September 20, 2014

After a hard day of working on the boat, we went out for dinner. We were walking down the main street in Harvey Vale, the community surrounding Tyrrel Bay, when a gentleman in his pickup offered us a ride and drove us to a restaurant. We enjoyed grilled red snapper at the Twilight Restaurant and Bar. The evening was a true Caribbean one! After dinner we walked back to the boatyard only to find the steel gate closed and locked. After some banging we caught the attention of the security guard who kindly let us in.

September 21, 2014

The morning was hot but overcast. Jorge was able to do some light sanding on the bottom of the boat before the rain started. We were forced to abandon work on the boat after lunch as it began to pour. A forced afternoon siesta was had. By 1600 the rain had still not let up so we joined some boaters and locals at the Slipway Restaurant (which was closed for holidays). We used the tables and chairs and were served a dinner of local cuisine by Dexter, one of the boatyard employees. A pleasant surprise! By early evening the rain had stopped but it was much too late to do any more work on the boat.

September 22, 2014

The morning was clear and hot. Jorge finished sanding the bottom of the boat and started applying the antifouling. He had decided to put only one light coat on as the old antifouling seemed to be holding up relatively well. Every place was painted with the exception of underneath the pads, we had run out of paint and didn’t want to open the second gallon just for those areas. Work was completed by late morning.

Jorge applying the antifouling.

CS'ta Time looking good!

Clean prop and shaft, two new annodes.

Rudder.

Even the bottom of the dinghy is looking pristine.

 

After lunch we took the local bus to Hillsborough, the town in the next bay. We used the ATM machine, visited Patty’s Deli and bought fresh bread out of a van! We had to make a mad dash back to the boat as it started to rain again and we had left the hatches open (honestly there wasn’t a cloud in the sky when we left.) Luckily the hatch covers protected the boat and everything was dry inside. We had angel fish for dinner at the Iguana Restaurant which is onsite at the boatyard, watched some t.v. and had a quiet evening.

Waiting for the bus to Hillsborough. We have adopted this puppy. At night he sleeps under our boat (while on the hard) and follows us around the boatyard and town during the day.

September 23, 2014

We were scheduled to go back in the water this morning, but yesterday the boatyard foreman said it would probably be in the afternoon or Wednesday morning. Good thing because it poured most of the morning again! As the inverter had been giving us some grief since being on the hard (we were plugged in but the batteries were not charging) Jorge tackled that issue. Turned out a cable connector was corroded! After clearing off the corrosion and reconnecting the cable, the batteries started charging. Another issue solved!

Corroded cable on the battery.

The skies cleared by lunchtime. The boatyard foreman found some leftover antifouling paint and gave it to Jorge so he could paint under the pads. After that was done, we were definitely ready to go back into the water. I walked to the local grocery store and Denise’s local produce looking for some fresh stuff. Supplies were limited. After dinner we met the young French couple on the hard next to us for drinks at the Iguana Restaurant.

September 24, 2014

We were up, had breakfast and were ready to go into the water by 0800. As the travel lift was making its way to CS’ta Time, one of the hydraulic hoses blew! It took 3 hours to fix. We were floating by 1130, tied up at the travel lift dock. After lunch and after topping up with water, we left the dock and took a toot around the anchorage. Forward gear moved us forward and reverse gear moved us backwards, hooray the Max prop was reinstalled correctly! (as I knew it would be). We had also picked up at least 2 kts of speed now that the bottom was clean. There was also no vibration at any rpm indicating that the cutlass bearing had been the cause of the vibration. CS’ta Time was as good as new! All Jorge’s hard work had paid off. We anchored in Tyrrel Bay close to shore.

Back in the water.

Edwin, the boatyard foreman in his boat.

 

I went ashore to buy some fresh produce as today was delivery day. I was successful in getting my purchases but had to wait maybe an hour for the lettuce which never did arrive. Denise sent her daughter into Hillsborough to pick up a case of lettuce, lol! It was worth the wait, fresh and crisp. I walked back to the Iguana Restaurant and met Jorge there as he was extending our cruising permit. We had a cold beer and watched some soccer on t.v. Back to the boat for dinner.



The walk along the beach to the grocery and produce stores at Tyrrel Bay.

 

Alexis grocery store and ATM machine in Harvey Vale (Tyrrel Bay).

 

Denise outside her produce store.

My view from Denise's waiting for the lettuce to arrive.

 

September 25, 2014

We were planning on leaving Tyrrel Bay today and to visit some of the neighbouring bays. However we had to get a banking issue sorted out (poor internet connection) causing us to delay our plans. Oh well, Tyrrel Bay is not a bad spot to get delayed in! After lunch, the banking issue got resolved but we had to go to Iguana Restaurant to download these pictures. We spent the rest of the afternoon at the restaurant, watching some t.v.

 

If we visit the neighbouring bays, which are remote, chances are there will not be any internet so the next posting may take another week or so!

What have we done in the past week? Not much but then again a whole lot!

September 12, 2014

We enjoyed Friday Burger Day (again) with Diana and Gilbert, it has become part of the routine when we are in St. George. That afternoon we went to GYC as one of the bar ladies said her daughter was stopping by after school in her new uniform (just starting secondary school here which is Grade 7). Ann is soooo proud of her daughter. We snapped a few pictures, did some internet stuff and tried to stay cool. We had happy hour aboard Serenada with Diana and Gilbert and celebrated Gilbert's birthday.

Kim, Alana and Jorge at GYC.

Palm tree with fruit outside GYC.

 

September 13, 2014

We listen daily to the cruisers' net on the VHF radio at 0730. Saturday the temp was forecast to be 30C with the humidity making it feel like 40C. Jorge and I looked at each other and our eyes both agreed that it was going to be a "no boat job day". We laid as low as possible until mid afternoon and then went to GYC for some socializing. I have named these days as "sloth days" because you do not want to move any faster than a sloth for fear of working up a sweat!

September 14, 2014

Jorge took the dinghy to shore to clean it. When he got back to CS'ta Time I was sure he had bought a new dinghy. It sparkled from bow to stern, inside and out and even upside down! One needed sunglasses to look at it. The rest of the day was spent trying to keep cool.

September 15, 2014

Monday was busy. Jorge was on the hunt for "stuff" for the boat. The plan is to sail to Tyrrel Bay, Carriacou tomorrow, haul out for 5 days and do maintenance on the boat. Laundry was my priority. After lunch we both went to Budget Marine where we bought some haul cleaner and antifouling paint. Back to St. George for groceries and then happy hour aboard CS'ta Time with Diana and G1ilbert. When we turn our deck light on at night, we attract many things including this bat . . . nightly, flying low over the water looking for food.

Our evening companion.

September 16, 2014

We weighed anchor at 0800. There was no wind for about the first 3 hours, then it started picking up, reaching some 20 kts at times but mainly staying around 15 kts. The current was working against us, pushing us further and further away from Carriacou and we finally had to motor the last hour or so into Tyrrel Bay as the winds were from the NE and Tyrrel Bay is well, of course, NE of Grenada! It was a long day, 9-1/2 hours, but not stressful. We set anchor just before 1730 close to the beach. Tyrrel Bay is very well protected, there was barely a ripple of wave and little wind. We slept like babies!

September 17, 2014

I had a bit of a relapse of last week's not feeling so good. I was very lethargic in the morning and needed a siesta in the afternoon, after that I felt much better. Jorge went ashore to see about a date and time for hauling out, what kind of equipment was available for the work he needed to do and marina hours. Mid afternoon we both went ashore, sat in a shady restaurant, had a drink and watched some soccer on t.v. Haul out was scheduled for 0800 tomorrow.

September 18, 2014

We were at the dock by 0800. There was a boat scheduled to go in the water at that time so in reality it was closer to 0900 before we were lifted out. The guys were quite good, almost as good as the Mawdsley's boys but not quite!

Ready at Tyrrel Bay for a haul out.

Boat launching before CS'ta Time's haul out, note the goats cleaning the "runway".

CS'ta Time in the travel lift.

 

CS'ta Time had grown a beard over the past year! Okay, we are ON the water type of people, not IN the water type of people, so the only hull cleaning that got done was as far down as we could reach into the water from the dinghy. Fortunately Jorge had bought a wide trowel for drywall mud and "shaved" most of the hairy stuff off the boat before the guys power washed it. I must say I was expecting the bottom to be worse than it was. We had some barnacles but the antifouling seemed to have done a good job. Right at the water level seemed to be the worse and of course the prop, which really didn't resemble a prop at all!

CS'ta Time's beard!

The prop, shaft and part of the bottom. Boy, what ocean water can do! Teeming with life.

Power washing after "shaving".

Looking better already! On the way to the cradle.

It was almost lunchtime when we were settled on our cradle so we decided to call it a morning. The sun was blazing, we were hot and hungry. I made sandwiches and we found a breezy, shady spot along the beach where we had lunch. We sat there for a while afterwards and cooled off, then went back to the boat to have a siesta and wait until 1500 before starting work again. The boat was like an oven (33.8C)  and sleep did not come easily but at least we rested. Then, down to the serious cleaning. Jorge set up to work on the prop with an electric drill fitted with a steel brush and I tackled the waterline with a barnacle busting compound. By the end of the day, Jorge had the prop looking like new again and I had the barnacles busted off the starboard side of the boat. We were pleased with what we had accomplished.

The showers in the DIY boatyard were not the best but the water was fresh and refreshing and it felt good to be clean and cooled off a bit.

September 19, 2014

It rained like cats and dogs during the night. We slept with the companionway and hatches open (when it wasn't raining) and were joined by a few pesky mosquitoes, LOL, Canada all over again! The day was overcast with sprinkles of rain but high humidity. However basically it was an okay day to be working, thanks to the clouds! As the cutlass bearing had been an issue for Jorge since before the Bahamas, that was a priority to check. He felt, yes, it needed replacing. Of course the prop had to come off first, a Max prop, that comes off in 15 pieces! So after reading the manual on Max props, off it came. Next the old cutlass bearing had to be removed. With the help of one of the marine hands and their equipment, out came the bearing and not easily I must say. CS used more than the usual number of screws making the job more tedious. But it came out and the new one went in. Then came putting the Max prop back together. Jorge feels confident that he reassembled it properly but we won't really know until the boat is in the water. He was joking (at least I hope he was joking) and said when we put the boat in forward we might end up going backwards and vice versa! LOL. I busted the barnacles on the port side and started cleaning the hull. Boy there are some stains there that just do not want to come off.

A young French couple on the boat next to us rented the one small apartment the marina has for boaters. They offered us the use of the shower as it was definitely cleaner than the DIY boatyard showers. We took them up on it, again no hot water but it was fresh and refreshing.

We slept with the screens in so weren't bothered by bugs.

September 20, 2014

Too bad, no clouds today, it was a scorcher! Jorge completed working on the prop including greasing it. He then tackled the anchor chain. He reversed the chain and added new markers for distance. He installed new annodes at the end of the prop and shaft, inspected the through hulls, and put Sikaflex on some hairline cracks between the hull and the keel.Doesn't sound like a lot, but it took the whole day! Got to love island time. I started the blog in the morning but then added today's work in the evening. We bought rotis from a local lady and went to the beach for lunch. In the afternoon I continued with cleaning the hull. It is looking good but I'm afraid the finish is rather dull. CS'ta Time definitely needs some wax and a good polishing! She is almost a picture of her former self.

Well, I started writing the blog daily when we left Canada, now I am down to weekly, at best. My excuse . . . sheer laziness!

Let’s start off with pictures of the 140’ mega sailing yacht docked in Prickly Bay Marina which we were fortunate enough to tour.

Espiritu del Xarey.

The captain's boat rafted next to it.

Ditto.

　

September 5, 2014

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JORGE! A milestone - 65 years old today. When we get back to Canada I can now send him to the stores that offer seniors’ discounts. LOL.

We met Diana and Gilbert at St. George bus terminal as we had planned a hike for the day. We caught the bus to Grand Etang (previous blog on Mt. Qua Qua). This time we took the trail to Seven Sister’s Waterfalls, also blogged about previously. There were two trails leading to Seven Sister’s. One was a 10-15 minute walk along the road, the other was through the rain forest, at least 2 hours. In hindsight maybe we should have taken the shorter route! The hike through the rain forest was quite gruelling. There were parts in the trail where it seemed like the only way down was straight down! Again we played Tarzan and Jane, swinging from tree to tree, vine to vine, root to root, anything we could grab a hold of on the way down. The park personnel also told us the trail had not been groomed in a while and was probably impassable in one area due to the “sticky or prickly grass”. Boy do we know about sticky grass. That’s the stuff that is about thigh high, long blades of grass, very pretty actually, but with thousands of small prickles that latch onto clothing or body parts and can leave quite significant scratches. Well, not to be outdone by a few patches of grass, on we ploughed reaching Seven Sister’s a few hours later. I’m not really sure how long it took us ‘cuz we’re retired and no one had a watch on! We were just hungry when we reached the falls so figured it had to be around lunchtime. We enjoyed lunch and the water, waited out the normal rain forest shower and then headed back, not the way we came but the route we took on our first visit. At the end of the trail, we were again met with a fellow offering to clean the mud off our shoes. He beat Kenny to it, too bad for Diana because Kenny would have really liked to have cleaned her shoes!

Lookout tower at Grand Etang.

Picnic stop.

Good thing for yellow ribbons marking the trail (FYI the flash went off for this picture!)

Little gecko.

Diana and Gilbert on the hike out of Seven Sister's.

Bamboo forest.

After reaching St. George, we parted ways with Diana and Gilbert. Once back at Prickly Bay we stopped by to see how Alain was doing, getting the boat ready on the hard for when he returns to France. He was exhausted, working from sun up, mainly inside the boat where he said it felt like 45C so he gladly accepted our invite to dinner. Next to a good steak, Jorge’s favourite meal is Chicken Diane so that’s what I cooked for his birthday dinner. We had an enjoyable evening and it was much cooler on our boat in the bay than on Alain’s boat on the hard. Fortunately he took an apartment behind the marina for a few days, complete with A/C.

September 6 & 7, 2014

We didn’t do a whole heck of a lot either day. Short walks, no rain, blazing sun, high temp. We invited Alain both nights for dinner so he only had to concentrate on getting the boat put away. Two more enjoyable evenings with him.

Some of the vegetation we encountered on our walk around Prickly Bay, hence the name?

Donut boat for rent.

Too cute!! Dad pulling his daughter.

 

The parking lot at Prickly Bay aka the dinghy dock.

Prickly Bay Marina.

Anchorage at Prickly Bay.

September 8, 2014

Alain radioed us on his handheld from the plane at 0630 as he was flying over Prickly Bay to say he could see us and to say goodbye. Imagine that, we could hear him from the plane!

I had picked up a case of feeling miserable so we stayed on the boat all day. Jorge, unfortunately, had to do all the pink jobs as well as the blue jobs as I was useless!

September 9, 2014

I woke up feeling lousy which was a huge improvement over yesterday so we decided to move back to St. George. The last three or four nights had been really rolly in Prickly Bay and neither one of us had had good sleeps. Full moon, crazy currents, etc. We weighed anchor and set out around 1030. The first part of the sail was great, until we rounded Pt. Salines when we had to change course and cut into the wind. Instead of taking our time and sailing/tacking we decided to motor the rest of the way as I still was not feeling too swift. We arrived to the fuel dock at GYC, got water and then headed to the anchorage. Luckily the anchor set on the first try. This anchorage is known for its poor holding and in the past, it has taken us up to four tries before the anchor set.

Diana and Gilbert saw us arrive and radioed to say hi and welcome us back. They also invited us for sundowners but we took a rain cheque due to the fact I still wasn’t feeling great.

Bed time was early.

September 10, 2014

Well not quite 100% but definitely on the mend! Jorge got gas for the dinghy and refilled one of our propane bottles in the morning. I had lunch ready for him when he returned (I’ve taken over the pink jobs again much to his pleasure) and afterwards we went to GYC for showers and internet. While Jorge did the internet banking, etc. I sat in a shady spot, in the breeze, in a comfy chair and relaxed. By the end of the afternoon, the showers and clean clothes I felt so much better I thought it would be a good night to have dinner out. We stopped by Diana and Gilbert’s boat to see if they were game and they were. BB Crabback was having their usual Wednesday night curry special and as we had had such a good experience there for our 1^st anniversary dinner since leaving HYC we opted to go there again. We were not disappointed, another great meal!

Bedtime around 2130.

September 11, 2014

To all our American friends, we remember.

We had an incredible storm last night starting around 0200. Winds in the south end of Grenada were recorded as 35 - 42 kts with heavy rain and it continued to rain most of the morning.

Life is returning to normal - boat jobs! Jorge got a price from a rigging shop here in Grenada for getting our life lines replaced. We have stainless steel covered with white plastic. Well, the plastic has cracked in a number of places and the salt water has caused the stainless to rust leaving unsightly rust stains on the plastic. The rigging shop came in about three times the price we expected so, plan B, remove the plastic, clean up the rust spots and viola - as good as new! Big job though, cutting the plastic away. My jobs were much easier, cleaning the kitchen, the head, the main salon and, of course, catching up on blogging.

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.