ARRIVED GRENADA !!!

Ten months and one day from cutting the dock lines in Connecticut, and over 2,000 nautical miles under the keel, Persephone proudly sailed into Mt. Hartman Bay, Grenada.  Grenada is at the "bottom" of the eastern Caribbean, in the "little latitude" of 12 degrees north; only 720 miles from the equator.  Grenada is located south of the "normal" track for hurricanes, so Grenada will be "home" for the next four months.  I will only leave Grenada if a rogue hurricane threatens and a run has to be made further south to Trinidad or Venezuela.  Over the last year, Persephone has been pushed hard, and has arrived here without any damage, major repairs and no big issues (the biggest repair/issue was a $125.00 pump used to drain the shower).  Most of all, she has taken great care of all who have sailed aboard her. So, over the next several months time will be spent on washing/waxing and preventive maintenance in preparation for the next leg of the sailing lifestyle.....where ever that will take Team Persephone...

Where it all began 50 years ago:

         Sailing "THE SHRIMP" on Cape Cod Bay in the Summer of 1960

Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.....

Good Morning All.

It's been a very busy couple of days. It seems that all I have done is check in and out of various customs and immigration offices. These offices are never easy to find, so it becomes a game of "hide 'n seek". The locals never know where these offices are located as they never need them. To add to the game, customs and immigration are NEVER in the same building, or in the same area for that matter. I wound up humming Crosby, Stills, N &Y 's "Immigration Man".let me in..'Irritation man'.."imitation man".let me in.. your form is big enough to keep me warm...ect.

On Wednesday, I had an easy sail from the Tobago Keys to Union Island. Union is the most southerly island in the Grenadines chain. (The country of St. Vincent and the Grenadines) The principle town is Clifton which has customs and immigration offices. When leaving a country you need to "check out" and obtain clearance papers in order to legally leave. Without these papers, you are unable to check in to the next country. Wednesday was brutally hot so walking around Clifton looking for the customs office (one side of town) and immigration (opposite end of town) was plain torture..it only took 2 hours to round up all the paperwork; not bad for 'island time'.
The plan was to go to the "Happy Island Bar" for sundowners. The owner collected thousands (literally thousands) of conch shells and built his own island on the edge of the reef. The "island" is about 75' round and the owner has built a tiki bar on top of it.amazing !! Well, at five o'clock I was getting ready to dinghy over to Happy Island when a squall line approached. The wind increased dramatically, and there was a deluge of rain. All evening squall after squall came through, so I was unable to get to Happy Island. The only good thing was that I was able to refill all the water tanks aboard.

On Thursday, again, I had an easy sail from Union Island over to Carriacou; which is part of the country of Grenada. I dropped the anchor off the main dock in Hillsboro and dinghyed into town to find customs and immigration. Grenada being a former British colony is pretty civilized, so the check in procedure was straight forward..but it did require walking around Hillsboro to find the customs office, the immigrations office, and the revenue office where you pay for your "cruising permit". (Of course these offices are not together and the game of hide 'n seek continued) In the last several weeks, the cost of the cruising permit has skyrocketed from $50 EC per year, to $50 EC per MONTH. The cruising community in Grenada is screaming !! I just shut up and paid my $150 EC for a 90 day stay.

After checking in, I hoisted anchor and motored the couple of miles around the corner to Tyrell Bay, Carriacou. As I arrived, I got a radio call from "Compass Rose" welcoming me to the harbor. I haven't seen Compass Rose since Eric and Jackie left the Bahamas nearly 5 months ago. Jackie is back in the States, so Eric and his brother-in-law came over to Persephone for a coldie. We all went to the Hallalujah Bar for happy hour. The Hallalujah is a floating bar anchored in the middle of the bay. The owner, Lady D, had a work boat converted into the bar...not something you would ever get away with in the States..it was great ! Following the Hallalujah, we went to the Lazy Turtle for pizza and called it an early evening.
I will spend the day in Tyrell Bay just hanging out "liming". Tomorrow, Compass Rose and Persephone will sail the 35 miles down to Grenada...reaching a major milestone in the cruise.

"P.P.P."

This Blog should have been entitled “Busy in Bequia” !   Persephone has been anchored in Admiralty Bay for 1 day short of two weeks; and boy, a lot has happened since  arriving here; and yesterday was no exception.....it was one of the busiest days.


The morning was consumed with boat projects. I finished sewing a lifting sling for the dinghy which will allow me to pick it up out of the water using the spinnaker halyard. The first reason for the sling is to keep the bottom of the dinghy clean; the algae, barnacles, grass, and slime are prolific in 90 degree water. The second reason is security. Fifteen horsepower out board engines are a special target for thieves…..by lifting the dinghy out of the water, it makes the engine much more difficult to steal. Crime in this area is not a major concern, but rather safe than sorry. As the morning Safety and Security Net says: “Lock it or Lose It”…..

Yesterday, was Fishermen’s Day on the island. The fishermen bring their catch to the town dock where their wives/volunteers prepare the fish in front of you, and cook it with traditional island spices. The fish is served in heaping portions with rice and beans, and local root vegetables. Have to admit that I didn’t recognize some of the root vegetables, but, OMG, absolutely delicious….The “lunch” was washed down with the local Hairoun Beer served ice cold.

In the evening, I hosted a “P.P.P.” ie. Pizza Party on Persephone to reciprocate for the kindness extended to me by other cruisers in the harbor who have “adopted me”. Two large pizzas got scoffed down in short order !! After dinner everyone retired to the deck (with the remainder of their pineapple rum punches) to stargaze and see how many stars/constellations could be named. The guests left quite late; well past “cruisers midnight”.

Today is “get ready day”…..The anchor is getting hauled tomorrow AM for a 25 mile southbound hop to the Tobago Keys for a few days. The TKs are a series of low lying islands and reefs, which have been designated a nature park and turtle sanctuary…..it is supposed to be pristine and beautiful, with great snorkeling. The weather report is excellent for 4-5 days of settled weather, so anchoring among the reefs should be excellent….I am really excited; and promise to take lots of pictures….

The Tobago Keys are pretty isolated so there is no internet; communication will be back to email via ham radio only as of tonite (Sunday). All for now….off to the beach to clean up the dinghy……

Capt Dave….

"Singlehanding"

Persephone is still playing in the waters of Admiralty Bay, Bequia. Bequia is in the Grenadines Island chain which is part of the country of St. Vincent (also known as SVG….St. V and the Grenadines). The residents of Bequia really live sailing….sailing seems to be the island’s passion. From old wooden schooners which were built here (and are still being used here), to sailing “work boats” still used for fishing, to working on modern “plastic” boats. When they are not using the “work boats” the residents are racing them.


Bequia is a beautiful, more upscale island that has everything a cruising sailor needs right at hand. We are anchored off a great beach, town is just a short dinghy ride away with needed supplies, laundry is picked up by the “laundry boat” when you call and returned later in the day; washed, dried and folded. The same company delivers water if needed (Persephone has been collecting rain water for a couple of weeks, as this is the rainy season in the islands. So, no water has been purchased or hauled….thank you rain gods !!)

Now that the awning is complete (few adjustments are needed when the wind drops !) I have been working with the boy’s high school sailing team. Their coach has not been available, so I have been helping out; basically working on starts, mark roundings and basic rules. The crews from “Boldly Go” and “Persephone” chipped in and bought the team T-shirts which say ‘Sail Fast, Live Slow---Bequia” for the big regatta which starts today in Tortola. We all went to the ferry yesterday to see the team off, and to wish them good luck. The team will be competing against 16 other Caribbean island nations, and we wish them well…..The Caribbean newspaper “Compass” showed up with a photographer and got some group shots as the team boarded the ferry. Go Bequia !!!!!!

Lastly, Trudie has decided to return to Connecticut for a while. She left Bequia yesterday morning. Since leaving Connecticut, Persephone has safely sailed over 2000 miles with “THE CREW”. T will be missed.

 
Persephone and I will sail to the Tobago Keys early next week, then on to Carriacou, and finally Grenada.   As soon as the tropical waves stop going over the SE Carib, we will leave Bequia.  (Tropical Waves bring clouds, wind, and thunder storms across the Atlantic all the way from Africa.  In addition they bring a reddish-brown dust which causes a thick haze around the sun and gets all over everything.  What's with this annoying red dust on everything?  "Oh, that's sand from the Sahara Desert".  You've got to be kidding me !!  Unbelievable but true....pretty small planet.  I have to put up with dust from Africa !!)  Hopefully, we will be underway by Sunday or Monday.
 
Singlehanding Dave

Catching up with Pictures.....

Here we are loading up to explore the Indian River in Dominica.  The river is a nature preserve so no motors of any kind are permitted.  Therefore, all visitors must be rowed up (and down) the river.  The crews of "Dancing Dolphin" and "Persephone" are all set for the adventure !

Rowing up the Indian River....what a way to stay in shape.....

One of the local residence keeps a sharp eye on us...The skies, rainforest and waters were just teaming with life.

While we are Martinique, Mike and Crystal celebrated their first wedding anniversary.  We didn't know what to do for them.  But, Trudie came up with the idea of putting together a medley of songs which she would sing for them.  (I had to promise to keep my mouth shut so as not to spoil the event)  So, we dinghyed over to "Dancing Dolphin" (in the rain) and toasted their anniversary in song:

Back to "Work" !!!!

There is THAT four letter word....WORK. After 10 months of hanging out, I am back at work....sort of.....and yesterday was the first day "on the job".

It is hot here....jungle hot. The sun beats on Persephone's deck all day raising the temp inside to the low hundreds. Something HAD to get done and soon. Previously, I had talked to Bob and Lori on "Pride" concerning what they had done to shade the boat. Lori said that an awning which covered the entire deck was essential. When Mike came down, he brought with him yards (30+ yards) of material to make the awning. So, the cloth and sewing machine are aboard, but space was not to lay out the cloth for patterning and sewing with dimensions of 24 feet, by 16 feet. (and that is is only from the mast to the stern of the boat !) What to do....and do it cheaply....

So I approached a local sailmaker here in Bequia. (Alick's Sail Makers) I would supply all the materials, he would provide the floor, technical advise and I would "work" for him to defray the cost and hopefully reduce the time it would take to build the awning. So, off to work I went for a FULL day in the sail loft. (Got up, had breakfast, cleaned up and packed my backpack with my sewing essentials and was on the job right at 9 am). Already, this "working thing" sucked. Having to be somewhere at a specified time was not part of life anymore...unless it involved sailing.

The loft was on the second floor of an old building with a tin roof. Essentially, it was a giant broiler; by quitting time, I was medium well done !! (Think of the Perdue turkey with the built in thermometer that goes POP when the bird is done....mine popped right at 5 PM...DONE)

But, we had laid out the cloth, stitched all the panels together, and were working on the "strong points" for tying the awning down tightly to the boat, without chafe. I am off today, (needed a vacation !!) but will return to work on Saturday, and then into next week to complete the project. (BTW, it is coming out great !!)

What some will do to save a buck !! Keeping you all in stitches, "Sissorhands Dave"