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Trip Report Grenada to St. Lucia June 2012 #18547
02/10/2013 11:22 PM
02/10/2013 11:22 PM
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 306
Tustin CA
d_fish Offline OP
Traveler
d_fish  Offline OP
Traveler
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 306
Tustin CA
Better late than never.... trip report sitting on my hard drive forgotten about...

Trip Report Grenada – St. Lucia June 24-July 8, 2012

June 22 Fly Los Angeles to Grenada via JFK. First time flying Delta, presently surprised at the service, while chaotic and unorganized checking into LAX, thinking this will be indicative of the rest of the trip, all other services outstanding. I’ll even go out on a limb and say the inflight food was the best I have eaten in all my years of flying. Yes I was fortunate to have the luxury of flying business class after cashing out years of accumulating AMEX points.


Uneventful flight, arriving in JFK at 11:00 pm, change terminals and await departure of flight to Grenada promptly at 2:30 am.

June 23 Arrive early 7:30 am, enveloped by the warm air as we depart the plane. We gather luggage and upon exiting customs and immigration greeted by a man cheerfully offering a cab ride. We all pile the luggage into his van, given all the gear, looks like we are staying for a month but explain we are on our way to a sailing adventure and without hesitation we are off to True Blue Bay Resort and Marina.

True Blue is a quick 10 minute ride from the airport. Hoping for an early check in, the front desk us directs us to breakfast and informs us our room should be ready by the time we are finished. Breakfast is a buffet served in an outdoor pavilion overlooking the marina giving us a glimpse of Chez Nous, a 40 ft Leopard, our home for the next 2 weeks.

We enjoy our breakfast and explore the grounds, discovering the Horizon Office on the docks. Enter and meet Bernadette who turns out to be a wealth of information for our upcoming trip. We wander back to the front desk and inquire about our room, it is ready.

I booked a villa since there are four in our party and to our surprise the villa exceeds our expectations. It is a 2 story 2 bedroom unit boasting a full kitchen, living and dining room offering a commanding view of the marina. Noticing the full size refrigerator with freezer we decide to head into town and procure our provisions while we still have energy. And given it is Saturday, I believe it best to provision as who knows what will be open and available on Sunday.

Only being 10:30 am, we decide to arrange for a taxi to take us to St. Georges first to provision our fresh produce from the local farmers market and then on our way back to True Blue, stop at IGA for the remainder.

After spending almost $2000 EC we are satisfied with our provisions, stow them and relax in the villa the rest of the day enjoying a few hairouns, local Vincentian beer. True Blue offers a Saturday night evening bbq buffet complemented with live music. We all enjoy cooked to order fish/steaks and even though be serenaded by a beautiful singer, head off to the villa at 8:00 pm after a long yet extremely productive day.

June 24 We arranged to sleep aboard Chez Nous coupled with an express check out 9:00 am the following morning – a service Horizon offers that enables us to maximize our time aboard. It allows us to push of the dock first thing the next morning and complete our boat check out and chart briefing while underway to Tyrell Bay, Carriacou with a Horizon Boat Captain.

Chez Nous is ready a little earlier than the anticipated 5:00 pm boarding time, so we board approx. 2:00 pm and get acquainted with her and stow what seems to be a never ending supply of provisions and gear.

Our first time chartering a Leopard and I must admit, we are pleasantly surprised. She offers a well thought out and designed galley & nav station and the berths below are spacious and comfortable. On deck, jib and main sheets lead to the helm – great for single-handling the sails. We are more than happy with our selection and eagerly look forward to see how she performs under sail.

June 25 We are up early to prepare for the long day ahead of us. At the dock by 9:00 am is Captain Andell David, ready for the chart briefing and sail to Carriacou. I check the weather with wind 15-22 knots, seas moderate. After reviewing the charts and gleaming advice from Andell, we push off the dock at 10:30 am. Andell’s plan is to motor sail across the coast of Grenada, close hauled and hopefully as we make our way, end up on a beam reach to Carriacou. 8 Hours and approx. 45 nm later a tired crew pulls into Tyrell Bay, Andell directs us to spot close to shore where we drop anchor and we are tucked in for a quiet evening. We fire up the bbq and enjoy a concoction of juicy rum drinks. Dinner served a short while later.

June 26 Up early we decide to head to Sandy Island to snorkel, my favorite pastime, other than sailing. Wind forecast 20-25 knots with moderate seas, however our destination is a only a short motor from Tyrell Bay, not point raising the sails. As we near Sandy Island, we notice a squall bearing down on us, clouds of Morridor they are deemed by the crew, the impending storm closes in. We spot mooring balls and prepare to pick one up, as if a race against time. We tie up and watch the storm advance, before we know it winds between 30-35 knots whip our boat with top wind speed of 40 knots. All this melee subsiding within the hour. We decide to head to Sandy Island and explore the stunningly beautiful and pristine shores. Ours are the only footprints grace the beach that day. We don snorkel equipment, but unfortunately it is quite murky as the sea is churned up by the storm. A quiet moorage; with mooring balls and pennants in excellent condition, being thoroughly put to the test by the strong winds.

We make it a habit to dive the mooring ball at each destination. The condition of the mooring balls at Sandy Island appear to either be brand new or recently refurbished given the appearance of the chain, lanyards and lines. Since we weathered incredibly high winds tied to the ball, we decided to stay the night as we feel very secure.

June 27 We slip off the mooring ball early and motor to Hillsborough to check out of Grenada, our first crack dealing with Immigration and Customs. Armed with crew lists and boat paperwork we load into the dinghy and head into town. Being forewarned by a fellow sailor in Grenada who stated Immigration in Hillsborough has a sign on the door that states knock and enter. He told us do not wait to be told to enter, just enter as he was informed he was rude to wait to be told to enter. We do just so and find we aren’t the only ones checking out of Grenada. We patiently wait approx. 20 minutes while the Captain of a crewed yacht is checking out, then our turn. A few questions and a diligent review of our paperwork has us on our way to Customs before we know it. As Customs was on the dock, we decide to go into to town for one last look around before leaving Hillsborough. We stop at the Little Deli and cannot resist purchasing sliced meats, cheeses and freshly baked baguettes, the quality is outstanding and we are very pleased with our find.

Off to customs, where we are asked for, well I don’t really know what. The officer is a little curt with us, asking for form such and such. Well it dawned on me, we had sailing papers in our paperwork that were the forms used by the previous charterer. They were the forms they used to clear into Grenada. It all made sense now as we were required to turn over the paperwork to customs indicating the vessel was departing.

All settled and officially checked out of Grenada, we board Chez Nous, hoist the dinghy and head to Union, Clifton our first stop to clear into St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Unfortunately wind coming due east, so we sail close hauled to Union. Upon arriving we notice Clifton is busy and decide to motor through the anchorage before deciding what to do – anchor or take a ball. At the entrance, boat boys descend and flock around us like persistent seagulls, one arriving, then 2 and 3 – our first encounter and I must admit a little daunting. In an effort to help, three boats flank our boat and attempt to direct us to either a mooring ball or a place to anchor by shouting directions. We motor by a few derelict balls that look as though they wouldn’t be secure enough to tie a dinghy to let alone a sailing vessel. All amidst the boat boys pointing and yelling to take a ball, if not the one they suggest, they quickly scurry to another insisting on that one. We block them all out, but it is a little disconcerting and overwhelming during our recon mission in which to find a suitable place to anchor in an extremely crowded anchorage. We have to focus on the task at hand and not pay attention to the commotion, we are after all, in charge of the vessel.

Unable to catch a good hold with our first attempt, we spot a monohull pulling up anchor in a great location, not as congested where we first attempted. We motor to his location, which is in front of Happy Island. Drop anchor and are satisfied with our holding. Up goes the quarantine flag, Fraser and I lower the dinghy and once again off to Customs and Immigration.

Check in we encounter an agent who asks lots of questions which we weren’t sure if they relate to Immigration or not, such as Where is the boat based? Who works at the Horizon office in Grenada? Do any locals work in the office in Grenada or are they all foreigners? What are their names? What is the phone number? He seemed friendly enough, but we though the questions were strange. This takes approx. 1.5 hours and we were glad to be finished with the interrogation. All paperwork in order, we purchase a loaf of freshly baked bread and some produce from the locals. We wanted to purchase a few cold drinks from the grocery store, however noted that it was closed until 3:00 pm – which just so happens with most small markets in the islands, they close for lunch – we make a mental note. Being only 2:00 pm we decide rather than staying overnight in Clifton, we would rather head for Chatam Bay, a quiet secluded anchorage hopefully devoid of crowds. In all honestly we felt a little hesitant and uneasy about staying in Clifton due to the plethora of boat boys assidously motoring around the anchorage and bombarding us with solicitations – offers to purchase food, remove garbage, purchase t-shirts, purchase ice etc. We didn’t really feel safe leaving our boat unattended for any length of time.

These feelings diminish once we grow accustomed to the routine at each successive anchorage. After all this is the way these people earn a living and from what we gather, the economy and tourist industry has been hit hard in the islands.

3:00 pm we weigh anchor and motor sail to Chatam Bay. As we envisioned it is a quiet secluded anchorage with only a few boats at anchor. Upon setting our anchor a local talks motors by and tells us about his beach barbeque buffet which sounds inviting and then another comes by and points out his restaurant on the beach. Since we don’t have the appetite to be enjoying a bbq buffet, we opt for appetizers and drinks ashore at Seckie’s.

My daughter has a penchant for conch fritters (aka lambi in the Grenadines) and she is going through BVI withdrawal where conch fritters are ubiquitous. One track mind, must have conch fritters. Seckie is able to accommodate our request and whip up 2 rounds of the best conch fritters we have ever had that pair well with the local hairouns. We watch the sun set and enjoy close of another beautiful day.

June 28 Up early per usual, we seem to be living in our circadian rhythm, up at sunrise, in bed a few hours after sunset. Our plan to sail to Saltwhistle Bay, Mayreau. I phone Horizon for the weather report, as I am unable to obtain a report on the VHF or radio. A tropical wave in the vicinity which makes for moderate seas, winds 18-22 knots, gusting to 25. Wind from the East again and the Saharan haze in the air. We sail to Mayreau and when within shield of island furl the jib and drop the main. The seas at the entrance into Saltwhistle are roiling. We review the charts and guidebook before heading in and once past the entrance of the bay, the seas calm down to almost a stand still.

Once again at the entrance we are met by a boat boy in a kayak fervently paddling next to our boat, another in dinghy both following our every move. The kayaker continually draws our attention to red mooring balls, which we hesitate on taking. We have our sights set on a ball further in the bay and much closer to shore. Balls litter the bay, white, yellow and red. There seems to be an over abundance with now very little room to actually anchor, eliminating that option for our comfort level. We set our eyes on the ball of our choice, one out of the wind and offers protection of the island. The boy in the kayak sees the ball we are aiming for and furiously paddles over and hands us the lines. Once tied up he introduces himself as Joseph and tells us about his restaurant on the beach, and informs us we aren’t tied to the mooring balls he owns, as his are the red balls, but he does suggest that we ask for a receipt when we pay for the ball thereby enabling us to show proof of payment if someone else comes around demanding payment.

Settling down boat boys swoop in around us, offering the usual, ice, produce, bread, garbage removal and t-shirts etc. We start to get to know the boat boys by name, Sam who sells t shirts, Mandy Man, offering fresh fish, Joseph, selling ice. Each time we kindly thank them for their offering. Although persistent and never ending we realize that this is their livelihood, the way they support their families and themselves. We recognize the reason we felt uneasy at first, in Union and Saltwhistle, we were still getting accustomed to the boat, the way she handled under motor, how to communicate with the helmsman while to boat boys were out of view but directly in front of the boat, we feared hitting them or damaging our boat. But once we made an effort to know them by name, chatting with them a little, it took the fear away. That and the realization there is no way they would let us run over them.

Saltwhistle Bay is a calm anchorage with a beautiful white sand beach. We all jump in for a little exercise, swim to shore and back. Then we secure the boat and dinghy ashore, deciding to walk up the hill and check out the village at Saline Bay. Note: the walk is rather strenuous in the heat of the day, I recommend carrying water. At the top of the hill we spot the church offers a breath taking view of the Tobago Cays, which will be our destination the following day. We head to town and stop for a beer with Robert Righteous and meet his playful grandson. We were hoping to stop for a few appetizers, drinks and Wifi (since we have been off the grid for almost a weeks now and surprisingly internet withdrawal is not setting in) at Dennis’s Hideaway, but he appears to be closed, perhaps for the season.

On our way back, we note that the small markets are closed and will reopen at 3:00 pm. Not wanting to wait and not really needing anything, we walk back to Saltwhistle Bay, far easier returning that walking to Saline.

As the day progresses, the sea in the bay is almost flat calm and the wind dies down somewhat. We are tucked in the bay that is a haven of protection from the winds and for the first time in almost a week, we have the best sleep void of strong winds.

June 29 Up early per usual and off to the Tobago Cays a group of uninhabited islets which are a national park, motor sailed since we weren’t going far. Winds 20-22 knots and seas moderate which seem to the be theme for this trip – exhilarating sailing – although in hindsight, why were we sailing North beating to every destination?. We opt for a mooring ball tucked in behind Baradal to offer some protection from the wind and waves. Once again we are met with the boat boys, but this time we know them all, acknowledge them by name and say hello. Apparently they rotate between Union, Saline, Saltwhistle and Tobago Cays.

We don our snorkel equipment and swim into the turtle sanctuary which is protected by a roped off area. Before long we are swimming with turtles who so effortlessly appear to be flying underwater, while visibility not good, we manage to spot quite a few. We swim ashore and scout out Baradal, climb to the top to take in the view . We spot Petit Tabac in the distance and being the POC lovers that we are, are determined to visit the island via dinghy tomorrow. An adventure that will be as we must cross a reef through a narrow channel to get there.

After an enjoyable swim we head back to the boat and drink a few hairouns. Romeo pops by inviting us to his beach bbq which came highly recommended from Captain Andell. Tuna is on the menu tonight as lobster is not in season, the menu includes fish, vegetables, rice, potatoes and fruit. We are in and decide on 6:00 pm. Romeo tells us to bring our own plates, cutlery and drinks, he supplies the rest. Sounds like a feast and in order not to spoil our appetites, we only nibble on snack food the rest of the day in eager anticipation of our dinner.

Park Rangers come by later on in the day. We pay the $10 EC per person fee and $45 EC for the mooring ball. We did not have the exact bills to pay so the Park Rangers came back with our change later on in the day.

6:00 pm we head to the island of Rameau with our supplies and a pitcher of our juicy rum drinks – each concoction never the same as it is a blend of whatever juice we have on hand in the galley – they never disappoint. We spot Romeo’s boat and know we are in the right place. Ashore we find tables clad with colorful table cloths and an area our dinner is being prepared. We sit back and pour a few drinks and enjoy the scenery. Interesting birds, iguanas, flowers, the softness of the sky, the color of the water, Tobago Cays is more than I envisioned, tantalizing every sense.

Dinner is outstanding, every dish with its unique flavor, creole influence coming through and beautifully presented. Perhaps a Michelin rating is in order. No one is disappointed and not much conversing while eating, just the sounds of everyone enjoying every last morsel. By the time dessert rolls around we are completely full, but try the local fruits as they are so artfully presented.

The sky looks ominous as though rain impending and want to get back to the boat before it rains. We all pile into the dinghy and head back, gushing about the meal. We would without a doubt recommend Romeo’s bbq to anyone visiting Tobago Cays.

June 30 Today is the day we plan our excursion to Petit Tabac aka the island Captain Jack Sparrow and Elizabeth were marooned in the first Pirates of the Carribean. The island looks so strikingly beautiful from a far.

Before heading out, Mandy Man pops by offering his fresh catch of the day. Sporting a 4 foot yellow fin tuna for a cost of $150 EC cleaned and cut into our choice of steaks or filets, we are in, mouths already watering thinking of our evening bbq.

We review the cruising guide and charts for the dinghy passage to Petit Tabac, but sure we spot the red passage markers with our eyes. We are off. It takes approximately 20 minutes to clear through the passage and out and away from the reef. It seems to take forever to dinghy up to the island, but we make it. The tiny island is pristine, beautiful and uninhabited. We walk around the island and enjoy the sights, humming POC theme song, envisioning Captain Jack Sparrow and Elizabeth drinking the rum. During our stroll around the island, we discover Russian space junk that washed ashore, it appears to be some type of fuselage with metal lining and loads of wiring. Googling later reveals it was part of a Russian rocket casing that fell to earth in December 2011.

Returning back is not for the faint of heart and looking at the sea, I wonder what we have gotten ourselves into. We spot the red markers far off in the distance and inform the dinghy captain, our daughter. The swells seem so much larger outside the reef and the waves seem so much bigger. Didn’t seem to notice when we set out. As we point out the markers in the distance, an argument ensues with our daughter, and in the blink of an eye, we are far too close to the reef. I yell to my daughter, do not turn the boat sideways to the wave, well little too late, a 5 foot wave picks us up and all I can envision is flipping over in the dinghy. Fortunately due to the quick thinking of my husband and Jon, who throws themselves over the side of the dinghy to counterbalance the weight somehow we manage to avert disaster, but the dinghy swamps with 6 inches of water, the gas tank is flipped and floating upside down. I have the wherewithal to right the tank and hold it out of the water. The next wave breaks into our dinghy the petrified dinghy captain abandons her post and thrusts the kill switch lanyard at my husband . Fortunately Fraser is able to maintain his composure, restart the outboard and point us into the waves and away from the reef.

He is able to line up the passage and seconds we are behind the safety of the reef. We all breathe a sigh of relief and couldn’t believe our luck. Everyone is safe, no damage to the dinghy and we didn’t lose anything. Close call and I cannot say I did not envision us flipping the dinghy and being washed over the reef. Major lesson learned!!

Upon entering the reef we spot an unusual sailing vessel that appears to be a 14 foot hobie cat with a windsurfing rig, outboard motor, a few crates and 2 persons aboard – quite an interesting set up. They are on their way to Petit Tabac and witnessed our entire adventure – remarking a “little wet there” with smirks on their faces. We dub them Waterworld as the couple look as though they’ve been out to sea an incredibly long time and they are dressed in what appears to be burlap – not kidding. We talk to a few locals who inform us this couple plans on sailing from St. Martin to Venezuela on this contraption. They sleep on beaches each night and sail during the day. Adventurers at heart either with guts or insane, I am not sure what. I often wonder if they made their destination.

Safely back at the boat, we crack a few beers and recall our harrowing experience. Lessons learned, not to argue during a time where situational awareness is required. All agree and we toast to our achievement of maintaining calm and collect during a stressful and very frightening experience.

July 1 Up early and our plan is to head to Mustique, unfortunately winds not in our favor and looks like we will be sailing to weather the entire distance. Winds from the East 20-25 knots and showers forecast. We raise the sails once out in the channel and decide to reef for 30 knots of wind, aware we can always shake out a reef.

Pounding into the waves and wind, we arrive at our destination in about 4 hours, averaging 7 knots. We pulled up to a mooring ball, but were unable to lift the lanyard on the mooring ball as it appeared to be all chain, so I radioed for assistance. A boat boy from the Mustique Company motors out to assist.

Head into Mustique to explore, to our dismay we notice Basils Bar is closed until July 5. We wander finding Firefly, an eclectic boutique hotel located up on the hill, with a sweeping view of the mooring field. We knock back a few overpriced drinks – we are in Mustique after all, then head back to prepare dinner on the boat.

The guide book was not kidding when they mentioned the anchorage can be rolly. It was rock and roll all night. Happy we weren’t on the monohull next to us, which almost seemed to be rails to the water with each roll.

July 2 Arise early and head to the local bakery to purchase freshly baked bread and French pastries; pain au chocolat and almond turnovers, without a doubt, the best almond turnover I have ever sunk my teeth into. We notice that Mustique Company offers mules for rent and decide to explore the island after breakfast.

We pay for our mooring and then we are transported to the airport to obtain a local driver’s license which is mandatory in order to rent a vehicle, followed by the rental company. They offer a half day special which we feel will be enough time to see the island. Armed with a map we set off. We can’t help but notice tortoises meandering and exercise caution while driving to avoid hitting the creatures, which proliferate the streets. Hungry for lunch we stop at Firefly, I was craving roti and noticed it was on their menu. The food was mediocre at best, but the setting stunning. I decide to ask about staying the night, to give us a good nights sleep and a shore side shower. They offer 6 rooms and only one was booked. Upon enquiring about a room for 1 night I was told to check their website for rates – hello, I am right here, standing in front of you – why couldn’t they just tell me? Pretentious and ostentatious – I think so. A little shocked at the response – hey we do not have wifi at our fingertips – felt it was a way to say, we do not want your business.

We head out again, checking out Cotton House beach bar, then on to Macaroni Beach, beautiful, isolated beach with spectacular waves crashing on to the beach. Unfortunately our time cut short as rain sets in. Done touring the island, we head back to the rental location and turn in the mule. Head back to the boat to review our charts and plot our course for our next desination, Bequia.

July 3 Another forecast of heavy wind from the east. Today we sail 18 nm close hauled. One thing we did not notice in the guide book is a warning about a strong current approaching Bequia after passing Pigeon rock. The current seemed to be pushing us toward the lee shore. Feeling uneasy, we tack out to give us more sea room before heading into the Admiralty Bay. We sail with the main as close to the bay as possible as the wind is blowing hard and look for an opportunity to drop the sails. Wind doesn’t let off and is blowing 25 knots. We motor past Princess Margaret Beach and opt for a mooring all in the Bay, hoping for the winds to calm down. Quite surprised at how windy it is in the bay, the wind eventually dies down at 4:00 pm. Finally it feels like we will be afforded a good nights sleep in a calm anchorage.

July 4 Our plan for the final few days comes together. We were conflicted about staying at Wallilabou due to the bad reviews we read online, in addition to Bernadette of Horizon not recommending we stay there. Given we need to check out our options are to check out in Bequia and have 24 hours to vacate the St. Vincent and the Grenadines or sail to Blue Lagoon and taxi into town to check out.

We decide to check out in Bequia and forgo doing some type of land tour on St. Vincent. We feel too uneasy leaving our boat unattended given the warnings of crime on the island.

Checking out in Bequia uneventful. All paperwork in order we head back to the boat and prepare to sail 14 nm to Blue Lagoon, St. Vincent. Once again, sailing to weather, which is the theme for this trip. We arrive in Blue Lagoon in no time, motor through the mooring field and decide not to stay, not what we are looking for, it is a crowded mooring field and marina packed with boats. We opt for Young Island Cut. We opt to motor around Fort Duvernette instead of motoring through the marked channel. To our surprise we find a solitary mooring ball sheltered by the ???island. It is a beautiful spot, we decide to take the ball, which is owned by Charlie Tango. We have a view of Fort Duvernette which we dub Skull Rock as the island looks like an ape’s skull coming up out of the water. We dinghy over to the island and find on May 19, 2011 the national park opened, which consists of 283 stairs to climb to the top , with commanding views of the sea, bat caves to explore and cannons dating back to ???. Well worth the climb.

We plot the course for our sail the following day, 52 nautical miles from Young Island Cut to Sourfriere by way of the lee side of St. Vincent to the St. Vincent - St. Lucia Passage. Had we stayed in Wallilabou our sail would have been a mere 40 nm. Expecting a major slog, we all head to bead early with our alarms set for 5:00 am.

July 5 Ready for the long day, wind again from the east 25-28 knots and seas moderate, we reef for 35 knots winds as we are not sure what conditions the passage will present.

Sailing up the coast uneventful, averaging 7-9 knots, we blast past Wallilabou and note 3 sailing vessels departing. In hindsight we regret not staying and giving Wallilabou a chance.

Once out of the safety of St. Vincent, the seas grow, ever moving liquid mountains which I estimate 3-4 meters high. It is going to be a long crossing, with waves washing over the salon windows every few minutes. The Saharan haze in the air prevents us from seeing the Pitons until well within 8 nm from shore. At the 5 km from destination we decide to take down the sail in order to motor directly into Soufriere. Big mistake!!!! The shore does not seem to be getting any closer, so I decide to keep watch on the GPS and our location. I notice we are making such slow progress a degree at a time and at one point we are being pushed backwards – the culprit a foul current. This 5 nm jaunt takes 3 hours and finally we arrive, exhausted and exhilarated with our achievement of sailing the passage.
We are met by a demanding boat boy with who we politely refuse his assistance. We opt to take our dinghy ashore and check into Customs and Immigration. We pick up a ball, a little tricky due to the current swirling in the mooring field. Once again, boat boys descend upon our boat, a little more aggressive than Union Island.

Fraser raises the quarantine flag, we lower the dinghy and we head to shore. On the dock a man offers to watch our dinghy, but we indicate it is ok, we brought our lock. We head to Customs , very efficient, quick and very friendly officer. He directs us to the Immigration office, upon arriving find the door locked. Not sure what to do, and the police station next door, we ask the police. They inform us to go back to our boat, limit our movements and clear in the next morning.

We decide to go back and confer with the Customs officer, which was a smart move. He called the Immigration officer and informed him we needed to clear in. By the time we walked back to the office, he was waiting for us.
Once cleared we wandered over to the local supermarket and purchased a few items. Deciding not to stay in Soufriere for the evening, we relocated to Malgratout, next to Gros Piton.

July 6 Repositioned Chez Nous to between the Pitons and decide to take a land tour, visiting St. Lucia’s drive through volcano and Botanical gardens. The gardens were like walking through a nursery filled with every type of house plant imaginable and all sorts of exotic flowers I hadn’t ever seen before. Breathtakingly beautiful. We enjoy a nice meal at the Jalouise Plantation resort tucked in between the Pitons on a beautiful white sand beach.

That evening we are visited by a high speed police boat, asking a few questions, but overall wanting to ensure we are having a wonderful time and enjoying their country.

July 7 We decide to sail to Marigot Bay and spend our last day there, enabling us to clean up the boat, pack, and prepare to head home. I empty the fridge and bag all our provisions and give them to a local fisherman, who is more than delighted to reap the bounty. We slip off the mooring ball and head north hoping to beam reach to our destination. The winds were not in our favor once again and sailed to wind.

We were going to stop along the way to snorkel, but we kept going opting to have lunch in a restaurant in Marigot Bay. We pull in 5 hours later, tie on to a mooring ball and hungrily head for lunch at Chateau Mygo.

Fraser and I opt to sleep ashore the final evening and book a room at Mango Beach Inn, a quaint little bed and breakfast in Marigot Bay. We were hoping to dine at Rainforest Hideaway for a good bye dinner, but it was closed for a private event.

We tote our belongings to our room, crank up the air conditioner, and all indulge in long showers, reality beginning to set in that we are going home the following day.

Dinner we are off to Hurricane Hole a bar we are told is as famous as Foxy’s and Basil’s. Food was good, however the air was still as in dead calm, Hurricance Hole very aptly named, which meant one thing, the mozzies were out in full force. We ate quick as we were being consumed alive by the annoying pests.

July 8 Up bright and early ready to turn Chez Nous over to Selwyn, Horizon’s Captain who will be sailing the vessel back to Grenada. We meet him at the Moorings dock promptly at 10:00 am. Ferry back to the boat and debrief go through the paperwork culminating with him diving the boat. All is in order, we motor to the fuel dock, top the tanks off with 29 gallons of fuel, not bad since we motor sailed a few of the rough days. Feeling melancholic, we say our good byes to Chez Nous and Selwyn, secretly wishing we could spend another week on the water and sail back to Grenada.

Our cab arrives just as anticipated, I had pre-booked the driver who toured us through the drive in volcano and botanical gardens. We load our gear bags and pile into his wonderfully chilled van and set off for the airport.

An hour and a half later we arrive, check in, proceed through security, customs and immigration with ease. Before we know it, we are boarding the plane, already feeling a severe case of the dif settling in, we decide we will be BVI bound on our next trip – Tortola here we come, January 2013!!!

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Re: Trip Report Grenada to St. Lucia June 2012 [Re: d_fish] #18548
02/12/2013 06:33 AM
02/12/2013 06:33 AM
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 2,654
Kitchener, Ontario Canada
DawnB Offline
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DawnB  Offline
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Kitchener, Ontario Canada
Great trip report! You were there just after us this summer.

I was looking into chatering from Grenada this summer but was concerned with sailing to weather all the time. After reading your report, I think I'll stick to St. Vincent and back again.

I feel badly that your 1st experience with the boat vendors was @ Union where they are the most aggressive we've seen. Glad you gave them another chance and got to know them a little too. They are much more organized and pleasant everywhere else.

We had a BBQ with Romeo as well, one of our best meals in the Caribbean!

Was it expensive to do a one way charter?


Dawn

Email me~ dawncustode@gmail.com
Re: Trip Report Grenada to St. Lucia June 2012 [Re: DawnB] #18549
02/12/2013 08:12 PM
02/12/2013 08:12 PM
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 306
Tustin CA
d_fish Offline OP
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d_fish  Offline OP
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Tustin CA
Dawn: Yes do not sail to weather. It was very exhausting!! Especially the sail from Young Island Cut to Soufriere.

Like you we just come back from the BVIs a few weeks ago, we were there during heavy wind week - winds consistently topping 35 kts the first week we were there, second week down to a mere 25 gusting to 30!! Now we are thinking an adventure back south, but are looking into starting in St. Lucia.

While we loved being back in the BVI, we missed the adventure sailing component of the Southern Carribean, the distances between islands and all the unknown and new territory to explore.

One way Grenada to St. Lucia added a charge of $800, just looked up this year's prices it is now $1000. We really enjoyed St. Lucia and don't want to miss it again. However the passage between St. Lucia and St. Vincent can be very challenging sailing.

Re: Trip Report Grenada to St. Lucia June 2012 [Re: d_fish] #18550
02/12/2013 08:41 PM
02/12/2013 08:41 PM
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 2,654
Kitchener, Ontario Canada
DawnB Offline
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DawnB  Offline
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Kitchener, Ontario Canada
We enjoyed the downwind portion from St. Vincent to Carricou (over several days, obviously), but the run from the Cays back to Bequia to windward was a bit of a slog, especially because we couldn't hold our course as well as I had hoped.

Yes, I hear you about new and exciting places, it is great to go to "known' anchorages, but it's fun exploring new anchorages!

You must have been in the BVI's the same time as us, we had 25-35 knot winds the first four days of our charter - with newbies on board, they didn't have too much fun... :-(

Hope you get back to the Grenadines again!


Dawn

Email me~ dawncustode@gmail.com
Re: Trip Report Grenada to St. Lucia June 2012 [Re: DawnB] #18551
02/12/2013 09:25 PM
02/12/2013 09:25 PM
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 306
Tustin CA
d_fish Offline OP
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d_fish  Offline OP
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Tustin CA
Yes we were there Jan 5-20. First week the winds were screaming, second week down to a steady 20-25, up to 30.

Jan 8 we sailed north side of Tortola from Diamond Cay to Monkey Point, then on to Marina Cay in a steady 33 kts (gusting upwards to 36) on a double reefed main and a blade of a jib. Exciting sailing to say the least. And our 2 deck hands were 19 year old girls. No room for error in those winds.

I love snorkeling and didn't even attempt snorkeling until the last few days, just too much wind, chop and current.

Our first time there in the winter, and by far prefer the water in the summer. After experiencing the Southern Caribbean last year, now have a penchant to go back!

Re: Trip Report Grenada to St. Lucia June 2012 [Re: d_fish] #18552
02/13/2013 04:22 AM
02/13/2013 04:22 AM
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 2,654
Kitchener, Ontario Canada
DawnB Offline
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DawnB  Offline
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Kitchener, Ontario Canada
We were there 5th to 18th. Same deal. Spent 2 nights @ Scrub and 3 nights @ Leverick. First time ever that much @ a dock! Newbies on board only for 6 nights (they left as soon as the wind died down - isn't that always the way!)

I've been several times in Dec/Jan and while the winds can be higher, it's usually not that bad!

Even went to the Grenadines once in Dec...wow, that was a really rollicking tine!


Dawn

Email me~ dawncustode@gmail.com

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