Travelog Twentysix—March, 2005
We play tourist, some more...



Up the Windward Islands...
Hello Friends, 

We hope that you have all survived the winter rains. That sounded like a pretty nasty couple of months. On the contrary, we have had a really pleasant two months since our arrival in Grenada. The 31-hour trip from Isla Margarita, Venezuela was pretty nasty with rain squalls, headwinds and 2-3 kts. of current against us. Unfortunately, we listened to all the weather gurus again. We arrived at St. George harbor at night and really expected a lot of damage in the wake of Hurricane IVAN, but were pleased to see that the island is well on their way to recovery. The lagoon harbor and shoreline had been littered with sunken and damaged boats but everything was pretty well cleared upon our arrival and we were able to anchor inside once again. Grenada Marine is now just a pile of rubble with the remnants of the old docks sticking out of the water. Downtown St. George had numerous buildings destroyed and lots of roofs missing, including all the old churches. The skyline is now dotted with blue tarps in place of roofs, which adds to the local color; but the cruise ships have returned, and business is as usual. 


    

Hurricane aftermath, St. George skyline and lagoon

We took a maxi taxi to Prickly Bay at the South end of the island, which was the hardest hit. Spice Island boatyard had over 90 boats dismasted, damaged or destroyed when all the cradles collapsed in the high winds. Almost all of the masts had to be cut in half to untangle the snarl of rigging before the boats could be righted. Quite a mess. After leaving St. George we had a leisurely motor sail up the island and spent a couple of days in Tyrell Bay, Sandy Island and Hillsborough, Carriacou. They were also affected by IVAN with heavy winds and rain and a few blown roofs; however, since our arrival in Grenada the winds have been very light from the Northwest and big swells from the North, so we have had our share of some exceptionally rolly anchorages. Next it was on to Petit St. Vincent, still one of our most pristine anchorages in spite of the rotating charterboats.



the crowded anchorage at Sandy Island


Petit St. Vincent 

We spent a couple of days there and it was calm enough to make the trip by dinghy over to Petit Martinique for some fuel and cheap booze. With the calm, beautiful weather, the passages between islands were really delight for a change, which allowed for a lot more stops than we normally make.  After clearing in at Union Island, it was over to Mayreau for a day and then on to the always spectacular Tobago Cays. Northwest swell for over a month have made most of the anchorages pretty uncomfortable, but the Tobago Cays were flat calm with light trade winds and over 75 boats awaiting our arrival. We've noticed that most of the charterboat crowd this year is French. Must be the strong Euro against our weak dollar. There were the usual crowd of local boat boys selling everything from tee shirts, bread, ice, local art and lobster at about $35.00US each!  We found our own little corner and kicked back for several days of snorkeling. With the calm weather we were able to take the dinghy through the outer reef over to Petit Tabac, where the beach scene for "Pirates of the Caribbean" was filmed. On our return it was still calm enough to snorkel on the outside of the large horseshoe reef surrounding the Cays. After all these years, even with the increase in boaters, the Tobago Cays remain one of the most spectacular anchorages in the lower Caribbean.



Tobago Cays, always a delight 


Heading north, we made a stop at Canouan to check out the new Moorings charter base. The large swells had damaged the two of the docks, so we had to land the dinghy on the old stone commercial pier; a pretty risky operation. The Tamarind Hotel staff were complaining that their guest couldn't use the beach, and at their exorbitant rates, I can see where they would be worried. Next it was on to Admiralty Bay, Bequia, which never seems to change and is always one of our favorite stops up the island chain. The island is still pretty laid back, but there is a daily turnover of transiting yachts of all ages and sizes and plenty to do ashore.

        
Always a variety of yachts in Bequia 


Upon our arrival we ran into some old cruising friends, Rich and SAM, whom we had met in Cartagena five years earlier. After a few years skippering aboard some large private yachts, Rich is now captain of a 47 ft. catamaran for The Moorings. Sam handles all the gourmet cooking duties; and in addition to her culinary skills has to take care of provisioning and assorted other "crew duties". We spent over a week there with some exploring to the turtle sanctuary, an overnight trip to Friendship Bay on the South side and a day stop at Petit Nevis, the old whale processing station.


Hawkbill turtles at 10 days and 10 years


Sunset Happy Hours were spent on the beach at the Frangiapani, which still serves a great rum punch and of course we always get in trouble at Da Reef at Lower Bay. The Sunday jam session there is always packed and their rum punches are definitely high octane, which makes the beach departures pretty entertaining. Some mistakes are too much fun to make only once!  The next leg up the coast of St. Vincent and the passage to St. Lucia were a remarkably calm motorsail with a chance to charge batteries and make water. Half way up St. Vincent we decided to make a short stop in Walliabou. Over the years, the overbearing, obnoxious boat boys have driven off most of the hard core cruisers; however, Walliabou has been given a new life as the film location for Disney's successful "Pirates of the Caribbean". In Bequia we noticed a poster that they are getting ready to commence filming version II and III, and were auditioning for extras.  Well, never one to pass up a chance for stardom and a few extra cruising bucks, Steve donned his finest pirate attire with high hopes, only to learn that he didn't make the cut!


So much for show biz! 


After four months in Venezuela with assorted boat maintenance, additions and improvements we have enjoyed a couple months of maintenance-free travel. We have learned to never get too cocky as the next breakdown is just around the corner, usually during a nasty passage or overnighter. After arriving at The Pitons, we opted for the one-week mooring pass (7 nights for $20.00US) and were moored right in front of the Jalousie Hilton, definitely a five-star resort ($900.00US per night) with four restaurants. The are very accommodating to visiting yachtsmen and the setting is still one of the most spectacular in the Caribbean.


Overlooking the Pitons anchorage


With our week's pass, we were able to change locations every few days from the upscale Hilton anchorage to the fishing village of Soufriere. Soufriere for the first time visitor, can be a little "too local", but we always enjoy checking out the locals as part of our shopping adventures. It's always entertaining to watch fish being cleaned with a machete…



…a bit messy, but boy, is it fast!  Just up the coast, our next stop was Marigot Bay, home of The Moorings charter fleet. Presently, a major condo development project is in progress, which ruins the normal serenity of this beautiful anchorage. Lot's of dirt, dust and noise. Twenty years ago, I photographed this area on assignment for The Moorings and am happy to have seen it then.  On the way to Rodney Bay, we decided to make an overnight stop in the Port of Castries for some provisioning, We were able to anchor directly in front of town, which made for an easy access to the largest local open-air market on the island. On Saturday morning the place was packed with hundreds of locals selling locally grown produce, meats, fish and crafts.



Colorful Castries Market


The people were exceptionally friendly and in addition to stocking up our fridge, it made for some great photo opportunities. This was our first trip to Castries, but we will definitely return for some easy, accessible shopping. We then spent a couple of days in Rodney Bay. That area has also undergone some major development and is now the arrival port for the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers. This was to be our last chance for duty-free fuel and final provisioning before heading to Martinique.  Upon our arrival in Marin, Martinique we went into immediate sticker shock; the inflated Euro has struck again. After purchasing some fresh deli item and a little wine, we won't be spending much here. Diesel fuel is $6.00 per gallon compared to $.08 in Venezuela. That's right - 8 cents! 

The only current item on our agenda is the Classic Yacht Regatta in Antigua in mid April. We have been invited to race on a neat little wooden sloop with a couple we met in Venezuela. We will also meet up with the Lorentzens, our cruising friends from CA, with whom we haven't shared and anchorage in a couple of years. 

We'll close for now. Drop us a line when you have a minute. Always like to hear the latest news, gossip and scuttlebutt.Please remember, when responding don't hit the REPLY button. Instead, start a new message.  


Still enjoying the cruising life!

Best wishes, Steve & Pam