9-10th Feb
Anchors up next morning for the long passage to Carriacou. We had a wonderful sail over, even in the rougher part of the channel. 20 – 25 knots initially allowed us a boat speed of 7knots under jib and main in glorious sunshine. It took just under 4 hours which was pretty good time. We had to go into Hillsboro in order to clear customs. The anchor held but there was a lot of swell and we clearly were not going to be able to stay for long. John went ashore to do the paperwork and Jo and I stayed on anchor watch. Paperwork done we headed round the headland to Tyrell Bay. To get there we had to negotiate yet more shoals and pass some stunning spit of sand surrounded by crystal clear turquoise water. Just like a picture postcard.

Tyrell bay was very busy and even had a few industrial vessels in it. We negotiated the shoals and dropped the hook beside another 2 island packets. Ashore we found a pleasant beach to walk along, a waterfront that had quite a few tiny shops and little else. We headed out of town toward the sailing club and we surprised at what we found. It is a bit like the land time forgot. There is hard standing area, a mishmash of little docking area which offers a path up to the club area. There you find a very poorly stocked store, a spa centre, a laundry and a bar upstairs. All of it is hidden in heavy trees and garden area. Certainly a club with a difference. Very little life about the place.

The highlight of the stay in Tyrell was finding a beach bar that sold the most amazing pizzas. We ended up having one and a bottle of red wine – just like home really. The pizza were every bit as good as Corrierri’s and were a real treat indeed. Having exhausted the night life in Tyrell Bay we were up and away early next morning.

11th Feb
Destination Grenada: We had another great sail from Carriacou over to the top of Grenada. After that we hugged the coast all the way down to St George’s which is the main town on the island. Peter De Savary has invested in the area with a view to some fairly extensive development projects. The biggest is around the marina area and a stunning beach called ‘Mount Cinnamon’ . Oh the treat and the luxury of a fairly new marina. The showers are so clean and lovely. I took all my ‘stuff’ and spent over an hour in there just enjoying hot running water, clean tiles and floors and places to lay things down, including your towel and clothes, without them landing on the wet floor etc. The berths are wide and have excellent service supplies, including individual pump out stations on the pontoons. There is a really western style bar/restaurant and security services day and night so you can wander around – no worries. There is a supermarket just across the bay with a dinghy dock. Today we went over in the dinghy – did the shop and were escorted back by a young lad. He had stacked our bags and loaded the trolley, pushed it over to the dock and then helped us load up. Now that is what you call customer service.

We spent time exploring the town centre yesterday. However we made the mistake of going in when the cruise ship was in. John finally found a barber and went of to get himself glammed up. Jo and I were just going to hang around and do a little shopping. Things didn’t go according to plan because we were just constantly harangued and harassed by guys/vendors etc. In the end we went back to the barbers and waited there.

The barbers was an experience. Those of you who know John know he is a little follicularly challenged and so might wonder how on earth it could take 40 minutes to cut his hair. Here when you go, you get offered beers, opportunity to watch a DVD or listen to some local music. You get ‘Indian herb conditioners and powdered’ before you get out. Still he looks quite smart once again.

Heading down through some of the older part of town we came across an eaterie called BB’s. He featured in one of Gary Rhodes programmes and has won awards for his skills. So we gave his ‘stuffed crabbacks’ a try. It was delicious and as a result have now gone for dinner. John tried his first –goat curry- and Jo savoured some – lambi (which is conch meat) It is a bit like calamari in texture but with much more flavour and I had callaloo and okra soup.

We also did an island tour which took in a rum distillery (well it had to given how much is being consumed) and a spice and herb garden. The latter was fascinating and well worth the long trip to get to it. Our driver Benjamin took us to many of the places he knew from his childhood. We saw some absolutely breathtaking views, some huge mansions in stunning locations. The roads were slightly better than Bequia but slightly more challenging in places than those we experienced in St Lucia.

It has been a really interesting experience to be travelling again and this is one place we shall come back to as it is fascinating.

13th Feb Have had to stay on in Port Louis marina as it is blowing old boots this morning. The forecast was for winds of 10 – 15 and small swells which would have been ideal for the passage north. Instead we have gusts of 30+ and very excited wind surfers who are just loving the huge swells!!! The forescast suggests we might be here a while yet.

We spent the morning listening to Scotland lose (again) to Wales on Radio 5 live. Without the visuals it was heart wrenching to listen to them losing the game for themselves, and how they bring themselves back from it leaves one wondering. Glad we didn’t have to watch and think it good that Rod was travelling at the time! Jo has gone to the pool in disgust and John has gone in search of some solitude in the dinghy!!

We have bumped into Amazing Grace again. They were out on the hard putting in some hard labour anti fouling their hull which had apparently gotten pretty weedy over its travels. Gave John some hope for the copperbotting as so far we are managing to keep the weed under control. We do have a serious number of barnacles on the base of the hull which was difficult to get at with the copperbot when we were doing it what seems like a lifetime ago.