After Hurricane Season Plans

Here we are again: Planning! After having a couple of healthy gin and tonics we found ourselves sitting in the cockpit and planning the season after the Hurricane break. While planning in this case means we're discussing options, without any weather charts or even world maps. The main topic was: Should we make our way towards the Pacific or stay another year in the Caribbean?

To make a long story short; We will stay another season in the Caribbean! Even if I would love to go on, there are several and I believe good reasons to spend some more time here. First of all there is still a lot to see, a bunch of unexplored islands (at least by us) are still out there! After all, why the hell should we rush through one of the most beautiful parts of the world?

Additional a bit more experience cannot be a bad thing either. No, we are not scared to make the 3'000 miles passage between Galapagos and the Marquesas, we just have a healthy respect. I really believe Habibi is ready and the crew would manage it as well. So far, neither 40 knots of wind nor 12 foot waves on the nose could stop us, why should a longer trip? I'm pretty sure in twelve months or so we'll announce our heading towards Columbia, ABC's or St. Blas islands at this point. Stay tuned...

Knowing now our next season's plans, we really look forward to sail up north again. We're already discussing anchorages we missed and places we need to visit again. Since the trips will now be shorter, it's more plannable as well. Which maybe means that some more friends can stop by easier. We are really exited and already looking forward to the end of the Hurricane break in a few months....

PS: Dear parents, before you take now a too deep a breath since we postponed the Pacific crossing, please acknowledge: Postponed! It's still on our agenda. But anyway,  I can ensure you, sailing is not as life threatening as you think. By experience, the single most dangerous thing we encountered so far was the liquor locker :-)

Best of Grenadines

Guadeloupe - Pitons: from here we headed for the Grenadines

In May we sailed island after island: Nevis, Montserrat, Guadeloupe, Martinique and St. Lucia. It was a month full of emotions, discoveries, adventures and making new friends. And we got closer and closer to our final destination for that season: Grenada. But not so fast - there was something in between... ah yeah, the Grenadines! Cruising there really stands for "island hopping" as the distances are getting short. You can easely have a lazy start in the morning, lift anchor at noon and be on another island for your sundowner - of course by then you already snorkeled in the nearby reef and explored the little island! Even though we rushed a little bit through this area (something we might catch up on next season, but more on this in a later post) we really enjoyed it. Every single island is special in its own way and we post ONE picture for each one of them with a little description what made it unique for us:

St.Vincent: We decided NOT to stop there as unfortunately we've only heard bad things about it. But we still had to sail along its Leeward side which meant for us - slack, no wind at all. So we had to start the engine. The advantage was that there also were no seas, so we could cook and eat lunch in extraordinarily calm conditions!

Bequia: While approaching Bequia we had our sail of the season! We run constantly 7 knots of speed all the way from St. Vincent till the entrance of Port Elisabeth! I was steering when we all of a sudden saw a dinghy appearing in front of us. I was not willing to tack so I kept course - even though I was concerned to hit it at one point! Then it turned and came along our starboard side. And our stern. And our port side. Finally we realized that the guy in the dinghy was taking pictures - OF US! Later the day when we were anchored in Admiralty Bay the photographer Kenmore Henville stepped by our boat and showed us the pictures he's got taken of Habibi. We were thrilled and bought them after some negotiation. The picture above is awesome, isn't it? If you ever sail there watch out for him!

Canouan: This is a small island with the huge Charlestown Bay on its Leeward side where we anchored in green-turquoise water off the Tamarind Beach Hotel. The wind was shooting down the hills in gusts which can be noisy, but as there was anyway a local party going on in town with very loud music all night long we didn't care. Together with Monica and Ron from s/v Eos we had a sundowner and dinner in the Hotel which wasn't cheap but nevertheless a pleasant evening! On this tiny island there are two resorts that stand in stark contrast to the life of its inhabitants. We didn't see much of the island but we still wondered how locals feel about this developments. For sure they're not the ones that get any profit out of it...

Tobago Cays Marine Park: This.Was.Just.Amazing! It's a group of small deserted islands protected from the sea only by a Horseshoe Reef. It literally gives you a feeling that you're anchored in the open water with nothing in between you and your boat till Africa! Have a look on Google Maps, you'll be amazed! But besides this the water is so clear you can see the bottom and all the fish swimming by your boat. We felt like to be back in the Bahamas... But the most amazing part were the turtles. We heard about a designated "turtle watching area" off Baradel but thought with all this boats anchored next by and people jumping in the water they must have been disappeared long time ago... Fortunately we were wrong. When we put on our snorkeling gear and started to swim in this area they were all over and seemed to be totally disinterested in us! Can you imagine how exciting that was for a newbie snorkler like me to see turtles grazing on seagrass??

Union Island: Clifton is a port of entry and we had to check out of St.Vincent's and the Grenadines at customs here. That gave us the opportunity to stroll around this charming and colorful town. They have a picture perfect fruit and vegetable market and many little restaurants and bars along the bay. When we were there it was already off season and left a sleepy impression. But we could imagine it to be bustling during high season. There shall be some nice hiking, maybe something we might consider on a second visit...

Carriacou: Even though it's already part of Grenada I still decided to include it in here. We checked in in Hillsborough for Grenada and moved then over to Tyrell Bay - that's where our anchor windlass broke down. There are around 70 boats anchored in this bay but it was surprisingly quiet. We guessed that many boats were live aboards or even abandoned. The "town" didn't impress us too much. It literally consisted of a couple of shacks that either were identified as a restaurant, a bar or a store. But all of them advertised "Free wifi"... What we really were looking forward to was to take the dinghy and explore the nearby mangrove swamp. It did not disappoint us - except that we maybe expected to see or hear more animals. It was so peaceful in there! There is even a mangrove oyster growing on the roots of the mangroves.


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With love from paradise
Rahel

Let there be light!

Calabash Tree

Under way since more than seven months and we were literally sitting in the dark all this time... in the dark cockpit, I mean. We've been looking in any kind of store you can think of to find a light: hardware, marine, antique, local crafts - we could either spend a few hundred bucks on a stainless piece of art or get a cheap, ugly, greenish plastic camping light, both not an option for us. Then in St. Lucia we discovered the Calabash, a round fruit growing on trees as you see in the picture above. We learned that you actually can't eat the pulp, but that people use the hard shell to make bowls, cups or artwork out of it. Our Rasta-tourguide Vision "organized" some of these babies for us and it was then when Marco was stroke on an idea. Why not tinkering a lamp out of it? Here is the making of our new cockpit light:

One need a pristine and firm Calabash of the size of your liking

Cutting off the top of the fruit - a saw or the like will work fine

Spooning out all the pulp which unfortunately is not edible

Drill a hole on top of the Calabash big enough to insert an electrical

cable, attach a little bulb at one end and a 12V plug at the other

We hang it up on a removable hook at the Bimini straps and connect

the plug to the 12V socket which is mount at the side of the helm

The Calabash looks almost golden while illuminated

Now we have a warm and bright light in our cockpit which is actually our living and dining room. We enjoy this space now even more often to chill, to read or to eat. We're de*light*ed!

From paradise with love
Rahel

Companions of the sea

While sailing from Bequia to Canuan we've been accompanied by a group of dolphins.
I tried to catch the virtuosity and dynamics of them with my simple camera and would like to share this exciting moment with you:
Dolphins in the Grenadines from Rahel Urech on Vimeo.

From paradise with love
Rahel

Arrival at destination - for now

Phew, after 7 months and more than 3'000nm of cruising we finally arrived in St.George's Grenada where we decided to stay at Port Louis Marina for at least one or two months. Hurricane season officially started on first of June and according to our Insurance Company we are safe here - let's hope the Hurricanes know and will give this area a wide berth! We like what we have seen so far from the marina today: the facilities are brandnew and clean, the staff is friendly and the internet pretty fast! The next days we'll explore for sure the city and its surroundings and see what our "home for now" has to offer. But first Marco has to cure his toe, according to the color we think it must be broken - he hit it somewhere on deck while preparing for the docking maneuver. And then we have to face an endless To-do-List. But first let's have a sundowner, Cheers!

With love from paradise
Rahel

A not so perfect day..

I guess I deserve it. After my yesterdays' blog there had something to come....but let me start from the beginning:

We decided to move to the next anchorage before finally heading on Monday to Grenada for Hurricane Season shelter. It was again a very short trip - not even much sailing. But the bay is amazing, full of cruisers and even with a mangrove swamp in one corner. This time the anchor set right the first time. Great. When I made some final adjustments all of the sudden the windlass stopped. No movement at all - the breaker always tripped right away. At least the anchor was really in so I could address that problem without any hurry. After spending one hour in the real cramped anchor locker and measuring all kind of connections it looks now like the motor or the gearbox is seized. Since the windlass company is not longer in business it may be hard to get some spares, looks like another 2500 USD replacement!! 

We are both not sure if we should be really mad about this or not. We anchored now for months, sometimes at night in really hairy spots and the windlass never let us down. Now, the LAST TIME we set the anchor before heading into a marina for weeks it failed?? Is this now luck or bad luck? The only thing I really do not look forward to is to haul out by hand 40 meter of chain with a 50 pound of anchor attached. If you are back in the office on Monday please think of me - this weeks' start will be harsh as well on Habibi. 

After all that stress we decided to check out the "Lazy Turtle",  a highly recommended cruisers bar - famous for good snacks, real espresso and quick internet, they even have their own dinghy dock. Well, that guy who wrote the guide with this recommendation was maybe already too long in the Caribbean. The 400 pound lady behind the counter made the bars' name program. Sitting there and watching TV she looked more like a big lazy turtle than a waitress.  She was in fact hardly to convince to move at all. The most irritating fact was that she started to crawl her beard while explaining to me why the kitchen is partly closed. French-Burgers? No, the fryer is cold so no fries with it. I could convince here that we have plenty of time since we are on holiday. I could her hear swearing while she slurped finally into the kitchen :-)

The burgers would be basically ok, really made with fresh baguette.  It's maybe the fact that they have been served by a bearded 400 pound women which made me simply a bit too frightened to enjoy. And yes, the internet was fast as promised but the highly praised espresso machine is broken for months....

So you see, cruising can sometimes be hard as well. If the windlass would still work and the local waitresses would shave in the morning I felt much better.  Now I have to sell a kidney to pay the new windlass and I still hadn't any real espresso....I guess it's fair to say this was not that perfect day after all..

,

A (almost) perfect day!

if you wonder what's in the front: "work less"

This day was almost damn perfect! We planned a very short cruise from Union Island to Carriacou, which is already part of Grenada. Just a short island hop. The weather forecast said winds over 25 knots and still high waves. Nevertheless - we decided to go. Getting the clearance from Union island was quite hilarious. It took the lady at the customs some time to convince the other lady to stop the computer game, get rid of the headphones and do her job. Immigration was even a bit more tricky:  Why do I have a blank stamped and signed (!) immigration receipt in my passport? After I could convince the lady that I do not sell immigration papers for human trafficking purpose and I guessed it was just a mistake from the guys at our port of entry (they watched TV while doing my papers) all was easy again. I could join Rahel at the French restaurant where she had breakfast while I was "working"  

Finally we almost flew with up to eight knots over to Carriacou. Way to short that trip! Anchoring was a bit difficult in Hillsborough as the ground was very grassy. Finally after the fifth or so attempt the hook went in. Immigration to Grenada was a blessing. Yes, I had to visit three different offices, but the guys are really friendly. 

After some sightseeing and bargaining at the local fruit and vegetable market we found ourselves later this afternoon hanging around on the boat, having a few beers, fishing and discussing the meaning of life (yes, we still talk to each other). Sounds perfect doesn't it?

So if you still wonder how a perfect cruisers' day may look like here are a few hints:

1. In my case the most important thing is to ensure my wife is not hungry! Don't laugh! You've probably never met her when she hasn't got eaten! I tell you, go into your zoo of choice and ask if you could play whit hungry lions - you will get the picture! Since we (she) had nice breakfast, late lunch and dinner with dessert all is perfect.
2. Nothing broken on Habibi
3. Work slow and sail fast: Clearance and Immigration are not the fastest over here. But sail quickly in between so you make the office hours (8-12 & 14-16H!!) and things are again (almost) perfect.
4. Have some ice cold beers in a nice anchorage
5. Catch some fish. While some is probably a stupid description. I mentioned the gremlin already on my facebook site, but at least we still have something to laugh about...see pic below
6. Have some more beers
7. Prepare dinner (no fish tonight!) and have a glass of wine or two while watching the sunset
8. Still nothing broken (yet)
9. Making bananas with local nutmeg syrup for dessert
10. Having a few more....I guess you know....
11. and last but not least, go to bed with the only concern if you should stay another night here or not....

I admit, it's not always like this, but I can ensure you the sun shines generally much brighter here than in every office cubicle I've ever visited the last 25 years! So go and live your dream!

our little Gremlin