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I will kiss my anchor when we bring it up and sail in a couple of days from St. Lucia to Martinique. We were anchored in calm and peaceful Rodney Bay last night--facing east with about 10 knots of wind when we were suddenly hit with a squall that turned us west towards the ocean. The winds, within seconds, accelerated to 40-50 knots followed by swells and breaking waves of 5-6 feet. There were boats anchored all around us but we kept our eyes on Aloha--anchored adjacent to us. If Rascal stayed the same distance from Aloha, it meant our anchor was holding. If not, we were in trouble and could end up on the beach. Over the next hour we heard people yelling and saw boats all around us lose their anchor holds and drag towards the beach. But Rascal (and Aloha) held! The wind, waves and rain stayed up for 45 minutes before they subsided. A mayday went out when one boat crashed into the rocks--but nothing we could do. When we got up this morning we saw one sailboat had been dis-masted and another was on the beach. I love my anchor...     November 16. Aloha (our friends Steve and Liz) and Rascal (Linda and I) checked out of Grenada and had a nice 6-hour sail to Carriacou where we spent the night at Sandy Island. Next day we sailed to Clifton, Union Island and checked into the country of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.   November 17-19. After getting some provisions on Union Island, we sailed another hour north to The Tobago Cays and stayed there for two days (some of the best snorkeling ever). The sailing "season" is November-June so the weather has been getting milder--not as hot during the day as the summer months and down to 78F at night--a little chilly...   November 20. After The Tobago Cays, we sailed up to Bequia Island where we've been the last few days. Very lovely island. This is where we'll spend Thanksgiving. No turkey in sight so we'll probably feast on lobster or lamb with the friends we've made who are doing the same crazy sailing thing we're doing! On our last weekend in Grenada, we (Rascal, Aloha and LaBella Vita) hired a local guy to show us around the island. This is spice island so we saw the source of cinnamon, nutmeg, cocoa, ginger, coffee, cashews, and rum (!) among others...a beautiful island with beautiful people... We stayed in Grenada for hurricane season and today we're beginning our trek up-island. We'll take our time but expect to be in Martinique by December 3rd. After that, who knows? (More photos to come!) The year is 2000 and we have chartered a sailboat in Grenada. We spend the night in a local hotel down near the water. Our 10-year old (Alex) wakes up the next day covered in welts from mosquito bites. We later discover we are in MOSQUITO BAY.  Sixteen years later we are in Grenada but can't find Mosquito Bay. It's not on the map or in the island guidebooks. Why? Did some marketing person convince the Chamber that "Mosquito Bay" was probably not a great selling point for tourists and visitors? Yes. Today you can stay in beautiful MOUNT HARTMAN BAY--and, even more practically, they seem to have their mosquitos under control!
November 10, 2016: Exactly one year ago at 1:00am yesterday we finished a grueling 9-day trip across the North Atlantic from Hampton, VA to Tortola, BVI on Rascal. Fred, Chris, Linda and me. Three of us had never been on an ocean-crossing before and didn't know what to expect. The people we met who did it the previous year said they motored most of the way because there was little wind. That wasn't what we experienced. It averaged 20-25 the entire trip and seas were often 8-10 feet. Good thing: along the way our diesel engine broke down and the halyard of our big genoa sail broke. We sailed the whole way with a small storm sail and our mainsail. Luckily, it was all we needed. We hobbled into Tortola and anchored one year ago today near Jost Van Dyke Island. A great adventure.  (Actually, one is a beautiful love-of-my-life woman and the other is a boat...)  |
AuthorRick and Linda Grimes bought a sailboat and left the U S of A for the Caribbean in 2015. Archives
April 2018
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