Carriacou

Anchored in Tyrrel Bay

Carriacou

Grenada

Grenada Islands

Caribbean Sea
12'27.3N/61'29.2W
397 miles from SV Christa

A Happy Birthday to Amy!!!

Check another country off the list. We left the anchorage in Clifton Harbor, Union Island last Thursday for a short one mile trip. We dropped the hook on the southern tip of Frigate Island, a very tiny island just a quarter mile off the southern tip of Union Island, where we had hoped to do some snorkeling.

Ever since arriving in the Caribbean the trade winds have been blowing very strong. On Thursday the winds had gone up to 30 knots, wrecking our snorkeling plans. Amy's birthday was on Friday and we awoke to one of the rarer days where the trade winds had dropped below 15 knots, making for one of the better sails we have had in years to the island of Carriacou. It is just a short 6 mile sail away and part of Grenada. The cool thing about sailing in these waters is that all the islands are so close and in sight of each other.

We dropped the hook amongst the 20 other boats by early afternoon. Then we jumped into the dingy to explore the mangroves and find the floating bar called 'Angels Rest' for a birthday beer. The floating pontoon bar was supposed to be moored in the middle of the bay and was owned by friends on S/V Buxom. After a bit of looking around not finding the floating bar we asked a local "Where is the floating bar?" He answered "I have some bad news for you. The bar floated away." I asked if it was full of people when it floated away, but was told that luckily it was empty when it blew out. It must be somewhere downwind, in Central America by now, where some lucky local must have found it.

We tied the dingy up in front of the Carriacou Yacht Club. It is not really a yacht club,  but a bar and hotel next to a boat yard. After a few rum punches we walked down the road along Tyrrel Bay and found the 'Lambi Queen' restaurant and bar where we had heard they were going to have a steel drum band that night. Turns out that the band is made up of all ladies led by a somewhat famous local gentlemen who use to actually make the drums and now has a steel drum band school on the island. The band consisted of all sizes of drums, with two lead drummers on smaller sized free standing steel drums. The rest of the band had larger barrel steel drums backing them up. Along with the teacher on a real drum set there is a cow bell and set of bongos at the back. [YouTube video - loud!]

These ladies really had it down. You could see in their faces and body movements that they were having a great time. Most the bar was filled with cruisers, and there were locals lined up out along the street drinking rum, dancing around, and really enjoying themselves. Later in the evening Amy even got her own personnel steel drum 'Happy Birthday' played for her by the teacher and one of the lady lead players. Too cool!!

After the band stopped playing around 9pm and all the cruisers headed off to their boats to go to bed. That left Amy and I with all the locals for the rest of the night. After the 'Lambi Queen' closed we headed farther down the road with one of our new island friend Jason. We heard loud music playing down a dirt road and found 'Joann's Swampy Jo's Bar' empty with one man asleep on a table. Finding no one else around we called out "Hello!" loudly and heard some shouting from the back. Our new friend Jason poked his head in one of the doors behind the bar and then told us that the owner was gettin' busy in the back with a lady. And he added that the bar owner told him he still had awhile to go before he was done and wouldn't be able to serve any beer.

So we left the man sleeping on the table and headed farther down the road to Hillsborough Bay. The closer we got, the louder the music became. Along our walk Jason explained to us that everyone is a bit restless with Carnival happening soon. Amy is sure there will be an increase in births 9 months from now.

We found a bar that is open all night that plays ear splitting music with locals dancing all over the place. One thing we have discovered in the Caribbean is that is seems like everyone goes out every night, all night long. I am not sure how the small amount of work that is accomplished around the islands ever gets done with everyone staying up every night.

We made it back to the 'Piper just as the sun was rising. We will stay in Carriacou for a few more days before heading off to Grenada.

More Later From The Land Of Jack Iron,
Tom and Amy

Union Island, Grenadine Islands

Anchored at Clifton
Union Island
Grenadine Islands
Caribbean Sea
12'35.8N/61'24.9W
392 miles from SV Christa
(Click Photo To Enlarge Happy Island)

Just a short transit through the reefs in Tobago Cays Marine Park. Sandpiper had a one-mile ocean transit to where Sandpiper is on the hook, sitting off the small town of Clifton on Union Island. This is our last stop in the Grenadine Islands.

Before entering the harbor, just across the channel, there is Palm Island which has a very fancy resort surrounded by white sandy beaches. We stopped there for an hour to take a swim. While snorkeling  to shore and to the resort we found 3 conchs under the Piper that we quickly grabbed and threw into the dinghy. After a short stroll down the white sand beaches in front of the resort we jumped back into the water and returned to the 'Piper for the short 5-minute motor to where we are currently anchored.

Its been since I was a small kid since I have seen a conch cleaned. Once the hook was set we got the WiFi hooked up and watched Youtube videos on how to clean a conch. But it all looks so easy until one is faced with actually cleaning one. I did as instructed to get the conch out of its shell, but I could not get a grip on it to get it out of its shell. After about an hour I decided that I had had enough. So I grabbed the hacksaw started cutting the shell in half hoping no locals motoring by in their boats would see what I was doing and laugh at me. Minutes later I had 3 conchs out of their shells and Amy took on the job of pounding them out. That first evening at anchor we had a delicious meal of curried conch over rice.

Later that night we made our way through this very tiny town of Clifton checking out the local bars. We ran into Angelo, a local from Union Island, whom we had met on the beach a few days before in the Tobago Cays. Union Island and the town of Clifton are like a scene out of the movie "Captain Ron" and we love it here! The town is very tiny, lining the waterfront with colorful shops and restaurants. Most of the businesses cater to the charter boats that frequent here needing to re-provision.

Most white folks that come to Union Island are here to be on a charter boats. So most just arrive, get on a boat, and then head out for the Tobago Cays. This means that there are very few white tourists in town, which leaves lots of colorful locals that are super friendly.

There is a very tiny airport that is on the edge of town that that makes for afternoon entertainment. When planes land  they have to fly very low, right over town, and then drop straight down in time to stop before they run out of runway and hit the water. Our friend Angelo told us that there were no runway lights. So if a plane had to land at night, or if there was a medical emergency where someone had to be flown to the nearest hospital some distance away to St Vincent, then all of the locals would line up their cars along the runway with their headlights on to guide the plane in.

Angelo then showed us his nightly hangout, the ‘Stressout’ bar, which has become our new favorite haunt. The Stressout Bar is more like a two story house where the upstairs is the bar. There are even couches in the bedrooms if you want to sit inside. In the living room area is the bar where there is a laptop hooked to several large speakers pumping our all kinds of Reggae music at mega decibels. The best part of the bar, other then the dirt cheap rum, hard core Rasta guys smoking, people dancing everywhere, dogs running around in the yard, and blaring music, is behind the bar is something that looks like an aquarium that early in the evening is empty. But as time goes by, it starts getting filled with fried chicken and toast from the kitchen hidden behind the bar! Its brilliant. Who would have thought that eating some fried chicken and toast after a few strong rums could be so delicious.

After being here for just a few days, and with the few days we were in the Tobago Cays, we feel like royalty in town. The locals know our names, and at the Stressout Bar we get all kinds of fist bumps as we walk in. Last night I was talking to the tallest Rasta man I have ever seen. I told him that he must be the tallest person on the island. He told me that there was one man taller, and then suddenly the slightly taller man walked into the room. This left me cracking up because this could only happen on an island this small.

This morning, having no plans, I was sitting in the cockpit having my morning coffee when our new friend Angelo stopped by with his boat. Angelo has a small powerboat that he takes to Petite Martinique, which is an island belonging to Grenada four miles away. There he buys cheap gas for his boat and sacks of live lobsters. He then spends his days over in the Tobago Cays, just a few miles from here, selling his lobsters to the charter boats anchored there. Sometimes he cooks them on the beach. He makes all his money during the charter season because once hurricane season starts there are no more customers until the next year.

Angelo tied up his boat to the 'Piper and announced that he was going to cook us a lobster lunch. There was a flurry of activity by Team Sandpiper... setting up the grill and getting ready for the feast. Angelo used our stove to boil potatoes, that once done he threw on the grill. Angelo then jumped into his boat and grabbed a sack he had hanging over the side. He pulled out three nice lobsters, which he then cut in half lengthwise. While climbing back aboard the 'Piper with his platter of lobsters he managed get a nice burn on his arm when he accidentally leaned against the grill. Then gashed his toe on one of 'Pipers cleats, dripping blood everywhere. 

After we got him patched up and medicated with a big glass of rum to ease his pain Angelo cooked up a huge feast of buttered garlic potatoes and lobster. It was even better then what we had the previous days in the Tobago Cays, leaving us completely stuffed.

The remainder of the day was spent drinking rum while Angelo told us about the happenings on Union Island. Every once in a while a large Venezuelan fishing boat arrives in town that causes much excitement. After the boat arrives at port, they give the customs officers several cases of booze to not pay attention to them for a while. They then tie up on the waterfront and sell gasoline for $4.00 a gallon. The local price of gas is normally $8.00 a gallon. Gasoline is 5 cents a gallon in Venezuela, and they they can sell it for $4 dollars a gallon here. This makes them more money then fishing. Also, they sell cheap liquor and other powdery substances that are white in color…

After a whole day of drinking rum on the 'Piper, Angelo announced that he was going to take us over to Happy Island. Happy Island is located on the reef just off Piper’s starboard side. A man named Janti decided that he wanted to make his own island. So he had all the small speedboats in the harbor start hauling old conch shells that had been piled up in the harbor and dump them on the reef. After thousands and thousands of shells had been dumped he had his own island which he then topped off with hand mixed concrete. He then built a really cool wooden house over this foundation and planted palm trees around his tiny island. He then opened the Happy Island Bar and BBQ.

This is one of the coolest bars we have ever seen. It is really nice at night, sitting way out on the reef while sipping rum punch and looking out at the anchorage. He runs his bar all by 12 volt batteries charged by solar panels. They give him enough power to light up the bar at night, refrigeration to keep the drinks cold, and crank out reggae music. Afterwards we jumped back into Angelo’s boat and he just returned us back to the 'Piper.

Sandpiper’s current plans are to head out to Carriacou Island, just an hour’s sail away, in time for Amy’s birthday this Friday the 13th. Last year Amy spent her birthday on watch crossing the Indian Ocean. So we are hoping for a much better birthday this year.

More from the land of ‘Jack Iron’.
Tom and Amy

Tobago Cays National Marine Park, Grenadine Islands

Anchored Petit Bateau
Tobago Cays National Marine Park
Grenadine Islands
Caribbean Sea
12'38.1N/61'21.6W
391 miles from SV Christa
(Click On Photo To Enlarge)

Lunch with Wilma

Before I tell you about the wonderful afternoon we had yesterday let me brief you on our trip here on Friday. Normally we try not to leave on Fridays as it is an old sailors superstition that bad luck will ensue. However, this trip was only 1 mile. So we thought we would be ok. We waited an extra day at Mayreau Island hoping the wind would calm down some so the visibility might be better at the Cays. The main anchorage at the Cays is exposed, with the Horseshoe Reef just along the outside. We could see the masts from our last anchorage and thought it looked crowded. But once we rounded the corner we noticed the anchorage had plenty of room.

We had heard they put in moorings. And since it has just recently turned into a National Marine Park, they are charging even for anchoring. We didn't pick up a mooring and we actually only were charged for one night at $20EC (about $8USD) which I think is well worth it. I think we didn't get charged our second day because Tom got tight with the park Chief. It turns out they both had the same training in Yorktown, Virginia.

As soon as the hook was set we were off the boat and in the dingy to the outer reef were the snorkeling is suppose to be good. We hooked the dingy to a mooring specially for dingies and off we went. With the wind blowing 25 knots, and a current, it made the snorkeling a bit of a challenge. The visibility was still good but the waves were crashing over our heads. After about 30 minutes of viewing unimpressive reef and fish it was back to the dingy. Tom's comment was 'I thought there would be more color to the reef'. I quickly reminded him that we are spoiled seeing as how we have been to the South Pacific, Great Barrier Reef, Thailand, and the Red Sea.

We drifted with the dingy back toward the boat through a turtle reserve where we did spot a turtle, and that is always exciting. Even with the wind and an unimpressive reef I was still having a great time.

I had really been wanting to participate in a Lobster Bar-B-Q that I had read about in our Windward Islands Guide. Our guide written by Chris Doyle has been helpful in describing anchorages, restaurants, and local services. He explains in his guide how, when arriving in any of the Caribbean anchorages, most likely a boat will pull along side to help anchor, sell us bread, take our garbage, sell us t-shirts, or invite us to that Lobster Bar-b-q. I realize we have only been to three anchorages so far. But I think once these entrepreneur see the old 'Piper, they seem to turn away. Granted, we are looking a bit rough around the edges. But how am I going to get this lobster if nobody approaches us?

Tom and I went to explore one of the three islands after our snorkel. There we met Wilma, who not only sells t-shirts, jewelry and soda. But she also offered us a lobster bar-b-q. We quickly said "Yes", and "Can we do it tomorrow afternoon at 2pm?"

We noticed how nice the beach was where Wilma was set up. So we promptly made it back to the boat, picked up the anchor, and moved to our current location off the beach with a little more protection from the wind.

Friday night the wind picked up even more, and a dark, nasty storm rolled through. But on Saturday morning we had clear skies. We enjoyed a lazy morning and gathered up our snorkel gear to circumnavigate our little island. Our guide book suggested a good snorkel spot on the southern tip of the island. So we set off and we were pleasantly surprised at what we saw. We both agreed that the snorkeling here was better than at the outer reef. We saw more fish, fan coral, brain coral, and turtles too.

It was now time for our Lobster! We met Wilma on the beach and she introduced us to Elroy, our cook. Soon we had several plates of food in front of us. We had grilled jacket potatoes with a garlic butter sauce, a huge bowl of veggies, and a large lobster grilled to perfection. I instantly yanked out all the meat and set my shells on the other end of the table.

Lucky for us we were schooled by our friend Steve about the lobster. He said "They bring flies", and he was right about that. But he also said "Once you get the meat out, move the shells and the flies will follow." He was right about that too. Thanks for the great advice Steve!

Well we devoured every last bit of our lunch, and we highly recommend Wilma for anyone else that might be blowing through. We met that guy the author recommends and thanked our lucky stars we met Wilma as he was a bit too much for us.

Miss Wilma lives on Union Island, where we are headed today, 4 miles away. We have plans to meet up with her on Wednesday night at her house for Lambi, another name for Conch. For all those times that we were never adopted, like other cruisers in the South Pacific were, we are making up for it now.

Hope this entry of beautiful clear waters and lobster doesn't make you all to jealous.

One Love and Respect,
Amy and Tom

Mayreau Island, Grenadine Islands

Anchored in Salt Whistle Bay

Mayreau Island

Grenadine Islands

Caribbean Sea
12'38.8N/61'23.4W
391 miles from S/V Christa

Party...Party...Party...

My goodness. Our initial impression of Bequia was "Let's get out of here", mainly because there are a ton of boats and charter people. We are extremely spoiled from our good times in Barbados... beautiful white sand beaches, beautiful people, friendly faces, and no charter boat folks. So from now on we only have that experience to compare with the rest of our travels.

I think the last we wrote we were heading out of Bequia on Monday. But due to meeting good folks, and running into old friends, we stayed a few more days. We hung out with our new friends off of S/V Buxom, a 1938 gaff rigged wooden ketch sailed by Captain Colin. With Lindsey and Grace as crew, they hail from St John in the U.S. Virgin Islands from where they had just directly sailed, direct hand steering for five days straight. They introduced us to US Virgin Island Rum and many sea stories about their adventures.

While kickin' it on the beach we also met a lovely group of folks from Canada where to my surprise I ended up, as Tom says, 'holding court'. It is just amazing to me that people actually want to hear about our adventures.

We also met Ken, from Pennsylvania, who comes to Bequia once a year for three months and told us Mayreau Island is a must stop for us. Big shout out to Ken because we love it here!! 

Before leaving Bequia we finally heard from our friends, Tracy and Vytas off of S/V Sunshine Daydream, that they were going to arrive Monday. So we hung around to catch up with them again. It had been since the Canary's when we last crossed paths. And we really enjoy their company, so this was a must for us to spend an extra day waiting their arrival. Our reunion was short, but well spent. And we look forward to meeting up again with them soon.

The sail from Bequia to Mayreau was a short 20 mile beam reach. But as the usual for Sandpiper, the winds have been honking lately. So we had 20-30 knots off the beam with just a double reefed main and staysail out.

Upon our arrival to where we are currently anchored in Salt Whistle Bay we were pleasantly surprised to find a tiny, cozy, well protected anchorage surrounded with palm trees and a white sand beach for the 'Piper to drop the hook. I read all the books and guides along the way and you never know what your actually going to get until pulling in. What I have pictured is never what it looks like. But this is actually better then the books!!

I have been extremely spoiled from our previous stops throughout the years, and I know it. It is taking me a bit of time to get use to so many boats around us. But it's slowly growing on me as we are surrounded by charter boats anchored all around us.

Since arriving at Mayreau Island we have done nothing but relax and get back into our old routine of swimming, walking, and scrabble. We did a wonderful walk today from our anchorage in Salt Whistle Bay over to Saline Bay, it's a very small island and only took us maybe one hour with plenty of stops for photos along the way. We treated ourselves to an onshore lunch of lobster sandwiches and Creole conch for less than $25 US.

When speaking to the locals we asked "Where is everyone?" Their response was "With the US economy bad, it means bad business for us too." Everywhere we stopped we were the only non-locales (Whities) around, and the island has many bars and restaurants completely empty. This is a very small island of only 500 people, 7 cars, and only two hotels. It's slow moving, perfect for 'Team Sandpiper'.

We are anxious to move the 2 miles over to the Tobago Cays tomorrow if the winds die down a bit, as they are predicted to do. We want to explore the reefs and indulge in a beach bar-b-q. 

Stay tuned for more tales from the Grenadines. Cheers!

One Love,
Amy and Tom

Bequia Island, Grenadine Islands

Anchored at Tony Gibbons Beach
Admiralty Bay
Bequia Island
Grenadine Islands
Caribbean Sea
13'00.1N/61'14.5W
369nm from SV Christa...

Happy Super Bowl America!! Team Sandpiper has been anchored in Admiralty Bay for the last week. During this time we have completed a few boat projects and got checked in with customs and immigration.

One of the projects was the yet again repair of our troubled outboard motor. This motor has given us much grief during the past 6 months, seeming to fail when the wind is the strongest and night is darkest. When heading into town, upwind, we would paddle until another dinghy would motor by and we would stick out our thumb to get a tow into town. Late at night we had resorted to looking for the drunkest person in the bar when we were ready to go back to the boat and ask them for a tow home, then seeing them in town the next day with little memory of ever meeting us or remembering that they had towed us home. This technique works for our benefit because we can get multiple tows from them and every time they will think it’s the first time they helped us.

We carried the outboard to ‘Fix-It Man’, a retired Ferrari race car mechanic who now fixes yacht engines here in Bequia with his trusty helper Elvis. Elvis got straight to work replacing the spark wire. For now she seems to be running smoothly.

The harbor here in Admiralty Bay is crowded with many cruising yachts, charter boats, mega yachts, and ferries. All along the shoreline are small restaurants and bars that seem to be owned not by locals, but ex-pats whom have made Bequia their new home. On a recommendation we had dinner at Mac’s Pizzeria where we had a very nice dinner and Amy bought me my newest favorite dinghy item, a ball cap that has LED lights in the bill! Its quite sweet as it lights up the dark sidewalks as we walk around and is great for a light in the dinghy to get us home.

We got ashore yesterday (Sunday) and made our way to Tommy Cantina where we had seats reserved to watch the Super Bowl. The bar/restaurant is right along the shoreline where we watched the Super Bowl and the sunset at the same time. The sound of the blender making margaritas overpowered the sound of the game. Not sure what happened with the band ‘Journey’ while we have been gone. Maybe it is a sign of the state of the economy in America, but it appears that Steve Perry, the lead singer, had his job outsourced to a small Asian guy.

We watched commercials for things we have never seen, movies we have never heard of, and TV shows that were unknown. Seems like we are not missing to much.

Team Sandpiper’s current plans are to get Sandpiper ready to leave tomorrow morning for a 36-mile sail to Tobago Cays. This should be a nice trip and we cannot remember the last time we had a trip this short.

For extra reading assignment check out our last posting in the Presidio Yacht Club’s latest issue of the online ‘Porthole’ [click here to read PDF document]. Also check out the “Barbados Rum Report” below.

More Down Island,
Tom and Amy