Kids arrived as scheduled (a miracle!) at Grenada Marine,
where we were sitting at the bar, food waiting,
just in case...good thing! They
were both starving after a really long travel day.
We spent the next day getting ready to set sail, which
always involves something going
wonky-in this case, the canvas shop that stored our sails returned our Genoa
with the wrong shackle, a real problem, as we did not have a spare, and the one
they sent did not fit. We went in to the
marina & managed to find a new one, which Bill promptly dropped into the
drink while trying to install. Doh! To top it all off? The sail was completely (and I mean seriously) infested with thousands of tiny
ants....which I have been waging war against ever since. I am slowly winning,
and so far have kept them out of the galley-yay me!
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| Anchorage at St. George's |
We moved north, to
St. George's, a nice anchorage located close to the Port Louis Marina, a good
grocery store & town. We spent a
couple of days touring the Fort, Snorkeling in the underwater Sculpture Garden,
and provisioning. We also found a new
shackle and managed to install it properly.
All sails now on, tested, and functional. I saw my second green flash
here, and though I tried to get a picture, someone (who shall remain nameless)
decided that this was the perfect time to raise our main sail, to be sure it
was working properly....so no record of that for posterity....
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| Snorkeling the Sculpture Garden |
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| Ring of Children - Sculpture Garden |
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| Ryan Checks out the Children |
Our next stop was the island of Carriacou, where we anchored
just long enough to take a bus ride to Hillsborough to clear out of
Grenada. The ride was an awesome way to
see a fair amount of this lovely little island, and we completed our business
quickly enough that we had some time to wander about town a bit.
We had places to go and people to see, so off we went to
Union Island (Saint Vincent & the Grenadines), where Jante and his Happy
Island Bar awaited us. We picked up a
mooring ball in the bay, dodged boat boys, cleared in to the country, and
promptly dinghied over to the tiny island Jante created out of conch shells for
a libation. Jante has jacked his prices
since we were there last, so it was a quick stop! We had a bit off excitement
that evening, though; as we were enjoying dinner near the ferry dock, people
started gathering in large numbers. Apparently,
the ferry from St. Vincent had lost one engine while at sea, and the other went
out in the entrance to the harbor. The
ferry ran aground on a reef just inside
the bay. Fortunately, no one was
hurt...and they managed to unload the passengers and much of the cargo, using
the small boats that rushed out to assist. The engine was restarted about two
hours later, and the ferry came in to dock.
Amazingly, it went out as scheduled the next morning at 8 am! As did we, off to Tobago Cays :)
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| At Happy Island Bar |
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| Union Island Lagoon |
We spent two gorgeous nights in the Cays. One of my favorite (deserted type) places so
far on our travels! Swam with the sea
turtles, snorkeled Horseshoe Reef, and visited Petit Tabac, the island where
Captain Jack Sparrow & Elizabeth Swan were marooned.
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| Exploring Petit Tabac |
|
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| Morgan Checks out Wreckage |
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Then it was off to Mayreau.
We climbed up to the top of the island, enjoyed the 360° panoramic view,
and then caved to the inevitable...found a sports bar (so to speak) and watched
some American football...it was Sunday, after all! One of the local restaurants
had a Steel Pan band, so we parked ourselves for dinner and enjoyed some great
music. Before we were even served, the power on the entire island went out-no
worries, though! Seems this is a common
occurrence here, and the staff promptly put
out lanterns and candles, then carried on as if nothing was unusual.
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| Mayreau Sports Bar |
Christmas Eve brought us to Canouan, where the first boat
boy to greet us held up two large Caribbean Lobster-sold! Lobster Casserole for dinner, using my mom's
not-so-secret-anymore recipe. Christmas
Day dawned wet and windy, but had a lovely day with family anyway. Merry Christmas!
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| A Truly Horrible Photo of a Lovely Dinner! |
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| A Christmas Day Rain Shower |
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|
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| Our Christmas Tree |
We put Canouan behind us and sailed out into some blustery
winds and swelly seas. Morgan was not
too fond of that particular passage! We
had a moment of uncertainty when our GPS decided to go out, but we always keep
a deck log while sailing, so even if we had not been able to reboot, we would
have had no problem charting our course. Four hours later we were in Bequia,
safely tucked in Admiralty Bay, right off of a gorgeous beach. Spent a couple of days lazing about and enjoying
the warm, clear water.
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| Bill Enjoys Bequia |
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| Morgan Wanted to Adopt This Puppy |
Marigot Bay was calling us, so we hauled anchor at 0400,
much to the dismay of our young crew.
The Captain was so sure they would enjoy the full moon sail, that he
rousted them out of bed to assist in our departure. They helped raise the sails, and promptly
went back to bed. Did not see them again
until 0900. I am not super fond of long
night passages, but when there is a full moon, it can be pure magic! Traveling
between the islands here means there is a lot to look at, as opposed to
the usual vast expanse of ocean while at sea.
We had some big swells & gusty winds until we sailed into the lee of
St. Vincent. Of course, we then sailed
back out again...but ten hours later, we were safely tucked into Marigot Bay
and were able to clear customs in Saint Lucia.
Another stamp on the passport!
Morgan immediately decided that Marigot Bay is her favorite stop so far...the
most Caribbean yet, she said. Off to
Doolittle's for a game of pool, and of course, a nice cold Piton.
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| Passage to Marigot |
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| A Wee Bit Rough |
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| Morgan's Favorite Place |
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| A Libation at The Swim-up Bar |
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| Pool At Doolittle's |
New Years Eve was fast approaching, so we moved on up to
Rodney Bay Marina, where we will actually be at the dock for the next three
weeks or so. Why? Playoffs, of course! T.V and internet are quite spotty down here
in the islands, so planning ones route according to coverage is most
important! With the Patriots, Packers
and Niners all in the Superbowl race, we clearly had to make the proper
adjustments in our schedule in order to watch all the key games....
So here we are-the New Year rung in with Champagne and
fireworks, ready to tackle 2013 with enthusiasm! We send Ryan back to the real world tomorrow,
but get to "keep" Morgan until two days after her 21st birthday....should
be interesting, and as always....
We'll try to keep you posted :)
