LIFE ON BEACH HOUSE

"GETTING TO KNOW YOU"

2012-01-17T14:43:00.001-05:00

After three weeks in Grenada for the holidays,
catching up with our 'Grenada family',

we’re back in Carriacou.

(Map not to be used for navigation.)

We continue to enjoy getting to know

our ‘new favourite island’ a little better.

The Grenada Grenadines are made up of three primary islands
– Petite Martinique, big sister Grenada,
and the perfect gem in the middle, Carriacou.

At thirteen square miles and a population of less than 7,000 people,

this is an island where everybody knows everybody.

Spend a few months here and you’ll find the locals, the Kayaks,

remembering you with a ready smile.

Belair Park is at the highest elevation in Carriacou
and offers this view looking southwest over Hillsborough,
the capital city.

The main streets of Hillsborough can be busy one day

and empty the next – we’re not sure there’s a rhythm to it.

We take the local bus into the city once a week to go to the

money store and to buy gasoline for our dinghy and generator.

There’s surely something appealing about a place

that boasts one hundred rum shops and only one gas station.

The bus waits while we arrange to get the jerry can filled and

when we’re finished doing other shopping, the bus stops for pick up.

Try that in the big city.

And Patty’s Deli is a must-stop in Hillsborough for some treats.

That’s Christine behind the counter.

She knows we’ll be getting baguette, olives and blue cheese.

Possibly some chocolate. And maybe some sausages.

Is there any smoked fish today?

http://www.pattysdeli.com/

Carriacou was ceded to England in the mid 18th century,

but was originally settled by France, so French heritage

remains in some of the names, especially around L’Esterre.

We’ve walked from Tyrrel Bay to L’Esterre Bay several times,

passing this sign for a local restaurant on Sunset Beach.

We’ll check it out when we’re back in the fall.

And L’Esterre is home to the lovely Paradise Beach.

Note the crowds.

The Hardwood Bar and Snacket is cheap and cheerful.

We recommend the wings and fries.

And also on Paradise Beach you’ll find this little boutique

in an old container. Fidel Productions sells local arts and crafts

with the emphasis on ‘art’.

There are t-shirts printed with local paintings,

wonderful ‘mojo’ jewelry that makes you smile,

hand-painted calabash shells, and colourful trinkets of every sort.

It feels more like a gallery than a shop.

http://www.fidelproductions.com/

Across L’Esterre Bay is the tiny island beach, Sandy Island.

It was stripped bare in a storm some years ago

– regrowth is slowly happening.

There are moorings there now, in an effort to protect the reefs.

Windward, a quiet little town on the northeast corner of Carriacou,

has a rich heritage of boat building.

It's clear that this boat had been under construction for some time.

Some of the frame pieces were weathered

while the recent additions were fresh, new wood.

Carriacou boats are built without written plans or molds

– everything is judged by eye. When a boat is finished,

word spreads, and there is a huge party as the new sloop is launched.

It would be wonderful to be on-island for one of these celebrations.

As we walked north beyond Windward,

every bend in the road brought another postcard scene.

At the northernmost point of our walk,

we turned to see this valley view.

There was a new concrete road through the valley.

Until there wasn’t.

Check out what awaited.

The walk was turning into a hike with the admiral lagging behind.

But there were no significant inclines, the day wasn’t a scorcher,

and we were continually rewarded with views

of the rugged northwest coast of Carriacou.

We also had an end plan – the town of Bogles and The Round House.

This is a very popular restaurant – reservations are necessary.

We hadn’t booked so we were just stopping for a look-see

and maybe an ice cube.

The grounds are beautifully kept and there are two ‘cottages’.

This is the Mango Cottage.

But the main event is the restaurant – a visual treat for kids of all ages.

The restaurant wasn’t open on this particular day but the owner saw us

and opened the bar so we could have a cool refresher.

If you’re interested in the unusual story behind The Round House

and the family who conceived and built it,

get comfortable and check out the website.

http://www.boglesroundhouse.com/

The home base for cruisers in Carriacou is Tyrrel Bay.

The main road hugging the bay is home

to most of the businesses in Harvey Vale.

Restaurants abound. The Lambi Queen is well-known

for delicious lambi and lobster served up with fine local music.

The Twilight Bar and Restaurant offers free wireless

at their beachside 'branch'.......

......the Lazy Turtle has terrific pizza to eat-in or for take-away......

......and the Slipway Restaurant next to the yacht club,

at barely a year old, is fast becoming

a favourite happy hour hang out.

There are a handful of other little restaurants and rum shops

– gotta save something for our return trip.

We do most of our grocery shopping in Harvey Vale

at the Alexis Supermarket and the After Ours Market,

but on Saturday morning we buy our week’s worth of fresh produce

from two local entrepreneurs.

Rufus brings his own local produce so his inventory is small,

but he always has several kinds of basil and fresh chadon beni,

a great substitute for cilantro.

I’m also a big fan of his leaf lettuce – hardy and delicious.

Just off the commercial dock, Lucy makes us laugh

as she sells her produce from Grenada.

She has variety, quantity and quality.

We do a regular trip ashore on Saturday mornings

to replenish our fresh stores.

Another Saturday event is watching the Carriacou

Junior Sailing Club have some fun.

Through donations and volunteer work from ex-pats who live here,

this lucky group of kids learn to sail and race in their Optimist dinghies.

We’ve enjoyed chatting with locals we’ve met

during our stays in Carriacou, and catching up with other cruisers,

old friends and new. We were recently invited

to a lime and barbeque on the beach, hosted by Rick and Carolyn,

former cruisers who now live here much of the year.

What a lovely way to say ‘goodbye for now’.

We’ll be on the ‘road’ north up the island chain in a few days
– literally with places to go and people to see.
But Carriacou has found a place in our hearts
and we look forward to coming back in the fall.

"DOIN' HARD TIME"

2011-12-11T17:31:00.004-05:00

A wise person has said,
“Cruising is just an opportunity to fix your boat in exotic locations.”

Or was it a wiseass?

On the last Saturday in October, the gang from the Tyrrel Bay
Yacht Haulout took Geoff to the ferry to get the new rudder

from the stacks of goods coming into Carriacou.
Apparently it was here - somewhere.

And it was.

The 250 pound rudder was lowered onto the work boat
for the final passage to its new home.

The boys carried the plywood crate up the dock to the boatyard

and Geoff opened the package to reveal the new rudder

protected by layers and layers of bubble wrap.

No wonder it was so heavy.

The arrival of the rudder meant it was time for Beach House

to go on the hard again - the third haul out since July.

But it is what it is - necessary, and the only way to move forward.

We were ready.

Once hauled, work progressed slowly.

Boat parts and bits get ordered piecemeal and take 2-4 days

to come in from Grenada. And there are only so many workers

in the yard. As you’ll see in some of the pictures to come,

one chore can take all available hands,
and, much more time than expected.

It’s too hot to worry about it.

There were many projects to keep the captain busy.

Geoff hung the new rudder off the Beach House stern,

and put nine coats of epoxy paint on it,

putting us steps closer to installation. Sort of.

Back on the day Beach House was hauled, the yard unstepped

our mast. When the boat was surveyed last July,

one of the surveyor’s requirements was that

we check the base of the mast for suspected corrosion.

Any major corrosion issue would involve mucho dollar signs.

We are very happy to report that the corrosion was minor.

Geoff did some sanding and used some ‘aluminum-bonding-goop’

to seal the corroded spots.

Last step was spray painting and voila. Good as new.

At the top end of the mast, the halyard restrainer was worn

almost completely through to the end. The picture of the new one

on the right confirms the extent of the wear.

Geoff suspects that the restrainer is too low. Sounds logical

but our replacement source in Toronto says this amount of wear

is to be expected and means the restrainer is doing its job.

Needless to say, the captain will be keeping an eye on this.

And while the mast was so accessible, it was time to inspect,

clean, and polish the stainless bits. As with most work on

Beach House, the captain did the yeoman’s share and then some

– I help when I can and could do some of the stainless work.

More often I keep the home fires burning

or act as the scrub nurse, handing tools to the expert.

These before and after pictures say it all.

Beach House was beginning to sparkle.

Plus the busyness kept us from thinking about our bigger issues.

You may remember that we were replacing the rudder

because of electrolysis damage to the rudder shaft,

first noticed in July at Grenada Marine. Thanks, Ray.
No sarcasm - we really mean it. Thank you.

This damage extended to the through-hulls.

More arty looking photos show the extent

of the corrosion caused by the stray electricity.

Nolan worked with Geoff to remove the offending through-hulls,

working inside the boat removing the fittings,

and outside the boat, grinding away the corrosion.

The replacement fittings arrived from Grenada.

No prize will be awarded for spotting the new ones.

We’re planning to replace all the fittings next summer
with the new Marelon through-hulls.
These plastic options were unavailable to us this year.

When the rudder was removed, we noticed that

a repair, done prior to our ownership of Beach House,

had cracked and water was seeping. Ugh.

The skeg-to-hull joint had to be dried out

before the new rudder could be installed.

‘Slow’ (yup - that’s his name) went to work

grinding the base of the skeg back to fiberglass.

Dampness for sure – mildew.

We’ll revisit this dampness problem when we haul next

summer, possibly taking the entire hull back to fiberglass.

In the meantime, we left the skeg to dry out as much

as possible before ‘Slow’ built the fiberglass back up.

And check out that shiny prop. The captain is a whiz kid
when it comes to exterior boat cleaning.

Here’s the before picture.

And a new bit of voodoo that several boats in the yard were trying

this year. Cover the cleaned prop with permanent marker

to keep the marine growth to a minimum.

So much for the beautiful, shiny bronze -

but it never hurts to give something new a try.
Besides, it's underwater and I can't see
the ugly Darth Vader prop.

So. It was finally time for the main event – installing the rudder.

Edwin did the honours, driving the travel lift into position

to raise Beach House enough to get the rudder into place.

Damn thing wouldn’t go the final six inches.

We held our breath for a day,
wondering if we were back to square one.

But with a little percussive assistance from Jorge,

we were good to go! Thank you to the rudder gods!

And Jorge, of course.

We were beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel

and this time it wasn’t a train.

‘Slow’ rolled on two coats of bottom paint and then it was time.
Splash day!!!

First the mast. It took 12 men to carry that sucker from its

resting place to the barrels where the crane would lift it.

Every worker in the yard, plus the owner, the manager,
and another cruiser or two, came to help.

All other work came to a halt. This kind of teamwork
happened all the time - everyone is patient
about making the 'job-of-the-moment' get done.
We learned to appreciate the 'small-town' feel of it all.

The crane was swung into position and Paul attached

the crane belt that would lift the mast.

Beach House waits patiently in the background.

The mast was lifted to upright then lowered again

– it had twisted and needed some adjustment.

But the second time was the charm.

Edwin mounted up again on the travel lift

and drove Beach House forward as the crane
lifted the mast into position.

Another half hour or so of fine-tuning and

the mast was stepped. The boys attached the rigging

and the travel lift rumbled to life one more time for us.

Looks like we had an escort as Beach House

headed to the water.

Floating again. Finally.

Remember Jackie Gleason's tag line? Oh yeah.
"How sweet it is!"

We had expected to be on the hard for 6-8 weeks.

Being back in the water after five and a half weeks

was definitely an early Christmas present.

We hope Santa is as good to you this year!

"COTTAGE BY THE SEA"

2011-11-22T17:05:00.008-05:00

During the first week of November, we hauled Beach House here in Carriacou at the Tyrrel Bay Yacht Haulout. There are - wait for it - a boatload of repairs to be done. We're optimists but realistic. We expect to be on the hard for 6-8 weeks. Ho, ho, ho anyone?

In many boatyards, people continue to live on their boats, using the yard facilities for washroom needs, showers, and washing dishes. Not so here – even hardened, old single-handers, who have seen it all, seldom live aboard in this yard. So off we went to check out the possibilities for land accommodation – something cheap, cheerful and clean. Our timing was wrong for some of the leads we had from local friends. After some phone calls, some bargaining, and a good decision, we decided to take the cottage behind the Tyrrel Bay Yacht Club.

It was a quick and easy move from Beach House to the cottage – food and drink into the fridge, our linens and pillows on to the bed, clothes in to the closet, electricity sorted for conversion from 240v to our required 110v, computers and phones plugged in to charge. Good to go.

There are pros and cons to any accommodation, but we certainly have everything we need and some definite advantages.

ADVANTAGE # ONE - PROXIMITY TO BEACH HOUSE

Our temporary land digs are right next door to the boat yard, an obvious convenience. Looking at her from the front grounds of the yacht club, Beach House looks quite content with palm fronds and a cactus framing her stern.

ADVANTAGE # TWO – ATTRACTIVE SURROUNDINGS

The yacht club grounds are quite lush and beautiful.
From the boat yard, this is our approach to the yacht club.

To the right of the club building is the path to the cottage.

And here’s our view from the cottage, looking onto the back of the yacht club.

ADVANTAGE # THREE – A KITCHEN

The yacht club rents rooms to land-bound cruisers in the main building, but since we expect this haulout to last many weeks, a kitchen was an important consideration. There’s simply no room in our clobbered budget for eating out three times a day. The galley style kitchen that spans one entire wall of the open-style living space, is modest but has all the necessities, including two dishwashers.

We brought our own boat baskets of cutlery, spices, oils and vinegars.

ADVANTAGE # FOUR & FIVE – AIR CONDITIONING &

HOT WATER-ON- DEMAND FOR SHOWERS

When we’re at anchor we almost always have decent sea air moving to cool us, but on land? Not so much. It’s a real treat to return to the cottage after a hot, dusty day in the yard working on Beach House, have a hot shower and luxuriate in the air conditioned air with an ice cube or two.

ADVANTAGE # SIX – A COMFORTABLE MATTRESS

The queen size bed in the main floor bedroom is very comfortable. We are very happy sleepers here. The yacht club provides linens but we brought our own from the boat – just a touch of home to have our own pillows and sheets. The stairs that lead up to a small loft bedroom serve as shelves for our bags and clothes.

ADVANTAGE # SEVEN – MAID SERVICE

We haven’t taken advantage of this service yet – I have the time to clean up and prefer to do it myself – maybe so it feels more like home rather than a hotel? It’s not a huge space to keep clean and tidy. But Chantal from the yacht club will come up to clean any time and she keeps us supplied with extra towels as required.

In HGTV parlance, the décor manages to bring the outdoors inside. Notice the satisfactory furniture that probably lived another life on a patio somewhere. Here’s our office/dining room and the living room/den, both situated conveniently along the wall across from the kitchen.

So just what are the disadvantages?
Let’s see what makes the short list.

Lush moist gardens are mosquito havens. Yes, it’s buggy. But we’re used to ‘spraying up’ most days around four in the afternoon even at anchor. Our scent of necessity is Eau de Cruiser with overtones of Deet and a hint of ‘other ingredients’.

Hmm. That’s about it for disadvantages – it actually is a very short list. There’s really not much to complain about. Not everything is up to North American standards, but why should we expect that? We’re not there, we're here - in the Caribbean.

Would we rather be on Beach House at anchor? Yes. Would we like to be on the move, sailing to another island and meeting up with friends? Yes. But while Beach House continues to get some much needed TLC at the boat yard, we’ll manage quite nicely
in our little cottage by the sea.

A HARD DAY'S NIGHT

2011-10-28T07:18:00.007-04:00

We’ve been struggling with this blog entry. We like to offer a travelogue of sorts – pictures and information about the places we visit. Well – we’ve been a bit stalled in that regard – time in Canada away from the boat, hauling Beach House for evaluation, finding more problems than we’d budgeted for, waiting for parts to be delivered and then waiting some more for the work to be done. Everything takes longer in the islands. It just does.

Here’s the month-by-month, blow-by-blow description of how Beach House spent her summer vacation.

JUNE
Beach House had a little ‘dock-time’ at Jolly Harbour Marina in Antigua while her crew went to Toronto. After this picture was taken, we took down the enclosure, strapped the dinghy to the foredeck, and tripled up the dock lines. She was ready for a big blow, should it happen.

The big blow didn’t happen. Thankfully.

We spent three weeks visiting family and friends, renewing passports, shopping, and getting the camera repaired – so alas, not many pictures. But there was one notable day when we did have the camera. After some sightseeing in Bruce County, Kim and Terry took us to one of the marinas in Owen Sound for a peek at our first keelboat – Quinkin.

She looked pretty happy there, not missing us at all. Hope she continues to win races.

JULY

Geoff returned to Antigua, leaving the Admiral in Toronto to work for a few more months to stoke the cruising kitty. Neither of us realized at that point just how many dinero that Beach House would swallow up over the summer. Hungry, hungry boat.

The captain’s single-handed trek back to Grenada began with an overnight stop in Deshaies, Guadeloupe and then a sunrise departure.

Look at this - life jacket on, shirt and hat to be protected from the sun, and, learning to take pictures of himself. Almost sounds like multi-tasking.

By the way. The blog photographer’s secret? Hold the camera upside down while taking your own picture – avoids fingers in front of the lens. Who knew?

Geoff spent the next night in The Saintes at the southern end of Guadeloupe. The anchorage just off Bourg des Saintes is now awash with mooring balls, added so recently that there wasn’t a plan in place to collect a fee for them. Suspect that’s been sorted out.

Next stop was the anchorage off Portsmouth, Dominica and another beautiful sunrise departure.

This next picture was taken for my benefit I suspect, so I would have proof that the captain used the safety harness even in the cockpit, not just if he had to go on deck. The insurance company needs a body, doncha know.

When Geoff arrived in Bequia, he was tired - the early morning starts, being on the move all day, doing it solo – he was ready for a bit of a break. On the third morning of his R and R in Bequia, the captain had an adventure and tells the story:

“Lots of fun at 5 am, when Bruce came unstuck and Beach House started sliding backwards and sideways towards other anchored boats. Good old Carl burst to life at first push of the starter switch and we made it safely away to the other side of the anchorage. Nothing like starting the day off with an adrenaline rush! Who need’s coffee?”

This was the first dragging incident for Beach House since leaving Toronto in 2008, but surely won’t be the last. It happens.

Geoff took Beach House over 350 miles from Antigua to Grenada in a leisurely 12 days, alone and in one piece. Well done.

AUGUST

The original plan was to haul Beach House at Grenada Marine, have a survey done, strip the bottom and repaint, check out some hairline cracks in the fiberglass, and change out the cutlass bearing (we had a spare). We had been calling 2011 “The Year of the Boat”, expecting to spend several fat boat units on general maintenance. Surprises awaited.

The haul out was uneventful.

Our friend Ray, from s/v Nighthawk, came to inspect the fiberglass cracks and discovered a further issue - unmistakable signs of electrolysis – damage caused by ungrounded electricity. This can happen to boats that spend their lives at the dock and it’s possible the electrolysis started early on in BH’s life. There’s no real answer to the when or the why. More about the electrolysis shortly.

Ray started in on the fiberglass cracks - they were caused by air bubbles in the original construction. The air pockets in the fiberglass were weak spots that ultimately showed as cracks. Ray ground them down, laid up some fiberglass, then matched the white of the hull and the blue of the boot stripe.

Nice work, Ray. That’s what friends are for. And I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – everybody loves Raymond.

By the way, the white spots below the waterline will be covered with bottom paint when we get to that stage.

The prop removal to get at the cutlass bearing didn’t go as smoothly as expected. Geoff and the yard crew made several attempts to remove it.

Success came with a problem. While removing the prop shaft, the coupling to the gearbox broke. The new cutlass bearing went in smoothly but it took a week for the replacement coupling to show up. Paying for an unexpected part is one thing – paying for additional time in the yard while waiting for it? Ouch.

The surveyor, Bob Goodchild, poked and prodded Beach House and pronounced her pretty fit for a 26 year old boat, but he was in agreement with our buddy Ray, the guys in the yard, and the captain himself - the electrolysis damage to the rudder shaft had to be dealt with – a new rudder was the only fix.

Geoff’s research into a new rudder brought some good news. The company that made the rudders for the Endeavour 42s was still in business and still had the mold. It wasn’t going to be cheap to have one made in Florida and shipped to Grenada, but it was much better than having one fabricated in the islands. The cost and time to do it down here was exponentially greater - $$$$$$$$$ rather than $$$. I’m not sure that’s mathematically sound, but you get the drift.

The through hulls have suffered corrosion from the electrolysis as well and still have to be inspected and dealt with. Another boat unit bites the dust?

SEPTEMBER
Due to cost factors at Grenada Marine, Geoff decided to move Beach House up to Carriacou and use the services of Tyrrel Bay Yacht Haulout. He hauled the boat to remove the rudder and take a few additional measurements requested by the rudder manufacturer in Florida.

Beach House was then towed, rudderless, to a mooring ball in Tyrrel Bay.

So far, so good. The captain ordered the rudder from Florida and hunkered down to wait.

A week later, Geoff was having his own quiet happy hour in the cockpit, watching the wind pick up and switch to the west, an unexpected about face from the usual eastern trade winds. Beach House dances quite a bit at anchor or on a mooring – the captain watched her swing all the way to port, waiting for the swing back to starboard. Didn’t happen. Beach House kept going. The mooring had given way. Geoff let the anchorage know on the VHF that Beach House was adrift without a rudder, then went forward to drop the anchor. It caught on another boat’s mooring, but not before both boats had incurred some damage. Our boat name on the port bow took quite a beating and the spare anchor hangers were bent – minor ‘injuries’ to the boat, given the possibilities.

The other boat suffered a bent stanchion and broken lifeline. The owners are still away and the yard is handling the ‘flow of information’. We’ve heard nothing yet.

A week later, I returned from the big city. The last leg of my journey home to Beach House was on this eight-seater, certainly the smallest plane I’ve ever flown on, and the flight was the shortest in my experience – all of 20 minutes in the air from Grenada to Carriacou.

I was the only passenger with a crew of two.
Lah-di-dah – a private flight.

Hurricane season isn’t officially over yet, so there isn’t a full complement of cruisers here in Tyrrel Bay. That will change over the next month. In the meantime, we’ve enjoyed some lovely visits with some lovely friends.

Rene and Cheryl from s/v Gypsy Blues came over to Beach House for happy hour, joined by John and Shirley from s/v More Gin.

And another day we walked to Paradise Beach with John and Shirley for lunch at the Hardwood Bar and Snacket. Check out the sign for a clue to the name.

OCTOBER
So here we are with summer gone and October slipping away, getting to know Carriacou better than we ever expected. The quiet village of Harvey Vale circles the anchorage here in Tyrrel Bay. There are several modest grocery stores and most days, Denise is at her roadside kiosk, with bananas and eggs, grapefruit and tomatoes. On Saturday mornings, Lucy offers her veggies under the tree by the commercial dock, and Rufus specializes in wonderful herbs just down the road – fresh basil, thyme, and chadon beni. Once a week, we take the bus into the capital, Hillsborough, for the bits of shopping we can’t find here. It’s all good.

And Hallelujah, stop the presses! This just in. The new rudder has cleared customs in Grenada and will arrive here in Carriacou on Saturday, just in time for Geoff’s birthday. Could he ask for a better present?

"PRETTY IN PINK"

2011-06-07T14:56:00.022-04:00

Unlike volcanic Caribbean islands with their lush mountains and rainforests, Barbuda is formed of limestone. It’s flat and rocky, covered with scrub, sea grape, and the occasional group of palm trees. The description so far seems a little sketchy, doesn't it? Stay tuned.

On approach, from four miles out,

the island seems to appear out of nowhere.

Most of the coastline of Barbuda is, quite simply,

mile after mile of beach surrounded by acres of reef.

Our first stop was Coco Point and Pink Beach.

There’s no shelling here. The beach is astoundingly clean. Not a shred of grass or seaweed on the beach or in the water.

And then there’s 11 Mile Beach at Low Bay on the west coast. Once again, photos can’t possibly show the scope of the beach. Eleven miles. Unbelievable.

The sand at the water line here is tinged pink

by tiny bits of red coral, the same as at Pink Beach.

Available light and camera angle affect the intensity

of the colour, but it's unmistakeable.

And the water is so clear, we could see Bruce at work,

here in about 15 feet of water.

We were anchored centrally in Low Bay,

right off one of the few resorts on the island.

The Lighthouse Beach Resort is quite new and the base

for a planned development of private ‘cottages’

running north from the resort.

It seems that Barbudans are not particularly in favour

of tourist development. We like their thinking.

We joined the crew of Moerae for a tour of the famed

Frigate Bird Sanctuary in Codrington Lagoon.

From left to right, meet dad Alphonse, 15-month-old Alfie,

and guide extraordinaire, George Jeffrey.

Frigate birds are flying machines - they can’t swim and can barely walk. With the largest wingspan-to-body-weight ratio of any bird, these guys can stay aloft for as long as a week when migrating.

These birds are monogamous for the mating season

of September through April and generally,

just one egg is laid per breeding season.

The male frigate bird inflates its red throat pouch to attract a female.

Rearing a frigate bird chick can take longer than a year.

There were fewer birds, especially fewer males,

when we were there in May, but no matter –

getting so close to these endangered birds was thrilling.

And we enjoyed an adventure ashore a few weeks later.

Solomon picked us up in his water taxi ……

…… and joined us, with our tour guide, Nkosi,

for a look at the east coast of Barbuda and the limestone caves.

The limestone formations that house the caves are stark and beautiful.

The locals come to the caves to camp.

Geoff went ahead as we ascended through one cave and Nkosi had my back.

The look on my face tells you how thrilled I was with the

darkness, the sharp incline, and the questionable footing

– some of my favourite things.

Fortunately I was wearing my hiking flip flops.

But when we emerged into full daylight in the highland area?

The view of Two Foot Bay was worth the climb.

And a caveat here - this wasn't exactly mountain climbing. The highest point in Barbuda is all of 125 feet.

Another stop was the Highland House ruins,

part of the former Codrington Estate.

In the 1600s, England leased Barbuda to the Codrington family. They used the island primarily to breed slave labor for their sugar plantations on Antigua. Nkosi and I talked about the history a bit, then had a ‘that was then, this is now’ moment.

We may have to adopt Nkosi.

On the drive back to Codrington for lunch,

Nkosi and Solomon showed us the sand mines.

Barbuda exports sand by barge to neighbouring islands.

We walked around Codrington for a bit, the only town on Barbuda, and home to most of the island’s inhabitants. Various sources put the population somewhere between 1500-1800 people.

Codrington meanders with good town roads that

evolve into dirt roads as the city turns into rural space.

Horses are a big part of Barbudan life

and are left to wander freely throughout the town.

Next year, we plan to check out the Sunday horse racing.

And this is the Art Café in Codrington, the home

and business of Claire Frank and her husband, Mackenzie.

We chatted with Mackenzie,
but Claire was away in England.

We hope to meet her next year.

Claire is one of the forces behind the website www.barbudaful.net.

The next anchorage for Beach House was Gravenor Bay

on the southeast corner of Barbuda.

The multiple reef systems and coral heads make for a tense approach. We had good waypoints from fellow cruisers and Geoff stood look out on the bow as we slowly worked our way in to this astounding anchorage.

We did a dinghy tour the next day around Gravenor Bay.

And another day the captain did a little snorkeling ......

...... while I kept watch on the dinghy.

We did some exploring ashore as well, walking inland just a bit to the Codrington family’s castle ruins.

The castle was built in 1666 and destroyed by an earthquake.

Just a short walk from Gravenor Bay is this southernmost view of the wild Atlantic coast of Barbuda. Studded between these rugged limestone outcroppings are snippets of beach.

On the way back to the dinghy, we came upon a few of the wild donkeys that roam the island.

The distinctive raspy braying of these shy animals made us smile every morning. No need for alarm clocks.

When people ask which island is our favourite, we now have an answer. We’ll go back to Barbuda next year to revisit some favourite spots, and to search out some new adventures.

And, of course, there are miles and miles of beach
yet to explore.

FLASHBACK - "DRIFT AWAY"

2011-05-19T18:04:00.024-04:00

Sure. There are chores to be done no matter where you live,

but life on the water is slow, easy and social.

Here’s how we spent some lazy afternoons last fall in Grenada

– drifting away.

Calivigny Island at the south end of Clarke’s Court Bay
is privately owned and home to a very exclusive resort.

The beach is lovely, but our gang of cruisers only needed
the beach for dinghy parking.

We'd bring our noodles and coolies and while away
an hour on many afternoons, drifting around together.

What a perfect way to cool down
and share the ups and downs of our day.
Give us salt, sand and palm trees. Life is good.

Ashley, the canine member of our group, really needs
to learn how to relax.

The Calivigny beach gathering was quite a regular event
during September and October. Just to change it up a bit,
Cynthia from Minx organized a dinghy drift.

Fourteen boats arrived, turned off their motors
and tied up to each other.

I know you’re wondering why we all look so very tense.

As our dinghy raft-up drifted with the current in Clarke’s Court Bay,
we chatted, enjoyed munchies and sundowners,
and sang away our troubles.

Life is a lyric. Humming a few bars is fine too.

On another memorable afternoon, we were treated

to some real music that arrived in Clarke Court’s Bay – by boat.

And we all attended – also by boat.

Meet Madison Violet and their 1st Annual Grenada Dinghy Concert.

This award-winning Canadian duo has been developing their sound,

and a following, over the past ten years.

Lisa and Brenley played guitar, mandolin, ukulele

and fiddle at various times throughout the concert.

Lisa, on the left above, is Ashley MacIssac's sister. Some serious

fiddling genes in that family.

http://www.madisonviolet.com/

Their vocal harmonies cross several genres

– country/folk/Celtic/pop sounds delighted a happy crowd on a beautiful day.

We look forward to the 2nd Annual Grenada Dinghy Concert this fall.

Working with these pictures has been quite bittersweet. We’ve shared such good times with many wonderful cruisers and some of them are heading Stateside to resume a land-based life. Friends may drift in and out of our lives, but the memories of shared laughter remain.

Good luck and much love to Cynthia and Mike from Minx ---

--- to Sam and Margie from Encantada ---

--- and to Heidi and Bill from Act III.

Camp Grenada will miss your dancing feet and smiling faces.

"A DAY AT THE RACES"

2011-04-25T10:31:00.006-04:00

If you love ladies with a past, you’ve come to the right place.

Welcome to English and Falmouth Harbours

and the Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta.

These classic ladies fall into three race categories – genuine classic yachts built in the 20s and 30s - modern yachts built to honour the craftsmanship of yesterday’s beauties - and traditional wooden workboats from the islands. An additional class was added in recent years, the Spirit of Tradition Class, that accepts yachts built along ‘classic’ lines but with modern additions.

Visitors were welcome to walk the docks and chat with the crews as they cleaned and polished their boats for Elegance Day – it’s not enough to be a fast boat, you must also be beautifully maintained.

And then it rained.

And the crews started drying and polishing again – every inch.

Velsheda is a beautiful J-class yacht.

She arrived in Antigua with her mother ship, a motor boat to house the owners of the racing yacht and their guests. Meet Bystander. Just how do you spell “$$$$$”?

Ranger is a crowd favourite and has fun loving crew members.

Looks like it's possible that a little Mount Gay loosens everyone up. “The rum that invented rum” may have generated a few rum squalls during the week.

Marie was our favourite racing yacht. We checked her out from every angle. A crew member joked, “If you have $5000 in your pocket right now, she’s yours.” Maybe a safe bet we weren’t carrying the cash?

In addition to the big boats, there were beautiful ladies of a more modest size.

And the wooden Carriacou sloops are in a class of their own. These traditional island work boats are built by hand and by eye - no blueprints and no hull molds. They’re sturdy but elegant, hardy but fast.

http://www.tradition-sailing.com/carriacou-sloops.html

In addition to dock walking and gawking, we spent some fun times volunteering at the Antigua Yacht Club. Geoff went to AYC every morning during race week to help with the morning clean up and tent changeovers – these tents down, those tents up, depending on that day’s sponsor.

I spent a shift in the yacht club office and another day bartending in the members lounge with Moe, a new friend and fellow cruiser volunteer.

We enjoyed the experience and the opportunity to meet people,
both other cruisers and local yacht club members.

On several of the race days, Geoff dinghied out to the start/finish line with his camera. The light winds that plagued the entrants meant lots of canvas being added and great viewing - the pictures say it all.

And here’s a favourite classic that's well-known
on the race circuit, Old Bob.

Three other vessels caught our eye. They weren’t here to race but they attracted a lot of well-deserved attention. And they couldn’t be more different from each other.

First up, The Maltese Falcon, all 289 feet of her. Her beam is 42.2 feet - that's the length of Beach House.

Her revolutionary sail system is apparently under consideration for use on smaller and more attainable boats.

http://www.symaltesefalcon.com

Leander was also here for a visit. At 246 feet, she’s one of the largest yachts in the world available for private charter. Rumour has it that Leander has been chartered by the royal family in the past, and that when she left Antigua a few days ago, she was headed to England to arrive in time for the royal wedding. Inquiring minds are wondering where William and Kate are honeymooning and how they're getting there.

We happened to be visiting friends when Leander left the harbour.
Check her out and say hi to Sandy and Leslie.

http://www.myleander.co.uk

And the third non-racing ship that bears mentioning is the tall ship Picton Castle, based out of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.

She’s on her fifth circumnavigation as a teaching vessel and spent Classics race week here, welcoming visitors aboard for tours. What a thrill to check her out.

http://www.picton-castle.com

The piece de resistance of race week was the Sunday Parade of Classics through English Harbour. We were fortunate to score reservations through friends at Catherine’s Café – the premiere place to be on the premiere day of Classics. Thank you, Bob!

Lunch was pricy but excellent and the view even better as we cheered our appreciation for these classy ladies with a past. It's possible that the crews were having as good a time as the spectators.

Will we come to Antigua next April for Classics?

Just ask these Rum Gay smiles.

"A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT"

2011-04-03T07:32:00.012-04:00

Guadeloupe's two main islands
look like a lopsided butterfly.

The ‘wings’are separated by a naviagable river
and we had a plan.

But wait. Getting there is half the fun. Right?

So let’s slow down a bit.

We couldn’t come to Guadeloupe without spending
some time in The Saintes, a collection of islands
off the southwest corner of the main islands.

Bourg des Saintes, the only town there,
is colourful and charming.

And in addition to bistros and baguettes,
there are beaches to enjoy.

Plage de Pompierre ……

Plage de Figuier ……

And the beach at Marigot Bay ……

The next stop was Pointe a Pitre,
the largest city in Guadeloupe.

We hadn’t seen high rises like these since Florida, in fact the whole experience coming into Pointe a Pitre was very reminiscent of the ICW heading into Miami.

Having a little walkabout is always part of the experience.

There were house and garden moments ……

The inevitable big city road construction ......

And MacDonald’s the French way …… ooh la la.

Geoff found some unexpected art
outside a restaurant men’s room.

Whoever placed those chairs had a good eye
for colour, shape and form.

Or did the artist work around them?

But enough sightseeing. It’s time for a ‘jungle cruise’ up the river.

The Riviere Salee is a natural saltwater channel through mangroves rich with bird life. But there are drawbacks to this passage - shallow depths in some areas and two bridges that open once a day on a set schedule. Traveling north, the first bridge opens at 5am and the second bridge at 520. Many cruisers avoid the river.

The day before our planned passage through Salt River and on to Antigua, we moved Beach House from the city anchorage to the staging anchorage
within sight of the first bridge.

And then we took a little dinghy ride
to check out the Riviere Salee in daylight.

The first bridge, Pont de la Gabarre, is a combination road

and pedestrian bridge that open in tandem.

The second bridge is Pont d’Alliance
with a sharp dogleg to port right past it.

The guidebooks promised flying friends

and we weren’t disappointed.

It was 5pm – roosting time for the night.

But this silver bird surprised us.

It appeared so quickly that we were lucky to get a picture at all. What’s missing is a size reference to us and the dinghy, but this shot is not zoomed in. The airport runway is just over the fence to the left and this big bird was seconds to touch down.

We were up at 415 the next morning, sipping caffeine in the cockpit while watching cabin lights come on in the other three boats in the anchorage. We would have company along the river. We changed the ASA on the camera to try for shots in the dark, but we ended up with some unplanned ‘arty’ shots.

The catamaran just ahead of us was first through the bridge. As Beach House passed through Pont de la Gabarre, I called up “Bon jour!” to the bridge tender. His response? “Allez! Allez!” We do wonder how he filled the rest of a work shift after his half hour here.

Twenty-five minutes later we approached the Pont de l’Alliance.
The light was measurably better.

Ahead? No more bridges,
just a well marked channel to follow

with mosquitoes for company.
Beaucoup de mozzies.

Sunrise is always a welcome sight on these early starts.

We cleared the north end of the river and followed
the rest of the channel towards the reefs
that fringe the exit to open water.

There was a small surf along the eastern reef,
just enough to make an Aussie boy a little homesick.

Will we do the Riviere Salee again? Maybe, but there are so many other possible adventures. Our research has convinced us that Beach House will be back to Guadeloupe. The interior beckons with its rain forest, cloud forest and waterfalls.

The Carib Indian word for Guadeloupe is Karukera,

meaning ‘island of lovely waters’. Who could resist?

"LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL"

2011-03-07T14:32:00.014-05:00

We’ve been friends with Dave and Rosemary for years.

Always compatible, always laughing.

But living together 24-7 for almost two weeks?

On a 42 foot sail boat? What were we thinking?

Well. Here’s how the good times rolled out with Dave and Rose in St. Lucia.

We started out right with a ‘Welcome aboard!’ drink.

Just one - we swear.

Next day we did a little provisioning in Vieux Fort.

The blog photographer calls this picture ‘Shopping Daze’.

Dazed maybe, but not confused.
We knew for sure that we wanted some of that fine Coconut Cream Liqueur.

After shopping and checking out the town,

we enjoyed a late lunch at the Old Plantation Yard.

The two captains had diet-friendly Pitons for dessert.

Rosie and Dave wanted to experience the cruising life as lived on Beach House,

so next day it was over to the beach to scrub the dinghy bottom.

Rosie and I kept a close eye on the worker bees, offering advice as needed.

They were …… amused.

Rosemary did some snorkeling off the beach and found a friend.

And Rose is a star herself, bringing goodies galore from Toronto

– chocolate, cashews, fresh herbs, cheese spreads, Bailey’s, excellent coffee,

and <drum roll please> rack of lamb.

Geoff barbied ......

...... while Rosie and I prepped the rest of the meal.

And then Dave thanked Rose as only a husband should.

Good food with good friends with laughs on the side.

Who could ask for anything more?

The north shore of Rodney Bay

is Pigeon Island National Park,

a great place for some serious sightseeing

among the fort ruins.

And the Jambe de Bois café is the perfect place

to end a hot morning of exploring.

Castries is the capital of St. Lucia and our next stop for some more good times.

A little sightseeing, a little shopping and a lunch at the Balcony Restaurant

with its extensive menu.

Lunch was delicious, the drinks were cold and the view of the local square

showed off the Independence Day bunting.

You’ve met Ken and Diane on this blog before.

They’re Canadian cruisers and have built a home here on St. Lucia.

They had guests at the same time Dave and Rose were with us on Beach House. The whole group spent a day touring together and another day taking Beach House from Vieux Fort to Soufriere, just north of the Pitons, on the west coast of St. Lucia.

These photos prove what a shy, retiring group we weren't.

And meet Biset. He was our driver on tour day

and joined us on Beach House for the sail up the west coast.

Biset brought the coconuts and yes - it's his machete.

The coconut water turned our rum punch into ambrosia.

But it wasn’t fun and games all the time.

There’s work to be done on a crusing boat.

And Dave and Rose were much more than guests

– they were mighty fine crew.

We’ve been to St. Lucia several times now.

It’s a beautiful island with something for everyone.

But enjoying the sights through the eyes of good friends?

Perfection.

Cheers Dave and Rosie!

We’re looking forward to more good times during your next visit.