Grenada 4 . . . Hog Island, True Blue Bay and Carriacou

12:27.40N 61:29.24W

8th January 2015

5318 Miles from Ramsgate by log.

Every time I write a blog we seem to be saying goodbye to someone. This time it is farewell to Andrew and Paula who are spending a few more days in their plush hotel before flying off to the bright lights of London while we head North on up through the islands. But before they went we had a couple of days out on Spectra sailing on the azure blue seas under cloudless skies. At least that is what the brochure would have said, the reality was slightly different. After one cancellation due to bad weather and with time running out we set off from St Georges for a quick jaunt around the bottom of the island to Clarks Court marina, Hog island, 12 miles and then after a bit of snorkelling Andrew and Paula would be able to step ashore and taxi back to their hotel, no problems.  2 Hours later with 30 Knots of wind on the bow and rain squalls aplenty I asked Paula how much previous sailing she had done, “including this trip”, she said, “that would be just the one”, Oops! But game girl that she is she kept on smiling (or was that a grimace) and even did a turn in the galley helping Norma out which was pretty good going in my book. Having said that Spectra looked after us and we soon passed Hog Island and turned into the channel for Clarkes Court, a lovely marina as described by Mr Street in his pilot book. Unfortunately the lovely marina looks like the hillside slipped and wiped it away and it is now a building site so it was onto the anchor. The lagoon was pretty muddy and uninviting plus it was still raining and so it was a meal aboard and a dinghy ashore for the taxi. We arrived at the Whisper Cove pontoon as it was getting dark and asked the question reference taxis of the first person to pass. No taxi service and not much chance of getting one was the response, but on a lighter note the woman was going into town for a meal and offered to give Andrew and Paul a lift, what a bonus! As it turned out they went right passed their hotel and so it was a dinghy to door service.

Whisper Cove marina bar

It is like Piccadilly circus here with all those pesky Iguanas crossing

Heading back to Spectra with the second load

            The next morning our intrepid or masochistic couple returned for phase two, a 6 mile trip around the corner to True Blue Bay. This went much better, same wind strength but from behind which made for a pleasant(ish) sail. The only drama was when the engine stopped in a 20 Knot crosswind as we were passing between some coral heads on the way out. I calmly and politely requested that the crew release the staysail and provide me with some steerage (honest) and we kept her in the channel. It was then that we noticed someone had leant against the engine stop button, I just laughed and laughed, what little scamps my crew are sometimes, (honest again).

            True Blue Bay was lovely and the water clear so no sooner was the anchor down than I was in the water swimming around like a dolphin. The pontoon at the head of the bay backed onto the True Blue Bay holiday complex which was very nice and welcoming and so after an afternoon of lazing about on their decking during which Steve took part in a Rum tasting and cocktail mixing demonstration we decided to eat there. As night fell we had a traditional meal and finally wished Andrew and Paula a fond farewell as we headed back across to Spectra in our dinghy. Again great crew and better company they are welcome back anytime.

True Blue Bay resort

A very nice waterfront property

            That brings us onto Wednesday morning and an early start for the 40 mile trip up to Carriacou. Nothing much to report on that apart from that it was a dead beat all the way with the wind gusting from 9 to 28 Knots continuously and so it was a motor sail with small sails set to keep it all safe and sensible. The only highlights were a small group of dolphins and passing over the edge of an active underwater volcano exclusion zone. We are now anchored in Tyrell bay which is really nice and quite a yachty centre if the amount of yachts anchored here is anything to go by. As we came into the bay we were met by Simon the boat boy (he is about 10 years older than my grandfather by the way) and his equally aged helper who informed me that he was mentioned in all of the pilot books and guides. Anyway he offered us a mooring buoy for $20 US which we declined and a bottle of red wine for $25 EC which we accepted, this sailing lark is all about getting your priorities right I say.

It is now Thursday morning and after a truly wonderful meal ashore in the slipway bar and then spending half the night trying to track down an annoying banging sound I am sitting on the aft deck in shorts watching the sun come up. Tough life I know, but if I didn’t do it you would have to read the Guardian this morning instead of this blog and so I think that you should all be very grateful that I’m willing to take the bullet on this one.

What’s next?….. Today explore Carriacau and book out of Grenadian customs, tomorrow onto Union island to book into St Vincent and then onto the Tobago Cays.

Thanks must go to Mark for the top tips on St Vincent which confirmed what other cruisers have been saying and so we will be giving the St Vincent main island a miss this time around.      

            Watch this space I will be back soon………………

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