Underway again

5 dorado and 1 barracuda. Fish is on the menu for the near future.

As we left Grenada to head to Los Roques, the forecasted light winds were MIA. Fearing that we would be motoring the entire 290 miles, we seriously considered turning around and waiting for better winds. We decided to keep going because the forecasts weren't showing anything better for the next week and you never can tell what will happen anyway.

Eventually the winds picked up enough to fly our asymmetrical spinnaker and it stayed up for almost the entire trip. Matt put it back in the sock as a precaution on the second night because of rain squalls in the area and then on the last morning again because of more rain. Despite the hard time I gave Matt about the purchase of the spinnaker and radar, I was happy to have them on this trip.

We averaged a respectable 5 plus knots (seeing 7-8 at times and under 2 at others). The easy downwind sail in relatively calm seas was just what we needed to get our sea legs back.

A hitchhiker.

The spinnaker effectively blocked our solar panels for much of the day as we headed west, so we had to run the generator a couple of times. A wire that connects the switches to the generator came loose again, causing the gen to die suddenly. Matt quickly figured out and repaired the issue. These types of hiccups used to bother us a lot more when we were first starting out.

We had good luck trolling lures and scored a bunch of fish, ending our dry spell. Mark and Conrad handled the passage relatively well, although we were subjected to the phrase, "I'm bored" more times than any human being should have to. They were fascinated by the multitude of stars and even saw the fin and fluke of a large whale. Conrad thinks it might have been a sperm whale based on the shape of the fin.

Los Roques

I'll write more about Los Roques but so far it lives up to its reputation of rivaling the Bahamas for crystal clear water.

Last days in Grenada

Is this thing on?

Our last few days in Grenada were bittersweet. Although I had been itching to move on, I may have been the only one on our boat that feels that way. And I got a little teary about leaving the friends we have made. Conrad took it especially hard. It was small consolation that most of our friends will also be leaving soon.

 

We added the floating dinghy concert to the list of unique activities we have experienced. A floating barge hosts a musical concert, surrounded by dozens of dinghies and swimmers. Mark and Conrad spent most of the time in the water playing with their friends. There might have been some beer consumed.

 

 

 

Matt's volleyball team won bronze in the Secret Harbour tournament. I think they were really the best team, but I'm a little biased. It was a fun opportunity to play and watch some exciting games.

 

Watching the Lego movie on Del Max in St. George's
with Four Coconuts on our last night.



Scenes from Grenada

Robots made as part of school, along with the poem,
"My Robot’s Misbehaving"

We have been spending the last couple of weeks getting ready to leave Grenada. I guess we could have done a lot of these projects during the 3+ months that we've been here, but we have been busy with friends and all the activities that Grenada has to offer.

Unda de sink rum at "Patricks" restaurant where
we celebrated Mark on Amelie IV's birthday.

Matt fixed the freezer lid that had previously required a crowbar to open. So now I can actually open it. Although it is so deep that if I tried to touch the bottom, my feet would be sticking out of the top. It would be quite unladylike.

We sewed up some areas of the mainsail where the shrouds have been wearing away at the batten covers. Sewing with pliers is slow but we got it done. We also had been debating whether or not to buy a new inflatable dinghy. Ours is functional but probably on its last legs. And inflatables are relatively inexpensive here. However, dinghies seem to feature disproportionately in the theft, damage, and general loss categories. I am convinced that buying a new one would just be asking for trouble. So for now, Matt has put on some big patches and bought some crazy-expensive specialized paint to cover some of the worn spots.

In other news, I have been taking Spanish lessons offered by the Venezuelan embassy to help facilitate our planned time in South America. The classes are made up mostly of cruisers. They don't seem to mind that almost all of us will be leaving soon. Matt is playing in the volleyball tournament at Secret Harbour. If the weather forecasts hold, we will be planning to head out next week.

Hunting for the crabs that were thriving in the months of growth
that covered our boat until yesterday.

Great birthday bash for Helena (Matilda) and
 Arbel (Del Max) at L'Anse Aux Epines Cottages.

Daily life at Camp Grenada -or- Rescue at sea!

Book club kids "begging" for the leftover cookies that were the
educational Bingo prizes. What a bunch of hams.

Our friend Steph from Endless Pleasure calls this "Camp Grenada" because of all the activities available for cruisers. Many energetic cruisers and businesses have put time and effort into creating a true sense of community among the boaters and the local people.

Photo by Natalia Alvarez Garcia on Te Natura.

Of course, in addition to the yoga, volleyball, dominoes, Spanish lessons, and Happy Hour, among many other activities, we still have our day-to-day boat work and household chores, like laundry. Which leads us to our next story that highlights some of the perils of living on a boat...

Usually we do laundry in a bucket. But sheets are just too big, so we wash them in a washing machine and then hang them on the boat to dry. Today, we hauled a couple loads of dirty laundry into the dinghy and washed the clothes at a local marina. The water pressure was low because of usage at a nearby construction site, so it took awhile for the remaining trickle to fill the washing machine. After hauling the clean wet sheets back to the boat, I carefully hung them around the boat. They were drying quickly in the wind so I would pop outside to check them every now and then. On one of these rounds, I noticed that there was a blank space on the life lines where one of the sheets was hanging just moments before. I ran to the back of the boat and saw the sheet mostly submerged, with a corner of it still floating in the water but slowly moving away from the boat. Matt had taken the dinghy in to buy some produce so I couldn't just go pick up the sheet. I tried calling a neighbor on the VHF but she didn't respond. Just as I was trying to figure out whether I could get the paddleboard or kayak down fast enough to rescue the sheet, a dinghy went by and I was able to flag it down for assistance. Tony, from a neighboring boat, was able to retrieve the sheet for me. So after rinsing the sheet a few times, it was a happy ending. Needless to say, I did not again hang the sheet in the front of the boat, where the wind is strongest.

This particular incident is unlikely to happen on land but the helpfulness of the friendly neighbor is similar to what you would find in any community.



The boys enjoying a performance of "Frozen" put on by the girls.
Photo by Natalia Alvarez Garcia.

Belmont Chocolate Plantation. Photo
by Natalia Alvarez Garcia.

Chocolate tea. Photo by Natalia Alvarez Garcia.

International Flip-a-Rock Day. Photo by Natalia Alvarez Garcia.