We put the 18hp dinghy engine on the boat and pulled the anchor 10/29/09 at 0630 cleaning the chain of barnacles as we were raising it. We have been here in Trinidad for three months and the growth was definitely heavy. After the anchor was up we headed for the Trinidad, Tobago, Sailing Association (TTSA) dock so we could clean the top of the boat and fill the tanks with water. After getting those chores done we hopped a maxi taxi (local bus) and headed for the last time to customs in Chaguaramas to clear out of the country. Everything went without a hitch for once and we boarded a bus back to TTSA where we had our final lunch at the marina restaurant. We said goodbye’s to all our boater friends and departed for Grenada 1630 headed through the Boca channel between the islands. Carol was busy on the cell phone trying to use up the minutes left on the Trinidad cell phone since we probably weren’t coming back here. The seas when we got through the Boca were 5’-6’ and winds from the east 7-10 knots. We again turned off the navigation lights when we got near the Hibiscus gas rig because of the local Venezuelan pirates that like to hang out in the vicinity. We had an uneventful trip with the weather and seas cooperating for once. We arrived outside St. Georges, Grenada 20 hours later. Both John & Carol were exhausted when they arrived and crashed after the anchor was set.
After a 10 hour sleep we got up and had coffee and left to clear customs which cost us $24.63 US dollars. They are still concerned about the H1N1 flu here with several cases being reported since we were here last. After clearing customs we went over to the grocery store down the street and picked up a nice looking steak for grilling later. I still don’t understand how they can sell US steak here cheaper that we can buy it back in Florida.
John filled his days doing odd jobs that needed being done on the boat. At Thanksgiving they had two different American Thanksgiving dinners at two different marinas with a total count of 100+ people. John was in hog heaven eating turkey, dressing, potatoes, gravy & cranberries. For desert they had about six different kinds of pies. John looks forward to this meal every year with anticipation and it’s one of our highlights of the year. It was good to visit with our fellow boaters again.
We spent the days between Thanksgiving and Christmas hanging off the hook outside St. Georges, Grenada in clear blue green water. It doesn’t get any better than this. The temperature averages around 85 to 86 degrees this time of year. It was a treat to see clear water after being in Trinidad for three months where all you saw was a haze of oil lying on top of the water. It is so nice just to hop off the boat and have a swim. The only time you sweat here these days is walking around town and then the water runs off you. We like hanging around here in St. Georges because we are near town, grocery stores, free WiFi on the boat and marine chandleries. Every morning we look out of our floating house and we see cruise ship after cruise ship come in here. Most days there are three different ones in here. They come from all over – Germany, Italy and everywhere else. We even had the Queen Mary II come in here twice which is supposed to be the largest cruise ship in the world They usually come in here in the morning and leave at dusk the same day. I sure don’t know where they get all their passengers. It seems someone still has money to spend. We are planning on staying here in Grenada through the holidays and then head north to Carriacou to get the boat hauled out and the bottom painted. We plan on going to the Christmas day dinner at one of the marinas and most of the boaters will be there. We also are spending the next day which is the English Boxing Day at another marina for dinner with most of the boaters again attending. It’s a treat for Carol because then she doesn’t have to cook but then again we don’t have all the leftovers. We will miss our family and friends back home over the holidays and will be thinking of everyone. This will be our last article for the year 2009 and we wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Stay tuned for more adventures from John & Carol aboard the S/V Sweet Caroline