RETURN TRIP TO MARTINIQUE FOR OUR FUSELAGE AND WINDOW REPAIR, 10 FEB

We had an appointment with the Beneteau repair agency in Martinique for the 15th February 2016, so we left Prickly Bay in Grenada on the 10th February to allow some stops along the way.

THE TRIP
First leg was from Prickly Bay to Hillsborough Bay on the island of Carriacou. This was 48 nautical miles to the North. Difficult sailing because we were heading close to the wind and into the Atlantic swell.
After a peaceful stay in Hillsborough we continued North to the Island of Bequia, this was 39 NM, again into the swell and close hauled.
Then we sailed from Bequia past the Island of St Vincent to the Bay of Souffriere on St Lucia this was 58 NM and one of the hardest and roughest sails we have experienced. This was due to the "acceleration zone" North of `St Vincent. In this area the wind is accelerated by the very high mountain on the North end of St Vincent, and this also kicks up big seas.
On arriving in the Bay of Souffriere beside the famous Piton volcanic mountains we had a problem with shortage of mooring buoys (you are not allowed to anchor because its a 'park' area) so we motored up the coast of St Lucia to Rodney Bay
On the morning of the 13th February we sailed from Rodney Bay to St Annes Bay on the island of Martinique. Here we stayed overnight and motored up into the Cul de Sac on the 15th to talk to the Beneteau representative prior to our lift-out which was scheduled for the 16th February.

Hillsborough Bay

Souffriere Bay

THE LIFT OUT
With a rendezvous of 11.30 local time for the lift-out we were quite nervous. Rather a strong Easterly wind of 15 Knots would make the positioning in the lifting dock very precarious. The marina didn't answer the radio and things were looking drastic. All of a sudden the marina responded on the VHF and gave us clearance to proceed to the lift dock, as we approached the wind dropped and we glided serenely into position. The local workforce operating the lifting crane were very calm and professional. We were in good hands.!

coming into the dock

out of the water

moving to the position

amazing cranes at Carenantilles.!

In position and chocked

THE STUDIO
Once on the hard-standing area Kwanza was chocked in position ready for the repair. We organised a pressure wash and proceeded to get our valuables and clothes off the boat ready for transport to our rented studio in Le Marin area. The lady in the Carenantilles marina office offered to take us to the studio after she finished work. This was very helpful and saved us taxi costs.
By 18.00 local time we were sitting on the balcony of the studio feeling better about events, so we broke into a couple of cold beers.

This is actually St Annes village just down the coast from where we are staying.  Picture of studio to follow.....

Very happy to have a set of wheels. This is a Twingo with 3 cylinder engine in the back. Now we can drive from the studio to the boat every day to monitor the repairs.

SHORT SAIL TO PRICKLY BAY

We were debating whether to go into the marina in Port Louis or to sail with our friends round the headland to Prickly Bay. After listening to the morning 'cruisers network' we realised that there was a whole community of yachts and lots of events in the Prickly Bay area, so we decide this was the place to position ourselves for the review of yacht storage marinas.
It should be mentioned at this point that we, like many cruisers, need to do something with our yacht during the yearly hurricane season. The season lasts from June until end of November, and either you have to leave the area or put the boat ashore below the 12 deg North latitude to satisfy the insurance companies. The South part of the island of Grenada is below the limit so is accepted as a place to store boats. So we planned to hire a car and visit three main yard. Grenada Marine, Spice Island Marine and Clarks Court Marine.
On Friday 5th Feb we took a taxi to visit these places (hiring a car was too expensive at 95 usd for the day.!). Our objective was to have a safe marina with all securing devices in case of strong winds, good facilities and full use of electricity to run dehumidifiers etc.
No conclusion yet because we are looking at marinas in Trinidad and Curacao.

Life in Prickly Bay is very active and your Caribbean Dollar goes further than any other place in the Caribbean. (prices are good). Highly recommend the area, if you don't mind some crowded bays.

CARRIACOU TO GRENADA, 3rd FEB

Following a short stay in Tyrrel Bay on the island of Carriacou we sail further South to Grenada. The unusual event of this cruise was that we were to sail over a live volcano which is about 500 meters deep. They say that if it is spewing gasses then your boat can sink if you happen to be in the 'bubbles'. The authorities advise a restricted zone of 1.5 km around the crater but due to volcanic activity in July last year we took a 5 km avoiding trajectory around it.
We were amused to watch many other yachts sail right through the middle of the crater area, including a large and expensive sailing yacht. (I wonder if the owner knew his yacht was in risk of disappearing?).
We anchored off the main port of Grenada in St Georges Bay. Holding was terrible but we found a soft bit amongst the rocks and damaged corral. Here we stayed until the next morning.

UNION ISLAND TO CARRIACOU, 1st FEB

We arrived in Tyrrel Bay and anchored amongst a whole fleet of 'live-aboard' yachts. It seems that this is a favourite place for Europeans to put down temporary roots here in the Caribbean. Many were running local businesses. The famous Lazy Turtle restaurant is run by an English couple for example.
We found the bay very calm with mostly friendly inhabitants. The only grumpy local was the lady in the customs office where we had to 'check-in' to Grenada. Carriacou is part of Grenada whereas the previous island of Union is part of St Vincent.

TOBAGO CAYS TO UNION ISLAND, 31st Jan

After Tobago Cays the next stop was Union Island where boats check our of the Saint Vincent part of the Windward Islands prior to checking into the Grenada Islands.

We motored cautiously over the reefs of the Cays and sailed for a short while to arrive in Clifton Harbour on the East side of Union Island. Not much anchorage space on the South side of the central reef but we managed to find a spot in ten meters facing the shoreline.

We hadn't treated ourselves to the lobster barbecue in the Cays so we went out for 'happy hour' in the Anchorage Yacht Club which was very friendly, then for dinner at the Bourgainvillia restaurant, which was "okay" but not great.

The prices here in the islands are staggering. For example the barbecued lobster in the Cays costs 120 EC dollars, simple dinner in Bequia was 90 EC dollars. Simple meal in Union 60 EC dollars. All products grow here like weeds. The ground is fertile, the sea is full of fish, yet the locals charge exorbitant prices. ( 1 EC dollar is 2.6 USD ). Fresh tomatoes cost the equivalent of 7 Euro a kilo here, and in Luxembourg out of season they cost 2.5 Euro a Kilo.

CANOUAN TO TOBAGO CAYS, 29 Jan

Everyone has heard of the famous Tobago Cays, so now it was our turn to see this popular island group. As expected there were plenty of yachts there but we arrived early in the morning on a Friday when supposedly many of the charter boats return to their bases for new clients. We anchored in 'azure' water close to the sand reef close to Jamesby Island. We counted about 37 yachts in the anchorage area which was actually not bad. Plenty of room left for more to anchor.

We swam off the back of our yacht with the turtles and box fish. Glorious.! There was also a cordoned off area close to Baradal Island where you could almost touch the turtles, however we preferred the sea near us because it was extra clear.

The magic of this area is really based on the colours of the sea and sky as the day progresses. The rain clouds arriving over the reefs from the East added extra dimensions to the views.

MUSTIQUE TO CANOUAN, 26 Jan

Mustique charged 200 ECdollars for a days mooring, which could be extended to three days. There is no anchoring permitted unless granted by the harbour chief. The mega-yachts anchored because moorings were limited to 60 foot boats.

After three nights we decided it was time to move South so as to maintain a loose schedule in order to sail back up to Martinique for the arranged repair to our hull (caused by aggressive British captain in Cape Verde).

The next island to the South was Canouan, and this was a mere three hours easy cruising. The sea was quite rough around the North of Canouan and the gusts in the harbour of Charlestown were crazy for the first night but then settled down. The anchorage was just off the Tamarind Hotel which had a beautiful beach.

Our local bread shop. Cheapest prices in the islands!