SV Inishnee: Heading up island: Grenada, Carriacou and Bequia

Heading Up Island…

Tobago to Grenada, Carriacou and Bequia

Jan 3-4, 2017

St George, Grenada

We left Tobago late afternoon, 4:30pm headed for Grenada. We had deployed a lot of rode due to the anchorage depths. We carry 150 feet of chain and 150 (spliced) line. My first job was to assist with the recovery of the anchor line by pulling it through the chain well and feed it into its compartment for stowage. Neither Jim nor I noticed the hackle in the line being pulled into the windless… frick! With it thoroughly jammed, Jim had to disassemble the windless, rig a line from the rode to a winch and crank and crank, creaks and groans from the extreme tension on the line threatening disaster … but it pulled free before breaking. The winch back together we attempted another lift, this time, no hick ups. The anchor up and stowed by 5:30… an hour behind schedule.

Some of the BIG boats here

Our remaining overnight passage was uneventful. Good wind; 15 -20 knots. Flying fish, shooting stars, some offshore fishing vessels. Bioluminescence in our wake. 14 hours with reefs in the main and jib. We dropped the hook in 12 feet of clear water off the capital, St. George, Grenada.

Jan 4-8

The boat secure, we headed to customs at Port Louie Marina. Many of the staff remembered us with a nice welcome back. It was really nice having been here before, we didn't need to go through the usual search and find mission to locate the officials / offices, find the busses and learn the routes, ‘good’ grocery shopping, chandlery etc. Our timing even coincided with the monthly book exchange the day we arrived. Grenada has a lot of modern conventioneer for cruisers, the chandlery being quite good, we were able to get several parts that had been hard to find since leaving Trinidad 3 months ago. We just couldn't part with the cash for the 50% markup (fees / taxes/ duty, etc)for the generator Jim has been coveting….

We made a huge (not to be confused with yuuge since we actually have the receipt to prove our depleted bank account) shopping trip to the ‘american style’ grocery store to replenish the dwindling pantry items. We went to the fresh market in St. George for spices, veggies etc. and one of favorite treats; soursop ice cream. Again, we were met with warm greeting by the proprietors we had come to frequent last spring; many tossing in a little something extra for making purchases with them. Fresh tuna at $3.00 a pound: fish tacos one night and grilled with sesame seeds another. Time to move on…

Jan 8 - 24

Carriacou, Grenada. We left Grenada the morning of the 8th, Sunday, our sailplane giving a wide berth to avoid Kick’em Jenny, the underwater volcano that tends to create big swells; the seafloor is elevated in that area. ‘She’ has not posed a threat to cruisers for many years regarding an eruption however. Going agains the waves and wind which are predicable are from the north and east, it was still a fast, bumpy ride. En-route Jim noticed a reefing line, which was in use at the time, had a section that was frayed and about to break so he rigged another line to secure it… then he noticed the jib had fabric ripping! There was too much wind and big seas to go forward to get a good look at the damage so we rolled the headsail in. The main was given some assistance by some iron wind from the engine and we continued on, making Carriacou by late afternoon, plenty of time to find a nice spot to anchor and turn our attention to happy hour with friends already in the bay. Just as we entered the outer fleet of anchored boats we lost the transmission! No propulsion and boats all around, Jim dashed to the foredeck and dropped the anchor to avoid a collision… but we were precariously close to 4 other boats, their captains taking note off our position… not all together pleased; understandably.

Getting a tow

After assessing the situation and deeming we had made the boat as secure as we could, Jim first snorkeled on the anchor to see if it was set (it was in lovely sand), then proceeded to each of our new neighbors for inform then of or predicament and apologies for the inconvenience. They could not have been more understanding… lots of fenders were placed on all boats and each let our more anchor chain for a wider berth. Our friends, Tom and Sabrina, s/v Honey Rider, were one of ‘new’ neighbors. A number of volunteers offered to tow us to a better location but night would be upon us in less than an hour, we would take the tow in the morning.

It was not the most peaceful sleep contemplating our situation, but, knowing we have a spare transmission if needed… in a trailer in Michigan… under many feet of snow…brought some comfort. The calvary showed up after breakfast. Tom went to fend off anyone who might want our new anchor location. Jason (s/v Blue Blaze) and Mark (s/v Liahona) with their dinghies on the each side of Inishnee propelled us through the maze of masts to where Tom was waiting. We dropped the anchor… Many, many thanks to our friends

Jim and Jason

Now to figure out what was wrong with the transmission…. We were in great hands. Jason and Jim both very handy with mechanical / electrical issues but we also had a ringer! Mark, in his former life was a member of pit crew for high performance race cars. He has diagnosed and rebuilt hundreds of engines. Jason, Mark and Jim conferred, poked and listened to the engine… the consensus: check the damper drive for the engine / transmission. Jim and Jason were soon up to their forearms in the engine compartment. A couple of sweat filled hours and they had the damper plate out and discovered it was broken. The part in hand, Jim took it ashore in search of a replacement. He was directed to York, a German mechanic living and working on the island. He was pretty sure he had least 2 used, probably 3 ‘somewhere’ in his junk parts pile. He’d need a day or so to locate it. ?Could it be that easy?… The next day Jim was back at York’s and he had found the part. Jason and Jim soon had it reassembled and we fired up the engine… It started fine, shifting into forward good…. then reverse… yikes, it was like throwing bolts in blender… a terrible racket. So, the part came out again. Jim exchanged the drive for #2 and it was installed… The part held and the gears shifted fine with no load. The next day we took it out for a test under load and it worked great. whew… 4 days after the breakdown we were ready to go again…

Next project: the sail repair. The sail loft is relocating so we decided to wait on replacing the torn UV cover…

tasty and lovely too

Jason and Laura came over to celebrate with us and brought some grilled lion fish Laura had speared just hours ago. She also gifted me some fins to make jewelry from! Yeah… Lion fish are threatening the eco systems of the reefs throughout caribbean. Many places are actively seeking out volunteers to hunt them. Restaurants are featuring them on the menu. Fishermen are getting good prices for them in the markets fortunately. Many women are supplementing the incomes by making jewelry, necklaces and earrings, from the colorful spines of the fins… The venom is found in the spines but rendered neutral when treated with heat…

The weather window for traveling north was a few days off. The North Swell is here. During the winter months, storms and cold fronts from the U.S. create swells, large rolling waves, that travel south through the island chain. In an anchorage it can be very uncomfortable… the boat will roll from side to side. which is what we were experiencing. Taking the lead from ‘Blue Blaze’ Jim rigged a line from the the anchor rode, released more chain then brought the line back to the rear of the boat and cleated it off. He then slowly winched it in…slowly, very slowly the boat began to come around and point into the waves, riding with the bow into the swell. A very comfortable motion. The swell was predicted to stick around for several days.

Levi

Sabrina

So, time we had time to take in a few island activities: open mike night at Levi’s, dinner ashore at the Lazy Turtle and Margies…

a shopping day in Hillsborough with the girls; Laura and Sabrina made a purchase of live lobster at the fish market.

We took in several cricket matches in Hillsborough over the weekend. Saturday the teams were local villages playing against each other. 3 games. Our friends from England were quite helpful in helping us sort out the game. The following day Carriacou played visiting island teams from Petite Martinique and Union Island. The games were more boisterous with ‘real’ rivals. Great fun to watch.

Never too young

Jim made a purchase of his own… He finally bit the bullet and bought a honda generator. Our electrical needs are not being met by the solar and wind power we have so we have to run the engine daily to charge the batteries, which are the all important life support for the refrigerator and my ice cubes for happy hour.… He went to the Budget Marine office to inquire about one… they would put it on the boat today coming from Grenada and we would have it this afternoon. A we did.

We were sitting in the cockpit discussing our departure plans for the next day when Arawak Divers put out a call for 2 dives for $20 US… Jim couldn’t resist. He had a great time with the new owners of Arawak, Peter and Shannon. So much so, he was convinced ‘I’ should get my certification here… now… After a small bit of cajoling… I agreed.

Before ...

Our departure was put off several more days to accommodate the classes… Jim would get free dives as part of the deal. What a great time… well, all but the emergency assent skill test… but, I am certified now! It really is quite awesome seeing the aquarium specimens in the own environment… Of the many cool things we saw, the very memorable were: large spiny lobsters, lion fish, a nurse shark, lots of eels, a huge parrot fish… and large, colorful, healthy coral!

After....

It's official !!!

Bequia

Jan 24 - 30

… we do need to get a move on. So we finally hauled up the anchor January 24 and headed for Bequia… a pleasant day sail.

We spent several relaxing days there. Feeling right at home. The local vendors remembered us here as well. We met up with the crews of s/v StarGazer, Mike and Sandy and s/v Fannie B: Ned and Carol, for dinner. Also, friends aboard Katherian, Donna and Jack.

While sitting in Maria’s Cafe writing this post, I had an opportunity to speak with the owner, Andy. He sponsors Bequia Youth Sailing here on the island. I had been curious about how the young men and for that matter the traveling cricket players are able to sail in competitions or play games in other countries… assuming they have no passports… He confirmed that in most cases the sailors / players do not have passports. The caribbean islands however have an agreement to sponsor teams for other islands / countries; a letter on introduction accompanying them as well as valid id’s. The Bequia Yuth Sailors have even traveled as far north as Puerto Rico but needed letters to / from the US government acknowledging this. They traveled by plane to reach Puerto Rico which is quite costly for the travelers so they need benefactors to sponsor them… It has been a real challenge for the young sailors and consequently their members have dwindled over the years. He is still hopeful the tradition will continue.

But, we are very behind schedule… Tom is flying into St. Tomas in March continuing on with us to Puerto Rico to meet Alex and Nicki and their girls… ages 1 and 3! We have to get moving… there are going to be a LOT of overnight, long passages ahead and we have to stop in Martinique and St. Martin for mail and parts… and maybe a bit of fun