"CHEESEBURGER IN PARADISE"

Welcome to Clarke's Court Bay Marina, in Woburn, Grenada, also known as Paradise. The food is good and the company is even better.

We were anchored in the bay just off the marina for three weeks and now ‘Beach House’ is on the dock ……

…… while Geoff sorts out the wind generators, the batteries, and the bilge alarm. We’ve also taken down our enclosure and scrubbed the fabric with a bleach solution while we have access to lots of fresh water for rinsing. We'll water-proof the enclosure tomorrow. Or the next day.

This isn't a high end, slick, expensive marina.

It's better. There's a laid-back, welcoming atmosphere. We may never leave.

Wednesday is cheeseburger night and there’s always a full house.

Cruisers dinghy in from the surrounding anchorages and the marina offers an inexpensive shuttle service from St. George’s and Prickly Bay.

Rene cooks up the cheeseburgers ……

 

……and all the trimmings are just inside the door. Despite being surrounded by great fishing grounds, cruisers do love their cheeseburgers and fries.

On alternate Friday nights, Rene whips up English-style fish and chips with great slaw on the side. Check out the popularity of this event.

That’s Cheryl, Rene’s wife, dishing up at the serving tables.

As the evening winds down, there’s another cruiser favourite on fish and chip night –

- ice cream. This is our friend Kitty from ‘Falcon’. Yes. Her name is Kitty. We call this picture The Two Kitties.

Every Saturday evening, the marina hosts a cruiser pot luck dinner. It's not often a restaurant allows you to bring your own food. But there’s plenty to do here at CCBM besides eat. On Sunday afternoons, there’s Mexican Train Dominoes.

By the way, only one of those drink glasses is mine. And the pool table is available anytime. There are showers, washing machines and drying lines, and excellent wifi. Just to complete the retirement home atmosphere, on Friday mornings, the marina provides a bus to the shopping mall.

The big screen TV behind the bar gets a lot of use.

There are sporting events some mornings, and WII games, like 10 pin bowling and tennis.

There are occasional experts in for talks and demonstrations, and DVD concerts for our listening and viewing pleasure during the evening.

 

Bob, the owner of the marina, brings in live entertainers every now and then. This solo steel pan player ……

…… got a kick out of Bob taking the mic and channeling Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World”. The man can sing and has charm to spare.

You’ve already met Rene and Cheryl in some of the earlier pix.

They’re cruisers from Ontario who have been helping at the bar and restaurant for a couple of seasons. They live on their boat, ‘Gypsy Blues’, at the dock. Good people.

You might be thinking that this marina could be anywhere – a great clubhouse/restaurant, sturdy, safe docks, and fun-filled functions. But it’s not just anywhere. It’s in Grenada with its near perfect weather. And all the cruisers we spend time with have traveled thousands of miles to get here. That simple fact makes for quick and easy bonding.

So I’m sure you’ve noticed the day on this entry. Yes, it’s cheeseburger night. Good God Almighty which way do we steer.