Cruising: Boat Problems in Exotic Locations

Sometimes it's hard to explain to people how we spend our time. We told you about the boat projects we work on, how a trip to the grocery store takes us 3 hours round trip, etc, etc. Everything takes longer than it does on land. For the most part we're OK with that. We like the laid-back pace of the Caribbean. But sometimes you can't blame problems on the laid-back pace. It's just poor customer service! We've been dealing with one example of that for almost a month.

This is a picture of one of the 2 towing rings on the underside of our dinghy. Our dinghy is a year old and the tow rings are badly rusted. In mid-October we discovered that AB, the manufacturer of our dinghy had issued a recall because a number of dinghies had mistakenly been made with tow rings that were not stainless steel. We went in to Budget Marine here in Grenada to inquire about having the tow rings replaced under warranty. The manager of Budget Marine was not in the store and we were told we needed to speak to him. Could we come back tomorrow? Sure, no problem. We came back Saturday morning only to be told the manager wouldn't be in until Tuesday (Monday's a holiday mon) could we come back then. We went back on Tuesday and were told the manager wouldn't be in until Friday. What! No one else was in charge and could help us even though the other workers were aware of the recall. It took us almost two weeks to get an answer from Budget Marine on the repair. Then the manager informed us that he didn't have the parts in stock and it would take a week to get them shipped in. On Wednesday of last week we were told the parts were in and they just needed to clear them. When Jim asked when they could do the repair he was told "You'll have to speak with the manager. He'll be in Friday." On Friday the manager said the repair could be done on Tuesday. Just bring the dinghy to the boatyard next door by 8:00 a.m. Jim took the dinghy in yesterday and the boatyard manager said he still hadn't received the parts from Budget. Back over to Budget where Jim was told they still hadn't cleared the parts. After a couple of hours the boatyard manager suggested Jim not wait around and they just try again this morning. So now Jim is headed back there. We checked late yesterday and the parts were delivered so hopefully all will be fixed today. None of this is AB's fault. Yes, they installed the wrong rings but they are taking responsibility and fixing the problem. Budget is facilitating the warranty repair but in a very poor manner. We should not have had to make numerous trips to get an answer. If the manager chooses to never be in his store the least he could do is put someone else in charge. Sorry for the soapbox but I spent a lot of years in retail management and have trained thousands of sales associates. This is not a laid-back Caribbean approach, it's just bad business!

If all goes well today (can you tell I'm still not convinced) we are ready to head out to start year 4 of cruising. Our plan is to head north to the Grenadines and spend some time in the Tobago Cays. Then we'll island hop our way north to Antigua. Mid-January we'll head to St. Martin where we'll be meeting family and friends. So we're looking forward to another great year. Hope you'll travel along with us.

Happy Birthday Jim!

There are few things in life that Jim dislikes more than birthdays. Although better than the alternative, he dislikes getting older. So we spent the day doing several of the things he does like. We sat on a beach and drank rum punch.

Grand Anse Beach is beautiful and, with no cruise ships in port, quiet and peaceful.

The only interruption was Jim telling me how he supposed he'd have to start wearing black socks with his sandals (picture withheld by request) and why is this one eyebrow hair 3 inches long? As you can imagine, I'm the one who needed a lot of rum! Actually we spent a great day at the beach and then went out for a jerk chicken and callaloo pizza at De Big Fish Restaurant.

Last weekend we attended the Hindu Festival of Lights. The Festival of Lights is a celebration of the light over dark, of good over evil.

The festival turned out to be a program of dancing, music and food in an auditorium. My understanding is that in other parts of the world it is a huge celebration that takes you through neighborhoods where the homes are decorated with lights and people pass out small gifts and food. We enjoyed watching the dancers, seeing everyone dressed in their beautiful traditional clothing and sampling the vegetarian cuisine.

Back on the boat the next day and we are making pizza. We put Bailey out in the cockpit in the shade because it was so hot inside the boat. She spent the whole time staring in through the screen. "Daytime is naptime. Let me in!"

ashoreschool.com

We recently received an email from a couple who have set up a website called www.ashoreschool.com. They had seen my article in Blue Water Sailing and were interested in having us contribute to a section on their website called "A Teachable Moment". Their email read, "I'm sure your experiences would inspire hope for those who have heard you need a 40 foot boat to sail from Lake Michigan to the Caribbean." Ashoreschool.com provides free web based lessons and tools to new sailors and those hoping to become sailors. I hope you'll check out the website and our article on sail reefing. Fair winds!

Island Life

We often get questions about how we spend our time, especially during hurricane season when we stay in one place for months. Any location that has a large number of cruisers like Grenada has no shortage of activities.

A trip in to St. George's for boat parts is always better if you stop for lunch. We find it lessens the pain of all the spending we do at marine stores, hardware stores, etc. The restaurant on this trip was the Horni Baboon at the Lazy Lagoon.

A week ago we joined other cruisers at an auction that was held to benefit the Mount Airy Young Readers Program. Here's Chris, the skipper of Verna Breeze acting as auctioneer. The proceeds of the auction will buy books and supplies for the tutoring program that many of the cruisers volunteer their time for. They tutor the kids once a week in English, reading and math.

Hanging out with friends while we wait for the auction to begin.

Ray (S/V Highthawk) and Jim hamming it up for the camera.

There were even a few pirates there to rob us of our loose change. The auction, which was totally organized by cruisers raised over $2500 U.S. dollars!

There are lots of weekly events to take advantage of if one feels so inclined.

Sunday - dominoes at Clark's Court Bay Marina and barbecue at Roger's Beach Bar.

Wednesday - Burger Night at Clark's Court.

Saturday - Potluck at Clark's Court

Happy Hours at all the bars often with live music. We went to De Big Fish for pizza and to listen to the blues on Saturday.

Add to that the occasional swap meet, special tours and events and there's lots to keep you busy.

The best event of the past week was the celebration of our 30th Wedding Anniversary on October 13th. We started the day with chocolate croissants and mimosas. That evening we had a wonderful dinner at the Dodgy Dock Restaurant at the True Blue Bay Resort. I planned to take pictures as we were all dressed up for a change but arrived at the restaurant with a dead camera battery. Nuts! You'll just have to use your imagination. Trust me, we were gorgeous!

Island Tour

Last week we took an island tour with our friends Pat & Geoff (S/V Beach House), their son Bil and Ray & Genna (S/V Nighthawk). Even though we spent 6 months in Grenada last year, there was still lots for us to see.

View of St. George's and the Carenage.

Our first stop was Conford Falls, a waterfall easily accessible down a flight of stairs from the road.

Next stop was a spice factory where we learned about the local spices and their uses.

Left to right: ripe nutmeg splitting out of the fruit, a cocoa pod, dried cocoa beans and dried mace which is the orange part covering the nutmeg.

Guarding the spices.

Cocoa beans drying in the sun.

The ancient scale used to weigh the spices.

Drying spices. The process hasn't changed in centuries.

Women carry these baskets full of nutmeg on their heads. I managed to stand perfectly still with an empty one.

Fishing boats on the beach at Gouyave.

An ancient indian carving on a rock near Gouyave.

Lunch was at a beautiful little resort called Petite Anse. The view was spectacular!

After lunch we stopped at Leaper's Hill. I'll let you read the story....

This is where they leaped to their deaths.

Finally, what we've been waiting for. Rum!

Rivers Rum Distillery has been in operation since 1785. They still use the original water wheel to generate the power to crush the sugar cane.

This is the crushing mechanism that the water wheel drives.

The crushed cane after the juice is extracted. Nothing goes to waste here. This will help fuel the fire in the furnace.

This is where the juice is boiled before fermenting.

Fermentation happens here.

Feeding the furnace.

The only modern day equipment in this distillery. Save the rum!

The Still.

Outside on the sugar cane we witnessed this duel going on. We didn't stay around to see the outcome.

This machine is used to measure the percentage of alcohol in the finished product.

Our guide Patsy said we should start our tasting with the good stuff, 75% alcohol and 150 proof!

Here's the before.....

..... and the after! Enough said!

The drive home was through the beautiful Grand Etang rainforest with a stop at Grand Etang Lake. The air was cool and refreshing at this spot in the mountains.

It was a wonderful day spent in great company. This island never disappoints!

Life in Grenada

Our friend Renee told us to get off our lazy butts and update our blog. She's right, we have been lazy. Too lazy to haul our computer ashore to get internet access. We've been anchored in Saga Cove on the east-side of Hog Island, Clark's Court Bay and we can't pick up a signal from there. That's right Renee and Mike, we know you can't believe it but we've actually been moving around a bit this year! We spent 2 weeks in Mount Hartman and 2 weeks in Clark's Court Bay. We moved the boat back to Prickly Bay yesterday for our last few weeks in Grenada. The first thing I did was boot up the computer and check email. We were starting to feel really out of touch so if anything interesting has happened in the world in the last few weeks you'll have to let us know. We wouldn't know!

We have taken some great trips around the island, seeing places we didn't see last year. This is Bathway Beach at the northeast tip of the island.

This was once a beautiful beachfront home. Our guess is damage from hurricane Ivan.

Nature has a way of creating the most beautiful designs. Check out these patterns in the sand.

What a beautiful spot to spend the afternoon.

Here's a quick Bailey update for you. Her new favorite place to take a nap is in the locker in the head.

She'll go in and sit on the toilet until we open the door for her.

A package of toilet paper makes a great mattress.

She's always liked closets for naps. Nice and dark and no one to bother her. Now could you all leave!

Another excursion. This time it was just the ladies. A bus-full of us headed up to the Belmont Plantation for lunch and a tour of their gardens. The plantation also grows and processes cocoa that is used to make the fantastic Grenada chocolate.

The museum at the Belmont Plantation, up close.......

....and a view from down the road.

We drank mimosa on the bus, had a wonderful lunch and tour and just enjoyed being out with the ladies.
We'll get some more pictures posted soon. I promise Renee!

Blogs of Interest

Sailing blogs can be somewhat addictive. I know I have some favorites that I always go to. We want to mention a few that we think you will enjoy. Each of these boats and their crew are on different journeys so you'll get a taste of lots of great adventures.

This picture was taken back in July when Merengue, Fine Line and Beach House were all anchored in Tyrell Bay, Carriacou. Steve and Ann (left) on "Fine Line", a St Francis Catamaran are on their way to the ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao) via the off-shore islands of Venezuela. You can follow their trip at www.finelinesailing.blogspot.com. Geoff and Pat (right) on "Beach House", an Endeavor 42 are sailing the eastern Caribbean. Check out their blog at www.lifeonbeachhouse.blogspot.com.

The last blog is from a couple we met briefly in Montserrat, Trish and Robert on "Bristol Rose", a 43 ft ketch. We toured Montserrat together and it was fun to watch Jim and Trish, the 2 avid photographers as they sought out the best shots and talked photography. Trish and Robert are from Australia but have been living in the United States. They are retired now and are returning to Australia on Bristol Rose. You won't want to miss seeing this trip. Check out their blog at www.bristolrose.blogspot.com.

But don't stop visiting us! We'd miss you!