Inishnee... winter 2021 - 2022
We took an apartment near Grand Anse beach for a week allowing us to work during the day on Inishnee but come home to a pleasant shower and comfortable ‘ uncluttered’ space.
We made good progress daily and we were ready for launch in short order. We stayed on the dock at Clark’s Court Marina while the new canvas was installed. We had to wait an extra week on the dock for finalize the fitting for the new sun awnings, then took a mooring from Whisper Cove Marina across the bay. We also rented a car for a month, necessary due to the distance from our apartment to the marina and we wanted to do more touring… knowing this would be our last weeks in Grenada, bitter sweet. Grenada was our safe haven through the many first months of Covid…
Many of our friends had moved on to other islands in our absence though we were happy to meet up with good friends from our home port back in Michigan. Carl and Shanna had finally made it south to Grenada after several years of cruising the northern Caribbean islands.
We shared drinks, dinners and many fond memories together.
Carl and shanna invited Kathy to accompany them to Patrick’s for a cooking class, which she readily accepted! It was an unforgettable, educational and flavorful event. 2 hours slicing, dicing, stiring and sampling numerous dishes prepared in the tiny galley of a kitchen used by Patrick’s HomeStyle Cooking restaurant. We then sat down to a lovely meal featuring the dishes we prepared as well as a few other staples from the restaurant featured on the days menu.
We toured with Carl and Shana too, taking in the north side of Grenada and circle if back to Whisper cove and our boats, Inishnee and Moon Dance.
Jim and Kathy attend a couple of Hashes. The first, rather tame, along the sea and up a small hill, through the bus and back again. Good local food and beverages served after.
Our last hash was very challenging, up in the mountains after a brilliant rain storm. The red clay would stick with us for days, packed in our shoes and crusted on our beer. The trail was hacked through the bush taking us though river beds, mountain sides and farm fields… though quite exerting, a good work out while seeing some incredible places on the island.
Before we knew it, a whole month had slipped by… the car was returned after a huge last provisioning trip and we said good by to Grenada, the big island, and set sail for Carriacou… her smaller sister island to the north. One of our favorite spots on the windward islands…
We anchored in Tyrell Bay. Plenty of company with other cruisers and residence living aboard. Not much had changed in our 2 year absence … familiar faces and places. Ashore we enjoyed eating out and stretching our legs. We were fortunate enough for be there for the end of the Cricket season and attended several matches for the finals.
Caribbean cricket is a lot of fun; loud music, families enjoying the day out and picnicking at the match. Though food and beverages are served at these events, it is common for attendees to bring their own snacks or lunches, find a shady spot and watch the matches. Getting to and from usually involves riding the local bus (a large mini van) where there’s always room for another passenger… you jus’ make u self small…
and we all get to our destination for a few EC’s… (Eastern Caribbean money).
Carriacou February
After a few days we moved to Sandy Island, a marine park off Carriacou.
Spectacular views and decent snorkeling. We enjoyed a meal at the Paradise Beach Club and later that week Kathy and Lynn from Sv Open Agenda attended Sip and Paint… a brilliant idea by the owner.
One last adventure on the island included a visit to Tim Galway’s beach bar. Famous for its beach bbq… a feast!
No roads lead to Tim’s.
Arrival is by boat, yours or water taxi or on foot… no electricity though they have some solar panels and a generator to power a few things.
The menu depends of availability … local fruits, veggie and meats. Lobster is Tims specialty! For 70 EC each ($28 US dollars) our meal included a half lobster each, chicken legs, several salads and rice… and sweet fried plantains with chocolate glaze on top. Jim, unfortunately left his big brim hat behind… it would eventually make it’s way back to us… weeks later and several islands up the chain…
Jim's hat being held captive by island pirates...
We needed to have Covid tests before entering our next port of call, Union Island, the most southern island of St Vincent and the Genadines…
We made arrangements at the health clinic to have our tests done. With negative results we were free to travel …
The Grenadines : February
Check in was long but smooth enough... given the remote location of Union Island. We took a mooring ball and stayed there for a few days, the winds were piping up so it seemed the prudent thing to do. Our friends Tom and Cindy on Oopsea has also traveled north so we had great company exploring the village of Clifton.
We caught sunset at Happy Island. A man made piece of real estate of conch shells... a bar and soon to open restaurant encompass the space.
The beverages are pricey but.... location, location, location....
Tom and Cindy invited us to dinner at Sparrows Beach Club… free shuttle if you call them. Lovely views and decent food… lots of laughs too!
When the winds calmed we headed for Tobago Cays. Situated behind reef with the open Atlantic off your bow. A few small uninhabited islands behind offering beach bbqs and beverages daily.
We also visited Mayreau on our travels north. A very small, very poor island. Home to a small population, many trying to eke out a living from tourist. What was once one of our favorite places, Salt Whistle Bay, is now polluted with huge charter catamarans, arriving and exiting daily. Jockeying for position, anchoring too close and dragging down on other boats when they break free. Frustrating for those of us that live aboard and have our homes to protect… luckily, the charters are on a schedule and it’s usually only two days a week s happens, usually mid week. We walked to town (up and over the big hill)… cooled off with beverages at the Ranch Escapde bar / restaurant before heading back home…
Our next stop would be Canouan, a very sleepy island… home to the rich and famous. Most of the island is off limits to tourists and even locals, unless they have business there… we found it to be a great place to do nothing… relax, read or watch the sun traverse the sky. On shore a few small shops with good local produce and other necessities coming on the ferry daily from St Vincent.
February
On to Bequia. A gem of an island. Small in size with a large offering of things to do. Many expats call it home. Loads of unique restaurants serving excellent food and plenty of local eateries for the small pocket…
Soon after arriving, we heard there would be a beach clean up on the east side of the island… we volunteered. Fortunately, we were able to catch a ride up and over the mountain to Hope beach, the clean up venue... long hot walk down a rugged goat trail.
Soon after descending onto the beach, the group organized and began the arduous task… the beach was strewn with garbage, huge ropes and crates... bottle caps and their rings… THOUSANDS of them!
Being the windward side the debris from the open Atlantic and countries to the west washes up on the shore.
The blazing heat and sun were obliterated by the clouds that unleashed a torrential downpour. We continued gathering trash, bagging it up and staging it at the base of the trail… 45 minutes and 50 bags later... we were all soaked through. Around 20 cruisers and locals had pitched in to help. Unfortunately, this all had to be carried back up the now very muddy and sloppy trail. Our driver took it in stride and was still willing to give us all a ride back… all of us sopping wet.
She offered a ride to another couple, the 7 of us squeezing into the 4 seater… 2 of us taking the trunk hatch compartment. Funny how you meet people…Orell and I scrunched knee to knee in hatch back trunk… Orell is from St Vincent but lives part time on Bequia. A chef, trained through an outreach program for poor countries. He excelled at it, worked at several upscale restaurants, then Covid derailed his plans… when the Caribbean began emerging from lockdown, he started working at private events which lead to him becoming a private chef….
So, we hired him as a chef / teacher for an afternoon on board Inishnee. Two other friends joined the fun for an extraordinary learning experience. Orell devised a menu and came wit all the necessary ingredients for a multi course meal for 7... Lynn and I worked with Orell from 11-5… we learned about local ingredients, used every pot and pan I had, plus a couple from Lynn… we took turns chopping and stirring, sautéing and photographing as well writing notes and listing ingredients.
Cleaning up as we when…
The spouses joined us for dinner.
What a spread. Orell was an excellent teacher and fantastic chef. Our bellies were bulging my the end of the gathering.
March
We asked Orell if he would consider arranging a tour for us on St. Vincent. St Vincent is a beautiful island, one that we had not visited. Orell was thrilled at the chance to show us ‘his’ island…
We ferried over to Kingstown, St Vincent with Lynn and Darryl ( Open Agenda) and Tom and Cindy (Oppsea). Orell met us with a driver and van and we were on our way. We toured the old fort overlooking the main harbor before setting off along the west coast heading north…
stopping at historic and scenic places throughout the day on the Windward Hwy. Just north of the village of Chapmans we were able to stretch our legs and walk a for a bit…
La Soufriere Volcano looming in the distance… volcanic ash many feet thick was clearly visible through out this area. The old river bed, a wash of ash and buried trees and debris.
We came upon a few foragers coming down from the hills carrying wood and fruits they had gathered.
Forcing them to relocating to the south of the island or neighboring islands that offered to take them in.
We had time for one last stop at the botanical garden before catching the last ferry back to Bequia…
Orell proved to be an excellent guide for our excursion and exploration of St Vincent.
The travel bug was burrowing deep in us so it was time to once again say good by to our friends and set sail… we planned to meet up with Jim’s brother Richard in Martinique... and hopefully a few other sailing friends.
The trip to Martinique was more than a days sail so she opted to sail as far as St Lucia and drop the hook for the night and continue on the next day. A spirited sail put us between the Pitons before dark.
The Pitons are quite striking due to their height and location… jutting out from the sea, they are an iconic image in the Caribbean. *A piton is a volcanic ‘plug or neck’ … an object created when magma hardens within a vent on an active volcano...
The St Lucia Pitons, twins peaks, are 798 m and 743 m high. They are listed as a world Heritage site. Piton beer is named after these famous peaks… brewed by Windward & Leeward Brewing Limited and bottled by Heineken.
March 18…
Leaving the Pitons to aft we were up early and on our way… making Martinique was a challenge. Winds higher than predicted, shifting as we made our way north...and a few rain squalls. We motored that last 5 miles to make the harbor by nightfall. Our dear friend Wolfgang welcomed us to the harbor and was soon on board for a proper hug! We anchored in the outer harbor near St Anne instead of navigating the inner which has a number of shallows and reefs, it’s also heavily populated with mooring, most of them taken. The city of Le Marin is located at the far end of the inner harbor and hosts a large variety of shops as well as repair and haul out facilities. A French island, Martinique provides many of the luxury items found in Europe.
The prices are quite reasonable so it’s a great place to provision. Though French is the main language, most shop keepers as well and many locals speak some English.
The bad part of anchoring in the outer harbor is the long dinghy ride, our outboard not enough to get us on plane so we sit low in the water. EVERY wave breaks over the bow drenching the occupants and teases at flooding the craft. Kathy uses either a rain poncho or an umbrella, held like a shield, to fend off the majority of spray… there is always some that gets by and the captain is nearly always soaked.
An interesting site this visit, a shipthatshipsships was anchor just inside the harbor, loading boats of all kinds to ship to Europe. By the time it left, the deck was full of boats strapped down and headed for the Atlantic.
We stayed anchored off St Anne for a couple weeks. Meeting up with friends, dining, enjoying cocktails together and exploring.
Jim’s brother was due to arrive soon so we wanted to relocated to the city of Fort-duFrance which is close to the airport. We stopped a few days in Les Trois-Ìlets and dropped the hook. A picturesque town, though difficult to land the dinghy due to lack of space an deep mud in the small bay.
It had been a while since we had seen any real harbor cinema so I guess we were due… another boat came in under sail and, over the course of 30 or so minutes managed to hit (repeatedly) another boat and snag its anchor! In no time, a number of locals were on the scene and managed to free them up. Though the drama continued… a crew member ( captain?) of the arriving boat rowed his small dinghy to another boat, tied off and proceeded to unlash its dinghy from the deck which was quite deflated… he swapped out his little dingy for the other boats dinghy and paddled it back to his own… hmmm... they quickly took off in their sail boat where the drama continued to unfold. Their sail became pinched in their furler so they had to drop their anchor which drug a few a few times as dark enshrouded the bay… the next morning they again set off for distant shores... we didn't see them again ... though we are still wondering if the dinghy swap was sanctioned or … ?
A few day later we moved on to Fort-du-France, taking a mooring ball from the marina. It was quite comfortable on the ball, the bay was huge and marine traffic respected the no wake area near the marina.
Rich soon joined us, having flown in from Chicago. He is celebrating retirement and planned to spend several weeks with us including a multi day sail to Bonaire.
We did a bit of touring with Rich via rental car.
du Fort de Saint- Pierre: a museum and the remains from the catastrophe of a volcanic eruption of Mount Pelée in 1902. It buried most of the town, giving little to no warning of its impending explosion.
Habitation Clément another historical landmark… a distillery and botanical gardens. A plantation house and sugar cane fields.
La Savane Des Esclaves… an open air museum explaining slavery history, slave huts as well and recreations of the local tribes from before Europeans arrived.
April…
With Rich on board we provisioned and readied Inishnee and crew for the 3-4 day passage to Bonaire. Weather window looked good, the crew and ship we ready for a new and hopefully excellent adventure.
We had good wind and good weather. The time passed quickly, too quickly! Our expected arrival just after midnight 2 1/2 days out… So we shortened sail to make Bonaire in the daylight, rounding the north end as the sun came up. A quick sail down the coast and it was time to pull the sheets to dump the sails… the engine on we slipped into the harbor.
Bonaire is a fringe reef island and a protected marine park. Absolutely no anchoring! You may take a morning ball if available or proceed to the marina… or continue on to Curaçao, another days sail to the west.
We found an open mooring and staged ourselves to pick it up. Kathy at the helm Jim and Rich on the bow with lines and boat hooks ready. It took over 30 minutes of repeated attempts at the ball before finally snagging it.
The system in Bonaire requires two leads from the ball to the bow one for each side. A good system if they have a lazy line with float to make the initial catch.
Ours didn’t.
Once secure the crew sat back for a pleasant breakfast and a wonderful view.
Bonaire has relatively flat terrain and the climate very dry. It’s 2 most important sources of income are sea salt production and tourism.
The tourist in general are there for the diving, which is absolutely spectacular! The entire island perimeter is a reef and fiercely protected but both islanders, cruisers and tourist. The reef only extends out from shore 200-300 feet. Depths are 15-20 feet along the reef. At the reef outer edge it drops off to 50plus feet. It’s quite unique for boaters / divers to be able to dive / snorkel directly off the back or their boats in pristine waters full of extraordinary sea life. Diverse and abundant. The moorings for boats are limited and mandatory. They are securly fastened to the sea floor and inspected regularly. The one downside to the moorings are a weather phenomenon in which, a half dozen or so times a summer, the winds reverse and blow from the west taking the boats with them. This is usually predicted in enough time for boats to leave and return after the event hours later. If the boats get caught they end up on shore, damage to the boat and the reef inevitable.
The south end of the island is barely above sea level and completely flat. Sea water is flooded into salt flats then dammed. The sun does a good portion of the rest of the work, evaporating the water and leaving the salt crystals behind. Several types of sea salt are harvested. Once enough salt is sufficiently dry, heavy equipment is used to move and pile it up. Ships dock at a specially made pier where the salt is transferred to and loaded.
All of this work use to be done with slave labor and donkeys. Back breaking and sun scorched, they did the heavy work with the overseers making sure the work was completed to their satisfaction.
Some of the former slave huts can be seen along the shores, now a reminder of a very grim practice of using slave labor for the benefit of the wealthy and white. With the end of slavery as well as the introduction of machinery to do the heavy labor, the donkeys were left to fend for them selves as were much of the black population.
Today, the island has a small population of wild donkeys though the efforts of a few good samaritan’s allow some of the displaced donkeys, injured of otherwise, a safe refuge at the Donkey Sanctuary.
Hundreds of donkeys roam the gated facility, food provided largely through donations. All animals are medically cared for and either spayed or neutered or kept in separate pens so as not to repopulate.
Bonaire also has a migrating population of flamingos. Many flying daily from Venezuela and back. They are protected as are the donkeys, no harm or hunting of either. Many of the streets have murals of flamingos and the sidewalks are ‘paved’ with the likeness of them.
With a couple of weeks to enjoy and explore Bonaire, Rich took a dive class to get certified and Kathy and Jim did a refresher course. We were able to do several guided dives through XPro Divers at several sites on the west side of the island. All dive sites are assessable from shore, though some have difficult entries. The sea life is absolutely incredible. Every dive a wonder.
Kathy received a phone call from home. Helen, her mom, had fallen. It was serious. A flight home was booked. After a heart wrenching couple of days travel, she was able to see mom before she passed. The grief was overwhelming. Friends and family gathered for the service. Kathy and family... comforted by the kind messages and the presence of dear friends and extended family.
The following day we went ashore to check into the country. We caught the public bus to town, then continued on foot to immigration first, then on to customs across the pedestrian bridge Koningin Emmabrug that spans the St. Anna Bay, and up the hill to the harbor office and customs. It was a long, hot walk with a bit of back tracking, Google providing inaccurate directions. It was almost lunch time, the office closing for the day… but Jim was able to persuade the officiant who begrudgingly took our money and stamped us in.
We enjoyed a nice lunch and a cold beverage before crossing back over the bridge again.
A short stroll through the large market near the bus terminal then the bus back to the Spaanse Waters.
We enjoyed happy hour at nearby restaurant and cruisers dinner specials. We took the bus back to town a few days later to explore and scope out the marina were we would put Inishnee on the hard. Another long hot walk, google maps providing us with more steps than we cared to take… again. Curaçao Marine is small but well equipped.
We moved to the marina a few days later. The marina is well protect in the huge industrial bay of Schottegat. Access to the bay is blocked by the pedestrian bridge. Call the harbor master and they give you an approximate time when they will open the bridge for passage. All foot traffic must be off the bridge before they open it. We passed through and made our way to the marina. A tight squeeze but Jim was able to manage it well. Lines to shore were cleated and Inishnee was secured.
The crew took an apartment while working on Inishnee. We made good progress and she was ready to be put to bed within the week.
Kathy and Jim spent the last few days in Curaçao to do some island touring by car.
additional pictures: Grenada to Curaçou
\
