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Crewing aboard Sanctuary - September 24 to October 10, 2011.
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Our trip really consists of three parts: vacationing in Grenada, crewing aboard Sanctuary, and vacationing at Leverick Bay, Virgin Gorda, BVI. So I will break it up into these parts.
We flew from Toronto to Barbados, on Westjet airlines. No extra fees, on time, funny crew. Liat was a surprise, as it flew on time and we didn’t lose our luggage! We arrived about 10 minutes late, and Boney, our driver from La Sagesse was waiting for us, and called ahead to get our dinner order so that we wouldn’t have to wait once we arrived at the hotel. Talk about service!
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La Sagesse[/color]
Boney meeting us at the Airport was the start of a wonderful visit at La Sagesse, and set the tone for the rest of our time there. Mike and his staff could not do enough for us and time and again went way out of their way to make our stay a pleasure. We really felt like family there. We met some great people, including Tony and Cathy from England, who were visiting their daughter who lives on a boat and who also came by to visit several times.
We stayed at La Sagesse for five days. It was relaxing, the beach was fabulous, the rooms were clean and neat, the food was wonderful, and again the service spectacular. Mike offered to drive us back and forth into town, to the marina, or wherever we needed to go. They even made us oil down, Grenada’s national dish, one night for dinner after I commented that I wouldn’t get a chance to try it before leaving. I wouldn’t hesitate to stay there again and look forward to when I can.
On Sunday we did nothing but laze around, swim, read, eat and drink. It was a wonderful way to start our vacation. The next day, Boney took us on a tour of the island. He kept up a running commentary the whole day, telling us all kinds of history of the island which made it very interesting. We went to Annandale falls, where we saw the jumpers and I got to swim under the falls! We went to Grand Etange forest reserve where we got to feed the Mona monkeys and feed the fish. We then went on to Belmont estates where we had lunch (I’ve had much better) and a tour of the cocoa plantation. We went on to River Antoine distillery, where we did not see anyone that was able to give us a tour and everyone seemed too busy to deal with us, so we left. We drove through Grenville on our way home and through the old Airport runway. It was a long day but interesting.
We noticed that everything was running in half mode, since tourist season hadn't quite started yet. And while it was nice not to have a crowd, we did feel that we were bothering people whenever we stopped somewhere. It was like they weren't quite ready for us, but in general we found that the people of Grenada were very friendly, the friendliest of all the islands I've been too.
On Tuesday, Mike drove us into Grand Anse on his way to teach and offered to pick this up on his way back. We spent the afternoon wandering around, ate at a great restaurant called Umbrellas on the beach. We had the best burgers and sweet potato fries ever! The drinks were awesome too!
That night at La Sagesse, Mike and his staff prepared “oil down”, Grenada’s national dish, for us and we ate dinner with Tony, Cathy, their daughter and son in law. It was a great evening and we had a lot of fun.
During dinner we saw a few crabs running around the restaurant, and every time we looked at them, they stopped dead – it was really funny, as if we couldn’t see them when they weren’t moving – the staff said that they were trying to get to the beach to lay their eggs, and we were laughing at their antics. Every time someone walked by, they would scuttle under a table, trying to hide. We could hear their claws clacking on the ceramic tile, it was really quite amusing!
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The boat Sanctuary and Captain Mark[/color]
Mike from La Sagesse gave us a ride over Grenada Marine, where we tried to find Sanctuary. After searching for a while I saw a familiar face on a boat –Captain Mark! We climbed aboard and started working on getting the boat together, putting on the sails, the bimini cover, cleaning up the boat, putting stuff away, cleaning the fenders and dinghy, running back and forth to the marina store, stopping for a bit of lunch, cleaning the chrome, etc. It was a very busy day! Mark was a bit stressed because the Yard was, of course, giving him the run around about parts that should have already been delivered and installed. These delays it seemed would prevent the launching of the boat. But it all worked out in the end and we launched on schedule.
Boney came to get us at the end of the day, driving us back to La Sagesse. The boatyard was so hot that I was glad we had decided to keep our room instead of sleeping on the boat. Jim was too tired to go to dinner, so I went down alone –it’s that kind of place. Mike was there having dinner with a friend and asked me to join them. It was nice not to have to eat alone. His friend turned out to be another boat owner, Peter from the Guernsey Islands, and we had a very interesting conversation.
During dinner, the French family next to us was yelling over to our table, and when I finally realized they were pointing under our table, I looked to see a crab not 2” from my foot, and I just about fell out of my chair! It looked like he was poised to snap off my big toe, but I am sure he was just as freaked out as I was! When I got up to leave, several more crabs scuttled out of my path, it kind of reminding me of a horror movie – “don’t go that way, no no!” as I walked to my room and heard scuttling all the way along without actually being able to see what was scuttling! ~shudder~ I made it to my room safely, and dropped off to sleep with the sound of the ocean hitting the beach in my ears for the last time this trip.
I rented a car for the next day so that I could do running around for provisioning. We went to the boatyard where we continue to work, Jim buffing the sides, me doing the chrome, and all of us putting on the new bimini.
With list in hand off I went: gas for the dinghy, check out of the hotel and bring back our luggage, stopping to bring back some lunch to the boat. And all of this before lunch! We were told the boat would be in the water by 3:30 that afternoon, so off I went to provision. My experiences with this are best saved for another day – best told over a martini or three! Let’s just say:
• Driving in the British Virgin Islands is MUCH easier!
• Driving on the left with the right hand steering is very difficult!
• Driving alone and not knowing where you’re going is impossible in Grenada!
• I really, really, hate round –a-bouts!
• Driving at night is not my favourite thing –especially in the islands!
After two towns, 16,000,000 different stores (at least it seemed that way! ), one Grenadian police officer, two very helpful store staff, one hitchhiker, and a phone call for directions from Mike at La Sagesse, I finally made it back to the boatyard at around 9:00 PM.
While I was gone the boat was put in the water, held hostage while the bill was fought over (worse than lawyers, I swear!), Mark cleared customs and everything was put ready to leave first thing in the morning. When I finally made it back to the yard, we loaded all the provisions, and Captain Mark had a great surprise waiting for me –lobster! While we ate, Mark gave us the rules of the boat. After that it was off to bed –and an early start in the morning.
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The trip[/color]
We left Grenada around 7:30 AM. It was a beautiful sail to Mayreau. Unfortunately, Jim had overdone it the previous two days, and was seasick most of the day. As we approached the anchorage in the Mayreau, the starter on the port engine failed. We still had the other engine, so no worries, but we needed to have it looked at. We anchored in Salt Whistle Bay, and immediately jumped in the water –it was very refreshing! Mark went ashore to visit Blackboy and Deb, friends of his who run a restaurant on the beach there. When he came back to the boat, he had found a guy named Arthur and who might be able to fix our starter motor. Arthur and his buddy came on the boat, tore apart the engine, and went away to find either a new starter, or to fix the old one.
We went ashore and Blackboy drove us to the village, where first stop was of course, Robert Righteous and de Youths. Captain Mark had made some business cards for him and was Robert ever pleased! There must be something in the air at Robert’s place, as we all seemed to find words of wisdom to write on Robert’s wall!
We wandered around town a bit visiting different people that Mark had met on his previous visits. Ice, Blackboy’s soon to be son-in-law, picked us up and brought us back down to the beach bar, where we were to have barbecue on the beach. We waited, and we waited, and we waited… And finally we received our food. And even though we only got two pieces of chicken each, it really was worth waiting for –the provisions were awesome! Ice drove us back to the boat since Mark wanted to visit a little longer, and Jim and I slept on the trampoline, watching the stars – we slept like babies until the rain came, and then slept in the cockpit, since our cabin was torn apart for the engine repair.
Most of the next day was spent waiting for Arthur to come back with the starter. It was a long drawn out and expensive process. In the end, they decided to weld the part together, but went to three different islands and three different places to find a welder then the rods and then machine – then back to Mayreau for Arthur to grind down the weld! Gotta love the islands! If you ever need any work done while in Mayreau, Arthur is your guy. Contact him at
arthurroach@ymail.com or 784-491-7257. Tell him the crew of Sanctuary sent you!
With the welded starter in place (and working!) we left for our first overnight sail. We sailed, sailed, sailed, sailed, and Jim was sick for most of it. I ended up doing the 8 to 10 shift, and a double - 2 to 6 shift, so that Mark and Jim could both get some rest. We arrived in Portsmouth at 7:30 PM, greeted by one of the boat boys who helped us get a mooring ball. Mark cooked up some pork chops; we had a nice bottle of wine and crashed.
Mark went ashore early the next day, got a rental car, and attended to some business. Jim and I hung around the boat, swam, and relaxed. We went ashore for lunch, and a tour of Indian River with Mark’s friend Spesh, and his girlfriend Marisa. We had a nice tour, stopping at a bar partway up the river, and trying their local special “Dynamite”. It really was!
Mark met us at the end of our tour and off we went for a tour of the island. We stopped at the top of the hill, at a beautiful home owned by a woman named Cynthia. She was brought up in England and moved back to Dominica after her children were grown. She truly was a “proper lady”. Mark asked if she wanted to join us as we went to visit more friends. She said yes, went into change, and came back all dressed up for cocktail hour. We went to Angela’s Bar down on the next beach. Had a few drinks there with Angela, and then drove Cynthia back home. After we dropped Cynthia off, we headed for Savanne Paille, high up in the hills overlooking Douglas Bay. Once we arrived, Capt. Mark attracted people like flies. From two guys, it turned into a party with local spiced rum and local smoke, and everyone came out of the woodwork to partake. It was hilarious watching the people showing up, in twos and threes, gathering around, grabbing concrete blocks to sit on, and it turned into a major afternoon party!
We had a great time talking to a few of the guys there, although the spiced rum sure went to my head (or was it something in the air?!!)!
After hanging out for awhile, we had to go and meet another of Mark’s friends, so off we went, down the hill and around the bends, stopping for cash & groceries while Mark talked with his friend, and then it was off to Spesh’s place, Barb Wire Guest House, a guest house high in the hills overlooking Portsmouth Harbour. It was dark by the time we got there, so it was hard to see, but it looked like it would be a great place to get away from it all – no electricity, just lots of nature. We’d sure like to get back there someday!
Another drive down another hill, and we stopped for dinner at the Iguana Café. It is owned by Spesh’s brother, and boy did they ever serve us up a feast! The food was awesome, one of the best lobster dinners I had in the Caribbean!
Afterwards, I was falling down tired, it had been such a long day of tooling around, and I was way ready for my bed. We drove Spesh & Marissa back partway up the hill to their home, and then back to where we left the dinghy and finally back to the boat. One other sailboat had joined us in the harbour. I can’t believe no one else is here!
The next morning, Mark went ashore to return the car and meet up with some more people, and Jim and I hung out on the boat. It was a nice relaxing morning before heading out on our next overnight sail. We slipped the mooring, and headed out early afternoon – next stop, Pigeon Island, Guadeloupe for some snorkelling and dinner, then off to Nevis!
We sailed up the coast of Guadeloupe, and got to Pigeon Island around 5ish. It’s a Jacques Cousteau Marine Park, and was a great place to stop for a rest – we snorkelled a bit, then just as we climbed back on the boat, it started to pour rain. We moved to another mooring ball, and decided that we had better cook supper inside tonight!
After we ate, the rain cleared, we headed out for Nevis. We were sailing pretty well, but the moon set early, and it was kind of weird to see what I thought were clouds on the horizon suddenly turn into an island about two miles off our starboard side! Not much activity, although Mark did have a freighter heading for us just off the coast of Montserrat, it changed course since we were sailing.
About 2:30 am, Jim and I were jolted awake by the sound of the port motor – or what should have been the port motor. Once again, the starter blew apart… we went up on deck and Mark tore apart our bunk to look at the engine – no joy, we’d have to alter plans and stop in St. Martin to get a new one. No worries, that’s what sailing is all about: have a plan and change it!
Back to bed, only one watch for me tonight, it was great how it worked out, as we all got to do different watches throughout the trip which was really nice.
Captain Mark made banana French toast for breakfast the next morning, as we discussed our options. I didn’t care either way, but since Mark knew a mechanic in St. Martin, and that’s where he bought his other starter, we figured it was the best bet to stop there and make sure it was fixed before heading to the BVI’s. We sailed past St. Barths & Nevis (maybe next time!), and got into St. Martin early afternoon. Mark was having trouble getting hold of Eric, the mechanic, because of new area codes in St. Martin, but once we were within range, we could call on the VHF and found out where he’d be.
Once we made arrangements to meet up with him in the morning, we went ashore and went for dinner at La Bomba’s Beach Bar. We had some fun teasing the waitress, she was a great girl. I couldn’t believe how many places were shut down, and how quiet the Lagoon was! There were hardly any boats on the docks! Man, this really was the “off-season”!
We stopped at the supermarket to pick up some more supplies, and headed back to the boat. Since tomorrow looked like it would be a lay day, a few drinks were had and I slept like a baby after the sporadic sleep over the last 24 hours.
Eric showed up at 9ish as promised and got to work on the starter, as well as changing the oil and checking the engines over. Mark went ashore to gather some more engine bits, and to grab a new stereo and fix his St. Martin phone, etc. Eric did a great job, and if anyone ever needs a mechanic in St. Martin, he is definitely the guy to call – he doesn’t charge an arm and a leg, he’s a live aboard guy too, and knows that money is tight for some of the sailors out there – he does work for the big yachts too, but I think he must be priced reasonably because he sure is busy! Here is his contact info: Eric Koning, VHF channel 14 s/v Serendipity, email
tropenkoninkjes@gmail.com or call 1-721-580-7607 or 1-721-580-7114. Tell him the crew of Sanctuary sent you!
We pulled up the anchor and had a great sail up to Anguilla. I even took the helm for awhile, Sanctuary sure sails well! We went all the way down the north coast and back, sailing past Sandy Island, which folklore says is the island used by Microsoft for their Azul desktop wallpaper – I believe it, as it is on my computers both at home and at work!
We dropped the hook in Road Bay, and Jim and I spent some time chillaxing while Mark looked after some boat stuff. We swam for awhile, and spent some time on the front watching all the kids in their dinghies sailing around the bay – they sure were having fun!
We jumped in the dinghy and headed for Elvis’s Beach Bar for happy hour. That sure is a happening place! Mark seemed to know everyone there, and they treated us like family too. Elvis’ Bar is actually a boat hull laying in the sand and polished up. He has a HUGE screen TV, a whole bunch of tables and chairs underneath the main restaurant area. During off season, there wasn’t much to eat, but it was the first time since Grenada that Jim was able to get a frozen blender drink – and we took advantage, being that tomorrow was a lay day! I was getting too woozy, so we headed back to the boat for some dinner, then Mark decided to go back and hang out at the bar some more. We lazed around the cockpit, listening to the music from the bar, and then headed off to bed. I don’t remember Mark coming back, but the dinghy was there in the morning, so he must have made it back safe! LOL
Mark had some friends to visit on the island, so we hung around on the boat for the morning, then called him on the two way and he came back to the boat and we took the dinghy to go ashore and explore. We went to Johnno’s for lunch; they had a pretty good bbq going on – ribs & chicken and fries – way too much for me to eat, but really good! We wandered up and down the beach, watching the kids diving off the dock, playing in the water, and generally having a good time. We meandered down to Elvis’ Bar, where we sat and read in the shade for awhile – he doesn’t open till 4, but the chairs were all out, so we took advantage.
We went back to the boat around 4ish, and I started to think about packing. Tonight would be our last overnight sail to the BVIs, where we would get off the boat. We all decided to go to The Sandbar for dinner, they served only Tapas, and it was a great meal – I thoroughly enjoyed the place, it had all kinds of couches and tables in a variety of set ups for every conceivable type of group, and we had server upon server stopping by our table – I am not used to this kind of service in the Caribbean!
We walked down to say goodbye at Elvis’, and I was surprised that a few of the locals came by to hug us and say a few words – travelling with Mark sure gets you treated like family in a lot of places!
We headed back to the boat, and with three blasts of the horn, away we went. We motor sailed most of the night in flat seas, but it was a nice night, and kind of sad that it was our last sail. I really enjoyed this trip, and learned a lot about sailing from Captain Mark.
It was a quiet night. Motor sailing in light winds and low seas. It was a beautiful way to spend our last night on the boat.
Early morning the wind picked up, so we were able to sail the last few hours wing-on-wing as we were passing through the cut between Fallen Jerusalem and the south side of Virgin Gorda. It was a beautiful sail! I was pretty excited, since we finally saw a few other sailboats in the distance! Finally, we were no longer the only people on the water! LOL
I had never been on that side of VG, so it was a nice way to arrive in the BVI’s. We stopped at the Baths to go for a snorkel, as Jim had never been to the beach side of the Baths. There was no one around, it felt, again, like we were the only people in the area. It had been years since I had been there too, and it was nice to see it again.
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Leverick Bay[/color]
We headed to Spanishtown and I called Monica at Leverick to confirm our room and to arrange for a rental car, and we were off the boat. After saying our goodbyes to Captain Mark, he headed over to Trellis to get ready for his charter guests. We jumped in the car, went to Speedy’s to do the paperwork, and then headed to Leverick ourselves.
We stopped at the hotel to check in and get rid of our gear, then headed to the store to buy some drinks and snacks for the room, then headed to the bar to see Nick & Monica. It was Nick’s birthday, so Monica had ordered a special lunch for him, and we were able to join them for some lunch as well. It was great to see them again, and sitting at the bar was just like old times. We met lots of new friends, and got a chance to spend time with some old friends as well. We went for a tour around North Sound with a friend – I couldn’t believe how few boats were around, I am not used to seeing this place in the “off season”! Back to the Jumbie’s bar, where happy hour was well under way. Jim was pretty tired, so he left and I hung out for a bit longer. I was tired too, coming off an overnight sail, so I didn’t last long either.
Sunday morning we were both up pretty early, so we hopped in the car and headed to the Bath & Turtle for breakfast, since not much else was open. We tooled around the new road heading back to North Sound, and saw the swells coming into the bays – we got off the boat just in time! We took advantage of the two for one spa special and both got 1 hour deep tissue massages, and I also got a manicure - the staff at the spa were great, and very earnest to be of service. $140 for all three, what a great deal!
Nick & Monica had invited us up for a visit to their home on Sunday, so we toddled along for a few drinks which turned into a few more drinks, and well, you know how that goes! We ended up crashing pretty early because we had to be up early the next day, but it was so wonderful to get a chance to visit with them for a bit before we headed back home.
Leverick was a great stay, we got the off season deal of $80 per night, and wouldn't hesitate to stay there again. The rooms were clean, the view was awesome, and of course, there's the added draw of Nick & Monica! ~smiles~
Monday morning we were up early, headed for the 8:00 am ferry to Roadtown and wandered around until the 10:00 fast ferry to Charlotte Amalie. We stopped at Capriccio di Mare for breakfast, and had the most reasonably priced breakfast of our trip! Hot Italian sausage, scrambled eggs, a croissant and a coffee x 2 for less than $20! It was great! Davide happened by while we were there, and we got a chance to catch up while we waited for the ferry.
Off to USVI we went, and since we had lots of time before our flight, we headed for our favourite place, Hook Line & Sinker in Frenchtown. We had a few drinks, an awesome lunch (as always!) and hung out for a bit. There wasn’t much going on here either, as everything was still being worked on, fixed, painted, etc., getting ready for the busy season.
Off to the airport, where our flight was only a few minutes late leaving, and onto Miami, where our next leg was only a few minutes late leaving from there as well. We arrived back in Toronto at 11:45pm, so it made for a very long day! Two ferries, two flights, two drives, one taxi ride and 4 countries in 18 hours!
When we finally got back to our car at the Park’n’Fly, don’t we have a flat tire! What a way to end the trip, both of us barely able to function and we have another delay before the 1.5 hour drive home! We pumped it up, and it seemed to hold, so away we went!
Back home by 2:30, we fell into bed only to discover that the boat didn’t seem to be moving the same way that it used to! ~smiles~
Some pics are located here:
Crewing on Sanctuary Photos
