Changeover Time

Blogger: John

I was cold tonight. Not British cold but just enough to think "it's a bit chilly, perhaps I should have put some clothes on before coming to bed". I can't remember the last time that was the case. Things are changing. We get a squall most days now, usually early in the morning. Strong winds and often heavy rain for maybe 30 minutes. Yesterday morning I was caught out in one. In seconds I was soaked, the dinghy was bucking around and I could barely see the boat a couple of hundred yards away.

All the rain, which heralds the start of summer here, is bringing out new green growth on the bushes. The previously nondescript black trees along the shore are now speckled with gorgeous white frangipani flowers. And it feels as though the season for sailing is just about over. Although we are still hopping slowly along the southern Grenadan coastline it's more about renewing friendships than sailing. Tonight we are anchored off Hogg Island near Whisper Cove and we went with Jack and Fizzy to Taffy's little bar cum restaurant for fish and chips (and probably one too many beers). Many of the people we have met on the way "down island" were there along with sailors we'd never met before. We ended up with 15 on our table from England, USA, Germany, South Africa and N Ireland. Jack was able to ask a former air traffic controller what Miami airport was like as they have a 7 hour stopover there on their way back to the UK and we learned to take spare set of clothes to tomorrow's hash on the west of the island.

The bays we've anchored in over the past couple of weeks are well sheltered and picturesque. Most of them have at least one jetty with a small bar. Buses are frequent and everything seems to work pretty well. Life is cool. However this time of year is also boat work time. Petronella has been on the move now for over a year. During that time only essential maintenance has been done. Rust needs attacking (thanks for the loan of the rotary blaster Graham). Paintwork needs sanding down, treating with rust inhibitor, primer, undercoat and topcoat. We washed the mizzen sail in a squall the other day, folded it and stored it and are waiting for another squall to do the same to the staysail. There is still a long list of things to do but Gill is doing a great job slowly working through the tedious paintwork task. P is now spotted with grey paint prior to getting her final coat when we return in October.

Yesterday the footpump that brings water into our little sink started to wheeze after 8 years of flawless performance. So my unplanned job yesterday was to take it to bits to see if I could fix it. It sits under the cooker so first that had to be wedged out the way. Then it took 20 minutes to work out how it was fixed in place (three very inaccessible screws). After it had been installed the bowthruster cables had been run behind it so it was hard to extract even once it was loose. Finally it was out, disassembled and the problem identified. As expected one of the two rubber diaphragms had split leaking a small amount of water on every pump. Amazingly, but not surprisingly, I found a used spare one in the pump spares bag. That should do the job until I can buy a repair kit back in the UK.

Talking of the UK my parents, as well as my brother and his wife who selflessly help them manage on a day to day basis, are finding life increasingly difficult. It remains to be seen what the future holds for us in this respect but along with the seasons here in Grenada I think we might be seeing some changes.

Meanwhile we have been exploring Grenada. We rented a car with Jack and Fizzy for a couple of days. First we went looking for spares parts; canvas, CO2 bottles, mould inhibiter, boric acid to feed to the cockroaches etc, then on to St Georges Medical University for a look around. Into the capital St Georges and then to a gorgeous beachside restaurant for lunch. The effect here was somewhat marred by a very black gigolo and his overweight white companion bouncing around making whoopee in the sea just a few yards away!

Next day was exploring day up through the middle of the island to the cool central lake or Grand Etang. Onwards from there to Grenville which felt more like the less developed islands further north. We had a great roti (spicy fish or chickpea filling in a wrap type of envelope) here which we ate by a disused airfield amongst old rusted planes with cows munching around them. Very odd. Made even odder by then driving fast along the old runway making plane like noises and videoing a simulated take off.

The Grand Etang

Yum, yum. Rotis!

Grenada International Airport

In the afternoon we visited a traditional rum making establishment. It's a modern commercially run distillery producing Rivers rum but the machinery and health and safety is out of the industrial revolution. Owned and run by three locals it employs 70 people who manually load the sugar cane onto the conveyor driven by an overshot water wheel made of British steel and through the crusher. Then through pipes, furnaces and tanks until it comes out as rum at least 75% proof. It has to be diluted to be allowed on a commercial plane. Testing at the end was very enjoyable.

Then it was a cocoa processing plant. More modern with most of the production going into the famous Grenada Chocolate this was also a fascinating process. Cocoa beans develop inside a pod a bit like a coconut in size. There are about 30 in each pod. White and slimy they need to be dried before they turn into the beans we might recognise. All in all a fascinating day.

Our cocoa plant guide

A cocoa pod. The seeds are inside; white and slimy

Traditional cocoa driers at work

Only nine days til lift out now just five miles east along the coast at St Davids on 22nd. The daily hurricane warning emails we get say no hurricane is expected for at least five days. However there are a couple of "Tropical Waves" predicted between now and 22nd with winds in the squalls up to 40k. Fingers crossed the anchor is well dug in and we don't get a nasty shock so close to haul out day.

Right. It's 2am and time to go back to bed.