Grenada about 40 minutes late and sped through immigration and customs before being spat out into the hot humid temperatures of the Caribbean where Sue, our landlady, met us in her beat up old truck. She drove us down the rutted, washed out road leading to the apartment we had rented from her for the next week. It was a welcome relief to experience the cool air conditioned rooms as we looked out over Benji Bay and spotted the familiar boat of our friends Kim and Ann, moored just off the private jetty below our apartment. Benji Bay was now full of yachts spending the hurricane season sheltering in the protective paradise of Grenada. As we looked across the bay and watched the sunset and the colours in the sky change from blue to pink, red and orange, we felt like we were home.

That night we slept really well and the next morning Nathan, our Australian friend and neighbour who was doing up his boat in the same yard, gave us a ride so we could start working on Cerulean. The batteries were dead as the solar panels had not kept up with the draw of the dehumidifier, but apart from that, everything seemed in order. We worked hard for three weeks, moving back onto the boat a week after our return, draping the hatches, opening windows and companionway with mosquito netting to try and keep any of the numerous bitey things out of our living space. At night the swarms of mosquitos and no-see-ems became particularly bad and, when mixed with the heat, it became almost unbearable as we scratched, swatted and fanned ourselves throughout the evenings!

Our beautiful new stainless steel watertank was hoisted into place and then hidden under the seating as we carefully re-installed the furniture, solving the krypton-factor-ish puzzle as we tried to remember how everything had come apart, and reversing it!!! It was a huge relief when finally, everything slotted into place and we were able to restore the cushions on the seats and have our comfortable saloon back together! It’s funny how a small amount of furniture can make the space a home again.

Our time out of the water was sociable as we celebrated success and met fellow boatyard dwellers! Each evening we made good use of the endless supply of water and enjoyed long showers as we scrubbed off the days dirt, sweat and smells! One night we were woken to the sound of torrential rain, quickly shutting all the open hatches and returning to our stifling hot bed as we listened to the storm gathering outside. The wind whipped round the boats, shaking us in the cradle and we lay there, relieved we didn’t have to worry about anchors dragging but still concerned about things hitting us! It was later announced that this sudden storm was actually classified as a grade 1 hurricane with winds reaching over 80mph. It was slightly disconcerting how quickly the system developed with no prior warning as it was apparently an extremely difficult event to predict – the perfect storm of conditions, I guess!

The day of our launch arrived and we were ready. We had a new watertank installed which we had successfully tested for two weeks with no sign of leaks; a new water guage so we can easily see how much water we have in the tanks; new antifoul (although we did have a colour disaster with the blue stripe and had to changed it to black at the last minute), propeller serviced, small leaks found and remedied, boat polished and cleaned, sails serviced and repaired, chaps made for our new dinghy (donated to us by Kim and Ann and named KAM), repairs made to our sprayhood which were more preventative than anything, shower sealed, generator exhaust repaired and all through hull seacocks serviced. We felt ready and eager to get back on the water. The yard had let us know we would launch at 2pm, so I decided I would jump on a free bus to town and renew our cruising permit (which from this point forward is known as a cursing permit). As I was waiting for the bus, I got talking to a South African man named Bert and we shared sailing stories as we pondered whether the bus was going to come. No sooner had this been vocalised when a man pulled up beside us in his rental car and offered us a ride. Unsure where he was going, and feeling a pang of guilt that I’d already told Patrick, the bus driver, that I wanted a ride, I turned down the offer. We continued to wait until, eventually Patrick’s bus slowly approached the yard. As we hopped in, joining a couple who had already been collected from another marina, Patrick informed us that he had a problem with the bus and proceeded to lift the front seat to expose the engine which was obviously overheating but when Patrick removed the radiator cap, a great puff of steam rose up into the already hot bus! I voiced concern and questioned out loud whether this was a good idea to head to town when we would be launching in a few hours time. Patrick assured me it would all be fine and, sure enough, it did not take long for us to be on our way again, hurtling down the narrow, winding roads in true Grenadan style! Our next stop was Whisper Cove Marina, a small settlement not far from the apartment we had rented when we first returned to Grenada. At this point Patrick announced his bus was too sick to continue but he had called a friend who would drive us into town. As we stood waiting the couple on the bus decided to head into the cafe for a drink and we were joined by a Canadian husband and wife as we passed the time talking and laughing, while inside I was starting to get concerned about the amount of time left for me to get the permit and return to the boat. The replacement bus and young driver arrived and the four of us piled in to the the hot van and waited for the missing couple as we tried to extract them from the cafe! Bert, knowing my time constraints, had some stern words to say to them as we eventually sped away. The driver was even more frightening than Patrick and I couldn’t watch as he overtook on blind bends and beeped at any car infront of us who would not get out of his way. It was when we slowly drew to a halt on the side of the road, that I realised we had broken down again and Bert lent forward and said to me – “Remember that guy who offered you a lift? It was a sign and you should’ve taken it…..!” Not helpful! A few minutes later we were on our way again, catching up with all the traffic we had earlier overtaken as we sped down the road that the driver seemed to think was a formula one race track.

We arrived at the chandlery and, as the driver was paid based on the number of passengers he brought to the shop, I went inside after telling him I would not be returning on the bus! Bert followed me in and told me to return to the chandlery when I’d got my permit and we would share the cost of a taxi back to the boatyard as he didn’t rate his chances of getting back alive on the bus. With that I started to run the 1.5km in stifling heat and jandels to the customs/immigration office in Port St Louis. As I turned into the approach road a young guy in a golf buggy must’ve taken pity on the disheveled looking woman who ran like a seal out of water, and offered me a lift to the marina entrance. I hopped in, grateful for the chance to catch my breath and cool down in the shade of the covered buggy. Finally I was at the customs/immigration office and a small queue greeted me, followed by a man telling me the officer had left 10 minutes ago and had not been seen since…..! It was now 11.30 and we were due to launch in 2.5hrs and I still had to find a taxi, pick up Bert and get back to Clarkes Court. At this point I was about to leave and admit defeat when the officer slowly ambled back towards the office, unlocked the door and invited the first person in the queue inside. While I waited two other men joined the queue, with one recognising me as being from the boat in front of his in Clarkes Court. I cheekily asked if he was driving back there and he offered to drop me at the end of the very rutted lane that leads to the boatyard. I explained that I was meeting Bert and he said “no problem, we’ll go find him”. Relief!!! The permit only took five minutes to sort and we continued to talk while my new driver (Shayden) waited for his friend, a large Russian man named Igor, sorted his permit. By the time we reached the car, we were old friends and with the air con pumping, we headed back down the approach road to find Bert. Bert, in the meantime, had run several errands and was making his way to Port Louis so it was with surprise that I saw him walking towards us. I’m not sure who was more surprised when I threw the passenger door open as the car was still moving forward and yelled at Bert to jump in, which he deftly did and bounced in beside me as the car continued moving, not missing a beat! We all chatted on the way back until we got to the turn off and Shayden decided to continue down the road all the way to the boatyard, dropping us outside Cerulean to a somewhat bemused and confused Steve! It was an adventure but we now had our cruising permit and, after a short delay in our launch, we were afloat just 2.5hrs later on our way to find a quiet anchorage. As we left the slipway, Steve announced how surprised he was at the joy he felt being back on the water and that was music to my ears as we dropped the anchor just off Benji Bay, surrounded by boats belonging to friends. The wind was cool, the mozzies non-existent and we breathed a huge sigh of relief as we headed out in the dinghy to have a rum with friends to celebrate being back on the water!

King of the SVG’s

Every boat needs a person that knows the engine, electrics and mechanics back-to-front and inside out. Often this is the owner and, of course, this is the preferred and best scenario but it is rare to find someone who is a jack of all trades and can fix almost anything that breaks or needs attention. We don’t have those skills, but we know someone that does……! While we were in Cornwall getting work done in 2020/21 we were lucky enough to meet Richard who we initially employed to do some electrical work but soon discovered he had so many other valuable skills. Since then he has worked with us to resolve countless problems or answer questions which have arisen in the last 12 months of cruising. Richard is most definitely the third member of our crew, so when we were given an eyewatering quote to replace the worn out aquadrive thrust bearing, we checked on the cost of flights from the UK and asked Richard if he fancied an all expenses paid holiday to the Caribbean! He accepted and we were delighted.

I collected Richard from the airport on a warm muggy evening and we celebrated his arrival with drinks on the deck as Richard slowly acclimatised himself to the heat and surroundings, losing no time to point out a few jobs that needed fixing! Next morning work started on removing the worn out part and replacing it with a brand new, 30yr old one that Richard had collected for us from an auction we had won on eBay! Steve and Richard worked tirelessly for three days – pulling, cutting, levering and pushing until, suddenly and amazingly, the shaft moved into place and the new bracket was installed. A quick test showed the whole procedure had been a huge success and the engine was now purring again with the propeller shaft sounding quieter than we have ever heard it.

Leatherback turtles nest on the northern beaches of Grenada. The only time they come to shore is when the 15yr old female comes to shore, scrambles up the beach, digs a big hole, lays a batch of eggs and then buries them carefully in the sand before heading back to sea. I was given the opportunity to join a small team of other sailors and marine biologists, to watch these magnificent creatures lay their eggs. Once the large female had found her way up the beach, we were quietly ushered a short distance from this large creature as she used her back flippers to dig a deep hole. Sand flew all around us as she put an enormous amount of effort into digging deeper and deeper. When she was satisfied the hole was sufficiently deep enough, she started laying eggs. She began by laying small unfertilised eggs which lined the bottom of the hole and provided a soft cushion for the fertilised eggs to fall on. She then laid 115 fertilised eggs, mixed with unfertilised ones which will protect the turtles as they grow in the sand. As she laid the eggs, the turtle goes into a trance and the scientists took this opportunity to measure the female and we were given the chance to touch her leathery shell. It was an amazing experience to be so close to this magnificent creature as she put so much effort into laying her eggs, her eyes were full of tears as she groaned and gently moved her head side to side. The egg laying process took about 20 minutes and then the great effort started in covering the eggs to protect them from predators and compacting the sand which she took a huge effort to ensure her tracks were covered and there were no visible signs of a nest. The baby turtles will hatch in 6-8 weeks and I hope to be able to watch them as they emerge from the sand and make their dangerous run to the sea. We watched her while she slowly edged towards the sea and allowed the waters to flood over her and a wave carry her back out to sea.

With the engine fixed, we set out on a sea trial by motor sailing 40 miles to Carriacou and checked out of Grenada after catching up with Zen Again for a quick meal ashore as our paths crossed again with us heading north and Mike & Nicki heading south to Grenada.

We had sailed past and through St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) a couple of times, and now it was time to explore these much anticipated islands with Richard. We had a lovely sail to Bequia, a small island only 5 miles long and one of only three places in the SVG’s you are able to check-in/out of the country. Bequia was the only place we could check in and provide our own RAT’s kit, saving us US$50 each so we felt it was worth the journey to save that much! We had completed all the on-line check-in requirements and had heard that a friend had managed to check-in without using an agent recently, so decided to attempt that too. We made our way to the hospital with our test kits and a lovely nurse pushed the long testing stick up each of our noses. We then waited outside, nervously anticipating the results. While we waited a man came to see us and told us we would need to go to the agents office to complete our check-in procedure. We tried to establish why we would need to do this, when we had done the testing and would still need to go to immigration and customs to complete the process. The nurse re-appeared and gave us some good news, followed by bad…..we were all negative but the results with the required piece of paper, had been sent to the agents office. We asked if we could have the record showing we had tested negative without going through the costly agent and were told this was not possible. She was genuinely surprised when we told her that the agent wanted to charge us EC120 to issue the paper we needed to complete check-in. Seeing no other way around it, we made our way to the agents, paid the fee and returned to immigration and customs to get the necessary stamps in our passports and cruising permits.

Our friends on Puff had arrived in the same anchorage a few hours after us. Keen to see some of the island, I joined Kris and Ingrid for a walk from Port Elizabeth, where we were anchored, across the island to Friendship Bay in the south. It was a lovely walk/scramble at times losing the track and retracing our steps as we pushed back branches and thorny plants! Our walk started and finished on the lovely white sands of Princess Margaret Bay, named to honour the Princess who visited Bequia in the 1950’s during one of her regular stays at her island home on neighbouring Mustique. Bequia (pronounced Bec-way) is a beautiful island with a lovely Caribbean charm to it, gorgeous beaches, lovely homes and clear, blue seas. We hope to return there before leaving Grenada and explore a little more.

After a few days, it was time to move on as we wanted to make sure we had sufficient time to explore other islands. The wind was perfect for a good sail to Tobago Cays, a group of uninhabited islands in a National Park. We wove our way through the reefs that border the main island and were guided into the bay by a local “boat man” where we carefully dropped our anchor into sand, avoiding the sea grass that provides food for the many turtles that breed in the waters. We lost no time jumping into the dinghy and heading to a spot slightly out of the fast current that flows through the anchorage. We soon saw a turtle lazily grazing of the seabed, occasionally coming to the surface before taking a breath and swimming back down to continue eating. It is so wonderful to watch these creatures swimming underwater – something I can never tire of.

Over the next few days we snorkelled every day, exploring the many reefs that surround the Cays. The coral was beautiful – there was some bleaching but certainly the best coral we have seen yet in the Caribbean. The fish life was spectacular and we saw eels, squid, eagle rays and so many colourful fish it felt like we were in an aquarium. In addition the number of turtles we saw was wonderful, often with three or four swimming close to us at one time. On one day we were heading back to the dinghy having returned from a short walk when we noticed a couple of Lemon shark in the shallow waters just off the beach. It was fascinating to explore these rich waters which are full of life and beautiful blue, clear waters.

We were due to be hauled out in less than a week, so it was time to return to Grenada after enjoying a couple of weeks creating happy memories with King Richard in the tropical surrounds of the SVG’s. We felt we didn’t do the islands justice and hope to be able to return to them in a few months, if the weather allows us.

We had a very short sail to Union Island so we could check out of The Grenadines, sailing in the company of our friends, Kim and Ann on Ilanda. Checking out was quick and easy, completing the process within 30 minutes so we could return to the boat and continue our sail south to Carriacou where we checked back into Grenada. That night we had a lovely evening with Kim and Ann and Mark, the owner of a lovely Rustler yacht anchored next to us, and we watched the most wonderful sunset with the evening colours slowly intensifying until the grand finale was on display before us.

The next morning we set sail with Ilanda and headed south. Once again we had a great sail between Carriacou and the top of Grenada but once we started heading more west the seas became sloppy and the sails starting flogging and our pace slowed considerably. Ilanda turned into Woburn and we continued to Prickly Bay where we would prepare for our haul out. Over the next few days we made use of Richards expertise and fixed a number of niggling issues on the boat as well as prepared for the major work we were doing once we were hauled out. Each day we once again marvelled at Richards knowledge and our good fortune at meeting him and now having him as a friend.

We were due to be hauled out on the Tuesday morning and moved to Woburn the night before we were lifted, anchoring close to the boat yard. At 8am I called the yard to get instructions and they told us we were supposed to be there now as we were booked for haul out at 8am! We quickly raised the anchor and motored to the slipway, just as a large squall and heavy rainfall arrived. After a brief delay waiting for the rain and wind to pass, we were very professionally guided into the slipway and gently lifted, washed, placed into a cradle and secured for the next three months. We were due to fly out for NZ in five days and in that time needed to dismantle the saloon and remove the old leaking water tank. Again, under Richards guidance, we set about moving the furniture and exposing the stainless steel water tank. We could now see more of the tank than we had ever seen before which looked in good condition. We started to question whether we had imagined the leak, until we filled the tank and water soon came pouring into the bilge. When the tank was removed we could see it had blown out, causing some weak points to leak and there were several areas at the back of the tank where the water was escaping. Our decision to replace the tank was a good one, but expensive!

The boat was now prepared for our one month away and ready for us to continue working on her when we return. The weather was hot but noticeably wetter and we had moved off the boat into an apartment which had a pool and pontoon with beautiful garden. We had a large mango tree beside our deck which dropped fruit on our neighbours roof each night. Tiny tree frogs started calling as the sun went down until the noise was quite deafening.

And now it’s time to leave for NZ. We will leave Richard to enjoy the apartment on his own for a few days while we head to Florida and then LA. He is finding things to repair in the apartment, now he’s completed so many of the jobs we had lined up for him on our boat. He is also being invited on board a new friend’s boat to give advice on some of their issues – his fun never stops!

On our last night we met up with a group of old and new friends before we all go our separate ways, not knowing when/if we will sail in the same waters again – Walkabout, Zen Again, Ilanda, Ari and Favorita. As my mum used to quote – “Parting is such sweet sorrow” and, sadly, with the lifestyle we have, we get used to goodbyes but it certainly doesn’t make them any easier. The boat is a mess, with everything piled up in the main saloon, ready for when we return and can complete the rest of the jobs that remain un-Richard-ed but with clear instructions on how we can complete them! We will miss having King Richard around, both for his slightly whacky sense of humour, but also for his incredible expertise….. in everything! Our hearts are now being pulled home into the arms of our families who we are so excited to see again after 27 months apart

The Spice Islands

Steve woke me at 5am to start my final watch of our Atlantic Crossing. The lights of Grenada sparkled in front of me as we made fast speed towards them. It was still dark and, not wanting to arrive before light, I slowed the boat down, reefing the main and then the jib, until we only had the main up as I tried to spill some speed, but it seemed Cerulean was as keen to arrive as we were!

At 8:30am we picked up a mooring buoy in Martin’s Bay, the designated waiting area for arriving yachts who were yet to clear customs and health checks. We celebrated as we turned off the engine and let the enormity of what we had achieved sink in!

As Steve inflated the dinghy, I made us a hearty breakfast using the rest of our fresh eggs, and we sat in the cockpit in the hot morning sun, looking out over the clear water to the tree covered hills that surrounded the small harbour of St George’s. There were no big highrise hotels or apartments to spoil the view, just lots of multicoloured houses that clung to the gentle slopes, surrounded by thick trees. Looking south there was a long sandy beach with a few hotels close to the shore, but not too commercial. A large cruise ship was in the port and we could see the passengers being disgorged and transported off in different directions to make the most of their one day in Grenada.

We jumped into the dinghy and headed to the Port Louis Marina, spotting a small turtle in the water as we bumped over the short waves towards the sheltered harbour. Our first stop was to get health clearance and we visited a lovely man sitting under the shade of a gazebo on the waterfront. After examining our documentation, asking for a recent PCR test (which we couldn’t supply) he stamped an official document and handed it to us. We were in a little bit of disbelief that it had been so easy to clear through and had to be told a few times that we were now able to proceed to customs and immigration, which we quickly did. They were in an office a few steps from the gazebo and, after completing a long form and handing over all the other necessary documentation including our customs clearing out papers from Mindelo, our passports were stamped, cruising permit issued for a small fee and we were free to explore Grenada!

We took the dinghy into town and walked the streets so we could get a feel for the place. It was the start of a long weekend as Monday was Grenada Independence Day so people, cars, buildings and boats were preparing for the celebrations as the locals proudly displayed their national colours of yellow, green and red. As we walked the narrow pavements, minibuses drove past beeping their horns as a way to ask whether we needed a ride – fares are a flat fee of EC$2.50pp which equates to less than US$1, to get anywhere from 1mile to 30miles along their route. The hot muggy morning soon became a wet muggy morning as we dodged rain showers which didn’t make us any cooler as the heat seemed to intensify during the day.

Over the course of the next few days a number of boats we knew arrived and our time seemed to be one long celebration of our joint achievements. We met old friends and new ones as we all shared the same realised dream with stories from our passages, advice, learnings and laughter. After a few days of sitting on a rolly mooring outside St Georges, we decided to leave the clear waters and turtles we saw each morning, and head to Prickly Bay about 8NM on the islands rugged south coast. This coastline has numerous long, protected bays and is dotted with small islands, lovely beaches and calm, clear water. In short, a boaters paradise!

We explored a few of the small protected bays along the south coast, with boats from all over the World that looked like they had been left on mooring buoys for some time. The water was turquoise, clear and warm and the white sands of the many beaches that nestled between the mangroves were empty except for an occasional shack that housed a small bar. Cruisers met there playing cards and backgammon as they sipped beers in the late afternoon heat.

Bus rides were interesting. We really felt we put our life in the hands of the driver as he sped through the narrow, bumpy roads with a van full of other trusting people. To alert him to stop, passengers either clicked their fingers or banged on the roof, at which point the driver would veer abruptly to the left and slam his foot on the brake while very loud rap music blared through the van!

I was excited to see large Frigate birds flying around the boat. They are huge birds with fork tails and 2.3m wing span. It was amazing to see them swoop around us as they hunted for food or chased other seabirds to snatch their fish from them. It may have been these magnificent birds or the less impressive, but equally fun Boobies, that unloaded on the boat and we were cleaning up their mess for days afterwards!!

Granada is known as the Spice Islands and while on a tour with new friends, we saw why. Our informative driver pointed out the many plants and trees growing wild in the forest – nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, cocoa as well as banana, mango, French cashew (a fruit) and papaya. The law is that if fruit is hanging over public property and you can reach it, it’s yours and with over 160 different varieties of mango growing wild in Grenada you’d be unlucky to go hungry when foraging for food!

We visited a waterfall with fresh water cascading down rocks into a deep natural pool which screamed out for Steve to jump into – which he did with glee and grace, several times! On to a cocoa plantation and chocolate manufacturer where we had a tasting and short talk about the chocolate manufacturing process from nut to seed. We sucked on a cocoa seed and tasted the butter, buying lots of the delicious dark chocolate made from cocoa grown on the island by small holding farmers which made it taste even sweeter! Then on to the heart of the island – Grand Etang Lake, a crater lake in an extinct volcano and 530m above sea level. It is surrounded by thick jungle and I wish we had had more time to walk up to the crater rim but this will have to wait for another visit!

We bade farewell to our friends on Ilanda and Juliana and headed up the west side of the island, picking up a mooring buoy in a marine protected area in a bay just north of St Georges Harbour. There is an underwater sculpture park in the bay so in the morning we jumped in the warm, clear water and snorkelled over to the park. My overwhelming feeling was great sadness at seeing so much dead coral. In fact there was no coral left, just the skeletons of a once majestic living organism lay below us with a few colourful fish darting through the water. As a large tourist boat arrived to disgorge their swimmers, we swam back to the boat, had breakfast and sailed north to the small island of Carriacou or more precisely to the small, beautiful, tropical paradise of Sandy Island. This little island consists of a beautiful fine white sand beach, palm trees and the clearest blue water you can imagine. It is the scene used to sell tropical destinations that commuters stare at while riding the tube to work on a dreary day and here we were sitting on our boat, looking at the reality of the tropical paradise. It felt good, although it was incredibly windy so the only movement between boats were the pelicans who were blown off course and landed on our bow, the Boobies who made some clumsy attempts to dive in to catch fish which resulted in a bird equivalent of a belly flop and the odd turtle that poked its head above the turquoise waters for a short while before diving again. It was a magical place and we stayed for two nights until the wind dropped and we headed into the main harbour on Carriacou, Tyrell Bay to explore a little of the island.

Since arriving in The Caribbean we have been making plans for where we could spend the hurricane season which starts on 1 June and covers an area from Grenada in the South to South Carolina, USA in the North. If there is a named storm in this region between 1 June to 30 November, our insurance will not cover any loss or damage we may incur, so if we stay within this belt we must be able to move out of harms way quickly. The last time Grenada was hit by a hurricane was in 2004 so it’s a place lots of cruisers head to as it is easy to sail further south should a storm be forecast. We have some big projects to undertake on the boat so have been gathering names of prospective people who may be able to do the work. It became clear that we needed to meet these people and let them see the boat so we could get a proper quote, so the decision was made to head back to mainland Grenada while we had the opportunity. After spending four glorious days in Carriacou, we retraced our route and returned to the main island to meet with tradesmen, wash the boat and gather our thoughts!

Our last few days in Grenada were spent socialising, doing boat jobs, meeting tradesmen, swimming and getting the boat ready for when we collect our first visitor in a few days time. For now, we are checked out to leave this beautiful island and have negative covid tests which will allow us entry into other islands. When we checked into Grenada a few weeks earlier, the health officer said to us, “A word of warning, Grenada is a big magnet. Once you have been here, you will be drawn back!” He was not wrong. This is still a virtually unspoilt paradise with lovely people, protected anchorages and good sailing. We are already making plans to return here and spend more time exploring. For now, we will sail the 300 miles to Antigua where we will collect a friend and explore a different part of the Caribbean together.