Riding the Wind

Spectacular skies have become the norm while Shawn has been visiting us here in the beautiful islands of the Grenadines.

The wind has been light but the night skies incredible and while we are hoping for some wind so kite boarding can commence my camera has been busy and I am loving the digital age! 

Finally a favorable weather report and we are heading out to the more remote anchorage of Frigate Island on the south west shore. First a last pit stop to top up on fresh veggies, fruit, beer, and one last roti for the road. The produce stands of Union are tourist priced but colorfully displayed so shopping is a visual as well as palatable experience.

On his last day here the weather gods finally deigned to provide adequate wind for kite boarding for Shawn the snowboarder now in the tropics. Ready to go with all his new kite board equipment,  setting up on the beach for a launch requires a bit of work.  

Pumping and untangling and Dad all the while ready in the chase boat just in case. 

Fortunately he seemed to get the hang of it pretty quickly and lamented that the wind became perfect on his last day of vacation. 

A goodbye sky……

Have a Wonderful Holiday Season....

To all our friends and family,


We miss you all and hope this Holiday Season brings you joy and laughter, warmth and good cheer, and above all else..... health and happiness. 

                                       Love .......... Deb and Don and Daisy

The Perfect View

12/17/2011

Fort Hill, Union Island

With still no wind but low on food and grog we headed back to Union Island.

Fort Hill over-looking the harbor and airport of Clifton offers spectacular 360 degree views and provided a good hike for a much needed workout.

The island of Mayreau and the Tobago Cays were easily visible from this ruined 17^th century French fort complete with rusty cannons and dilapidated walls. 

A hot and sweaty climb but well worth the panoramic view. 

The hike back down had as much to offer as the summit.  

A profusion of zinnias grow wild here on the island in all their reds, pinks and a surprise splash of yellow.

Top it off with a sunset walk on the beach at happy hour and the day could be termed perfect.

            Bunks are available......

Tobago Cays, St. Vincent and the Grenadines

12/13/2011

Awaiting the wind for kite boarding it was decided that we should head out to the famed and popular Tobago Cays. 

A marine park and turtle sanctuary, this pristine spot is protected by a horseshoe reef and yet open to the full trades. 

10 to 12 knots was all that was forecasted so it was a perfect day to go east and see some turquoise water.

Made up of four low coral islands and white pristine beaches with easy snorkeling, this is also a green and hawksbill turtle nesting site. 

A beautiful spot and so clear you can see the bottom and count the sand.

                                                         Hanging out on the front porch.

Snorkeling was a must and all promptly got wet and headed for the reef. 

File fish, trunkfish, anemones and this graceful school of blue tang. 

So nice to be Wet!!!!!!!

Out of the Boatyard…..Life is Good!!!

12/5/2011

The Starship has been revived from her long dormant, moldy, ant-infested hibernation in Grenada Marine where she has been patiently awaiting the crew’s return these last six months. 

It was a long and tormented haulout for Captain Don after months of remodel work at home in the States and then two more months battling mud, rain, mold, and every bug imaginable in the boatyard. 

For any of you on his email list, I know you were explicitly kept abreast of just how pleasant it was….daily. Note to self…..no hauling out in the jungle during the rainy season!!!

I wisely and necessarily remained behind working and paying off bills in South Carolina, desperately hoping to miss the messy launch and clean-up. 

Thanks to our son Shawn who flew in to assist Dad with bottom paint and launch procedures, we are now floating!  

This despite the minor damage to the almas during the final launch moment by the travel lift (crunch…ouch…..#$^&(@...!!) We again bless whoever it was that invented Splash Zone!

Our destination is now Union Island in the Grenadines a short day sail of thirty-five miles to the north. 

Breathtakingly beautiful with crystal clear water and a protected reef perfect for kite-boarding, we are hoping for strong trade winds as Shawn is determined to learn to ride the wind. 

Arrival in time for moon rise.

The next morning brought a walk about the small town of Clifton provisioning, checking in, and general remembering where everything is. 

It has been a year since Don and I were here last so we spent the day remembering where the cheap beer and best rotis are sold, determining if the french deli had baguettes and hoping for some fresh papayas .

Anchored in front of Happy Island, made out of conch shells and providing hi-decibel reverb Reggae, we commenced relaxing. 

Rainbows and Reggae…..yah mon!

High and Dry in the Jungle

Three months in Grenada and now it is time to head to the boat yard to put our floating house up and away for an extended visit home. Don and I are excited to make the cross-country drive to see family and friends (my first!) but sad to be leaving the Starship, our oasis on the sea. Contemplating the promise of dry rot, ant invasions, and copious amounts of mold, I expect to spend large amounts of cash on vinegar and paper towels upon our return. 

This will be our first time hauling out on a travel lift in the thirteen times the Starship has been high and dry, not including the many times she was careened and beached on the Pacific side for simple one day bottom jobs. 
Here in the Caribbean the tides are minuscule so hauling completely out is the only choice for us when a bottom job is required and provides opportunity for the many necessary maintenance projects.

Hauling out is always stressful and the Captain had a moment or two of rapid heartbeat. 
But the boatyard crew was excellent and deserving of the cold six-pack of Caribe they earned.

Now we are jacked up and tucked into our appointed slot amidst all the other multihulls. Awaiting our hurricane tie downs, watching the laundry drip dry in the few hours of sunshine that might appear today, and making sure all must do lists are complete, our killer guard dog is very busy keeping all the birds and bad guys away. 

Daisy knows something is up. The suitcases are out, a thorough visit to the vet was made, and there is grass under the boat with her name all over it. Luckily she is a seasoned traveler and the many forms of travel we will undertake this summer will be a breeze for her. Whether by boat, plane, car, subway, or train, as long as there is enough carne she is happy. 

Paradise is not ALL palm trees and beautiful sand beaches, although we do try to keep a good supply of cute little cocktail umbrellas and cold beverages on hand! But.......
330 steps plus 11 from the back forty to the bathrooms! 

Grenada Skies

Don and I are coming to the end of our visas here in Grenada and working on our plans for a visit home, haulout, and long term storage for the boat. Rentals and work are beckoning us stateside but it is difficult to go when there are beautiful skies like this. 

Grenada is a great place for boats. Chandleries, boatyards, and haulout facilities are readily available and the yards are already filling up with seasonal cruisers. This will be our first time leaving the Starship unattended during the hurricane season and even though she will be on terra firma and at 12 degrees a little trepidation is always with us.

We were happy to be able to visit with our friends Greg and Kate aboard Indigo whom we sailed with from Luperon, Dominican Republic to Puerto Rico two years ago via the infamous Mona Passage. 

As I recall that was a slow motorboat trip across a flat sea and we all waited three weeks for such an excellent weather window to head east. 

Yes we are a sailboat but going to weather is always better motoring, slowly, flatly. 

That way your beer bottle doesn’t tilt, your suntan stays even, and your dog isn’t drooling all over the floor. The roughness of a passage is measured by the drool factor on our boat.

It is nice to reconnect with old cruising friends as our friendships are always transient, a side effect of the gypsy lifestyle. But Greg is our favorite chemical paleontologist (how many degrees does that take?) and Kate excellent to chat with about beading and quilting. 

You should see her on the bow anchor chain, the woman rocks! They have a beautifully kept Costa Rica and a perfect cockpit for happy hour sunset.

After our last guest departed Don had to finally get serious about the sad and tragic death of our generator. 

Dealing with leaking (exploding) oil in the engine room and the fact that now we are in the calm season (aka: no wind power!) he had to really “get into” his work.

Don loves a clean engine room and this now will put repainting on our long haulout to do list.

Luckily the Starship is equipped with an excellent onboard garage/machine shop/paint locker/aft cabin and once the parts arrived via FedEx (ouch!) we were up and running and in ice cubes again. A dire emergency once more averted thanks to the Captain. 

I, the Admiral, am thinking about increasing his salary accordingly. 

The south coast of Grenada consists of half a dozen deep bays, all mangrove lined and with an abundance of boat friendly businesses. 

Here is where the main haulout facilities are located and Don and I are slowly making our way southeast, a mile or two per passage. Yesterday it was four, ……perfect. 

Even though the water is not crystal clear there are beautiful anchorages to idle in and some great hiking to be had.

Located on a mangrove encrusted inlet Clark’s Court Bay has two marinas, one of them French with divine freshly made pate from local meat and warm melt in your mouth French baguettes. Uh oh......

The hike to town and to catch the local bus is a little bit more difficult but the walk is rewarding and the smiles uplifting.

One of the great pleasures of the Caribbean Islands in addition to the turquoise water has been the incredible friendliness of its inhabitants.

Always ready with a smile and willing to give directions, this is the only place we have ever been where the local bus detours off the route sometimes for miles so Grandma can be let off right at her front door or the day's doctor appointment. The cost is a mere $2.50 EC, or one US dollar no matter how far your destination. There is something very right about that.

Boats come in all shapes and sizes here in Grenada, some even with their own private island. 

But every evening the local fishermen are out, catching with hand lines and coaxing the fish into their nets with infinite patience. 

Greneda skies……magnificent!

Seven Sisters and Grenada Organic Chocolate

3/09/2011

In an effort to visit the rest of the island before Jim’s departure north, we decided to brave the act of driving on the left and take a tour of the island.

Grenada is not only known for its spices but also as a leader in ecotourism. One sixth of its landmass is set aside as national park with tropical rainforest, numerous waterfalls, wildlife sanctuaries, and excellent wreck diving. 

I will have to save up for that as I already blew the diving budget in Carriacou!

We headed into the Grand Etang National Forest for the trek to the remote Seven Sisters Falls, high in the central mountains of the island. 

 

A two hour hike roundtrip, fairly steep and requiring a $5EC admission price across private farmland, this spot was Garden of Eden beautiful. 

The owner of the farm access handed out walking sticks with the price of admission and they came in very handy especially on the return uphill trail.

Next stop was the Belmont Estate on the north end of the island. A former colonial sugar cane plantation, Belmont Estate dates back 300 years and is now the site of the Grenada Organic Chocolate Factory production. 

Cocoa beans are brought here from surrounding farms and processed by hand. 

The estate is still owned privately with the owner’s home on site, a restaurant serving local Creole cooking, a goat dairy, museum, and orchid farm.

The tour starts with a visit to the plantation bell, used originally to call slaves in from the fields, it hangs from a centuries old tamarind tree. 

This ancient tree was said to be the “hanging” tree and each tamarind seed, unique in size and shape, a mournful representation of those who met their end from its limbs. 

Cocoa seeds are foot polished in the sun to protect the fragile oils, a practice known as “dancing with the beans”. 

Nutmeg and mace are also dried and processed on site. 

Restored ruins and beautiful gardens invited walking and roaming. 

We ended our island tour with a stop at Leaper’s Hill in the town of Sauteurs on the north coast. 

This is the site where hundreds of Caribe Indians voluntarily jumped to their deaths rather than submit to the French invaders in 1650. 

A beautiful view for an ancient Catholic cemetery with one surprising tenant. 

For Jim and I this was especially interesting as we both had numerous experience with patients afflicted with the devastating and painful disease of sickle cell anemia. 

Heading back to the boat on the deserted west coast road in time for a cold beer, we had completely circumnavigated this interesting island with rich history, beautiful landscapes and good company.