Sweet Caroline Website

St Vincent - The Grenadines

admin — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 23:59:06 +0000

Dudley & Becky, S/V Altair picked up Carol in their dinghy at 0600 for our trip to St Vincent by the ferry. John wasn’t feeling well so he stayed behind on Sweet Caroline. If it was going to happen it did. (#1) We didn’t get very far in the dinghy before they realized that they didn’t have their lock for the dinghy so it was back to S/V Altair to see if they could find it. Guess what!! Becky found it in her back pack on her shoulders. (#2) We got back to the dock and were walking toward the ferry dock and Dudley said he didn’t have his billfold. So it was back to the boat to get that. Needless to say we missed the 0630 ferry “but not to worry”, Dudley said there was another one coming at 0830. We only had two hours to kill so we went to a place called the Gingerbread House and got some coffee. This time we made it back to the dock to board the ferry in plenty of time. Aboard the ferry you could go anywhere on the boat you wanted to. We found some seats on the open port side in the back of the ferry. We were all hyped to visit St Vincent and poured over the brochures as to what we wanted to see.
St Vincent, (Hairoun, as they called it, meaning Land of the Blessed), is called the big island or main island. It is one of thirty-two islands and the largest. The capital, Kingstown, which is a lively town and a throwback to colonial times complete with cobblestone streets and locals rushing about. Their language is English but most times it is hard to understand the locals. They seem to have their own dialect. It has been inhabited for some 7,000 years. Originally it was sparsely populated by the hunter-gathers Siboneys. Around 2,000 years ago they were replaced by the Arawaks, who moved up from present-day Venezuela. The raiding Caribs eventually took over from the Arawaks and held some of the island for as little as 100 years before the arrival of the heavily armed Spanish. Fierce Carib resistance kept the Europeans out of St Vincent long after most other Caribbean islands had fallen to the colonists. This was in part the cause why many Caribs from other islands fled to St Vincent after their home islands were conquered – it was the Caribs’ last stand. On the island, Caribs intermarried with Africans who had escaped from slavery, and the new mixed generation split along ethnic lines as Black Caribs and Yellow Caribs. In 1783, after a century of competing claims between the British and French, the Treaty of Paris place St Vincent under British control. Indigenous rebellions followed and British troops rounded up the “insurgents,’ forcibly repatriating around 5,000 Black Caribs to Roatan Island, Honduras. With the native opposition gone, the planters capitalized on the fertile volcanic soil and achieved the success that had eluded them. However, it didn’t last long; two eruptions of La Soufriere, the abolition of slavery in 1834 and a few powerful hurricanes stood in the way of their colonial dreams. For the remainder of the British rule the economy stagnated, plantations were eventually broken up and land was redistributed to small-scale farmers. In 1969, in association with the British, St Vincent became a self-governing state and on October 27, 1979 it was cobbled together with the Grenadines as an independent member of the Commonwealth. Hip-hop fashion has permeated the youth scene, with 50 Cent as likely to be heard on a car stereo as Bob Marley. American TV now dominates the airways and threatens to derail the cultural independence of St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG). KFC’s abound everywhere with also a lot of other US chains. Christianity is the dominant faith on the islands and the majority of islanders being Protestant, with Anglicans being the largest denomination. St Vincent is a high volcanic island, forming the northernmost point of the volcanic ridge that runs from Grenada in the south up through the Grenadine islands. It has a rugged interior of tropical rainforest, and lowlands thick with coconut trees and banana estates. The island of St Vincent makes up 133 sq miles of the nation’s 150 sq miles. The other 17 sq miles are spread across 30 islands and cays, fewer than a dozen of which are populated. The largest of the islands are Bequia, Mustique, Canouan, Mayreau and Union Island. Hairoun (pronounced “high-rone”) is the local beer and brewed in Kingstown. The light lager is a tasty drop and very popular throughout the islands. On St Vincent, tap water comes from a reservoir and is generally safe to drink. On the outer island water comes from rain collection, wells or desalination plants.
After docking in Kingstown, which is on the south coast, a taxi driver met us and we told him where we wanted to go and what we wanted to see and negotiated a price for the three of us. He quoted us ($ 400 EC-$148.81 US dollars) for an all day trip which divided three ways was pretty reasonable. Our driver’s name was Lyder Reice and his van had a sun roof that pulled back so Becky & Carol could stand up and shoot pictures out the top. It was quite a rush to be up there as we flew over the winding roads through the mountains. As we went along shooting pictures all the natives waved to us and probably thought “look at those crazy Americans”.
Our first stop was the Botanical Gardens. These gardens are the oldest such gardens in the Western Hemisphere. The gardens were founded in 1765 on 20 acres of land about one mile outside of capital Kingstown. It was to be used as a commercial breeding ground for plants brought from other parts of the world. These gardens were Captain Bligh’s original destination when the mutiny on HMS Bounty delayed his first scheduled arrival. He eventually completed a second voyage and a descendant of one of the original breadfruit trees he brought thrives in today’s garden. The Gardens are a historic landmark of major national, regional and global significance. They house an extensive collection of rare and exotic plants and trees – some such as a Spachea Perforata (The Soufriere Tree – National Flower) and the Bermuda Cedar – which is now extinct in their natural habitat. Through the trees, one can see Government House, built in 1886 as the official residence of the Governor General. Our guide there was St Clair and he was quite a character. He showed us all over the gardens and did many tricks with the flowers and herbs. There was so much to see and it’s hard to remember all that we saw.
Our next stop was the Montreal Gardens which not as well known as the Botanical Gardens. They were just as impressive with an array of exotic flowers, spices and plants interspersed with green foliage in an environment which is cool, misty and quiet. Here we meandered around all the walk ways, up and down steps and across bridges for a delightful visit.
Our next stop was lunch and boy had we worked up an appetite. We found a little restaurant along the road and all had Tuna plates complete with French fries and some local food I’m not sure what it was. As they say, wherever you are eat like the locals; at least try it. I didn’t say you had to like it but how do you know unless you try it. Be adventurous!!!
After filling our bellies we went to the Black Point Historic and Recreation Center. They were still in the process of completing the park but we were allowed to go thru the Black Tunnel which is about 300 feet long. The tunnel was constructed by the British with the help of slave labor around 1812 to speed up the transportation of sugar from the Grand Sable Estate to the ocean wharf at Byera Bay which is on the windward side of the island - so lots of surf. During periods of unfavorable weather, produce could be stored in the tunnel, as well as in a few nearby caves.
Wearily we were driven back to the ferry dock to catch the 1730 ferry back to Bequia. All in all it was quite a day and I wouldn’t have missed it for anything. Most cruisers do not bring their boats here because it is very unsafe with lots of boarding, rapes and murder. Most cruisers do what we did and take a ferry over for the day. Not once though did I feel unsafe, but then we had a very good driver who knew the island and where not to go. Never once did I get the feeling that I have in other islands – Yankee Go Home!

Stay tuned for more adventures from John & Carol aboard the S/V Sweet Caroline

Tobago Cays to Bequia

admin — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 23:27:55 +0000

We departed Mayreau 0945 Thursday May 27th and made it to the Tobago Cays in about an hour. The Tobago Cays are a cluster of five tiny uninhabited islands, collectively sheltered from the open sea by the appropriately named Horseshoe Reef. The Cays are a wildlife Reserve & Marine Park declared by the government with translucent waters filled with a kaleidoscope of colored fish, turtles and all kinds of coral. We were told the Marine Park has 57 coral species and is home to tropical fish of every kind. The Cays must surely be the jewel in St Vincent’s crown and one of the most magnificent settings imaginable. They are only accessible by boat and are one of the natural wonders of the western hemisphere. There was a sea turtle watching reserve near where we anchored which was designated with markers buoys around the beach of Baradal Cay. You could go over there and swim with the turtles.
After we anchored we took off in the dinghy to check things out. We decided it was too rough to snorkel and would do that tomorrow. We scooted around all the islands in our dinghy just to see all the beauty. It was really blowing out and when we got back to the boat the wind generator was doing its thing making lots of electricity.
The next day after breakfast we put our snorkel equipment in the dinghy and went out to the reef. They had moorings that your could tie off your dinghy to. We started getting our equipment ready to snorkel and Carol’s strap on one of her fins broke so it was back to the boat to get another one and fix it. We then went back out to where we were and got in the water and John’s snorkel mask was leaking and he couldn’t get a tight fit. We tried to get back in the dinghy to go back to the boat again and get another one. It was a comedy of errors and if it could go wrong it sure did! We finally got in the dinghy, (many bruises latter) and went back to the boat to get another mask for John. We then decided to go to one of the other islands and snorkel off the beaches. When we found a place that was sandy to go in without rocks and saw another 24’ power boat blocking our passage with people snorkeling all over the place. We decided to go back to where we were earlier and we then snorkeled in pristine, clear waters, over reefs with lots of coral and fish. For once we saw no sharks – but we were sure looking. We still don’t think the Tobago Cays compare to the Abaco, Bahamas, but that is our own opinion. There is a $20 EC ($7.45 US) charge per day to be in the Marine Park.
We departed the Tobago Cays 0930 on Saturday May 29th and arrived in Admiralty Bay, Bequia (Beck-Way), at 1500 which is the northernmost island in the Grenadines group, in the town of Port Elizabeth the Capital. Along the way we put out our fishing line but caught no fish. We had been to Bequia last year when we were on our way to Grenada but only was here for one day and that was Sunday so nothing was open.
Bequia, the name derived from a Carib Indian word meaning “Island Of The Cloud’s”, and lies nine miles south of St Vincent and is just five miles long and three miles wide for a total of seven sq. miles. Bequia is home to just under 5,000 people and the inhabitants, some of whom are descended from 19th century Scottish sailors, are friendly and easy going and always happy to strike up a conversation with visitors, a broad smile on their faces. The island is steeped in sea-faring traditions such as boat building, fishing and whaling. Bequians are a proud people and descendants of settlers who came from North America on whaling boats, from farms in Scotland, from France as freebooters and from Africa. The picturesque capital of Port Elizabeth has a sleepy, old-world ambience and you can walk from one end to the other in 20 minutes. There’s a great handicraft market, excellent fresh fruit and vegetables market run by friendly Bequians. Port Elizabeth is full of marine and land activity, Bars, Cafes and intriguing shops spread out along the coastal main street, overlooking a natural harbour. A narrow sidewalk along the shoreline at the south side of Port Elizabeth – known as the Belmont Walkway – provides the main access to many of the town’s restaurants and accommodations. In 1979, St Vincent and the Grenadines gained independence within the British Commonwealth. Bequia and the rest of the Grenadines, is governed from the “mainland” island of St Vincent whose governmental system is based on the Westminster style of parliamentary democracy. Bequia has enormous appeal and traffic has increased in recent years with the opening of their airport in 1992 and remains relatively untouched. Here in Bequia, change takes place at a snail’s pace without altering the magic and charm which prevails on this dazzling, sun-drenched little isle.
On Monday as soon as the stores opened we were off to visit the craft shops and check out restaurants. It had started to rain off and on most days as wave after wave (areas of disturbed weather) came through. So far no hurricanes and we were keeping up on all the weather reports via the Sirius Radio and the internet. We are finding dead squids on the deck in the mornings and they must jump up at night. We have talked to other boaters and they are getting them also. We have found prices to be reasonable but not as good as Grenada. We bought a hand fishing line and have tried to catch fish but so far – none.

Stay tuned for more adventures from John & Carol aboard the S/V Sweet Caroline

Union Island to Mayreau

admin — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 10:57:20 +0000

We pulled anchor May 13th and left for Clifton, Union Island in the Grenadines. It is located at the southern end of the Grenadines chain of islands about 40 miles south of St. Vincent and midpoint between St. Vincent and Grenada. It is sometimes called “Little Tahiti” on account of its high, almost vertical peaks which on a clear day are visible from St. Vincent’s Capital Kingstown. It features the highest point in the Grenadines, with its 1,000 foot Mount Tabai. It has about 3,000 inhabitants and approximately 3 miles long. The town of Clifton is full of color and local character, with a picture perfect little market around a green. It is the southern point of entry for customs clearance in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The Union islanders are very welcoming and friendly. Coming into the harbor we noticed that the 60 foot replica of a Kalinago dugout canoe called Karisko, that left Grenada on May 11th making stops in Union Island, Mustique, Bequia, St Vincent and Lt. Lucia en route to Martinique was just ahead of us. Boy that is some manpower of rowing. It was coming through Hillsborough, Carriacou before we left. The objective of the journey of the Akayouman is a symbolic re-enactment of an ancient Amerindian navigation route while linking the peoples of the Windward Islands. The Karisko project aims especially to create conditions for the Martiniquan people to re-connect with the Amerindian history and heritage of their island. Two boat boys met us as we came in and guided us to our anchorage. There sure were a lot of boats here and we were thankful for the boat boys guiding us in since we had never been here before and really didn’t know what to expect. They guided us to a nice sandy area near all the kite surfers. For those who have never seen them, they are on surf boards with lines attached to huge colorful kites. They were cruising in and out of the sailboats and at times I waited for them to get their lines tangled in the masts. If I was a little younger I would be out trying this. It really looked like fun. We were anchored near the S/V Scaramouch which is a West Indian Schooner used in one of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies. You can enjoy aboard this boat a daily trip to the Tobago Cays and play Captain Jack. After we got anchored we had the boat boys get us a bag of ice. When they came back they wanted $20 EC dollars ($7.44 US) and we thought we were getting ripped off. When we got to town we found that everywhere we went the bags of ice were all $15 EC dollars so we felt a little better about the boat boys. We walked around town checking everything out and found the price of food and drink was a lot higher than even Carriacou which was higher than Grenada. You don’t have much choice if you need something and even the selections were limited. We found some oysters crackers in one of the grocery stores and John bought all they had (4 bags). We found out later that this was a big mistake. They are really hard to find and every grocery store we go in that is the first thing John looks for. John can’t eat his Tomato Soup or Oyster Stew Soup without them. In fact when he was back in Florida he brought back about 6 bags. When we got back to the boat John decided to have some Oyster Stew and opened one bag of the oyster crackers and boy were they bad. The must have sat on that shelf for 3-4 years. We opened up another, and then another and all were the same. We threw them out for the birds to eat and I hope they don’t get sick.
One day we took a bus to Ashton and walked around. The main road was filled with bars and restaurants. We walked up a hill and saw a well that was built in the 1800’s and still used today to draw water. The houses all had cisterns to catch water on their roofs.
We were getting low on water so we pulled anchor May 19th and went over to Petite Martinique about 4 miles away. We pulled up to the dock and filled with water and got 3 bags of ice. It was a lot cheaper here and about a third the price than over in Union Island.
We left and headed for Chatham Bay which is on the west side (lee side) of Union Island with a large protected anchorage. It is a most beautiful yacht hideaway and dotted with local shacks which boasted great food and drink which we found out to be expensive at least more than we had been paying. There was no internet or cell phone service here. After anchoring we saw a few large turtle swimming around.
After a few days we decided to move a little north and go to Saline Bay, Mayreau. It is 1 ¼ square miles with a population of 250 people with a beautiful sandy beach. After anchoring we walked up the hill to the village. All along the walkways they had friendly bars and local restaurants. We stopped at one of the restaurants and had barbecue chicken and ribs. It was a great buy and the best we had seen since leaving Grenada. After lunch we continued up the hill to the quaint little stone Catholic Church (Immaculate Conception). We walked around to the back of the church and you could see the whole island. Boy what a view! The next day the mail ferry boat came from St. Vincent with about 100+ people aboard. We were told later they were here on holiday for a day.

Stay tuned for more adventures from John & Carol aboard the S/V Sweet Caroline

Carriacou and Petite Martinique

admin — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 13:41:09 +0000

The date is April 24th and we are anchored here in Tyrrel Bay, Carriacou patiently waiting to get the O.K. that we will get our boat hauled. Most people don’t realize Carriacou is one of the three islands in the nation of Grenada and this humble isle is often forgotten. It is approximately 13 sq. miles and has interesting topography created by centuries - old volcanic activity. The island’s name is derived from the Carib meaning “land surrounded by reefs”. You won’t find cruise ships here and this is West Indian life the way it was 50 years ago – quiet, laid back and relaxed.
The day finally arrived that they said we were going to be hauled and we had only waited a week. When our boat was finally hauled out of the water, the bottom was full of barnacles, which we figured it would be after 2 ½ years. Living in the marina on the boat we had to contend with dust, dirt, mosquitoes and a dirty marina shower/bathroom. Now I see why people stay in hotel rooms while their boat is being worked on. We could have stayed at the Yacht Club but it was filled up. Only one mishap during the time there was when Carol was putting bottom paint way up in the thru holes. She was using a sponge brush and the brush came apart and stayed stuck. Whoops!!! After trying a few things and a few cuss words from John, he finally gave Carol a wire rod that Carol tried at first to push it down the sink in the head. This didn’t work so she went outside and pushed it up through the thru hull. She finally lucked out and was able to lodge it loose. Well a lesson was learned from this and I’m sure she won’t do this again. After about three quarters of the way being finished putting on the bottom paint we saw we were going to be short paint due to the heat and humidity. Being that there were no marine chandleries on the island here we were lucky the marina could get us some more from Grenada and it would be sent by ferry the next afternoon. It was a big surprise when we paid for it and no ferry charges were on the bill. After a week in the marina, we were glad when they finally put us back in the water so we could open the boat up and not worry about mosquitoes. The first thing we did was to wash down the topside of the boat and get all the dirt and grime off. Even though the boatyard was inexpensive I don’t think we will go back there.
The next day, May 7th, we left for Hillsborough which is on the west side of Carriacou. We just spent the night off the town before heading north.
The next morning after breakfast we left for Petite Martinique which is the last outpost of Grenada. It is located three miles east of Carriacou and they don’t call it Petit for nothing – this island measures one mile in diameter and conical in shape. Its inhabitants were mainly a seafaring community, so most of the men folk were originally either fisherman or sailors. We arrived to find a little sleepy town, very picturesque. We tried to anchor and started dragging after about thirty minutes. I finished cooking lunch before we pulled the anchor and snatched one of the free mooring balls. You can really get some good sleep when you know you were going to be in the same place in the morning and not drag. It was a perfect spot, with a nice breeze, internet, gentle rocking of the boat and no loud music. The next day we went out to lunch at a restaurant on the beach where we sat out in the garden shaded by palm trees. We decided we would try the hamburgers, fries and malts. The hamburgers were so bad we had to feed them to the dog without the owners seeing us. The malts were made with canned milk we found out after the first sip and they were gross. The french fries turned out to be our lunch for the day and some of the best we have had so far. At least something was edible. After our skimpy lunch we went into town looking for bread and were told no one bakes bread for sale on the island and we had to wait for the ferry later that afternoon if we wanted any. Well it was back to the boat for the day and get ready for our departure Tuesday May 11th.
The next morning we pulled anchor and left to go back to Hillsborough, Carriacou where we knew we could get supplies. We had another problem anchoring when we got back to Hillsborough and had to move and try again. I’m beginning to wonder on John’s technique in anchoring. One thing we might have to do is snorkel on the anchor to see if it’s set. They tell you to do this and we haven’t been doing it. It’s a good thing this happens during the day and we don’t have a Mexican fire drill after dark. Before we left the next day we saw the 60’ dugout canoe that was going to row Christopher Columbus’s route and I’m not sure how far up the Caribbean they were going. I counted twenty-five oarsmen, one man in front yelling commands and one in back steering. They were headed for Union Island and we would probably see them there.

Stay tuned for more adventures from John & Carol aboard the S/V Sweet Caroline

Grenada and Heading To Places North

admin — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 23:23:36 +0000

We started getting our boat ready to leave Grenada; doing all our grocery shopping, laundry and a million other little chores. We finally got the anchor up April 11th and headed for St. Georges, Grenada which is our staging point for islands north. Seas were great and wow! No water coming over the sides. We had the sails up for once as we were not beating into the wind. We anchored outside St. Georges to get the final things accomplished before we left. We had to do the laundry again, grocery shopping again and had to fill our tanks with water (water maker not working again). We have had hardly any rain so we couldn’t get any in our rain catchers on the decks. John’s Fed Ex package finally arrive from the US (US Customs & Documentation Paper) so now we were good to go and just waiting on another weather window.
We didn’t have long to wait and left St. Georges, Grenada after 5 ½ months, Thursday April 15th for Tyrrel Bay, Carriacou off the town of Harvey Vale. This is where we planned to get the boat hauled and bottom painted. We had another terrific sail with seas 5-6’ and it was a piece of cake again with no water coming over the sides. That meant “Digger” Carol wouldn’t have to tear the boat apart to see if any water came into the boat. Life is great! There is not much to see here in Tyrrel Bay; a few restaurants/bars, grocery stores, Carriacou Yacht Club and the Tyrrel Bay Haul Out Marina. The marina we are told is infested with mosquitoes and are not looking forward to that. After getting here we have walked around the town a few times, going into stores just to see what was actually here. We have gone into Hillsborough (capital) by bus twice to get groceries, check out new restaurants and just check out the town. We found the prices were a little higher here and some things you couldn’t get at all. We should have – could have – should have - gotten more groceries before we left St. Georges. What is it about hindsight? We were told we would be hauled out April 21st and that day has come and gone and we are still waiting. They don’t move here to fast and like the Bahamas “maybe tomorrow”. We have had some locals coming by selling their wares and we bought some wine off one and two dozen oysters off another. The oyster man cleaned the oysters right in his dinghy and it only cost us $8.00 US plus two rum & cokes that night and one rum and coke the next night. Now when evening comes we hide down in the boat so he doesn’t come for more drinks. John says he is going to put Carol in the dinghy each evening to go from boat to boat for rum & cokes! Every Saturday they have fresh fruits and veggies from the locals just off the government dock. Fishing must be good here for the boat next to us caught a nice size red snapper the other night. We took off in our dinghy the next day and tried to troll a line behind it but came back empty handed.
We have been here in Tyrrel Bay now for over a week and still are awaiting the moment to get our boat hauled. So now it’s back to computer work, pictures and reading and other boat chores .

Stay tuned for more adventures from John & Carol aboard the S/V Sweet Caroline

Grenada 1-22-10 to 4-4-10

admin — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 21:13:01 +0000

We started getting real roly-poly again at our anchorage here in Clarks Court Bay, Grenada and the internet was off – at least we couldn’t pick it up so we decided to go one bay to the west and anchor in a place called Hog Island. We pulled the anchor at 0930, January 22, (and for once it was really dug in and full of mud and grass). It was another anchor drill brushing and using our wash down on the bow to get all the mud, etc. off. It was a messy job but someone had to do it. We left out through the reefs and then had to come back through some more to get to the anchorage. No problem just read the charts and read the buoys marking the passage. We arrived at 1145 and anchored the furthest boat out toward the reef so we could pick up the internet from another provider. It was our first time anchored here and there are about thirty-five boats here in the anchorage. The anchorage seemed to be really calm, with the reefs just offshore from us blocking the waves. We could see Roger’s ramshackle wood shack beach bar over on the beach where they have food and entertainment different nights of the week. It will be a new place to explore.
As soon as we anchored I (Carol) started practicing starting and running the dinghy because I was the big cheese while John was gone. It had been some 20 years since I had even run a dinghy. Boy this was going to be fun. I can do this I knew and after a few wild wide arcs going round in a circle I got the hang of it. Now I know why I never liked running the dinghy because it was too much like the old 22’ sailboat with the tiller and I never did well with that. What do they say, practice, practice, practice.
On Sunday, January 24th John & I left by dinghy in the dark for Clarks Court Bay Marina where he had a taxi waiting to pick him up at 0500. It was a scary ride through the dark and we had to navigate under a bridge and go between the pilings that are marked with reflectors so you don’t hit the bottom. After dropping John off, Carol decided to wait until 0600 when it got light out to navigate her way back to the boat. This was it, my first time running the dinghy by myself without anyone there to help. Scary, Scary, Scary! I did all the things John had drilled into my head; got the engine started on the first pull, unlocked the chain locking the dingy and motor to the dock, and away I went. It was quite a rush to be by myself. As I left the dock, I was a good girl and put the red cord attached to the starter around my wrist so if I fell out of the dinghy the engine would shut off and not run over me. I made it back to the bridge and through the correct pilings with the reflectors. This was a real chore because the sun was directly in my eyes. I weaved the dinghy through all the anchored boats in Hog Island and made it back to our boat just like I really knew what I was doing and shut off the engine like a pro. I chained the dinghy to the boat, tilted the engine up out of the water. This was quite an accomplishment I must say so, for the engine is heavy (100 lbs) and it took only two tries to get it up. I talked to John later in the afternoon to get his report how the trip through Customs/Immigration in Trinidad turned out and he said “No Problem”. I know he was worrying a little because of all the problems I had when I went back to Florida last October.
The band over at Roger’s Beach Bar started playing around 1630 and go fast boats of the locals kept coming by. I had the anchor light on and our cockpit light hanging so I wouldn’t get hit; at least I hoped I wouldn’t. It was my first time ever to be alone at night on the boat. I felt pretty safe here with all the boaters around. At first I kept watching the GPS anchor alarm to make sure I was holding good and not dragging.
The next day “Digger”, Carol started taking apart the boat, cleaning and logging all the stores in all the different compartment/lockers in the boat. It was sure nice not to have to stop and cook for once. I talked to John on Skype (internet phone), and he said he took back the rental car and dropped it off at the airport. He walked a few blocks to the Rialto Hilton; caught one of the city buses headed toward Palm Bay; got off at the new Palm Bay shopping center called Hammock Landing; transferred to another city buses which took him to within a block from our house in Palm Bay. It was the first time he had ever been on one of the city buses and was pretty cheap; $.65 for seniors.
On Thursday I took the dinghy over to Lower Woburn to the dinghy dock and walked out to the street to catch the bus to St Georges. I went to the government offices where I got my Immigration permit renewed for another 90 days. I was feeling pretty good getting around without John. There are several single handed women cruisers here so if they can do it I can. Friday I decided to get off the boat and went to Clarks Court Bay Marina with some other cruisers where a bus was waiting to take us to Gouyave which is Grenada’s fishing capital. Just before sunset the driver pulled over and I witnessed the most spectacular Green Flash that I have seen so far since on this trip. Green flashes are optical phenomena that occur shortly after sunset when a green spot is visible, usually for no more than a second or two, above the sun, or a green ray shoots up from the sunset point. I had been to Gouyave before but it was good to go again. There were so many different island foods to pick from it was hard to decide what to eat
The time passed fast while John was gone and one morning while I was having coffee, lo and behold he appears. He had gotten back to the marina ahead of time and talked one of the boaters in the marina to run him out to the boat. He was only allowed to check one suitcase holding 50# and one carry-on bag on the leg of the trip from Trinidad to Grenada so he sure wasn’t loaded down like I was on previous trips from the states.
That night we went into the marina and watched the Super Bowl on their big screen. It was the first time we had seen it since we left. Being late when it finished, it was pitch black out and we had to navigate back to the boat without hitting anything or anyone hitting us along the way. The locals have a tendency at night to run fast and furious without any lights and this is really dangerous. The next Sunday we talked the marina owner into showing the Daytona 500 on the big screen. He announced it over the VHF several times during the week but John & I were the only ones there watching it. I guess we are the only NASCAR fans around.
The next couple of months we just hung out; worked on boat projects; traipsed around down town; grocery shopped; did laundry; got together with other cruisers; took pictures; read and the list goes on and on. We like it here in Grenada; beautiful water and wonderful locals.
I think the boat has put down roots but now we are in the thinking mode again and contemplating heading north to visit some of the islands we missed on the way down. It’s hard when you’re having fun to get up the energy to move on but as soon as the seas die down we will definitely move if not just to see some new scenery.
Happy Easter to everyone and have a nice holiday.

Stay tuned for more adventures from John & Carol aboard the S/V Sweet Caroline

Grenada 12-29-09 to 1-21-10

admin — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 00:31:00 +0000

We were sitting in the cockpit having an early cup of coffee 12/29/09 and John said “I think we are dragging”, “those dreaded words” that no sailor likes to hear. We had been anchored here off St. Georges Lagoon, Grenada, in the same spot for over 1 ½ months. It was getting a little roly-poly so we decided just to pull the anchor and head to Prickly Bay which is on the south coast. Earlier John had pulled up the weather on the internet and the seas were 7’ with a swell coming from the N.W. When we got out in the ocean we found it not to be that bad. It took us two hours to go from St. Georges to Prickly Bay. We found a spot to anchor where we had been before.
The next day we took the dinghy to the dinghy dock at the Big Fish Restaurant and walked up to the road to catch a bus to the Foodland Grocery Store on the Lagoon in St. Georges. We had taken our Cruising Permit and Boat Documentation papers with us because we were told they gave a 5% discount on groceries over $100 EC (Eastern Caribbean) dollars. It didn’t take us long to get over the $100 EC dollar amount. We bought a case of rum, five cases of boxed milk and several other miscellaneous items. We saved about $20 EC dollars and that’s about $7.45 US dollars. With all our groceries we couldn’t take the bus back so we grabbed a taxi and the cost was about what we had saved at the grocery store. New Years Eve came and we decided to stay on the boat. At 1200 AST (Atlantic Standard Time) we watched magnificent fireworks being shot off at four different places. What a view we had. I took some pictures and captured a few pretty good ones on my camera. The French 60+ foot Catamaran next to us was really celebrating. They had about four or five couples there and after the fireworks they all jumped in the water. Better them than us, for the water had to be a little cold, with a 80.2 degree temperature. I guess they didn’t mind with all the white lightning they were drinking. After getting back on board they started playing instruments and singing. I heard a guitar, drum and accordion. This went on until about 0300 in the morning and the Captain; (John) couldn’t get to sleep and was in a bad mood. Their partying continued each night and they again started playing instruments and singing late into the night. They kept waking up the Captain who wasn’t in too good of a mood. They sure were party animals but what the heck as far as I was concerned they sure weren’t bothering me (Carol). I was up anyway and I kind of enjoyed them. Every night though they would jump in the water and swim around the boat. We thought we had left the roly-poly seas back in St. Georges but we had to lock the head (bathroom) door because it would swing back & forth banging loudly. We had to redo some of our things so they didn’t fly off the shelves. “Brain Surgeon” devised a way to lift the dinghy (or so he thought) with our electric windless. He had a oops when the windless pulled out of the deck. This oops was really funny and I had all I could do not to laugh and get swatted by the Captain. Here John was trying to lift the dinghy; instead the windless was hanging in the air. It had rusted through on the bottom but the real problem was it was 20 years old.. Another salt air problem we have had on the boat. Since it was old, naturally the part that rusted off couldn’t be purchased anywhere, even on-line. John took it off the deck and patched the place where it had gone through the deck. The windless had provided us many years of use for kedging off when we went aground, especially coming back to our townhouse in Satellite Beach, Fl., where we had a few speed bumps and we used to provide the Sunday afternoon entertainment for the Condo’s when we came in and immediately went aground. Another day we needed water on the boat so the Captain tried to run the water maker but it was on the fritz again. “Brain Surgeon”, to work again, had to take it all apart and decided the problem was in the high pressure pump. He found ten chain link balls and when he showed them to me I right away recognized them coming from the chains attached to the covers of the deck fill plates to back flush the water maker pump. We put out a call the next morning on the cruisers net and nowhere on this island did they sell or work on these pumps. He found out that Echo Marine back in Trinidad sold and service these pumps. “Brain Surgeon” put this in his head for computing what to do next and it might take a few days to think of a solution. So now it was back to the old fashion way of carrying the water from the marinas and putting it in the tanks. It hadn’t rained much so we couldn’t collect it that way. “Brain Surgeon” thought about the problem and decided to go to Budget Marine and purchase a raw water strainer so that problem of getting something in the motor wouldn’t occur again.
After listening to the boat next to us partying every night, (quite loud) according to John and the roly-poly seas we decided to move the boat two bays over. We departed Prickly Bay at 1500 on January 8th and arrived in Clarks Court Bay, off Whisper Cove Marina at 1630. The seas were seven feet with an east swell of nine seconds. We put no sails up and motored over the whole way because we were going right into the wind. We saw some buoys which marked the channel coming in through the reefs but you had to keep a close eye out and be able to read the water to avoid the reefs and shoals that extend south of Hog Island. After we anchored John was happy because he could get a better and faster internet connection. He started surfing the net to find the best airline tickets back to Florida and found some bargains via Trinidad to Fort Lauderdale, Fl. The next day we checked out the Whisper Cove Marina and then went down to Lower Woburn and walked through their town. We saw the place where we were to go to get picked up by the bus to take us to down town St. Georges. A few days later we went back to Whisper Cove Marina for one of their flea markets. We actually went for the $5 EC dollar hamburgers ($1.86 US, $5 EC Dollar beers and $5 EC Dollar French fries. Boy what a bargain. We didn’t find anything at the flea market we couldn’t live without but we really enjoyed the food and spirits. The next day John called his doctors in Florida and made appointments for the week of January 26th. It will be the first time John has been back to Florida since we left a year and a half ago. After making the doctor appointments he booked his tickets for Liat Airlines from Grenada to Trinidad (Port of Spain, POS) and from there on Caribbean Airlines to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He booked a rental car from Alamo for $30 per day to get from Ft. Lauderdale to the Melbourne airport where he was to return his car. The next day we took the local bus to the Immigration office which was at the Government Center in St. Georges to see if we could extend Carol’s Visa. They said that I had to come back closer to the 29th which was two weeks away. Carol was going to have to go on her own to do this while John was away. The next day I (Carol) started practicing starting the outboard engine and running it around. It was the first time I had tried this in about twenty years. I really had to pull hard to get the engine started. I could just see all the muscles I would build up. The other thing I learned was how to tilt the engine up out of water which we did each evening. We should have been lifting the dinghy up each night because the barnacles and grass were getting disgusting on the bottom. The next day Wednesday January 20th we went over to the Phare Bleu Marina to check it out and get gas for the dinghy and generator. The gas figured out, after converting from EC dollars and Imperial Gallons to $4.03 US a gallon. They had there, parked at the dock, a lovely old Swedish Lightship over 100 years old. This housed the marina office and cruisers lounge & restaurant. You eat on the upper deck in an intimate nautical atmosphere. No one was around for us to visit the historic old engine room where the engines still run. We did check out the museum-like lounge while there.

Stay tuned for more adventures from John & Carol aboard the S/V Sweet Caroline

Current Location-Grenada

admin — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 18:25:29 +0000

Sweet Caroline Location as of Jan 9, 2010. Click on the link below for their exact location.

Sweet Caroline Location

Goodbye Trinidad – Hello Grenada

admin — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 20:44:17 +0000

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

Back To Florida 2009 - Trinidad IV

admin — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:49:27 +0000

Carol hopped the big white metal bird in the sky and came back to Florida 9-20-09 for three weeks. Actually her main objective was to bring back more boat parts that John had ordered and were sitting at one of our son’s houses. Can you think of any other reason John would let her go back! Before Carol departed she scavenged three suitcases, two check-in suitcases and one carry on from local boaters and friends to fill and take home some items not needed off the boat. She carried on the ham radio in a small hard rolling suitcase with wheels which she was going to get checked out in Orlando when she was there. Both in Trinidad when she left going through security and in Miami she had to take the ham radio out so they could hand scan it. When she got to customs in Miami she whizzed through and they didn’t open any of her bags. John stayed behind and worked on the chain plates which were a major undertaking but one that had to be done. The chain plates hold the shrouds to the boat which holds the mast up. He had to get back in the “Brain Surgeon” mode; design; metal cut; holes drilled; round the ends and polish. To get at the chain plates he had to tear apart half the boat which was another reason for Carol to leave the boat. He had a master German machinist Klaus build the replacements.
While Carol was in Florida she attended the local United States Power & Sail Squadron meeting and gave a little talk about the trip and some of problems that have happened along the way. While there she visited back and forth between both sons’s (John & Steve) and got to see all the grandchildren which are all growing up fast. Also while there her daughter, Renee and Grandson Michael whom she hadn’t seen in about three years came down from Alabama for a few days visit. Grandson Michael while there bowed a 300 game (perfect score) on the WII (interactive game played over the TV).
The three weeks went by fast and now it was time to pack and leave to go back to the sailboat in Trinidad. To get back into Trinidad she had to make a list of every boat part, noting the description, manufacture number and manufacture price. On the boxes she had to mark “Parts for Boat in Transit”. She got through security in Florida and didn’t have to pay any extra fees even though one suitcase weighed in at fifty three pounds. When she arrived in Trinidad and went through Immigration she was told she needed some letter from Immigration that she was suppose to get before she ever left Trinidad. After about 45 minutes they decided to let her in the country and gave her two days to report to the Immigration Office in Chaguaramas. Luck was on her side again when she went through customs for they never opened up any suitcases and just waived her through. She gave a great sign of relief for she was dreading unloading all the suitcases and then have to repack again. As she came out she John waiting for her in the airport waiting area. He had rented a car for two days and it sure looked like it came from “Rent a Wreck” for everything looked like it was falling apart. When he had picked up the car it had no gas and had to stop at the boat and get some dinghy fuel to put in. After five hours, due to a broken water pipe on the only road that goes through Port of Spain and out to Chaguaramas, we finally made it back to the boat and it was too late that day to go to Immigration. The next day when she went to the Immigration Office in Chaguaramas they again gave her a big hassle. It seemed they don’t want any yachties in their county. You almost wished you could just go back to your boat and leave. We spent the next few days putting away parts, etc. and “Brain Surgeon” was now in high gear to finish the last two chain plates.
A week later some Trini friend’s, Joy & David, picked us up for a trip to the Caroni Swamp where we were to see the snowy egrets and scarlet ibis which is the Trinidad & Tobago national bird. When we got there we boarded a 30 ft. open wood boat and went through a maze of mangroves and along the way we saw four boa constrictor snakes in the trees overhead. What a scary site to see them coiled up in the branches and it’s a good thing they didn’t decide to drop down into our boat because I’m sure everyone would have screamed? We found a place in the mangroves to await the birds to come and nest across from us in one of the mangrove bushes. We saw herons, egrets and ibis birds which were the three predominant among the swamps 150 bird species. The snowy egrets were brilliant as was the scarlet Ibis flying in this one mangrove bush and the scarlet ibis glowed fluorescent red in the final rays of the evening sun. We were told later in the year more birds come and the mangroves bushes glow red with the beautiful scarlet ibis. On the way back from the swamp we were sideswiped by a car carrying three black locals who got behind us and kept blinking their lights for us to pull over. We were on a major six lane expressway headed back to Port of Spain and there was no way we were going to stop as it was already dark out. They kept trying to run us off the road and changing lanes when we did. They finally got ahead of us and cut us off blocking our path because cars were coming fast in the other two lanes. It’s a wonder we didn’t get rear ended from the back. A big black local got out and started walking back to our car shouting that the accident was our fault. We were in our lane when we were hit and it was the other car that came over into our lane. It got a little scary for a minute and our adrenalin was really pumping but we then saw a cop car blinking his lights coming up fast behind us. The other car took off real fast when he saw the cops and I really think we were being set up for a car robbery. The cops took off after the car and that was the last we saw of either of them. We did get the license number off the car and David was going to report it the next day at the police station. . When we got back to our boat we looked at the side of the car where we got hit and the damaged was minimal. We decided that was enough excitement for one day.
We are now back again working full blast to get the boat ready for our target date of departure from Trinidad, Wednesday 10-28-09 and head north to Grenada providing we had cooperating sea and fair winds. Our visa expires from Trinidad 10-31-09 and we didn’t want to get an extension even if we could.

Stay tuned for more adventures from John & Carol aboard the S/V Sweet Caroline