Category Archives: Caribbean

Islands of the Caribbean including both windward and leeward islands

Hauling and Storing Sugar Shack

Hauling out is always sad and scary.  Intrusting  your boat to be squeezed into a large metal lift with inches on either side is a bit daunting – but Grenada Marine always seems to handle it with ease.  I hopped off early and to check in with the boat yard and start the laundry.  As the sheets and clothes were tumbling I grabbed some wifi and worked for a few hours (not bad office space overlooking the bay).  The boys took down the main, jib, sail bag and lazy jacks.  by the time I returned, they were ready for beer – it’s hot and we have no breeze in the back of the yard.  They continued to hurricane proof and clean the exterior as I finished up the interior cleaning.  We have done this so many times we almost finished everything in one day – we are amazing!  We called it a day around 430p and headed to the bar where we were getting picked up.  We met Vince who is on Flight Plan, a retired gent on a super clean cat!

We headed off to La Sagesse Nature Preserve where a warm shower and hot meal awaited us. Always a pleasure to see Mike and Nancy who run the place as they welcome you with open arms.  We enjoyed a fabulous meal and went to bed exhausted.  Early the next morning, we decided to walk to the yard as nothing was open yet and we wanted to finish up the storage of the boat.  It is a 3 mile walk across 2 beaches, up and down a few hills and over 2 bays. Super pretty.  We managed to finish both the interior and exterior and had some time to chat it up with Mike and Rebecca from ZTC (Zero to Cruising).  Matt has been following their blog for years, back when they first started abut 8-9 years ago (I believe).  They were so nice!  They are selling their PDQ and buying a new boat to continue their sailing adventures.  We met Vince for a drink and headed back to La Sagesse for a hardy meal and good nights rest.

Flight home was a bit crazy as the computers were down in Grenada so they had to do everything by hand which delayed the departure by 45 minutes (cut down our connection time and clearance into the country0, but somehow we all made it on time in Miami.  Then that 2nd flight had an unruly passenger who caused such a stir that the pilot turned around and brought us back to the gate to deboard the miserable man.  Another delay.  And yet, Matt and I were able to barely get our butts on the last flight and finally made home 🙂  Sweet and sad all at the same time…until next time.

Some fun pics

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St George to Prickly Bay to St. David

The next morning, Thursday, 5/28 we headed toward St. George to try to meet up with our friends on Tranquility(a beautiful 76′ mega yacht).  The big surprise is that a friend of mine, Kenan was visiting from Sarajevo with his sister and he did not know that we were in the islands.  I had not seen him in almost 8 years!  As we were pulling in, we spotted Matt O’Hayer’s large dingy (they were going snorkeling at the gardens)  They pulled up and Kenan nearly fell over himself with surprise (once he recognized me, there was doubt at first).  We anchored and met them at a pizza place.  What a fantastic time catching up and enjoying the company of good friends and scrumptious food!

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Afterwards, we snapped some shots on Tranquility, and headed toward Prickly Bay where we were going to spend our last night.  As we headed over, the interior cleaning had to be started as I move much slower.  All the cabinets, drawers, and closets had their contents removed, then cleaned and put back together.  Yeah.

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Enjoyed some drinks at Le Phare Bleu a little marina where Matt and I stayed last December.  As we were casually enjoying our beverages, Matt looked out the water and noticed that our dingy had decided it was time to float away from the dock – what!  The knot tied by our trusty friend evidently slipped and did not hold.  It was great entertainment for all as Matt patiently waited for the dingy to make its way to the beach or the other dock – he was hoping it did not decided to go with the tide toward the entrance/exit of the marina.  It was funny, we should have charged a fee 🙂

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