4th January 2015

5318 Miles from Ramsgate by log.

            We have now been in Grenada for a week and it has been quite an eventful period what with the Old years party, meeting up with Andrew and Paula and partaking of our usual sightseeing agenda. Unfortunately Norma has had a little accident, while trying to put a bottle of suntan lotion into my rucksack (fussing) as we walked into St Georges she managed to kick me in the back of my shoe with her sandaled foot breaking her little toe in the process.  Apart from slowing her dancing down a bit the main impact has been that I have, with regrets, had to withdraw her entry from the inter island arse kicking contest, where after years of practice on me she was a hot favourite for the gold medal. I meanwhile have picked up a stomach bug, the symptoms of which need no further explanation here but lets just say it has also slowed down my dancing a bit! Anyway enough of the medical reports and onto the adventures.

            With Andrew and Paula in the group it was seven for a Caribbean mezze style meal at Patricks near Port Louis on new years eve which was a multiple course delight accompanied by the ubiquitous thump of reggae music from the next door neighbours. After the meal we all walked the half mile back to the Grenada yacht club for drinks aboard Spectra and a grandstand view of the Port Louis Marina’s old years party firework display across the bay. As the clock struck midnight four or five distress flares were fired off from different yachts around the lagoon (it is the Caribbean after all) and then the first firework climbed into the air above St Georges. With perfect timing as the firework rose up the heavens opened and an absolute monsoon came down. The Spectra crew are hardy souls and so this failed to dampen our spirits one little bit and we simply dived under the deck sail to carry on the party. Paula and Andrew weaved their happy way down the gang plank at about 1:30 in order to catch a taxi and the party started to wind down, or so I thought. At this juncture Norma who had been doing one legged Kate Winslett impersonations on the bowsprit noticed the skipper of the rather nice 80ft yacht Coconut, which is moored two up from us, motoring past in his tender and invited him aboard in her usual style which cannot be refused. He dually arrived with several bottles of New Zealand wine from Coconuts owners vineyard and the party resumed. The next time I looked at my watch it was 5:30 am and the sun was rising to highlight the scene of devastation that was Spectra’s decks, Sue had kindly brought a whole pack of party poppers with her which had scattered little coloured stars everywhere, thanks Sue, and of course there was the usual litter of bottles, cans and general party detritus to deal with, but not then, definitely not then, it was off to bed for the morning and a large part of the afternoon. Needless to say the first day of 2015 went by in a sea of pain and discomfort as the whole crew of Spectra swore to their own personal gods that they would never, ever, drink again, except for Tommy that is who had a beer with lunch.!!!!!!!!!

A few drinks on the aft deck before the fireworks

Everyone under cover as it rains cats and dogs at midnight

 The second day of 2015 was much more productive and by 10 in the morning we were all aboard a busy bus and off on an island tour with Christopher our very knowledgeable but not particularly health and safety conscious guide.

The waterfall lake, I was swimming but Norma could not negotiate the steps down with her dodgy toe.

Nutmeg laid out to dry in the spice factory

The Rivers Rum distillery and original waterwheel, made in Derby and still working

Our guide explains it all,  boiled sugar cane juice in on the left and a 79% proof evil brew emerges out of the right all ready for bottling. It is only brewed for local consumption as it is too strong to be allowed on aeroplanes!!!

Sometimes you just can’t get served at the bar because of all the monkeys getting in the way.

The tour included a swim by a waterfall, a spice factory, a chocolate factory, a meal at lunchtime, a trip to the volcanoes lake with monkeys for company and of course a rum distillery, a whole day affair all for just $150 between the 7 of us which is not bad at all. Christopher also described in detail the local firework that makes the huge bangs we heard around the island on new years eve.

Step one; get a large fat piece of bamboo and punch a small hole through the internal walls.

Step 2; fill with petrol!

Step 3; block the hole in the end with clay allow to dry and place the device onto your bomb fire!!

Step four; wait for the explosion!!!

note: do not try this at home.

He also explained with a happy grin that the bang from a good one could be heard from several miles away and this was why lots of people didn’t have eyebrows in January (or heads I would have thought). 

As an aside after lunch, which was very nice by the way, we were all asked to scrape the leftovers from our plates into a plastic bag for Christopher’s dog who is probably deaf and definitely shell shocked somewhere.

We had planned to set sail for Hog Island yesterday but the wind was up and would have been on the nose the whole way making for an uncomfortable trip. Therefore we decided on a beach day at Andrew and Paula’s very swish hotel which faces onto the lovely Grande Anse beach instead. It was horribly decadent but I took one for the team and forced myself to endure it, all for the sake of the crew you understand.

Hot sun, followed by rain, followed by rainbows, followed by hot sun, a day out on Grande Anse beach

            Today was Tommy and Sue’s last morning with us and they have just jumped into a taxi to head back to sunny Ramsgate via Barbados and all of the delights of a winter in London. Again it was very sad to see them head off up the hill and they will be sorely missed that is until their possible return in May to do a bit of the intra coastal waterway with us. That leaves us with three aboard and the start of a new chapter in our adventure; Steve, Norma and myself will be spending the next few months island hopping up the Caribbean chain and the intention is to spend much more time at anchor and visit some of the remoter spots. But first I have to get my battery charger back from the electrician and we will be doing a few days day sailing around Grenada with Andrew and Paula………..th th th that’s all folks.

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