1 April 2011
We have been here now for a full week and the time has come to move on. Most of the fleet have left Port Louis. Crazy Horse, Jeannius, Ariane have been lifted out for repairs, Basia for a surveyor's report. The remainder, like us, are slowly cruising north for Annette and James' wedding in Mayreau and ultimately towards the rally finish at St. Lucia. We shared a taxi for the day with Jenny and John to see a little of the east coast and check out Grenada Marine at St. David's, where our boats are being lifted for the hurricane season at the end of May. The yard has excellent facilities, and like Yatlift in Turkey, has a good shower and toilet block and bar/restaurant, so we think we will be well catered for and live ashore on Voyageur for the five days that it will take us to put her to bed. The yachts all have a cradle and are also tied down. Winston our taxi driver drove us to La Sargesse for lunch. If we find it too awkward to live aboard in the yard, this quiet hotel will be a good option. They give a discount for yachts people who have their boat in Grenada Marine and run a complimentary taxi service to and from the yard. A visit to Laura herb and spice garden was very informative but rather rushed. I thought the place a little unkempt and their shop hopelessly inadequate for such a tourist attraction. The last stop on our little day tour was the Westerhall Rum Distillery for a tasting or two. Set amidst beautiful grounds there were still the remains of old equipment that make up the refinery process, one ancient relic manufactured in Glasgow!
We had a very windy, bumpy ten nautical mile ride around the south west corner, but once deep into Prickly Bay, the shelter was good, there was loads of space to anchor and the holding was good. It is wonderful to be swinging to our own anchor once more but there are dozens of yachts here, too many to count and I guess that is what we will have to become accustomed to from here all the way to St. Lucia. This is the Caribbean after all......
The following morning we dinghied ashore and took a taxi to a local hardware store to look for a wedding gift for Annette and James. The driver was surly, so unlike what we have come to expect from these people and charged us an exorbitant fee. We moved on into Grand Anse by bus at a fraction of the cost. It is forbidden to anchor in this bay, which is good, for the water is a crystal clear unpolluted turquoise, graduating to a deeper cobalt blue further out. Many of the beaches on the island are black volcanic sand but this is a real beauty. We walked along part of its two mile stretch of blinding white satin soft sand looking for a nice place for lunch. We found only one rather average beach bar. We took a bus asking for Le Phare Blue restaurant, a converted lightship that gets a good name, to discover that the driver did not really know where it was and we suddenly found ourselves going in the wrong direction. We eventually agree a price with him to take us to Calabash Hotel. Gary Rhodes, the renowned British chef has given his name to the restaurant there, but it was closed for lunch so we ate at the beach bar instead. John and I ordered hamburgers cooked rare, and returned them when they came well done. Their second attempt was even worse. At least I was not charged for it. At such exorbitant prices there is vast room for improvement. I just hate to say it but we would have fared better at a McDonalds. It is clear to see how much tourism has been affected for everywhere is very quiet. It is a shame, for the island has so much to offer.
We postponed our passage north to Carriacou, and decided instead to return to the anchorage outside St George's harbour cutting 9nm from our passage the following day. It was so windy, none of us felt like a rough ride. We weighed anchor after lunch and returned to anchor off Ross Point, one nm east of the entrance to St. George's, in half the time it took us to get from there to Prickly Bay two days earlier. The wind was now blowing thirty knots. Hey, this is not what we came here for. We are looking for pleasant trade wind sailing. Ok, it might kick up a little bit rough between the islands but we are done with the challenges of heavy weather sailing. It was my turn to have Jenny and John for dinner. John was absolutely full of the cold. Perhaps my chilli con carne sweated it out of him but as always we enjoyed their excellent company. Tomorrow morning our intention is to leave early for Carriacou, 30nm to the northwest.
Susan Mackay