Grenada to Carriacou (Tyrrel Bay) - Headwinds and a rolly anchorage
Imagine Of Falmouth Online Log
Jon Constantine
Mon 8 Dec 2008 18:00
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Mon 8th Dec 08 & Tues 9th
Dec 08 Time to leave Grenada now. Only 3 weeks to go before Christmas and we're still not sure whether to spend it in St Lucia or Antigua although the latter has my vote as we'll know several boats up there. Listened to the net for the forecast - Light NE winds - and got the anchor up. Trouble getting the main up again. The sliders keep getting stuck in the track. Nothing a squirt of grease couldn't sort out so now we're off but having to motorsail under main only. It wasn't long before the sea swell started to increase with the wind got up to 17 knots and bang on the nose! We have one reef in the main as the we reckon the wind will increase once we round the headland. After a couple of hours the wind swung round a bit in our favour so out went the headsail with one reef in and off went the engine. Excellent. The winds got lighter around lunch time so we shook out all the reefs to keep up our speed. We have 50 miles to go to reach Carriacou and really need to get there before sundown. We had to tack several times as it was impossible to sail a direct line but all ran smoothly. The fishing rod was out all day and we even had a bite at one point but that was it. No fish for dinner tonite! We spoke to Peter on Keesje II during the day; they left Grenada about an hour after us and we expect to see them in Tyrrel Bay.   Pirates heading our way!?!?!?!? Nah! It's the Royal Clipper, a cruise ship! We finally had to give in and put the engine back on to keep the speed up and get a better angle as daylight was running out fast. We dropped the sails at the entrance to Tyrrel Bay, Carriacou, found a spot and dropped the anchor in 6 metres of water just as the sun was setting, a little before 6pm. Perfect. Half an hour to tidy the boat up and it's late sundowners at 6.30 in the cockpit followed by Spag Bol for dinner. We just about held onto our dinner as it's rolly as hell in here and the wind is blowing like crazy. Yuk! Oh well, could be worse. At least our new KISS wind gen is being given a good work out. We watched Keesje II anchor on the other side of the bay. I think they know something we don't! It was a long day, 10 hours of sailing so early to bed and a good sleep.   First Mate concentrating on sailing in a straight line! Beautiful local wooden yacht moored in the anchorage And they did. The following morning they popped over to say cheerio as they were heading off straight away, on a mission to get to Antigua for Christmas. They had very little roll in the night where they were. At least we'll know for next time. We decided to stay one more night as we like it here and we fancy a trip over to the main town of Hillsborough to get some provisions plus we need to clear out there as Bequia is the next stop and part of St Vincent & the Grenadines whereas Carriacou is part of the Grenada Grenadines. We went ashore, located one of the local maxi taxis and took the short ride into the town. After a couple of beers in one of the local bars on the sea front we explored the town and got some good fruit and veg from one of the road side stalls. Very cheap if you're prepared to haggle a bit! We both like Carriacou. Very chilled and the people are so friendly. Once we'd done the boat clearance we grabbed a maxi taxi back to Tyrrel Bay and the boat, and readied ourselves for an early start tomorrow, next stop Bequia. |