Saturday, 15/3/2014.  Not quite such a brochure day, cloudy with more wind than yesterday.  We left Tyrrel Bay in good time to go to Sandy Island for snorkelling and lunch, to find it was blowing 17 to 20 knots outside the shelter of Tyrell Bay, but we anchored off Sandy Island anyway, which provided a surprising amount of shelter.  Following the advice of a knowledgeable French Madame, we went snorkelling off the east side, which was excellent, great coral and lots of fish, but no sea horses. 

 

   

 

Sandy Island taken from Alcedo and the passage from Sandy Island over the shallows and between Carriacou and the Two Sisters rocks.

 

It was getting increasingly rough in the anchorage and the Skipper’s wife started clucking about R and R, so it was back to Tyrrel bay for a late lunch and relaxed siesta, after which the Skipper had a go at the water maker, which required a change of filters before successful generation of many litres of “pure” water.  When it works, it is great.  This was followed by a mindless but entertaining evening watching Johnny Dieppe being very silly as Captain Sparrow and trying to identify the Caribbean scenes.  Thank you to Katie for bringing us the full set, they have provided us with plenty of entertainment.

 

Sunday, 16/3/2014.   After checking that Kick ‘em Jenny Volcano was not going to do anything nasty to us on the way, we set off for Grenada, choosing the windward side as the seas were manageable and the wind more consistent.

 

   

 

Grenada, windward coast and the Skipper steering, with much nagging from the wife to stay on course.  N.B. we are very disciplined about life jackets and strops.

 

After a squally sail of about 28 miles, we turned into the relative peace of St David’s Harbour and picked up a buoy off the boatyard.  This is a lovely quiet area, with very few yachts other than the ones laid up ashore, with a beautiful sandy beach at the end of the bay, while everywhere else, the vegetation comes down to the water and the only noise is birdsong.  Shame it rained so much that we were able to fill three 5 litre containers with rain water in less than half an hour and there was no question of going for a swim, so we walked inland from the yard, listening to the birds (including one parrot, which we did not actually see) and sheltering from the rain when necessary.

 

Monday, 17/03/2014.  A much better day, so after taking some photographs and checking up on the results for Aldon, which has clearly gone well, we prepare to leave for Prickly Bay to some shopping for ship’s stores and catch up on emails etc.

 

  

 

The boat yard in St David’s Harbour and the view of the beach from the anchorage.

 

After quite a rough downwind sail and some careful navigation to avoid all the shallows, rocks and reefs, we entered the bay which proved to be very crowded and not that calm in the prevailing winds.  it took us some time to find a suitable spot to anchor, the Skipper’s wife being so fussy about distances from other boats and not anchoring in the channel.  As it was not conducive to swimming, we went to explore both marinas and ended up having a very good lunch at de Big Fish, followed by catching the bus to the mall behind Grand Anse, where we made the mistake of shopping in the Food Fair Mall.  Very disappointing, but at least we now know to go to the Spiceland Mall and Real Value.  You can tell how impressed we were with Prickly Bay by the lack of photographs and the fact that we decided to go somewhere else in the morning.

 

Tuesday, 18/3/2014.  Breakfast dealt with and the Skipper’s wife keen to move on, we head out to a very rough sea and turn to windward, heading for Clarkes Court Bay, hoping for better shelter and less crowding.  The only other boat going to windward gave up after making very poor progress in the rough seas and 18 knots true wind from slightly South of East, but with one motor and the staysail, Alcedo proved surprisingly comfortable and, although the trip took just under 2 hours, we were well pleased to find excellent shelter in Petit Calivigny Bay on the East side of Clarkes Court Bay.  There was only one other yacht other than a local catamaran in this little bay and indeed, Clarkes Court Bay was amazingly uncrowded considering how sheltered and attractive the bay is.

 

   

 

Alcedo anchored in Petit Calivigny Bay with the only other yacht there.  Looking at Calivigny Island, privately owned and a no go area except for the beach.

 

After the usual tidy up etc. we set off on a major snorkelling expedition off the rocks just visible in the photograph above right.  The water was murky and the fish shy, but the coral was stunning and the water really warm in places.  Lunch, siesta (its a hard life!) and then an explore around the bay by dinghy, looking into the very well protected but crowded Hog Island anchorage, Clark Court Bay Marina which had rather a run down feel to it and then Whisper Cove Marina, which is quite charming with excellent shelter, very attractive set up and good access to the road to St George’s etc.  We book fresh bread for tomorrow and have a beer looking across the bay as the day starts drawing to a close.

 

  

 

Approaching the anchorage off Hog Island from the East, showing the bridge that now joins the island to Grenada and, we presume a victim of the 2004 hurricane, with just the coach house roof, bowsprit and mast showing.

 

This is a lovely place and we will stay for tomorrow at least before deciding where to go for the weekend to meet the new guests.

 

Alcedo