Jacks & Sams Birthday Parties

Hillsborough is more of a working class town where as Tyrell Bay with its two marinas catered for all the yacht crews.

Hillsborough had a larger population and its where the banks,  government offices and the large police station are all located servicing  the whole island.  On our first afternoon there we bumped into the young guy who we had chatted to everyday while hauled out at Carriacou Marina he ran the well stocked little shop there, it was a nice feeling to be able to say hello to a familiar face, he was having fried chicken for dinner too.

You should have seen the rickety metal stairs we had to climb up to get ashore, they were originally made for a floating dock so all hinged and loose jointed but these ones were fixed between the concrete dingy landing dock and the huge town wharf. 

The frame was so buckled and bent and the actual steps had big cracks in the metal chain plate that you felt any minute your weight would crack them completely, there was a handrail to hold on to that only went part of the way up, luckily we didn’t encounter much rough weather getting in and out of the dingy and climbing the precarious steps, so no mishaps.

It’s  the rainy season with a constant flow of huge heavy clouds darkening the sky as squalls pass overhead, at some point on most days the sky’s will open and torrential rain will bucket down or there will just be a light sprinkling that was over before you’d closed all the hatches, it’s still hot and humid but on the water there is usually a nice breeze that manages to help circulate the hot air and help keep the mosquitoes and no see ums away.

The streets here are filled with hardware shops, small mixed businesses selling clothes and hair accessories,  lots of food establishments and little hole in the wall bars selling icy cold beer and rum, there are ladies selling fruit and vegetables dotted on either side of the street, we bought the best mangos there, slightly under ripe and not in the least bit stringy, those stringy mangoes would get so caught in your teeth.  

We are learning to only buy what fruit we need as it all ripens so quickly we are wasting just as many bananas as we are eating but it’s hard not to overbuy from the ladies on the street knowing that the town is really quiet compared to what it would normally be, it’s not a tourist town at all but if there are no tourists there is less work so less money in everyone’s pockets.

Jo and Daz - Requim suggested Snaggs a great little bar right on the beach as a venue for Jacks birthday and what a great spot it was.  

Everyone from Quaran-tilla turned up either anchoring in the bay or catching a bus to then a taxi home. The bar opened on a Tuesday night, just for us there were 20 of us, being joined by six of Jo and Daz friends as well, whom we had met before so they were not strangers.  For $40EC per person about $22 Aus they supplied a smorgasbord of delicious garlic bbq chicken wings, baked local fish, potato salad beans and rice.  

The owner cooked the chicken and fish over a half drum filled with hot coals, basting the garlicy sauce over the wings as he turned them.  The rice and beans were a bit tasteless but I think the wings made up for it.

Craig made Jacks cake, two layers of delicious cinnamon infused carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and coconut shavings on top. I made sure the owner who obviously appreciated nice food as he had so lovingly cooked the chicken wings, received a piece of the cake, he came and thanked me as we were leaving for feeding him the cake.

There was a BAND  they absolutely made the night, starting by singing a calypso rendition of Happy Birthday then getting Jack up to join them it was hilarious and so much fun, they played all the classic reggae songs and a few local tunes, by the time we said goodbye they hardly even noticed us leaving they were having so much fun jamming away to themselves.  

I have to say the location of this place was so picturesque, the actual building was a mish mash of timbers nailed together and painted white, the long bench seats around the rickety table were not the most comfortable and it was all a bit banged together but the view was incredible - ok I may have had a few drinks by the time the sun went down but the roof of the building, a local blue painted boat beached in the sand and a palm tree created a picture frame effect for the setting sun, the white sand and the water lapping on the shore and the live calypso music created a perfect Setting.

It’s Sams birthday - Fruit Bat,  this Saturday I don’t know how Scott will be able to top Jacks perfect party.

Scott and Sam - Fruit Bat are anchored at La Roche another bay just around the corner, so we headed over to join them in a tiny pretty little horseshoe bay, by the time we were all anchored there the last few boats were sticking out the back almost out of the protection of land. 

So this little bay is another one of those pinch yourself, this is so pretty places the sand is not pure white it’s actually quite dark from the residual volcanic ash.  

But the dense bush behind it rises up almost vertical creating a pretty green backdrop, there is only a couple of walking tracks that give access from the road a couple of miles away so really the only access is from the water. 

A local entrepreneurial couple & have built a bar/ restaurant right there front and centre on the beach, there is no electricity they run a small generator to plug in an electric hot plate to cook the sides and a hot coals bbq for the meat and fish.  They bring everything they need for the day in by boat, including 2 six week old puppies for us to go all gooey over.  They have put up a volleyball net on the beach and I watched them hand out snorkeling gear to some visitors too, it’s quite the set up but so simple and rent free to them as far as I can tell.

Craig came back raving one night after playing volleyball Jim had cooked a batch of conch fritters for them and they were delicious.  The sauce was creamy and spicy nothing like anything he had tasted before.

Another day they cooked a leg of pork overnight in a 40 gallon drum with a fire inside, below the pork, we got to try some the next day it was so tender but a little bit too smokey  for Craig’s taste.

We have had a tradition within our little group of gifting something hand made, regifting or passing on an item we think that person might like.

Jack received his cake and I tied up a few of the Canadian boat magazines that we inherited with Adriana along with a small bag of sprouting seeds I had left, I know he will enjoy growing them.  

Sam was a bit harder she is such a beautiful artist it’s was harder to come up with something plus she had given Craig a pair of very expensive sunglasses when Craig was left without any sun protection, after losing his last good pair, we decided to sail back down to Paradise Beach and buy her a pair of earrings from the local artist Farsi, who has a container shop full of beautiful things, the nicest jewelry hand painted T-shirts and nick jacks we had seen in our travels.

So we lifted the anchor hoisted the sails and moseyed downwind for an hour anchoring in front of the shop, we dinged over made our selection Craig got a cool T-shirt too, we also stopped and ordered a takeaway chicken meal to share, it’s what the locals eat it consisted of two beautiful succulent chicken wings cooked down in a dark lightly flavored bbq sauce, served with rice and chickpeas plus coleslaw $20 EC about $12 AuS

We took the food back to Adriana as we could see dark storm clouds on the horizon and didn’t want to get caught in the rain, plus we had left all the hatches open, whew the squall skirted past us off in the distance we could hear the thunder rumbling.  

We hoisted the sails and headed back Craig has been practicing starting and finishing our sails without turning on the engine, scaring the wits out of me, we are flying towards land and I’m like shouldn’t we slow down ? a few minutes later I’m saying shouldn’t we reef now ? eventually right at the last minute we furl in the headsail and pull down the main.  

Twice now we have been able to just drop the anchor, he says he will only do it when there are no other boats around and there is no wind, the conditions will have to be perfect but it makes you think what would happen if something goes wrong with your engine as your coming in to an anchorage.

It happened to Scott and Sam coming into Tyrell Bay, Craig and Adam were all ready to go and help maneuver them in but the local boat guy Billy the one who moved all the unattended boats into the mangroves a couple of weeks ago when we had the hurricane Gonzalo scare, anyway Yellowbird had been somewhere when the call came through and the locals they were with had contacted Billy, the best person for the job.

On the morning of Sams party which is going to be held onshore Jim is happy to let us use his tables and chairs for our Mexican pot luck dinner as long as we buy a couple of drinks, he doesn’t sell beer but makes the best PainKiller cocktails.

That morning Scott and Sam came onboard for coffee followed by Jack and Kyra - Yellowbird.  We all sat chatting away until we realized it was no longer morning it was 1pm and oops we all had food to prepare so after a quick swim we got too it, Craig whipping up a chilli bean dish, Scott had already had a cake made in town so pressure was off Craig to bake again. 

We dinged to shore around 3pm a big volleyball game starting the proceedings followed by a swim, Hans on Vagabond supplied  a huge floating mat that of course turned into a wrestling, it’s a knockout type game.  

Everyone was ready to eat by about 5.30pm and I must say the food was delicious, Jim cooked up some bbq chicken and everyone there had made something different, salsa, guacamole, home made tortillas, chilli beans, coleslaw, rice and the most delicious home made corn chips I’ve ever eaten.  

There were a few newcomers Sam and Scott had met along the way, Jim had big speakers so there was iPod music, fortunately there were no takers for the karaoke. 

Scott had made a piñata for Sam an intricate monstrous ball of paper mache with cones sticking out the sides making it look like a Sputnik he had then covered it in tiny bits of paper to give it the full piñata look, so much work had gone into it, we had watched Scott liaise with Millennial Falcon, going back and forward between the two boats citing mechanical problems on Millennial Falcon while he made it

The piñata was destroyed so quickly I don’t think anyone realised how much work went into creating and decorating it, plus it was filled with all kinds of sweet treats.

Another beautiful sunset half the group sitting around chatting the others having another swim, then back for a round of Limbo dancing

Out of the blue two of the boats had a bump together, there was no wind so the movement of the current had swung them too close to each other, a few dingies including Craig motored out to check on them, one of the owners just lifted his anchor and moved so it couldn’t happen again by this time it was dark and we left the young ones to keep partying but it wasn’t long before the tiki torches were extinguished and everyone was home aboard their little floating homes.

I think we are due for some quiet time after all this partying we are going to head back to St George’s, Grenada To do some boat chores and a big grocery shop.

Around The Island the cruisers race that wasn’t, Mr Cool delivers a lobster, White Island

Due to the restrictions in place for the COVID-19 pandemic all Grenadian “Carnival” celebrations were cancelled, officially that is, on the island of Carriacou the locals just went ahead and had a few anyway, they still held The Around The Island Race for the locally built boats with free food and a bit of a party afterwards. 

I must point out the island of Carriacou is covid case free, the country of Grenada is case free and the borders are closed for the time being.

The Locals Round The Island Race is the one Craig managed to get a spot on “Free in St Barts”.  Millennial Falcon did an episode that has a small segment click the link below to watch it.

https://youtu.be/O5QWpGu0bDI

On the Sunday evening the locals had a party night in town with a metal drum band and free food for everyone, we actually didn’t go into town for that one as we were a bit tired and hung over from the night before’s celebrations.  

It all started with Scott from Fruit Bat asking Craig if he would be interested in doing the Cruisers Around The Island Race and if so he would love to crew for him.  Jack and Kyra from Yellowbird at a different time asked the same question (I think they had been chatting) 

Craig being just slightly competitive was considering entering so we went along to the briefing on the Friday evening, “just to see” says Craig. 

It was a great night at The Slipway Restaurant the Quran-Tilla was back together again.  We caught up with Timmies, Gina Lee and Breakaweigh who had all just arrived in Tyrell Bay after taking a slower path from island to Island than us.  The organizers of the race had red hats and T-shirts for the competitors and a hand out information sheet, the race T-shirts may have been the deciding factor. Craig decided to race and somehow they managed to talk Brian from Timmies Run into entering as well.

Saturday morning up bright and early I was going to sit on Fruit Bat and keep captain Lupe company the kitten than Scott and Sam rescued in Luperon when he was a tiny baby, so little that he had to be hand fed and could fit inside the palm of your hand, he is now a robust friendly teenager full of mischief and fun.  I didn’t want to be onboard “My House” as they raced her flat out so I found somewhere else to hang for the morning.

The crew ended up being Scott and Sam-Fruit Bat, Jack and Kyra-Yellowbird and Adam and Khiara-Millennial Falcon plus Captain Craig. 

Nath on Timmies Run was the same as me she hid out onboard Gina Lee while they raced her house.

Adriana is set up for going to sea so it doesn’t take much to stow our everyday things and be ready, they crew were collected from their respective boats and I was dropped off, Sam tied off our dingy to Fruit Bat then swam back to Adriana.

So this was the race that didn’t happen there were supposed to be no start sirens except there was  - a countdown with blasts from a horn, there were about 20 boats entered they were all circling the harbour, under sail maneuvering through the anchored boats it was a grand sight, soon they were off.  

Heading north to the top of the island in a clockwise direction it was beautiful to see all the sails on the horizon.  

Three hours later I’m disturbed from my reading by someone yelling I look over to see Adriana heeled over literally flying into the harbour neck and neck with a forty odd foot catamaran, Adriana just managed to get ahead in the last few minutes to take first position.  

Onboard Adriana they had had a tight race and had even put up the spinnaker for a few minutes when the wind had dropped, she had been well out in front until they hit a lull in the wind as they were too close to land as they rounded the corner that brought them back into Tyrell Bay, that’s when the catamaran came flying past, but she managed to find enough breeze to take them over the line at the last minute, thrilling stuff.   

The crew were ecstatic.  They had come flying into the harbour celebrating their victory but then Craig had to yell “furl furl” being so excited they were forgetting they had to take down the sails so they could slow down and stop before they caused more chaos. 

It’s worth having a look at the episode Millennial Falcon made of the race, while they were crewing it’s really good.

https://youtu.be/YcJ_VGJ6gGU

Sam swam over and we dingied back so I could be part of the celebrations, there were beers all round, then coffees, we then headed into town, the team looking resplendent in their red T-shirts and hats, a few more beers were had, plus a couple of baskets of hot chips as no one had had lunch.

Later we headed to the cheapest eatery for a 20 EC chicken dinner.  Two fried chicken wings coleslaw and chips.

A few more beers catching up with the crew from Timmies Run and the other competitors, we bumped into the family off Kracken, it ended up being a fun night with everyone out on the street using the harbour wall to sit on, the bar had a saxophonist playing with backing music on his iPad, he was great and it created a fun party atmosphere, there were lots of locals hanging out too, ready for a chat and a dance in the street.

So yes we didn’t feel up to partying a second night, we could hear the tin drum band and the revellers from where we were anchored it sounded fun. One of this islands carnival traditions is called Jab Jab or devil, it involves covering themselves in black oil and having a piece of something red hanging out of their mouth to represent bloody meat it stems back to the times of slavery and it was a way for the slaves to make a mockery of the white masters. We had watched a guy smeared in black oil with a horned helmet and chains run up and down the street banging a huge piece of corrugated iron on a rope around his neck, the night before, it was so loud, but he looked like he was having fun. We were a bit wary of the night just being noisy and messy.

The next morning this old fishing boat that had been anchored behind us, for some reason decided to move and anchor in front of us, the diesel fumes were awful coming straight across the water and into our boat we had to move the fumes were killing us as they kept the engine running constantly.

We upped anchor and headed out, turned left and hoisted the foresail there was no need to hoist up the big main sail, the trade winds were blowing with just enough force to pull us along nicely, it was literally a half hour sail we were heading for Saline Island.  On our way we passed White Island, the most stunning piece of sand and water with layers of shades of blue water set off by the white sand and palm trees, there were 2 other boats anchored there with plenty of room for us, we couldn’t resist stopping to have a look and hopefully a swim at the beach.

While we were getting ready Karl on Free sailed past on his way to Saline Island, we waved and took some photos of the beautiful boat under sail.

Jumping in the dingy and going straight to shore we were like two little kids marveling at the amazing colours we were immersed in.  A quick walk around the uninhabited island and we headed back to Adriana the sun was high in the sky and so intense.

As we were getting cleaned up there was a yell and a knock on our hull, there was Karl with a huge lobster and a red snapper, gifts for us with big smiles we thanked him, I told him I thought he was really cool 😊

Now what to do with this beauty, we have run out of gas for the bbq so decided to boil up the lobster and save the snapper for tomorrow.

We were joined by Gina Lee and Breakaweigh dropping their anchors just behind us, both couples like us happy to leave the busy not so clean waters of Tyrell Bay to rest in this totally different environment literally just around the corner.

We met on the beach for a swim taking a beer or two with us then back onboard to feast on our lobster.  Craig broke it apart and removed all the meat from the legs etc, frying up some garlic and adding a small amount of pasta sauce he whipped up a delicious lobster pasta. Thank you Karl.

It wasn’t too rolly when we anchored but the swell increased overnight, the forecasted swell was to stay the same, Gina Lee decided to head back to Tyrell happy to have seen and swam at this beautiful beach, Breakaweigh moved over to Saline Island where they said it was less rolly but there were more boats at anchor.  We decided to put up with the sea-state and enjoyed the serenity, we hung out there for a few days, by the last day we were completely alone.

It was time to head back to civilization we needed some fresh fruit, and some free WiFi.

Due to what’s going on at home (it being the middle of Winter and there having to be more lockdowns) we have been very hesitant to post pictures of us frolicking in the water, enjoying sunshine and hanging out with friends, so we hadn’t put anything on social media for a while but then we started to get messages asking if we were ok and what were we up to? 

Craig put up a number of photos, the response has been lovely and heartwarming. I had written a couple of blog pages so it was time to upload them.

Thursday 13th August we had a lovely day walking to Paradise Beach from Tyrell Bay with Jack and Kyra - Yellowbird, it’s a hot walk maybe 20 minutes slightly uphill but you get to swim at a beautiful beach as a reward. 

After a refreshing dip we kept walking, bumping into Adam and Khiara- Millennial Falcon on the way the roads are narrow but it’s a pretty walk quite rural with lots of goats grazing along the verges. 

We passed a building and out of the corner of my eye I noticed a small sign to indicate it was a roti shop, I guess around here the locals all know who sells what so no need for signs and they are not expecting tourists, really if you were on holiday you’d probably be sitting at Paradise Beach Bar having lunch not seeking the best value for your buck lunch.

We stopped for a quick bite to eat, they only had Roti’s with bones ugh neither of us like picking out the bones, they make the curry from the chicken wings so they are full of tiny tiny bones but they did sell ice cold beer, the Carib helped wash it down.

Hillsborough is the main town on Carriacou it’s the one with the most shops we had wondered if you could anchor there and yes there was one boat anchored out front and there is a pier with a dingy dock, ohh we said this looks nicer than Tyrell Bay so the next morning we upped the anchor and sailed the half hour around to Hillsborough, it’s not far we had walked there, we don’t seem to need to go far to find new and interesting places.  

Adam MF had mentioned “they do great chicken and chips there” pointing to a little hole in the wall shop, and as you know Craig loves his fried chicken, so for dinner we had really delicious fried chicken wings with home cut chips and 2 Carib beers, all while sitting on the pier, $25EC about $15 Australian.

The locals all say hello well they say either “good morning” or “good afternoon” more than saying “hello”, it’s polite to use that greeting before you ask a question or launch fully into a conversation, the older ladies especially get narky if you forget these niceties.

Yellowbird arrived the next morning woo hoo we really enjoy their company.  

When we pulled into Hillsborough we discovered the one boat in the anchorage area was Jo and Daz on  Requin we met them when we were straight out of quarantine and anchored in Mon Rouge it had been Daz’s birthday and we had joined them on the beach for a few drinks.

It’s rather nice to be able to shout out hello to people you know as you are dropping the anchor. 

Jo stopped her dingy on the way back from town letting us know they were meeting some friends on the small island that we could see about a 15 minute dingy ride away, they were going for a snorkel then having a bbq on the beach and did we want to join them. “We are carnivores” she said “we don’t bother with sides or salads”.  That certainly made things easy, Craig jumped in the dingy and motored over to the supermarket picking up a pack of pork ribs and a pack of chicken wings.  He whipped up a marinade and quickly boiled the meat in it, reducing the juices as much as possible, I got together a few cold beers and made a watered down pineapple mix with ice to go with my vodka and Craig’s rum.

Off we headed, it was maybe a 15 minute ride over, the approach to the island was very tricky, rocky and shallow with smelly slimy water trapped in by a huge wall of conch shells, we had to lift the motor up on its hinges and row the last part into a tiny gray sand beach.  

The snorkel/ swim consisted off jumping off the deep water side of the island and drifting down and around, it’s not a big island so it only took Jack and Craig 10 minutes or so.

Meanwhile the bbq pit was prepared a small circle of rocks was created to hold the heat beads (bbq charcoal rocks) and once they were hot a grill was balanced over the top, our meat was piled on and the beers were cracked, what a lovely afternoon we had, the actual island was not very pretty full of rocks covered in bird poo, but we were looking back over our boats the sun was shining and the meat was delicious.

Later the other four joined us on Adriana, Jo brought along a game called Pit.  It was the funniest loudest game we have ever played, it’s from the 80’s everyone gets 8 cards and the winner is the person who ends up with all 8 cards the same. The cards are pictures of trading commodities wool, corn, coal, gold.  To achieve this you push a pair or a single or three cards into the centre while shouting out the number of cards you are trying to swap. Luckily we didn’t have any neighbors to disturb. 

It’s Jacks birthday on Tuesday, the txt’s have been sent we are gathering at a bar to celebrate......

If you do go to you tube and watch Adam and Khiara on Sailing Millennial Falcon please give them a thumbs up and hit subscribe it costs you nothing but helps them boost their channel.

Love and miss you all ❤️❤️

Living in a Boatyard, Meeting a sailing legend “Trevor Robertson”, Escaping the heat and the biting insects

Our days out of the water had some fun times but it’s definitely not something we would want to do again too soon.

I wasn’t too sure about climbing the 4Mt ladder to get in and out of Adriana but the ladder was tied securely to the stern and after I worked out I could use a big shoulder bag with a plastic tub inside to carry things up and down I felt much better.

Once we started sanding the hull it was best not to use the kitchen taps as they would leak water over what we had just sanded and even more so after we had painted. 

So doing the dishes meant lugging the tub w dishes, detergent, scourer etc up and down the ladder there was a big concrete sink we could use but everyone in the yard used it too, it was covered in paint splashes, grease etc. 

I did a few loads of hand washing in it, lugging the wet washing back on board and hanging it off the boat rails. I did pay 30EC to have the bedsheets washed and dried, that’s about $17 AUS probably the most expensive wash yet.

The showers were nice and clean and I only had to share it with Khiara but I had to time it right as some days I was so hot it took ages to be able to stand under the trickle of cold water, there was no hot tap. 

On certain days, depending on the wind direction the lovely sheltered yard turned into an oven.   

The weather forecast would say a top of 30c - feels like 36c but it felt way hotter, and it was the same temperature inside the boat as out.  

We had taken all the dodger covers off in preparation for the hurricane but quickly reinstated them once the danger had passed, Just to give us back some shade.  

At one stage when we were back on the lifting machine we noticed it gave us some extra shade which was nice until we realised the machine was shading the solar panels, so much so that our batteries were not fully charging and apart from the fact it could ruin the batteries it also meant we couldn’t even have the bedside fans running overnight.  

Then there were the ferocious mosquitoes and sand flys/no see ums, we had to spray ourselves from first light, burn citronella coils, and spray fly spray before we went to bed.  

Luckily Adriana has sliding fly screens on most windows but they still managed to get in and munch on us all night. It was hard not to scratch the bites, I’d bought calamine lotion in the US, it did help to soothe the bites, thank goodness.

There were some really good parts to being out of the water, having a hurricane warning reminded us what preparations had to be done for any future scares, we did a complete practice run of dismantling the solar panel set up, removing the two front sails and stowing everything below deck.

We spent fun times with Adam and Khiara, one evening Craig made a Risotto and just as he was dishing it up he yelled over “hey guys we have too much, come and join us”, we shared a bottle of red, them some rum sitting in our cockpit in the moonlight.  

Millennial Falcon made an episode while in the yard With us.

https://youtu.be/izwETp0i2CM

We befriended another boat in the slip “Kracken” (Don, Lisa and their 2 teenage kids Cam and Grace) hailing from the US, they had rented the cottage attached to the yard and Khiara and I spent a lovely day sitting in air conditioned comfort, actually Khiara had come out in a heat rash and wasn’t allowed to work on their boat so I dragged her off out of the heat for the day, the boys joined us when they had finished working, I felt a bit bad as I turned up there with only a tea bag this was just after lunch and we ended up sharing half a bottle of vodka and eating cheese and dips, so I think we owe them a night on Adriana. 

Grace has rescued 2 cats in the 12 months they have been cruising, one from Dominican Republic and the other smaller one was found by a beach bar on one of the smaller islands in the Caribbean chain.  The family had spotted it one day quietly playing by itself but a few days later it was still there all dirty and listless,  the bar was closed and no one was feeding it.  

Lisa felt she couldn’t leave it there so they picked it up, this little cat has blue eyes but they are crossed, it seems to be able to see perfectly well, it’s a funny little thing.

One of the reasons Adam and Khiara have stopped here in Carriacou is that they are planning to do a Millennial Falcon YouTube episode on Trevor Robertson an Australian single handed sailor with world circumnavigations under his belt, his location this year prior to Grenada was Greenland, he has spent 3 winters in arctic circles frozen into the worlds coldest climates, and he is such a charming character we felt privileged to spend time sharing a couple of meals and chatting with him over a few rums. 

His boat Ironbark is for sale, we think it should be back in Australia in a museum it is such an iconic part of nautical history.  

Trevor should be more recognized for all his amazing feats as well.  He is over 70 and is currently refitting his new boat Ironbark 2 ready to do another trip around the globe, eventually bringing this one back to Australia. 

While we were in the yard Craig watched him pull out the refrigerator, “don’t need those power hungry accessories” he says, we also helped him remove the hard dodger, he was giving it to a local guy as a shelter for his goat herd, I think he did say he would get a soft dodger, you have to have something to protect you from the elements. 

There was this beautiful timber boat called “Free in St Barts” in the yard, a locally built timber sailboat about 30ft long, working on it was a young local,cool looking guy with beautiful dreadlocks.  

The boat is painted white with a bright yellow stripe, and white sails with a yellow trim, it’s just gorgeous.

Karl,  as we later learnt his name, had spent many hours restoring her including repainting her hull.  

Karl played great music while he was in the yard and we really missed it when Free went back in the water, lots of modern reggae to bop along to while we were working, we were treated to Adele late in the day and a quieter curated playlist on Sunday afternoon.

Karl was so cool we would watch him pick up his snorkel and fins and head off to the reef, a short swim away and come back with his dinner.

One night Craig swapped him a couple of beers for a couple of fish, a trevally and a parrot fish, we cooked them on the bbq and handed the parrot fish over to Adam and Khiara as one fish was enough for us.

Karl would swim for his dinner most nights coming back with fish or sea snails or conch just enough for what he needed. We still refer to him as that really cool guy.

In chatting to him Craig found out the locals were having an unofficial round the island race and Free was entered “do you need crew?” Craig asked hopefully and of course Craig managed to get a spot on Free for the race.

Millennial Falcon have just uploaded the episode they made with footage of the locals race, Craig is all over this episode.

https://youtu.be/O5QWpGu0bDI

As part of the annual Carnival celebrations the locals have a race around the Island of Carriacou, taking about 4 hours to sail the 40 nm. 

On the Saturday of race day Craig, Adam, Scott & Sam (Fruit Bat) went along too, they had to make their way, catching the local bus to the town  of Windward by 9am.

Craig was very lucky to get a spot on Free the others only managed to get on the follow up motor boat. 

They said they could see Craig and he was having the time of his life on the beautiful timber sailboat.  After the race there was a bit of a party with oil down and beers for everyone.  Khiara and I revelled in having a day without the boys, but we caught up in the late afternoon for a swim.

Craig was asked to sail on Free in the race on the Sunday but had to decline as we were wanting to get back in the water as quickly as possible and arrangements had been made to splash on the Tuesday and taking another day off would make us run behind schedule.  Adam was in the same situation but Scott and Sam went back on the Sunday and had a great time sailing on the winning sailboat. 

Friday 24th July  we were hauled out and we were put back in the water on Tuesday 4th August a total of 10 days on the hard, I could say “we” did all this work but really I didn’t do much.  

The initial prepping of the hull consisted of scraping all the dried barnacles and seaweed type growth off, I did help with that but I didn’t help with the sanding it was incredibly dirty work Craig being covered from head to toe in blue dust at the end of the day, he looked like a smurf, I managed to persuade him to wear coveralls on the second day, after he ended up being so blue the first day.

We sanded all the varnish off the prop and prop shaft, Craig replaced the internal grease and put in a new anode.  We had purchased top of the range prop glide and painted the propeller it came out a beautiful gold colour.

We had so much leftover that Millennial Falcon, Kracken and Trevor managed to paint their propellers and share the cost with us too.

Next job was painting the new anti foul over the entire hull, a huge job on a 50ft boat. I did help with the painting, using a small roller we had to work very quickly as the very expensive paint was drying in the paint tray almost immediately.  Painting the second coat was even harder as this paint was the same colour wet and dry so impossible to see where the second coat had been applied I was spared the ordeal of this job Craig nominating to do this part himself.

As the boat was held steady with 12 stands placed strategically around her there were 12 unpainted patches, plus the very bottom of the keel was sitting on blocks of timber so the lift machine was brought back over and we were hoisted even higher, we sat like that for a few days, the stands were moved a few inches to reveal the bare patches so we could finish painting and Craig had to lie on the ground right under to get the last bit done. 

 

Craig touched up the gel coat where that wooden dingy had caused damage during Hurricane Dorian we were going to give the paintwork a good polish but decided it was too hard doing this out of the water it will be easier using the dingy as a platform to stand in, rather than mucking around with the wonky scaffolding supplied by the yard.

Right next door to the yard is a very nice restaurant called Slipway it is built over the original old boatyard and slipway,  the machinery that was used to crank the winch used to pull big fishing boats out of the water plus the lathes and presses are still there blended into the fixtures and furniture of the restaurant.  

A bit further along the dark sand beach (grey volcanic sand) is Crazy Beach Corner a small waterfront bar/restaurant owned by a Swiss lady who moved out here a couple of years ago, she had come to Carriacou on a tour and fell in love with the place, went home sold everything and returned to make a life for herself on this beautiful laid back island.  

Her Sunday night specials were Vegetarian Pad Thai $25EC  or Chicken Snitzel with Potato Salad$35 EC ($15 & $20 AUS) the food was delicious,  the Pad Thai was authentic and the chicken schnitzel was crumbed and cooked to order, plus it was so nice to eat food that wasn’t a burger or bbq roast chicken.

We cottoned on to a local lady who would deliver roti to us at lunchtime to the yard, as we were so busy,  then so hot and exhausted - she was a lifesaver, some days we munched down only half our roti saving the other half for dinner they were so big.  Often the thought of cooking in the evening was overwhelming in the heat and biting insects we were too exhausted to get cleaned up and walk next door, so cheese and pickles on crackers was sometimes all we could manage plus a couple of beers for rehydration.  

Craig still has a couple of cases of beer that we bought back in the US.  It has lasted us so long, saving us so much money as we have traveled through the more expensive countries (Bahamas and US Virgin Islands)

The water opposite Crazy Beach Corner is lovely and clear with a debris, rock and turtle grass free bottom so a good spot for a refreshing swim, I didn’t start until the last three days in the yard where I took myself off for a cooling swim, Craig joining me the second afternoon and Adam and Khiara on the last day, but of course that one ended at the bar with burgers and Pad Thai for dinner.

Rubbing your hands and feet through the coarse beach sand is the best way to get the paint and grime out of your nails a natural manicure/pedicure.

Going back in the water is called splashing “what day are you splashing” was a favorite topic of conversation in the yard.  We splashed first thing Tuesday morning, the Monday had been a public holiday, Emancipation Day 

Emancipation Day is observed in many former European colonies in the Caribbean and areas of the United States on various dates to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved people of African descent.

As soon as we splashed we took off back to Rhonde Island, only a short sail just 10 nautical miles, Craig wanted to test the new bottom paint and we couldn’t think of anything worse than sitting back in Tyrell Bay harbour we needed to get away. 

We did have to drop the anchor back in Tyrell bay for a half hour while we put the dodger windows back on and reattached a few of the rope lines but it didn’t take us long and we were ready to start sailing again.

Timmies Run, Gina-Lee and Breakaweigh were all anchored back at Ronde Island, it was lovely to see them but we had to decline a pizza night invitation we were pooped almost like we were shell shocked, we were so exhausted, it was so nice being at anchor again, to have a breeze and to be able to jump in and have a swim off the back off the boat AND there were no biting insects.  Our batteries became fully charged and we could make water again.

At 6.30pm Carol and Tom from Gina Lee called over to pick us up to go to Timmies for pizza, we sent our apologies and I reckon I was in bed before 7pm.

We felt like new people after a good nights sleep, all the crew were heading to Tyrell Bay so we upped anchor at the same time and headed a little bit further up the coast to passing Tyrell and heading to the next bay, Sandy Island. 

Before we hauled out Craig and I had headed off down the road to walk to Paradise Beach, it was approximately a three quarter of an hour walk out of town, it was nice to stretch our legs and take in the sights and smells.  

Paradise Beach is stunning with Sandy Island directly opposite it makes it a very calm stretch of water it’s crystal clear with white sand.  Walking from the road down past a few houses we came out at Paradise Beach Club which unfortunately was closed but meant we could use one of their outdoor settings to sit in the shade and leave our backpack and clothes while we had a swim.  

The water was glorious, Luke warm the way I like it, there were hundreds of tiny clear fish swimming around us but they didn’t bite....we found out later that there were a couple of bars and an artist’s studio/ shop that were open just a little bit further up the beach but we hadn’t ventured any further.

So we had visited the beach opposite Sandy Island and we were excited to take a mooring ball and take in the beautiful vista of a deserted palm tree’d white sand island on one side and a long white sandy beach with colorful huts, bars and restaurants on the other.  

Unfortunately the view from paradise beach didn’t take into account how the wind howled down the bay between the island and the mainland.  It was kinda uncomfortable, we didn’t move around any more than normal it was just constantly windy out in the cockpit.  The next morning the parks guys came around in their little motor boat and collected the $30EC for the use of the mooring ball. We were happy to pay but didn’t see the need to spend another night there.  We had a dingy ashore and a walk around the small island, stopping to have a swim in the beautiful clear water and after lunch we let go of the ball and headed back to Tyrrel Bay.  There is another yacht race and Craig is thinking about entering.

Beautiful Grenada, Hanging out with Youtubers ✔️, Are We Hurricane Magnets ?

What a beautiful island Grenada is, it’s part of a three island chain, in the Windward Islands located in the the Caribbean Sea. We have had lovely days walking to St Georges purchasing fresh fruit and veggies from little stalls on the side of the road, we discovered that where we are anchored in Grand Mal its only a 20 minute walk to the produce market, (you do have to climb a fairly steep hill though).  There are about 50 stalls all selling their home grown fruit and veggies, mangos and melons are in season, avocados are just getting ripe, there are tiny limes sold in a bag of 10 for $2 EC. Grapefruit and lemons are also quite common but no oranges.  They sell cauliflower and butternut pumpkins as well as sweet potatoes and a couple of root vegetables, we recognize taro but there are some other long dirty root vegetables we haven’t seen before. The homegrown lettuce and tomatoes are divine.  The local fishing boats stop on their return to offer us freshly caught tuna. Craig picked up a big bag of Mahi Mahi while out walking one day. So food is very fresh and plentiful.

We also bought local cinnamon sticks off the street, little bags of ground turmeric, cinnamon and ginger were purchased from the small local supermarket at the top of the hill in Grand Mal, this shop is where the locals shop and we were delighted to find New Zealand butter and cheeses at the same price as the IGA. 

There is chicken and pork in the bigger supermarkets but very little beef and the lamb was way out of our budget.  

Just like any of these small islands the supermarket shelves can be quite bare just before the container ship arrives bringing all new supplies.  I picked up a box of 100 Dilma tea bags, the first time I’ve seen Dilmar anywhere including Canada and the USA (there is Lipton tea every where)but anyone who knows me knows I love my Dilmar tea.  So of course I grabbed it, it was much more expensive than the other brands, I’d tried the cheaper tea bags coming from Trinidad but they are tasteless.  I even picked up the last box on the shelf the next time I was in that supermarket so I’m set for my morning cuppa for a while.  Things like breakfast cereal, peanut butter, dry biscuits, cheese, potato chips, soft drinks are all quite expensive. The soft drink cans cost more than the alcohol.

Gina Lee, Timmies Run, Breakaweigh and ourselves all took a day trip bus tour, the 8 of us had a ball, being driven in a 12 seater mini bus, we visited the Annandale waterfall only a small waterfall and easily accessible.  

The River Sallee “Boiling Springs” has hot bubbling volcanic springs, that you can see in the murky green holes of water, there was no grass growing around them, it was all a bit bare and yuk looking, but the girl who gave us a little talk said she has a dip most nights before she goes home, and from what I’ve read the locals will make a day excursion and bathe in the mud and there are masseurs on-site, there was also a little shack selling food and beer.  The walk along the track to the spring was beautiful and the bougainvillea surrounding the bridge entrance softened the barren landscape.

Kick em Jenny is an undersea active volcano located about 8km to the North of Grenada and we were onshore directly opposite it.  That’s what is feeding the bubbling springs.

The volcano is underwater rising from the seabed and there is a 1.5km exclusion zone around it, it is currently flagged as yellow meaning the volcano is restless, Green is minimum activity, it then goes to Yellow, Orange indicates further activity, lastly Red is eruption or imminent eruption.  

The gases released change the density of the water and boats in that water will just sink hence the exclusion zone. The exclusion zone is extended to 5km when she is really active.

Oh yes and If you abandon your sinking boat and jump in the water you will just sink too. 

Due to the coronavirus the chocolate factory and the rum factory we were hoping to visit were both still closed, surely they will reopen soon so we can support these tourist dependent businesses. 

It was lovely to go inland and see the villages, smell the tropical forests and experience the view from the mountain tops the van pulled over at a farm and this stick thin wiry old man showed us his cocoa trees we tried the whitish sticky coating surrounding the cocoa beans it was delicious like a tart chocolate taste, he climbed his mango tree and gifted us each a mango, there were breadfruit and papaya trees, passion fruit vines, coconut and banana trees all with abundant fruit.  The bay tree was too tall to reach the leaves, it didn’t look like our bay trees it’ll be interesting to see if it’s the same flavor.  He also climbed a tree and gave Craig a big handful of leaves he said these are good for you “tree of life” I did google the leaves when we got home, it seems you can make a tea from the leaves and it’s a bit of a cure all magic plant. Craig also managed to persuade him to sell us a bag of kaffir lime leaves for $5 Eu, Craig uses them in Thai chicken curry.

Our last stop was Grand Etang Lake a crater lake located in an extinct volcano, the lake is supposedly linked to Kick em Jenny. 

This thought is because when Kick Em Jenny was observed bubbling, so too were the waters in Grand Etang Lake. The lake covers 36 acres and is part of a national park, it also holds the bulk of the island’s water supply.

Grenadians are super friendly although it’s hard to show your smile behind a face mask !! Occasionally we do encounter a local who is not so happy to see us but not very often.

On our day trip we passed the outskirts of the town Dunfermline in the parish of St Andrews, I was born in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland so I’m very curious to visit Dunfermline here but unfortunately the driver took us past the abandoned airport instead.  BUT as we were passing through St Andrews we did see a sign hanging outside a shop “Archibald Distributors” so there might be a connection, when the internet first gave us access to ancestry information I remember reading that the Archibald’s originated in Dunfermline and for the first couple of centuries did not move very far from Fife, obviously now they are spread all over the world but this Dunfermline would have been named maybe in the 1700’s.  We will save Dunfermline for a day trip when we are on our own.

When we arrived in Grand Mal Craig was rather excited to see a boat called Millennial Falcon anchored in the harbour and when we had our Canada Day pot luck dinner Khiara and Adam joined our group on the balcony at the (pink) fisherman’s club.  

We had decided to do a pot luck early dinner on the beach - Tosh from the club invited us to have our gathering on the deck, which was much more civilized.  

There was the usual crowd, Timmies Yellowbird and Breakaweigh all being Canucks, us and Gina Lee were the honorary Canadians and we were joined by a few other boats including  the two Australians on Millennial Falcon.

It was so nice to listen to the Aussie accents although Khiara’s accent has a lovely English lilt to it.  We all seemed to hit it off and even after everyone else had departed the beach the four of us stood for another half hour or so chatting.

I would highly recommend checking out their YouTube chanel “Sailing Millennial Falcon” they have been cruising around for a couple of years, spending time sailing and working on fixing up their 42 foot Tatyana. They are super entertaining and exactly like their videos in real life.

https://youtu.be/F3zylLh5X3c

https://youtu.be/A_qr2owCsfo

https://youtu.be/ZZm30uKKjjk.   (Episode 100)

Craig was a bit starstruck at first, he has been following them on  YouTube since they started way back in 2018 but it didn’t take him long to get over his shyness.

We had Khiara and Adam over for dinner a couple of nights later, I don’t know if they realise how special they are Craig made them dim sims (Chinese dumplings) he doesn’t usually share them with anyone, including me.

It’s July 7th 2020, Exactly 12 months ago today was the day we departed Wiarton marina to start this epic journey, we cant believe it’s only been 12 months, we have travelled about 10,000 nautical miles and visited 7 countries, Canada, USA, Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands and now Grenada, we have met so many lovely and interesting people, ate and drank the local delicacies including the local rums and beers and overall have had a fantastic experience. 

Covid 19 has changed everything, but even so we would probably be here in Grenada hiding out for Hurricane Season we will just have to wait to see what happens after November.

Later that week we decided to head back to Mon Rouge, we liked the beach there and it is walking distance to the best supermarket on the island, we are going to do a big provision and then head over to the small island of Carriacou, there will be supermarkets there but we’re not sure of the size or how well stocked or expensive they will be, the island being just a little bit more remote.

After a few nice beach days and a couple of trips to Spiceland Mall it was time to up the anchor - we had another stop in Grand Mal as we passed it anyway, we need to get our propane tank refilled, and that’s where the facility is, plus it will be nice to see our friends again. 

Of course we did catch up, we met at the pink bar, our friends on Breakaweigh have had one of their forestays break and Timmies and Gina Lee are going to stay close by to give them a hand fixing it. 

Tuesday 14th July 2020

This morning Craig had to go back to the propane place to pick up our tank then we had a quick walk up the hill to pick up some last minute fruit and veg, we upped the anchor around 11am, picked up Fruit Bat on the way and managed to sail the 30 or so nautical miles to Ronde Island,  it’s not very far, we gave the Kick em Jenny exclusion zone a really wide berth just to be safe.....

Early afternoon we pulled into a beautiful little cove with crystal clear water and a black sand beach. Fruit Bat had arrived before us, Sam is an amazing swimmer and she was already out in the water checking on Fruit Bats anchor so she helped us by swimming/snorkeling around and guiding us to a sandy spot away from any coral or turtle grass.  It was a huge help.

The first time we anchored back in Grand Mal we had to have 3 attempts to find good holding, it took us an hour !!   before we felt comfortable with the way the anchor was laying. Craig had to swim over with his snorkel on and dive down to check on it all 3 times.  The bottom can be sand over rock so it looks ok but it’s an awful feeling having the anchor jump along instead of digging into the sand.

Millennial Falcon had departed later in the day and so arrived in the dark, Craig and Scott went out in the dinghies to help them find a sandy spot to drop their anchor, Sam then cooked us all dinner a great improvised Mexican bean dish complete with wraps grated cheese and salsa.

Our first night was super rolly and uncomfortable, so the next morning we upped the anchor and moved a little bit closer to shore, tucking in where the swell didn’t wrap around and cause the boat to tip from side to side, sometimes tipping over quite far.  The new spot was perfect, we could watch the birds-  frigates, boobies and grey pelicans do their thing and there was definitely less movement, so a much more comfortable next nights sleep. 

Craig, Fruitbat & Millennial Falcon took the dingy around the corner and had a beautiful snorkel along the reefs surrounding the island, there is a glimpse of Craig in the Millennial Falcon episode from that day and me too on the beach at sunset.  We had a fire just the six of us, sipping beers watching the sun go down, the perfect way to end a glorious day but we didn’t stay on the beach long, Craig was exhausted from his day snorkeling.

A few days later our little group sailed into Carriacou to meet up with Yellowbird who had pulled out of the water a week earlier to do some work.  Yellowbird is a steel boat, Jack and Kyra had bumped her into a sunken boat in Nassau and wanted to repair the damage plus there were a few rusty spots showing through the paintwork and like all our boats she was due for new anti foul on her bottom.

They were also planning to grind out the rust and repaint their top deck too.

It was great to see Jack and Kyra again and we spent a couple of afternoons onshore sitting around chatting drinking the local beer, Carib at $5 EC it’s a bargain although the bottles are tiny compared to the Dominican Republic’s El Presidenti our other favorite was the the rum punch, that’s made from the local “Jack Iron” a 100% proof rum then flavored with a type of KoolAide and topped with grated nutmeg. The little bar we frequented sold plastic cups of it for $5 EC, they only needed to put a thimbleful of rum in it, it’s that strong.  

We also enjoyed the local staple - chicken roti, we preferred the boneless one, happy to pay the extra $3 EC so we didn’t have to pick out chicken bones.  They are a chicken and potato curry folded up in a homemade roti bread, delicious. 

The local nutmeg ice cream has quickly become a favorite treat too.

Hurricane Gonzalo was heading our way and suddenly we had to decide on a hurricane plan we had vaguely talked about what we would do when the time came, not dreaming we would have to decide so soon.

We had to make a decision, we had only a rough idea of where to go, do we find a hurricane hole to hide out in, do we go into a marina or should we get hauled out ?

It all came to a head when the weather forecast showed developing irregularities forming off the coast of Africa on a direct path to Grenada.

There is a hurricane hole right next to the marina, here in Carriacou, a winding waterway through the mangroves that opens out to a circular pond with room for maybe 30 boats to hide.  

We had been for an exploratory dingy ride through the mangroves when we first arrived in Tyrell Bay,  just to have a look, there were maybe 6 boats there, 3 with Q flags up, apparently this was an alternate place to quarantine for incoming boats, and we had thought at the time, this looks ok this could be our hurricane plan.

We discussed maneuvering Adriana stern to the land throwing out a couple of anchors then using ropes to secure us into the mangrove trees.  The problem with that plan would be the other boats around us, they could drag anchor or break free and be blown onto us so we were not convinced. 

The forecasters were telling us Gonzalo was a tropical storm that may or may not turn into a hurricane, there are different weather models that Craig looks at NOAA, Windy, the European model, to name 3, some of them rely on airplane radar to give a precise picture of what’s happening but at the moment as there are so few planes flying around the world this weather predictor is not as precise as it used to be. The forecasters were finding it difficult to get a good clear indication of the strength and path of this storm. 

We started to hear about Gonzalo on the Tuesday with expected landfall predicted for Saturday we wanted to wait to see what was going to happen.  

On the Thursday morning along with Millennial Falcon we took another dingy ride through the mangroves, they were full to busting, with way more than 30 boats, when we went through there was a huge catamaran grinding through the mud right in the middle of the entrance, and boats were streaming into the hurricane hole. (Lesson learnt better to look over cautious and go in as soon as there is even a whisper of a hurricane than to wait a couple of days and miss out on a spot) 

“shit what are we going to do now” we thought.

Craig had been in to the Tyrell Bay Marina and requested a haul out in September but had discussed we would haul out earlier if there was a hurricane forecast.  “It’s  ok” says Craig “we can take that option now” we call them only to find there has been a “slight” misunderstanding and now they are full and we can’t go in there.  

Meanwhile Millennial Falcon had booked into the smaller a boatyard across the bay,  Carriacou Marine Ltd so we followed them there in our dingy, going straight to the office to see what our chances were of hauling out.  

The forecast was still vague but even if it didn’t reach hurricane level it would still be a tropical storm with torrential rain and storm surge predicted.  

What is the main difference between a hurricane and tropical storm?

A tropical storm is a tropical cyclone that has maximum sustained surface winds ranging from 39-73 mph (34 to 63 knots). A hurricane is a tropical cyclone that has maximum sustained surface winds of 74 mph or greater (64 knots or greater).

What made us panic was watching the local boat service maneuvering all the unattended boats into the mangroves and then seeing the local fishing boats go in there too, there were a couple of really big ones that just gunned their engines and pushed themselves way way into the scrub. If the locals were taking precautions then we most definitely should be too.

At the Carriacou Marine Ltd office they lady was rushing around yelling at everyone in such a panic we almost didn’t ask her if they had room for us, but then what would we do.  Luckily they had “one spot left” yay we were literally the last boat brought into the yard. 

We were literally the last boat left in Tyrell Bay maybe only a few totally abandoned boats were still there in the end.

Adam and Khiara dinghied over on Friday morning to help us get into the dock, it’s always great to have help with the lines if you watch Sailing Millennial Falcons 100th episode you’ll see Craig onboard helping them with their lines.

It’s fascinating watching the lift hoist these 20 odd ton boats out of the water and maneuver them on land, Adriana was set down and the guys placed stands around her hull to keep her steady.  A long ladder was tied securely on the stern so we could climb in and out.  

There are no swimming pools here it is a working boat yard.  But I must say the most sheltered place to be in a storm.

Tropical Storm Gonzalo went through Grenada and Carriacou on the Saturday morning, the wind had howled and we had had plenty of torrential rain on the Friday night but the Saturday was nothing, we could hear the wind howling way over our heads but we were very secure in our cradle in our little boatyard and hardly even felt a breeze. It was a welcome anti climax. It missed us and dissipated as it neared Trinidad.

Now we are out of the water we may as well do some work on Adriana and we have decided to stay here for at least this week while the next forecasted hurricane goes past, yes it’s that soon, one after the other.  

Luckily Hurricane/ Tropical Storm Isasas is taking a path further north and won’t come close to Grenada but it does hit and damage  Luperon where we had stayed then it hit Bahamas and the East Coast of USA even hitting Eastern Canada.

That’s why we are down this far south the storm fronts peel off the African coast and 99% of the time they aim higher than here, fingers crossed anyway.