The first few weeks back in Grenada

The trouble with being in civilization is that you end up spending money, whether it is for food, transport, or drinking with other cruisers, it all adds up. And don't forget diesel for the boat, petrol for the dinghy, and most importantly - WiFi. I find watching the pennies very tiresome and stressful, but if we didn't we would have no idea how much we are spending every month, probably overspend and be home pleading poverty in no time flat. So I will continue to plug every penny spent into our Trail Wallet App and keep track of expenses.

Morning Selfie

We usually lock our dinghy onto the stern of the boat at night with a wire line and a lock. Some people pick up their dinghy on the side of their boat which is a bit easier than hoisting it on the struts at the back of the boat as we have to take the motor off to do that. We should really haul it out the water every evening as it gets dirty very quickly. Andrew decided to fashioned some lines so that we could do the side haul at night.

Dinghy side haul

Before we left Prickly Bay to go north, we had ordered a Wi-Fi extender from Amazon. It arrived while we were away, so we had a package to pick up on our return. Laura was most excited about this as she uses the Wi-Fi the most and gets very frustrated when we can't pick any up. We still couldn't pick up any of the nearby networks so decided to pay a few bob so that we could use Cruisers Wi-Fi. It is much better with the extender although we do have to change its position on the boat at times if we are facing the wrong way.

We had a few things that needed fixing on Calypso. The crossing was hard on her and she needed some TLC. The first thing to be fixed was the Bimini and the bags that we keep the halyards in. The Bimini had torn because the boom was too low at one point and rubbed a hole in it. We had kept the winch handles in the halyard bags and the zip had parted company with the bag. We found a chap that works on canvas and he did a pretty good job fixing them.

Torn Bimini

Broken halyard bag

Explanation for the land lubbers:

Bimini = The cover over our heads in the cockpit

Halyard = a rope that is used to raise and lower sails

While we were having the Bimini fixed we decided to put up our other canvas covering which stretches across the cockpit, over Nick's lockers to the aft of the boat. This means that when it rains we won't need to close the hatch in our cabin, and hopefully be a bit drier in the cockpit. The blue Bimini leaks like a sieve - another things we will have to put on the job list to try and make it waterproof. Another advantage of the canvas cover is that it has side pouches with hose attachments to catch rain water. They are brilliant and we managed to fill our water Jerries on the deck when it rains.

Canvas cover

Covering our cabin hatch

Andrew, Laura and I joined the Beach Bootcamp group run by Brandon Jackson, which involves about 30 minutes of Tabata style exercises, ending off with a swim to the nearest boat and back to the beach, three times a week. It feels so good to be exercising again.

One Saturday morning we watched the rugby, Wales vs SA and had a braai afterwards. It was fun meeting some new people and seeing old friends again.

Watching rugby at Prickly Bay Marina

Beach Braai

Brandon in the yellow cap

Boerewors and chicken

Shaun and Ian having a serious discussion

Dinghy parking

The other repair that needed doing urgently was the deck which had ripped near the anchor locker. Andrew set to work, removing part of the anchor locker, epoxying it and reinforcing it with divinicel foam core which costs a fortune, but should be solid once it is finished.

Deck crack

Repair underway

Half the anchor locker

In the picture below Andrew's drink is on a door. Yet another thing to fix. The handle of the door broke and we are struggling to find a replacement the right size. And yes, Andrew's drink is pink!

Andrew's Rum Punch

We do spend quite a bit of time swimming in the sea and sitting on the beach at The Sand Bar. The view is breathtaking and the happy hour beers are a good deal. 

Laura catching some Wi-Fi

Iconic island tree

Sand Bar Happiness

I know, another sunset!

Heading back to Grenada

It was bittersweet leaving the Cays. The next time we go there I am sure it will be much busier. What has surprised us though, is how close all the islands are to each other. The hop between two countries is about a two hour sail from Union Island to Canouan. I am sure we will be seeing those islands again after hurricane season.

Cheeky Seagull

With our minds open to a better experience, we anchored in Clifton Harbour, Union Island and went ashore to check out of the country. The systems were down at the Customs and Immigration office so we had to walk to the airport which wasn't far. Back to Immigration to have our passports stamped and we were good to go. Although nothing untoward happened, we just didn't like the feel of Clifton Harbour and were happy to be making our way to Carriacou.

We had made water on the short passage from The Cays, so we put out the headsail, turned off the Donk and sailed, doing 6,5 to 7 knots in 12 or so knots of wind. It was beautiful to hear the waves against the hull and the wind in the sail. The sail down was much easier than the sail up with the current and wind in the right direction.

We decided to stop in Anse le Roche for the night. It is quite a small bay and there were already 5 other boats anchored but we decided to give it a try and dropped anchor at the back of all the boats. Later two more Cats and a monohull dropped anchor around us. After a very relaxing afternoon we went ashore to swim and check the prices of the beer and rum punch at the little bar/restaurant on the beach. They don’t sell beer apparently because the turtles lay their eggs on the beach and the beer caps pollute the beach. The rum punch was between 15 and 20 EC, so we gave drinks a miss and had a lovely long swim.

Small bay with lots of boats

Pelicans on the rocks

Is Dave too close to that rock?

Anse la Roche beach

Favourite spot

The next day, Dave, Laura, Andrew and I went ashore to hike up the hill. Apparently there is a lovely view spot, which unfortunately we did not find. We didn't realize that it would be more like a hike rather than just a walk and we were wearing our slops which made it a little difficult to walk up the hills. We decided we had walked far enough anyway and headed back. It was quite a hike down the hill again dodging cactus and cow pats. We saw a small tortoise and lots of lizards.

Slippery slope

Hot after a long hike

Volleyball nets and beach chairs

Once back on the boat we got ready to nip across the bay to Sandy Island. As I was about to bring up the anchor the heavens opened and I got drenched. It didn’t last long but the raindrops were huge. We slowly made our way across the water towards Sandy Island. The wind was blowing gusts up to 30 knots which made picking up the mooring ball rather difficult. Thank goodness I was on the helm and Andrew, armed with a boat hook tackled the ball. Finally we had all the ropes in place and we could turn off the motor.

Sandy Island

Love the cloud formation

As we had run out of breakfast food we were in a hurry to go ashore. Dave came to fetch us in his dinghy and we walked the long trek down to Customs and Immigration to check into Grenada. Provisioning in the way of meat, beer, rum, veg and some fruit was done at the local supermarket on the way back. Not willing to walk the 2+km back to the dinghy with all our shopping, we hopped in a bus which dropped us off at Paradise Beach Restaurant. 

We had a very interesting chat with Alison, the proprietor of Paradise Beach Restaurant about Grenada vs Grenadines and the new government. They had elections recently and a new chap was voted in. Alison is very happy with the new man in charge and is hoping for some good changes. Alison reckons that people up in the Grenadines see the yachties coming and hike the prices up. We definitely found that some places charged less the more we frequented their establishment, or the price was different for the locals.

Sailor Dave

Dave and Andrew went ashore on the Saturday to watch rugby at Paradise Beach Bar. I went back there the following day at 9am and watched the Wimbledon Final.

No, the drink isn't sour and nor is the game bad

Boat name plates

Alison does a sip and paint, once a month on a Wednesday, where you can paint your boat name and logo on a board whilst drinking a cocktail. She puts them up on the walls and fences around her restaurant. We haven't been there on a Wednesday so have missed making our mark in Carriacou. We will definitely make a plan to do it next time we are up there. None of us on Calypso are the greatest painters! It's a pity Kay isn't with us as she is the artistic one in the family.

We spent a few days at Sandy Island in Carriacou. The strong wind whipped up the sea quite a bit, so instead of going ashore and exploring Hillsborough, we stayed on the boat, only going to Sandy Island for swims and snorkeling.

On Tuesday morning, the Calypso crew upped anchor and headed for St George's, Grenada. We decided to head back as we have quite a bit of boat work to do. Sadly we had to say farewell to Dave and Sandy as they stayed on at Sandy Island for a bit longer.

Passing Ronde Island

We had a wonderful sail down the coast of Grenada and spent a night on a mooring ball off St Georges. It is convenient for shopping and getting the C14 we needed to pick up the package we had waiting for us. The much anticipated, much needed Wi-Fi extender. Let's hope it works as well as we need it to.

St George's Grenada

Favourite chilling spot

Dodging the spray

After breakfast we dropped mooring lines and sailed around to Prickly Bay. Brandon had been watching our progress and kindly came out in his dinghy to help with the mooring ball. 

It was quite strange being back in Prickly Bay without Dave, Sandy and the Lune. The mooring balls were all full so we were quite pleased we had booked one. Many boats are not occupied and closed up tight for hurricane season. There are still lots of South Africans here waiting out the season.

Watch out for the next episode where we spend a bit of time fixing things and a lot of time socializing!

Mayraeu and Tobago Cays again

Idyllic Mayreau

We did a very short hop to Mayraeu and anchored in Salt Whistle Bay. There was only one other boat when we arrived but the bay soon filled up with catamarans, a party boat and a couple of monohulls. It got very rolly in the night, but we survived. We have had worse.

A perfect island filled with palm trees

Beach shops and restaurants

It rained off and on during the day and the rolly waves eased in the afternoon. Dave and Sandy decided it was too much for them so they upped anchor and went around the corner to Saline Bay. We spent the day reading and watching the rain squalls pass by, or hit us occasionally.

The seagulls land on the mooring balls and look like they are concentrating hard not to fall off as the ball moves in the wind.

Balancing Laughing Gull

View from the beach

Mayreau is a lovely little island, with palm trees on the beach. There was a hotel that looks like it was lovely. It was built out of stone and blends into the surroundings very well. Apparently the owner wanted to charge people to walk on the beach and didn’t get on with the locals. It closed unexpectedly in 2020 and hasn't opened again.

Abandoned hotel hidden in the trees

Perfect beach

Hotel

There are a couple of beach shack restaurants and shops. One restaurant is called The Last Bar Before the Jungle.

The Last Bar before the Jungle

Very rustic

Beach front shops

People come to the beach in the mornings and hang their wares on wire strung across the palm trees. 

Selling her wares

Sarongs, dresses and shirts strung across the beach

There is not much to do here other than swimming, snorkeling, reading and walking on the beach - paradise!

Dave and Sandy came back the following day. We went ashore with Dave and walked up the hill to Saline Bay. We walked past houses where people were hanging out and playing loud music. Children were playing in the street and dogs wandered around looking for scraps, while goats ate the grass on the verge. It poured with rain on our way over the hill, but it wasn't cold, so we dried out quickly.

Steep hill to get to town

Muddy road

I'm not sure what it is about the Caribbean, but the sunsets are so beautiful.

On Monday, July 4, we did a quick hop back to Tobago Cays. I love the passage over to the Cays, the water is so blue and breathtakingly beautiful.

Beautiful view

We decided to pick up a mooring ball in the channel between the two islands. It is a bit less bumpy and more protected from the wind. The channel was quite empty when we arrived but the boats arrived in droves and when all the mooring balls were full, they dropped anchor all over the place.

Beach where barbecues are held

Later that afternoon Dave came across in his dinghy to fetch us for a snorkel off the Horseshoe Reef. We had to navigate carefully through the dinghy cut as it was quite shallow and there were lots of rocks.

I love the colour of the sea

Horseshoe Reef is amazingly beautiful. There is a shallowish shelf and then it drops off for miles onto the ocean floor. We kept to the shallower parts, on the edge of the shelf and managed to see quite a lot of different kinds of fish and coral. Andrew saw a parrot fish and Dave saw a reef shark. Laura loved it, going into the deep part of the reef with no fear and diving down to look at the coral more closely. We spotted some scuba divers below us which was quite eerie. Laura even managed to get back onto Dave’s dinghy without much trouble.

Lush vegetation

View from Calypso

Laura's happy place

Laura sleeps in the fore peak

Capturing our memories in my diary

The build up to my birthday was quite stressful, as the memory of my father's unexpected death on my birthday last year was like a shadow hanging over me. I didn't really want to think about it and just wanted the day to pass. Laura was most worried about me and just wanted my birthday to be better than last year. Well, I can tell you that it was most certainly better. Andrew, Laura, Dave and Sandy made sure of that. I had lovely messages from my family and friends as well, thank you for remembering! And I spoke to Matt which is always a treat.

We woke to cloudy skies, but at around lunch time the weather had cleared enough for us to go for a snorkel on the reef. The sea was pea green but so clear. The sea was quite rough on the reef with fairly big waves breaking over them, so we decided not to snorkel on the reef but rather dropped in on the side the boats were moored. We had a lovely time in the water finding all sorts of fish including a parrot fish and a crayfish that tried hard to hide away from us.

Sandy offered to cook supper, but sadly she wasn't feeling well, so didn't join us for the lovely meal of Mexican mince wraps and delicious pudding.

Birthday Champagne 

Dave came over to our boat with all the food and we put the wraps together and cooked them. We shared a bottle of champagne and our last bottle of South African red, Glen Carlou. We played games and had a lovely supper.

Andrew and I were feeling like we needed to be heading back to Grenada. We had things to fix on the boat and it would be easier to do repairs there.

We had to go back to Union Island to check out of St Vincent and the Grenadines. We weren't holding our breath that our experience would be any better than when we checked in, but we had no choice as that was the closest check out spot. 

Watch out for the next episode, and I'll tell you what transpired in Union Island.

Proudly South African