Getting to The Grenadines was simple this time.  We booked on BWIA out of JFK to Barbados with a connector flight to St. Vincent.  Two hops and we’re there (unlike last time when American Airlines cancelled all flights into St. Vincent at the last minute - that year it took 5 hops and 3 customs clearances!)  Our baggage was even checked straight through to St. Vincent.  We arrived by 3:00 on Saturday so we did most of our provisioning on the supermarket across from the airport (another advantage of the two connection flight reservation).

All this was a good beginning we thought, but the next day a crew member came down with a toothache!  Sunsail saved the day by finding a dentist on a Sunday morning and the crew member was back on board the boat by 10:00 AM minus one tooth and only $6 for the dental fee.  We left later that morning for Bequia and took an African Pride mooring.  It’s close to the Gingerbread restaurant where we had the best meal in all of The Grenadines.  I highly recommend it and the mooring is perfectly calm, no rolling.

On to Mustique and the new experience of paying $75 EC for a mooring for three nights.  You couldn’t just pay for one night, you had to spring for all three days.  The collection sign said you owed the fee even if you anchored.  Even though we took a mooring as close to the shore as possible in the northeast corner, it was still rolly but not as bad as last year, we just tipped about 10 degrees back and forth.  On Mustique, we first started to notice the effects of 9/11 on Grenadines tourism.  They were about ½ full. We snorkeling by the north entrance, not bad but rough.

Onward to Union next and found the harbor about half full.  We greeted Herman like a long lost friend and received an enthusiastic welcome.  We dined at Lambi’s and had a great time.  I’ve never found the equal of his steel band but there were no dancing girls this time around.  Apparently, we had arrived during Carnival time in Trinidad and many boats were south for the event.  Lambi only had about 4 tables occupied.  Herman provided transportation to and from Lambi’s and several other trips to town.  Even though the mooring is free if you eat at Lambi’s, I still tipped Herman generously for all the taxi service.

Despite the harbor being half empty with plenty of room behind us, another boat found what they thought was the ideal anchoring spot right in front of us!  He hung about 10 feet off our front bow all afternoon and when the wind picked up that night, I saw him in the cockpit every time I looked out to check the surrounding boats.  He evidently spent a sleepless night - served him right (at least he stayed up to keep tabs on this boat!)

To clear out of Union, you must visit the customs office in the center of town and then walk to the airport to clear immigration.  Although there was no customs fee, we did receive the “donate to the library” pitch - which we did to the tune of $10 EC.  In walking to the airport, I noticed Sydney Dallas’ restaurant and guest house.  It appeared very well kept and I made a mental note that we’ve got to eat there sometime.  We cleared immigration at no additional charge.  In all, clearing Union was painless.  Following Charuk’s directions, I had a crew list already compiled (20 copies - I used a total of 14 during the trip) with all the pertinent information which sped things along greatly.  I was done in 30 minutes.

Our next stop was Carriacou and customs.  We anchored off by ourselves and again attracted the attention of another cursing boat that anchored right in front of us.  What is it about the herding instinct with boaters?  I’m off all by myself and this guy drops his anchor right on top of ours.  He was so close he had to pull anchor and re-anchor a short distance away (short = about 30 feet).  Meanwhile, I dinked into town with my crew list and everybody’s passports and managed to clear through three separate officials in about 45 minutes at a cost of $75 EC for a cruising permit.  We pulled anchor and motored to Sandy Island for some delightful snorkeling before settling into Tyrrel Bay for the night (we anchored far away from other boats).  The boat boys were rather more persistent here than elsewhere.  One pair asked for a beer but we were not inclined after an argument over what we considered too high a price for ice.

The sail to Grenada was exhilarating, spectacular, thrilling, (etc., etc. ).  Okay, it’s out of my system now.  Just put 25 to 30 knot winds, 8 to 12 foot seas and open ocean sailing and if you don’t like that, then you don’t like sailing!  We took the chicken route and kept Ronde Island between us and the active undersea volcano, Kick ’em Jenny, although it really wasn’t necessary.  The volcano has been dormant since December.  The seas flattened out as we rounded into the lee of Grenada for the last 10 miles.  In all, the sail took about 6 hours from Tyrrel Bay.  We elected to pick up a dock at the Grenada Yacht Club since we wanted a secure base of operations to explore Grenada and take on water.  The cost was $63 EC per night for our Beneteau 461 and they have a guard on duty 24 hours.

We rented a taxi next the day at the going rate of $20 US an hour for 6 passengers and saw the spice processing plant followed by a trip to the rain forest.  We had a wonderful lunch in the mountains at the Rosemount Restaurant of native foods and the best orange juice I’ve tasted anywhere on Earth!  The hostess squeezes lemons, oranges and grapefruit in the morning and then mixes the juices in various combinations throughout the day.  The lemonade was also outstanding.

I took Charuk’s advice and processed out at Grenada at a cost of $105 EC with the intention of staying at Tyrrel Bay that night before leaving Grenada territory the next morning.  When I mentioned that I was leaving within 72 hours, he didn’t seem to understand the 72 hour “rule” whereupon I suddenly decided to “leave next morning” on the customs papers.  Customs took about an hour but only because there was a German ahead of me with 9 passports to process.  I still stayed at Tyrrel Bay that night and left the next day for Union as planned.  The sail to Tyrrel Bay turned into a motor since the wind and waves were directly ahead at all times.  We were fine for the first two hours but then the engine started to cut out and I had to back off on the rpm to keep the engine from stalling.  We limped into Tyrrel Bay after 8 hours of motoring, the last three hours at 3 knots.

We snorkeled at Sandy Island again amongst lots of fish and schools of squid and then sailed to Union and hopefully a repair stop for our engine.  I figured I needed a reliable engine for anchoring in the Tobago Cays.  We called for the same repairman we had last time, Earl.  He came out the next day and replaced the fuel filter (just like last year) and all was fine.  Sunsail refunded a day’s worth of sailing to my account due to the problem.

In Union, we were greeted by Herman again and was claimed as his own.  Nobody else approached the boat.  I think he had a few extra that night when he circled the boat several times and repeated that nobody would bother us because he was taking care of us.  However, Herman was fine and he was a perfect gentleman all the time and always attentive to our needs.  He provided multiple taxi rides for the two days and we tipped appropriately.  Clearing in at Union was easy.  It required only a trip to the airport for immigration but the cost of $130 US was more than I expected.

We headed to the Tobago Cays for two days of snorkeling.  The shortest route is the Southern Approach (as it’s called on the charts).  With GPS and the U.S. turning off Selective Availability, GPS accuracy is typically +/- 15 to 20 feet or better with any GPS which makes this passage a piece of cake.  The GPS coordinates for the middle of the cut is 12 37.713’N and 061 22.234’W (labeled Unio02).  This waypoint is centered in deep water between the two reefs with about 450 feet of deep water on either side.  I’ve included a chart cutout for illustration.  For those interested in following a GPS route to clear the reefs, follow Unio01 - Unio02 - Unio03. Unio01 is 12 37.884’N, 061 21.522’W. Unio03 is 12 35.365’N, 061 24.473’W.  According to my lawyer I’m supposed to tell you that these waypoints are not for navigation, only for planning purposes - hummm - the same words used in the Chris Doyle Cruising Guides.  Anyway, I took this route with my boat and it worked fine.

We first anchored north of Baradal but found it too rolly and re-anchored to the south of the island and found perfect calm.  We reestablished our friendship with Sydney Dallas and in all bought 6 tee shirts from him at the going rate of $20 US each.  He’s a delightful individual and we’ve always enjoyed doing business with him.  Walton was also around and we re-provisioned with his help.  He also wanted to sell tee shirts and even approached our boat first but we were busy anchoring at the time.  Later we learned that he was somewhat upset that Sydney had scored so well coming later.

Later that day, an event occurred that illustrates how the Boat Boys provide an added level of safety to all boaters in the area.  On Feb. 12, 2002, a catamaran was circling the anchorage looking for a place to anchor when three people started swimming from Baradal to an anchored boat.  The catamaran turned towards the swimmers and the captain did not appear to see the swimmers (the visibility from the captain’s chair is not good on a catamaran).  The boat boys in the area immediately saw the danger and put their boats between the catamaran and the swimmers and thereby averted a potential disaster.  The catamaran slowed and changed course.  I recognized Sydney Dallas and Walton as two of the Boat Boys who took action first and I especially wanted to compliment them for their swift response.  They represent the people of the Grenadines very well with their courteous service and they provide an added level of safety that benefit both the boaters and reflects well on the wonderful people of the Grenadines.

Some of the crew snorkeled through the dinghy cut and observed the reefs plunging into the blue depths on the far side and said it was the highlight of their snorkeling in the Grenadines.  The reefs were better preserved and the fish more numerous on the outer side.  However, there’s plenty of good fish and coral inside the reefs too.  We snorkeled twice a day for two days and had a grand time!

Heading back, we overnighted at Canouan and anchored by the “White Rock” to avoid swells.  It was calmer there than further down in the anchorage but after watching other boats further north, it may have even been better in Rameau Bay close to shore.  We snorkeled next to the reefs by the white rock which was not bad.

After another roaring sail, we took a mooring in Bequia and had evening dinner at our favorite restaurant there, the Gingerbread.  We all had excellent meals!  As always, the anchorage was dead calm throughout the night.  On to Blue Lagoon and Sunsail the next day which was mostly motoring since it was directly into the wind and current all the way.  We stayed overnight at the Sunsail’s hotel for $90 US which was excellent and left the next day for home!

 

Now, if we could only do this more often!!

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