Holy Hand Grenada! We Finally Made It

It's been nine months and nearly 3,000 nautical miles under the keel, but we finally made it to Grenada, the southernmost terminus of our planned travels in the Caribbean.

On Tuesday, we crossed a 35-mile stretch (appx. 7 hours) from Bequia, St. Vincent, to Tyrell Bay, Carriacou, Grenada, along with Larry and Debbie on buddy boat Tropical Blend. Although Carriacou is still about 30 miles from our final anchorage, we are officially in the country.

First let me back up: I see our last post was filed from Martinique. From there, we crossed the Martinique Channel to Rodney Bay, St. Lucia.

Thanks (or, no thanks) to a few recent attacks on cruisers in St. Lucia, we opted for staying in the local marina, where there's security. Probably nothing to worry about, but it wasn't too expensive, so why not? From there, we rented a car with Larry and Debbie and explored the island, including the famous dual peaks known as the Pitons.

Active volcano at St. Lucia

St. Lucia

Sailing south just 10 miles, we arrived in Marigot Bay. Wonderful spot. Nice protected bay and a resort open to anyone renting a mooring there. Snug as a bug.

Marigot Bay

Next day we set off for Bequia in St. Vincent & the Grenadines. If anything, St. Vincent enjoys (is that the right word?) a worse reputation than St. Lucia for crime. However, Bequia, a small island to the south of the main island, is considered quite safe.

Admiralty Bay there proved a tricky anchorage. The holding is good once you find the right spot. But finding a patch of good sand to drop the hook in is the hard part. After we anchored, Noi set out with snorkel and mask and checked to make sure we were properly set. No dice. She reported that the anchor was laying on its side in soft shell. So, we pulled up everything and tried again. The second time it set well.

Noi diving on our anchor at Bequia.

Wind-wise, the bay is not very well protected. We got gusts up to 35 knots blowing through the anchorage. Not a problem given the good anchoring.

The island is one of the few places still allowed by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to harvest cetaceans. The quota is four whales a year, but it's not clear how many are actually being taken -- it could be less or more. The locals sell scrimshaw made from whale bone as souvenirs (we didn't buy any). Looks like mostly pilot whales, but again, there's no way for us to know.

From Bequia, it was on to Carriacou. Seven hours. Conditions were better than we expected. The sprinkling of islands known as the Grenadines that dots the route offered us a little protection from the swell and waves, which weren't too bad, in any case.

So, here we are at Carriacou. Another lovely little anchorage. Small town, but lots to do and a very nice introduction to Grenada.

I know that's not a very elegant post, but the wifi here, as usual, is iffy. Just wanted to get this on the record.