Le Marin, Martinique

We sailed (yes, sailed!) into Martinique yesterday afternoon. Wind was about 15-20 knots and seas were 5-8 feet, so at first it was a little choppy but it smoothed out as the passage went on. Our chartplotter gave us a maximum speed of 21.9 knots, which we know is not true since we were passed by a much faster-moving monohull while we made the passage. So the chartplotter must have got hold of an invalid data point somewhere. I'll just blame it on lousy programming, ha-ha.

We cleared in at customs and immigration this morning, which is usually a pleasure in the French islands. However, Le Marin is all modern and sophisticated and instead of filling out paperwork with something as archaic as a pen they require you to enter the data by computer. But there are only four workstations and there was a long line of people waiting. Making things worse was the excruciatingly slow rate at which all four people were typing. I say typing, but really every one of them was using the hunt-and-peck method, which is normally fine but when ten people are waiting to use four PC's it can be annoying. So it was finally our turn to step up to the plate and since I am the faster typist, I sat down at the keyboard. Qnd proceeded to ;istype qll;ost every word. Apparently French keyboards are not qwerty -- seems they have rearranged the thing to suit their own language, so 'q' is where 'a' should be and 'm' is hiding way off to the right with a semicolon taking its place. No wonder everyone was typing so damn slowly! But we finally finished and printed our form and were good to go. The customs official didn't even look at our passports or our St. Lucia paperwork. The French couldn't care less who you are or where you've been. Bienvenue a France!

The town of Le Marin isn't anything great as far as tourist attractions go, but it is chock full of boat chandleries, sail lofts, mechanics, and pretty much anything you'd want if you needed to work on your boat. We didn't need any of that stuff so we headed off to the grocery store, which puzzlingly is simply named "Ed", not sure why. We didn't need any food but we did want to get ahold of some wine. French wines are cheap here (well cheaper than in the US anyway; there's no duty because we are technically in France) so we made a resolution to try a few bottles. Neither of us knows the first thing about wine so we formulated a brilliant plan: hang out in the wine aisle until some French-looking person wandered by to pick up a bottle and then just get whatever they got. The master plan was foiled by not one but two French matrons who each grabbed a box of wine (a la Gallo) instead of one of the many bottles on the shelves. Argh. Determined to return to the boat with something in a glass container, we ended up randomly choosing a white Bourgogne chardonnay and a red Brouilly (which I can't even pronounce since it has too many l's. Must be good, then.) Wonder which one will go best with pizza, since that's what I'm making tonight. Classy, I know. Bottoms up!

Where we are:
Location=Le Marin, Martinique
Lat=14 27.947
Lon=60 52.547

Rodney Bay - Pigeon Island

It's been a quiet couple of days here in Rodney Bay. Quiet except for the incessant jet skis, that is. There are several huge resorts along the beach and of course all of them have their own armada of beach toys -- hobie cats, banana boats, etc. I've come to tolerate the jet skis, but yesterday two yahoos on a hobie cat came a little too close to our boat; they almost didn't turn in time. I do wonder sometimes if there are ever any accidents.

Speaking of accidents, Saturday morning Kevin dinghied over to the fuel dock to fill our jerry jugs and watched two boats damage themselves while getting fuel. The first one was a catamaran -- the wind was blowing him hard onto the dock and instead of using his engines to maneuver himself off the dock he just put them both in full throttle forward and tried to power off the dock. Worked really well until he tried to turn the bow to the wind, his transom scraped pretty hard against the pilings and he got pushed back up against the dock. Ouch. Then a powerboat beat up his props trying to tie up inside the T-head where the water was too shallow for his boat. I guess we're just glad it wasn't us. When the wind starts pushing you around, docking can be a real pain in the butt.

That afternoon we decided to head over to Pigeon Island where we'd heard there was a good book exchange. So we took about twenty paperbacks and headed across the bay. We pulled up to the dinghy dock and a woman wearing a National Trust shirt asked us to pay the park fee of US$5 per person, even though we were just going to trade books at the bar. So we paid our fee, traded our books (at least the book swap was free), and decided to explore a bit since we'd already paid for it. Pigeon Island (not really an island -- a causeway built in 1970 links it to the mainland) has an interesting history. The first European to settle on St. Lucia was a Frenchman named Jambe de Bois (literally "leg of wood", yep a real live pegleg), and he used the island as a base for raiding Spanish ships. Later the Brits established Fort Rodney on the island, and even more recently the US used the island as a signal station in WWII. Imagine getting that plum assignment, instead of being shipped off to Normandy. Although the locals must not have been too happy about the outpost, since the interpretive display referred to it as "the US occupation", failing to mention that the US paid to lease the island and established the station to keep an eye on Martinique (a French territory) after the fall of France to the Germans. But who wants to split hairs? Anyway, after a bit of a hike we reached the fort which was high up on the hill with views of both the bay and the Caribbean Sea. Big kudos to Kevin for doing the hike with a backpack full of books.

Rodney Bay - The Mystery of the Weeping Mast

The last couple of days have been spent putting the boat back in order after having guests: doing laundry, putting gear back in the guest closet, etc. We were sad to discover that the Rodney Bay Marina didn't have a coin-op laundry, and their laundry service wanted an astonishing US$18/load to wash dry and fold. No way. So we gave all the big stuff (sheets, towels, etc) to a cheaper local laundromat called Sparkle that picks it up by boat and delivers it the same day for US$11. Still expensive, but not outright highway robbery. But we still had about four loads of laundry to do on the boat, so we spent our last day in the marina hooked up to shore power getting that done. It was late afternoon and we were sitting in the salon when Kevin noticed a drip on his arm coming from the compression post (the post directly under our mast). We looked and water was seeping out around the whole post. We were worried about that because it had been raining and the last thing we need is a leaky mast. So Kevin tore apart the headliner (ceiling) and discovered that it wasn't just the compression post but the whole fiberglass ceiling that was wet. The water wasn't coming from just one place, it was more like condensation instead of a leak. But we couldn't figure out why. The air temperature inside the boat was the same as outside the boat. So was the humidity. It was a head-scratcher. It finally dawned on Kevin and he asked, "When was the last time we washed -- and dried -- four loads of laundry on the boat?". Well, we never had. Usually we use the machine to wash and then hang stuff outside to air-dry, but it was too rainy so we were using the dryer. Which, as it turns out, was causing water to condense all over the compartments where the dryer exhaust was connected. Mystery solved! Elementary, my dear Watson.
We left the marina yesterday and are now anchored out in Rodney Bay just off Reduit Beach, waiting for good weather to make the 22-mile passage to Martinique.
Where we are:
Location=Rodney Bay, St. Lucia
Lat=14 04.504
Lon=60 57.450

St. Lucia - Playing Tourist

We scaled the peaks one day and dove the depths the next. My dad, Kevin, and I all went for a two-tank dive at the base of the Pitons. Both dives were drift dives but the second one "Superman's Flight" was the best. We got to swim with a turtle and we seemed to "fly" over the bright corals below. So we definitely got the most out of our time in Soufriere. We headed back up to Marigot hoping to hit the Friday night Fish Fry in Anse La Reye, which Kevin really wanted to go to, but it wasn't meant to be. Not only did cabbies want US$80 or more (to go a mere 2 miles, mind you. For reference, a cab ride the whole length of the island to the airport actually costs less: US$70!) but also the weather was not cooperating. It rained right up until we made the decision not to go, and then sure enough it was clear for the rest of the night. So we hung out in Marigot instead and ate dinner at Chateau Mygo, where at least one of us was happy: the music they were playing seemed specifically selected for my dad (all Bee Gees, all the time).

For my dad's last few days in St. Lucia, we headed up to Rodney Bay where all the resorts and good beaches are. He and Suzie definitely got in some good beach time (those of you who know me well know that I'm neither a sun person nor a sand person, so I just hung out on a chair under an umbrella, cold Piton in hand). We also took a side trip to a small inland town called Babonneau to check out the rainforest. And the zip lines. I had never done a zipline before, but the whole experience was worth it. First we rode up in a "tranopy" gondola above the rainforest canopy while our guide Akim pointed out interesting flora and fauna. Then we got to zip through 10 different lines, flying high above the forest floor (we'll try to post videos in the next day or so). It was definitely a cool and different way to see the rainforest.

On their last day in town, we headed into Castries, the capital of St. Lucia, to see the straw market. It's really more than a straw market; they have all kinds of handicrafts, clothing and souvenirs. It was bigger than the ones we'd been to in the Bahamas and Grenada, but just like those markets everyone is pretty much selling the same thing, so we can't really figure out how all the vendors stay in business. Most of the touristy "St. Lucia" T-shirts and Polos were about US$12-20. However, after we tired of the market we wandered around the downtown and found a Hobie outlet (where the locals must shop) and saw jeans, cute tops, and all kinds of good stuff for EC$10-30 (roughly US$4-11). I guess the ladies at the market sell one Bob Marley t-shirt to a cruise ship tourist and then go buy themselves a couple new outfits with the profits. Nice. If I ever go back to work, maybe I'll try to get in on that racket.

Where we are:
Location=Rodney Bay, St. Lucia
Lat=14 04.473
Lon=60 56.946

Soufriere - Gros Piton

When my dad arrived and said he wanted to hike one of the Pitons, we humored him and said "Sure, great idea" thinking that once he saw the size of the mountains he would change his mind. He still wanted to go, but we agreed it might be best to just go halfway up. We called ahead and made arrangements to hire a guide (the forestry department requires you to go with one) to hike Gros Piton. Gros Piton (2671 feet) is the more hikeable Piton. Although not as tall as Gros Piton, Petit Piton is very steep and at some points you have to climb on fixed ropes. So we met up with Mervin, our guide, and set off up the mountain. Somewhere along the way, the plan for only hiking halfway up turned into going for the summit. Round trip, it's a four-hour hike: two hours up and two hours to get back down. It's an elevation change of 1900 feet from trailhead to summit (compared to 1100 feet for Camelback Mountain in Phoenix). The last half of the ascent was extremely steep and we were all feeling it. Except Mervin, of course. He didn't even break a sweat. It was also impressive that he was hiking in what appeared to be women's shoes (plastic multicolored jelly sandals).

Anyway the view from the top was priceless. There was a southern viewpoint where you could see St. Vincent on a clear day (too hazy for us), and a northern viewpoint with views of Petit Piton all the way to Martinique (again, not clear enough the day we went). I will say that the hike back down was excruciating for me, very hard on the knees and joints. It felt like it took forever but finally we got back to the village of Fond Gens Libre, where a nice lady was waiting with a cooler full of drinks, and of course a gift shop full of T-shirts.

Soufriere - Bounty of the Sea

We sailed from Anse Cochon down to Soufriere. The wind was gusty, there were times we were going 8.5 knots, and then the wind would die off and we would slow down to a crawl -- about 2 knots. But Kevin threw a couple of lines out hoping maybe the fish would like the fact that for once we weren't using the engines. It was worth a shot, but sadly there was no fresh fish for dinner last night. But Kevin did pull something useful out of the sea. After we picked up the mooring we all went for a snorkel and he found two full unopened beers resting on the bottom among the coral. Did we pull them out? You bet. They are chilling on ice right now. If we were French we'd call them fruits de la mer, but since we're not we'll just call them sea beers.

Where we are:
Location=Soufriere, St. Lucia
Lat=13 51.433
Lon=61 03.913

Anse Cochon -- Surprise!

Sorry for the lack of posts this week -- it has been a busy one. Back in January, my dad mentioned that he might be able to come out for a visit in February or March. I told him to keep me posted of his plans and let us know. We checked our SSB email the afternoon of February 6th and found a message with this subject: "I am booking a flight for Feb 7". What?!!? So for the next 24 hours the boat was a whirlwind of activity as we prepared for our guests. My dad and his girlfriend Suzie arrived in Marigot Bay around 11pm the next night. We caught up over a few Pitons (which for some reason, my dad keeps calling "Pintons") and got them settled in.

The next day we hiked to a scenic lookout over Marigot Bay. We had to walk through Marigot Beach Resort to get to the trail. You know it's steep when the resort gives its guests the option of walking up 250 stairs or taking a mini-cable car. We took the stairs, plus the hike, and though my calves were sore the next day the view was totally worth it. Marigot Bay has more tourist resorts than Soufriere, so there is definitely more nightlife. We decided to do a pub crawl that evening. We started off at JJ's Cantina for happy hour, where we were approached by Christine, an island lady who braids hair. She gave Suzie a "gift" of two braids; she claimed she could braid "like a computer" and she wasn't kidding -- you could barely see her fingers they were moving so fast. (She was so good that Suzie actually had Christine do the rest of her hair the next day.) Our next stop was the Rainforest restaurant. Our guidebook said it was a fancy place, but we weren't prepared for the valet service at the dinghy dock. It was dark, and a well-dressed guy walked out with a flashlight and guided us to the right spot for the dink (in a small lagoon lit with underwater lights) and helped tie us up. Finally we headed over to the Hurricane Hole bar, where three of us had the lobster dinner and Kevin enjoyed the best burger yet in the Caribbean (our apologies to Chris and Barb -- the burgers down at the Oasis are a close second!). By this time we were all a little hammered, so we skipped the other two bars in the bay and headed back to the boat. My thanks to the makers of Piton for my killer hangover the next day.

Yesterday afternoon we headed over to Anse Cochon and found some pretty good snorkeling. There is a wreck (the Lesleen M) lying in about 65 feet of water just a few hundred feet from our boat. The visibility was good and we could see the whole length of the wreck (165 feet). It was a freighter that was sunk on purpose to create an artificial reef. There were quite a few fish, a lot of sergeant-majors and we even saw a green turtle swimming around down there. Nearer to shore there was some excellent snorkeling as well. Today we'll head back down to Soufriere so our guests can get a glimpse of the real Pintons, er Pitons.

Where we are:
Location=Anse Cochon, St. Lucia
Lat=13 55.667
Lon=61 03.513

Soufriere - The Pinnacles

In St. Lucia, you are required to dive with a guide so we enlisted Chester from Action Adventure Divers. He picked us up in his boat and we set off for the Pinnacles -- four seamounts that begin more than 70 feet deep and rise to within a few feet of the surface. The pinnacles were originally volcanic but are now encrusted with a colorful variety of corals and sponges. Fish spiral around them and we felt like we were flying around underwater mountains. The colors were incredible, bright oranges and pinks along with neon greens. We will definitely do some more diving while we are here.

Soufriere - Holy Pitons, Batman!

Yesterday morning we woke up early and headed over to the Bat Cave area to pick up one of the moorings (without sails this time). Solstice is just a hundred feet or so away from the area's namesake -- a tall narrow cave loaded with bats. We can hear their high-pitched chattering all day long. Later in the morning we took a taxi tour to the main sights of Soufriere. Our first stop was the Diamond Estates Botanical Gardens, where we were shown around by a site guide named Alexander the Great. He had long fingernails, a few missing teeth, and a lot of energy. He claimed to have had special botanical training and we believed him. He knew the common and scientific names as well as the origins of every plant in the place. He must've told us about a hundred different plants in the space of thirty minutes. He was shouting and pointing them out at such a fast pace that it all became a jumble, but the flowers were gorgeous and the temperature was cool under the tree canopies so we weren't complaining.

After the gardens we took a taxi to the "drive-in" volcano, which is really just hillside covered in sulfur springs not unlike the ones you see at Yellowstone (the crater walls of the original volcano eroded thousands of years ago and there hasn't been any kind of eruption in three-hundred-odd years). The stink of hydrogen sulfide was overpowering, and Kevin shot a video of some of the bubbling pools of muddy water. The mudpool named "Gabriel's Pool" has an interesting story behind it. Apparently tourists used to be able to go right up close to the pools but about fifteen years ago one of the guides, Gabriel, was jumping up and down to demonstrate the instability of the terrain when the ground caved and he fell waist-deep into the boiling mud. (Not to worry: he narrowly avoided winning a "Darwin Award"; he survived and still has the use of his legs. He has, however, changed professions and is now a fisherman in Soufriere.) After the sulfur springs we hopped back in the taxi to view a small waterfall and then we called it a day and headed back to the boat. Kevin fixed the swim ladder and we had a snorkel off the boat -- there's a really good variety of fish and coral here. As the sun set we watched and waited expectantly for the bats to burst out of the cave in one big swarm but it didn't happen.

This morning we dinghied ashore and wandered around the friendly town of Soufriere for a bit before taking a taxi over to the Ladera Resort to have lunch at Dasheene restaurant. We found the food to be so-so but the view was breathtaking. Dasheene is nestled on a hill between the two Pitons (St. Lucia's famed steep coastal mountains) and we had the best table in the place, overlooking the valley and bay between them. During the meal we knocked back a couple of liquid Pitons (locally brewed beer) and enjoyed what is definitely the best view in all the Caribbean.

Where we are:
Location=Soufriere, St. Lucia
Lat=13 51.435
Lon=61 03.913

Soufriere, St. Lucia

Yesterday we spent an hour digging out our scuba gear in order to try to dive the Devil's Table. I say "try" because we weren't very successful. We finally got both sets of gear into the dinghy and motored out there only to find a very strong current and tide-driven surge. It was definitely unsafe for two people to dive on their own without a chaseboat; we would've drifted out halfway to St. Vincent! So we headed back in. Not to let all that prep-work go to waste, Kevin decided to don his gear in order to scrub Solstice's props and hull. Unfortunately it ended up being more of a hassle than it was worth (we usually just use snorkel gear instead of scuba gear) -- we were only in 6-8 feet of water and he kept stirring up sediment so that he couldn't see. And to top it off he got himself, his wetsuit, and his BCD covered in tiny brine shrimp (think Sea Monkeys). Ick. But then he tried to climb out of the water while still wearing full gear and he broke the swim ladder off -- what a fiasco! One of the brackets broke completely and the other one is bent and twisted. So now we can't go swimming. Well, we can go swimming but can't get back aboard the boat without getting smurfy blue bottom paint all over ourselves. We knew those brackets were chintzy so we do have two spares but Kevin didn't have time to fix it yesterday since we still had to grab some last-minute groceries and clear out of the country.

We left Bequia at 4am this morning for the 55 mile journey to St. Lucia. We had our sails up but winds were very very light, almost nothing. In fact at one point the sea in the St. Vincent Channel looked like glass; it was a very strange sight to see in an area known for its steady tradewinds. So we motored with our sails up. We gave up and dropped the jib but left the main up (this will factor into the story later). We arrived around noon and had hoped to pick up a mooring in an area known as the Bat Cave, but as we headed into Soufriere we could see that all of those were taken. Plan B was to pick up a mooring ball in a different area, Malgretout, at the base of one of the Pitons. A boat boy came up in his skiff and offered to tie us up. (In the Malgretout anchorage, you pick up a mooring but then you also have to tie your stern to a tree on the beach.) Malcolm helped get us situated and then started giving us information about the area and offering to arrange a taxi to customs and possibly a tour for tomorrow. So after Malcolm left, Kevin went up to the bow to check on the mooring line and he just happened to look back and notice that our mainsail was still up. We had picked up the damn mooring, tied ourselves up broadside to the wind about 150 feet from the rock-strewn shore, and then sat there chatting for ten minutes! Which just goes to show how little we actually sail. Folks watching us pick up the mooring must've thought we were either total pros or total idiots, depending on their perspective. Thank goodness there was no wind at all and we were able to quickly and sheepishly take down the sail. I am still shaking my head in amazement -- who forgets to take down their sails?!? Proof that no matter how long you have been cruising you are bound to do something pretty dumb every once in a while.

Where we are:
Location=Soufriere, St. Lucia
Lat=13 50.632
Lon=61 03.787

Bequia - Music Fest 2008

On Thursday night, Bequia's annual Music Fest kicked off to a great start with the 13-piece Elite Steel Orchestra. Luckily for us it stopped raining long enough for us to dinghy in and meet up with Mike & Kylie from "Meggie". The music had already started by the time we got there and there was a big crowd of people dancing and enjoying the music. The steel band was very good, and played everything from Beethoven's "Fur Elise" to more recent stuff like Alicia Keys' "No One". We've posted some photos and will hopefully post a video as well.

Saturday afternoon we headed out in the dinghy to a good snorkel spot affectionately called the "Devil's Table". The coral was okay, nothing spectacular, but the reef was teeming with activity. It was late afternoon and all the reef fish were in a feeding frenzy, so there was lots to look at. We also saw a small group of two-inch cuttlefish, which looked like tiny aliens hovering in the water.

And just before we got out of the water, Kevin spotted a big old lobster taking shelter underneath a coral overhang. We must've irritated the heck out of him, as we kept diving down and getting as close as possible trying to get the "perfect shot" with our camera. He didn't complain though; he was probably just happy we didn't take him home for dinner.

Yesterday afternoon, both "Lucky Dog" (who we met in Mayreau) and "Meggie" stopped by to let us know that there was a free concert on the beach. It was the last day of the Music Fest, and we had nothing better to do (except do our taxes -- hmmm...tough decision, there) so we headed over. The beach was gorgeous and there were people swimming, hanging out on the sand, and of course dancing to the music. We listened to a jazz ensemble followed by a reggae band and both were really really good. There was a fun festival atmosphere and at the beer tent they were giving away these lottery-type scratch off tickets for every Hairoun (local beer) purchased. Of course Kevin's ticket was a winner and he got to choose from an array of prizes. The only really appealing thing were these bright orange baseball caps bearing the "Vita Malt" logo. Now, we've seen this drink throughout the Caribbean but never actually tried it. It is apparently a non-alcoholic carbonated malty-tasting nutrition drink. Not something I'd be likely to order but now that my husband is a walking billboard for it, we'll have to give it a try sometime.

Bequia - Windswept

Well we are getting plenty of power out of the wind generator. For the past day and a half winds have steadily been up over 20 knots in the harbor. At least Admiralty Bay is well-protected so the anchorage itself isn't rolly. Just windy. Very, very, windy. In fact last night Kevin and I were sitting outside when the wind started to howl and within ten minutes we saw all these red and green navigation lights on in the bay -- the lights of boats who had dragged in the gusts and were now motoring around looking for another place to anchor in the dark. Our anchor is holding well so far and we've been lucky that none of the boats in front of us have dragged either (knock wood).

On Saturday afternoon, we walked across to the windward side of the island with Mike and Kylie from "Meggie". We met up with some friends of theirs, Alan and Liz, who have just bought property here near Industry Bay. Their property was amazing; it was on a hill overlooking beach/reef views, no other houses (or land) in front of them to spoil the view -- and for a second Kevin's eyes lit up when he saw a "For Sale" sign on a neighboring parcel. But we found out the price and it sounds too rich for our blood. Anyway, the nearby beach was lovely and there was a great beach bar with nice lounge chairs where we all sat and basked in the late afternoon sun.

On Monday Kevin and I headed ashore for a leisurely lunch at the Gingerbread restaurant. I say "leisurely" because it always takes a while to get your order there, but who can complain when you are sitting on a terrace enjoying the breeze and views of the bay? Anyway it was fortunate that we spent such a long time at the restaurant because just before we got the bill, another group sat down at the table next to us. Kevin whispered, "Hey, look over to your right..." You may remember back on Mustique that we never did run into Mick Jagger or any other celebrities. Well, our luck had turned because seated not ten feet from us was Donald Sutherland, actor and father of Jack Bauer (er, I mean Kiefer Sutherland). His white mane of hair and piercing eyes were unmistakable but his trademark voice confirmed that it was really him and not just a doppelganger. He must have a house here on the island because Kevin overheard him ask his guests if there was "anything else on the island" they wanted to see while they were here. We looked around for Kiefer but after checking Yahoo News we realized he was stuck in California (having just been released from 48 days in jail).

Bequia -- Get Ready to Ruummmbble!

So we are settling in for a good long stay in Bequia, one of our favorite islands. We were dinghying into town the other day for lunch and noticed a familiar boat in the harbor. Mike and Kylie are some friends we met while in Grenada and their boat Meggie is a beautiful classic wooden yacht (can't remember the make). Kevin recognized it right away so we dinghied over to say hi. Seems like they'll also be hanging out here for a bit while the winds are blowing (20 knots plus for at least the next week). Luckily Bequia is a great place to chill out. Lots of great inexpensive restaurants, like the one we went to for lunch that afternoon -- delicious boneless chicken rotis (note to unsuspecting travelers: ordering boneless is key. The island chopping technique of breaking down a chicken means serious mouth injuries otherwise!) and drinks for two was less than US$10.

Last night we had the Meggie crew over for drinks and dinner. They introduced us to what is sure to be a new favorite drink: rum and ginger ale with lime. Very good, and no blender required! Plus, they brought a bottle of St. Vincent rum called "Sunset" which we found to be better than our typical stock, which is just whatever rotgut is cheapest at the store! Mike and Kylie are our age and have similar cruising plans for the next couple of seasons so it was nice to get to know them better, since I'm sure we'll be running into them in more anchorages along the way. We had a good time and hung out talking until 10pm -- which is a raging Friday night party by cruisers' standards!

So it's now Saturday morning and Kevin and I are getting ready to resume a task that we've been working on all week: tagging our mp3's by genre. Kevin has loaded all our CD's into our player (talk about eclectic) and we realized that when we put it on "shuffle" we get some seriously random tracks: classical, followed by disco and finished with a dose of funky soul (ahh...James Brown, HIT me!). So we decided to categorize everything so we could just shuffle within each category. Easy, right? Not so fast! You might be surprised to hear that opinions and tempers flared in our normally mild-mannered household. Who would believe that people could care enough to fight over whether Madonna belongs in Teen Pop or Electronica/Dance? Or if Michelle Branch should fall into the same category as Britney Spears? For the record, Kevin thinks Madonna falls into Teen Pop (eye roll) and thought I was crazy for thinking the other two belonged in the same category. The funniest part is that we were having the biggest fights over music we weren't even that likely to listen to! And of course Kevin throws out, "I'm just surprised that you are being so stubborn and opinionated." (Oh no you didn't!) When I pointed out that, in order to actually be having an argument, he was clearly being just as opinionated and stubborn he replied, "Well yeah, but I'm right." At this point we realized that we'd only got through three letters of the alphabet, so we laughed if off and called it a day. But Round 2 begins as soon as I'm done typing this so..."Let's get it on!" (In the Mills Lane boxing sense, as opposed to Marvin Gaye.)

Bequia, SVG

We've been in Bequia since Saturday, and plan to stick around for at least another week or so. On the way over we had a nice sail: 15-20 knots wind on the beam, with no waves -- we were doing nearly 9 knots until we had to turn upwind to make it into Admiralty Bay. We like Bequia; there are lots of restaurants and shops, and the water is flat and calm even in strong winds. We stopped in at one of the local boat chandleries where we picked up a replacement boat hook. We also went out for our anniversary dinner at L'Auberge des Grenadines, where we ordered some of the biggest and freshest lobsters we've ever seen.

Where we are:
Location=Bequia, SVG
Lat=13 00.652
Lon=61 14.611

Mustique - (Can't Get No) Satisfaction

Our guidebooks describe Mustique as an island hideaway for the rich and famous. We read that David Bowie has sold up and moved away, but Mick Jagger is still kicking around and in fact is on the island as we speak. (We haven't run into him -- yet.) The island is privately owned by the Mustique Company, and while they don't limit who can come here by boat they do charge a fee to anchor or pick up a mooring which means that some folks give the island a miss so the anchorage is not too crowded. Besides there are only three restaurant/bars on the island, and our wardrobes preclude us from going to two of them (Ties & jackets? Only if foul weather jackets count!). Basil's Bar is the most casual of the three and we arrived on a Wednesday, just in time for Basil's Wednesday night buffet and jump-up.

The buffet dinner started late for us (8pm!), so we arrived a little early and hung out by the door keeping our eyes peeled for aging rock stars or any of society's creme de la creme. We didn't see any drunk socialites, but let me tell you the Euro-tourists were so entertaining that we weren't disappointed. The food was pricey but nothing special; we actually wished we'd skipped dinner and just paid the US$6 entry fee for the jump-up (translation: dance party) afterward. The band started out with a cheesy rendition of Lionel Richie's "Stuck On You", which is apparently more popular in other parts of the world than you think it is (or than it should be). But from there it proceeded to reggae and soca and soon the dance floor was crowded with tourists hilariously getting their groove on. Remember those Peanuts cartoons when the kids jam out while Schroeder plays the Linus & Lucy theme? Well this was like Charlie Brown on speed. Good grief! But we hung out and enjoyed the band until almost twelve (okay, you got me -- 11:15!).

The next day we took a walk across the island over to the Cotton House Resort, where we had drinks at the beach bar (their regular bar being one of the two more exclusive ones -- people wearing sweaty baseball caps need not apply). Again, no celebrity sightings to report but the drink prices at the beach bar were more reasonable than expected (we were hungry but quick glance at the menu revealed that a BLT was US$17, so we just stuck to the drinks!). Then this morning we wandered up in the direction of Firefly (the other one of the "dress code" bars) and at 10am it was empty so we ventured inside to see what we were missing. It was really posh and had stellar views of the harbor, but being hot and sweaty from our hike up the hill we opted not to spend too much time there. Afterward, on our way down the hill we walked along with a friendly (and chatty) local boat captain named Garnett, who filled us in on all the dish about the island and its residents. He's had the chance to ferry around some of the rich, famous, and royal (yes, both Prince William and Harry!) and in fact just a few days ago he saw Mr. Jagger himself. Well, we leave tomorrow and it's looking doubtful that we'll spot ol' Mick. But then again you know what they say: "You Can't Always Get What You Want".

Mustique - Man Overboard!

We spent a few more nights over in Mayreau in an anchorage on the windward side of the island. It was a much quieter spot; only one other boat anchored there during the time we were there. Troy and Winnie live aboard their trawler "Lucky Dog" with three cats and a German Shepherd the size of a small bear. We had drinks with them on their boat and we had a nice evening.

We then headed up to Canouan, which is the next island to the north. It's the base for the Moorings charter company, and it is also home to a huge Raffles resort. We spent the afternoon walking around the island, and the road along the windward side had some beautiful reef views. When we got back down to the bay we bought a couple sodas and "limed" with young guy named Martin and an old local sailor named "Sheriff". Sheriff claimed to have lived all over the world, from Norway to Taipei. Then he offered to sell us some of his land on Canouan, as he took a sip of his rum and juice. We couldn't tell if all his stories were true or not but they were interesting to say the least. The younger guy, Martin, was curious as to where our children were while we were living on the boat. We explained that we didn't have any and seemed pretty amazed by that. He advised us to start having some right away. This is about the fourth or fifth time that we've run into someone who was surprised that we didn't have a family. I guess in the islands most people our age would already have several kids. So I asked Martin how many kids he had. "None yet," was the reply. "First I got to find a good wife, then we have thirteen kids. Lots of kids." Wow. Ladies of Canouan, be warned!<>

This morning we got an early start and motorsailed up to Mustique. Britannia Bay in Mustique is a protected harbor and they prefer that you take a mooring instead of anchoring. Normally Kevin drives the boat while I stand on the bow and pick up the mooring with the boat hook. But these moorings didn't have pendants so that meant we'd have to thread our line directly through the mooring. It would have been easy if we hadn't given away our Happy Hooker (a tool just for this purpose, but that we had never used in nearly 3 years of sailing) back in Grenada! So Kevin suggested we switch: that I should be at the helm while he picked up the mooring. I was a little nervous because I rarely have the helm in these situations and didn't want to do anything embarrassing, such as run over a line or crash into another boat. So I very carefully approached the mooring, and Kevin bent over to thread our line. I watched in amazement as I saw his torso go overboard, followed by his legs. The big splash that followed was confirmation that my eyes weren't deceiving me. I made sure both engines were in neutral and just stayed at the helm, figuring that since he was in the water already he should be able to thread our line through the eye no problem. (I am nothing if not practical.) He finally called me up to the bow to catch the end of the line as he tossed it to me. As I secured the line I looked up and realized we had provided the morning's entertainment for the people on the boat in front of us, who were grinning as Kevin loudly announced that the next show would start at 1:30. Luckily Kevin was unharmed; I wish I could say the same for our boat hook. The aluminum pole was bent in two places and so badly kinked that it couldn't be bent back into shape.

[Kevin's Post]Hey, at least I got it on the first try!

Where we are:
Location=Mustique, SVG
Lat=12 52.738
Lon=61 11.347

Mayreau - I Like Big Boats and I Cannot Lie!

Well we arrived in Saline Bay, Mayreau three days ago. When we anchored we could see a huge cruise ship over in the next bay. We watched as their two tenders ferried hundreds of people to and from the island's gorgeous beach. Rather than deal with the crowds, we just hung out on the boat. All the cruise ship passengers were back on the boat before sundown and we got to watch the boat literally sail off into the sunset (it was one of those cruise ships with five giant masts and a bunch of sails).

Then yesterday morning we were jarred awake by the sound of a very nearby, very loud ship's horn. We looked out the port window and an enormous ship (the daily mailboat/ferry) was sitting in the water about 50 feet to the left of us, honking its horn repeatedly because too many other boats were anchored near the town dock. We weren't in the way, so we just sat out in the cockpit and watched four or five boats scramble to pull up their anchors and get out of the way. Later yesterday afternoon we did go ashore, and we found a gorgeous landscaped beach and a sleepy little town. We hiked up to the top of the hill where there was a tiny but pretty church with a fabulous view of the reefs on the windward side of Mayreau as well as the Tobago Cays in the distance. We had a rum punch at the Combination Cafe and glanced at some of the souvenirs. It seems that most people's livelihood here is dependent on the tourist industry. Even though it wasn't a cruise ship day and there were only a handful of tourists on the island, all the local ladies still had hung up all their souvenir t-shirts and colorful sarongs and had their tables arranged with artwork and jewelry. The island only has a population of 500 people, so it's a huge boost to the economy when a cruise ship comes and drops 2000 tourists off for the afternoon. Cruise ship season ends in March according to the bartender, so it makes you wonder what they do during the summertime.

This morning we were again woken up by a loud noise. This time it was the sound of massive anchors being dropped by the cruise ship that decided to anchor right behind us. Literally. We peered out the back port and they had dropped their first anchor about 500 feet behind us (which is pretty far back for a normal-sized boat, but a little close for a cruise ship!) Anyway, I'm sure their tenders will be zipping back and forth all day, dropping people off at the beach, so we are planning to avoid the commotion and go anchor in another bay.

Where we are:
Location=Mayreau, SVG
Lat=12 38.013
Lon=61 23.926

Union Island - Feeling Great in 08

Happy 2008 everyone! Our New Year's Eve celebration was a little lamer than predicted; Kevin still wasn't feeling too great so we just had dinner on the boat and turned in early (but we did wake up when other people in the anchorage started shouting "Happy New Year", so technically we were awake at midnight). In addition to having a boring New Year's, we've had a pretty boring week so far as well. Kevin can't swim or dive due to his ear, so we've just been hanging out reading, surfing the internet, and in general being "cave dwellers" (a phrase coined by Chris on Moonsail, who noted that all summer we spent 99% of our time in the cool air conditioning on the boat instead of outside. Now that the weather has cooled off, it's pretty comfortable inside the boat even without A/C.) But Kevin's ear is finally starting to feel better, so we will be moving on to the island of Mayreau today, about 3 miles north of here. We've never been there so I'm sure we'll at least leave the cave (I mean, boat) for a few hours to explore ashore...

Union Island - Can You Hear Me Now?

No good deed goes unpunished. Kevin caught an ear infection from snorkeling last week. We think it started while we were at the sculpture garden, but Kevin jumping in the water to look at the charter boat's anchor probably didn't help any. So for the past few days he's been in pain and unable to hear out of his left ear. The Tobago Cays doesn't have any town or even any buildings, so for the first few days we just tried giving him some expired and not-quite-expired antibiotics from our medical stash. Not surprisingly, that didn't help much. After four days with little change we decided to head back over to Union Island where we knew there was a pharmacy and hoped there was a doctor.

We managed to find "our" anchor spot (we've been here three times now and this is the only spot in good sand, with decent wifi access and no moorings around to swing into) and drop the hook. Lucky. Not so lucky was the monohull on a mooring two boats away. A charter catamaran had anchored so that there was maybe two boatwidths between the two boats and the cat kept swinging wildly (the sillies didn't have the bridle on) and coming within 2-3 feet of bumping into the monohull. We watched this in amazement for about 15 minutes (there were people on both boats, both aware of the problem) but rather than wait to see how things turned out we decided to seek medical attention for my ailing husband.

For any boating folk reading this, Erika's Marine Services is one of the friendliest and most helpful local businesses we've come across in the Caribbean. Their main mission is to help cruisers, whether it's with internet access, shipping or receiving mail, laundry, or a free book exchange. In our case they were able to give us the mobile number of the local doctor so that we could make a phone call. Sure enough the doctor was in and could see Kevin right away. The clinic is on a hill overlooking the bay and probably has the best views in town (see the photo we posted). We were greeted by a friendly lady and saw the doctor within five minutes. He was a pretty young-looking guy, but knowledgeable, and he took the time to explain what he saw (yep, the ear was infected, no surprise there). He gave Kevin a prescription for some unexpired medication and some antibiotic eardrops. He explained that there was only one pharmacy in town and gave us typical Caribbean directions: "Down de road. Ask anybody, dey show you where it is".

So we walked back into town, inquired at one of the mini-groceries, and were escorted to the pharmacy by a nice-mannered kid. Despite the shelves lined with Nerve Tonic and Heart Elixir (kidding about the Heart Elixir, not kidding about the Nerve Tonic) we found the pharmacy to be first-rate and the lady pharmacist explained the medications to Kevin in hushed tones while I studied the shelves of island souvenirs. So now hopefully Kevin is on the road to recovery! Over lunch in town we decided we'll probably spend New Year's here; the weather forecast doesn't look great for getting to Mustique like we'd hoped, and we've already been invited to a tempting buffet bash at one of the local restaurants. By the time we got back to our boat, the monohull and the poorly anchored charter catamaran were gone, hopefully both were unscathed.

Where we are:
Location=Union Island, SVG
Lat=12 35.777
Lon=61 24.799

Tobago Cays - A Caribbean Christmas

Merry Christmas, everyone! It's been a quiet couple of days on the boat. In the anchorage there have been a few other boats with Christmas lights on at night, so it's been nice to sit outside in the evenings with the full moon and the twinkly lights on. The weather's been great -- hardly any rain and not too hot during the day (low 80's). The so-called "Christmas Winds" have kicked up so there's a good breeze all day long, and we are getting plenty of power from the wind generator, which has been spinning like crazy for three days.

Santa Claus brought Kevin some flashy fishing lures and Stephen Colbert's book "I Am America (And So Can You!)". I received some cooking DVD's (Iron Chef America, Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations") and a Sansa ipod-type thing. It is the size of an eraser (the square pink ones that gradeschool kids use) and holds 2GB of music, about 300 songs. In the course of contemplating what to put on it, I've been thinking about what music I'd bring if I were on a deserted island. After all if you ignore all the other sailboats, and the boatboys, and the day-charter tourists, we are kind of all alone on a deserted island (three or four islands, in fact). So if I could only pick, say, ten songs to put on my mp3 player, what would they be? Definitely the Beatles' "We Can Work It Out". Also "Train in Vain" by the Clash, "Dancing in the Moonlight" by King Harvest and "Come Dancing" by the Kinks for sure. Possibly Big Audio Dynamite's "Rush". But from there everything falls into a gray area -- there are too many good songs out there! Would I rather have Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" or "Driver 8" by R.E.M.? Decisions, decisions. This may call for some audience (email) participation: if you were stuck on a desert island and could only pick ten songs to listen to, which ten would you pick?

While we were opening presents, we had "A Christmas Story" on in the background. "You'll shoot your eye out, kid." I was tempted to put the DVD on in repeat mode, a la TBS, but you can only watch Randy eat like a piggy so many times before you get a little grossed out. Speaking of eating, we had a semi-traditional Christmas dinner: stuffing, mashed potatoes, and roast beast. Actually just kidding about that last part. The IGA was fresh out of roast beast when we shopped last week. So we barbecued up some hickory-sauced baby back ribs instead. Mmmmm...Christmas!

Tobago Cays -- It Pays to Be Nice

Motoring into the anchorage at the Tobago Cays, we could see that the spot we'd taken when we were here six months ago was unoccupied. We were surprised that the anchorage was a lot less crowded than we expected, maybe 20-30 boats here -- about 60% charter boats and the rest cruisers, although most of the cruisers we know are in Bequia, or Clarke's Court (Merry Christmas Chris & Barb!), or in Antigua (Merry Christmas Linda, Steve, Paul & Ginette!). So we dropped our hook next to the same derelict trimaran (that has been there so long it shows up on Google Earth) and let out the chain. We were in maybe 10 feet of water, far enough in front of all the other boats that there was nothing within a 300-foot radius of us. Nice. As we prepared to back down, we saw a man on the bow of the Moorings charter catamaran behind us, scowling. (We assumed he was scowling; he was too far away to tell for sure but his body language spoke volumes.) We have occasionally needed to use the old "stink eye" when someone anchors too close, so we recognized it right away, regardless of the distance. We were totally puzzled as to why he'd be upset; although we were anchoring in front of them we really were a pretty good distance away. But soon he was joined by a woman and they both began to make angry gestures and shout about their anchor. We couldn't hear them since we were upwind of them, so we waved our VHF around and asked them to call us on the radio, which they did. The man was very upset and informed us that we had anchored "right on top of his anchor". Kevin eyeballed the distance between our boats again and calmly noted, "hmmm, we are about 300 feet in front of you; I'd be surprised if your boat has that much rode" (charter boats usually have minimal equipment, including minimal anchor rode). But the guy persisted, saying that it looked more like only 150 feet max and that he'd let out a lot of rode because last time they were here the wind really kicked up. So Kevin generously offered, "Tell you what: I'll jump in with the snorkel and take a look, and if we're on top of it, we'll move." (If you can tell, we've been infected with the Christmas spirit. Actually we are hoping to be on Santa's "nice" list this year.) So we finished backing down, put the bridle on, and Kevin jumped in the water and started swimming towards the other boat.

It was a long way away. By the time Kevin finally got over there, I'd stopped paying attention. Besides I couldn't hear anything anyway. But Kevin found their anchor about 60 feet in front of them (meaning 250 feet behind us). He hovered over it and signaled to the guy that that was the location of the anchor. Poor guy was incredibly embarrassed and apologized profusely. Kevin very kindly reassured him that sometimes it's hard to gauge distance when there's nothing between you but water. (Are you getting all this, Santa?) Turns out Ron and his wife are from Connecticut and here on charter for Christmas. They chatted for a while and then Kevin swam back and said how sorry the guy was. It was an honest mistake if you are not used to anchoring (and being anchored in front of) every day. Anyway the couple felt so bad that later in the afternoon they dinghied by with Christmas presents: some snacks and bottles of juice from their provisions. Pretty nice! (Thanks, karmic Santa!)

So despite it being 82 degrees and sunny, we are trying to make the most of Christmas. Last night we watched the "Rudolph" tv special (My favorite line: "Eat, Papa, eat!") and played Christmas music while I baked some oatmeal cranberry chocolate chip cookies. "Eat, Kevin, eat!"

Where we are:
Location=Tobago Cays, SVG
Lat=12 37.771
Lon=61 21.362

Petit St. Vincent - SVG

On Friday we motorsailed up the coast of Grenada to check out the new rigging before leaving the country (it was a successful test, meaning that the mast is still standing so the new rigging must be doing it's job, right?) We anchored in Grand Mal Bay which is just south of the Moliniere Bay underwater sculpture park. We took the dinghy to the park and there was already a dive boat there. We saw two moorings, a big white one and a small red one. We headed for the smaller one and as we got close we realized it was moving and was attached to a group of divers below. Oops. With a sheepish look at the guy captaining the dive boat, we tied onto the white mooring. Anyway, the sculpture park: a few years ago an artist came to Grenada and made a bunch of sculptures to be installed underwater. Over time the sculptures change as different varieties of coral and other sea organisms grow on them. They were pretty interesting, the most impressive was a huge circle of people standing and holding hands. We also saw an enormous stingray "guarding" one of the sculptures and eyeing us warily. Anyway, it was nice to do one last bit of sightseeing before we left the country.

Saturday was a long day. We were up at six and made it to Union Island (part of St. Vincent and the Grenadines) just after lunch. While I stayed with the boat in the crowded anchorage, Kevin went ashore to pick up our mail and clear us into the country. There was a wifi hotspot so I also uploaded a few photos and a video of our snorkel adventures from Friday. Then we upped anchor and motorsailed over to Petite Martinique to top up on fuel and load up on duty-free liquor (Kevin even picked up a bottle of champagne for New Year's). Finally, we motored over to Petit St. Vincent and anchored off the resort beach (the whole island is owned by the resort). Kevin fixed pina coladas and we watched the sun go down. As we fell into the bunk, exhausted, we could hear the strains of steel pan music coming from the outdoor restaurant at the beach. Not a bad way to end the day.

Where we are:
Location=Petit St. Vincent, SVG
Lat=12 32.076
Lon=61 23.125

Grenada - Moliniere Bay

On the way out of Grenada, we stopped at the underwater sculpture garden at Moliniere Bay. It was very cool and worth a stop. There are bettery photos at the artist's website: http://www.underwatersculpture.com

Grenada Farewell

If all goes well today will be our last full day in Grenada. The quick haulout for the survey went well yesterday -- we were in the slings at 9am, Bob the surveyor was able to do his thing, Kevin scraped the unwanted barnacles off the hull, paid the bill for hauling (yay -- cheaper than expected!), and we were back in the water and anchored again by 10:30 am. A half-hour later the owner of the rigging shop came by to quality-check the work Wayne had done. He made a few small adjustments and said to come by the shop for the bill after lunch. Which we did, and were again given a bill that was cheaper than quoted -- score! Although maybe it was compensation to Kevin, who spent two days working almost as hard as Wayne, hoisting him up and down the mast. (Usually the rigging guys work in teams of two but since we wanted the job done as fast as possible, Kevin had to pitch in!)

Today the plan is to clear out of customs and immigration. Then tomorrow we will leave early and head up to Union Island to clear into St. Vincent and the Grenadines in time for the holidays. We're looking forward to being on the move again.

Prickly Bay, Grenada - We're outta here

[Kevin's Post]Before we leave Grenada we thought we'd squeeze in one more haulout (that's #6 for those of you keeping track). And let's replace all the rigging too. Actually neither of these were by choice. Our insurance company informed us when we renewed that we needed to have an out of water survey before 2/28/08 (the 3rd anniversary of our last survey). I knew they required a survey less than 3 years old to renew, but I figured since ours was less than 3 years old at renewal time we were good until the next renewal. I was wrong. oops. Sure would have been nice to take care of this a couple months ago while we were out of the water for 3 weeks. I had a surveyor come out last week and begin the survey, tomorrow we haul (at the other Grenada boatyard - take that Grenada Marine!) so he can inspect the bottom. He said our rigging was too old (the wires that hold up the mast) and that he couldn't sign off on it. So he suggested I have an independent rigging inspection. I had some rigging guys come out and the rigging guys agreed with the surveyor that it should all be replaced. Oh good, everyone agrees I should spend more money. Replacing the rigging on a boat is one of the most expensive things you can do short of replacing an engine, but fortunately it is a heck of a lot cheaper to do down here than in the US. So when I got the estimate, my only question was "How fast can you do it". We moved the boat from the marina to Prickly Bay this morning so we could anchor right off the rigging shop and Wayne the rigger has already been up the mast 5 times today (more times than I have in the past 3 years). Replacing the rigging while in the water is an exciting process. Basically they remove one shroud at a time supporting the mast with halyards. Then the riggers dinghy the wire back to the shop to reproduce it. They bring the new one to the boat and install it. They've already replaced the headstay and shrouds (3 of the 5 wires), tomorrow they will replace the diamond (the other 2) and then it's done and we can get outta here. The cost of 5 wires: $2850.

Where we are:
Location=Prickly Bay, Grenada
Lat=12 00.035
Lon=61 45.837

Grenada -- Drive on the LEFT!

In preparation for leaving Grenada (yeah, I know it seems like we never will but Kevin tells me we are leaving and he's the captain, so...) we rented a car so that we could stock up here at the great IGA supermarket. We wanted to pick up things that we aren't likely to find in any of the mom & pop shops on some of the smaller islands -- things like Frank's Red Hot (mmm...chicken wings), and fancy stuff like hearts of palm, capers, and dried shiitake mushrooms (I have no idea what I'm going to do with them, but what the heck -- put them in the cart anyway!) After taking the bus everywhere, driving a car here was a bit of a shock. As we left the marina and started to turn onto the main road, Kevin hit what he thought was the turn signal. The windshield wipers went berserk (turn signal is on the RIGHT side of the steering wheel in Grenada!) and we sat there on the wrong side of the road with a jeep bearing down on us while I gestured frantically to the left shouting "That side, THAT side!". No harm done, Kevin got the wily wipers under control and fortunately that was our only mishap while driving despite the multitude of obstacles that Grenadian roadways present. It could be a video game -- "Mario Kart" meets "Frogger". Two things to keep in mind while playing the game: 1. Always drive on the left, and 2. Be prepared to slam on the brakes at any moment. You drive along narrow, curvy roads avoiding small elderly women, wandering goats, men with machetes, and every once in a while the car in front of you will hit the brakes and slam it into reverse to pick up a passenger, say hi to a friend, or just to mess with the carload of tourists behind them. (This happened no less than four times today). It's a fun game, really.

We rented the car for two days and got all the errands out of the way yesterday so today we had planned to explore the Grand Etang National Forest and do a little hiking. Unfortunately about 1000 other people (it was a cruise ship day) also had the same plan so we arrived at Grand Etang and were surrounded by aging British tourists standing around sipping $10 cups of juice and being hustled by 30 spice merchants all trying to sell them the same necklace made of nutmeg. We explained to the lady at the admission gate that we'd been living in the country for five months and happened to pick the wrong day to come enjoy the scenery. She just laughed. But we hopped back in the car and headed up the road a ways to Seven Sisters Falls where we had a much more secluded (and strenuous) hike down into a gorge with two good-sized falls (the other five were a longer and even more strenuous hike away, so we just saw the first two). We had the waterfalls all to ourselves. Well, pretty much to ourselves. A local kid and professional "jumper" (see our Annadale Falls post) was there to give us some information about the falls (but primarily to jump from the heights for a small "donation", which we gladly gave). Cliffon the Cliffjumper seemed to scale the sheer face of the rock before jumping the 35 foot first fall, and then he took a running jump off the second fall (take a look at the videos, but don't try this at home. If you have a waterfall at home, that is.). Kevin swam in the pool (too cold for me) and the hike back was grueling -- it's always easier to hike down to the waterfalls than to hike back up to the car. Anyway, it was nice to get out and see something of Grenada other than the marina bar and the grocery store. Although after our hike we did stop at the grocery store for a few last-minute items. Oh, and we did hang out at the marina bar for karaoke night.

Grenada - Back on Board

I've been back in Grenada for two days now. Meanwhile my baggage has been on a bender in San Juan Puerto Rico -- doing tequila shots, dancing to salsa, and downing way too many margaritas. For me the trip back to the boat was uneventful but long. I was originally scheduled to fly through O'Hare on Tuesday morning but Ice Storm 2007 put the kibosh on that, so I was rerouted through Dallas where I spent the night. In San Juan the next day I arrived at the gate only to hear that the flight was "overweight" and they were asking passengers to voluntarily give up their seats for a $350 credit and a seat on the next Grenada flight. There's only one flight to Grenada each day so they didn't get too many takers and the next step was to bump people. I was fortunate to already have a seat assignment, because out of 60 or so people booked on the flight, only the 43 with seat assignments were allowed to board. After the plane landed, I filled out a missing baggage form and headed to the marina, where Chris, Barb & Kevin were hanging out waiting for me and watching "Deal or No Deal" on satellite. It's now 9am on Friday morning and my baggage just arrived in a taxi, looking bedraggled and hung over but none the worse for the wear. I'm gonna let it sleep it off before unpacking.

Grenada - It's beginning to look a lot like . . .

[Kevin's Post] This will be our first Christmas on the boat, so I wanted to do it right. I bought a bunch of lights while I was in Phoenix and carted them all the way to Grenada. These are LED lights and draw almost no power, its great. We have 3 strings of lights up and all of them combined are 12 watts. That's less power than our anchor light consumes. So we'll be able to run them at anchor which will be fun.

Kazakhstan

[Kevin's Post]I was enjoying my last night in a real bed back in phoenix when I got woken by a call from the Citibank credit card fraud department. It's not unusual for me to have charges from several countries at the same time on my credit card so I get these calls all the time. The recording asks you to verify your last 5 charges, and they have always been my own. But this time one of the charges was for $950 at a bakery? I think I would have remembered that one. So I punch the button that takes me through to customer service. The nice lady with customer service asks me if I have been traveling. I tell her that I have. Then she says that there were two charges of about $950 each from a bakery in Kazakhstan. I tell her I buy my bread locally. She suggests that the charges might be fraudulent. I tell her that I think she's probably right. So she cancels my card and now the people of Kazakhstan need to find a new way to fund their sandwich supplies.

I'm back in Grenada now after 24 hours of travel and 4 plane rides. My flight from Dallas to Puerto Rico was diverted to Atlanta due to a medical emergency, but miraculously I still made my connection in San Juan with about 10 minutes to spare. Even more amazing, is that my bags made it too. I still don't know how they managed that. It took about an hour for me go through customs in Grenada and they actually looked through my bags this time. They charged me 5% of the value of the items as best they could figure out ("No, sorry I don't have a receipt for that either. I think it was about $10."). This was the "duty free" rate since I had boat paperwork to show I was bound for a yacht in transit. Back at the marina I was pleasantly surprised to find that the bar was still open and decked out with Christmas lights. I enjoyed a frosty Carib with Chris & Barb (Moonsail) before lugging my bags back to the boat and collapsing in bed.

Grenada - Back Again

Well we had a nice final week in Tobago. From Plymouth we went to Castara Bay where we were able to hike with Linda & Steve (Seaman's Elixir) to a beautiful waterfall and freshwater pool. We then spent some time in Englishman's Bay snorkeling one of the nicest reefs we've ever seen. We were glad we snorkeled it because the next day we got a bunch of rain that murkied up the water. Our final stop in Tobago was Charlotteville which is a small fishing village that is out of the way for most tourists. We were hoping to fill up with cheap diesel while we were there (cost was about US$0.95/gallon), but unfortunately the local gas station was out of diesel and gasoline and didn't get a new shipment while we were in town. We now know we should've filled up our jerry jugs when we were over in Store Bay with easy access to fuel. We have really enjoyed Tobago and we hope to come back next year. Our only complaint had to do with the procedure for clearing out of immigration. There is only one office, so we had to take a taxi from Charlotteville to Scarborough and it took an hour and a half each way, plus an hour wait. We were sad that we had to spend our last afternoon in paradise trying to get our paperwork arranged instead of taking a hike or going snorkeling. But other than that, Tobago was an amazing island and we were glad to have the chance to see it.

We arrived back in Grenada yesterday after an interesting crossing. They are putting a new oil rig in the ocean north of Tobago and of course it's new home just happened to be right on our course line and we just happened to be there as they were installing it. We could see it miles away on the horizon (it was a huge structure like you'd see in the Gulf of Mexico). It was being towed by a tug --quite a sight, this tiny boat pulling this massive thing along at about 1 knot. So we had to go around and give him a two-mile berth. Then an enormous motor tanker comes whizzing by (well, "whizzing" in boat terms -- going 14 knots) and wants to pass by both us and the tanker, so it was a little nerve-wracking being within 1 nautical mile of this huge ship. Normally we prefer to keep our distance from those guys. But both the tanker and the tug/rig knew we were there and we were in VHF contact with them, so we weren't too worried about getting run over! Shortly after that we joined up with a rain cloud going exactly our speed and direction, so we were soaked by the time we made it to the marina at Clarkes Court Bay. It was definitely Miller Time, which translates to "Carib Time" in Grenada. We headed up to the bar and met back up with some old friends, Barb & Chris (Moonsail) who are going to be managing the marina for a month while Bob takes a vacation. We plan to leave the boat (and our cat, Boris) here under their expert care when we come home for a visit next week. Looking forward to seeing everyone back home!

Where we are:
Location=Clarkes Court Bay Marina, Grenada
Lat=12 00.628
Lon=61 44.349

Plymouth, Tobago -- Plymouth Rocks!

Well we've had a busy week. We haven't posted in a while, so fasten your seat belts this is going to be a long (possibly boring) post. On Saturday, we hit the PennySaver grocery store and loaded up on all the bargains we could find. Our cart was full of granola bars, cereal, snack food, and fruit juices (which constitute the "healthy" part of our rum drinks -- bottoms up!). Our cart spilled over and we got a few stares from the locals but we were pleased when the bill came to a little under $200 US. The dollar may be swiftly plummeting against the Pound and the Euro, but at least we are still making out like bandits in TT dollars. We freely admit to being cheapskates. We then had a nice night out with Barb and Chuck (Tusen Takk II) and Anne and John (Living the Dream). Unlike burgers, you can pretty much get a decent pizza anywhere in the Caribbean. Mmmm, pizza.

On Sunday, we bought a second SCUBA tank (hooray, now we can BOTH breathe underwater!) and explored the beautiful Pigeon Point beach. This is a fabulous soft sand beach protected on all sides by a coral reef. The beach wasn't super crowded and the few tourists we saw were mostly European or from Trinidad. Tobago is one of those islands that epitomizes what most people want in a Caribbean vacation -- beaches, a rainforest, great diving, nice restaurants and friendly people. What is surprising is that this destination is pretty much flying under the radar for most American tourists, while Europeans and Trinis know this is the place for a great getaway. Okay, the Tobago tourism commercial is over, back to the post...

On Monday (yesterday) we took the boat up to the northerly coast to Mt. Irvine Bay. We had just finished anchoring when three dive boats came and dropped off their divers about 100 feet off our port side. Score! We were within swimming distance of the Dutchman Reef, which is a very popular dive site. One of the skiffs tied up to a mooring nearby and when the divers were in the water, the boat driver gave us a huge smile and a wave and yelled "Hey -- I'm comin' over!" and dove into the water and swam right up to our back steps. He came aboard and introduced himself as Dion. He was timing the divers and I think he just wanted to hang out with someone while he waited for them to surface so we chatted a bit. He's been diving for 14 years and had a lot to tell us about the various dive sites around the island. After his time was up he told us to give him a call if we wanted to go out diving, and then he was back in the water swimming back to his boat so he could go pick up his clients. After the dive boats left we snorkeled a bit but visibility wasn't great so instead of diving we spent the rest of the afternoon watching surfers catch some of the waves crashing towards shore. There's a northerly swell right now which makes all our anchorages a little rolly, but it's great for the surfers since they get nice rollers coming in some of the beaches.

Today (Tuesday) we motored over to Plymouth, where our friends Linda and Steve (Seaman's Elixir) and Tusen Takk were already anchored. The six of us took a walk to the Adventure Farm park. It's not really much of an adventure nor much of a farm, but the guide books say it is a great place to go birdwatching. Now, none of us are very serious bird watchers; I can't tell a red crested mot-mot from a great horned booby, but even I could tell that the only birds around were some small hummingbirds and some bananaquits. There were a few other serious birders already there with their cameras out. We could tell they were "serious" because their telephoto lenses were the size of large cannons. I am not making this up. Ironically they all had these tripods set up so that they could shoot close-up photos of the birds "in the wild" (feeding from bright red hummingbird feeders). Ha! After our bird "adventure" we walked up the road to the Waterwheel Restaurant which is a converted sugar/rum mill. The restaurant wasn't really open for lunch but we decided to have a drink anyway. As the lady was guiding us to our table, Kevin motioned frantically for me to come over to a small room. I peeked in the window and saw dozens of -- get this -- large bats hanging from the ceiling fan. Cree. Pee. We sat at our table and watched as the occasional bat flitted through the open-air restaurant to find a new perch near the kitchen. Eeek. Maybe it's better that the restaurant wasn't serving food when we got there, so we just had one round of drinks before hightailing it out of there. Alcohol kills germs like rabies, right?

Where we are:
Location=Plymouth, Tobago
Lat=11 13.037
Lon=60 46.824

Tobago - Rainforest Walk

[Kevin's Post]We have been in Tobago for about a week now and have been constantly amazed at how cheap everything is here. The cost of most grocery items is about half what it is in Grenada. Diesel is less than $1 US per gallon. Eating out at restaurants is pretty cheap too and there are tons of choices, especially in the resort area where we are right now. We are definitely going to stock up before we leave, good thing we raised the waterline!

Yesterday Susan and Hale on Cayuga had arranged a rainforest tour with a retired ranger and invited us along. Steve and Linda from 'Seaman's Elixir' and John and Ann from 'Living the Dream' also joined us. We piled into a rented minivan and drove across the island toward our arranged meeting spot. The retired ranger, Renson Jack, told us that if we get lost on our drive to just stop and ask for him. I'm not sure if that shows how small the island is, or how well known he is, but in any case that's what we did and we found him. He had planned to take us on a walk through the Louis D'or river valley, but with the recent rains the river was flowing a bit too high and he advised against it. Instead we spent a few hours walking around the rainforest surrounding his 'project', an eco-resort in the making which he has spent the past 25 years building. It was a beautiful area with lots of potential, but you had to really use your imagination as he pointed out the locations of the different amenities of his 'resort'. However, Renson was very knowledgeable about the local flora and fauna, and had no end of stories about his life on Tobago. In the afternoon we drove with Renson farther into the rainforest and walked part of the Gilpin Trace which is part of a trail that used to be the only route North to South across the island. Renson told us that when he was younger, he would walk the entire trail every other Tuesday with the local priest to give mass on the North coast. The rainforest in Tobago is supposedly the oldest nature preserve in the new world, established in the 1780's. Walking through the rainforest was like being in another world with all the ferns and vines and bamboo everywhere. We saw several colorful birds from a distance and even saw an army of leaf cutter ants making short work of a palm tree. The trail was extremely muddy and we were all a mess by the time we got back to the car. We stopped for beers at a bar not far from the Gilpin Trace and ate the lunches we had all packed for the trip. It was getting late in the afternoon, and Renson drove with us back to the Store Bay area pointing out several scenic vistas along the way turning our rainforest tour into an island tour. Back at Store Bay we all collapsed at Bago's for more beers while we watched the sun go down.

Store Bay, Tobago

The trip from Grenada to Tobago reminded me of a carnival ride. Not the smooth gliding rides you'd find at Disneyland, but the stomach-flopping, herky-jerky, leave-your-head-spinning rides you'd see at the state fair. Don't get me wrong, I love riding those kinds of rides -- the Tilt-a-Whirl is a personal favorite. But not for twelve hours straight. The waves weren't very big, it's just that every once in a while the boat would suddenly drop straight down into the trough and then a few seconds later the next wave would smack the side of the boat, rattling our skulls a little. It's unusual for me, but I felt very seasick. Pretty much the whole time. Neither one of us was too keen on spending a lot of time inside the boat, so nobody made lunch and all we ate during the trip was a couple crackers for me and three slices of bread for Kevin. Mmm.

We had left Grenada around four in the morning and we arrived in Store Bay around 4pm. It took a little while to get the boat settled, but the nice thing about seasickness is that it stops right away once you are flat and level again. It was almost 5:30 when we finally beached the dinghy and hailed a taxi to take us to Scarborough to clear in. We knew it was after-hours and there'd be overtime charges but we weren't prepared for the rigamarole once we got there. The customs agent told us to walk over to the ferry dock to check in with immigration. There was no one at immigration, so we walked up to the Information booth to find out if we could get someone to check us in. The booth was enclosed in darkly tinted glass, but we could just barely see a woman hiding behind a large purse who did not respond to anyone knocking on the glass. She was practically ducking under the counter and must have thought we couldn't see her. Helpful, huh? A little old lady walked up and asked us what we needed and offered to help us track down an immigration officers. The three of us approached some security guards and she asked them a few rapid-fire questions and then started berating them for being incompetent. As we walked away, she advised us to not even bother clearing through immigration since all the officials in this country "don't know their asses from their elbows". You had to be there: imagine this tiny spitfire of a woman, maybe about five-foot even, furious and cursing like a sailor. It was hilarious, but unfortunately not very helpful. We went back to customs to explain that there was no one at immigration and after another half-hour of negotiations he said we'd have to come back in the morning to clear immigration.

At this point it was getting dark outside and we just wanted to get back to the boat and get something to eat (after the bread and crackers we were absolutely ravenous). The taxis in this country are incredibly cheap and we soon discovered why. Our driver Emmanuel picked us up and asked if it was okay for him to "make one quick stop" along the way. He first picked up some gyros to go that he was bringing home to some friends. He handed me the bag of food to hold and the delicious aroma wafted throughout the car, torturing us. Then he stopped at a bar and ducked inside hoping to find some other friends of his to say hi. Meanwhile we are waiting in the car wondering if he'd notice if we each ate a gyro. Ten minutes later, he comes back and tells us he wants to take the scenic route instead of the highway so that we can "experience the ocean breeze". Ironically we'd been experiencing just that all day, but it was kind of useless to explain it to him. The road went along the coast and periodically he would slow down, pointing to the vast blackness (remember it was night time) and saying, "Just there -- that's the sea. Right there next to the road. Can you see it?" To be courteous we kept agreeing, "Yes it's beautiful." Our grumbling stomachs were also saying things, but not so politely. We finally arrived back at Store Bay and Kevin and I couldn't even wait to get back to the boat. We stopped at the first barbecue stand we saw and pretty much inhaled our dinner. The barbecue was tasty but to be honest we would've eaten just about anything at that point.

Where we are:
Location=Store Bay, Tobago
Lat=11 09.500
Lon=60 50.372

Tobago - Store Bay

We arrived safely in Tobago - more later.

Grenada - Everything must go

Kevin cleaned out our lockers this week and we found a whole bunch of junk that we haven't used in two and a half years. So we got on the cruisers net and announced a "yard sale". One man's trash is another man's treasure, right? In fact, most of the stuff we were just freecycling -- anyone who wanted could just come and take it. The only thing that we wanted to sell were the folding bikes. Remember how excited we were last summer when we bought those great folding bikes? Well, we haven't used them since Puerto Rico and we aren't likely to use them anytime soon, for several reasons. First: Caribbean islands are hilly! And I am no Lance Armstrong. Secondly, on a lot of the islands the roads are narrow and busses and cars come screaming around corners so you do kind of take your lives into your own hands. So needless to say the bikes weren't getting used at all, and Kevin has been on a quest to get rid of anything that could be weighing the boat down. So we announced that we would let them go for a really reasonable price (like $25 each but you can't announce the price on the net) and no one seemed interested. We even told people who came to sift through our other junk that we'd take the best offer for the bikes and still got no takers. Guess most other cruisers down here have already figured out the part about the hills and scary roads. Chalk that up to another lesson learned for us.

Hurricane season is coming to an end and we are ready to get moving again. So tonight we are going to motorsail the 75 miles southeast to Tobago (which is part of the two-island nation of Trinidad & Tobago). We kind of planned this trip spur of the moment. Kevin has been watching the weather and conditions are pretty ideal for leaving today or tomorrow, but if we wait any longer the weather looks like it will deteriorate and we might not be able to go. So we spent a few hours today getting the boat ready to leave, including clearing out of Grenada. We were lucky customs was open because today is a holiday. The Grenadians call it Thanksgiving, but it is also the anniversary of the 1983 US invasion. So happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Grenada - Cheeseburgers in Paradise

Kevin's fix held, so the saildrive seacock no longer leaks. On Tuesday we motored back over to Clarke's Court Bay Marina and got our old slip back. I had called ahead and Bob even had our transformer ready so the air conditioning is on and we are staying cool. For the past few weeks a rock band has been playing at the Marina every Wednesday night, and it really packs the house. Unfortunately the lead singer is a cruiser (Steve from Liward) and is heading off to Barbados, which means no more band. So this week Bob had a local steel pan player come play on Wednesday instead. And as an added draw, Bob wanted to serve up some burgers (the bar doesn't usually serve food). As we've mentioned before, it is tough to get a good "American-style" burger here in the islands. Most of the local hamburgers are really ground beef mixed with lots of breadcrumbs and egg and taste a bit like meatloaf.

If you are in the mood for a meatloaf sandwich they are pretty good, it's just that they don't taste like a "burger". So Dave and Sue from "Pirate's Hideout" helped Bob out with the shopping and prepwork, and Dave grilled up some fabulous all-beef cheeseburgers for the crowd. It didn't take long for the burgers to run out, and lots of people would've gone back for seconds I'm sure. The steelpan music really added to the ambience. We posted some videos if you want to check it out. Smokey can really play and sings well, too. He played two sets and everyone really had a great time so we hope Bob makes this a regular Wednesday night thing.

Where we are:
Location=Clarkes Court Bay, Grenada
Lat=12 00.628
Lon=61 44.349

Grenada - "Go For Launch"

After waiting for the rain to abate, which it finally did on Friday, the boatyard crew was able to finish the waxing on the boat by midday Saturday. The guys that work the travelift don't launch boats on Saturdays, so we were stuck for the rest of the weekend. We took the opportunity to do a few loads of laundry and do a couple of other small projects on Sunday. Finally Monday morning rolled around and they had us in the water before lunchtime. Hooray! Or so I thought...

"Houston, we have a problem..." We had planned to spend one night in the harbor just to make sure that the saildrives didn't leak. (A saildrive is what links the propeller to the engine.) The mechanics had installed new seals to prevent seawater from leaking in, but just to be sure we didn't want to stray too far from the boatyard. So we anchored in the harbor and had lunch. Kevin then looked at both engine compartments, and sure enough the starboard side had a slow leak. After ten minutes of inspecting, Kevin found that the saildrive wasn't leaking but the seacock was. The mechanics had removed the seacock to take out the saildrives so something went wrong when they reinstalled it (the seacock wasn't leaking before we hauled out). So Kevin got on the phone to Craig, the mechanical manager, and let him know what was going on. Unfortunately Craig didn't have anyone available to fix it until tomorrow and he couldn't guarantee that we wouldn't get charged for a second haulout. What???!!! Kevin mentioned that he had a spare seacock and all that they needed to do was lift the boat out of the water and change it while we were in the slings and then just drop us back in. Kevin wanted it to be no charge since it was part of the job to put the boat back together with no holes in it. Craig countered with "Well you must have known the seacock was bad if you are carrying a spare." What an idiot. We carry ALL KINDS of spares for the engines! Because you never know where you will be when something breaks. (In fact we WISH we'd carried spare sail drive seals since the ones Craig ordered took FOREVER to clear through customs.) Obviously customer service is not Craig's strong suit. Kevin was hopping mad, and is determined to fix this problem himself. For now, we are taking on water (albeit very slowly).

[Kevin's Post]I was actually kind of relieved when I saw that it was the seacock leaking and not the seal itself. The seacock was leaking from the valve, not the threads, so they must have damaged it somehow during the process of removing and reinstalling the saildrives. After talking to Craig, it was clear that they weren't going to take responsibility for it. So rather than pay for another haulout and the labor to fix it, I decided I would fix it myself. I've changed 2 seacocks in the past (this was one of them actually) while in the water. Both those times the water was too murky/dirty to dive and plug the thru-hull from the outside, so water poured through the thru-hull until I could get the new one on. This time I dove and wrapped saran wrap around the saildrive to plug the intakes while I removed and replaced the seacock. It only took me about 20 minutes to get the new seacock on and so far it appears to not be leaking. The engine room is drying out and I'll have to check it again in the morning to make sure the repair is good. We won't be hauling at Grenada Marine again, and I wouldn't recommend them to anyone.