"OUR HOUSE"

Ever enjoyed a cruise on one of those luxury liners?

Nonstop activities and endless buffets on board?

New experiences ashore in a different port every day?

St. George’s, here in Grenada, is a cruise ship destination.

There can be as many as four cruise ships in the area at any one time. Thousands of passengers crowd into St. George’s, bringing welcome business to the taxi drivers and tour operators.

It’s interesting to sit at a balcony bar, watching the very white shoulders of the tourists turning bright pink right before our eyes.

And we’re learning how to cope with the barrage of offers from the local business people who mistake us for cruise ship passengers. The easiest answer is a simple “No thank you!” to the charming young men hawking tours and to the locals selling intensely fragrant spice necklaces.

These necklaces are usually three for $10 US, but when we say we’re not from a cruise ship, the price gets cut in half.

So here we are. Not quite tourists. Not quite residents. Where do we fit in? It’s a complicated question and a common topic of conversation among cruisers. There’s no real need for an answer, of course. It’s just fun to do some philosophizing over sundowners and snacks.

Earlier this week, we did just that here on ‘Beach House’

Carolee listened as Susea answered Jeff’s question,

"What makes a cruiser a cruiser?".

Then Kathy took a stab at it while Geoff and Gene thought about her wisdom on the subject.

 And cruising boats come in all shapes and sizes. One of the smallest we’ve seen was a 24-foot sailboat with a couple and their 12-year-old daughter aboard. Let me just say, “Yikes.”

 And then there are BIG boats at the other end of the spectrum.
Calivigny Island is a beautiful anchorage at the south end of Clarke’s Court Bay. The dark blue sailboat in the background is on the dock at this privately-owned island. The complex you see is not a resort.

Apparently, the owner is on a slightly different budget than we are, and in addition to buying an island, has spent more cash on a 120-foot ketch. If you've got it, why not?

In the lagoon in St. George’s, Port Louis Marina has new docks for mega-yachts.

That white monster is not a cruise ship – it’s a privately-owned motor yacht. We’ve noticed that the ‘cruisers’ on these huge boats don’t mingle with the riff-raff, although sometimes the crew members will hang out in the same places we enjoy.

The majority of cruising boats are in the 35-45 foot range.

There can be as many as 60 boats anchored behind Hog’s Island......

......and as many again in Prickly Bay, another popular anchorage

here on the south shore of Grenada

Which brings us back again to ‘Beach House’, our 400 square foot condo on the water.  Family and boating friends back in Canada have been aboard, but we thought the rest of you might enjoy a tour. We’ve tried to anticipate what questions you might have about our home and our lifestyle on the water. Don’t hesitate to pop us an email if we missed something that you’re curious about.

In the meantime, welcome aboard.

‘Beach House’ is an Endeavour 42, built in 1985 - that's pretty young in boat years. She’s 42 feet long and 13-1/2 feet wide at her widest point. The specs say she sleeps eight. Really? We adhere to the cruisers’ mantra – six for drinks, four for dinner, two to sleep.

The tour starts in the aft/master cabin/our cabin, since Geoff claims we bought a bed that happened to have a boat around it.

I can’t argue with that. Having a “real” bed was number one on my list of requirements.

We each have three drawers and a cedar-lined hanging locker.

Are my shirts colour-coded? Oh man.  Okay – confession is good for the soul. Right? Maybe I am a little anal. I’m also a bit of a tidy freak. You’ll notice lots of baskets in these pictures – Geoff calls me the original ‘basket case’, but it’s just my way of trying to contain the bits and pieces.

 

The walk-through from the aft cabin houses the galley.

It’s really a one person galley – I don’t think Geoff minds that. We have refrigeration – just over five cubic feet including a shoebox-sized freezer – enough for a few days of meat, and ice, glorious ice. The propane stove is a three burner with a compact oven space. We don’t use the oven that often because it heats up the boat too much, but it has served well for bread, muffins, and the occasional meat loaf or roast.

The barbeque on the port aft rail is the Captain’s domain.

It doesn’t get used as often as I’d like because the trade winds are relentless and, apparently, it makes it hard to keep the barbie lit. Who knew?

I have a double sink and love it, especially the depth.

I can stash 2-3 days of dishes and cover them with the breadboards that fit over the sinks. I mean, we’d do dishes everyday, but we have to conserve water. Right?

The main salon, or main saloon as most boat ads say, is equivalent to a ‘great room’ in a house. It’s our multi-purpose room, the place where we spend most of our time.

The table is enormous – the starboard side leaf is folded down most of the time.

This area is our dining room ……

…… our reading and games room ……

…… and our TV/movie room. Who left that stuff out on the settee on Geoff’s side of the boat? Get me a basket.

The forward guest cabin is bigger than it looks.

Our son, Bil, visited last October and at 6’4”, he could stretch out. When we don’t have guests, the forward cabin becomes our garage, the place for all that essential stuff that doesn’t quite fit anywhere else. Storage is always at a premium on board – everything must earn its space.

‘Beach House’ has two heads/bathrooms, both with a full shower. Geoff built shelves in the aft cabin shower space for his tools and spare parts. We use the main section of the forward head to shower ……

…… leaving the shower side of the head for further storage -

- towels, cleaning supplies, and occasionally, adult beverages when we stock up.

Of course, the best feature of ‘Beach House’ is the deck that runs the length and width of the ‘condo’, with a spectacular view that we can change on a whim.

So whatever your definition of a cruiser, we've learned that cruising means different things to different people for different reasons. Some people cruise full time, some are snowbirds spending six months on their boat and six months on land, some cruise the world, some spend a few months in the Bahamas every year.

Our Funk and Wagnall's gets the last word ---
 
Cruise (krooz) – verb - To sail about with no fixed destination, as for PLEASURE.