Mark, Rosie Mick and the Propellor

We have had a pretty busy last week to 10 days.  

We moved on from beautiful Chatham Bay after a couple of days there although we could have easily stayed longer as it was such a calm and quiet spot.  We sailed North intending to anchor at one of the other bays on either Mayreau or Canuan islands but ended up sailing all the way to Bequia as the anchorages looked a bit rolly.  Bequia was an island which we had called at on the way down when Steve was onboard but we only stayed a couple nights then as we were en-route to Grenada.

Bequia (pronounced Beqway) is a lovely small island with a very protected anchorage in Admiralty Bay which has the main town of Port Elizabeth.  It is a bit of a favourite stop for cruisers and a very friendly island.  We anchored off a beach on the southern side of the bay which was fairly protected although in the evenings the swell could wrap around the northern headland and produce a bit of a roll.  Most of the time was spent schooling and tidying up the boat in readiness for the arrival of our next guests, Mark Bradley and his daughter Rosie.  We looked around town again, had a meal out and managed to buy a painted calabash shell which was remarkably good considering the clouds of marijuana smoke surrounding the artist when we picked it up.

After a couple of days we sailed across the Bequia Channel and and picked up a mooring located in the lee of Youngs Island on the southern side of St Vincent.  The weather was not looking good for Mark and Rosie - windy and heavy rain squalls coming through on a regular basis.  Mark and Rosie arrived the next evening (9th Dec).  After delays with their internal island flight from Barbados to St Vincent they eventually got onboard near midnight looking suprisingly alert.

Mark and Rosie were only scheduled to be with us for a brief 5 days.  They had not sailed before and so we wanted to make sure they enjoyed the experience.  The weather forecast however for the whole coming week was for fairly blustery conditions with easterly winds around 20 to 25kts.  In Grenada we were told that the winds can pick up around Christmas time and this is probably what we are seeing.  The wind is not such an issue but the increase in swell which accompanies it can make many anchorages rather uncomfortable.  On Tuesday afternoon after waiting for a slight decrease in the wind we departed and sailed 16 miles to Mustique anchoring in Britannia Bay.  The sail was great although the seas were a bit on the rough side and the bay proved a bit rolly.

Britannia Bay - Mustique

Mustique is a private island and has homes for the rich and famous including Mick Jagger, Bryan Adams and Shania Twain, to name but a few.  You are allowed onshore and there are a few shops, restaurants, hotels to wander around and look at.  The island was originally bought by an English aristocrat called Tennent (I think).  He developed the island and encouraged his well heeled friends to invest.  From what little we know, Princess Margaret was a frequent visitor in the early years.  There is a famous bar called Basil's Bar on the waterfront and it has a blues festival every year at which Mick Jagger has been known to put in an appearance.  The island was not too busy while we were there.  

Just after we arrived we were relaxing in the cockpit when Calley spotted a couple of people on stand up paddle boards out past the yachts in the bay and  being steadily pushed seaward by the strong winds.  They were not waving to attract attention but looked anything but competent on the boards and were rapidly getting harder and harder to spot in the water.  Scott and Sam jumped into the dingy and went to investigate.  There was a man and woman and they were both pretty tired and had found that once out of the sheltered waters of the bay they could not turn the boards and paddle against the seas and so were getting taken rapidly towards Panama.  Scott and Sam took them in tow and deposited them just off the beach with neither of them apparently realising the possible danger they had been in.

This must be where Mick buys his veggies

That night we went ashore and had dinner at Basil's - its kind of a must if you visit Mustique.  The next day we had a look around the island  and then decided to push on to Friendship Bay on the southern side of Bequia to try and get out of the roll.  Friendship Bay was slightly better but still rolly.  We settled in for the night and cooked up some lobster we had bought of a local.

Rosie and dinner

The next day we pushed on back to Port Elizabeth.  As we were coming off the anchor the engine started to vibrate badly.  Scott went over the side and discovered that the propellor had thrown two of the four blades.  How this happened we have no idea at this stage but liklehood is that the locking pins were not secured correctly by Scott during the Grenada refit.  What ever happened, it is a major.  It is really disappointing as the boat has been working well.  We sailed to Bequia and picked up a mooring.  After due deliberation it was decided that we would sail the next day straight to Rodney Bay in St Lucia (78NM) where there is a travel lift big enough to lift Dulcinea out of the water.  Mark and Rosie were leaving us in St Lucia on Saturday anyway but it just meant that we could not show them the Pitons from the water which we had wanted to do.

Mark helming Dulcinea

We had a great sail to Rodney Bay although Nic is still uncomfortable with the boat heeling and so for her it was a bit anxious.  The boat has been sailing really well and seems to be going faster and pointing higher than ever.  Not sure if that is due to the clean hull, the clean log impellar or just us getting better at sailing.  We were doing a constant 10kts coming out of Bequia and averaged around 7kts for the whole trip which included us being becalmed in the lee of St Vincent for a while.  Sam and Rosie helped Scott helm as it was a 12hr sail - Rosie did a fantastic job given it was her first time.

Rosie on the helm

So here we now back in Rodney Bay.  Mark and Rosie left us on Saturday after a final kneeboarding session.  We are all looking forward to Christmas in New York where we were told there is now 6 inches of snow.  The kids are so excited.  We fly out on the 19th for a couple of weeks.  Before that the boat will be lifted out of the water and new propellor blades will be ordered and hopefully arrive by the time we return.  Rodney Bay is alive with boats as the ARC (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers) fleet is just arriving.  There are boats everywhere and the marina is packed - a good time to leave for New York.

Union Island

Moved from Petit St Vincent after only one night and made the short uneventful crossing to Clifton Harbour on Union Island.  The crossing may have been uneventful but the anchoring certainly wasn’t.  We had touched by Union Island on the way south a few months earlier but had not stopped other than to clear out with immigration and customs.  This time after clearing in we planned to stay a couple of days for a look around.

The small harbour is interesting in that it has a significant reef right in the middle forming two distinct anchoring areas either side which meet just off the town.  i.e. the clear water forms a horseshoe shape.  On one side the harbour is enclosed by fringing reef and on the other side the by the island and the town of Clifton.

We came in to anchor on the inner side of the reef, set down the anchor and laid back on it.  Once we had snugged up it felt like we were lying too far into the channel so we upped that anchor and tried a different spot in between a couple of moored boats a bit closer in which was shown to us by one of the local boat boys.  We set the anchor but were still not happy and when we went to recover anchor the windlass froze.  Later it appeared that the anchor had snagged on the seabed and this had tripped the windlass breaker.  Anyway there we were tethered to the seabed with the wind pushing us around on the surface.

Everything then seemed to happen at once.  The wind started gusting and pushing us sideways towards another anchored boat. Scott was down below working on getting the windlass power restored, we had a local diving on the anchor trying to free it and another local onboard assisting.  Nic, Sam and Calley manned the starboard rail with fenders and we settled alongside the other boat.  Luckily the impact was very soft and we had fenders well positioned so no damage was sustained to either vessel.

Happy Island from our anchorage

The diver freed the anchor and we motored across to a free nearby mooring and secured Dulcinea.  Scott fixed the anchor windlass which was, we think, just the breaker tripping.  Meanwhile the owner of the boat we had touched came out in a dingy and made a big show of looking for damage on his hull and then tried to tell us that a scatch in his bow was caused by us.  This was complete BS and Nic very nicely informed him of this.  Luckily the local guys were our witnesses and they confirmed we had not damaged his boat.  That did not stop him circling our hull looking for a matching scratch.  In the end he had to admit there was no damage.

After calming down, Scott and Calley walked to the airport to clear the boat and passengers in through customs and immigration.  We then slipped the mooring and anchored in some clear water nearer the entrance to the harbour across from a little island on the reef called Happy Island.  There is only a dingy dock and a bar on the island.  Hence the name I guess.

Clifton is a really nice town.  We were ashore the next day after school and had a look around.  It is quite busy as it services a small upmarket island/resort called Palm Island which lies just offshore, the Tobago Cays and probably Petit St Vincent.  They had some colourful stalls with even more colourful fresh fruit and vegetables for sale.  We also found a kind of goumet deli run by an interesting French lady.

Clifton Main Street

Stalls in Clifton

The weather changed for the worst over the next two days.  On the first day and night we had thunderstorms with very heavy rain falling in squalls with winds to 40kts.  Luckily we were in a pretty secure anchorage and although open to the wind the reef broke the seas.  Even so there was a bit of movement on the boat.  

We get bad weather here also

In the middle of the second night we heard a “pan pan” call on the radio from a boat which had dragged its anchor not far from Dulcinea.  A “pan pan” is put out for a serious emergency but one in which the vessel or crew is not in immediate danger.  The boat, a 44ft charter vessel called Brio, had dragged its anchor and had drifted onto the reef in the middle of the harbour and was now rocking back and forth on its keel.  Scott heard the call on the radio, got up and spoke with them initially just relaying messages to a St Vincent coastal station which would hopefully be able to get some assistance.  With no immediate help forthcoming Scott and Sam loaded the dingy with rope, chain and a spare anchor and went across to assist.  The idea was to set a second anchor which would allow them to winch themselves off the reef.  

Once at the yacht it was apparent that the second anchor idea was not going to work for one reason or another and instead Scott decided to go into town and try and raise some local help.  In the end he managed to get a local with a boat boat with a big outboard to come and tow them off.  When we saw them in the morning everything was good although Sunsail were negotiating with the locals who were after a US$2000 salvage fee.

We left Clifton yesterday (3rd Dec) and motored around to the leeward side of the island to a bay called Chatham Bay.  This is such a beautiful spot; deep, calm, protected, beautiful beach and hills all around with only a handful of beach bars/restaurants onshore and half a dozen yachts nearby.  The locals are eager to sell us what we need in the way of bread, lobster, fish etc.  It is great to be in a totally protected bay again as we have been rocked about to some degree ever since leaving Grenada.

Chatham Bay

Only issue is one of nudity - not on our part but others.  There are some in the sailing fraternity who espouse a greater obsession with being naked and it is not uncommon in an anchorage to see people getting their gear off.  For some reason or another the French seem particularly fond of this.  Generally, we are of the opinion "each to his own", however yesterday we had a boat anchor just about on top of us and then proceed to get naked and go swimming.  Maybe we are prudes but I think not.  Bottom line is get as much gear off as you like but if this is your intention don’t anchor right on top of someone.   

We will stay here a couple of days doing, yes you guessed it - school, and have a look around onshore.  The calm water will also allow us to take the kids kneeboarding.

Into the Grenadines

We stayed in Carriacou just long enough to get a good jump on the schoolwork and to have a look around.  The wind has been a constant 15 to 20 gusting 25 with a bit of a swell wrapping around into the bay to keep the seas choppy.  Its not been the calmest anchorage but we decided to stay where we were rather than go in amongst all the other boats closer in where it would have been a bit calmer.

Carriacou is part of Grenada and is a smaller island to Grenada with a great feel to it.  Tyrrel bay looks very similar to many islands around this part of the Caribbean.  The bay is pretty open but being on the leeward side of the island is protected from the prevailing weather.  The bay has a long stretch of sand beach and palm trees most of the way around except at the two extremes where tall green hills rise steeply from the water.  There are a couple of reefs in the bay which need to be avoided when arriving on the water and in one corner there is a low lying mangrove swamp.  Behind the beach the land rises to high hills inland which is dotted with small houses.

Shoreline of Tyrrel Bay

A road fringes the beach all around the bay and is studded with hand painted signs advertising this or that business or community announcements.  Small houses and some local businesses are located along the road in a mixture of wooden cottages and concrete houses and most are painted in bright pastel colours but all suffering various degrees of fading.  At one end of the bay there is the government jetty which the ferries dock at and at the other end there is  a small boat yard.  One or two other small rickety wooden or concrete piers jut out every now and then from the beach.  There are supposed to be over 100 rum shops on the island but we did not see them.

Caribbean Signs

Ashore we met some expats running cafe / restaurant establishments.  These guys had only recently relocated to Carriacou and had quit the UK and decided to set up businesses on the island.  It was great talking with them and learning about their sea change.  Certainly relocation to Carriacou would be a big move but it is an idyllic place if you can relax, get into the rhythm and accept the isolation.

Luckily they gave us the name of a good refrigeration mechanic because the fridge had started warming again.  If it was a free standing unit I am sure we would have ripped it out and pitched it overboard by now.  This time there was a small gas leak from the dryer unit which had only recently been replaced.  Got that fixed and regassed the system and fingers crossed again.

Sandy Island off Carriacou

On one day we took a local bus over to the main town of Hillsborough.  We always like taking the kids on the local transport so they can get a better feel for the place and the minibuses are always so much fun with friendly pasengers and talkative drivers.  We jumped on one at the government jetty and straightwaway proceeded in the opposite direction we wanted to go.  The island is pretty small so you just go with it.  Turns out they had to drop off an elderly passenger and her shopping at her house and then pick up some kids from the local school before heading to Hillsborough.  As in Grenada the people seem to really take care of the youngsters and the elderly - there is a real community spirit which is not evident in a lot of other places around the world.

Sam and Calley choosing grapefruit in Hillsborough

Hillsborough is another leeward side town on a bigger bay.  It is bigger than Tyrrel Bay but more exposed.  We had a stroll around and bought some provisions before heading back to the boat.

School has been going well this week, probably due to us being old hands at it now.

On Friday (29th Nov) we left Tyrrel Bay and headed to an island called Petite Martinique.  This is a small island just behind Carriacou of about 1000 people and is also part of Grenada.  There are a few small islands around here all within spitting distance of each other, some owned by Grenada and some by St Vincent, the main ones being Petite Martinique and Petit St Vincent.  We ended up anchoring off Petit St Vincent as it was calmer and allowed us to let the kids try out a new kneeboard which they had got from their Uncle Lars and Aunty Lush.  Later we took a dinghy ride over to Petite Martinique to have a look around and to get some dinner at a restaurant on the beach.  The town is similar to that described above only smaller.

Sam trying out the new kneeboard at Petit St Vincent

So here we sit trying to get a jump on the schoolwork and planning on moving up toward St Vincent in the coming week ready to pick up Mark and Rosie.

Just heard the great news that our friend Walt in Glasgow is making an excellent recovery after some major surgery.  Walt, hope you are back to fighting fitness  soon.

Carriacou

We finally left Grenada on Monday 25th November.  

We had a pretty relaxing weekend on the boat and managed a very civilised brunch on Sunday at one of the nearby marinas which kind of knocked us out for the rest of the day.  On Monday morning we settled up all our outstanding bills ashore and then headed out of the marina around midday.  The weather forecast was for squally weather for the rest of the week but we figured it was time to get going.

West Coast Grenada

Given that we had not sailed for almost 4 months things went OK.  The wind was blowing E/ENE 20 to 25kts around the South of the island and we put up a reefed main and the staysail which had us barrelling along at around 8kts.  As we turned to run up the west side of Grenada the wind slackened in the shadow of the island with occasional squalls coming through which kept us on our toes.  We were headed to a place called Tyrell Bay on the next major island to the north called Carriacou which was about 35Nm away.  

Happy to be sailing again

Once off the north end of Grenada we had gusty 20 to 25kt winds for the crossing of the passage which put the boat close hauled and gave both boat and crew a good workout.   Happy to report there were no breakages.  About an hour from Tyrell Bay the weather started to deteriorate and as we were a bit late it was also starting to get dark.  Just as we started our approach to the entrance to the bay a terrific squall came through with torrential rain.  Scott was on the helm and Sam was up forward trying to spot any boats at anchor.  Nic and Calley were in the cockpit also trying to spot any boats.  Everyone was wearing wet weather gear but still got absolutely soaked after a few minutes.  We could not see a thing and knew from the radio that there were a number of yachts anchored in the bay many without lights.  In addition to make it interesting there were a couple of unmarked reefs which we had to avoid.  We made a run in but visibility became so bad we had to abandon and head out again until the rain stopped.  Even then it was pitch black and very difficult to see.  

We motored slowly in until we saw the first boat in front of us and then dropped our anchor.  We were still quite far out but figured this was the safest bet.  We could always move in the morning when things got clearer.  That night was a real welcome back to the boat.  At one point the wind got up to 40kts in the gusts.  Everyone slept well although Scott was up a few times monitoring our position and checking for anchor drag.

Next morning we woke to find a bay full of yachts in front of us and were extremely grateful that we had decided not to proceed further during the night.  A guy called Simon came around in a boat and sold us a couple of 3lb lobsters for dinner.

Simon and our lobsters

We will stay here for a few days until the weather abates and then continue North.  We have started school which everyone is really excited(!) about so will press on with that and maybe have a look around the island.

Getting Ready to Go (Part 2)

The last week has been very frustrating as we have had to revise our departure date a number of times due primarily to the problems with our fridge which no-one seems able to fix.

Initially we had scheduled the fridge guys to come in on Monday the 18th which would allow us to depart on the Wednesday 20th.  This kind of worked out because we were running a bit behind with a few of the other jobs.  However come Tuesday the fridge was still not working so departure blew out to Friday.  We threw in the towel with the mob we were using called Viking and who had been messing with the system for the last seven weeks and got another guy in on Wednesday.  The problem with this is that it takes at least 24hrs to see if the system is working and by then the guys are long gone and booked for the next few days.  The next guy seemed to know what he was talking about and regassed the system, moved a refrigerant line about and said “she’ll be right”.  Well next day she wasn’t right and he was busy.  So Friday comes around and another tech Stuart from the marina comes onboard.  He finds a problem with a leaking valve, fixes that, regasses the system and says” now she’ll be right”.  Two hrs later Stuart is on another job and warning lights start flashing.  He tells us he cannot return until Monday morning earliest.  That would mean a departure for us of earliest 27th.  Scott is beginning to tear the little hair he has left out.

Out of sheer frustration Scott had a troll around the internet to read up on the system and guessed that maybe the problem was the electronic controller.  We pulled out the old one, managed to get a new one locally and voila - we now have a functioning fridge.  Very lucky this time.  

The delays did have some benefits.  Calley has found some mates in the marina and so she is not seen from morning to night.  She runs around the marina with her friends playing at the pool, beach or one of the boats.  The rest of the family work on the boat.  Below decks is finally coming together and looks great with the new upholstery.  The hull and topsides has been washed and polished.  Scott and a local guy did the hand washing and polishing of the hull.  Scott was absolutely ruined after that exercise.  He is convinced that its a case of the mind thinking he is still 20 years old.  Sam has been cleaning out and washing the lazarette (a big deck locker where everything which does not have a home lives).  Nic has been busy down below hanging curtains and trying to find a storage slot for  the myriad of items we seem to have accumulated.  End result though is that the boat looks great.

New look saloon

And main cabin

Everyone has made the transition back onto the boat with relatively little trouble.  There have been no cries of despair over the lack of space and the house in Grenada with its huge rooms and swimming pool is now a distant memory.  Everyone is just keen to get started again.  We do have a trip to New York to look forward at X-mas.  We will be leaving the boat in St Lucia for two weeks and will fly up to New Jersey to spend X-mas with Scotts family.

This week we also started the process to get the boat on the market and are speaking with the broker which we bought the boat from back in 2012.  We wanted to get this started early as we think it will take some time to sell.   

We will leave Grenada on the 25th November.  Not sure exactly what will be our destination at this point but probably North into the Grenadines.   Hopefully will be able to start blogging a bit more regularly now.

A big Happy Birthday to our dear nephew, Ross, who turns the Big 10 today. Happy Birthday, Ross!

New look decks

Dulcinea polished and gleaming

Getting Ready to Go (Part 1 from 17th Nov)

We finally got the boat back in the water a week ago.  The yard was quite proactive in getting in the replacement shaft seal from Miami and it arrived in Grenada about 8 days after the aborted launch on the 8th November.  Typically that was a Friday and so the launch of the boat had to wait until the following Tuesday.

The launch on the 12th was relatively uneventful and once in the water we motored around the coast a  distance to a marina called Le Phare Bleu which is not far from the house and moored the boat stern to at the outer jetty.  We had visited this marina in July just prior to going into the yard and so were familiar with the layout.  Once moored we took stock of what had to be done before we could contemplate leaving.  There was a lot of work required even though we had just come out of the yard.  The biggest job was to move all our stuff from the house back to the boat and repacking it.  You would think that this would be relatively straight forward, after all most of the stuff came off the boat and there is only a limited amount of space however it is amazing how our stuff expands once we get onto dry land.  In addition the two week period we had planned on to complete the move had been shortened to a few days.  Apart from moving and repacking, there was work on the boat to be completed - the decks needed to be finished, the lazarette emptied, cleaned and repacked, the sails installed and a thorough clean carried out.  In addition Scott wanted to clean and polish the boat.

Dulcinea back in the water again - at last

Needless to say and without going into any detail the last week has been a little stressful and absolute chaos however everyone is still on speaking terms.  We basically shifted everything out of the house and dumped it on the boat and then found a home for it.  Most stuff is away now but at one point there was gear lying everywhere both above and below decks - it reminds us of our initial mobilisation in Newport a year and a half ago.  The work on deck and on the boat systems is just about finished with only a couple of tasks still to complete.  We have also to put the new upholstery onboard.  So all in all we are looking good apart from one major bugbear - the fridge is not holding temperature.  We have had people looking at this for the last 6 weeks on and off but they have still not managed to sort out the problems.  We are waiting for some other techs to have a look and try and get the system working but that will take a few days and so we will have to delay our departure.  Luckily we have a few days in hand and there are plenty of odd jobs to keep us busy.

Scott on the boom installing the mainsail

Whist we have been re mobilising we have also been saying goodbye to the people we have met on the island such as at Calley’s school, at our house, at soccer and just in general.  We have met some really wonderful and kind people during our stay and as a result our enduring memory of Grenada will be one of friendliness.  Most we will probably never see again but some we will try and stay in contact with.  We did a final road trip to the North of the island which we had not seen.  Being exposed to the Atlantic Ocean it is a lot more rugged and windswept that the western side which is sheltered from the constant trades and ocean swells.

The kids soccer team and coach

North East Grenada Coast

So everyone is ready to start sailing again even if the boat is not quite there yet.  We recieved the next batch of schoolbooks last week so everyone is very excited about getting a start on that - just think only 160 more lessons to go.  Current plan, fridge permitting is to sail leisurely up through the Grenadines with a view to getting to St Vincent by 9th Dec where we will pick up Mark and his daughter Rosie for a weeks sailing.

A Failure to Launch

So the long awaited launch day for Dulcinea came around last week but things did not go quite according to plan.

The work in the yard had been progressing well but the emphasis had definately come off with about two weeks to go.  It looked like a classic case of the 90/10 rule.  Most of the work had been completed but it was a matter of getting the last 10% finished and that seemed to be taking an inordinate amount of time.  We just did not seem to be able to get anyone pinned down long enough to get the punchlist items finished but were continually assurred it would get done.  Scott managed to have a bust up with the yard owner over the rubber schedule with about a week to go which did not help things.  Eventually we were ready but items were still being completed just prior to launching.

Dulcinea ready for launch

We were schedule to splash on Wednesday 31st of October.  Scott wanted to go in a day early and then sit on a mooring in the bay for a night to ensure all the systems were run up prior to moving around to the marina where the final works to the decks were to be carried out.  However the weather was atrocious on the Wednesday so we delayed a day.  On Thursday things dawned much brighter.  The boat looked a million dollars and just after lunch the travel lift gathered up Dulcinea in its slings and trundled towards the launchway.  The final touch up to the anti foul was carried out and then Dulcinea was lowered into the water.  That was as far as we got.  A quick check of the hull integrity showed water coming in around the propellor shaft.  For some reason the seal between the shaft and the hull had started leaking and the only fix is a new seal which means that we have to stay out of the water until this is done.  So within a couple of hours we were back in our slot on the hard standing.  Very disappointing. 

Luckily the deck guys will work in the yard starting Monday but it kind of throws our schedule for the final cleanup and packing of the boat.

Over the last three weeks we have had a few visitors.  First Dave and Jenny came for a few days following a trip they had to the States.  Then immediately afterwards Sue and Mike (Nic's brother and sister) arrived for a stay of just over two weeks.   It was great to catch up with everyone given how long we have been away and Nic especially was thrilled to be able to spend some time with her brother and sister.  We both really appreciate people making the effort to come and see us especially as its such a long way from Western Australia.

Dave and Jenny with us at one of the Seven Sisters

The other big event was Calley’s birthday.  She has been eagerly anticipating this day for about the last 6 months.  She had a pool party at the house and invited most of her friends from school.  Everything went according to plan and she had a ball.

Calley's Birthday

So we are now waiting for the new shaft seal to arrive from Miami - latest news is that it is being Fedex’d and should be here in about a week.  That would put us back in the water around next weekend.  We have to be out of our house by the 15th so will probably need a few days in some short stay accommodation to allow us to get the boat packed up properly.  Will see how all this pans out.

Countdown to Departure

Thought it was about time we started blogging again as the launch date for Dulcinea is fast approaching and we need to get back into the swing of things.

In general life has settled down into a family routine as it so often does regardless of where you are.  For us the routine is a bit out of the ordinary in that Scott is around most of the time, Sam is schooled at home and we are living in the Caribbean but apart from that its a pretty “normal” existence with the “normal” highs and lows.  We are currently getting ready for the first of two sets of visitors who are arriving over the next couple of weeks.  Dave and Jenny, friends from Australia arrive tonight for a few days and then next week Sue and Mike, Nics brother and sister arrive for a couple of weeks.  It will be great to see everyone and to catchup.  In addition we have Calleys birthday coming up in two weeks time.

View of SW Grenada from Mt Qua Qua

The kids are great and enjoying life ashore.  Calley is going to the local Montessori School every day and is just so happy she is almost bursting.  She can’t wait to get to school in the morning and rushes us out of the door insisting we get there just as the gates open.  Once there she rushes into school quickly in case anyone sees her being kissed by her parents.  She has three days of after school activities and when she eventually gets home she is singing and laughing around the house most of the time until she collapses at bed time.  She still gets her occasional Calley strop on but generally she is very content with life.

Calley at the Montessori School

Sam has been plodding away at home trying to complete the home schooling curriculum and we have just finished the final set of tests.  Everyone is very relieved not least of all Sam.  We will get the final tests posted off to Calvert and then take the rest of October off until the boat is launched.  We already have the next set of materials for the next year.  It was a real hard slog for all of us for the final month but overall we are pretty pleased with the way its gone over the year.  Over the last month we had to incentivise Sam with the promise of a dive course.  He has been talking about doing a dive course for most of the year and this was the perfect opportunity for him.   Also it got him out of the house for spell.  

Sam learning his dive equipmen

Scott decided that he would do the course along with Sam even though he had learned to dive years ago in Scotland.  Since his last dive things have changed quite radically so for safety’s sake it was thought prudent.  It had been probably close to 20 years since he had dived.  The dive school called Devotion 2 Ocean is run out of a shop at one of the island resort hotels near the airport on a beautiful short stretch of beach.  One of Calley’s teachers is an owner and she had done some summer camp activities from here.  The school is run by a really nice guy called Ocean with the help of a couple of assistants.  Over a period of about two weeks Scott and San completed all the theory, pool sessions and the open water dives.  Sam was a natural at it right from the start.  He is so confident in the water and had no problems what so ever and is now keen to get in more open water dives during the remaining time in the Caribbean.  For one of the last dives we went to an underwater sculpture park here which was interesting.

Sams first dive

Both kids have soccer on Saturday and Sam is in trials for the local St Georges team.  He has made it through the first round selection and goes on to the next round this weekend.  Both of them really miss soccer and this has been a great opportunity for them to play for a while.

When not hammering spelling into Sam, explaining the meaning of some obscure educational text or trying to come to grips with diagraming a sentence, Nic does most of the running around and organising for everyone on a daily basis.  Unfortunately the shopping is very limited in Grenada so her usual leisure pastime is severely curtailed.  In addition the coffee houses here are no great shakes and so her favourite indulgence while shopping has also been dealt a savage blow.  Now that school is finished she has started a project to try and make decorative bowls out of Calabash shells.  Charlie who manages the house has supplied her with half a dozen fruit and she is busy cutting them open, scooping out the wicked smelling fruit and steeping the shells in limewater.  At the weekends we try and get away to walk or see a local sight although recently have been content to spend time around the pool at home.

The beautiful Seven Sisters Waterfalls

The family ready to start a hike up to Mt Qua Qua

The boat has been in a shed for most of September getting painted.  It came out last week and since then Sam and Scott have been working away varnishing the capping rail.  The boat looks fantastic now.  The mast is still off the boat and getting some touch up work carried out.  The mast and rig were in great shape but there is always things to be done to them.  Hope to have the rig back together by the end of this week.  Then there just remains some electrical items below and some punch listing and the boat will be ready for launching at the end of October.  The boat yard we have been at has been a pleasant experience however it is infuriating trying to get a fairly accurate timeline of when things will get done.  The concept of island time is very much in play here.

Dulcinea in the paint shed

The life on the boat is a bit of a distant memory for everybody and think it will be a bit of a shock when we have to move onboard again.  Calley will probably have the hardest time adjusting to life afloat but think the rest of us will be ready to move on by Mid November.

The Great Pool Fiasco

Have been a bit remiss lately with the blog what with settling into life in Grenada and getting the boat works started plus we have a problem with Nic’s computer which is the main one we use for storing photos etc so will apologise for the rather haphazard photos on this blog.

Well we have been in the house about 4 weeks and managed to drain the swimming pool almost completely.  There was a bit of a mix up in the valves in the pump house and the result was that when we got up one Monday morning Scott sleepily said “In this light it looks like the pool is empty”.  Upon closer inspection it turned out that this was no optical illusion but our pool had drained out into the Caribbean overnight.  Sam and Calley had fun playing soccer in the empty pool for a few days but now our pool guy Charlie has fixed it up.  We are now almost full again and Scott has instructions not to fiddle about with the valves.

Life here in Grenada is pretty good though and everyone is keeping busy and for the most part enjoying themselves.  The more time we spend in Grenada the more we like it.  The people as we have already mentioned are fantastic.  We have a lady called Sally Anne who comes in and cleans twice a week and each time she brings us treats like fruit or home made local dishes.  Out and about you do not find the same impatience associated with life elsewhere - when there are traffic problems people do not resort to the horns they just wait for it to get resolved, and at the cash registers the tellers will stop and chat and and give you information and the waiting customers rarely get irritated.  Generally the people initially look quite serious and it can be intimidating to approach them however once you strike up a conversation they open up completely and will do anything to help.

The island is beautiful and is perfect for what we wanted - it is not really built up anywhere like a couple of the other islands such as Martinique or Trinidad but at the same time is not too rural like Dominica.  There is a real relaxed feel to the island.  You can get all the basics here if you know where to look.  The more exotic stuff has to be imported but generally you can wait or do without.  One problem is getting some of the rarer parts for the boat but generally these can be ordered from the US and sent down.  We have had a couple of trips out and about and hope to do some more.

Grenada SW Coast Beaches

A couple of weeks ago we headed to the north of the island and visited a place called Belmont Estate.  This is a working plantation/farm where amongst other things they grow and produce their own chocolate.  It was really interesting and amongst other things they show you examples of the variety of the produce grown on the estate.  It is amazing - we were standing in front of a table laden with around 20 different fruits which all grow locally.  This was only a small selection though of what is available.  There is fresh fruit and vegetables all over the island and most of it has not been long off the tree or out of the ground and you buy it off vendors at the side of the road.  We still shop part of the time in the supermarkets for the convenience but make use of the vendors as much as possible.  It does make you wonder about the logic behind the global transportation of food these days - we have potatoes being shipped here from Idaho, for heavens sake!   

At the estate they also talked about nutmeg - essential ingredient in amongst other things a good pina colada.  Grenada is the first or second biggest exporter of nutmeg in the world.  The whole estate was purchased by a guy who made his fortune on the back of nutmeg.  We use it in cocktails but for little else at the moment.

The middle of August was the height of the Carnival here.  There were a few different things going on and we went along to an event called J’ouvert morning.  This is a carnival procession which starts at 0400 in the morning and goes on into lunchtime when the usual carnival parade starts with the dancing girls and floats.  During J’ouvert, however, the people get painted up primarily in black or other colours and dance behind a procession of trucks packed with sound systems, dancing and gyrating, completely oblvious to the world, as the convoy slowly winds along the shoreside road and into St George.  The music is really really loud and there is a fair bit of alcohol and probably some drugs involved although it was as far as we could tell very peaceful.  We got down at around 0530 and watched for a while.  Its quite a strange spectacle.  Depending upon which group you are in depends what colour you paint yourself then there is always the risk of being painted even if you are just a spectator.  One guy wanted to paint Calley but she declined.  Traditionally the guys paint themselves black and wear chains as it is we believe a celebration of emancipation.  Unfortunately the pictures we got are on the computer which I cannot access at the moment - I will post some later.

King of the grill Competiton on the island

So to the boat.  Although it was not strictly necessary we are taking the time out here to do some serious work on the boat.  Currently the boat is in one of the yard sheds and being repainted which is a major.  In addition the rigging is off and so the mast and rig will be completely serviced, cleaned, greased etc.  We are re-upholstering the interior to give it a new blue look and will be sanding the decks to take care of the rough worn surfaces.  The external brightwork will be stripped and revarnished as will some of the interior cabin sole boards.  There are a number of other smaller projects which are ongoing to try and iron out some of the smaller issues.  Hopefully by mid November we will have as close to a new boat as possible.  The yard seems to be pretty good although can be a bit slow at times (island time).  I will post some photos next blog for those interested.

Sam and Calley waiting for the call

Nic has done a great job in finding a soccer club for the kids so now its back to the usual Saturday morning soccer run.  We do not mind though as both the kids are really excited about playing again.  The coach seems really good and very organised.  In addition Calley starts school tomorrow and is beside herself with excitement.  She has already made some friends at the summer camps which she has had play dates with and she will see some of them in the school.  (Its a small island).