January 2019 - Windward Islands Caribbean

Eastern Caribbean| Windward Islands | Grenada | Carriacou Island| Tyrell Bay Marina

Eastern Caribbean| | Windward Islands | Grenada | Umbrellas Restaurant

January 7, 2019

We flew back to Artemis moored in Tyrell Bay Marina, Carriacou via Miami and Grenada. Our flight from Minneapolis allowed us to make our connection in Miami to Grenada. We had to take a hotel in Grenada (Siesta Hotel) and fly to Carriacou the next day. It is only a 20 min. flight on SVG airlines. We had a nice dinner at Umbrellas on Grand Anse Beach. Hindsight...we would take a ferry back as then we could have provisioned the boat in Grenada. SVG has a strict weight allowance as it only carries 3 passengers and their luggage. They even weigh the passengers. If you have too much they send it on a later flight.

Eastern Caribbean| | Windward Islands | Grenada | SVG Airlines

Eastern Caribbean| | Windward Islands | Grenada

January 8 -10, 2019

All was well with Artemis. We were glad we had put on 8 big mooring lines and two large springs. The harbor doesn't appear to have a lot of movement but there is a current that forces a seasaw motion which actually broke one of our stainless steel springs! We had busy couple of days getting Artemis ready to cruise again. Sails and bimini back on, blew up dingy, started up the watermaker, and provisioned. Unfortunately the new grocery store in Tyrell Bay has very little in it. We'll have to do better up the way.

January 11-14, 2019

We cleared customs in Carriacou and took on Duty Free diesel. We had a nice but short sail (10nm) to Clifton on Union Island. We picked up a mooring off the reef overlooking Happy Island a beach bar. We cleared customs into St. Vincent and the Grenadines. We found a nice selection of fruits and vegetables here. We motored to Tobago Cays for a day. The current and tide were strong and our dingy motor was acting up so we didn't get to go snorkling. We moved on to Mayreau Island for a day to sort out the dingy and enjoyed some walking.

Eastern Caribbean| | Windward Islands | St. Vincent |Tobago Cays

Eastern Caribbean| | Windward Islands | St. Vincent |Mayreau Island

January 15 - 26, 2019

We had an exciting passage to Bequia Island. Not only did we have 25nm of great sailing but we saw not one but THREE Humpback Whales! The first we spotted as it dove off our port side. The other two traveled side by side right off our bow. Al had to turn to miss hitting them! Of course where's the camera when you need it. I have to start carrying our underwater camera in the cockpit with us.

We had a great couple of weeks Port Elizabeth in Bequia. We met another Mason 43 s/y Remedy Jo and Dick. We had many fun days and evenings with them walking, or listening to music by Jan on the Sax and Uncle Louie on the piano. Some favorite eating spots, The Fig Tree, Jacks, and Max's Pizza ( seared tuna not pizza). Fun walks, airport back to Port Elizabeth, Turtle Sanctuary, and ruins of Fort Hamilton. The weather is so nice it's easy to forget that it's winter not summer

Eastern Caribbean| | Windward Islands | St. Vincent |Bequia Island ahead

January 27- 31, 2019

We decided to visit two islands we missed when we sailed south last Spring. We spent a couple of days in Cumberland Bay on St. Vincent. We had plenty of help from William as we dropped anchored and tied the stern toward shore. We ate dinner at one of the beach bars. It was a bit rough around the edges but the fish was good. We wanted to clear customs in Chateaubelair but Keith the customs agent wasn't available at that location on Mondays. But he said he'd stop by Cumberland Bay and do it! We still needed to clear immigration so we decided to hire a taxi and see part of the island. My goodness we never expected the ride to be a rollercoaster experience! Beautiful views and about half hour driving in the mountains, wooded hills and valleys before arriving in Chateaubelair. We visited immigration and then went to the Beach Front Restaurant for a roti lunch. Great chicken roti for 8 EC! We had another gorgeous sailing day. It was a nice beam reach 38nm from Cumberland to Soufriere Marine Park on St. Lucia. We were met by a boat that helped us tie to a mooring buoy. Since this is a Marine Park with Rangers we need to pay a fee per person, per day which includes a free mooring. We are visited several times a day by locals selling jewelry, fish, fruits or vegetables. We discover Soufriere has a good size grocery store, great fruits and vegetables, and fantastic ice cream shop right next to immigration. We also spent a night in Marigot Bay on St. Lucia where we clear customs and immigration to head for Martinique. We had a great mahi sandwich at Chateau Mygo and gelato at the Hurricane Hole.