12:02.686N 061:44.903W The Good the Bad and the Ugly
Irene IV - World Adventure
Louis Goor
Mon 24 Jan 2022 16:32
| The Good the Bad and the Ugly The Good: Social life onboard Irene IV is hopping these days! We had our first invited guests to morning coffee in the glorious surroundings anchored off Union Island. Union Island on land is very down at heel. The island has 2 towns. Clifton and Ashton, named after the 2 ships British Admiral, Samuel Spann’s was sailing at the time. We were tickled by the name Clifton, being a mostly Irish crew. (The other Clifton, is a thriving town in Co. Galway on the west coast of Ireland.) In the sailing pilot book, Clifton is described as a bustling port, with a cosmopolitan atmosphere, we did not find that to be entirely true. Sailing into Clifton Harbour was indeed jaw dropping, the classic paradise - a kaleidoscope of every hue of turquoise imaginable, semi circular bay, surrounded by white sand beaches. All this mostly the domain of the tourists, the locals seem impoverished and forlorn. We bought some fresh local fruit at a fruit stand - star fruit, mango, papaya, pineapple, banana and passion fruit, we had a snack in the Salty Lady Cafe, all in an effort to support the local economy. I was yelled at by a downcast woman for taking photos of the fruit stands, I respectfully stepped away, perfuse in my apologies. We were encouraged by some Irish friends to bring our custom to the Happy Island Bar, a bar resting right on top of a reef. Never the ones to miss out on a good bar, over we went! Angus and I snorkeling and Louis in the tender (dinghy), with our towels and cover ups. Many a cocktail later (the favorite being “Pain Killer”), all made with blended fresh local fruit, we had made great friends with Trevor, Peter and Ian. A local kite surfing school treated the bar guests to a kite surfing display, which had our hearts in our mouths. At one point the surfer skimmed along at break neck speed, jumped over the parked tenders, somersaulted high in the air, took his surf board off and put it on again and landed elegantly in the water, then bolted on through the aquamarine ocean for a second round of antics. We later learned that the bar proprietors, Rolanda and her husband, pay the surfers to entertain the drinkers - a wise tactic, Trevor, Peter and Ian all hail from Devon in England, a more charming trio you could never meet. We had lively conversation aboard Irene IV the next morning over coffee and freshly made smoked salmon frittata and flapjacks. Trevor, their skipper, has been everywhere in the world at least twice, on his self built boat, so he shared volumes of advise. Louis was determined to meet up with some University College Galway friends, Cormac and Mandy Farrelly, who have been cruising throughout the Caribbean Islands for 2 months with their twin children, Fiacra and Aoibhín. We met up with them in Prickly Bay on the island of Grenada on Thursday afternoon, 21st January. It was a rousing reunion. Needless to say, Irene IV was dressed overall in full flag regalia and the crew had washed themselves and the boat for the occasion! Red wine and freshly baked sourdough bread, with a selection of cheeses, set the scene for many memories of college misadventures. Later that day, after a community swim, the Farrelly family came to dinner. It was our first dinner party aboard and we all lent a hand to produce a lively and delicious evening for eight. The Bad: Louis has been extremely accident prone since he arrived in the Caribbean! He has put me through my paces as Medical Officer aboard Irene IV. In late December, when our families were still with us, Captain Stuart motored the 2 clans over to heavenly Green Island, Antigua, for a day of swimming, snorkeling and “hanging out”. Louis, contrary to the Captain's suggestions, rushed around the boat in bare feet, (two misdemeanors - bare feet and rushing), bumped his left little toe and made a good job of pretty much removing the toe nail and a good slice of the toe too! Blood and guts spewed everywhere! The medical kit was christened. Happy to report that Louis has lived to tell the tale. He now is the proud owner of a new toe nail and a wealth of virgin skin. Accident number 2 happened when Louis, snorkeling with Angus, from Windward Beach to Pigeon Beach in Antigua, decided to hug a sea urchin! Not a great idea, especially as he was attending a glamorous party that night! Less blood and guts this time, but plenty of pain. His fingers were decorated, not with nail varnish, but with black dots, urchin spines poking out, scapes and scratches. Never a man to be thwarted by a little inconvenience, he partied hard and again lived to tell the tale. The spines, to this day, continue to dissolve and sometimes fall out, occasionally raging with infection. A lesson learned, I hope! Dinner in the Bagatelle restaurant at the Bequia Beach Hotel was the scene of the third misfortune. It was Lobster night and Louis is very allergic to shell fish! Undeterred, he dined on succulent beef and juicy chicken. The unfortunate live lobster were being barbecued on multiple grills alongside the restaurant resulting in delicious clouds of perfumed smoke wafting in our direction. Angus and I were loving it. Louis’ left eye started to feel a little itchy, then more and more uncomfortable. He removed his contact lens - no relief. Soon hie eye was watering and reddening. He was not a happy camper. We returned to the boat via an open air, with somewhat suspect suspension, taxi and attempted various eye baths and tea compresses, to no avail. He went to bed and slept fitfully. The medical kit was rummaged through, but the fury of the eye merited a call to MSOS, (Medical Support Offshore). MSOS is a very necessary service, which allows a boat to contact an on call doctor 24/7. I contacted Dr. Spike Briggs, the kit designer, and was issued lengthy and precise instructions to bring Louis some deliverance. Instructions were followed and many emails exchanged, with decided good humor all around. Again, Louis has lived to tell this tale. Maybe, like our grandfather and father, Louis is unkillable and unstoppable! The Ugly: Upon arrival in Port Louis, Grenada, at 13:00, on Friday, 22nd January, we were delighted to notice a big bank of recycle bins. Recycle plastic, Aluminium, Clear glass, and Coloured glass all clearly marked, very clean and very obvious. We hastily prepared our recycle stash and marched over to said bins, happy that we were doing our bit for the health of the planet.I entered the marina office to pay the nominal fee for the recycle service, which it turns out we were exempt from as we were berthed in the marina. The friendly chap behind the well appointed desk, gave me the courage to ask the question, “ You may not know the answer, but it appears that you have a good recycling infrastructure here in Granada, where is the plant that processes all this waste?” He cast his eyes downward and said that all waste gets burnt on a giant pyre in another part of the island. I was horrified inwardly, but attempted to keep my composure. Such a blatant show of deception. I continued, "What about the aluminum tins, are they burnt too?" Yes, was the whispered answer. And the glass? Some of that is sold to Trinidad, but not all. Well that is a little heartening. Lesson learned: Ask before we dump waste in the recycle bins. I commented, "I would not want to live nearby the burn pile." Again he whispered, “People do".  Accident number 2 had Louis wearing an eye patch Land tortoise, Union Island  Fruit stand, Union Island Interesting plague in “downtown” Union Island  The beautiful waters of Union Island  Skipper Trevor  Ian and Peter chatting with Stuart  Proudly showing off Irene IV’s systems Fiacra and Cormac greet us in Prickly Bay, Grenada. Angus, Aoibhín, Mandy, Fiacra and Louis  Louis tries to add to his accident record Aoibhín shows him how it should be done elegantly! Arriving back in civilization. Port Louis, Grenada  Drying plastic bags on the lifelines. Trying to reuse as much as is possible |