Our Weekend Sail to Union Island &Tobago Cays

About a month ago, Scott & I had an opportunity to go on a weekend sailing trip with our good friends Barbara & Dave on their sailboat, Aloisious. It was a holiday weekend here in Grenada, so we planned to leave early Friday morning (Oct. 23) and return Monday night, the 26th. This was to be the first overnight trip for them on Aloisious, so we planned to travel with 2 other sailboats.

We made arrangements for a friend to feed our parrots for the weekend. Then ended up heading down to the lagoon (near the yacht club) and slept on the boat Thursday night. Aloisius has 2 cabins... one in the front, and one in back. There's a bathroom (head) on board, with shower... but we planned to shower ashore when we got to Union Island. We brought bagels for breakfast, lunch meat, PB&J for sandwiches, and BBQ chicken for meals, and planned to eat a few meals ashore as well.

On Friday morning, we waved to our friends as their boat "Seaduction" headed out (around 4 am). We were in preparation to pull up the anchor, but didn't actually get going till around 5:00. We were barely out of the harbor when Barbara (from below deck) called up and said "there's water all over the floor down here! Sure enough... when I looked down, there was water sloshing around on the floor! Now, Scott & I really know NOTHING about sailing, so unless they gave us specific instructions... our function on this trip was primarily "moral support"! So I go below deck to offer some of my moral support! (I also intended to gauge the level of panic on her face, so I could decide if this was a "jump ship now" moment... while we're still within sight of shore!) The bilge was full of water, and the pump seemed to be working to pump it out... but not nearly fast enough. We were able to determine that the water was coming from the fresh water tank (and not the sea!), but it seemed to be gushing from the side of the boat. The problem was solved by turning off the pump to the tank (which stopped the water leak), then cleaning out the filter on the bilge pump (which increased the suction on pumping out the water below the floor. Of course, by this time we had no idea how much fresh water was left in the tank!

The rest of the morning's sail was pretty uneventful... we just enjoyed the view of Grenada's coastline as we sailed north toward Union Island. Along the way we kept an eye out for our friends on Seaduction, but they were at least an hour ahead of us. We expected the trip to take about 8 hours, and we planned to get

into the harbor and anchored before dark. Just after we reached the northernmost part of Grenada we noticed some buoys in the water directly ahead. Assuming this was probably someone's fishing net, we quickly turned the boat so we could sail around it... but the buoys seemed to go on forever! Instead of going north toward our destination, we were sailing east for nearly a half hour... looking for the end of this line! Finally we made it around and were once again on our way!

While under full sail, we pretty much had to stay wherever we were seated... the up & down motion of the sea was a bit like riding a horse! Barbara had to strap herself to the counter below while trying to make our sandwiches for lunch! (Note: Next time we'll make the sandwiches before we leave!) During the afternoon, we all seemed to get in a groove of riding the waves and enjoying the ride. Then one of us noticed a dolphin jumping out of the water nearby... then 2... then 5... then more! There must have been a pod of about 20 dolphins swimming with us for about 15 minutes! They swam along side us and underneath! They jumped out of the water in pairs and sometimes as many as 4 or 5 would jump together. They really seemed to be showing off for us! It was such a wonderful bonus! (Of course, because the water was splashing up while we were sailing, I kept my good camera below deck and only had my point-n-shoot on me at the time. I kept trying to aim at the dolphins to get the photos, but I couldn't see my screen because of the bright sunshine! So I had no idea if they were in my view or not!)

When we got to Union Island, we put down the anchor & then took the dinghy to shore to check in with Customs & Immigration. Seaduction was already there, and I believe the 3rd boat in our group had arrived as well. We decided to get showers at the yacht club, then hook up with our friends and have dinner ashore.

But for now I'll leave you... to continue this long story on another day!

Life Happens!

Just a quick note to let everyone know that we're still here... and still enjoying life in paradise!

We've been busy the past few weeks and I planned to update our blog with a report on our first weekend off the island... we sailed to Union Island and Tobago Cays for a long (holiday) weekend with friends on their boat. The following week we had an afternoon visit with friends from PA who stopped in Grenada aboard the Ruby Princess cruise ship. And then we were busy putting together our Halloween costumes for the annual Halloween hash.

And that's where I hit the "bump in the road"... literally. I slipped on some pebbles on a steep concrete road and thought I broke my arm. Fortunately, nothing is broken, but I've been trying to recover to get full use of my right arm again. And since I'm right-handed, it's been difficult doing much more than reading, sleeping, or watching TV! I'm slowly getting more movement in my arm, but still can't fully extend it, or bend it enough to reach my face, or turn it to open a door!

So as soon as I can get it together... I'll be back here to post some of the photos from the events of the past few weeks!

Until then...

It's a Dinghy Party!

So... we get a call this week that we're invited to a dinghy party. "What is a dinghy party?" we ask... and "How does that work?" The plan is for anyone attending to tie their dinghy to a mooring near the host's sailboat, then somehow they'll be serving chili to everyone there! We are to bring our own chili toppings, drinks, bowls & utensils. Now, YOU may be wondering... when did Crystal & Scott get a dinghy? Well, we didn't... so once again we rely on our good friends, Barb & Dave to come up with a choreographed "plan of action" to get 7 people to the mooring. (I wasn't quite sure how they were going to manage that since the last time we had 5 in their dinghy, and my butt was skimming the water!) When we got to the dock, we were fortunate to meet up with another boater who gave 3 of us (the girls) a ride directly to the party... while the 4 men went out to Dave's sailboat before joining us.

The site looked a bit comical as we approached the group of dinghies... they looked like a bunch of refugees huddled together, waiting to be "rescued"! A few were tied to the mooring, then later arrivals just tied up to the other dinghies. As we sat there mingling, the boats would jostle around, giving us access to someone we hadn't yet met! (When it came time to depart, the ropes had to be untangled first.) I ended up moving about into other boats with people who had more room, each time meeting a couple new faces & getting to know them.

Each of us took turns passing our empty bowls to our host & hostess, Hal & Inga, sometimes crossing through about 3 or 4 dinghies before reaching the pot of chili! The chili was great (although a bit too spicy for me)! Unfortunately, the "boy boat" from our group had all our toppings AND my drinks! I tried to hold off on eating mine to wait for the guys, but there was no sign of them yet. As Inga called out to anyone wanting "seconds", we were still wondering where the men were? Finally, we could see them approaching... it was too late for any toppings on my serving of chili, but I sure was ready for that drink!

We then sat around in the "pod", chatting with some new friends and finding out about their "life on their boat" stories. Some of the group took a swim to cool off while the rest of us just sat around talking.

Then one by one, as the sun sank lower in the horizon, the dinghies began to peel off from the pod heading back to their "live-aboard" boats. And when they were ready to leave, "homeless Crystal" would move once again! This continued until the last 3 boats were ready to call it a night. We then disconnected ourselves from the mooring and just drifted toward the dock at the marina.

It was Barbara's birthday, so we moved the party off the dinghies and back to their apartment nearby. Unfortunately, I lost steam very quickly after that. (I'd been awake since 5:30 am!) I remember Scott making an announcement: "Oh wow, it's 10:30 already!"... and thinking, "Yes, it is... now can we please go home?" (I didn't say it out loud, but I was seriously having trouble staying awake at this point!)

It really was a great afternoon... and another new "fun" experience! (And I finally crawled into bed at around midnight!)

More Painting!

I've been slacking in keeping my house clean lately because I've been working on this new painting project... creating a fake stone wall! I'm sure Scott thought I was "out of my mind" for even considering it... and extremely frightened of what the outcome would look like! But I think I've surprised him (AND myself)! Who knew I had this in me?!!

It's not completely finished, but I thought I'd share these photos anyway. (This posting is for all our "non-Facebook Friends"... because I've already added these images to my FB album.)

As you know, all the walls in the house were white when we moved in last year. There are a few doorways that allow you to see into a hallway or another room from the living room, and I've been having trouble deciding what color to make them. (I need something that won't clash with the orange & green.) There is a small hallway to the guest bathroom & 2 bedrooms, and I thought it might be interesting to make the walls look like a fake stone wall. Since I didn't know if I could do it (& make it look real), I decided to try it out on this straight wall in the master bedroom first.

And I LOVE IT! I'm still working on adding bits of greenery growing between the rocks... and even a lizard (or two)! Scott now wants me to add a bunch of vines coming down from the top... but I'm a little hesitant to tackle that. If I mess up now, it's going to be very difficult to fix!

So I guess I'll just take my time... Tomorrow I MUST clean the house!

(Today I found myself looking at the kitchen walls... and wondering how they would look in "stone"!)

The Book Boat!

On Thursday, August 13 the ship Logos Hope arrived here in Grenada for about a 10-day visit. We had never heard of this ship, but we read about it in the local newspaper and decided to check it out. This non-profit organization has been sailing the world since 1970, and can house about 600 volunteers from 70 countries. They promote education, aid relief, social awareness, and a personal relationship with God in the ports & countries where they travel. They offer books for sale at very affordable prices... many of them religious books and text books. They had quite a selection of cook books and children's books, as well as some games. They also had a pretty large variety of christian music available. It very much reminded me of a christian book store... only floating! There really aren't any big book stores here in Grenada. Although there are lots of places where you can "swap" books, it's hard to find a nice variety of books for sale all in one place. At one point during their stay, the ship had to move from the pier to find calmer seas. (Hurricane Bill did not affect us, but it made the seas a bit choppy along the shore lines.) They must have still had trouble when they tried to come back in the next morning because they ended up docked at the shipping dock in the Carenage... which is where our Windjammer ships used to dock. If you have some time, it's worth a visit to their website (click on their name above)... they even have a few webcams aboard the ship so you can see the view! And there's an interesting video tour of the ship on their site as well.

Nothing much going on lately. As I mentioned, Hurricane Bill did not really affect us... except there was one day that was absolutely stifling hot with no breeze to be found! (I'm told that's because the hurricanes suck the moisture up and away from us as they pass by.) We're watching another weather development that's off the coast of Africa and may become another hurricane. Apparently, this one is beginning lower than usual and causes Grenadians to hold their breath as they wait for it to turn north.

Our hash last Saturday actually should have been called a "mud slide"! It rained quite a bit earlier in the day... and looked like it might rain on us during the hash. (I think many of us would have welcomed the rain, thinking maybe it would wash some of the mud off!) I slid off a boulder in the stream and ended up to my thighs in water... then managed to go through the rest of the trail with squishy, muddy boots. YUK! (It was fun though, seeing all the first-timer hashers at the end of this one!)

I'm still working on painting my stone wall in the master bedroom. The stones are finished, but I'm slowly adding some greenery (and lizards) to make it look more realistic. Watch for another blog entry in the next day or two & I'll post some photos of it!
Until then...

Carnival 2009

Well... between the raindrops (and huge downpours) this week, Grenada's Carnival parade finally made an appearance on Saturday! Scott & I met friends at the Tropicana on Tuesday thinking that the rain would pass in time for the start of the parade at 1:00. Unfortunately, the downpours continued... at least until word got out that the parade would be postponed until Saturday. In the meantime, we met a great couple who is also living here... Chris & Beryl (from the UK). Turns out that Chris is "Hogan of Grenada" who reports on the weather at the Grenada link on the Caribbean Hurricane Network.

So we went back yesterday to do it all over again (fully loaded with my camera backpack)! Although it rained a bit in the morning, the rest of the day turned out to be just beautiful! The streets were buzzing with spectators... and some very, VERY loud music! (Of course, we came prepared with our ear plugs!)

The photos posted here came from our new friend. (Thanks for sending them to me, Chris!)

Here's a little slide show with some highlights...

Bert's Place - Hermitage

I've been wanting to take another drive up to Pearl's airstrip, and we finally had the time to do that last Sunday. (I had taken a photo of a young family there on my last trip & wanted to give them a print as a keepsake.) It was a holiday weekend (Emancipation Day), so there wasn't much else to do anyway.

On the way back we took a different route that brought us past a new restaurant we came across while hashing a few months ago. There looked to be some activity, so we pulled into the parking lot & asked if they were open. (There was a small gathering of people hanging around... left over from a party the night before.) Bert, the owner greeted us with a friendly smile... as though we were old friends! Although he is closed on Sundays, he was more than happy to show us around. Of course, we ended up at the bar in his banquet room, where he brought out his own "home brew" (a blended rum) and we had our own little tasting party, meanwhile passing time with conversation about how he got started with this venture. By the time we left, we had our own bottles of his "brew" to bring home with us!

Our hash last weekend was at Grand Etang Park. There is a lake there and the trail basically took us all around the lake. Most of the path though was a big mud bog... at some times I felt it was like quicksand! There are a few "resident" mona monkeys that hang out at the entrance, so we were able to get some photos of them. They are not pets, and pretty much come & go as they please. Sometimes there's a guy hanging around with them asking for money if you photograph them. He was not around today... probably because the tourists are not here this time of year. I watched the monkey travel across the top of the fence. When he came to a girl that was sitting on the fence in his way, he just "bounced" off the top of her head to pass around her! It happened so fast, she didn't see it coming! It was funny!

I've been thinking about my next project, which is to paint a wall to look like stones. I came up with this idea because I couldn't decide what color I should paint this wall. Because it's visible from the large room, it would have to be a color that coordinates somewhat. I came up with the stone wall idea because I could still paint the bedroom whatever color I want... without it clashing with the living room. Anyway, we bought a few different shades of paint on Tuesday and I started painting on Wednesday. Three days later the wall is now covered with stones! I still have more detail work to do on the rocks, then I also want to make it look like there's some green stuff growing between some of them. But Carnival is starting here this weekend, so I think I'll take a few days off. Actually, I'm quite surprised at how nice it looks! But poor Scott "shudders" every time I have another wild idea about decorating! (Here's a photo after the second day of painting.)

We both have a busy day scheduled for tomorrow. Scott is helping to set the trail for the hash, so he'll be gone most of the day. And I'm taking a friend with me to Grenville to look at fabric. (That's about an hour drive each way.) On another note... we had a coffee "catastrophe" yesterday afternoon, and our glass carafe broke! I won't even get into THAT story!