Position: 12:35:82N 61:24:91W

We had a deadline to make – my Mum and stepfather Alan were flying out to Bequia in 2 days, so we had to sail back North to meet them.  So, we left Grenada after what has been a whistle-stop tour.  We would have loved to stay for longer in this friendly island, it really is great.

We motor-sailed up the west coast of the island, close into the shore, in the lee of the land.  As the wind is typically from the NE, the accepted technique is to motor-sail in the lee of the islands, as far North as you can, then dart out into the wind and current when you’re as far north as you can be, to cross the channels between the islands.  Normally this is a close-hauled sail, with adverse current, which is not as pleasant as it could be. 

However, by really hugging the coast, and finding the current not too bad, we actually managed to have a great sail from the northern tip of Grenada over to the uninhabited Ronde Isle, passing 100 metres to leeward of the Sisters rocks, and then past Kick ‘em Jenny rock, where the seas got lumpy and we got a bit of a kicking from whoever Jenny is.  There is a large semi-active volcano under the sea a mile or two from here, and many locals reckon this will be where the next big eruption comes from.  Luckily it didn’t happen whilst we were sailing over it.

From here, we sailed on to Carriacou, and, with the bit between our teeth, sailed straight up to the capital, Hillsborough, anchored, and managed to get ashore and through Grenadan Customs and Immigration in 40 minutes and back underway!  We figured we’d press onto Union Island to give ourselves an easier sail the following day.

We remembered to swap courtesy flags from Grenadan to SVG (St Vincent and the Grenadines).  The Grenada flag has a small symbol of a nutmeg on it, and for some reason, Jemima has named this flag the Chicken Flag as she thinks the nutmeg looks like a chicken.  Every time she sees one she shouts out “there’s the chicken flag!” I think people think we’re nuts.

We finally anchored in Union Island just as the sun was setting after a 42-mile day.  On dinghying ashore, I asked one of the locals on the jetty if it was still possible to check in with customs & immigration, and he just said “Relax man, come ashore, do it tomorrow, this is Union Island”  I love it here!

Our lovely boat