Thursday, September 4, 2014

August 28, 2014

We weighed anchor and left Tyrrel Bay at 0730 heading for St. George. We had a good sail, winds varying from 10 to 25 kts! Seas about 4'. We sailed most of the way to St. George having to motor the last hour or so as we were heading into the wind. Starliner only had partial sails up, to keep her speed down, so we could keep up to her!

Alain and Sylviane aboard Starliner, a 53' Jenneau.

After setting anchor at 1430, we quickly lowered the dinghy and made a trip to the bank and a couple of grocery stores for major reprovisioning. We also touched based with fellow cruisers at GYC.

We had supper and spent a quiet evening on the boat.

August 29, 2014

We were up early and into GYC for showers and to do some serious laundry! After being away for almost two weeks, not much was clean.

We met Alain and Sylviane for Friday Burgers, then back to our respective boats as we were making our way to Prickly Bay, on the south side of Grenada. It was about a 2-1/2 hour sail and was very enjoyable. We set anchor just before 1700. We enjoyed happy hour on Starliner with Alain and Sylviane before going to the Tiki Bar at Prickly Bay Marina (PBM) for supper. Dinner was good but the service left a lot to be desired! Alain and Sylviane had finished their supper before ours even arrived. Not a good first impression for sure. The company was good though and we had lots of laughs!

Towing the "family car" leaving St. George to Prickly Bay.

Arriving at Prickly Bay.

Steel band playing at the Tiki Bar.
 
August 30, 2014

After spending a lazy morning on board, Jorge and I decided a walk was in order. We dinghied to the PBM and decided to walk to Secret Harbour at Mt. Hartman Bay, the bay next to Prickly Bay. Apparently a 15 minute walk. Well, we zigged instead of zagged and the walk ended up being about 1 hour and 15 minutes! However we walked through a very affluent neighbourhood, with impressive homes and well manicured lots, well worth it. We got a lot of exercise as the road was windy and up and down some steep hills. The day was overcast and not scorching hot making the walk that much more enjoyable.

Prickly Bay anchorage from shore.

One of the many homes along our walk to Secret Harbour.
 
Once at Secret Harbour we enjoyed a cool beverage, met some "old" cruiser friends and met some new ones. We inquired about the walk back to PBM and indeed it was only about a 15 minute walk! LOL.

We stopped at the Tiki Bar again for supper as it was pizza night, buy 1 get 1 free. We took them back to the boat to eat. Small pizzas and skimpy toppings. Strike 2. However their daily freshly baked bread is wonderful.

Another quiet evening.

August 31, 2014

Sylviane was leaving for France the next day so we invited them for dinner. The day was spent baking, chopping, cutting and generally preparing the meal and the boat for company. We had a great evening and wished Sylviane bon voyage as she was leaving quite early the next morning.

September 1, 2014

OMG . . . back home the summer is basically over this weekend! We're still sitting around in our next to nothings, trying to stay cool. Daily temps (according to the cruiser's net) about 28C but in truth closer to 31C.

Jorge and I dinghied to the dock at Budget Marine, walked around the area before True Blue Marina, bought some rum as we ran out last night, checked out a rigging shop for new life lines and browsed around in Budget Marine.

In the afternoon Jorge helped Alain with some boat jobs as he is putting the boat on the hard this week when he goes back to France. I spent the afternoon reading.

Supper was leftover pizza with my own toppings added!

September 2, 2014

We walked to True Value Hardware with Alain in the morning. Jorge needed a brush and Alain needed something for his hatches. I went for the walk however I found a grocery store so browsed in there while the guys did their thing. After lunch, Jorge serviced the two main winches, taking them completely apart and lubricating them. They now spin with ease and no more squeaking! I attempted to clean the hull, balancing precariously on the dinghy and holding onto the side of the boat. Man, the stuff that grows there! Green, slimy, hairy stuff, yuck! I'm definitely not as fast as Jorge is when it comes to cleaning the hull so only part of the port side got cleaned but anything is better than what it was.

Servicing one of the main winches.

Working on cleaning the hull.

After our boat jobs, we went to PBM for showers. Oh by the way, they have real HOT water which is nice to have to get the dirt off, but the cool water is refreshing for the final rinse. Before showers, we approached a fellow in a dinghy side the Espiritu del Xarey, a 140' Spanish registered boat (29' beam), docked at the marina. Jorge immediately struck up a conversation with the Spanish crew and scored us a tour of the yacht after our showers! Privately owned by one of the richest men in Spain, with a company in the construction business. I tried to put my arms around the mast but only managed to get a little more than half way around it! It was, needless to say, gorgeous inside, with a galley to die for. Full size dishwasher, full size 6-burner stove, a real stand up fridge, (even bigger than mine was at home) with 2 washers, 2 dryers. The engine room housed a 480 hp Mercedes engine, bigger than our cockpit. 22,000 liter diesel capacity. I could go on and on but you get the picture. Unfortunately we were not privy to the owner's cabin or the guest cabins but we did see the crews' and the captain's quarters. Room for 6 guests (including the owner) and 5 crew with 1 captain. Unbelievable.

Back to CS'ta Time and reality (sigh). Supper was leftovers again, from Alain and Sylviane's visit. Got to love those dinners!

September 3, 2014

 After an early lunch and aftering dinghing to shore at Budget Marine, Jorge and I walked to Spiceland Mall to buy a good bottle of wine. Alain had invited us to dinner to celebrate his last night in the water (for this trip anyhow) and for Jorge's 65th birthday this upcoming Friday. I had mentioned going to the butcher shop in one of the other bays to buy some good steaks for Jorge's birthday. Alain beat me to it, bought some strip loins and cooked them to perfection! Along with shrimp, salad, pasta and a wonderful dessert - a 5 course meal. We joked and said he was hired as chef when we buy the 140' yacht at the marina. Too bad Sylviane missed the wonderful evening.

September 4, 2014

Jorge is helping Alain this morning taking down his sails in preparation for his liftout this afternoon. Jorge will also be helping him weigh anchor and go to the marina this afternoon to haul out. I'm catching up on blogging.

2 comments:

  1. Happy happy birthday Jorge!
    This trip looks so amazing and you both look so healthy!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Now Kim that is a pretty "bum" view!!

    ReplyDelete