When will we ever learn?

22/11/2010
In my last blog I was crowing about being in danger of being able to see the tunnel, (not the light at the end of it, mind you !), but we then had the temerity to set sail on a Friday nogal! I justified that by declaring it a “Fishing” trip around to St Georges, as opposed to a “Passage!” Klaus (see pic of the 4 of us at La Sargesse) says we still broke the rule, so what did we expect? But he’s German and inflexible!!
Our leisurely trip started well with a barracuda in the bag even before we reached the drop off line, some 7nm south of the point. On the run back up the line we were hoping for the odd Tuna and Dorado. Fat chance!
As we turned the 270deg to head back, the fresh water pump started screaming like a banshee, sprouting water and generally declaring itself U/S. We were forced to sail the 9 miles back, against the 2.0 knot current, with only 6 to 7 knots of wind on the nose!
We nurdled and tacked our way backwards and forwards, using every little black cloud we could find, and managed to make about 5 miles in 5 hours towards St Georges. Just as we were showing signs of progress, with our perfectly trimmed sails, (making a whole 1.5knots), then the wind stopped… as in zero ! “Shwopper” had to be launched, and lashed alongside, with the little mercury 3.3hp going at full taps. We resumed our progress at a credible 1.4knots, and were able to drop the new Rocna in the often poor holding area outside St Georges. On arrival , I dinghied in to Port Louis and arranged for a mooring, a tow in at 10.00 am next day, and for a mechanic to then visit us at 11.00am. A quick dive on the anchor indicated that it was lying upside down like a wanton woman… Without an engine or breeze to help set it, we could only hope that when push comes to shove, as it were, it would turn around and dig itself in alright!
By 10.30 the next morning, there was no sign of our arranged tow. My phone call at 11.00 only elicited a promise to phone me back! This came at 12.00 with the news that Management Policy had now changed, and they were unable to offer this service. When reminded that we had done the same thing three weeks earlier, I was told that the Insurance policy rules made it impossible now. You will have to make your own arrangements we were told !
Fellow cruiser‘s love a challenge, and are often more useful than Marina hands anyway, so it did not take long before we were safely moored thanks to a fellow cruiser with a 15hp dinghy, while we were watched by the Marina staff from their High Risk twin 60hp Port Louis Marina boat. By now we had missed the mechanic, and were forced to rearrange his visit for Monday.
Day one in the new superyacht berth saw a vicious swell ricocheting off the dock, which caused a terrible jerking and snatching on the docklines. The midship cleat began to move, allowing the pouring rain to soak all our manuals, and when the bowline snapped, we ended up with a deep scratch down the side! I would hate to be in here in a hurricane!

Needless to say I was underwhelmed with Port Louis this time around, and decided to check up on the “policy” stories with the GM, and at the same time offer him a couple of choices.! He could either admit to poor management who failed to a advise their Dock Manager and staff about the “new” policies, ( they had no idea about this when I made the plans with them), or, he could tell me there had been no change of policy, and his team were just slack assed liars! I ran into him in the Marina offices, and asked him to take his pick! He chose a third option! No change of policy: The dock manager forgot to tell the experienced boat driver, who then also failed to pitch up for work. The new boy did not want to rat on his mate once I started phoning, and he did not feel competent enough to do it alone, and leave the marina unattended, and therefore became creative with his excuses. Sorry says GM! i.e. slack assed liars! (S.A.L’s)

The week end brought a cruise ship, a rainbow and a little R & R in pretty St Georges, before we placed the order for a replacement pump from Tortola on Monday. It arrived in Grenada on Wednesday morning, but took 6 days to be cleared.. This despite daily follow ups, and a Friday promise that I would have it by 10.00am on Monday ,….and that it would be fitted that afternoon! More S.A.L’s ! Having received it at 5pm on the Monday, the fitment was rescheduled for the next day. On Tuesday, however, we learnt that this too would not be possible as they had other commitments! It took an x -rated tantrum , before the plan was revised, and another mechanic was sent to do the job.
Meanwhile “Lord Perkins Sir Diesel”, has now been officially demoted to “perkins”, until he shows a change of attitude and behaviour. When the new pump is fitted, we will give him an oil change and a few new belts, and put him on “Final Warning”. Perhaps he will see the error of his ways, and behave a little better as we restart our trek north!
“Swhopper” *, on the other hand , was given a smart new UV protective cover, by Mary, as a thank you for his valiant efforts ! The scratch has been fixed, and toe rails re-varnished, so by tomorrow evening we hope to be back to square one, but just a bit more platsak! Visitors from the Cruise liner polished our egos too, by declaring Sheer a really beautiful boat!
But before the mechanic arrived we were asked to move to another mooring, to make way for “Party Girl”… the biggest luxury charter yacht in the Caribbean . (Look it up on Google!! 146ft of opulence.) This confirmed that the no tow policy was nonsense, as we were given all the help we needed, to make room for Party Girl!

*
“Swhopper” is the Gemini dinghy given to us

by Alan Cook, who gave it this name after seeing Terminator 2 , and hearing Arnold Schwarzenegger tell all his men to “get into the Schwopper” ( Helicopter)

Waiting for "Tomas"

June too soon, July stand by, August you must, September Remember, October its Over!! So they say!
24th October saw us beating our way back to Grenada, only to find ourselves in the first stages of a Hurricane panic! “ A large area of Low pressure tropical disturbance, associated with a tropical wave 1050nm south east of the Windwards, has a 20% chance of becoming a tropical storm within the next 48 hours!” This was the National Hurricane centre report that we faced on the 25th October. The next day it jumped to an 80% probability, and the models projected paths ranging between Venezuela, and Trinidad to St Lucia in the North.
Where to duck to……. What to do… ?? People upping anchors and heading North , South, and West! Hyper activity everywhere!
Our planned strategy has always been to run south at the first definite tracking signs of a tropical storm. It was not yet a storm, and the track projections too varied, and we still had 72 hours at least before it reached our longitude. So we prepared the boat, and sat tight in a rapidly emptying Prickly Bay, and decided to make our call the following day, based on the latest information. “Tomas” was named the following day as a Tropical Storm, and a probability of escalating to a Hurricane during the next 48 hrs…. but more significantly, the projected path was showing a more North Westerly track, and indicating a passage through St Lucia. Being in the SE quadrant as it approached , meant that we should miss the worst of it by just staying put, and at worst , it might just give Grenada a glancing blow!

Hurricane holes and mangrove swamps were filling up fast, despite maximum expected winds gusting to 40knots. We moved to a slightly more protected area in Prickly Bay, and deployed our 30kg Bruce on 50mts chain to port, and our new Rocna, also on 50mts at 60 degs to Starboard. Our 25kg CQR, on 20 mts chain, and 60mts nylon warp, was coiled on deck in event of an emergency.
Shops were emptied of water and foodstuffs, and the island waited….. The Grenada Emergency Authorities instructed all non essential service workers to stay at home….and still the island waited. Talk show hosts on radio ratcheted up the hysteria to fever pitch… and everyone waited…. “H” hour came , and went….. No wind…. No rain…. Tomas twitched further north West, punishing Barbados , and heading through St Lucia and St Vincent.
Cruisers start checking the well being of their mates further north. A few boats were damaged, but thankfully all our friends were safe. Mike and Lesley ( Extasea) were in Bequia, and winds maxed out at 50knots, and a few boats around them dragged sustaining some damage. They had a charter group on board, who were just disappointed not to be spending their time at the Cays.
The seas got up a bit for us, but the winds never came! We swung around, and around, and around on our twin anchors ,and created a great big steel koeksister, which took far longer to untangle than it took to deploy! The biggest wind that came our way, was 24knots…… two days after Tomas had passed. A normal sailing day in Hout Bay!
Without doubt, the biggest blessing for cruisers these days, is the incredible advance warning and forecasting services available via wifi and internet, which enable cruisers to make informed decisions and plans. I am including a number of the actual images we saw, as events unfolded. Most of these are thanks to the National Hurricane Centre in Miami, plus the satellite based Grib files.
Tomas came, and went, and we were left unscathed , and better prepared for any future threats , and will stick to our rule not venture further North than Bequia in the Hurricane Season!

Little things come together to make a BIG difference

My blogs have been a bit scarce of late, but our chores and boat work are collectively coming together, and improving our peace of mind, and cruising lifestyle!
We did a night run down to Trinidad a few weeks back, with a big list of things to do, buy, and people to see! Replacing Lord Perkins timing belt, ditching the Mase genset, buying a wet /dry powerful small vacuum cleaner, a Honda 2kva Inverter generator, a 25kg Rocna anchor, new windlass gypsy, momentary foot control switch for the windlass, a new push button Eco stove, security grids for the butterfly hatch, updating the software on the Mastercharger… etc etc!
Amazingly, we nailed it all in two weeks, and still had time to organise a South African cruisers braai at Crews Inn Marina! We were joined by Nick and Lynette Marvin ( Ukulele Lady), Mike and Lesley Blamey (Extasea), Larry and Marlo D’Aguiar ( Beatrice), Walter and Jackie ( Jean Marie) Joop & Jaqualette ( Goody), plus Steve (Cinnamon Girl) and Ralph (Uvubu)
We had a great evening discussing launch dates, plans and routes. While we were busy jolling however, unseen by us, a cruiser moored below, was broken into by ever more brazen crooks, and relieved of computers, cameras, cell phones and cash. Sadly, this is no longer unusual in Chaguaramus, as, two days later, another neighbour had his 14ft dinghy and 40hp outboard stolen one night, even though it was “lifted and locked”. Police and authorities don’t seem to be doing much about it, and the local business folk are resorting to patrols and neighbourhood watch type efforts, to protect their businesses, which are battling in the general economic down turn, combined with worries about crime and Piracy issues. Made me feel like we were back in Hout Bay !
We helped Ukulele Lady to splash (our sister ship Shearwater 39), after a very extensive and professional refit, and two days later, were able to sail back to Grenada in the company of a smart and shiny repainted “Beatrice”. We left at 4.00am for a mostly daylight passage ( so that we could fish), and made Prickly Bay 13hrs later with two Dorado each!
No sooner were we back in Grenada, than a widespread general depression decided to grow into Tropical storm Tomas, which put all jobs on hold, put everyone in a tizz, and caused a lemming like exodus from Prickly Bay ! More about Tomas in the next blog! We battened down the hatches, deployed two big anchors, with a third on standby, and started planning our route up the Island chain in time to join Tom and Johness ( Springtime) in St Martin for Christmas.
Once Tomas had passed through, it was back to the job list, where a new big 185w 24v solar panel was added to the array. The 2 X 85w 12v panels were put in series, and then put in parallel with the new 24v unit, and regulated via a new Blue Skies MPPT Solar controller. What a huge difference!! It pumps in between 18 and 24amps for about 5 hour a day! We have also fitted new “Silent” blue carbon fibre blades to the wind generator, and it too is more efficient, as well as quiet! Together with our little Honda genset, and high output alternator, it seems that we are at last beginning to win the power struggle!!!
The new Rocna anchor , which sets incredibly, the new footswitch, and rust free anchor chain ( courtesy of a Nick Marvin discard!), are all helping to simplify and clean up our anchoring routine. Whereas we only ever knew about the light at the end of the tunnel, because we were told it was there…. We are now in real danger of seeing it!
We have booked our haul out for August to November 2011 in Grenada, and will be flying back to RSA for Oct/Nov, after overseeing the re-spray in August. Between now and then, we hope to explore the Leewards, the Virgins, and possibly the Bahamas, before making our way back to Grenada.

Are you showing your balls in Paradise ?

22/08/2010

All yachties have them of course. They are necessary bits of our safety equipment without which we are deemed unfit to go to sea. But….. do you ever use them? Daytime anchor balls, that is.
In among the hundreds of designated anchorages, and the many thousands of yachts with whom we have found ourselves at anchor, we have only seen seven boats displaying Anchor Balls by day. One was by a very diligent Dutchman, in a well prepared ketch, (who ruined the whole image with gaudy bright blue cockpit lights at night !) Another was shown by a very serious old salt flying the red “duster”. All the other five were displayed by fearful Americans. I use the word fearful advisedly, as I was informed by one, that it was not that they thought they would be invisible in the anchorage by day without said balls, but in the litigious society from which they come, they know that no matter how guilty another party might be in case of a dragging or ramming incident, they would lose all rights to compensation, if the guilty party had an American lawyer, and they were not displaying their balls!
So, the further north we sail, and the more we encounter some of the alarmingly incompetent bareboat skippers, many who hail from the USA, the greater is my inclination to pull out my balls from the locker, and dust them off ready for display!

These past ten days have been really fantastic, as we have explored the bays, anchorages and islands which were only hearsay and romantic dreams before we left. From Tyrrel bay (Carriacou), we checked into St Vincent and the Grenadines, at Union Island. On our first approach to Clifton, we were forced to turn, run, and take refuge behind Frigate Island, by a huge black thunderstorm, accompanied by torrential rain, zero visibility, and big winds. The entrance into Clifton harbour is protected by reefs, and is tricky at the best of times… and downright foolish for first timers! An hour later, the sun came out, and we were able to find our way in to a good spot, without the help of the ever present boat boys, always wanting to “take a line” or sell you a mooring buoy. Checking in was a breeze, and we were able to watch the sun set from the unique “Happy’s Bar”, built on to the reef.

We then sailed up to Mayreau, where we anchored in Salt Whistle bay for a couple of days, before spending time in the amazing Tobago Cays. Although the water was not its normal turquoise blue (it had a green hue), it was still very clear, and snorkeling around Horseshoe reef, and amongst all the turtles was very special . It was for Mary a real highlight and sense of achievement. She had always been petrified of swallowing the ocean, and never believed she would be able to get back into the dinghy again! She is now a pro!

We are now in lovely Bequia, where we will spend about a week before heading south again. This is as far north as we wish to be in hurricane season. Even with all the excellent weather information available , we want to be able to run south for 24 hours, and be well out of its range at the first sign of a “nasty” being on track to ruin the dream!

Tales from Tyrrel Bay..............and waterbuck!

The first week of August saw a host of activities, on both land and sea, all packaged around the Carriacou Regatta. .These ranged from Karioki competitions, to Mexican dominoes, on land, and Round the Island keelboat races , as well as the all Island open workboat competition. Most of the land based activities were to raise funds for the Carriacou Childrens Education Fund, and all the yachties a do their bit to help the kids.
We had heard all about the local, no handicap, open workboat sailing races, and were on Paradise beach, ready and waiting for the 11.00am Le Mans style start.. By 11.45 there were still no boats on the beach!!. As the local beach pub barlady explained to me, “No problem mon, dis 11 ‘oclock Caribbean time.! All de boats dey sail frum Bequia, Union, Petit St Vincent, Windward to get here. Be here soon” They started arriving at about 12, some of them having sailed 30 odd miles down from Bequia, just for a morning race! With inter island pride at stake, and good prize money, they take the races very seriously. The boats are beautifully prepared , and are 22 to 30 ft, and crewed by 6 to 8 BIG guys. Each boat needs at least two huge men out on trapeze, as they carry big fully battened lateen mainsails, and genoas, with only a drop down centerboard. Human ballast is everything! The last crew in were given 15 minutes to rest, and time to buy another case of beer, before the race was called.

No count down, no race flags,…. Just a blast on the Vuvusela (yes,it really was taking the place of a conch shell) and a bellow, and they’re off… down the beach , to launch, drop the centre board and go! The race was around most of Carriacou, past Windward, across to PSV, back to Windward , and back to the finish at Hillsborough, a distance of about 20miles, which they cover in about 1hr 30min ! Great spectacle, and great skills!
In terms of our land activities, we were coerced into a Mexican train Double12s Domino’s game, with a bunch of Americans. The game proved to be a mixture of skill, luck, and shit stirring! It came, of course, quite naturally to Mary and I, and we did quite well! We also met a number of extremely interesting fellow cruisers. One fellow, who was nick named “Rocket Scientist “ all day, particularly when he screwed up or got sneaky, turned out to be just that! Gordon just happened to be the chief computer programmer in charge of Nasa, when John Glen did the moon walk!. US Presidential citations and all!!
Maintenance is an ongoing chore aboard, and Mary decided it was time for me to strip and repaint the toilet seat and lid. Having carefully taken it all apart, and painted the tops with my best International Brightside paint, I decided that the easiest way to paint the undersides, was to re assemble it and fit it back to the toilet, paint , and close it so that the wet paint was not exposed. We had been asked out for the afternoon, so it would be dry by the time we got back to the boat. Mary, at the last minute decided that a quick trip to the heads was required before we left, and having ascertained that the seat was dry, on top….. she assumed the position….only to find when she was done, that she now possessed a perfect white waterbuck –like bum ! I was of course abused and reprimanded, but also required to remedy matters. This required her to present her rear in a rather undignified manner, while I undertook a delicate and jointly hysterical paint removing challenge !!
The joys of a cruising life!

Caribbean Anchoring Styles

20/7/2010

Mary and I reckon we are quite slick on Sheer Tenacity ! First we check out the anchorage, select an anchoring position, check the depths, the swing radius, head to wind, drop the hook on a tickey, lay out a good 4-5 times depth scope, in a straight line, set the hook, attach the bridle, let it take up the slack , motor astern to re-check the anchor setting on the bridle …….all accomplished using well rehearsed hand signals. We then sit down smugly, open the anchoring beer, and wait for the applause!! Sadly, there’s always a deafening silence!

We have meantime, become admirers of the techniques of others! We have consolidated some of them into the following types:

1 ) The Dog Turd Droppers ( DTD’s)
2 )The French way
3 )The Ice breakers
4 )The German buoys
5 ) Bareboat Cat Clowns

The DTD’s sail under many National flags. They approach their final chosen spot, drop the anchor, with the entire chain right on top of the anchor ! That’s it. Job done! Invariably they have no idea of depths, swing radius, or whether rocks, reefs or neighbouring yachts could be a problem. The first time the wind pipes up, straightening out their chain, is usually marked by the signs of panic.

The French are very laid back , and their approach is often evidenced by sneaky jinking in and out, between closely anchored boats. Using this stealth approach, they creep right up behind some unsuspecting souls transom, drop the hook using a minimum of scope, pulling up a few metres from someone else’s bow. Setting the anchor is regarded as a waste of time, so its hardly surprising that we have seen more French boats drag than any other flag! Any suggestion from another cruiser that they might be a bit close, could earn one a single digit salute! The saving grace for the French, is that they CAN sail, and that they are often accompanied by lovely topless crewmembers, at far closer range than normal!

The Icebreakers come from Cape Horn , or the Baltic, arriving in big steel yachts, sprouting anchors all round. Disconcertingly, they tend to approach the anchorage downwind, dropping the hook on the run, sailing over it in a slight curve, before locking up the windlass at the required scope, allowing the forward momentum to straighten the chain, set the hook, and swing the boat around 180 degrees, to settle in with all the other boats. To their credit, we haven’t seen them make a mistake yet!

The Germans often seem to prefer buoys ( that’s as in mooring ! ) They will frequently commandeer a buoy, even if it is way too close to an anchored yacht. The principle of “he who anchors first has prior claim” does not apply. Their approach is that the buoy was there first, so “Youz mus Mooff!”, even if you have been anchored there for two weeks. This is an interesting debate! Does an unused buoy put down by a diver, or marina, in a designated public anchorage, have a prior claim to space in maritime law? I doubt it, unless that buoy is marked as “occupied " by a certain named boat. We had one such German yacht arrive , and pick up a buoy about 20mts off our beam. We had been anchored there for two weeks, and had let out an additional 10mts of chain during the previous days big blow.

Once he had picked up the buoy, he was uncomfortably close given the wind direction., and I wished to discuss this with the skipper. He however, rubberducked away as soon as he was tied up, leaving his attractive young wife on board . She chose this time to strip naked on the sugar scoop, and start neatening up her “bikini” line. Being a sensitive and discrete gentleman, I decided to leave her be until she had completed her bush clearing exercise This took a while, and kept delaying my approach. In fact, it took most of the day, by which time she had an extremely neat and well groomed bikini line. She was obviously so proud of it, that she started prancing around the deck, displaying her lovely body and clean new lines to the rest of the anchorage. Clearly, as Mary told me, she would not have minded in the least if I paddled over to discuss our proximity. Just as I was about to do so, the wind swung back, and the gap increased to 50 mts and safety. Damn!
The big mystery to me remains! Why would she spend so much time perfecting her bikini lines, and then not wear the bikini?

The last , most entertaining, and potentially most dangerous group, is the Bareboat Cat Clowns. They are often crewed by successful yuppies, and approach the task of anchoring by forgetting everything they must have learned to become successful achievers! Planning, organizing, delegating and controlling …. The very essence of business success! Gone in a flash! There are often 6 skippers on these cats, one for each corner, one to drive, and one on the windlass. They all issue instructions, nobody listens, and the cat roars backwards and forwards at full power, often trailing the anchor like an oversized fishing lure. It usually starts off with windlass man lowering the anchor, and another skipper suggesting going astern. The anchor has probably only dropped 1 metre , and they are already doing 5 knots astern. The anchor finally touches the seabed 50 mts later, but hasn't got a snowballs chance of holding, as there is still only 8 or 9 mts of chain out, and they are now approaching other boats, jetty’s, rocks etc ,at 7 knots ! More skipper commands from all corners, accompanied by “Its Dragging”, Not Holding etc” Their solution? Full speed ahead, up anchor and start all over . After two or three more failed attempts, they decide to try elsewhere , because the holdings obviously no good here!! Funny, I was about to suggest just that , in the hope that they would move well away from us!

However, we have just had a nasty squall roar through the Tyrrel Bay anchorage, gusting 35 -40, and despite all the interesting anchoring methods , only one boat has dragged…Surprise,surprise....... A 50ft luxury motor launch. It is currently impaled on the bowsprit of a big traditional sailing schooner, with the owner nowhere to be seen ! The 50 odd yachts, of all types and sizes, from all corners of the earth, have shown that their various techniques were OK , this time!

Farewell to World Cup, Friends and Prickly Bay

19/7/2010

As soon as one settles into a routine of events, people and places…. Then it’s time to move on again ! The World Cup in RSA is done and dusted, and by all accounts both here and back home, it appears to have been a great success, not withstanding the Vuvuzelas, which we hear have now been banned in Europe! Can’t think why, with Europe winning the top three places !
Watching the matches on De Big Fish screen in Prickly Bay was great fun, with every match entitling one to a Happy Hour Bucket of 3 beers for 10 EC ! With all the Nationalities ( real and adopted) it created lots of fun and amusement! We were Dutch, wearing orange ( Mary was a Blomkamp after all!).We all agreed that Spain deserved to win, having played better all round football. Some of the Dutch players would appear to be frustrated Rugby players!

There was an almost a lemming like exodus from Prickly Bay after the World Cup, with boats hauling out, setting off for Trinidad , and Bonaire, to leave boats there for hurricane season. A few intrepid souls heading back north as far as the Grenadines. Its still close enough to run South in the event of a hurricane, and also gives a better point of sail.

Alan Cooke and his two nephews William and Tim flew back to Cape Town after a quick dash around the Cays, and a few good braai’s and meals together. Sad to see them go. We can fully understand why Alan has almost adopted Prickly Bay as his other home. However, he departed leaving us with a few very welcome tips and gifts ! Fishing spots, a bottle of Chilean wine, and “Schwopper”! “ Schwopper” was Alan’s Gemini rubber duck, named after a line in an Arnold Swartzenegger movie, in which he urges all his men “Lez ahll getz in ze Schwopper” ( Helicopter !) Alan subjected Schwopper to some serious abuse, wakeboarding behind it with a 15hp engine, (design spec 8hp) and literally tore the transom right out of it, for the second time! Hyperlon is relatively easy to repair, but it takes 72 hrs to cure each stage, and with the Handimans lifestyle, there was no guarantee it wouldn’t rip out again! Alan replaced it with a new RIB, with an aluminium hull and transom, which is light , tough, dry, and probably the way all RIB’s will go in future.
Our Tinker was behaving rather like a cross between a submarine and a mobile swimming pool, so Alans gift was accepted with alacrity. Schwopper is now repaired, and rides again…. This time with a 3hp motor!
On our trip round to St Georges via the southern point of Grenada, we detoured over the drop off reef that Alan had told us about, and bagged ourselves a nice sized Big Eye Tuna ! Sushi for dinner for days! Thanks for everything Al!!

A few days later we headed up to Carriacou again, where we planned to meet up with Mike and Lesley from Extasea, who were picking up a charter for 8 , around the Cays. On the way we landed a really nice Dorado ( Mahi Mahi, or Dolphinfish), so were able to invite them to take a break from their boat, and have a Dorado night with us.

Also on the trip up ,about 4miles before we turned into Tyrrel Bay, a big Tuna hit the lure, as I was trying to drop the sails in the face of a big black squall. Great timing! On with engine, slow ahead, drop sails, while the tuna strips line, and we are drenched! Miraculously, when we are all shipshape, the fish is still taking line, and the fight begins ! After about 10 minutes I’m very grateful for the rain, and showing signs of making some progress with the monster, when it threw the hook! In fact, I was not too disappointed, as the fish was way too big. We would have needed to share our bounty with all the cruisers in Tyrrel Bay, and all we really felt like, was putting down the hook, and opening the anchoring beer.!

We had just completed an enjoyable and productive sail up from Grenada.! I still had the Dorado to clean and fillet, and the Tuna would have needed an abattoir!

Our three month visa in Grenada expires shortly, so we are heading up to Union Island, Mayreau, the Tobago Cays and Bequia, before coming back to Carriacou . As always, we keep an eagle eye on the weather, in case we have to run!

Views of Carriacou............lovely place!