Grenada Dreaming

Big Green Flash: 14 Sep 08

Evening Clouds Carriacou

Our cruising guide promised us the chance to catch a fish on the windward side of Grenada and so it was. We lost 3 lures (to ones that got away, damn) but finally Boy Wonder landed a yellow-tail snapper of reasonable proportions. Now we never did see a green flash (as the sun sets under the horizon, another chance offered by our trusty guide), but we sure liked this big yellow flash a lot better!!

Decent Haul

Going to windward of Grenada meant that we missed the dubious pleasure of sailing amongst too many bad tempered Jenny’s. Diamond Rock, just north of Grenada, is otherwise known as Kick’-em-Jenny. It’s 200m of sheer rock surrounded by nasty currents, wild winds and offers no shelter for yachties. This is one of those “moving right along” places. Worse, and only a few miles out from this nasty rookery is the real Kick’-em-Jenny, an underwater volcano that is best not to tussle with. It’s currently active, although some-what low-level. That means at least 10 eruptions in the last 60 years! Aside from the usual dangers like hot rocks, steam columns, ash, tsunamis, etc, one interesting possibility is volcanic gas bubbles. Sail over the top of one of these beauties and you could be in for a rapid impersonation of Captain Nemo and Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea. Volcanic activity is such that the Seismic Research Unit has a published Hazard Atlas for the Lesser Antilles. As our cruising guide says – “If you are reading this, don’t go there.” Okay!!

Diamond Rock, Grenada. View from west coast

Cap’n Crotchety checked in at our St David’s Harbour anchorage, only to find nobody home. So, on a local bus he hopped, headed for St Georges. Fortunately he also managed to find a grocery store to bring back a few supplies…we were getting low and there was little settlement about – and certainly no supermarkets. St David’s is a lovely rural setting on the SE side of Grenada. The harbour itself is surrounded by coral making it not the sort of thing you’d tackle at night. Luckily, the marina has set up some red & green buoys to mark the channel making it easier to negotiate. Inside, the water is brackish but clean – we are now anchoring in deep water (25-30ft) on mud. Try as they might, both “diver-dans” could not get a visual on the anchor to check its holding. Good shark water, we all thought. Snorkeling over the reefs was also not as interesting; visibility was quite poor. We must be getting closer to the South American coast perhaps?

Sentinal into St David's Harbour, Grenada

From:  Tyrell Bay, Carriacou  Lat/Long: 12 27N  61 29W  Date/Time: 14/9/08: 0900
To: St David’s Harbour, Grenada  Lat/Long: 12 01N  61 40W  Date/Time: 14/9/08: 1530
Time Taken: 35nm (6.5hrs)  Distance (this year): 746nm (157hrs)
Distance Total (since 2008): 746nm  (157hrs)   Fastest Speed: Avg 5kts**
Weather: Winds ESE 5-10kts; 2-4ft swell; clear skies
(** Beam reach on east side (windward) of island – lucky us)

We think we've found it, Wayne!

Our farmer friend, Mr Wayne lost his favourite tractor a while ago. (Actually it was stolen from his farm.)  See, we just never stop being helpful!!