Postcards from the Grenadines

We took our time sailing south this year, spending a month in the Grenadines and Sandy Island, Carriacou.

We visited some new places and some old favorites.  Hope you enjoy our

Postcards from the Grenadines

Bequia

"The Pool", east-side of Canouan.

Anchored behind the reef.

Squall moving in.

Leaving Canouan

Saltwhistle Bay, Mayreau

Waterspout approaching Saltwhistle Bay

Chatham Bay, Union Island

Bollhead Bar, Chatham Bay

Sunset Beach and Eat

Union Island

Clifton Market

Fried Plantains onboard Merengue

Sandy Island, Carriacou

The beach at L'Esterre Bay, Carriacou

The Hardwood Bar

Off the Hook Bar.

Jim with Curtis, the owner.

Sunset over Mabouya, Carriacou

When Lightening Strikes!

     We arrived in Grenada on Wednesday, August 25th and anchored in Saga Cove on the east-side of Hogg Island. It felt good to be here. Really right. Like coming home. Unfortunately the relaxed feeling was short-lived. On Thursday night, at approximately 9:00 p.m. we were struck by lightening!

     Before I give you the details you must know that we are O.K. Jim and I were not hurt, Bailey has recovered from her scare and Merengue will be all right. Those are the things that are most important. Those are the things we really care about. Even the crab that has been living in our cockpit drain for the last 2 months made it through alright.

     Earlier in the evening we had seen lots of lightening far to the east of us. The rumble of thunder came long after the flash of light. Then everything got very quiet. There was no storm, no wind, mostly clear skies and a light sprinkle of rain. I was in the V-berth reading with Bailey laying at my side. Jim had just gone up to take a shower in our cockpit. Out of nowhere a bolt of lightening struck the top of our mast. The sound was deafening! The lights in the cabin immediately blew out but through the porthole above me I could see a shower of sparks raining down on the deck. I later realized that these were pieces of our VHF antenna that had been blown apart and were falling red-hot and glowing on to the deck and into the water. Jim had a head full of soap so his eyes were closed (probably a good thing) but he could still see an enormous flash of light. He yelled, “What just happened?’’ as I yelled “We’ve been hit!

     The people on the boats next to us had just arrived back at their boats from an evening ashore and saw the lightening bolt hit. They said the top of our mast looked like it had fireworks shooting out of it. They also said they saw light and what looked like flames exiting the stern of the boat. They immediately yelled over asking if we were OK and then jumped in their dinghies to come offer assistance. Our friend Colin on S/V Papillon immediately dropped his dinghy in the water and headed over. Within a matter of moments we had 4 people offering to help. Poor Jim is standing in the cockpit stark naked with soap in his eyes! The immediate concern was were we holed? Did we have water coming in anywhere. Jim grabbed a flashlight and started inspecting the bilge. No water coming in. Next was the bilge pump still working? Thankfully, yes. Then we all stood there talking about what we had just experienced and what they had just witnessed. It felt surreal. Once we were sure we weren’t sinking we thanked everyone for their quick assistance and they headed back to their own boats. We’ve said it before but it’s worth repeating. Cruisers are the best part of this lifestyle. We really do look after each other. It was comforting to know they were close by and would be here in an instant if we needed them.

     The initial inspection has shown that we lost everything at the top of the mast: masthead anchor light, wind direction/speed indicator and the VHF antenna as well as the VHF radio. Our Skymate satellite system is fried. The two cabin lights that were on at the time blew but it turned out that it was just the bulbs, the light fixtures still work. Anything that was on at the time blew. Amazingly, our computer that was sitting on the table was not affected. Had the lightening hit 10 minutes earlier when Jim was on-line, who knows?

     The scarier thought is that Jim could have been seriously hurt. He was in the cockpit, exposed (and not just because he was naked!) and he was wet from his shower. I think we were very, very lucky.

     This is actually our second lightening strike. The first occurred many years ago in a boatyard in Milwaukee. Lightening struck the boat next to us blowing 3 holes in the hull. Merengue was hit by a side flash and we had damage to some of our electronics. The current exited our hull through the water intake traveling down our cradle to the ground. The heat was enough to scorch the carpeting that we used to pad the jack-stands. We still don’t know where the current exited this time. Because our neighbors saw a flash of light at the stern that seems to be a possibility but we can’t find any damage.

     Here are some interesting statistics for you:

- In the United States the odds of a person getting struck by lightening each year is 1 in 750,000.

- The odds of getting struck by lightening in your lifetime are 1 in 6,250.

- The odds of a person getting struck by lightening 2 times in their lifetime is 1 in 9 million. I don’t know what the odds are for boats but Merengue has been struck twice. I wish we had that kind of luck when we buy a lottery ticket!

     It took me two days to get around to writing this up for the blog. After the adrenaline faded and I started to think about what could have happened, well frankly I didn’t have the energy to do it. A little delayed reaction I guess. I felt tired, sluggish and more then a little afraid of what might have happened. But it didn’t. And we are enormously grateful for that.

Storms, Sharks and Sewing

We know it's been awhile since we last updated the blog.  Internet connections have been few and far between lately as we cruise around the Grenadines.

We've been busy sewing a canopy to shade the bow,

running from sharks.....

and dodging waterspouts.  It's exhausting work but someone has to do it!

Actually, that was Willena on the S/V Kajun Diva doing the sewing and she did a beautiful job.  We now have a great sunshade/rain shield/ rain catcher.  It's working great.  No more opening and closing the hatch every time it sprinkles.  Thanks Willena!

The Grenadines have been beautiful and we hope to share some pictures with you very soon.  Today we'll clear customs on Union Island and clear in at Carriacou.  We're going to hang out at Sandy Island and do some snorkeling before moving on to Grenada.  We can see Grenada in the distance.  It's beckoning. 

Back in Bequia

Last Monday we headed out of Rodney Bay, St. Lucia for the 18  mile sail to the Pitons where we would spend the night before heading out on the long sail to Bequia in the Grenadines.  We've seen the Pitons many times now but are still always struck by their beauty.  While moored between the Pitons we saw something we've never seen before.  I guess you would call it a moonbow, a rainbow at night.  It was incredible!  The colors were very muted but the arch was definite.  Jim tried to get a picture but even on a manual setting his digital camera wouldn't take the picture.  It was too confused and didn't know what to focus on in the dark sky.  I wish we could show it to you.  Another new surprise from Mother Nature!

We said goodbye to Pat and Carol on S/V Songbird who we had been traveling with since St. Martin.  They stayed in Rodney Bay awaiting the delivery of a boat part. They also wanted to move in to the marina for a few days to attend to a few boat projects.  Can you say air conditioning and cable T.V.?  They may never want to leave!  We felt like it was time to move further south.  The forecast was wrong again.  No wind on the windward side of St. Vincent and pouring rain for part of the trip.  We arrived in Bequia after dark, too tired and disinterested to even fix dinner.  This has been a strange year, certainly very different then last year.  We just aren't getting the nice sailing.  Things seem too unsettled.

Bequia is a wonderful, quiet haven after the noise and activity in Rodney Bay.  I'm glad  we moved when we did because since then the weather has been rainy.  Everyday brings showers, thunder and lightening.  We are currently (along with every other cruiser in the Caribbean) watching the weather reports as a huge tropical wave moves across the eastern Atlantic.  It is located about 850 miles SW of the Cape Verde Islands and looks like it will develop into a tropical storm by mid-week.  It should pass through the Windward islands well north of us but we wait and watch.  Predictions are that this will be hurricane Colin by next weekend.  Florida - Heads Up!

Stay safe everyone!

St. Lucia Carnival

So Many Islands!  So Many Carnivals!

This time we are celebrating in St. Lucia.

Waiting for the parade in a downpour.  Good thing I brought the umbrella.  I was planning on using it for shade!

We started watching the parade about a quarter of a mile from the start but the bands weren't too organized and most of the participants were just walking, not really performing.  They just weren't into it yet.

St. Lucian's enjoying the party.

Watching the parade from his art gallery.

When the bands pass by the music is deafening, pounding in your chest and ears.  This guy will have no hearing left by the end of the parade.

We decided to go farther in on the parade route and eventually things got moving.  Maybe they were more warmed up or maybe the alcohol was kicking in but we finally saw some action.

We kind of liked the sailor band.  Wonder why?

There were discarded pieces of costumes all along the parade route.  You'd think they would try to keep it together until they passed the judges but when you're partying, you just can't worry about those things.  The St. Lucia carnival makes 7 for us so far.  I wonder if we'll make it to Grenada in time for theirs?

The rain continued to fall for the next few days.  During one short break we decided to make a run for it and go get some pizza.  Here's Pat and Carol doing a drive-by with the umbrella up.  The good news was that we were able to collect enough rain water to fill our tank and jerry cans, about 60 gallons.  We like when the water comes to us and we don't have to go get it! 

Next stop, Bequia in the Grenadines.

Martinique

Boy, are we behind on keeping up this blog thing!

Our friend Tim emailed us the other day and wrote, "Where the heck are you?  It's been over two weeks since you updated the blog."  So here's a quick update on our time in Martinique.

After a great sail from Dominica, the first order of business was get to a restaurant.  The French islands have such great food.  Here's Pat (S/V Songbird) and Jim enjoying a some cold beer in Le Corsaire restaurant in Anse Mitan.  Note to our cruising friends; you can now clear customs at the marina in Anse Mitan.

Anse Mitan is a pretty tourist area with lots of great restaurants and shops.  This sign caught our eye.  Anyone interested in some tripe in cider?  Blegh!

This resort is uniquely Martinique.  It and the adjoining beaches are set in a series of small coves with shallow, calm water, perfect for families.

We didn't get in much sightseeing while we were here.  You may remember when we visited Martinique in early 2009 the island was on strike.  Fort de France was a ghost town with the businesses all closed, no taxis or buses running.  This time we found a bustling city of a 120,000 people.

We wandered up along the river to see the fish market and stopped in a few shops along the way.

This beautiful building houses a theater.  Then it was off to a mall for some more shopping and lunch before catching the ferry back to Anse Mitan.  There would be many more pictures if I had remembered to charge the camera up before we left!  We didn't get any other sightseeing trips in. Been there, still didn't do that!

The weather was very unsettled while we were there.  This is one of the many storm systems moving through the area one night right at sunset.

But the clouds did provide for some great sunsets.

Next stop, St. Lucia