True Blue Bay, Grenada
11.59.955N
61.46.170W

It was with high hopes that Dale left the boat this morning bound for the marine chandlery. Unfortunately, as is the norm more often than not, miscommunication ruled the day.

Apparently one of the two inverters located in St. Martin and ordered last Wednesday for us, didn’t exist. So the information that it had been ordered, that it had been shipped, and that it was sitting in customs waiting to clear was in error. Today a very apologetic manager told us he had been informed that St. Martin didn’t have any inverters at all and the package sitting in customs was not ours. So it was back to the drawing board.

This time the chandlery ordered the inverter from the dealer. The only problem is that it will be another week of cooling our jets waiting for the shipment as weather windows to Trinidad open and close.

Dale reminded me that we’ve been pretty lucky as compared with others who have had to repeatedly wait for parts to be shipped. I really don’t mind as I like it here. In fact, if the grocery shopping was more convenient, I’d stay here for quite a while without complaint. As it is, we have to rent a car every time we need to go to the grocery store (unless we want to lug the groceries back on the bus.)

Later, we dinghied our laundry around to the next bay to have done. The one here in the resort doesn’t work. Once there, we took the opportunity to confirm with the chandlery that the inverter had been ordered and then dropped by the local watering hole for a hamburger. Considering we haven’t had a cheeseburger in paradise in a while, it tasted pretty good in spite of the fact that it was more of a meatloaf burger. You just can’t get too picky in these parts.

When dark clouds appeared on the horizon, we made a made a mad dash back to the boat and almost made it.

True Blue Bay, Grenada
11.59.955N
61.46.170W

Nothing happens on Sunday, so we climbed the steps to the pool again and actually swam in it. It was a pretty neat little pool. It has two dolphins depicted on the bottom made out of little 1” tiles. It creates a 3-D effect, particularly with the water over it. Really cool!! Sara and I just floated around while the guys read their respective books.

True Blue Bay, Grenada
11.59.955N
61.46.170W

It started off rainy this morning but by afternoon it had cleared out. Since the inverter is held up in customs, we decided to check out the pool at the resort. Mike & Sara are at the marina, so they invited us to check it out.

Unfortunately, our timing was off. The staff had just cleaned it and had added chlorine. We had to wait at least an hour before going in. So, we rinsed ourselves in the pool shower, laid underneath the cabanas until we dried and then did it all over again. It was actually rather refreshing.

Photo: True Blue Bay Resort, Grenada

True Blue Bay, Grenada
11.59.955N
61.46.170W

Dale worked on the inverter for the better part of the day again. He started by taking the electrical diagram over to the local guru who gave him a few more ideas of what to check but then said that if those things didn’t work, we needed a new inverter. Those things didn’t work either, so he had to order a new one.

Dale found some luck when he went to the local Budget Marine and was able to locate two inverters at the St. Martin location. One was ordered and hopefully, it should be here by Friday. Once again, my budget is shot for the month.

True Blue Bay, Grenada
11.59.955N
61.46.170W

Today was our big tour day. Dale & I and Mike & Sara were met at the resort entrance by Kennedy Jawahir, a 3rd generation East Indian, who knows this island and (what appeared to be) most of its inhabitants, very well. His tour brochure proclaimed his “knowledge of the island’s social, political and geographical span” but neglected to mention that this was in addition to his vast knowledge of the island’s flora & fauna (and their Latin names). He also writes a column for the newspaper encouraging the locals to embrace their island’s assets.

We began our tour through St. George’s to the north of us and on the west side of the island. Kennedy pointed out a huge stadium being built in downtown St. George’s that the Chinese donated to the island. The Chinese even brought in all their own labor to build it! The only payment the Grenadians owed was not to fly the Taiwanese flay anywhere on their island. The Taiwanese donated something (I missed that part) and only wanted a vote on whaling rights in the United Nations (I think they actually made their donation before the Chinese made theirs). Kuwait built a sea wall along the south side of the island after the Americans assisted them in the Gulf War. (We noted further in the tour that the Kuwaiti’s need to build another sea wall along the north side too.) For a sleepy little island in the south Caribbean, Grenada garners a great deal of international courting.

We continued our tour to the north along the western shore stopping for views of various harbors or fruit trees along the way. Kennedy would point out cocoa trees, breadfruit trees, nutmeg trees, cinnamon trees, painted eucalyptus, and various crater lakes and waterfalls.

Then we stopped at the Dougaldston Spice Estate where the fruits and spices were displayed, discussed, smelled and of course, sold in neat little bundles.

Our next stop was the Gouyave Nutmeg Station where thousands of pounds of nutmeg nuts are brought in and the mace is separated from the nut. Then the nut is stored for aging, rinsed and sorted for oil content, then bagged moved to a different level and resorted for size, all of this is done by hand. This particular station is the last of what used to be 6 fully working sorting stations. The hurricane 2 years ago decimated 90% of the nutmeg trees and it takes 6-8 years to re-grow the trees to fruit bearing size. At that time you figure out which tree is male and which is female, the male doesn’t produce fruit.

After the nutmeg station, it was time for lunch. We stopped at a small café where several of the local dishes were prepared for us. We had fried fish, curried meat, peas and rice, plantains, salad and other vegetables I didn’t recognize. It was all wonderful.

After our nourishment, it was off to River Antoine Distillery. Now don’t misunderstand me, rum is my favorite toddy, but this rum reminded me of moonshine. Not that I would know too much about moonshine, or any of my relatives in Arkansas would know anything about moonshine, but the one and only time I ever tasted it, it left an indelible mark (or should I say evaporation) on my tongue that I will never forget. Walking into this distillery made my eyes water and brought back memories of the time everclear did pass my lips.

The cane press is still run by a waterwheel, the juices are still boiled by using wood stoves, the fermentation is still done in the open, transferred from vat to vat by hand scoop, and when it is declared rum, it is drained off into a bucket that is used to fill the bottles by hand. No aging in oak barrels for this operation; rum, straight out of the still. They had two strengths; straight (75%) (you cannot take this on a plane out of the county) and diluted with water (65%) (you can take this on a plane). Both could be sold to boaters. The one diluted with water? You guessed it, they filled it about a 1/3 of the way with straight rum and then poured water into it from another bucket. No fancy measurements, no bottled water, no fancy conveyor belts, this is rum done the old fashioned way. Don’t worry about germs, they wouldn’t have a chance in this brew; flies couldn’t even get close to the door. Dale and Mike took sips of the samples provided and decided that it was too volatile for boats as well.

Our next stop was at the solar powered chocolate factory. Finally, someone harnessed the island’s greatest resource for something other than selling umbrella drinks on the beach!

Now the history of this little enterprise had a rather inauspicious beginning. Apparently, ‘these two dudes’ (we all have heard stories about the “two dudes”) one a white dude from a well to do family was here attending the medical school; the other was a black dude whose brother was attending the same school. The black dude’s brother invites the white dude home where the two of them meet and decide to hike up into the mountains to celebrate life with a toke. Somehow, the chocolate enterprise rose from the smoke like a phoenix and took flight. The white dude’s parent’s offered the initial capital, the black dude’s family offered the property, medical school went out the window and now they have a thriving ecologically friendly business making award winning chocolate. All the power is solar, including the air conditioning, mixing machines, refrigerators, presses, lights, you name it.

We were thoroughly impressed with the set up. With the cost of the earth’s resources constantly on the rise, Dale and I have often talked about alternative energy sources and how to get the most out of our water supply. It’s the initial set up costs that are so prohibitive. Here was proof positive, it can be done with all of the creature comforts we have come to depend upon. (Yes, Virginia, you can be conservative and think ecologically!)

Our last stop was though the rain forest where we saw that the top trees forming the canopy still have not bounced back from the hurricane, though they are making a valiant effort.
Kennedy stopped to pick up a few bananas giving us a quick lesson on the many varieties available and giving us each one of the sweetest variety. We thought he was being very thoughtful but then learned that he was just starting to feed the animals along the way. A bit further, we pulled off the road near some trees overlooking the valley where he started whistling. Pretty soon we had 5 or 6 Mona monkeys scrambling for the proffered bananas. That was the highlight of a great trip.

We returned exhausted. In fact, so exhausted, we called Buddy & Melissa and asked them to join us at Bananas (a nearby restaurant) for dinner.

So if you’re ever in Grenada and want a tour of the island, call Kennedy tours! It was well worth the money.

True Blue Bay, Grenada
11.59.955N
61.46.170W

Dale noticed last evening that the generator isn’t charging the batteries the way it’s supposed to and spent the better part of today going through each connection with his multi-meter trying to find the problem. Apparently, it’s inverting properly it just isn’t charging the batteries.

Of course, my conscious kicked in screaming guilty at the top of its lungs since I was the last one to turn on the genset. (I get most of my exercise jumping to conclusions.) I was well into my testimony that I had waited for both meters to spring into life before I flipped the inverter switch, when he told me it didn’t have anything to do with flipping the switch. Then I meekly told him that since it was dark, I may have accidentally hit the reset switch before I hit the inverter switch. Nope! He didn’t think that had anything to do with it either but he would add that to his list of things to check. So I stayed out of his way and played on the computer . . . in the cockpit, . . . far away, . . . ready to dive overboard, . . . just in case.

We had been able to purchase a headset to plug into the laptop and phone home through something called Skype; the majority of cruisers down here use this to keep in touch. If you make a lot of long distance telephone calls, you might want to check into it. Essentially it’s voice over internet protocol for 1-2 cents/minute. The draw back is that you have to be able to connect into the internet to place or receive your calls. If you’ve been following this site for any length of time, you know that that has been the bane of this cruise.

In any event, I had fun for the day. Dale on the other hand, found no joy. He’ll be making a trip to the nearest electronics guru to discuss the situation.

True Blue Bay, Grenada
11.59.955N
61.46.170W

There was a little drizzle off and on today forcing us to stay on the boat and essentially do nothing. We’d take turns reading, laying in the hammock, or reading and laying in the hammock, then finally playing cribbage. We miss our cribbage evenings with Fred & Geri, where the guys would challenge the girls. (By the way, Geri, I won 2 out of 3 games).

Photo: Supposedly of True Blue Bay Resort with storm clouds rolling in. Unfortunately, it's more of my camera getting wet.

True Blue Bay, Grenada
11.59.955N
61.46.170W

Since Mike & Sara have been here for a couple of weeks “on the hard“, they had rented a car and invited us to tag along on their drive into St. George’s before they turned it back in. We passed by a couple of chandleries, which were already closed (most stores roll up the sidewalks about noon on Saturdays) but were able to pick up a few things at a couple of grocery stores who ventured to stay open until 5:00pm.

We got lucky by being in the store when they started stocking their fresh produce. Both Sara and I were desperate for lettuce and tomatoes. It was very much like prior commissary days when you had to shop when the barge came in or wait for another week.

On our way back to the marina, we visited the medical school (photo) that U.S. forces liberated when Cuba took a more avid interest in this island. It actually overlooks the harbor that we are in. I guess most students are home on summer break as it was pretty quiet. It was quite interesting to see the site of such international intrigue.

True Blue Bay, Grenada
11.59.955N
61.46.170W

There was a little bit of a roll during the night, so we put out a stern anchor as opposed to a swell bridle. The difference between the two is that the stern anchor pretty much holds you in place by sheer force whereas the swell bridle uses the wind to hold you into the swell. This little anchorage is fairly protected so there is only the slightest of breezes and not enough to hold us in place. Since we’re the only inhabited boat in here at the moment, throwing a stern anchor out isn’t a problem. If and when others arrive, they’ll either have to do the same or we’ll all have to be more cognizant of wind direction to make sure we don’t bump in the night.

Mike & Sara on Wayfinder moved around to this anchorage today and took a slip at the little marina. We visited with them for a while after they were settled in and made our plans for the island tour. Buddy & Melissa decided to pass on the tour since their boat is being hauled out for a few days and they’re heading back to the States for a quick visit during that time.

True Blue Bay, Grenada
11.59.955N
61.46.170W

After breakfast this morning, we hoisted anchor and moved about 6 miles around the tip of Grenada to True Blue Bay. It’s a quiet little anchorage surrounded by beautiful homes along one side and the medical school along the other. We also are at one end of the airport although the only time large planes take off is early in the morning or late in the evening.

After we anchored in about 14’ of water, I set up the hammock and proceeded to settle in. My initial impression was how quiet the anchorage was but by early afternoon I realized the reason it was so quiet was because all of the charter boats that surround us are empty. We are literally the only cruiser in this harbor. We’ve got the place to ourselves!!

We had anticipated meeting up with Wayfinder and Indigo Moon after lunch but Wayfinder didn’t make it out of the yard until almost 4 pm. At that point they elected to stay where they were in the next harbor over, so we lowered the dinghy and went to visit them. Thankfully, Killian, one of their little dogs is doing better (they had left us abruptly in Tobago Cays when she became very ill. They made a bee line for the veterinary hospital here). They have 3 older dogs traveling with them which they both seem extremely attached to.

Next week is Indigo Moon’s turn in the yard. We plan to stick around here with them. As we’ve said before, we’re in no hurry to get to Trinidad as we’ll spend enough time there while we wait out the hurricane season. In any event, we’ll keep a sharp eye out for tropical storms heading in our direction; so far nothing. If one should appear, we are within a day’s journey from Trinidad and points south.

We had an enjoyable meal at the True Blue Yacht Club this evening; expensive but good food. According to Sara, the expense of the food has been what she’s noticed the most over the past week that they have been here.

We plan on touring the island with Wayfinder and Indigo Moon early next week as Monday is a holiday here.

St. George’s, Grenada
12.02.504N
61.45.354W

Although we really weren’t in any great hurry to leave Tyrrel Bay and head further south, we decided that we’d better make a move. So, this morning at 7am, we hoisted our anchor, unfurled our sails and pointed our bow south.

Once again we were blessed with strong steady winds and relatively calm seas and breezed along at 7+kts most of the way. We settled into corners of the cockpit with our respective books and let the autopilot guide us to our next destination.

When we got close to the 3 mile wide underwater volcano, Kick ‘em Jenny, I started calling out our position to the center of the crater. As close as I can figure, we passed just a few seconds to the west of the center and directly over the top or a little over 250‘ below us. I only briefly considered the fact that the volcano on Montserrat recently spewed ash. Every once in a while you have to live a little dangerously.

As we approached Grenada’s taller mountains on the leeward side, our wind suddenly died. Since we were well ahead of our predicted schedule we just ghosted along until it filled in and once again we were off like a shot.

The winds died a second time and again, we waited for them to fill in. This time, they not only filled in, they continued to climb past the normal 15-18kts. They rose to the 20kt range and gusted higher. We were about 5 miles out of our destination of St. George’s when we saw the highest gusts of 35kts. By this time we had relieved the autopilot of its responsibilities and were hand steering trying to bleed off some of the extra wind by point higher. We waited until the wind died to below 20kts then hurriedly rolled in the jib. Then we waited for the next set of gusts to subside so that we could turn into the wind to roll in the main.

We motored the last couple of miles and elected to anchor outside of the enclosed harbor with about 8 other boats until the winds died down enough to venture through the narrow channel safely.

Later in the afternoon, we hoisted anchor again and ventured into the protected anchorage. Although it had a narrow entrance, it opened into a nice size anchorage of mostly 20’ depth with a marina off to one side. Unfortunately, with that kind of depth, it was already filled to capacity so we circled around and went back to where we had originally anchored outside in 14’.

Dale dove the anchor to make sure that we were well set since it didn’t give us the smart jerk we like to feel when the anchor sets in deep sand. He came back saying that the bottom was a mixture of sand and broken coral pieces. We appeared to be well dug in but when we backed down hard on the anchor, it would drag. Dale figures that unless we get those 35 knot winds again, we should be good until morning.

We spoke with both Wayfinder and Indigo Moon via the radio today. Both are located further to the south of Grenada. We hope to get together tomorrow for dinner and perhaps arrange for a tour of the island on Saturday. If we’re not comfortable with our position tomorrow, we’ll probably move on down to where they are regardless of the roll associated with the anchorages they are in.

Tyrrel Bay, Carriacou
12.27.414N
61.29.228W

It’s been awhile since we’ve gone snorkeling, so we dug out our gear and headed around the bend to 3 different spots that looked promising. Two with wrecks on the beach and the third with lots of rocky areas.

Although the first had a few fish, it had more brown gunk than anything else, so we moved on.
The second was more promising with a good variety of coral and sponges. Still, after the Tobago Cays, it too was rather ho hum. That is until Dale spotted a flying gurnard. It was camouflaged in the grass it was lying on, but when we got closer and it moved, it fanned out its wings and the iridescent blue caught his attention. Once he pointed it out to me, we saw several in the same grassy area. Talk about ugly duckling to swan.

We moved on to a sandy area and searched for sand dollars before returning to the boat and
moving on.

Our last stop was much like the first but with less visibility. Still, it’s the first time I’ve ever seen an octopus in the ocean. He wasn’t hiding either; sort of hop - slithering from rock to rock.

Later in the afternoon, Rick & Carolyn and Mary & George invited us to play botchee ball on the beach. It’s a funky little game where you throw heavy metal balls about the size of a baseball as close as you can to a little plastic ball. The closest ball gets a point. The first one to 9, wins. With all of us chit chatting throughout the game, the hardest part is keeping score.

We played three games; stopping for sodas and a quick dip in the water between sets. It made for a nice Sunday afternoon with friends. I think they plan on staying here throughout the hurricane season so maybe we’ll se them again on our way back.

Tyrrel Bay, Carriacou
12.27.414N
61.29.228W

Today, I broke down and bought internet service, such as it was. We had been incommunicado for about two weeks, so I really needed to see if there was anything lurking in the outside world that I should address. I’m compulsive about making sure that we are the only ones using our credit cards and bank accounts.

It took me 10 hours straight (I am not exaggerating) to go through our e-mails, finances and upload these posts. Although it was WiFi service, the speed left something to be desired, particularly when it kept shutting down and I would have to wait for service to log into it again.

While I was focused on the computer, Dale decided that the dust from all of the sanding that was done had filtered into everything and proceeded to shake out all of the carpets and sweep the floors. He came back with the same conclusion as I had about a week ago, we both need to shave our heads. There is entirely too much hair on this boat. I reminded him that mine was getting shorter, it was his that was getting longer.

Picture: A previous picture of a little guy hanging around.

Tyrrel Bay, Carriacou
12.27.414N
61.29.228W

Splash Day! Edwin and his crew finished polishing the back end of the boat before Roy came with the travel lift and gently eased the Palace off her jack stands. While the Palace hung about 18” off the ground, Edwin put a couple of coats of paint on the very bottom of the keel, a few dabs where the jack stands had left a mark on the fresh paint when they were moved, and a 4th application on the leading edges. He had put a 3rd layer on the leading edges and water line last evening. We have been very impressed with the service and attention to detail that this little haul out facility offers.

At about 1:30pm, the Palace was lowered back into the water. Dale scampered about making sure we weren’t taking on water where we shouldn’t while I ran around rearranging fenders and lines. After a quick rinse of the solar panels of the accumulated dust, we dodged the reef guarding the service slip and headed back into the anchorage.

This time we selected a spot along the northern most part of the anchorage and dropped the hook in 16’ of water.

We spent the rest of the day just getting things back to where they belonged and settling back into the routine of being on the water. First thing: we fired up the genset to turn on the refrigerator/freezer, turned on the water maker and set the ice maker to making more cubes. The solar power had been able to keep the ice maker in a holding function but Dale was afraid that it might draw too many amps to actually make ice.

We really like this little anchorage and figure that we’ll spend a few more days here.

P.S. The parrot is a picture I had taken back in Dominica, before I figured out how to upload them into the log.

On the Hard
Tyrrel Bay, Carriacou
12.27.165N
61.29.246W

Today, I had to make up for my laziness of yesterday, so I stripped the bed and sorted the laundry to be taken in (there are very few self-serve laundromats the farther south we travel).

After I dropped off the laundry, I climbed back up to the Palace and tore the remaining two winches apart to clean and re-grease them. I can now tear a Lewmark winch down to parade rest and put it back together without the aid of the maintenance manual but the process hasn’t gotten any cleaner. Thank heavens it doesn’t need to be done all that often. In the past, I’ve done it once a year (hence the cheat sheet). However, now that we’re sailing full time, I think I might check them again in 6 months.

When I completed my task, I collected all of my implements of destruction and wiped them down before returning them to Dale’s tool box and properly marked containers. I put all of the manuals back and closed the doors. Already the boat was starting to look better. After a second liberal dose of Lysol, it started to smell better too.

Outside and below, Edwin and his crew applied themselves to cleaning and polishing the sides of the boat. We were beginning to look really good.

Later Dale and I sat in the shade of a patio on the second story of the of the Yacht Club/restaurant next door to escape the heat with a couple of iced sodas and watched the boats coming in. From our perch, we saw that we’d have to find a new place to anchor tomorrow since a huge sailboat took our original spot. We picked up the laundry and then took the dinghy exploring.

We followed the mangroves to its end and then back the way we had come, stopping only to get a good look at the 3 boats that hadn’t survived Hurricane Emily. Two had obviously broken loose, but the third appeared to have been abandoned and then looted or the other way around since it was still floating and well tied to the mangrove trees.

Next, we headed across the bay to the point where we’d been directed for some interesting snorkeling. We checked out the two locations and made plans to visit them soon.

Tomorrow, the Palace will be splashed and big girl will back in her element again. We have been pleased with how well she has been performing and have no doubt that she will continue to be a great home on the water in which the islands of the Caribbean lie just beyond her hull. I have been particularly pleased with how well we were able to convert her to a home on the hard, limited only by the capacity of her holding tanks. Of course, the fact that we were positioned with greatest exposure to the wind and sun helped too.

Dale and I will probably spend a couple of more days here before making our way to Grenada and then to our final stop in Trinidad.

On the Hard
Tyrrel Bay, Carriacou
12.27.165N
61.29.246W

I noticed yesterday that the roosters on this island not only crow at dawn but also at dusk. Sheep and goats wander through the dock yard at will and there are the various island dogs, donkeys, and sea gulls, that have unionized to agree that no human will sleep past dawn. Once again, we all started our day with a quick rain; part of a package deal, I’m beginning to believe.

Today, after my daily run for ice, I got my nose stuck in a book (Patterson’s Cradle and All) and it didn’t come out until I was finished. Dale, on the other hand, put his book aside after the rain to polish bright work and clean the rust off the gelcoat. He started at the pulpit and made steady progress along the starboard side, chitchatting with everybody that came by. He made it to the gate before he called it a day and went for a walk.

In the meantime, Edwin managed to get two coats of paint on the Palace, including the bottom of the keel, without any of it being ruined by the passing showers.

I’ll have to make up for my lack of activity tomorrow.

On the Hard
Tyrrel Bay, Carriacou
12.27.165N
61.29.246W

When we sprang up early this morning to close all of the hatches because of rain, I asked Dale if there was any rain contingency plan. He said no but since we had 5 days on the hard for free, there should be plenty of time to get the job done.

By 9:00, when everyone showed up for work, the rain had quit and the sanding and priming began.

After making my run for ice, I busied myself disassembling 2 of our 4 winches to clean and grease while Dale tore the toilet pump apart to fix a sticky joker valve (don’t ask!) When he was done, he took all of the mess he’d made out to the dumpster.

Bob & Zan off Cheers, a Hunter 420 heading to Venezuela, dropped by to say hi. I popped my head up just in time to hear Dale not only inviting them on board but below to see the cabinetry we added to the salon! I’m hot, sweaty, up to my elbows in grease with gears, bolts and tiny springs all over the cockpit, trying to remember if I had made the bed or not. I stole a quick peek below to see that although Dale had put the bench back down in the salon where he had been working on the pump, the table was askew and the seat cushions were everywhere but where they belonged. I’d forgotten that I left the front state room a mess by pulling out our manuals on the boat looking for the one on winch disassembly. Too late now!

I didn’t see the back end of the boat until I walked to the ladder to welcome them aboard. To my horror, there was a fine dusting of black and blue residue from all of the sanding on everything which left our pristine white boat looking like it had just washed up from 10 years in the Bermuda Triangle. I smiled, wiped my hands and pretended I didn’t have black fingernails or smell like a men’s locker room. When we stepped below, the scent of a freshly revived toilet pump filled the air. I’m sure we left a lasting impression on them in spite of our smiles and friendly banter.

About 3pm, the locals called it a day and so did we. It was too hot and humid in the heat of the day to do much more.

We took a couple of quick showers (we’ve gotten so that we can each take a shower in about 2 gallons of water) and then headed to the local pizzeria for dinner (so we didn’t have to do dishes). There are a couple of hidden advantages to being “on the hard.”

Tomorrow the painting should start in earnest.

On the Hard
Tyrrel Bay, Carriacou
12.27.165N
61.29.246W

Dale contacted Roy, the haul out’s manager, to make sure we were a go for being hauled today. Roy confirmed that the boat currently on jack stands in the yard (on the hard) next to the water would be returned by lunchtime and that we would take their place right after lunch. About a quarter to noon, we saw the travel lift ease the boat back into the water.

The rest of the morning Dale paced. He got lines out and attached them at various places around the boat. He arranged and rearranged fenders. He put a bungee on our wind generator and then both of us took down the SSB’s 23’ whip antenna and laid it along the deck. He tried to sit for awhile, then he got up and paced some more. Finally at about a quarter after 1, he asked if I thought he should call and advise them that we were ready. I asked him what arrangements had been made; he said that they were to call us when they returned from lunch. I suggested that we wait until 1:30, then call them; remember: island time.

At 1:30, practically on the dot, we were hailed on the radio and told to make our way to the haul out slip.

We wore our radio head sets to keep the shouting to a minimum and with Dale on the bow, we made our way around the reef protecting the slip (there are reefs everywhere!!). I read out the depth as we approached the slip. Ten feet, 9’, 8’, 7’, 6.5’ (we draw 5.5’) we gingerly edged our way in and came along the pier on our port side (per their instructions).

Roy and Edwin, the senior worker, grabbed our dock lines and then carefully pivoted us around our bow until we were starboard side to and then walked us back into the travel lift. They have obviously done this before.

The straps to the lift were carefully paced underneath Gypsy Palace’s belly and slowly she was lifted and backed out of the water to an area where her bottom was pressure washed. What few barnacles were still attached were scraped off (remember, we scrub down on the 1st of each month) and then she was moved to the outside section and placed on jack stands. Actually, the only place there was much growth, was on the very bottom of the winged keel. Roy was tickled to see our back and blue patchwork hull and teased Dale that he had only ordered black for our new paint.

We had previously told Roy and Susan that we wanted to stay aboard the Palace during the haul out time and they suggested waiting until the outside slot was available so that we would have the full benefit of the sun (for our solar power) and the wind (for air flow).

We closed off all overboard seacocks and I put bowls in each of the sinks and buckets in front on the floor to remind us not to send water overboard. The only thing we had to do differently, was buy block ice each day for the refrigerator and freezer. With holding tanks, solar and wind generation, and a 10 foot ladder, we’re a self contained unit. Tomorrow we’ll start the painting process.

Later, we dinghied to the Twilight Restaurant for a chicken dinner. We met George, Natalie and Antonia, their 7 year old daughter, a German family making their way to Venezuela for hurricane season. George is fluent in Spanish, English, French as well as his native German. Natalie spoke excellent English as did their daughter, who spoke without a trace of an accent and often back and forth between both languages in the same sentence. I would have liked spending more time with them but they are leaving first thing in the morning and most likely, will continue their journey around to Panama and over to the Pacific.

We watched bats fill the air at nightfall as we headed back to the Palace; a few minutes later, they were gone. It was really quite impressive. I made a mental note to make sure all of the screens were in place before we turned in for the night in case one got lost on his way back to the cave in the morning.

Tyrrel Bay, Carriacou
12.27.349N
61.29.254W

Today was much like yesterday, beautiful but with enough rain to keep you hopping up to either open the hatches or close them.

Dale and I watched the movie Finding Neverland and then all of the ‘special features’ they add to the DVD. We’d not seen the movie before and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Tyrrel Bay, Carriacou
12.27.349N
61.29.254W

Although today was another beautiful day, punctuated by the occasional spritz of rain, Dale had his nose poked in a Robert Ludlum book (The Sigma Protocol) and I had mine in a book called Life of Pi by Yann Martel.

People started telling me about this book before we left and many have mentioned it since, so in one of my book trades, I picked up a copy. It’s the kind of book that would be great read in a book club or literature class. Discussions regarding its meaning or hidden meanings, storytelling and writing style, would last forever.

Fortunately, I won’t bore you with a book report.