Post 25    Paradise in Carriacou

the bay and anchorage at Tyrel on Carriacou

We've been here in Carriacou for almost a month having arrived here on  Wednesday 19th May and then quarantining at the northern side of Tyrel Bay for 48 hours. Carriacou is a very small island that's part of Grenada and we're free to sail across there without any further restrictions. Dorothee and I sailed the 160 miles from Martinique in company with Viva La Vida, a 37' yacht owned and skippered by Lucia. On her boat was Joseph, her father and our closest friend, Beata (so a boat of Slovaks).

We left le Marin at 2pm on Sunday 16th May and had decent winds across to St Lucia followed by very light winds on the leeward side of the next two islands. We made sure to pass the volcano on St Vincent by the mandatory 15 miles offshore. The plume of vertical smoke was clearly visible in the starlit night sky as we sailed slowly south. As soon as we cleared the southern tips of these two islands, the wind climbed to about 20kts and we were able to catch up with Lucia who's boat was significantly faster than Beluga (at least with me not trimming the sails properly) in those light winds. I didn't want to lose sight of Viva la Vida's stern light so we motored sailed for a couple of hours to catch up with them. But each time the 20kt winds returned, we were able to pull away from them with the wind on our port beam - we peaked at 9.3kts and eventually, we'd pulled a three-mile gap on La Vida upon our arrival. 

We were led to believe that the mandatory PCR test was only possible on Carriacou on Mondays and Wednesdays so we'd missed the Monday test and decided to hang out at a tiny island called Tobago Cays. There were several boats already anchored there and they warned us of a potential 5,000 $EC fine because staying there overnight is apparently not permitted currently. I made sure we were gone by 8am before the customs boat arrived at 9am. Another completely inappropriate, irrelevant and nonsensical rule applied without any common sense. Well sorry folks, not for me, no authority or government is dictating how I'm going to live my life, especially when the motive driving these restrictions is pure evil, plain and simple! 

Marco, our good friend from Belgium who has a luxurious Lagoon 52 catamaran that he charters, joined us from Martinique for the same quarantine session, having left a day after us. Inter-boat mixing was forbidden in the quarantine zone but as we'd all been together for weeks in the quiet Victoria Bay in le Marin, this rule was simply a complete ass. So after dusk, we swam across to the chosen host's boat where we ate, drank and made merry into the wee hours. It was the perfect quarantine for all of us. A former boss of mine once said to me 'rules are for the guidance of wise men and the obedience of fools.'  I've always gone along with that simple observation because I've found it to be true...

So we simply sailed around the corner to Sandy Island where we had great fun snorkeling and chilling together on this tiny piece of paradise. I met a young couple from Grenada called Axel and Jenna, who were there on a few days holiday. Later that evening they got a water taxi from Paradise beach on Carriacou to come back from Paradise beach to join us for dinner. We all chilled and they stayed on board with me and Dori. 

On Sandy Island on our way to Tyrel Bay in Carriacou

Axel's father is the head of the Grenadian Football Association and he'd traveled with his father to several World Cup tournaments. Axel was such an engaging character, with a strong US accent, who knew the English Premier League better than me. What a pleasure it was for me to discuss teams, players and past matches with him after six months of zero football and TV. He even knew several of Reading FC's current squad and was aware of our recent history in the Premier League on two occasions.

So now we have a good contact on Grenada when and if we decide to sail across there. Axel promised to show us around Grenada - so that's always a positive start to any new destination. 

What struck me was the genuine warmth the folk showed us, everyone on land and afloat always say hello when they see you. That used to happen in the UK when I was a kid but sadly that's long gone, at least in the towns and cities. It also struck me that many of the local guys are living hand to mouth due to the lack of visitors and tourists. I had Beluga's hull polished by a local guy, it had several scuff marks from the fenders which weren't pretty. The guys go around all the anchored boats selling anything from fresh veggies, fish, wine as well as offering their services for rubbish collection to boat cleaning. They certainly aren't work-shy and they graft away in the hot sun from dawn to dusk, bless 'em.

centre stage is Paul Johnson, the character whom the documentary The Sailor is based and our bestest buddie Marco front right

In my next post, I will tell you more about this amazing 85-year-old sailor (no not Marco lol) who sailed across the Atlantic in a 17' open boat at just 17 years old. In the meantime, look out for the release of Lucia's documentary about him, it's called The Sailor, it should be on YouTube shortly.

Circumnavigating Carriacou

I wanted to sail around the island to get a better perspective of its coastline. The bays and beaches are fantastic but the many hidden reefs are quite scary. I wasn't disappointed. I took six friends and after a very short briefing (note to diary, make a list of topics to cover rather than rely on my memory), we set off at about 11am. 

I was particularly interested to learn how to get more speed from Beluga in light winds and Marco, who's a very experienced skipper, showed me a few tricks that I'm sure will help me. He also showed me how to use my autopilot to steer by the wind rather than just by the compass. Dori and Beata tidied the 3rd cabin and put away all of the spare parts, various covers and other paraphernalia so now Beata has her own cabin so at last, we're more ship shape. 

Speaking openly and honestly as I always try to do, there was a 'backseat driver' amongst us and on a couple of occasions, I came close to losing the plot. It particularly irritated me when the offender was twice proven to be talking utter garbage. Thankfully I bit my tongue and disappeared into the galley to make a light lunch, leaving Marco in charge on the helm. What a skipper he is, so calm and knowledgeable and he's also the coolest Belgian guy with his strong Flemish accent! Marco's given me a goal to aspire towards...

We went clockwise around the island. The safer bays are generally on the western (leeward) side so we didn't get to anchor up in a bay, we just went around non-stop. We were sailing at a modest pace with the odd burst of speed, it was very chilled and I think everyone enjoyed themselves. We were sailing for about five hours. 

The middle of my cockpit table has two top-opening compartments. The larger one has a small drain hole and is thermally insulated so a large pack of ice keeps a lot of beers chilled in the 30+ degrees heat. We certainly didn't get thirsty... Marco and Dorothee performed magnificently together and there were no dramas, just great fun - just a 'beautiful day' to quote U2's Bono.

there are many neglected and derelict houses dotted all over the island

Over the course of our first weekend in Tyrel Bay, Carriacou's only port, I got to talk with several of the musicians and DJs. I think they were slightly surprised by my knowledge of reggae and I hit it off with them all. Meanwhile, Beata was causing a stir every time she hit the dance floors with her modern contemporary dancing - amazing to watch her move and wiggle her bum. Unfortunately, the guys here simply weren't up to her standard or her limitless energy, she'd left her favourite dance partner Phil back in Victoria bay in le Marin. 

We were invited to Ragga's 56th birthday party on Sunday night. It was held at a place called Sparrows Point, a decent size piece of land sloping down to a secluded beach on the other side of Carriacou. Ragga's band played two sessions and the music, booze and food were superb as were the many new people I met. A goat head curry was surpassed by an iguana curry, two of the local favourites. Beautiful flavours but with a boatload of small sharp bones...ouch.

Petite Martinique

We'd already sailed past Petite Martinique (PM) without stopping, it was just a two and half hour sail to its only anchorage. I had one extra crew member called Eddie who sailed with me and Dori. The boat performed well in the 15kt wind and we reached it with just two tacks. Beluga is able to sail very close to the wind, something approaching 30 degrees which is impressive, at least compared to the boats I've sailed on previously.

The only negative aspect of PM is its anchorage. It lies directly in a wind tunnel between Petite Martinique and Petite St. Vincent. The sea bed is rocky, dispersed with small patches of sand, far from ideal for gripping properly as we were to later discover.

The greeting we had on arrival in Carriacou was warm and friendly but nothing has compared to the amazing reception we received when we went ashore on Petite Martinique. Most of the 900 inhabitants depend on fishing to live a modest but beautiful existence. Some of the local boats will go out for three weeks at a time trailing baits from lines of up to ten miles long. Their target fish are tuna, swordfish and sailfish which they deliver to Trinidad, making them as much as US$40,000 per trip. It's a tough, often dangerous life for the fishermen that was sadly demonstrated to us while we were on PM. 

During our first night there we dragged our anchor almost 50 meters in very strong gusts. We quickly moved about 2 miles to the more sheltered bay on Petite St. Vincent, which has a white sandy bay with no rocks. Our anchor bit immediately and we were able to ride out the gusts of 45kts in about six meters of water with an anchor watch in place. We left there at daybreak to avoid any hassle with the local customs; it's both a private island and part of St.Vincent, not Grenada.  

the irrepresible Dori shares a rare embrace with her skipper

But there was a very different atmosphere when we went back ashore at about 9am on PM. A local fisherman was reported missing having motored out to sleep on a fishing boat the evening before. It appears that he lost power from his outboard and couldn't restart it. The current was running close to 5kts, so he would have been swept away from land in just a minute or two.  This happened about ten days ago so his chances of being recovered alive are diminishing. I prayed to God that they manage to find him alive soon. 

What a salutary lesson for me about the dangers of darkness, strong winds, strong currents and the fallibility of dinghies and outboard motors in such conditions. For the next few days, this awful event hung over me like a dark cloud and I didn't even know the guy. Having left PM, I messaged a friend there called Keisha who runs the Welcome Centre on PM. I was devastated to hear from her that so far he's not been found. The Caribbean is a vast sea and the chances of him being spotted by a fishing boat mean that he'll have been blown to Panama by now...

Keisha made us all feel so welcome and her beautiful chocolate brown eyes and broad white smile seemed to light up the island, melting  hundreds of hearts with her engaging personality. Her husband is also a fisherman and they have a seven-year-old son; her job consists of showing visiting sailors and tourists PM's attractions, her new office is located just in front of a newly constructed pier. 

Keisha's a bright, ambitious girl and has just started to grow some different vegetables using hydroponics. She's hoping to expand this activity into a business that I'm sure will thrive. She was special to me because she was the first local with whom I truly connected. We shared many views that included my disdain of how all women here are treated by the local men. They show no respect to the women out here and are only interested in them for three things... sex, washing and cooking in that order... all the men are like it, so it must be in their DNA.  Almost as bad, the women here seem to accept this stone-aged behaviour without any resistance. Anyway enough of this because thinking about some of the examples I've seen, makes me wanna puke.

the very special Keisha, takes care of all PM's visitors

Gary John Barnes working behind his new bar on PM

There are just a few shops, five or six bars including Gary's Bar which we particularly enjoyed. Gary is a John Barnes lookalike (famous Jamaican football star who played for Liverpool FC and England), with a smile so broad and an irresistible personality. He made us all smile when he sang with full gusto 'White Flag' by Dido. Gary and Keisha, we love you both and wish you every success with your new ventures on Petite Martinique.

Me and my phone(s)

Since arriving in the Caribbean I haven't had much luck with my phones. I say phones because for the past five days I've been without an operational phone again. Someone once told me that people with more than one phone are either cheating on their partner or they're dealing in drugs. I've never had more than one phone but I'll be on my fourth phone when I finally get across to Grenada to buy a waterproof replacement. You may remember I invested about 120 euros in a waterproof bag back in le Marin. Well, the said bag wasn't waterproof. The side pocket for valuables and the main compartment leaked. I'll say no more except that if I ever go back to Martinique, said bag is going back for a refund and there'll be no discussion or debate!

So my excuse for not being in regular contact with my friends and family has been an almost constant source of frustration for me. Without my phone, I can't do online banking from my laptop and I've had very limited access to wifi or the internet, hence fewer blog posts, fewer photos that I'd taken and zero WhatsApp messaging. But that said, my frustration has eased as I've become accustomed to not having a phone. I rarely spend more than five minutes at a time using mine and I actually find them a distraction and sometimes an annoyance.

The younger generations today spend far too much time on them, the art of actually talking face to face could soon be a thing of the past. When I went out drinking with my mates in pubs back then, we'd typically stand together telling jokes, giving and taking banter, with only an occasional glance at our phones. Is joke-telling also going to die? I really hope not, it's been a part of the UK's male pub culture for centuries.

You'll find the share icon at the bottom of this post, could you please share it with your friends especially if they happen to be part of my WhatsApp Sailing Updates group because I currently have no access to this app.

I hope you've enjoyed catching up with my progress, fun and adventures. There's been plenty of cooking for me but with no phone, there have been no photos. A special thanks to Dorothee and some other friends for the photos in this post.

God bless you and please take care. x