Dinghy Concert Revisited....

Ken and Lynn of "Silver Heels III" at the dingy concert.
 Lynn is mixing up a rum and coke !

In January, t/t Persephone attended the first ever "dinghy concert" at Clark's
Court Bay.  The concert was held on the tug boat
Calico which was anchored in the middle of the bay.

To watch "Grenada Farewell"  performed by Madison Violet click on the following link: 

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DS0Fm4AJHxU

Solar update....

Installing mounting hardware...note everything
is wet from the constant showers.

YES  !!!  The solar panel FINALLY arrived on island, and I was able to pick it up on Monday.  The clearance procedure of  Tropical Shipping has completely changed and is now a nightmare.  Previously, it took about 45 minutes to clear boat parts in through customs. With the "new" procedure it only took FOUR HOURS.  And to add further insult, Tropical shipped only the panel.  The box with the wires got seperated and is on the ship which arrives tomorrow.  So, I get to go through it all over again.  Think I will bring a flask this time !!

Cruiser BBQ.....

Cindy of 'Josey Bird' working the grill

So much running around has occurred since the last posting...  The week was filled with running back and forth into St. Georges'.   The complication has been getting the new solar panel,  controller and a Sirius Sat Radio antenna shipped in and and through customs.  The paper work was ready on Wednesday....so off to town I went.  Oh, forgot to mention that the rainy season has started.   The local term is 'spaghetti rain'...The paperwork was finished (but soggy) and the panel  arrived via ship on Thursday.  On Friday, another trip into town only to learn that the ship wouldn't be off-loaded until Monday (today).  But, I picked up the Sirius antenna at Fed Ex while in town.  Got it back to 'Persephone' and of course a necessary adapter wasn't included....back to the  internet for another order (and a couple more trips to town)  !!

So, on Saturday, I attended the Second Annual Cruisers BBQ at Garfield's Beach Bar to settle my frayed nerves.  Cindy and Steve of  'Josey Bird' did the catering  for the 'all you can eat' bash.

Garfield's Beach Bar

Cindy is from St. Lucia and did a great job preparing a wide varity of  local dishes; fried plantains is one of my favorites !! Yummm!

Garfield's provided the perfect venue.  It is located on Grand Anse beach, Grenada's most beautiful beach which streaches for more than two miles. The weather cooperated and it was a great time catching up with new and old friends.

Cross your fingers about retrieving the solar panel today !  Will let you know......  Capt Dave

Island Tour....

On Thursday, 'Silver Heels III', 'Liahona', 'Arita' and 'Persephone' decided to take the FULL island tour....We had a great time, but were exhausted after the 9 hour tour of the island.....

This is Patrick (call sign: "Shade Mon" ) our tour guide. We met Patrick last year and helped him get started by giving him a used radio and antenna system.

Port Louis Marina, St. George, Grenada

The Carinage (harbor area)  St. George, Grenada

Concord Falls is pictured on the left.  It is one of the many waterfalls in Grenada.  Several of our tour group decided to cool off in the falls.

Below are thousands of nutmeg on drying racks at the Nutmeg Cooperative.  Grenada is one of the world's largest producers of nutmeg.  Many of the nutmeg trees were destroyed by Hurricane Ivan in 2004.  It is only now that the trees are beginning to produce.

No island tour would be complete without the tour of a rum factory; (and of course a couple of samples) this tour was no exception !  We went to Three Rivers Rum Distillary....all they blend is over-proof white rum which in not aged for a second.  Read: otta 'd still and inta  'd bottle, mon.  The rum was horrible !!  The ONLY t'ing charming about Rivers was the door on the right !!

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished.....

So, there I am just out of the bunk (still in my boxers...TMI ? ) when Lynn calls on the radio to say 'good morning'.  She mentions that today is the day she and Ken are picking up their 'new to them' dinghy and outboard engine.  They have hired a small truck to pick up the dinghy in St. George.  "I'm not doing anything, do you need some help" ? I offered.  "Sure,  come along....."  "OK, sounds like fun...."  (little did I know !)

After a short ride we arrive at the dock where the dinghy was stored in the water probably forever. There is an inch of growth consisting of barnacles, crabs, shrimp, muscles, weed, slime and  quivering yuck covering the entire bottom of the dinghy.  Simply, the dinghy has become it's own living, self-supporting ecosystem !!  (I'm staring at the 'Origins of  Species' on planet Earth ...Darwin would have orgasmed !!  I nearly wretched !! )   I'm figuring that Lynn and Ken are going to need a jack hammer to evict the inhabitants.  Gingerly, we carry the dinghy and load it into the back of the truck....Now, this is a pretty small vehicle, with only two seats, yet, there are four people !!  So, I get volunteered to sit in the back UNDER the dinghy !

Lynn of SH 3 in the dinghy with me under it.
Ken sits comfortably in the front seat !

The "science project" is not happy about being yanked from of the water, so the critters start 'abandoing ship'; landing on me.

 We don't drive more that 100 yards and it starts to rain;  well not really rain, think tropical down pour....can this morning get any worse ??  Oh, yeah...the back of the truck starts filling with rain water creating a living soup mix, with me sitting in the middle !!  Did I mention the smell ??  It smelled like a portable, perpetual low tide....

So, to get to the marina we have to climb a VERY steep,  long hill.  Allen, our driver shifts into low gear, revs up the engine and up we go.  Little do I know that I am sitting directly over the muffler.  The strain of the hill heats up the muffler.   All of a sudden my butt feels warm...then hot....then too hot to sit !!  I raise my butt so as not to get burned and hit my head on the dinghy....a couple more angry creatures fall off and stare at me. Now the water in the bed of the truck is heating up creating a primordial soup with me looking like a giant dumpling !!   The seafood broth is sloshing around the bed of the truck, semi sauteed,  as we pull into the marina.  Get me otta here !!  Lynn has to pull me out from under dinghy....Next time I want bouillabaisse, think I will just sail up to Martinique !!  Bon Appetite,,,NOT !!    Capt Dave

Fashion Statement......

This morning was the final scuba dive to "beef up" 'Persephone's' mooring.  I added some very heavy chain at the bottom, and used some thimbles on the rode to prevent chafe.  As my tank was nearly empty, Mark on 'Liahona' loaned me a "special" tank....it was HOT PINK !!  So, to be stylish, I put on my lime green shirt and instantly became the 'preppy diver'.....

The Preppy Diver is always willing to go down !!

In the Groove....

Persephone and her crew (me) have settled into Grenada....and we are back in the groove of daily life.  This year I have rented a mooring for the season instead of anchoring as I did last summer.  The mooring is inexpensive by US standards ($60 US per MONTH) and saves wear and tear on my anchor and chain.  Dennis (a Grenadian who does boat work in the Bay) installed 2 moorings, one for 'Silver Heels III' and one for 'Persephone'.  We flipped a coin to determine which mooring which boat would take.  I am very pleased with the location of my mooring, and I am seriously considering buying it from Dennis for future seasons.  With that in mind, I have bought heavier chain to 'beef up' the mooring to withstand heavier winds and swells.  Installing the heavier chain and thimbles on the mooring rode is tomorrow's scuba diving project.  Mark from 'Liahona' (who arrived here yesterday) has agreed to help. Lately it seems all my scuba diving is 'work' dives and not dives for pleasure // sightseeing   i.e.  cleaning the bottom, replacing zincs on the prop shaft, covering the prop with a plastic bag to prevent sea growth etc....and helping out SH 3 by doing the same.

But don't think it has been all work......



Dinghies arrive for another 'on the water' dinghy concert....



A group from Switzerland performs as the sun sets...Icy beers are extracted
from coolers and apps passed from dinghy to dinghy... this was all
 on the day  Persephone arrived !!   Made for a long one !!

On Wednesday nights it's 'Hamburger Night" at Clarks Court Bay Marina....ground zero of where cruisers meet and socialize.  There is a new band this season featuring a mix of island, raggae and socca music. Terrific !!

This is Cheryl of 'Just Imagine...' dancing with the band

Home in Hartman......

'Persephone' has returned "home" to Hartman Bay, Grenada, West Indies,  after cruising the Eastern  Caribbean for the past four and a half months.  During that time, 'Persephone' logged a just over 700 miles, visited seven island countries, and ventured as far north as Antigua/Barbuda. ('North' ??  Barbuda is still south of Puerto Rico or the US Virgin Islands !!)  The high points of the winter travels were the beaches of Barbuda and the Classic Yacht Race on Antigua.  The low points were the equipment failure which caused the loss of the primary anchor (which was eventually recovered after four days of scuba diving) and the rude attitude of some French sailors who repeatedly anchored too close for safety; yet refused to move all the while using vulgarity to justify their position.  The best part of the winter, by far, was buddy boating with friends on 'Silver Heels III', 'Absaroque', 'Impressionist', and 'Liahona'; to name only a few.

Persephone had just cleared the harbor when the radio started crackling with "hellos" and "welcome backs".  For the past several days taxi/bus drivers, store clerks, restaurant owners/staff, and local friends have all greeted 'Persephone's return with warm smiles and gushing "glad to see you home"......Every one of them is  right, Persephone has arrived  "home" !! 

Capt Dave