Back in Grenada Preparing for the Trip West

There are a number of ways to sail from Carriacou to Grenada. Both other times we took the route far off the small islands between them. Once to the east and last fall to the west. This time we navigated between them and the steep rocks that line the passage. Sections of this route looked so narrow and scary before but once we were
close, the passages were very reasonablely spaced. This is a beautiful spot and under full sail, a special experience.
I love coming back to Grenada. We have gotten to know it better than most places:this is our fourth visit. This little girl illustrates how beautiful the people are - chosing a carnival queen is a tough job! Their English heritage is also on display; here in their public phones!


Our weather guru had predicted some stiff winds coming up so we decided to anchor in the very protected but small harbor in St. George's. Happily once our anchor was down we found our old friends on "LoriGray II" there. Lorraine and Graham are South Africans and friends with our English cruiser buddies.
We met them in Annapolis and had a great time visiting with them over the next couple of days. Graham was also a great help to Scott with some repairs on the coupler on the propeller shaft. We also ran into other old friends, who were also heading to the Testigos. They were on a fast track west as had plans to transit the Panama Canal in a month.
We three boats anchored just outside the channel from the harbor for a few hours and then after dinner, raised the anchor and sailed in the pitch black out to sea. This was an easy passage with very few other boats spied (this is a real plus as avoiding other boats is the most stressful part of the night passages). We sailed the whole way and made fast time with a positive current. By dawn we could see the island group ahead.

James' Visit - Grenada to Union Island

Our son James flew into Grenada on November 13 from New York City. He lives in Brooklyn and is working at the River Cafe while he studies for the LSATs and applies to Law School. Luckily he was able to take two weeks off and sail with us north through the Grenadines. We only had full day in Grenada so we toured St. George's, had lunch at "The Nutmeg" and then swam and snorkeled off the boat in Prickely Bay. The next day we sailed up to Tyrell Bay in Carriacou. Carriacou is a Carib word meaning "island surrounded by reefs" and the following morning James, Heather and Scott had a chance to see them up close and personal. Scott did his PADI certification course here with Georg and Connie at Arawak Divers. James and I took their introductory course and did a shallow dive in the morning and then a deep dive that afternoon. We went down to 41 feet and stayed down over 40 minutes: pretty good for a first try. We both had some problems with equalizing our ear pressure but resolved it (although it was several days before Heather's ears completely cleared). The variety of fish and coral was wonderful and the time went by so quickly.
Scott joined us for the dive and we all celebrated that night with our friends from "Nereia" and "Seacycle". Jaime and Dan had their boat hauled out there and rented a great cottage nearby. They invited us over for drinks and appetizers - really dinner, there was so much. The next morning we were off again, this time to Petit St. Vincent and Petite Martinique. A squall came in half way and blocked all visability for awhile but it cleared off and the sun came out as we anchored off the PSV resort in crystal clear water. This beautiful elegant hotel has cottages scattered along the beaches with lots of privacy. If you want room service, you send a flag up your flagpole. We had a drink in the bar but decided against eating there after we looked at the prices. We weren't suffering on the boat as I'd provisioned with filet mignons for several meals (with bernaise sauce no less).
We took the dinghy over to Petite Martinique and walked around the community, very local and no tourist development at all. The inhabitants live by boatbuilding, seafaring, and fishing. In the old days, says our guide, they were also smugglers. Children were playing dominos, a variation where you slap down the domino when you play it - a lively scene. Other men were untangling fishing nets and mending them.

We sailed next over to Morpion, a low sand island with a thatch shelter that sometimes gets washed away. Actually it's amazing that it's there at all. At high tide there is almost nothing above water, but it's a beautiful spot - my photo doesn't do it justice. We snorkeled and swam there but when we tried to pull up the anchor we found it was wound around a rock and we were stuck. Scott got his air tank and hookah out and tried to go down and untangle us but the air hose wasn't long enough. He could have tried to do it using the dinghy but meanwhile good Samaratins from a nearby catamarin in full scuba gear came to our rescue and in just a few minites we were free.

Our next stop was Clifton Harbour, Union Island with a what looked like a tricky entrance surrounded by reefs. It turned out not to be that difficult as there were channel markers and the reefs themselves was very obvious in the clear water. We were all tired from too much sun (and Scott had gone through a lot diving the stuck anchor) so we went out to dinner that night at the West Indies Restaurant and had a terrific French Creole meal.

Carnival in Grenada

>

   Our second marvelous experience was Carnival in Grenada. Six of us flew there, Linda and Mike from "Casa del Mar" and Kathleen and Roland from "M'Lady Kathleen" and ourselves, after a six hour delay at the airport in Trinidad. Our hotel was the location of the judges for the big parade and close to all the action. A group of huge speakers were set up across the street and Soca music played all day and most of the nights. The noise level was the only downside - it was deafening really. They had a indoor/outdoor cafe overlooking the street and we spent a lot of time there, eating, drinking and watching the constant activities outside. The venue for the evening events was only a five minute walk away.
Our first evening was "Panorama" where the top eight pan bands on the island played. This is a big spectacle with up to 80 percussionists in each band and up to 140 instruments. They play, dance and do comic routines, all in colorful costumes and ome with a coordinating sets. The second evening was the presentation of the eight kings of queens of each band in competition for the overall king and queen. The costumes were very elaborate with the poor queens in particular often having to be helped off the stage after their presentation. This was followed by a Calypso competition.
The third night was the participatory parade - it felt like a good proportion of the island was there. On our arrival we purchased a "package" for the Cable and Wireless team. This included a T-shirt, baton with LED multicolor lights dancing up and down, whistle with LED lights, drink coupons and hard hats. We met with our team and practiced elementary movements to the theme music and then hundreds strong joined the masses dancing through the streets from other teams. Every team had a long speaker truck and dispensed beer and soft drinks. Each presented for the judges in front of our hotel. This was a raucous and fun time for all. We got only a few hours of sleep that night before waking up at 4 AM for Jouvay, this is a morning ritual involving motor oil, paint and costumes.

Thousands all over the island roam the streets, many dressed in devilish costumes, rubbing the first two items mentioned all over their, in many cases, scantily dressed bodies. All continue to drink the beer and rum which flows continuously. Stands with food and drink line all the streets. Grenadians are lovely people and there were no serious incidents of crime during Carnival. We all felt very safe on the streets, even at night. People did not grab you but asked permission to dance or hug. We wore old disposable clothes and joined in - fairly decorously. The foreign medical students were very obviously having a marvelous time - they hung around our area as the school is far away.

After another few hours of sleep it was time for the big parade. This is the last day of Carnival and the culmination of a year's work for . many areas of the island. Eight groups, each with a main theme, presented a series of costumed men, women and children, along with music and performers. Most groups had hundreds of participants, all elaborately dressed and all having a marvelous time. We had rooms in the front of the hotel with balconies and had invited a number of cruiser friends to join us. We set up a hospitality bar and snacks and watched the hours long parade. Each group did a special presentation in front of our hotel so we had a great view. Carnival was wonderful and we feel so lucky to have seen it here, where security isn't a concern.

We also had a lovely day out with a number of boat friends anchored at Prickly Bay, including a great BBQ on the beach. Our flight back was on time and it was a relief to us all to find our boats all safe and - yes, blessedly quiet.

More Grenada Carnival Pictures

Men and women like this fellow above right play to the crowd as they march along. Others are team players and stay in line.

Carnival is such a fascinating and colorful time that one entry simply doesn't cover it! Here are more pictures from our trip to Grenada's Carnival in early August, 2006. Each area of the country had it's own theme and their candidates for King and Queen were dressed to reflect this. I've included several representatives here.
The picture taken at night is rather dark of course but The Blue Men show up much better if you enlarge it by double clicking on the photo. At Jouvai, and throughout Carnival, men (occ. women) cover themselves in motor oil or paint. They sometimes carry a pail of it as well. It's pretty hard to avoid getting some yourself so we dressed in throw away clothes for Jouvai.

We saw these "King" and "Queen" candidates on the second night of the Carnival at the outdoor stage. In some cases their costumes were even more elaborate. They had to pare them down to walk in the parade! One advantage of a simpler lighter costume is that allows the person to dance and engage the crowd. This "angel" Queen Candidate is a good example. The superstructure of the outfit is supported by a harness around her midsection. She's probably trying to take some of the weight off her shoulders with her arms - but still smiling and strutting.

One theme was "African Sunrise" seen here just above right and to the right. Another, "T'ings We Love", with flowers and butterflys etc. is shown in the top left picture for a group shot. This featured more children than all the rest and had one particularly adorable "bee", about 2 years old, above left.

Grenada to Trinidad

We had a wonderful sail from Carriacou down the east coast of Grenada on June 16th. We anchored in Prickly Bay off a lovely beach. Our friends and ourselves rented cars and spent a day touring the island. Grenada is a lush and hilly island and grows most of the world's nutmeg along with many other spices. We visited an organic chocolate factory powered by solar panels and a traditional rum

distillery. Our guide book had recommended a beautiful restaurant at the north end of the island but when we finally found it, it wasn't in service. I guess we should have realized there was something wrong when we couldn't find any signs. Still we toured the grounds and took pictures. We pulled into a very small local eatery starved to death and happily surprised the cook/owner by ordering eight full meals. The whole family got into rustling us up some food.

The capital St. George is built on steep hills around a small protected harbour lined with stone quays and fishing boats. Grenada was hit by two Hurricanes in a row after fifty years without one and suffered greatly. We saw lots of signs of recovery but there is still much destruction. The three large churches on top of the hills in town still lack roofs. I've included a series of photos showing some of the damage. At the bottom a forlorn couple sit in a charming little house with no roof or windows..We were so impressed with this lovely island and its' people that six of us decided to fly back from Trinidad in August for the Carnival. We made reservations at a small motel right on the parade route.

At 6PM we sailed off south for an overnight trip to Trinidad. It was a squally night and there were a lot of big ships moving around the channel from the off shore oil rigs so it was quite stressful. Scott and I didn't get much rest. That next morning, 4.5 miles from the Boca Channel and the Trinidad coast, we collided with a small fishing boat. This was the worst experience of our trip so far (hope nothing comes that tops it).
The visibility was poor with 6 ft rollers, there was a 2.5 knot current sweeping us sideways (so we were going a different way than it looked) and the fisherman's outboard was not working. Luckily no one was hurt and we were able to tow the boat into Trinidad with us. That's he and his 22' boat below with Scott in the dinghy when we brought him back.

Chaguaramas Bay where we checked into customs and our marina, Crew's Inn, was a major base for us during the last world war and over 30, 000 Americans used to live here. There were major shipyards among other facilities. It is now a national park, which aims at combining park areas with eco-friendly economic activities. We were pleasantly surprised at how pretty the bay is - densely vegetated hills on three sides and a group of small islands on the other. It had been a long night and day since we'd left Grenada and we were relieved to be tied up at the dock at the marina about 7 PM

We only had a few days before flying back to the States for five weeks visiting family and friends. We met with a number of contractors and took our sails down to be cleaned and repaired. Roland and Kathleen on "M'Lady Kathleen" had volunteered to keep an eye on our boat
while we were gone and security is excellent at the marina so we left feeling comfortable. Our visit home was wonderful but rushed by so quickly. Still we got to see almost everyone, our three sons, Scott's dad and brother, and my sister - plus of course all our closest friends. Highlights included a big Fourth of July weekend in Vermont and a trip down to Washington DC. We flew out to California for the last week to see our daughter Zoe and family and then flew back directly from there. When we return home in December we will have two more grandchildren - Josh and Michal are having their third, another daughter, and Zoe and George are having their second, another son.