The Concrete Never Sets on Cruising Plans.

Cruising plans. Always fluid, rarely set in concrete. We live and sail to a general plan with an eye always on the weather for safety. Weather, friends and more experienced travellers have some influence but as our mate Randy says, ultimately, “Every Captain has to row his own boat”. Our general plan includes ample room for adjustment.

Bel Air Plantation Resort at St. David's, Grenada

Winter cruising to Grenada and soon, Trinidad, brings us to decision-making about where to haul out for the summer. It’s time for boat maintenance, trips back home to see Owen and Elliot and attend Elliot’s graduation in the States, and to Australia to settle Daisie in with her uncle and aunt in Murwillumbah.

Too hot for walking, "I think I'll just stretch out in the shade and cool my tummy".

Having chosen St. David’s on the south coast of Grenada as our “landing spot” in the country, we’re happy to report it has indeed been a great place to ride out the recent tropical waves. Plus we've caught up with a few friends while hanging out here. Despite some roll, we’ve experienced very little wind when surrounding areas saw 40 knots. In fact the lack of wind in this harbour has boats sitting at anchor facing every direction. During the devastating Hurricane Ivan of 2004, boats in St. David’s fared much better than elsewhere. Oh, WIFI is great here!

Michael and Barbara, Astarte

We've also caught up with a few friends while hanging out here. Melanie and Joe of Spectra motored south from Union Island with us. We found Diana and Gerald of Whiskers here on the hard when we arrived. After following his blog for about 18 months, (there's a link to his blog under "Favorite Cruising Blogs") we finally met Christian Allaire of Christa. Christa is hauled out and on the hard here for the summer. Marion and Theo of Double Dutch and Claudio and Bonita of Ti Anica anchored a couple of days after us, Karen and Matt of Where II arrived the day before yesterday and Helen and Steve of Dignity arrived yesterday and moved on today to pick up chain in St. Georges. I think this will be a recurring theme as we and others move from one anchorage to another in Grenada over the next couple of weeks.

St. George's, Grenada

There’s always a down side and in St. David’s it is the distance from the supermarkets and the customs office for check-in. You’d think that a phone call to the main customs office confirming check-in could be done in St. David’s would be golden but we found we needed to take the bus in to St. George’s. Nevermind the bother, it turned out to be a painless operation and a great opportunity to explore.

Celebrating the 4th of July with Michael and Barbara of Astarte. Rotis - Caribbean fast food, perfect for lunch; Mauby - a beverage best saved for the local palate; Stay-up - one can only imagine but at $6 it could be a bargain!

A bus ride in Grenada is a wonderful experience if you enjoy getting up close and personal with strangers. Ignoring the heat and humidity, 19 sweaty bodies are squeezed into the passenger van (capacity 15), for the 40 minute rollercoaster ride through the countryside. Friends Michael and Barbara, Astarte, tell us their record is 21 passengers. Let the record stand; we have no interest in beating that one.

Bus-riding experiences give a hint to the gentle nature of the people of Grenada. Perhaps a little more reserved and genteel than those of surrounding countries, we’ve found people to be helpful and friendly; another reason to love Grenada.

"Think of Me 001". We love the imaginative and fun names bestowed upon their beloved boats by fishermen of the Caribbean.

We only wish our insurance company would love Grenada as much! They want us in Trinidad in the case of a tropical storm. During the next couple of weeks we’d like to explore more of Grenada. With a watchful eye on the weather, we can make it to Trinidad overnight if we need to. In any case, we will be in Trinidad from early August.

Our friends Melanie and Joe, Spectra, left for Trinidad early yesterday. We've enjoyed many good times and shared many cruising challenges with them. We expect to catch up with them in Trinidad again once we all return to cruise the next season.

Bristol Rose is booked into a slip in Trinidad for the end August and will be hauled out early November. Surprisingly, the rates to keep BR on the hard in Trinidad are quite expensive compared with Maryland rates. All those stories about great deals in Trinidad seem to have passed their expiry date. She’ll be hauled out for the period when we must leave her as well as the time needed to get bottom paint done.

Land crabs caught in the marina by the local lads.

Check our calendar at the end of the page, as well as our Float Plan (link on the right -hand column) for details of our summer plan - the concrete is still wet.

St. Lucia and St. Vincent, Skipped for The Grenadines

Sailing past St. Lucia and St. Vincent, both islands look lush and in some areas such as the Pitons in St. Lucia, truly spectacular. While our travel buddies headed from Martinique to St. Lucia to reunite with Diane and Ken of Annie II, we skipped to Bequia (pronounced Beck-way). Customs and Immigration in St. Lucia would have presented some difficulty for us with Australian passports and also because we have Daisie Dog on board. We spent some time with Ken while Annie II was under tow by Spectra from Luperon to Puerto Rico and we were sad to miss the reunion.

Basil's Bar sits over the water at Mustique

A small section of Balinese carved ceiling at Basil's Bar.  Unfortunately I was not able to climb over the other diners to get a better shot.

We rely on Noonsite for cruising safety and security reports. Unfortunately St. Vincent has a reputation for not doing what is necessary to protect the safety of cruisers on the mainland. There are so many wonderful places to visit that we don’t see any need to place ourselves or our boat in such areas.

Gingerbreads are a feature of Mustique architecture, as well as an abundance of Bali carvings, doors and garden sculpture.  We wondered if we had crossed the Pacific!  

The Grenadines includes Bequia, Union Island, Mustique, Canouan, Tobago Cays, and various other small islands. As July 1 and the forecast of unsettled weather approached, we moved through the area more quickly than we would have liked. These are the areas we’d like to return to with our sons when the hurricane season is passed.

The most expensive mooring ball in the world?  At Mustique the moorings are $75US for 3 nights minimum.  

Every island has it’s own unique character. Our favorites include Conception Island (one of the out islands in The Bahamas), Saba, Guadeloupe, Mustique and Tobago Cays. While mountainous islands and deep water anchorages are the norm in the Northern Caribbean, throughout The Grenadines we anchored or moored up close to reefs and sandy cays in crystal clear water, reminiscent of the gorgeous waters of The Bahamas. The Grenadines are spectacular for swimming and snorkeling straight over the side of the boat. We swam with turtles and so many kinds of fish we couldn’t count them all.

Tobago Cays mooring.  A chance to swim with turtles.

On Reflection, Three Chicken Harbors

Cruisers constantly challenge themselves. Along the way we have discovered Three Chicken Harbors. Chicken Harbors can be found wherever cruisers question the wisdom of traveling many miles in a small boat in open ocean, resulting in a decision to turn back home.

Georgetown, Bahamas. The most well known of the three cruising milestones, also known as Chicken Harbor. The journey to Georgetown is relatively easy and provides opportunities for overnight passage making, gulf stream crossing, the exploration of another country and cruising in some truly beautiful waters. For many people this is enough. Thoughts of heading out into the Atlantic only to beat into the trade winds for a thousand miles is enough to say "enough" and they return back to the safety of the ICW and home.  Whatever the reason, this is the southern boundary for the majority of cruisers.

Luperon, Dominican Republic. Having escaped the seductive clutches and safety of the cruising community of Georgetown and with the challenge of finding a good weather window for crossing behind you, you find yourself safely tucked away in the mangroves of Luperon Harbor. To get here you have had your first taste of the trade winds. The prospect of heading out into these winds and sea for 250 miles of easting, across the notorious Mona Passage is enough to start you thinking about heading west! You might decide you'd enjoy some down wind sailing in the windward passage, or you might decide to stay in Luperon for a while to think about it some more.

St. Martin. The most deceptive of the three Chicken Harbors. To get to St. Martin you will need to cross the Anegada Passage. As we found out, this passage can be tough going, bringing you back down from the euphoria of making it through the Mona, relatively unscathed. With good reason, the Anegada Passage is known as the OhMyGodda. It can easily turn into something akin to a whirl in a washing machine. On arrival in St. Martin, feeling tired, wet and exhausted after 36 hours of beating into wind and sea, cruisers may be heard to say: “That’s it, I’ve had enough”.

Engaging in any outdoors activity means exposure to the elements and when all goes well, you are at one with nature. At times, you experience some real lows when you wish you were in the safety and comfort of home, however this is balanced by the best of times; those unique and rare experiences that are not possible unless you take the leap of faith and leave the safety and comfort of home.

Caribbean Cruise 2008/2009

3,500 miles in a sail boat. Down the ICW, through the Bahamas, along the Thorny Path to the Caribbean. Our crew of 3, Robert, Trish and Daisie Dog left the Chesapeake Bay on the 17th Novmeber 2008 on a cold snowy Wednesday afternoon. This trip is a first for us so you can image how we felt heading south into the unknown.

This video is a collection of images from our journey on Bristol Rose

10 reasons we think we will love Grenada

1. Chocolate Factory
2. Nutmeg Plants
3. Rum Distillery Tours
4. Bay Gardens
5. Gouyave District
6. Fort Frederick
7. Test Cricket
8. Carnival
9. Grand Etang
10. Rotis

Homeward Bound sails The Grenadines

Randy demonstrates for Bristol Rose how it is done.

Some years ago, at White Rocks marina on the Chesapeake, we first met Randy and Pat from Homeward Bound. Homeward Bound is a beatifull Bruce Roberts designed Spray. Randy would entertain us with stories of how he and Pat planned to sail south to the Caribbean. As our plans to sail south came together we were thrilled at the prospect that we would both be heading south at the same time.

Randy is always quick to point out that each is his own captain and each Captain must make his own decisions aboout where and when to go. We repected Randy's opinion when he decided to leave in September, we did not leave until November.

We did catch up with Homeward Bound in Rock Sound, Eleuthera. True to his independent word and mumbling something about needing a "body tune up", Capt. Randy decided it would be far better to travel North to make headway South, so we bid Randy and Pat good bye hoping to see Homeward Bound Down Island.

What a thrill it would be to see Homeward Bound in the Grenadines.

Robert, Dave (Nikita) and Randy (Homeward Bound) discuss suitable attire for keeping warm in the tropics while Daisie looks on in disbelief.

Bristol Rose and Homeward Bound at anchor in the Tobago Cays

To Grenada... Fair Winds, Following Seas, a Two-fish Passage, and Icing on the Cake - Time to Celebrate!

Well, the seas are a little forward of following but under six feet and we’re not beating into the wind or seas, for a change. It’s a good day for sailing. The forecast is for winds and the seas to build and conditions to deteriorate after today, with three tropical waves due to come through within days of eachother.

Spectra passes Channel Rock

As much as we’d love more time in the Tobago Cays and The Grenadines, it’s 7:00AM and we’re under way from Union Island to St. David’s Harbour, on the south coast of Grenada. We’ll hang out there until the weather improves. Mel and Joe, Spectra, will be with us for a week or two until they head south to Trinidad.

Robert has charted a course down the windward side of the islands. We expect the wind to be “cleaner” and more consistent than on the leeward side. Just out of Union Island a five pound Spanish Mackeral gave itself up for this evening’s dinner.

Spanish Mackerel, destined for a "Boundary Waters" marinade (ask Elliot)

Tomorrow night it will be the six-seven pound Wahoo that we dragged a while before realizing he was hooked. Plenty of fish to share. It’s a good thing we bought that snapper from the fisherman in Union Island. That purchase ensured we’d be catching fish today. Seems to be how it goes with us; buy water and it pours, buy fish and we catch more than enough.

It’s been a great day and at 2:00pm we’re entering St. David’s harbour, having averaged about 6 knots per hour over the 40 mile passage. We’ll be celebrating our arrival in Grenada with fresh fish and a glass of wine aboard Spectra.

That's a nice Wahoo, Robert!

Robert discovered a little extra icing on the cake in St. David’s. Our “old” mates Gerald and Diana, Whiskers, are on the hard here for a week of boat maintenance before heading west. We met them in Marsh Harbour, Bahamas and spent some great times with them in the Exumas.



Entering St. David's Harbour, Grenada

3,500 miles (mostly to windward) are behind us. It’s time to relax and celebrate; we've made it to Grenada.

Stop Press! Barry Tidd plays flexible keyboard.

Geoff (that's with a G and not a J) of Beach House kindly corrected me, on a number of counts.  

The report of Barry playing the flexible $#@%^ keyboard was incorrectly attributed to an evening aboard Inspiration Lady when in fact it took place aboard Beach House (see our Mates are Great post).

We were obviously confused by the over the top number of Canadian flags in the harbour at the Saintes.  It had nothing to do with rum consumption during this period of time!