Underway again, at last!
Catacaos
Graham Shaw
Fri 25 Feb 2011 15:25
|
12:06.9N 064:33.4W
After much engine work, sorting out cooling
problems, we have finally prised ourselves away from Prickly Bay in Grenada, and
are now en route for Bonaire in the ABC Islands - part of the Netherlands
Antilles. We left yesterday (Thursday) around 11am local time, and hope to
be in before it gets dark tomorrow, though that might be a bit optimistic!
So far conditions are almost perfect, with 20ish knots of wind on the starboard
quarter, and a knot and a half of current going our way.
Leaving Grenada had us feeling mixed
emotions. Since we started out at the end of 2008, Prickly Bay is the
place we have spent the longest periods in one spot, having spent a month there
in 2009, around a month and a half in two sessions last year, and a month this
year, so it had become a bit of a base for us. Along with that goes
the many friends we have made there, and the familiarity that builds up
after spending a while in one place, like being recognised as regulars by
bus drivers, shopkeepers and market stallholders! Our particular favourite
has to have been De Big Fish bar and restaurant, right on the Prickly Bay
waterfront, run by Rikky and Kim Knowles. Rikky is originally from Jersey,
so we shared a common bond straight away, and in the Jersey way have mutual
friends back home. We have spent many happy hours (and Happy Hours!) at De
Big Fish, and are disappointed to be leaving, especially before the end of
the Six Nations Rugby, which they are showing on the big screen.
We mustn't forget to mention that Lucas celebrated
his fourth birthday in Grenada last month; as he did his third, and
second birthdays last year and the year before! I think he is also sad to
be leaving (or at least will be when he realises we're not going back!), as he
has made quite a few friends with other liveaboard children in Prickly
Bay. There will be more along soon, though! We hope to catch up with
our friends on the boat Charade when we are in Panama - after seeing them last
in the States, we just missed each other in the Bahamas, and they have since
been to Cuba and Jamaica and are now on their way to Panama. I'm sure
Lucas will be very excited to see little Romain again!
 Anyway, as hard as it was to tear ourselves away,
it is now time to move on. With our plan to go through the Panama Canal
and into the Pacific, time is ticking away and we have to follow the seasons
westwards. Otherwise there would be the ever present danger of ending up
like so many other cruisers who have got stuck in Grenada, and simply never ever
leave!
 Rikky and Kim at De Big Fish.
Two final pictures from Petite Martinique, an
island just to the north of Grenada:
 As you can see, a scruffy looking shed-type
building, with a dog sat outside the door and a goat chained up on the grass
outside. You probably can't read the sign over the door in the
picture above, so here it is slightly enlarged, below. How very
Caribbean!!
 P.S. We had a computer glitch at the end of last
week, and our email inbox and outbox emptied themselves for no apparent
reason. Thanks to the Catacaos IT Helpdesk (aka Gareth), and $27 worth of
software, we have managed to recover almost everything. One thing we have
lost is copies of the few blog entries since 17th December last year, so I would
apologise if any of the above overlaps with what Lorraine had said in the last
one. Obviously being at sea right now, I have no internet access to
look it up myself! Also, if anyone has emailed recently and not got a
reply, we're not just ignoring you, please can you email again?!
(catacaos"at"mailasail"dot"com) - can't put the correct address here as we'd be
overloaded with spam very quickly. I'm sure you can figure it
out!
|