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Published: February 24th 2009
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At anchor
The rhythm of the Caribbean has returned Peacefully bobbing at anchor at Hog Island, Grenada, we have just finished dinner of bbq’d pork chops and are now enjoying the serenity. Tree frogs are a constant hum. The temperature is still in the low 80’s; (I have given up trying to translate to Celsius) but the heat is over for the day. It sure is nice to have Ace here; she arrived two days ago after having given me ten days to launch the boat and put it in some semblance of order. Today was the first day in two weeks where the rhythm of the Caribbean seems to have returned... slow and easy.
The past two weeks have been a bit of a blur. My brother Bill and I met in Toronto, flew down together and were to provide each other with some company and moral support. As Bill has his own boat here, we couldn’t help each other but the comradery has been great. This is the first time I have commissioned a boat in the tropics. The heat and humidity in the rainy season saps your energy but the chores of sanding, painting, waxing, cleaning along with several other maintenance tasks had to be done.
Bottom prep
Workin' on my boat Bill & I have been staying at a B&B called Homeward Bound hosted by Inga and her good friend Hal. They are wonderful hosts, gracious, accommodating and Hal is a great source of yachting info. And it’s a small world again…although we had forgotten; two years ago we had met in Georgetown in the Bahamas. Hal had just finished gluing his dinghy together and I sought some advice so I could repair mine. It took us a bit to realize where the familiarity came from but it was when he mentioned the name of his boat Mane Bris that it came to me. Inga arrived from Germany some 20 years ago, built herself a home on the ridge with a spectacular view. The design is unusual as it essentially completely open via an atrium where birds, geckos and tree frogs can come and go as they please. Breakfast was provided each morning followed by a ride to the boatyard. The evenings were always interesting as different yachty types often frequented providing great banters ranging from boat maintenance issues to cruising areas and of course the American election.
Grenada is the meeting place for cruisers in the south Caribbean.
Inga & Hal
Our hosts at the B&B Homeward Bound Some of us can leave our boats here for the summer hurricane season, some have to head another 80 miles south to Trinidad; all of this is prescribed by our various insurers. Most boats though end up in Grenada while moving north for the cruising season and it is wonderful meeting up again. While working on some mundane project, all hot and sweaty, I heard a call to stop and get in the water. About a hundred feet away were some 20 people floating with noodles and drinking beer. It was Wendy that called; we met her and Jim two years ago in Bimini; there were also 3 other couples in the water whom we had previously met in the Bahamas. This being the start of our third season, we have found out how small of a community cruising is.
We were close to getting the boat ready to go to head north a bit from Grenada when we had a bit of a set-back. While I was re-wiring our antenna, Ace decided to go for a snorkel a mile or so away in the next bay. As fate would have it, while in shallow water trying to tie
Breakfast
Convalescence at Hog Island, could be worse! the dinghy to an overhanging branch, she stepped on a Conch shell and seriously cut her foot severing two tendons. I won’t ruin your day with the details, it ruined ours, but she was operated on that evening and seems to be mending well, especially now that the cast is off. So our agenda was modified a bit. We found a few quieter things to do and stayed put, anchored off the beautiful, peaceful beach at Hog Island and except for the occasional beach party, in blissful solitude. As a place to convalesce, it was perfect.
Grenada is a wonderful place. The people are gracious, the area is safe. We occupied our time seeing friends, dinghy riding around to other bays, eventually hopping onto the busses to head into town, sitting on the beach playing dominos, having pot luck dinners and listening to steel drum and other bands. We have spent several Saturdays tutoring young children in reading and math. Last Saturday was the tutoring wind-up Christmas party. Included in the party was a song & dance contest. Shem, Ellis & Quincy won for the best “gyrating” - boy, they sure do start young & Jaydene won for best
Roger's Bar on Hog Island
Bill, Lee, Sharon, Ace, Roy, Maggie, Larry, Fi. Every Sun. its a beach BBQ along with the prerequisite beer or rum punch song “Jesus’s Love is Just a Bubblin’ Over, Alleluia!”. We love how they make a lot of fun out of very little.
That Saturday was also our final evening in Grenada and we celebrated it with some locals and a dozen other cruisers by preparing and consuming an Oil Down. What’s an Oil Down you say? Oil Down is Grenada’s national food, kind of like pasta to Italy and stew to Ireland, and no, not like whale meat to Canada. Oil Down is traditionally prepared by men who consume a bit of rum in the process. It includes breadfruit (Capt Blythe), coconuts, saffron, bananas, pumpkin, callaloo, garlic, papaya, carrots, chicken and to top it all, each end of a slaughtered pig, the snout and the tail. This is boiled for about 2 hours until the oil from the coconut is absorbed…delicious!
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