January 2006 – Grenada, Carriacou, and Union Island

We arrived back in rainy Grenada on January 16 after a long trip, and managed to get to the boat between downpours. Our luggage has not arrived, but no doubt it will show up in the next day or two. The boat was in perfect shape and everything worked, so we were able to make decaf, have a granola bar (dinner), and go to bed. It was very rainy and windy all night, and for a good part of today, too. Friends told us that the weather has been pretty disappointing all month. Christmas Day and New Years Eve were both washouts. We dinghied to the supermarket and back, two minutes each way, between rainstorms, but it rained torrents while we were in the store.

Ted and Lilly arrived a few days later from Oakville, Ontario, also between downpours. Their Caribbean adventure began as the taxi van had a flat tire on the dark road on the way back from the airport to the boat. The driver was very anxious, as he was late to pick up another group, but Cliff and Ted helped and the other people were very relaxed about the time when we got to them. They were a couple from Toronto who were staying in a fancy hotel, but they were considering becoming cruisers and bringing their own boat down.

During the first few days of Ted and Lilly’s visit we survived many showers and some downpours, but we managed to get out between them to sightsee, and we traveled to the north end of the island with Chas (Night Owl) to stay overnight and check on their construction progress.

The captain’s log, Jan. 20: “Up early to listen to forecast. Not very good, but weather set to deteriorate over the weekend, so we decided to go north to Tyrell Bay, Carriacou. Large swells up the west coast of Grenada, but they moderated as we reached the north end. Seas kicked up again between the islands, but not much wind. . . Wind finally came up to 15 knots and we sailed a bit. Ted and Lilly spent a lot of time out on deck in even the roughest seas. Lots of boats in Tyrell Bay – many old friends, including KaraDream (Squamish), Spirit of Ecstasy (South Africa), Hello World (Scotland), Windborne III (Toronto). Weather: winds east, 15 – 20, squalls; seas 6 – 8 ft.; distance 36 miles; travel time 7 hours.”

Tyrell Bay is a friendly sort of place, a short bus ride from the town of Hillsboro, and a pleasant, rural walk to beaches, restaurants, and shops. The weather remained windy and squally, but we walked a lot, shopped in town, and ate out a few times. It was not great beach and swimming weather, though, and not quite the tropical paradise we wanted to show to Ted and Lilly.

After five days of strong winds (the Christmas winds just kept blowing!) we decided to move on to Petit St. Vincent and Union Island. Although the forecast said the winds would ease, we were still beset by 15 – 20 knot winds and seas of 6 to 8 feet. Ted and Orma were green while Cliff and Lilly were fine on the bumpy seas. We anchored off a picturesque beach on PSV with a few more boats, but it turned out to be a very uncomfortable anchorage with waves crashing over the reef, and none of us got much sleep. In the morning we were happy to pull up the anchor, and we had a fast sail on a broad reach over the short distance to Clifton, Union Island.

Clifton is a bustling small port with a cosmopolitan atmosphere and is the centre of yachting in the southern Grenadines. The harbour is protected by a reef that shows off its brilliant turquoise greens and blues as you sail in. As we arrived, we were approached by a “boat boy”, who led us to a mooring ball, and we took it after a few unsuccessful attempts to anchor. There were many bareboat charterers in the anchorage, and we felt sorry for them to have chosen a time for their vacation when the sailing conditions were so difficult. The Tobago Cays, said to be the most beautiful in the Caribbean, were just a short distance away, but we chose not to go there in such strong winds.

When we awoke the next morning to brilliant blue sky, we decided to sail to a lovely beach on nearby Mayreau Island. This was the tropical Caribbean that T&L were looking for! We swam, snorkelled, bought T-shirts, had lunch aboard, and then had a great sail back to Clifton, where we took a mooring ball ($25) right by the reef for a quiet and smooth night. The next day our guests left us, flying from Union to Barbados to connect with their Toronto flight.