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