The Grenadines

The Grenadines

1. 
   Mayreau Island: We anchored in Salt Whistle Bay along with (8) other cruisers that we know. The beach reminds me of a half-moon shape. Only one resort is on the Island it has tables made out of stone and a bar/ restaurant for our use. Here is where I want to list the boats names that were here, so we don’t forget anyone. When you’re a cruiser you meet a lot of boaters, but to all be anchored in one bay at the same time is fabulous. Everyone choose this bay because it is well protected from the weather. There is a large wave heading in our direction, so we all had that word protected in our minds.
   1. Off line
   2. Nebula
   3. Allergic to Cities
   4. Magic
   5. Bleu Marie
   6. Daniel’s Story
   7. Blue Water Cat (Carl’s Nurse)
   8. Soldier
   9. Last but not least. (Mystique.)

The 1st night all of us got into the water, to cool off. Jake (Off Line) pulled up his dinghy set anchor right next to us. He then began handing out rum drinks. We all went back to our boats and brought back rum and mixers to share. This event turned out to be known as the floating dinghy bar night. We all were pruned from the water and drunk from the rum. It was a Jake attack!!! His label will stick with him until the end of this season, I’m sure.

Tobago Cays: We all set sail to the Tobago Cays together. The little Island that we anchored in is deserted but well known for the snorkeling and turtle watching. Hawk Bill turtles swim with you if you don’t frighten them. I got to swim with two at the same time. They were about ½ the size of me. This was one of my greatest high-lights of the whole trip.

In this part of the Grenadines there are deadly reefs that surround the Islands. If your not careful you can hit one that would surely sink your boat. The reefs were wonderful to snorkel in, and we did a lot of that.

Carl & Jake arranged a trip to a little island that you had to dinghy through the reefs to get to. The reefs are also deadly to dinghies. Rum Island where some of the movie Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed. When we got there Jake and Carl thought it would be nice to eat fresh coconut. So they headed to the nearest coconut tree. Jake claimed up on Carl’s shoulders with a bamboo stick in one hand, determined to knock-off a coconut. Needless to say they were unsuccessful, but they really put on a show trying. Them two always are on the same team when we play any game. They always win somehow. This time they were a crack-up.

Clifton: Is a small Island with fruit & Veggie stands and small stores. Not really much to see. The main attraction that Carl & Jake found was, Happy Island built on the edge of the reef. Not many people have created their own island as did the builder Janti. He took old conch shells that cluttered the island mixed them with cement and created his own island. You can tie your own dinghy right outside of the bar/restaurant. By the way that’s all that is on this man made island. Quite the place a must see.

Hillsborough: A small island we only stopped for lunch and to check out of the Grenadines at custom’s.

Carriacou: A small island with a working boatyard and a few stores and not much more. The main attraction was the floating bar. It was a small boat with no motor parts. The only thing aboard was the bar and a few seats. If they ran out of something they would call a boat boy to bring it to the boat from shore.

This is where we all kind of went our own way. Off line & Nebula stayed there for a week. That would be way to long for us. Others had their own ideas of where they were going. Mystique headed for Grenada. A 80 mile passage. A storm was on its way and we wanted to head out before we got stranded here. It turned out to be a very nice sail but we did have to motor because the wind was only blowing between 4 to 6 knots at times. Next stop Grenada.