12:01:127N 61:40:789W St Davids Harbour Grenada
Shaya Moya
Don & Susan Smyth
Wed 18 Mar 2015 00:20
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Finally in the Caribbean on the South Coast of the
southern most Windward island, Grenada, after 1700nm at sea from Fortaleza in
Brazil we arrive on Friday 6th March early morning at St David's
harbour. We had good winds and current with us for most of the way.We ended
doing 180-200nm days for the last week - exhilarating!
  What a find this little bay has been. Being small
there are not a lot of yachts here. There is a great beach bar catering for
marina staff and visitors alike, where we could get good inexpensive simple
meals. This was to prove quite a bonus.
  Grenada Marine is a small boat yard that are the
agents for both Frigoboat, the make of freezer we have, and Raymarine. They
dropped everything and put two technicians onto our problems. Within a day we
had the new AIS system installed and integrated, and a new improved VHF arial
atop the mast. Our tender was pulled up on the beach and repaired as good as
new.
  Now came the difficult bit. The freezer, a black
art I think. Terry the main refrigeration expert struggled for three days before
finding the problem through a process of elimination. The primary culpret turned
out to be one of the actual holding plates which had a blockage. He replaced
this, regassed both compressors and we now have a -40C freezer. We can run it at
1/3 and hold -15C in 27C water and 30+ in the boat.
Grenada itself is a beautiful lush green
mountainous island. There are some 130,000 people on the island and there is the
usual 3rd world opposites,. Huge mansions, fabulous Resort hotels and Spa's, and
then the shanty town and shacks. People seem to have settled just anywhere they
could all over the island. There seems to be a scrap metal opportunity here for
those of you who feel adventurous. When ever a vehicle of any description packs
up it is left just where that happened. So end result there are truck and car
wrecks all over the place. The pic below serves as a warning not to park
anywhere in Grenada for too long.
 We hired a car, checked Tom into a
pretty shabby looking motel near the airport and dropped him off at
the Yacht Club to meet up with friends of his parents. We went on to have a
great dinner at BB's Crabback in St Georges, the capital. Brian Benjamin
moved to Britain with his parents where he spent 39 years in London. He opened
his London restuarant, Crabback, with authentic Caribbean cuisine, after getting
his cooking degree and working at the Renaissance Heathrow Hotel as sous-chef.
Although it was popular and succesful, Brian always
hankered after going back to the Spice Island.
  Turning 50 made his mind up and together with his
family returned to Grenada where he opened up the same restuarant, Crabback. We
had an amazing meal in a warm and hospitable open air place looking onto the
waterfront of the Carrenage. Larry Ellison of Oracle fame, first 140m motor
yacht (Rising Sun) was moored outside. We were not in the least envious, as we
were at the best spot in town. We even taught Ben's son Ashley how to make good
old fashioned Don Pedro's, pity they had no Irish whisky.
  Ted and I took a walk down memory lane when we went
back to the Calabash Hotel in Prickly Bay opposite Spice Island Marine
where we had Song of Grace moored in 1998. Ted and Joan, Sue, Reece and myself
had an interesting four weeks on a boat bought with the soul and not the
brain. Nothing worked properly. What a differance Shaya Moya has made. There
seem to be more yachts in the bay and a new huge hotel behind the marina. I was
so glad that our freezer forced us into St Davids instead of Prickly
Bay.
  We left Grenada bound for Carriacou on Friday the
13th with some trepidation expecting something else to go wrong.
Well it came to pass, both our davit motors are now
defunct. We can still operate manually without much difficulty, but it is
frustating. On trying to get replacement motors we have been told that they are
no longer manufactured. It is now a hunt for some place that can cut a new nylon
gear, not easy in the Caribbean.
On Carriacou, we had a delightful English Breakfast
at a little eatery, and only after we had finished did we discover that Sally,
the proprietor, was a Soth African. She is from Durban, Camps Bay and Hout Bay.
She started sailing at 23, and has been sailing for 35 years. She has been on
Carriacou for 11 years, and only sold her boat last year.
 We cleared out of Grenada in Carriacou same day
bound for Union Island where we cleared into St Vincent and the Grenadines, a
chain of islands running northwards.
    Union island was an official stop where we
cleared into St Vincent and the Grenadines. We entertained having dinner
with one of the street vendors but decided to play safe and have Italian
instead. We then listened to a live Caribbean father and
daughter entertainers in a little snack shack. The owner has really got her
act together after being open for only two months, the place was humming. Not to
give the wrong impression, it only had 3-4 tables. After a great evening, we
left early next morning for the highlight of the Caribbean so far.
   The Tobago Cays are a group of small deserted
islands, protected by a horseshoe reef. The water and reef colours are a
kaleidoscope of blue, green and turquoise. Small sandy white beaches are dotted
around and the sky is so clear at night that you can touch the
stars.
  We snorkelled with the turtles and manta rays in
27C crystal clear water. Some of us had to be towed back to Shaya
Moya.
  The highlight was of course the lobster BBQ on
the beach. The boatman fetched us promtly at 12h00 as we had told him we were
heading off to Bequia the same day, Sue and I did this with Reece and Lea in
Shaya Moya back in Dec 2010/Jan 2011. Fabulous as always I will let the photos
speak for themselves.
  We even made the leg from the Cays to Admiralty Bay
in Bequia by nightfall. After three attempts to anchor, a boatman sold us a
mooring bouy for the night. I took a walk down the waterfront remembering us all
being here many years ago quite nostalgic. Wish we could have done it again this
time.
    While I cleared ot of St Vincent and the
Grenadines, Ant and Ted took a stroll along the waterfront, bought some fresh
produce and by 10h30 we were on our way to St Lucia and Rodney Bay where I will
have completed my circumnavigation.
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