Fishing for Jocks

In the Pan: 18 Sep 08 

The Carenage, St Georges, Grenada

And so it was, we moved on again. The Crew, eager to keep up his record, put out both lures. Despite a strike that had us all running about like keystone cops, it became one of our “catch & returns”, fortunately not taking our expensive tackle with it!

This time our destination was St Georges, the historic capital of Grenada. This amazing town dates back to the 1650's and a number of building still have wonderful red "fish scale" tiles brought over as ballast by sailing ships. 

WJ3 in the Pan under her new awning

After a tour of the Lagoon (better known as the Pan) we decided that outside the harbour was better for swimming, and so anchored off Ross Point. No sooner was the pick set, than a thunder storm blew over, gusting nearly 30kts with an exciting steep swell. We sat in the cockpit (& rain) watching a couple of boats drag at anchor and a huge cat swing way too close for comfort. Worse still, the coffee plunger nearly came to grief. The Motleys crossed fingers that Big Bertha would work her magic for us. As soon as the winds died, many of us “fair-weather” types motored into the safety of “the Pan”.

Lunch & e-mail

The Grenada Yacht Club is probably the same vintage as the Port Dickson Yacht Club (Malaysia). It certainly has the same tropical ambiance and its kitchen serves an interesting selection of local foods. We tried their breaded flying fish & of course the ubiquitous hamburger. We have though, at least been able to catch up on the essentials – washing, food and internet. 

Fort George 1705-1710

We’ve also taken time to explore St Georges, mostly on foot. It’s quite hilly but thanks to French ingenuity, a tunnel built in 1894 under Fort George, connects the Carenage with a colourful local fruit/veg/spice market (and equally colourful lady vendors) and from there it’s only a short walk to the fish market.

Sendel Tunnel 1894

Apparently fish is scarce at this time of year, so only a few tuna graced concrete slabs. Signs everywhere reminded folks that “bad language” would not be tolerated. Guess Gordon Ramsey wouldn’t be welcome here? On the wharf, a couple of fishing boats were selling their popular load of “jocks” (oh, that’s jacks with a Caribbean accent). I could smell the fresh meat market before I saw it. Having experienced enough open air butchers in my life, it was easily bypassed, especially in 33 degree heat.

Selling Jocks

One thing we can’t do in the Lagoon is swim. Happily, it’s only a short dingy ride round to Grand Anse, a wide sweep of white sand, swaying coconut palms, clear water and subdued resorts. (They’re sensibly not allowed to build higher than a coconut palm). This is where you will find us most days after about 3pm. Cooling down before taking sundowners somewhere….

From:  Clarke’s Court Bay, Grenada  Lat/Long: 12 01N  61 44W  Date/Time: 18/9/08: 0830
To: St Georges, Grenada  Lat/Long: 12 03N  61 45W  Date/Time: 18/9/08: 1100
Time Taken: 11nm (2hrs)  Distance (this year): 762nm (160hrs)
Distance Total (since 2008): 762nm  (160hrs)   Fastest Speed: Motored**
Weather: Winds ESE 5-10kts; 2-4ft swell; fine day with a few clouds
(** It was very calm)

Cargo of Spice & Rum

It’s only a rum bar away…: 16 Sep 08

Hog Island

Our next stop was Clark’s Court Bay; again through a narrow channel beside some hefty coral reefs. This time we found a much larger bay with any number of relatively secluded anchorages. Actually, the Motleys spent more time motoring about trying to decide which one was the “perfect” location than it took to actually get to it! Finally, we dropped the hook near Petit Calivigny in 28ft of green murky water and MUD….. It was here that the Cap’n cleaned our catch! Yes, BW had done it again. A nice big tuna, cut into steaks to put on the bbq. Yum oh! 

Catch of the Day

The next morning, the Cap’n & GS checked out facilities at a friendly marina and little town of Woburn. Again, it was very rural; very lush with small household gardens flourishing madly. Breadfruit trees were dripping with soccer ball sized fruits, paw paw and mango trees decorated almost every garden; seasonal okra were ready to pick and passionfruit vines ran over fences just laden with ripening, yellow fruit. 

We eventually found a small grocery store, bypassing several rum shops, including the famous Nimrods, on the way. Even though the cruising community was well represented in all anchorages, we were struck again by low season blues - little was open. So, no washing or eating unless we moved on…

Clark’s Court Bay was used in the old days by sailing ships to load cargoes of spices and rum. This history continues in a way, given Woburn’s many little rum bars. Sometimes, these bars are little more than a shady spot with a stool or two and a killer “top shelf” selection. The better ones might have a telly – tuned to the cricket of course!  Anyone wanting to know more about rum should follow up on the Ministry of Rum, an interesting site. All islands seem to have their own special brew, but here’s our favourite tipple or two. Cheers!

Grocery Store, Woburn

‘Ti Punch (petit or small). Try 1½ white rum (rhum agricole, mes amis), ¼ sugar cane juice and ¼ lime juice mixed into a shot glass. Drink quickly (the taste is awful). The follow-up (if you’re still breathing) is called a cinq pou cent (literally 5%)…meaning half of the first. We tried it first in Iles des Saintes. Brave.

Planteur Punch. A mix of rum & fruit juice over ice. To my dismay, our Cap’n took a liking to my hard-to-find ruby grapefruit juice and for reasons of incrimination, he refuses to share his mix ratio. Try filling a glass with ice and adding 4 fruit juice, 2 rum, & 1 of lime juice. Add a sprinkle of nutmeg &/or Angostura Bitters depending upon your choice of juice.

Painkiller. The GS became fond of this one, but the Crew refused to make it up until after dinner….otherwise dinner prep was not taken as seriously as it should! His recipe is to mix 3 pineapple juice, 1 orange juice, 2 rum (authentic BVI mix uses Pusser’s) & 1 coconut cream over ice. Garnish with nutmeg.

From:St David’s Harbour, Grenada Lat/Long: 12 01N  61 40W Date/Time: 16/9/08: 1500

To: Clarke’s Court Bay, Grenada  Lat/Long: 12 01N  61 44W  Date/Time: 16/9/08: 1600
Time Taken: 5nm (1hrs)  Distance (this year): 751nm (158hrs)
Distance Total (since 2008): 751nm  (158hrs)   Fastest Speed: Motored**
Weather: Winds ESE 5-10kts; 2-4ft swell; fine day with a few clouds
(** Who cares – we caught a tuna on the way!)

Sunset with Sundowners

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!!

Fishing Championships

Fishing while you wait: 12 Aug 08

Fishermen in Deshaies

Fishing is only sport for fish…have you noticed? We had now unsuccessfully trawled a lure over long distances. 

"Kamikazi" flying fish don’t really count either, although I understand they are a local delicacy in Barbados. English Harbour had proven less than successful, even with fish flopping about close to the boat. An amused Cap’n was literally hand feeding these little treasures whilst my bait didn’t even get a tooth mark on it.

That squid must be working!

Our Cap’n was inspired however, after seeing a fisherman angling off the tiny dingy dock in Deshaies - with his spark plug sinker and squid for appat (bait). So, the challenge was on! Clutching a 3lb box of frozen squid, our fearless leader was back on board with rods at the ready. 

Kid Wonder, keen to participate, also put out a line over WJ3’s stern. And yes, they did catch something…mere babies who didn’t know any better! 

GS snorkelled by, reporting in on the action from below!

Clearly not a local fisherman

Inspired, we drifted the next night in Bruce (3 men in a tub?) off the cliffs that mark the entrance to the bay, hoping to strike it lucky. Not a chance! Maybe it’s low season for the fish too? 

Kid Wonder’s going to go further out to the reef tonight… If nothing else, I guess we could eat any left-over squid – the fish don’t seem to like it!