Happy Birthday Vanessa

Today’s Locations: Tyrell Bay anchorage and a Sandy Island mooring ball, Carriacou

Today was Vanessa’s birthday. She was 34 and this must have been one of those birthday’s she will remember for ever. Vanessa and her husband are from Canada. Well, actually she was born in the Azores and he’s from Australia. They met in Toronto I think (at least that’s where they live now). She became a teacher and he works in commercial property. They sail a bit as crew on a 30’ racing boat in Lake Ontario but they wanted to sail on a boat where they were allowed to learn, to spend some nights on a boat, to understand what is like to live on a boat. Why? Because they might just try this life one day. Their friends and parents think they are mad!

Birthday girl and husband

So Vanessa and Michael (34 two days ago) put a “request to sail” profile on Find A Crew which matches up wannabe sailors with skippers looking for crew. Enter Captain Louis (Lewis) Honeycutt from Texas and his fifth (or is it sixth) wife, Jules from Oz. Louis has been sailing on various boats fulltime since 1999 (I think). Catamarans, monos, trimarans, he’s done it all. A larger than life, quiet, unassuming man, and a very competent sailor. He has a “looking for crew” profile on Find A Crew. They all got together for two weeks in the Caribbean.

Anchor up 

Sandy Island

Sandy Island monster

Gill and Jules

Gilly and John

We first met Louis and Jules in Grenada when they anchored next to us. One thing led to another and when they arrived in Carriacou a couple of days ago they anchored next to us and we got to know Vanessa and Michael too. We woke up this morning and over our usual banana, mango and cereal breakfast we discussed today’s jobs. Whip a frayed rope, get the bus into Hillsborough to get some money, polish some stainless steel – all the usual stuff.

Then the dinghy from Louis and Jules’ boat Freya turns up. We are going to Sandy Island (a couple of miles around the corner). Do you want come with us? It’s Vanessa’s birthday and we’re going snorkelling. Yes please. Jobs can wait. So off we go to Freya. She is a 52’ Erwin monohull with watermaker, aircon, loads of space, deep freeze and every other mod con you could wish for. They picked her up for a ridiculously low price and are now planning on a Pacific transit (his fourth) next year having spent this year in the western Caribbean (Colombia, Panama, Honduras and Mexico). There was a fresh breeze as we sailed around to the anchorage. And what a gorgeous place it is. A long sandy island, blue seas, relatively well protected and a shallow reef full of small to medium sized fish. We took the dinghy to shore and sat and talked and swam and snorkelled for several hours. Then it was back to Freya for birthday lunch. Gill, Jules and Vanessa produced a wonderful feast – guacamole, fresh salad (of kale, lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, peppers, goats cheese), starfruit, salamis etc. You get the sort of thing. Followed by a freshly liquidised rum fruit juice. Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum. My job was to catch the fish using Graham’s (from Karma) new killer rig. Guess what? It didn’t work…again!

Sandy Island aquarium

After a while we slipped the mooring, put the sails up, and had a beautiful sail back here to Tyrell Bay. A magical day with great people, new friends and, I think, two more people who will shortly be looking for a boat of their own. Vanessa couldn’t stop grinning!

Thanks guys.

Grenada to Carriacou

Current Location: Prickly Bay, Grenada

So, here we are again, back in Grenada, after a nightmare four months. A blog is not the right place to go into all the details. Suffice to say my dad died aged 90 on my birthday in March and my nephew Sam died tragically a few weeks later. In the meantime we have had an offer to buy our Cumbrian home of 30 years which we have accepted and we’ve bought a two bedroomed flat in Stroud close to my brother and only a few miles from where my mum now lives alone in Dursley.

We did manage a couple of trips to France for welcome breaks with Marcus’ mum and dad in the Dordogne and then to Jack and Fizzy’s mountain hut in the Pyrenees. Fantastic times and very welcome. Thank you all.

We finally flew back out here a week ago to get our head round things and to put Petronella to bed for the hurricane season. Straight back into local politics where the local marina management has had a big shake up with sackings, deportations and recriminations. Small fry though compared with the larger national English political and sporting disasters as we left the Euro zone twice in a week. The rest of the world seems totally bemused by Britain’s vote to leave the EU and mildly amused at our departure from the Euro football competition.

But it’s great to be back in the warm weather and the warm welcome from our friends here, to know what the moon is doing, to watch the sun going down and to not worry (much) about care packages and wheelchairs but how the solar panels are charging and why yet again the dinghy won’t stay inflated.

We are on a mooring ball next to a boat named Freya with a Texan skipper and his partner Jules from Australia. They’ve spent the last couple of years cruising round the western Caribbean including Honduras, San Blas (home to our party boat earlier this year) and other exotic and mildly dangerous sounding countries and islands we’ve barely even heard of. They take guests from time to time to top up their cruising kitty and to help people who are considering buying a boat to see what this life is all about. In a previous life she set up a charity foundation helping a small village in remote rural Zimbabwe. We spent a fun evening with them reminiscing on our various African travels.

Today we caught up with Jenny, our friend with the dogs and the big cider drinking pig and the neat wooden house up in the hills and her good friend Paul, the Grenadian ex BBC documentary maker. We took them to lunch at Umbrellas (you know the place D&V). Turns out Paul is from Stroud, has worked at The Space where sister-in-law Jane used to work and has even drunk coffee in the square that our new flat overlooks in Ebley near Stroud. Coincidence or what? Paul has built a bamboo hut next to the stream that runs at the bottom of Jenny’s fruit and vegetable small holding. It sounds almost as basic as Petronella and we have been invited to stay there for a few days once Petronella is on the hard and before we leave for the UK in just a month’s time. It has a cooker, a bedroom, a small veranda, a swimming pool (actually the stream) and a toilet (though this has to be moved as at present Jenny can see Paul doing his business at the bottom of her land)!

We’ve also decided we really do need to sail somewhere this year so we’ve been putting the sails back on for in readiness for a short sail up to the next island, Carriacou. It’s part of the same country as Grenada so no need to check out. It’s much less developed than Grenada and the intention is to simply chill out there for a couple of weeks. So the water tanks are being slowly filled, things stowed below and charts idly studied.

Meanwhile our family of circus troupe friends on Island Swift have finally left The Azores heading back east to the UK. Fair winds to Jojo, Simon and the boys. I’m envying you back on the ocean if not the fact that every day it will be getting colder.

PS - Now in Carriacou after along day motor sailing northwards with too little wind and strong, not predicted, west going currents. Chilling out in the Iguana Cafe next to the boatyard. Strong winds forecast for later in the week.

Caged Animals in the UK

Current Location (Us): Itinerant, southern Britain
Current Location (Petronella): A mooring ball in Prickly Bay, Grenada

It’s been a while since I last posted and some of our committed readers have been asking what has happened in the last few weeks.

Whilst still in Antigua airport I got a text to say that Dad had taken a turn for the worse and was unlikely to be alive by the time I got back to the UK. That was not a pleasant flight. I was met by Hugh at Gatwick and I called home. Dad was still still hanging in there. A quick luggage organisation at Sonning then I drove straight to Gloucestershire to see Dad. Tired and jetlagged, I fell asleep twice on the motorway only to wake up as I crossed the hard shoulder rumble strip.

For a day he was good. Up out of his bed, joking with the nurses. Then for ten days he ate nothing and drank nothing. He died on 6th March, my birthday. He was a troubled man for much of his last six or seven years. At least he'll worry no more now.

Since then we’ve been helping Mum slowly recover her strength, aided by brother Philip and Jane. We lived in Mum’s apartment whilst she remained in the Care Home. Most of our time has been occupied organising the funeral and sorting out Dad's affairs and preparing various disabled aids and sorting Mum's belongings out. I finally sent the probate paperwork off last week and all the little building tasks for Mum are pretty much complete. I don't know what to do now but at present we can't yet leave Mum, Philip and Jane. Mum has just returned to her apartment so we are somewhat homeless. Living with her is hard so we are flitting from place to place trying to work out what our role is.

Meanwhile a villager from our home village of Gleaston in Cumbria has asked us if we will sell High House to him. It still isn’t rented so we are looking at options there. Maybe sell and buy a couple of smaller flats to rent, or maybe not!

And with poor old Petronella languishing on a mooring ball in Prickly Bay we have also reluctantly decided it’s time to put her up for sale too. You can see the advert here. Please circulate this link to anyone who you think might be interested. We think she is very fairly priced. We'll be looking for a somewhat newer, medium to heavy displacement, well equipped, tried and tested GRP vessel to replace her - a pretty one if such a beast exists. Let us know if you hear of one especially if it's in the Caribbean.

And what of Gill's ribs? Well, they are much better than they were but still not right. She's had physio which helped a lot but sitting upright in straight backed chairs is still very uncomfortable. We are off to France for a few days next week to stay with Jen's partner's parents and if she is still in pain when we get back she will go and see the doctor again.

No pictures I'm afraid because apart from a cracking 3-2 comeback for Saints against Liverpool nothing very much has happened.

Slimbridge was good cus it's an ace wildfowl reserve.

Dave & MC was good cus they're buying a boat to sail to the Caribbean.

Gleaston was good cus our 6 long term friends were there.

Family is good too.

Changes

Current Location: John in Antigua Airport, Gill back in Grenada

We've spent the last last few days in St Lucia. There, on the beach, we met Paul. Paul is a typical hustler, good natured and trying it on for an Eastern Caribbean dollar or ten. After determining my name and where we were from he told us that actually the Queen Mother was St Lucian. When we queried this he said well not exactly the Queen Mother but the Queen had been to St Lucia and had a child by a black St Lucian. Of course this was not a well known fact as if the story ever came out it would be very embarrassing for everyone concerned. Then he looked at my T-shirt. It has a turtle and a gecko on it. "You like turtles?" He dives into his rucksac and comes out with a little wooden turtle he has carved. We tell him there is no space on the boat for a little wooden turtle so he moves on to the gecko. "I will make you a gecko" he says. He takes a small banana leaf and starts to make an origami gecko out of it. Except it isn't a gecko, it's a locust or a grasshopper or something. Pretty cool eh? We only have a 20EC note so it's his lucky day as surprise, surprise he has no change!

Is it a turtle? No.   Is it a gecko? No.   Is it a banana leaf locust? Yes of course.

But that is jumping ahead. We left you with Gill and her broken ribs. Well, they have got slowly better but she is still in a lot of pain. It's mostly short, sharp spasms in her back which cause her to cry out - in restaurants, in taxis, with friends - anywhere really where she will draw attention to herself!! Grenada is now practically out of codeine and paracetamol as she chomps her way through packet after packet. Also in great demand are arnica (secondary supply provided by the yacht Calypso) and a special nutmeg paste invented by a Grenadian doctor. They all seem to help to a greater or lesser degree.

For the next 10 days we chilled out with Gilly trying to do a bit more each day. We met up for a couple of very pleasant meals with our Gleaston neighbours Dave and Vera (sorry D and V, pictures are too poor for inclusion) and spent more time with Dick and Mary on Alacazam. Dick showed me how to jig for fish when anchored and we even caught a few. We went for dinner on the beach too.

By now we had decided to fly up to St Lucia for my cousin Pete's house warming party in Desruisseaux as Gill was still not up to the bouncy passage northwards. So we put Petronella into the marina in Prickly Bay. Here we met the skipper of Good Friends. He is 91 years ols and has been sailing since 1948, most of the time living on the boat. He recruits new crew each year through FindACrew and spends the season sailing up and down the islands. What an inspiration!

And so to St Lucia. We flew up to St Lucia and then got aken by Pete to Desruisseaux which is a little town in the south east of St Lucia where Jose, Pete's wife grew up. She is a St Lucian with 1.4 million cousins, nephews and nieces. Pete met her when he worked out of St Lucia and Dominica for various brewing, accountancy and hotel chains in the early 70s. The first day though was spent sightseeing with cousin Judy and partner Dougal. We visited all the usual tourist haunts and it was great to get to know Judy after 60 years.

The cousins with one of the famous Pitons in the background - with Star Wars shaft of light bisecting the photograph

And so to the party itself. This seemed to involve around half the entire population of St Lucia...and us, together with Pete's cousin Judy and her ex RAF partner Dougal. Great food, plenty to drink and excellent company. Interestingly one chap thought that Gill was the wife of the leader of the opposition and we met ministers, lawyers, brewery engineers, the Dominican tourist guide photographer, his wife the Director of Public Prosecutions and no end of PhDs and MPs. A large proportion had lived abroad, a few in the UK but most now in the US and especially Canada. All in all an excellent day.

Ice arriving

Beer arriving

Cake arriving

Industrial scale catering - Syrah and Jose (right)

Pete and the Dominican photographer

Serious political discussions

But then amongst all this partying and enjoyment we got word first that my last remaining aunt had died and then that dad had fallen onto mum back in their new apartment in Dursley. Dad was shaken but mum had broken ribs and punctured a lung. Yes, more ribs, three this time. She is in hospital in pain and dad has moved into the care home next to their flat. Poor brother Philip and Jane are flying from Stroud to Dursley to Gloucester.

And so I come to be in Antigua airport waiting for my previously planned flight back to the UK. I am supposed to return in two weeks to meet up with Gilly in Grenada but who knows what the future will bring.

Broken Ribs!

Current Location: Still in Prickly Bay

[DICTATED BY GILLY]

We are still anchored in Prickly Bay just outside the marina. Our friends Dick and Mary from Alacazam and several other boats we know are here too. It has been quite windy but it is a really nice anchorage and we like being here. However, amidst the myriad of usual small boaty problems we have another big problem. Me!

Last Friday we went for a shakedown sail on Alacazam. It was forecast to be 15 knots but was pretty bouncy briefly hitting 40 knots as we came back into the bay. Unfortunately, as I went below I was thrown right across the very wide galley area. I winded myself badly (I couldn't get any breath at all for half a minute) and it turned out I had broken two ribs in my back - one on each side of my spine. Ouch!

To add to the drama as we came rocketing in Alacazam broke down. Dick put out a Pan Pan and suddenly the sea was full of dinghies rushing to help. It looked like something out of Star Wars as they zoomed towards us from all directions. What an amazing community of sailors and the marina staff were fantastic too. They got Alacazam onto a buoy and carefully transferred me into a rib (ha, ha - no pun intended), back to the shore and off to hospital.

Uncomfortable patient

Since then not a lot has happened. We are trying to work out what to do for the best. My back is still VERY painful and what I would give for an acupuncturist! We don't know when I will be up for sailing but we still have eight days before our Rodney Bay booking begins. It is now five days since it happened and it is still almost as painful as when I first did it. I've never taken so many strong painkillers in my life. What a bummer. Still, it could have been a lot worse. For a minute when I couldn't get my legs to move I thought our lives were about to change in a very big way.

We will probably make a decision on Monday. John is supposed to be flying home from St Lucia on 25th Feb. We will have to wait and see whether that will be possible or not.

[JOHN]

Meanwhile amongst other things I've been fixing the rowlock on the dinghy that someone thoughtfully broke when we were tied up on the dinghy dock.

Broken tube

Can we put a drill bit through it? Too solid.

Gill's best wooden spoon is perfect!

Cut spoon to length

File down rough bits

Epoxy spoon handle inside tube. Job done.

Back in the water

Current Location: Prickly Bay, SW corner of Grenada, West Indies

We finally launched last week once the travel lift had been repaired. It was, to say the least, interesting. Firstly after all the detailed technical work on the forestay we ended up putting the genoa on upside down. Rather embarrassing. Then, after we had checked forward and reverse in the launching dock we set off and Gill steered to starboard but we turned to port! More embarrassment, for me, when we realised I had put a half twist in the steering wires which caused the wheel/tiller relationship to reverse. Oops. Still no major harm done and we sat in St Davids Bay for a couple of days sorting things out.

In the slings, final antifouling before launch

Then we sailed/motored round to Pricky Bay where we are now awaiting Dave and Vera, our neighbours from Gleaston.

The beautiful but busy Prickly Bay

In the meantime it's been more jobs. Cleaning diesel tanks, erecting The Beast (our wind generator), putting on guard netting, handing over ownership of the Atlantic Crossing Group to this year's crossers, dismantling and reassembling the dinghy engine which had a blocked jet and all the other "new season" jobs.

But on Saturday it was the Grenada International Work Boat competition. The sun was shining, the sky was dark blue, the sea was light blue, the boats were beautiful and the action intense. Whiffs of marijuana drifted across the beach, the rum and beer were flowing and the bass was booming out reggae. Typical Caribbean. And what a photo opportunity.

Soon we'll be off "up island" to Carriacou, Bequia, St Lucia and beyond.

Ah yes, a plug for the Atlantic Crossing Group (Google it if you are interested). This is the group we used for advice and help during preparations for our Atlantic crossing last year. I then became the membership manager for the group. Good luck to Jackie, my replacement. There are already 20 or so boats signed up who are crossing this year. I see that Kevin and Ann on Sailaway have joined. Sassoon, are you interested? Can't wait to see you all across here next year.

A bad day in paradise

Yesterday was NOT a good day.

We were due to be launched at 3pm. Everything was ready. Water topped up, anodes on, fuel filter changed. And then the yard told us they had just snapped two of the wires on the travel lift. So we won't be going back in until Thursday at the earliest.

No jobs left to do. Lets walk through the old holiday village up to the point and watch the waves crashing onto the rocks below. No one around and a lovely evening looking down to the bays of La Sagesse and No Name, themselves a favourite walk.

Back at the yard though we discover that the night before an American tourist, just arrived at La Sagesse, had been raped and murdered, with her husband looking on in No Name bay. In a direct line this is less than half a mile from our boatyard. All very sobering. The guy has now been caught but it's all a bit too close to home particularly as only a couple of months previously a Canadian lecturer from the University was also murdered nearby.

And yet these things are very rare indeed in Grenada which is generally thought to be one of the safest of the islands. It just goes to show you never can tell what's around the next corner.