Another Saturday Night.....

Hello from soggy Grenada (and I thought the rainy season was supposed to end by mid-November...WRONG !!).  It has been raining off and on...mostly on.... since Thrusday.  Friday was a complete washout; I never left the boat.  We got over 3 1/2 inches of rain on Friday alone, and the rain continues.  So, to ward off cabin fever, there is only one thing to do....ROAD TRIP !!

The rain continues...and so does the street fair

Being the last Saturday of the month, the little town of Victoria, located in the northwest tip of Grenada hosts a street food fair.  This was started a couple of months ago, and it is strictly a "locals" event...i.e. no tourists.  So, a bus trip was organized to make the trip to Victoria....The street was blocked off and tents were set up featuring local food, local rums, and of course beer to wash it all down....

The food was very 'local'....'lambi water' (a conch stew...very good !),  'manny water'  (floating goat testicles....an all time favorite, I'm sure),  small fish still whole which are eaten like an apple, curried mutton (delicious), and ox tail stew... "Excuse me....does the ox tail have bones" ?? I asked.  O' course it does, mon....how da ya thig  it moves it's tail !!"  " Right...got it"....I muttered as I sidled away....   Seriously, all the food was delicious, fresh and different.

How many hands are holding the bottle ?

Eric ('Compass Rose') and I enjoying a coldie and sampling some of the local "Clarks' Court Bay Rum".  A special thanks to Matts on 'Elin Alida' my neighboring yacht from Sweden who supplied the pictures.  SKOL, Matts !!

An Ex-Pat Thanksgiving !!

On Wednesday, I was on the bus for the semi-weekly shopping trip to the grocery store.  I was sitting next to Rachel from 'Orchard';   homeport Brisbane, Australia. The general conversation among the American cruisers was Thanksgiving plans.  Rachel  turned and asked, "Embarrassingly, I don't know what Thanksgiving is all about....would you explain it to me "?  I immediately launched into a diatribe about John Smith and Pocahontas.  Others joined in with less relevant details about Pilgrims, help from the Indians, and a big dinner to celebrate the harvest....(I didn't have the heart to mention how the Pilgrams'  communal, socialistic farming methods in the first two years at The Rock almost caused them all to starve to death...Glenn Beck would have been proud....but I kept my mouth shut).   What I did realize by listening to the other cruisers from all over the world, is that Thanksgiving is a wonderful, unique, American tradition. 

This is the scene looking out on Clarks Court Bay from the CCB Marina.  Over fifty cruisers were here to celebrate "American Thanksgiving".  CCBM provided the turkeys, and the cruisers provided all the side dishes.  Persephone's contribution was cranberry sauce made from scratch (except for growing the berrys...)

Waiting for dinner......

Passports were checked at the door.  Non-Americans were segregated to a table at the rear. L to R:  Ken and Lynn of 'Silverheels III', Toronto, Canada, and Jim and Anne of  'Impressionist', Portsmouth, England.

Following dinner the  Patriots vs. Detroit football game was on the big screen TV.  No sleet, snow or freezing rain, but a tropical downpour just as we were about to leave on a 15 minute dinghy ride back "home"...It was a wonderful time, just what Thanksgiving is all about.



Galley on 'Persephone'

 Well, the galley on Persephone was really humming yesterday (Sunday) afternoon.  Eric and Jackie of 'Compass Rose' were invited for dinner so it was time to dust off my culinary expertise (yeah, right !!).  A Rainbow Runner was purchased at the fish market last week and quickly frozen aboard.  All fish is sold only at the government sponsored fish market.  The concrete block building is right on the water where the fishermen pull up and off load their catch.  All fish is sold whole ('on the hoof') at  $7.50 EC  ($2.75 US) per pound, no matter the type of fish.  Fishermen hanging out at the market will clean the fish for a couple of EC (75 cents US).  Rainbow Runners are a long, slender, brightly colored beautiful fish with blue and yellow full length stripes.  More importantly, it has an off-white, flaky, and mild meat which is delicious.

But I digress, the fish was sprinkeled with St. John's Grill Spice (a Persephone favorite)  grilled and accompanied with cold, cracked lobster and fresh taboule with lots of tomatoes. (Tomatoes don't grow well here due to soil conditions and, thus, a rarety).  Dinner turned out great, and was gobbled down with complements to Chef "Emril" Dave.  

Dinner was followed by a spirited game of Mexican Train (a domino game played throughout the islands).  I was winning until the the next to last game when I got stuck with the 'double blank' tile worth 50 points....Jackie pulled ahead for the win.  

Gotta go study my Fanny......Fanny Farmer that is !!  

GRENADA MUSINGS.....



Colors of Grenada

 As suggested in earlier blogs, life is very easy and predictable here in Grenada… Tuesday, lunch at Nimrod’s Rum Shoppe; Wednesday, burger night at Clark’s Court Bay Marina; Friday, BBQ at Secret Harbor Marina or pizza at Prickley Bay; and Sunday afternoons at Roger’s Barefoot Beach Bar. The pattern then repeats itself. In spite of the socializing, a ton of work got done on Persephone this summer; including completion of the awning, installation of a watermaker, the addition of solar panels, a new battery charger and inverter. Maintenance has been completed on all of the major onboard systems; and everything is restored to tip-top shape after the trek from New England. Persephone even got ‘handsomed up’ with a complete wash, wax and a refinishing of all the exterior teak….she looks great !!

Grenada is the cross-roads of the southern Caribbean. As a result, cruisers from all over the world pass through here….many completing transatlantic crossings, some going south to Trinidad/Tobago, others continuing west to Venezuela/Columbia/Panama and THE canal, there is a group heading north ‘up island’… to the Leewards, Virgins/Puerto Rico; and finally there are some who are returning to the states ending their cruise. We have met a ton of cruisers here and have made many, many friends. But as hurricane season winds down, one by one friends are leaving Grenada (‘’Passport”, “Sailatious”, “Dancing Dolphin” “Campachano” “Daniell Storey” and “Sanctuary” to name only a few) , to carry on with their dreams; which makes for daily, bitter-sweet departures.


As for Persephone, she is getting ‘itchy feet’ (really bad analogy !!) and it is nearing that time for us to move on also. But our departure will have to wait for a couple of weeks as I will be traveling to Connecticut for a brief visit in December. Upon my return, Persephone will be re-joining the group of cruisers heading north for the winter season. Several of us are talking of meeting up in Bequia for Christmas. Although plans are up in the air, I know that Persephone we will NOT be cruising one inch north of Antigua…ok maybe to Barbuda for the beaches (central Leeward Islands) as I want to stay in the little latitudes with warm weather and warm waters….with the slightest chill, I will immediately head this boat south !! I have a very simple test, if the butter doesn’t melt when left out, I am too far north !


Gotta run (literally) !! I am doing my first “HASH” tonite. A hash is a 5-10 K cross-country run/ jog/walk through hill and dale. It has rained most of the day here, so I have been told to plan on getting filthy with mud. Most hashes are held in the late afternoon in different, scenic, location all over the country. As there is a full moon tonite, this is a night time event being held in the Prickley Bay area (the adjacent bay). Following the hash, there is a BBQ with sufficient libations to rehydrate the participants. What have I gotten myself into this time ??!!


Capt. Dave