Grenada Work Boat Regatta



fishermen repack their nets after sorting the days catch and repairing any damage

We try to plan our trips to Grenada to coincide with the workboat regatta, a weekend long series of races between the different towns and islands of Grenada. They set up on the beach pretty much in front of the Coyaba Resort.
We started out the day with breakfast at a local restaurant, I finally had my saltfish and bake while Kim had a breakfast wrap. We went to the beach and set up at our chairs in front of the spice and craft market just as the races were getting underway.



Even the birds are watching the action

The large yachts competing in the Grenada Sailing Week Regatta were also racing off the beach again and for some reason the two courses crossed paths for a short bit of it; we thought surely there was going to be a collision but there were only a few close calls from what we could see.
Kim stayed by the chairs for the day, I occasionally wandered down to the tents set up for the workboat races. The boats are equipped with every combination of spars imaginable, many being just bamboo poles; they don’t have keels or ballast other than some bags of sand and rocks that they move from side to side and a guy that hikes out on a rope tied to the top of the mast. It’s not unusual to see them capsize, especially in the preliminary rounds and motor boats are on hand to tow them back to shore.
I had a bowl of oildown, the national dish of Grenada; it’s a stew with pork, chicken, breadfruit, dumplings, green figs, callaloo, ground provisions and anything else that’s in the garden.



A pot of oildown

As I was walking back I saw a stand where they were grilling lobsters, so I picked up a medium lobster lunch for Kim just 30 EC ($11); I know she is always in the mood for lobster.
After the races were over we sat around for a little longer then headed back to the room to get cleaned up for dinner. We took the bus to Umbrellas on the beach; it’s a nice little beach bar with foods you would get at home, a nice change from chicken and fish. The food is good here, but the service leaves a little to be desired, however that’s the way it is in the islands.



Boats are lined up on the beach getting ready to race



A broken boom is replaced in time for the next race

The next morning we had breakfast at the hotel again then walked down the beach packed for the day. Today are the finals for the workboats so we only used our chairs for an hour or so in the morning then headed down to the races and set our towels up under a large tree. This is the day they race for prizes and yearlong bragging rights; the top prize is $1000 US so the competition is fierce. I spent most of the day taking photos and walking among the crowds enjoying the races; a couple people stopped me to say hello, they recognized me from my trip reports, it’s always funny when that happens but it’s nice to know people enjoy reading them. I tried some more local dishes, another bowl of oildown and some pigs foot souse, served cold with lots of cucumbers in it the way I like it.





Hiked out towards the finish line


After the races we went back to the spice and craft market for some drinks; they had finally gotten some passion fruit juice so Kim could have her favorite drink, frozen vodka and passion fruit juice. I started out with mojitos and then switched to the strong rum when some friends showed up. We went through two of the small bottles before calling it a night and heading up to the roundabout with Bob to get some dinner.



A local dinner

There was quite a lot of action going on there and we found one stand where we were able to get lambi waters (conch soup), shark and bake, and BBQ’d pork and chicken. After a couple beers it was time to grab the bus back to the hotel for the end of another great day.

Nice to meet you. Great pics!Jan

...and don't forget the closing regatta party at Prickly Bay Marina tonight, starts at 7:00 :-)

Hey Sammy, thanks for the pics and time it takes to post them and write such great and informative and interesting accounts. You may remember, I talked to you at the work boat regatta and mentioned we talked last year. We love Grenada and have kept our boat there for over 6 years now. Back in the cooler weather for some work now but enjoyed viewing your trip report. Spent a couple weeks up in Carricou as well.