Well, we couldn't get the boat broker in Trinidad to list our boat (or even to respond to our requests to list the boat). So, Ralph headed down to Trinidad with the idea of a 5-6 week trip to bring the boat back to the U.S. Initially, the plan was to end up in West Palm Beach, Florida. But, as it developed, Annapolis became the choice. And the trip took just over three months! Ah, sailing.
Ralph left Albuquerque on 1/20/11. He spent a week or so prepping the boat after its winter on land. Once again, he was involved in clean-up. This time it was mostly the exterior that needed the filth removed. We had placed a dehumidifier in the boat before leaving last June and that really did help keep interior mold at bay. Ken met up Ralph on 1/27/and they left Trinidad on their way north shortly thereafter. Grenada was the first destination - the shakedown cruise for the boat and the crew.
They had hoped to then sail to Martinique and to arrive around 10 am on 2/3 after an overnight sail. But, instead of a call from Martinique on the appointed day, I received the following email from Ralph: "Winds turned a little weird, so we turned left at St. Lucia. We are pretty tired and are trying to figure what is next. Have a couple of things to deal with, then will know more." It had taken them over a day to do this little jaunt and so already, they were behind schedule. Since it had been such an unpleasant passage - pounding into the wind (blam, blam, blam, blam), they stayed until 2/5 and then made way to St. Croix planning a passage of 53 hours. And, since the winds cooperated, they arrived on schedule the afternoon of 2/7.
They hitched up to Ralph's brother's Fred's buoy, where we had been jostled about quite ferociously in 2010. Of course, because they were at a buoy, the dinghy was required but the dinghy engine would not turn. Ralph's nephew, Travis, came to the rescue and schlepped Ralph around to get that worked on and also suggested a possible third crew member who could meet up with Inspiration in Puerto Rico. Ralph and Ken were able to see the rest of his family in St. Croix, the Wilson clan, when they had a great dinner at their home one evening. Ralph got to drive on the wrong side of the road to that event!
They then left St. Croix for a nice sail to the lovely Spanish Virgin Island of Vieques which was beautiful. Next stop was San Juan, Puerto Rico, where they had a day for some sighting seeing. They also met up with a third crewmember, Jim, a former neighbor of St. Croix Travis, provisioned, and left 2/15 for the long passage to the Bahamas. They arrived in Georgetown Bay on 2/19, just in time to get Ken to the airport for his return trip to Washington. By now, the shitty Fischer Panda Generator had failed again so the Ralph and Jim made their up the various islands and landed in Nassau, where my sister, Kathy, and her husband, Don, whose trip to Greece was cancelled due to the revolution, were waiting to meet up with us. I arrived on 2/26 and that night we all went to a Greek Restaurant where Kathy had previously made friends with the whole extended family and many Opas! and much dancing ensued! On the 27th, Kathy, Don and I walked from the Marina to the Bahamian National Trust Palm Garden and then all went out for Bahamian Food. Conch fritters, mahi mahi, rum drinks, YUM!!!! After that, we went to their hotel room to watch the Oscars. Kathy and Don joined us on the boat on 2/28/11 and we did some boat prep for the overnight trip to Lucaya, Grand Bahamas, Island. They then took us out to dinner at the Green Parrot Restaurant to celebrate our anniversary. Really nice.
On 3/1, we left the Nassau Harbor Club for the overnight trip to Lucaya. Kathy and Don became instant sailors-no day sail to get them adjusted! They adjusted to the 3 hour watch mode and stepped up to the plate in doing various duties. We made good way to the Lucaya Marine Village in somewhat restless seas as a storm was on its way. On 3/2, Kathy, Don and I took the local ferry to the village and had conch salad, then we walked to Taino Beach. We had happy hour with conch fritters at the marina bar and spoke with some other cruisers who proclaimed that they had been stuck in Lucaya for some time due to the weather and unsettled seas. We were a bit surprised since we thought the conditions had been ok on our sail. However, we decided to spend several days at Lucaya in order to let the conditions calm down. We had dinner on the boat and then tried to watch a movie but all were too exhausted for much of anything that night.
The next day, Don and Kathy rented a car (Don drove on the island - on the "wrong" side and Kathy navigated, they did a great job) and took me with them. We went to the Lucayan National Park Caverns which was a beautiful area that the native Lucayans had used for ceremonial and other purposes. The Park contains a huge mangrove area and beautiful white sand beach. We went to the highly recommended Bishops on the beach for conch and fries and StrongBack beer. We dined al fresco but it was windy and cold and we were glad we were not sailing that day! We then went to Garden of the Groves Botanic Garden and took a tour. Then we provisioned, had dinner on the boat, and actually did watch "The King's Speech". On 3/4, we went to the Rand Nature Preserve which also had more native and other plantings. In the afternoon we took the ferry for another walk on Taino Beach and went into the village for an Italian dinner at Giovanni's.
Since the weather had passed and the seas calmed down a bit, we left Lucaya for the high-end West End Marina on 3/5 and had a nice sail that day. We walked around the resort and then had pizza at their restaurant. We left the Bahamas for Florida on 3/6. Kathy and Don got the open water experience and we all got to experience the Gulf Stream and Sargasso Sea. It was a windy day and we made great time with a little help from the tides. We arrived in West Palm Beach before cocktail hour and as a thunder and lightning storm passed over us. It is always disconcerting to be on the boat during a lightning storm. But, we and electronics did not fry! The person who took our lines at the Marina expressed surprise at how fast we had sailed that day from the Bahamas. He was also concerned over the stormy conditions that day. Ralph told him we just had a great sail and after all we had been through on the voyage from Olympia, it didn't seem like anything other than another day on the water. I would think most day sailers would not have enjoyed it, however.
I stayed in West Palm Beach until 3/23/11. Then our brother-in-law Joel arrived on April 7 for the sail up to Annapolis with Ralph. They had hoped to travel several days on the Atlantic with the first stop in Beaufort, N.C. planned for 4/10, but, had to stop at Bald Head after a hellacious lightning storm on the Atlantic and as 400 tornadoes that had struck the midwest and south also headed out to the Atlantic. They had gusts to 48 and planned to bail out to seek refuge when they could. However, these are long hauls and bail out areas are limited, so they had more than their share of weather excitement. Joel had to become an instant sailor, as well, and he was up for the challenge! He was a great help. But, as always, Mother Nature determined the schedule and the conditions. Who would guess that Ralph would be moving the boat during the worst spring for hurricanes on record? But, it seemed as if every year we sailed the locals said the weather was unusual. Climate change, anyone?
Some days later, Inspiration was able to continue the journey and they made way past Beaufort, Hatteras and in to Norfolk on 4/15. The storms again started raging in Norfolk. Since Joel had to leave on 4/17 and conditions were not amenable for the sail to Annapolis, Ralph waited for his weather window to continue on the last leg on his own. Most of the time, the boat was pinned to the dock due to high winds. Ralph had to adjust fenders to keep the boat from being damaged. Finally, he was able to leave for his single-handed adventure to Annapolis on 4/22. He arrived wet, cold and tired on 4/23. Hooray, the journey is now really completed! He spent another 5 weeks prepping the boat for putting it on the market. He returned home from his "5-6 week sail" four plus months later (on 5/28/11).
This marked the end of a remarkable adventure started in 2007 from Olympia, WA down the Trinidad via the Panama Canal and then back up to Annapolis. We figure we went about 10,000 nautical miles by the time we went into and out of countless bays, bobbled around and changed course or just plain had to go the wrong way to get where we were going as we depended upon the wind to take us where it would. And that is why we always figured a passage at an average speed of 6 knots although our boat could go 11+ with the right trim and wind. It is a great boat and we always knew it could take more than we could!
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Hauling the Boat
Trinidad or bust! Inspiration sailed about 2,000 nautical miles from the time it left Panama on this leg of the journey. What a remarkable adventure it has been.
We moved the boat on 6/1 to Peake's for hauling for the hurricane season. I was tending the port side and had to throw the line rather a long distance when instructed to by the dock worker. When he said ok, I let it loose with all my strength. He caught it and said, "Yes! That's what I'm talking about!" I was relieved. The sail is done! We made it to our destination.
Bob and Abby left after the boat had been hauled. Bob used his phone to take these shots:
Ralph and I spent the next week cleaning the boat and sweating like crazy in the June humidity. Rainy season is here, but the rain does not refresh - it just makes the concrete more steamy! We left Inspiration in the secure boatyard under the care of a local man who is going to complete some cleaning chores and come by to inspect it on a regular basis in the upcoming months.
We drank lots of champagne on the first class trip back home on my birthday!
We moved the boat on 6/1 to Peake's for hauling for the hurricane season. I was tending the port side and had to throw the line rather a long distance when instructed to by the dock worker. When he said ok, I let it loose with all my strength. He caught it and said, "Yes! That's what I'm talking about!" I was relieved. The sail is done! We made it to our destination.
Bob and Abby left after the boat had been hauled. Bob used his phone to take these shots:
Ralph and I spent the next week cleaning the boat and sweating like crazy in the June humidity. Rainy season is here, but the rain does not refresh - it just makes the concrete more steamy! We left Inspiration in the secure boatyard under the care of a local man who is going to complete some cleaning chores and come by to inspect it on a regular basis in the upcoming months.
We drank lots of champagne on the first class trip back home on my birthday!
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Trinidad at Last!
On 5/24, after a relaxing swim at Port Louis followed by lunch on-board, we headed out at 2:00 p.m. for our overnight sail to Trinidad. Due to Venezuelan piracy issus, we intended to buddy boat with another sailboat, however, early on, due to the sea and wind conditions and the design of their boat, they had to adjust their course considerably so we continued on by ourselves as we wanted to arrive with the tides after daybreak. And, we accomplished our goal. The other boat arrived 14 hours after we did! They said that with the currents and squalls, they could only make slow to no progress even with their engine on! We, on the other hand, had to hold our boat back - we just let out our mainsail and jib a tiny bit (sailing with a handkerchief) in order to limit our speed to an average of 5 knots so we could take advantage of the tides which enabled us to avoid the bad weather. Whatta boat!
I just have not said enough about the fine sailing capabilities of our boat. Inspiration, a Beneteau 473, points really close to the wind, is fast (we have had her to 11 knots), and sturdy. No matter the conditions, we always say that the boat can take it! On the other hand, we, on occasion, wondered whether we could take what mother nature gave, but we did! We arrived in Trinidad, our final destination, on-time and on-target. We took advantage of the tide for a smooth ride into Chaguaramas Bay after daybreak, just as Ralph had planned.
After taking a day to recover from our overnight passage to Trinidad, we started exploring the island. First was the start of our gastronomic adventure at a near-by roti stand where we had buss up shut chicken roti - that's roti skins on the side of the curried chicken. It is served with mango pickle, mashed chick peas, sweet potatoes and scotch bonnet hot sauce-yum! We then took a bus into Port of Spain where we walked through the "safe" parts of town (some of the locals looked shocked when we said we wanted to venture out on our own and they gave us names of perimeter streets within which they said we would probably not get robbed!). We looked through shops and went to the National Museum and Art Gallery which provided a very thorough explanation of the country's history and culture. Upon entering, we asked what price of admission was. We were told there was no admission fee at museums and historical sites because Trinidad wants to encourage tourism which has suffered due to its reputation as a high crime area! We also came to learn a bit about the national election that had been held the day before we arrived. This resulted in Trinidad's first female prime minister being elected. Issues revolved around crime, official graft and corruption, education and assistance to the poor. Everyone we met who spoke of the election results was excited and hopeful that the new government would help the people of Trinidad.
Then, we met up with Jessie James (his real name). Jessie has a tour and taxi service that caters to boaters. Our first trip was the evening leatherback turtle watch tour on Madera beach. This beautiful beach is off-limits to anyone who is not escorted by an official turtle guide. It is also a high surf beach so it would not be good for casual swimming. In spite of that, leatherbacks like it. We saw 4 of these huge (up to 2,000 lbs.) turtles materialize out of the surf in the darkness. Our guide had us follow one turtle as she struggled up onto the beach, dug a nest to her perfection (this took about 1 hour) and laid her eggs. She then covered the nest and compacted the sands and struggled back to the ocean. The turtles will return 3-4 times in a season and then take the next 2-3 years off. Only 1 to 2 of every 1,000 eggs is hatched and returned to the sea. We were lucky to be there to see a hatchling that was about ready to return to the sea. It was only about the size of the palm of a hand. This was a priceless adventure.
The next day, we returned to Port of Spain and found a great taxi driver named Harry who took us to Fort George outside the city. This was a signal fort built in the hills in 1804. It was one of a chain of look-outs that were put in place for defense of the island. The fort is 1,100 ft. straight up above sea level. It provides wonderful views over the capital and across to the mountains of northern Venezuela. The day we visited, a local women's group whose mission is monthly elderly outings, was having lunch at Fort George. They were very curious about how we ended up at Fort George (they noted that not many tourists venture out and about because of crime) and they were quite astonished that we came from Washington State on our own boat. After hearing our story, they served us up a big plate of their homemade roti and accompaniments like pickled fruits and spiced chick peas. They were delighted that we liked the hot sauce (actually everything was superb). What a great experience that was!
After the Fort, Harry took us for a drive to the Queen's Park Savannah, home to the Botanical Gardens. It is bordered on one side by the Magnificent Seven, a collection of eclectic over-the-top old mansions (pompous British colonial buildings - most in disrepair), although one houses the Queen's Royal College. Evidently, one issue in the recent campaign was the building of pretentious new Trinidadian high-rise buildings for government use while letting these architectural jewels disintegrate. I hope they can restore these buildings as they were, indeed, magnificent and among the oldest in the city.
It was in getting ready for our second Jesse James tour that we noticed both of our cameras (and my watch) had been stolen from the boat. It must have been someone watching our every move because there was usually someone on-board or it was locked. Crime in Trinidad, indeed! We really were sad that all pictures of Grenada and Trinidad were gone! Those turtle pictures were especially spectacular. You can Google turtles and Trinidad to get an idea!
Anyway, our second trip with Jesse started out with a stop at a road side stand for "doubles". This fried bread concoction (reminiscent of a sopapilla stuffed with roasted meat and doused with scotch bonnet hot sauce) was delicious! Next, we stopped at the Asa Wright Nature Center, an old plantation (the house is now a hotel) that is a nature/bird preserve. We went on a hike with a guide, saw lots of birds and learned about the area, ate roti and accompaniments for lunch, drank the local coffee, and had a swim in a natural pool under a waterfall. Then we went to the Caroni Swamp, a bird sanctuary, where we witnessed the dusk flight of the national bird, the scarlett ibis and saw a variety of other birds and fish, snakes and anteaters. I wish I could post a photo of the scarlett ibis flying overhead, you just can't believe how red and big they are. They gain their color from their diet of shrimp and crabs. Google scarlett ibis!
I just have not said enough about the fine sailing capabilities of our boat. Inspiration, a Beneteau 473, points really close to the wind, is fast (we have had her to 11 knots), and sturdy. No matter the conditions, we always say that the boat can take it! On the other hand, we, on occasion, wondered whether we could take what mother nature gave, but we did! We arrived in Trinidad, our final destination, on-time and on-target. We took advantage of the tide for a smooth ride into Chaguaramas Bay after daybreak, just as Ralph had planned.
After taking a day to recover from our overnight passage to Trinidad, we started exploring the island. First was the start of our gastronomic adventure at a near-by roti stand where we had buss up shut chicken roti - that's roti skins on the side of the curried chicken. It is served with mango pickle, mashed chick peas, sweet potatoes and scotch bonnet hot sauce-yum! We then took a bus into Port of Spain where we walked through the "safe" parts of town (some of the locals looked shocked when we said we wanted to venture out on our own and they gave us names of perimeter streets within which they said we would probably not get robbed!). We looked through shops and went to the National Museum and Art Gallery which provided a very thorough explanation of the country's history and culture. Upon entering, we asked what price of admission was. We were told there was no admission fee at museums and historical sites because Trinidad wants to encourage tourism which has suffered due to its reputation as a high crime area! We also came to learn a bit about the national election that had been held the day before we arrived. This resulted in Trinidad's first female prime minister being elected. Issues revolved around crime, official graft and corruption, education and assistance to the poor. Everyone we met who spoke of the election results was excited and hopeful that the new government would help the people of Trinidad.
Then, we met up with Jessie James (his real name). Jessie has a tour and taxi service that caters to boaters. Our first trip was the evening leatherback turtle watch tour on Madera beach. This beautiful beach is off-limits to anyone who is not escorted by an official turtle guide. It is also a high surf beach so it would not be good for casual swimming. In spite of that, leatherbacks like it. We saw 4 of these huge (up to 2,000 lbs.) turtles materialize out of the surf in the darkness. Our guide had us follow one turtle as she struggled up onto the beach, dug a nest to her perfection (this took about 1 hour) and laid her eggs. She then covered the nest and compacted the sands and struggled back to the ocean. The turtles will return 3-4 times in a season and then take the next 2-3 years off. Only 1 to 2 of every 1,000 eggs is hatched and returned to the sea. We were lucky to be there to see a hatchling that was about ready to return to the sea. It was only about the size of the palm of a hand. This was a priceless adventure.
The next day, we returned to Port of Spain and found a great taxi driver named Harry who took us to Fort George outside the city. This was a signal fort built in the hills in 1804. It was one of a chain of look-outs that were put in place for defense of the island. The fort is 1,100 ft. straight up above sea level. It provides wonderful views over the capital and across to the mountains of northern Venezuela. The day we visited, a local women's group whose mission is monthly elderly outings, was having lunch at Fort George. They were very curious about how we ended up at Fort George (they noted that not many tourists venture out and about because of crime) and they were quite astonished that we came from Washington State on our own boat. After hearing our story, they served us up a big plate of their homemade roti and accompaniments like pickled fruits and spiced chick peas. They were delighted that we liked the hot sauce (actually everything was superb). What a great experience that was!
After the Fort, Harry took us for a drive to the Queen's Park Savannah, home to the Botanical Gardens. It is bordered on one side by the Magnificent Seven, a collection of eclectic over-the-top old mansions (pompous British colonial buildings - most in disrepair), although one houses the Queen's Royal College. Evidently, one issue in the recent campaign was the building of pretentious new Trinidadian high-rise buildings for government use while letting these architectural jewels disintegrate. I hope they can restore these buildings as they were, indeed, magnificent and among the oldest in the city.
It was in getting ready for our second Jesse James tour that we noticed both of our cameras (and my watch) had been stolen from the boat. It must have been someone watching our every move because there was usually someone on-board or it was locked. Crime in Trinidad, indeed! We really were sad that all pictures of Grenada and Trinidad were gone! Those turtle pictures were especially spectacular. You can Google turtles and Trinidad to get an idea!
Anyway, our second trip with Jesse started out with a stop at a road side stand for "doubles". This fried bread concoction (reminiscent of a sopapilla stuffed with roasted meat and doused with scotch bonnet hot sauce) was delicious! Next, we stopped at the Asa Wright Nature Center, an old plantation (the house is now a hotel) that is a nature/bird preserve. We went on a hike with a guide, saw lots of birds and learned about the area, ate roti and accompaniments for lunch, drank the local coffee, and had a swim in a natural pool under a waterfall. Then we went to the Caroni Swamp, a bird sanctuary, where we witnessed the dusk flight of the national bird, the scarlett ibis and saw a variety of other birds and fish, snakes and anteaters. I wish I could post a photo of the scarlett ibis flying overhead, you just can't believe how red and big they are. They gain their color from their diet of shrimp and crabs. Google scarlett ibis!
Grenada
Unfortunately, we have no pictures of Grenada or Trinidad as our camera was stolen in Trinidad. More on that in the Trinidad section.
We arrived at Port Louis Marina (right outside St. George, the nation's capital) on 5/17 and did some boat cleaning before welcoming Ralph's brother, Bob, and his wife, Abby (from St. Croix), on 5/21. Since driving in Grenada is on the left, as it is in St. Croix, Bob offered to drive around the island and we were glad to accept. So, on 5/22, we rented a car and started our tour. Bob quickly discovered one big difference between St. Croix and Grenada is that the steering wheel in Grenada is on the right side of the car (in St. Croix it is on the left of the vehicle like on U.S. cars) so he was looking down the center line while driving on very narrow roads that had ditches where the shoulder should be! Ralph was sitting in the front passenger seat so he let Bob know if it looked as if he was about to drive into the ditch. It was pretty exciting to park near the congested spice/produce morning market in St. George and then to take the "scenic" drive to Gouyave, a fishing village and the nutmeg capital of Grenada. Gouyave is on the northwest side of the island (and the scenic drives takes you on a very narrow, hilly, windy road with some beautiful scenic vistas). Actually, all of Grenada is made up of narrow hills and valleys one right after another - very dramatically pretty and very green except where recovery from Hurricane Ivan (2007) was on-going. On our route, we stopped at Annandale Falls and Grand Etang Crater Lake where we took some great pictures! We had hoped to snorkel at the Molinere Sculpture Garden, but it is not accessible by land and there were no commercial boats on the little beach where we ended up. So we drove back to the Marina area and cocktails were enjoyed at Morne Rouge Bay Beach which is just south of the famous Grand Anse Beach. Local cuisine was enjoyed at Nutmeg Restaurant, on the Carenage at St. George, that evening.
The next day, Bob again braved another treacherous route through Grenada to the Belmont Estate (dating from the 17th century) on the northeast side of the island. Belmont Estate is now the home of the Grenada organic cocoa plantation. It also has a very nice restaurant that serves goat cheese (wonderful!) that is made on-site as well as vegetables from its own gardens. Luckily, we were there on a Sunday when they offer a buffet lunch of Grenadian favorites. We had callaloo soup, goat cheese, papaya salad, creole mahi mahi, curried chicken, plantation beef, provisions (starch vegetables such as breadfruit, bananas and plantain). Homemade cinnamon and nutmeg (we are on the "spice island") ice cream were the desserts. They were delicious and refreshing. We noticed a lack of chocolate on the menu and that they did not have any chocolate candy bars for sale. In response to our inquiry, we were informed that they only sell balls of unsweetened cocoa for baking and making hot chocolate.
We then went to the River Antoine Rum Factory where we could drive through the beautiful grounds and see the magnificent old windmill and factory, but it was closed so we could not sample the product. Our shortcut route home was not as exciting as most of our driving from the day before. Either the roads were better or we were getting used to the Grenadan roads!
We arrived at Port Louis Marina (right outside St. George, the nation's capital) on 5/17 and did some boat cleaning before welcoming Ralph's brother, Bob, and his wife, Abby (from St. Croix), on 5/21. Since driving in Grenada is on the left, as it is in St. Croix, Bob offered to drive around the island and we were glad to accept. So, on 5/22, we rented a car and started our tour. Bob quickly discovered one big difference between St. Croix and Grenada is that the steering wheel in Grenada is on the right side of the car (in St. Croix it is on the left of the vehicle like on U.S. cars) so he was looking down the center line while driving on very narrow roads that had ditches where the shoulder should be! Ralph was sitting in the front passenger seat so he let Bob know if it looked as if he was about to drive into the ditch. It was pretty exciting to park near the congested spice/produce morning market in St. George and then to take the "scenic" drive to Gouyave, a fishing village and the nutmeg capital of Grenada. Gouyave is on the northwest side of the island (and the scenic drives takes you on a very narrow, hilly, windy road with some beautiful scenic vistas). Actually, all of Grenada is made up of narrow hills and valleys one right after another - very dramatically pretty and very green except where recovery from Hurricane Ivan (2007) was on-going. On our route, we stopped at Annandale Falls and Grand Etang Crater Lake where we took some great pictures! We had hoped to snorkel at the Molinere Sculpture Garden, but it is not accessible by land and there were no commercial boats on the little beach where we ended up. So we drove back to the Marina area and cocktails were enjoyed at Morne Rouge Bay Beach which is just south of the famous Grand Anse Beach. Local cuisine was enjoyed at Nutmeg Restaurant, on the Carenage at St. George, that evening.
The next day, Bob again braved another treacherous route through Grenada to the Belmont Estate (dating from the 17th century) on the northeast side of the island. Belmont Estate is now the home of the Grenada organic cocoa plantation. It also has a very nice restaurant that serves goat cheese (wonderful!) that is made on-site as well as vegetables from its own gardens. Luckily, we were there on a Sunday when they offer a buffet lunch of Grenadian favorites. We had callaloo soup, goat cheese, papaya salad, creole mahi mahi, curried chicken, plantation beef, provisions (starch vegetables such as breadfruit, bananas and plantain). Homemade cinnamon and nutmeg (we are on the "spice island") ice cream were the desserts. They were delicious and refreshing. We noticed a lack of chocolate on the menu and that they did not have any chocolate candy bars for sale. In response to our inquiry, we were informed that they only sell balls of unsweetened cocoa for baking and making hot chocolate.
We then went to the River Antoine Rum Factory where we could drive through the beautiful grounds and see the magnificent old windmill and factory, but it was closed so we could not sample the product. Our shortcut route home was not as exciting as most of our driving from the day before. Either the roads were better or we were getting used to the Grenadan roads!
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Bequia and Carriacou
St. Vincent is an island more like Dominica. Intensely green and not very developed. It also goes straight up from the sea and so the anchorages are reportedly difficult. Therefore, we by-passed it and headed straight to Bequia. Bequia has an active whaling station and locals whalers can take four whales a year (although it was noted that some years they do not get any). This reminded us of a certain B&B in Ocean Park, WA!
Wonder if there is a message here???
El Capitan!
I think this might be the most up-hill road of all of them.When we left Bequia we sailed by the Tobago Cays and other Southern Grenadine Islands. Most are either privately owned, or a part of the National Park and uninhabited. All beautiful, although we were hit by a series of squalls during the sail and sometimes visibility was limited.
We anchored at Tyrell Bay, Carriacou next to this establishment. Carriacou is part of Grenada so we cleared customs here. This island is sparsely populated and has a long history of boatbuilding. It also has Simon, the boat vendor with wine. He had a good Chilean Merlot featured the day we arrived, so I bought a bottle. Like many other islands, one hurricane or another has touched it through the years. This area was devastated by Hurrican Lenny but is springing back to life.Leaving St. Lucia
Overlooking Rodney Bay from Pigeon Island, we sighted the Brig Unicorn - 136 feet long and supporting 15,000 sq. feet of sail. Glad I am not a crew on this ship so I do not have to climb masts! The Unicorn was featured in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies as the Henrietta. Now you can be a pirate for a day, if you take one of the tours on the Unicorn.
Yes, Pigeon Island has Fort Rodney protecting the bay. Fort Rodney has a bit more recent history in that it was used as a U.S. Signal Station in WWII. From here, you can see Martinique to the north and all the way down the coast beyond the Pitons to the south.
Pigeon Island National Park is also famous as the mainstage venue for the St. Lucia Jazz Festival. We were there the day after the final event so saw the clean-up detail hard at work. There is a beautiful view of the water behind the stage. It seems fitting this area should be so identified with music and entertainment. In the 1960's, a wealthy singer Josset 'Ma Snowball' Leigh of Britian's D'Oyly Carte Opera Company retired here. Reportedly, she had the run of the island, led quite the bohemian lifestyle and had lavish parties where she entertained a constant parade of A-list houseguests.
A toast with local beer to St. Lucia.
After leaving the hustle and bustle of Rodney Bay, we anchored off Vieux Fort, St. Lucia. We shared the anchorage with local fishing boats and no one else. Hard to remember the last time we were the only pleasure craft in an anchorage. This was a beautiful place with calm waters. We had a good rest before heading down St. Vincent and onto Bequia.St. Lucia Tour Part Deux
Jean, Jonah and me exploring a roadside attraction.
We did not go out of the vehicle to get a better view of this roadside attraction.
Just a street scene.
Jean and Allan with the Pitons in the background.
Our guide at the sulphur springs.
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