South end of Grenada

Persevere
Pat and Bruce
Fri 17 Feb 2012 02:29

12:00.53N 61:44.07W

 

Feb 17 2012

 

Okay I am starting to get back into the USA way of stating dates but it really does not make sense.  Day, month, year is more logical.  Anyway who cares.  So we finally left from Port Louis after getting all the items repaired or replaced that they could reasonably perform.  Good marina with a great attentive staff.  Good chandleries for the islands. 

 

We were going to buy fuel here at the Yacht Club but we were informed by several folks that the diesel was sometimes from the Venezuelans refineries which are not great and the storage is even worse.  Okay we are a sailing vessel and fuel is really to recharge batteries and well in our case run the air conditioning at night.  The local fishermen do not use the fuel so that tells areal story.  They buy their fuel at the Shell station and carry it over to the boat.

 

So out we headed and set just the headsail since we were going south to a cove on the southern shore.  Great relaxed sail heading down.  Once further south of the island we needed to head east.    As usual winds were head on so we turned on the motor and chopped our way into the seas to the harbor entrance.  The southern coast of Grenada consists of many finger like coves with coral reef to catch the unwary.  Not bad with today’s technology to locate everything but the navigational buoys are not reliable and of course can contradict the charts.  In our case heading to Clarkes Court Bay worked well, a couple of buoys missing but fine.  Once in the bay the waters were calm and we headed further in and found that Whisper Cove Marina maintain mooring buoys in addition to the small marina.  A call on the VHF radio got an instant response and assistance in mooring to a buoy.  Not expected but very well appreciated.

 

The south coast of Grenada with all the coves is full of sailboats, many are full time live aboards.  Each morning at 07:30 is the well established radio net, why so early!  But they have everything from medical assistance to welcoming newcomers, to assistance with parts and labor and of course buying and selling items.  Several local restaurant, taxis, marinas, etc join in at the end to let you know they are helping you out and list the services.  Very good radio net.

 

Our two night stay on the mooring buoy was very nice.  A quick dingy row into the marina to register and use of the WiFi was appreciated.  Really nice people who have fresh bread baked each  morning as well as a local butcher shop onsite!  They are French owners so the food is good (Not Parisians).

 

Great place to moor and it would be fine to several weeks as a safe place to leave the boat while you explore the island.  Anchoring is no problem with the nice soft sandy/muddy bottom.

 

Beach south of St George.JPG

 

Just outside the entrance to the harbor at St George is this two mile long beach that is the tourist picture place of the Caribbean, or at least similar.  A short taxi or bus ride from the marina.

 

Whisper Cove Marina.JPG

 

Whisper Cove marina.  Not a huge place but nice owners.  The building onshore is the Bar/Restaurant.  It is absolutely beautiful and a great place to have a drink and just chill.  On the downside are the few barking dogs and the constant burning of vegetation buy the locals.  There is no real garbage system here so like many place things are burned to get rid of them.

 

Superyacht in Clarkes Court Bay.JPG

 

Of course there is plenty of room for everyone including super yachts who navigate the entrances with great skill.  I wonder why I was worried about the depth and width after watching this 150 foot guy enter like he was driving a Smart Car.