Tobago Cays

08/19/09
To approach the Tobago Cays from the south is a bit tricky as there is a reef on either side between the Cays and Mayreau Island and since we didn't know the area we did it the save way and sailed around Mayreau and entered the Tobago Cays from the north, which is recommended. In either case it's a short trip of 8 miles. As we left Clifton and headed into the channel towards Mayreau the water turned beautiful cobalt blue and even though it was anywhere from 30 to 50 feet deep we could see the bottom and everything on it, unbelievable. The backside of Mayreau revealed two beautiful anchorages although they looked a bit on the rolly side and coming around the northern end a beautiful bay opens up which is called Salt Whistle Bay, very inviting. From here it was only 3 more miles to the Cays which again we had to pay attention to hidden reefs on either side. When we arrived we were speechless because of the beautiful scenery that was around us. Every thing had colors the water all the blue shades you can imagine and the islands the freshest greens, it really takes your breath away. If you've seen the Bahamas this is just like it except the islands are taller and very lush I don't think you can walk between the bushes and trees. We chose to take the channel between two of the four islands to get to the anchorage which all is surrounded by a large horse shoe shaped reef. The view from here was just as spectacular. The channel between the first two islands showed all the blue colors depending on the depth and was so clear you could see the bottom then as we came out of the cut and turner right around the corner a huge area opened up with a large anchor area to choose from. Even thought there were over 50 boats in this place mostly huge catamarans it still left plenty of spaces to anchor. We found a suitable spot and dropped the anchor in 10 feet of water which was so clear you wanted to jump in it immediately. The anchor was barely set as the first reef inhabitant a huge seas turtle popped up next to us to greet us with a loud air blow. As fast as she appeared she descended into the water again, wow. It took me about 30 seconds to get my snorkel gear and climbed down the ladder. After my fins were on I fitted my mask and as I looked under the boat I couldn't believe my eyes, right below me was a nurse shark my size: "fast Sid give me my camera!" The shark hung around for a while and didn't mind me taking photos of him then I swam about 20 feet away from the boat when I had the next encounter a beautiful turtle. I don't know how long I was snorkeling around but I know I took at least 100 photos of many turtles. Unfortunately Sid came up with a cold and skipped in the fun I had. After drying off I finally sat down and looked around our new surrounding it was absolutely beautiful with light blue water all the way to the reef, behind it crashing waves then nothing but white capped ocean, blue sky with some white puffy clouds, to the other side the beautiful small islands of the cays and behind Union island, to the south we could even see PSV and Carriacou.
That same night Sid hooked up the under water light again and barely in the water lots of little fish showed up and circled the bright light. Not even 10 minutes later a big needle fish came by then a huge shadow showed up and revealed a stingray, how exciting is that. 5 minutes later something else closed in then we saw the white spots as a beautiful spotted eagle ray swim buy double wow. We couldn't keep our eyes of the water. The following day we snorkeled the outer reef but the current was so strong that we gave up after a short time. It was beautiful though and some areas looked like fish tanks. Sid still didn't feel too good so I ventured by myself to the turtle area where dinghies and boats are forbidden. As soon as I entered this area I saw one turtle after another all grazing on the ocean bottom on seaweed. Now and then they swim up to the surface to catch some breath then submerge to the bottom again. It must have been hours I followed and watched them, it was just amazing. The turtles have the most unique patterns and colors on their shell making it look like it was painted on. They didn't seem to mind me following them up and down from surface to bottom taking photos in the contrary they were just as interested in watching me as I watched them, one came up to the surface facing me and just inches away looking with its gentle eyes right into mine, unforgettable.
We had another visitor on board a female black bird whose daily routine is to board anchored boats to especially investigate the galleys. She was not shy and sat down right next to me while I fed her some dried cat food pieces. The second day she saw me on deck and flew right next to me but left when she realized I did not have food with me. The third time she visited us she ventured into the galley and got surprised by kitty Tika who at the time slept on the sofa. You should have seen Tika's groggy and puzzled look on her face when she chased the bird into the cockpit. I think she wasn't sure if it was real or a dream.

Union Island, St. Vincent Grenadines

08/18/09 If there is such a thing as a "Perfect Day" I can say we just had one. Waking up to the smell of fresh brewed coffee Sid prepares for me every morning is always a perfect way to start another day in and on Paradise. After enjoying this morning's coffee with the lovely view over Tyrell Bay with crystal clear water below our keel Sid cranked the motor up, pulled anchor and we motored around the corner to my favorite spot Sandy Isle. Yes, we motored as we turned the water maker on. We anchored in 11 feet of even clearer water than in Tyrell a short distance away from the white sandy beach, it felt like being on top of a swimming pool. We enjoyed this idyllic retreat to the fullest and around three in the afternoon we plunged into the refreshing water and snorkeled ashore, there we walked along the white sanded beach to the west end, which really just takes a few minutes as the island is only about a quarter of a mile long and ventured back into the water to discover the reef on this side. Unfortunately the last few hurricanes have devastated the coral reefs in this area and left a lot of broken and crumbled coral heads. Despite the devastation we still saw some interesting fish of all colors. One in particular interested my eye this one seemed to glow in the most beautiful cobalt blue color and was about 2 inches and right beside them are little tiny yellow fish cleaning the cobalt fish, a perfect miniature fish display. Snorkeling back towards the boat the scenery changed from rugged broken off coral to sand patches in between then just sandy bottom with some occasional broken off coral pieces and then we saw a school of calamari. Did I just write Calamari, I meant squid the perfect size to look really yummy in my frying pan no wonder calamari came to mind. Right below the calamari a stingray was resting on the sandy bottom with a weary eye on us. Back at the boat we sat down to a cocktail reliving the beautiful snorkel then watching the sun disappear beyond the horizon. For dinner I prepared us some broiled duck legs a la Provencal with some garlic fettuccini and a spinach salad with pine nuts and a hot bacon dressing. While I did dishes Sid hung the underwater fishing light which surrounded Paradise with a turquoise blue hue, looked like the ambiance lights in a swimming pool. Above us was the clearest sky and occasional scooting stars interrupted us watching the many small fish and plankton assembling around the light. What we really hoped for was for the squid to show up the idea of calamari was still making my mouth water, but they didn't. Sid tried to cast the fishing rod a couple of times only to tangle up the reel and then snagging a little jack. We laid on deck for a while marveling up into the sky which at this time of the year reveals the milky way, Scorpio and the tea kettle until our eyelids fell shut. Now wouldn't you say this was a perfect day? The following day we snorkeled again in the crystal clear water, this time we headed to the south reef and on the way there I noticed a fairly good sized spotted sea snake turning over coral pieces scurrying up food. We snorkeled this reef already last time when we saw a good size slipper lobster walking around and were amazed on how many more fish we saw on this day. The visibility was a lot better as well. Coming around the corner of the island bigger fish appeared some that would have looked pretty darn good in my frying pan as well and on our way back to the boat yet another sea snake the opposite color from the previous one slithered across the bottom below us, amazing. Sandy Isle definitely is my favorite anchorage so far in the Caribbean.
In the mean time tropical storm Ana has formed and dissipated to a tropical wave again and tropical storm Bill has turned into a full blown hurricane. Neither one are a threat for us in the contrary they sucked all the moisture out of this area leaving us with clear sky and moderate winds. Perfect condition to head up to the Tobago Cays which are best visited in calm and sunny conditions to really enjoy the spectacular view.
Many boaters are heading south out of the hurricane belt. Luckily this year is another El Niño year has kept the weather at bay. The Pacific side is already on their 7th or 8th storm while the Atlantic has just started. If we're lucky we'll be able to play around until the end of this month before heading south and out of the hurricane belt. Bill is a monster of a cloud and the good thing is that hurricanes never travel south as soon as they hit hurricane force winds they travel northwest to north; looks like he'll miss the Eastern Caribbean completely but is headed straight for Bermuda.

We only had 7 miles to sail to Union Island in the St. Vincent Grenadines but of course the wind blowing anywhere from 15 to 18 knots was right on the nose so we motored the entire way as we also had the water maker on. The swells became rather big, we think it was caused by Hurricane Bill and so the trip was lumpy bumpy. There are a few reefs you have to keep an eye on so staying on course of course is what you want to do venturing the first time into any area.
As soon as we approached the anchorage at Clifton a speed boat approached and tried to tell us we needed to pick up a mooring and motioned to follow him. We were not going to take a mooring and noticed that none of the other boats were on mooring so we anchored. He kept coming after us and barely let us anchor when he approached the boat and tried to sell us anything from propane, laundry service, fuel at 15 EC a gallon ($5.55 yikes it's only 3.70 in Petite Martinique). Later on in the afternoon he approached Sid in the cockpit again and wanted to know if he wanted to buy some ganja?! LOL he definitely asked the wrong guy. Checking in was a piece of cake then we walked around the town which definitely has a more European flair and every other store is a souvenir store with outrageously high prices I guess welcome to the Caribbean, even the two beers we had were 6 bucks and the bottle was a mini bottle. I haven't been able to find any lettuce of any kind in over a week, heard not even Grenada has any on the shelf, here I found some one head of lettuce just enough to make a salad for two people for 6 bucks ouch. I think we'll be living of our canned goods for a while. Clifton is a very charming town and we will spend some more time here but for now the weather is being played right by Bill so we'll head out tomorrow to visit the Tobago Cays.

Heat Exchanger Replaced

After the health day to recoup we took the dinghy around the south side of Carriacou (3 miles) to the most beautiful little island with a sand beach surrounding all but the south side of it. The island is surrounded by reefs and the beach is steep to and the wind was blowing quite a bit and sand blasted our legs. Of course I forgot my camera to capture this idyllic scenery. We explored the island and found a little pond that was filled up with conch shells, some were very new and we picked 4 of them, which later after cleaning them up turned out to be really pretty shells we'll fix so they can be used as a horn. A little over an hour later Beex showed up with a boatload full of kids and the liming started again.
This was the last vacation day for Mark and family and our last lime with them. The following day Paul sailed them to Grenada and we were left alone to now really recuperate. On Monday we ordered the new heat exchanger and told the guy to make sure to send it the fasted way with UPS. Email came with which we hoped the tracking number but instead the guy wanted to know what the zip code here was. There is none so the part didn't get shipped until Tuesday leaving us little hope to receiving it before the weekend. On Wednesday we got a tracking number and when I tracked it UPS said that it'll be delivered here on the 13th that was on the 5th. We were bummed as we knew that now we had to wait until Carnival was over. On the 7th I tracked it again and to our surprise it said that it had arrived in Carriacou on the 6th. WHAT???!!!! Of course by now Friday afternoon at 4 PM it was now too late to go to customs to pick it up and we gave it a shot on Saturday to find out that customs was closed for the weekend, well we did see our package on the floor behind the counter the friendly person worked who now also told us that Monday and Tuesday was a holiday for us to come back on Wednesday. So on the 12th we finally received the package and the following day after hard labor Sid replaced the heat exchange. Getting the part was kind of weird. Customs just handed us the box with two forms we had to fill out and told us to go to the next door building to pay and let us walk out of there with our goods. I tell you we could have just walked back to the boat and they would have never known, but as honest as we are we went to the next door office which was a little bigger then a shoe box and the two of us had just about enough room to watch the girl behind her desk frantically trying to find the code for the heat exchange. 2 hours later she found it under shafts and propeller, weird. And we had to try hard not to laugh out loud whenever she was calling a supervisor that she could not find the part code, you have to know the dialect they have here is even worse than in Trinidad and to us it seemed like the don't even don't understand each other, just too funny. After paying a small fee we were underway, which brings me to the Taxi ride home. If you think you can come into town and be back on your boat within an hour which could be possible, put it out of your mind, because the taxi most likely will stop at every store and shop for their own needs. I think it took us 2 hours to get back to Tyrell Bay which should be a 15 minute ride, but I tell you it was entertaining, wouldn't have wanted to miss it.
The weather has been pretty good with although occasional squalls making us do the rain shuffle over and over again and a few low weather systems have built which now are an eventual threat to become the first hurricane of this season. Oh, I guess the time of hurricanes is over they call them now tropical cyclones. We're still in Tyrell Bay but will start moving around, probably today we'll head back to Sandy Isle and wait for Paul and Karen to come back and spend some one on one time with them without any other guests then we'll try to get to Mareau and Tobago Cays before the weather gets to threatening for us. So far we love the Grenadines with its crystal clear waters in all the blue colors you can imagine.
Unfortunately it's rather on the pricy side here, a bottle of coke costs 3$, a medium size chicken 15 bucks, ouch. Tomatoes 5 bucks a pound, beer 2 bucks a bottle but get this I buy conch for 2 bucks a piece, so what do you think we're eating. We even put a few in the freezer. One of the locals here told me a yummy recipe for a conch or rather Lambi Bloody Mary. Put two conch in the pressure cooker fill with one inch of water and cook for 20 minutes. Melt some butter with garlic, slice the lambi/conch into thin slices dip in butter and enjoy, very rich and tasty, but for the BM use the cooled down juice with tomato sauce and make your BM, I tell you better then using Clamata juice. So life's good and we're getting really good at the rain shuffle.
Almost forgot on the 12th we celebrated the 32nd birthday of Paradise she's an old girl now but looks better the older she gets.

Paradise Beach, Carriacou

Since my last posting we’ve been so buys with doing the rain shuffle, moving the boat around, watching the regatta plus the following potlucks, liming with Paul and Karin and ordering a heat exchanger for our motor. Yes, the heat exchanger is leaking, it’s not all too bad yet so we can run the engine and keep our batteries topped off to keep the fridge and freezer going. Part is underway but we hope it’ll get here before this weekend as next week Carnival starts in Grenada and during that time nothing is open and no body works and our part has to go through Grenada, we’re holding our breath. Actually I almost want to say it’s not going to happen, so let’s wait and see. In the mean time we had many rain showers until the day the regatta started since then it’s been just beautiful. Yesterday was the end of the 4 day regatta activities and go figure we are doing the rain shuffle again. We took part at a few of the festivities and watched a few races but most of the time we’ve been liming with Paul and Karin. We sailed the boat around and took their mooring in front of their beautiful home. You have to see this place to believe, http://www.lastortugasvilla.com/index.htm

the villa is built halve way up the steep hill and is overlooking the northern part of Carriacou with Hillsborough a few islands, one of them which is not even a mile across from the mooring called Sandy Isle, what a jewel then the view passes beyond Sandy Isle to Union island and all the rest of the Grenadine Islands. The color of the water varies on depth and shows all the blue and turquoise shades you can just imagine. It was a happy reunion meeting them in their house plus a surprise, Mark and his family whom we met on the Trinidad Hashes is vacationing with Paul and Karin. Can’t get away from the Hashers! Since then we’ve been pretty much liming with them. Where we were moored was a bit bumpy so the following day we moved over to Sandy Isle which is a sliver of a sandy spit at parts over grown with some almond trees and ice plants the sand is white and very fine and the scenery just breath taking. We anchored in 8 feet of the clearest water, so clear even at night you can see the bottom. We had a couple of good limes on the beach with Paul and company plus his parents and other friends who sailed their boats up from Trinidad as well. Sunday we all were invited at some other friend’s house Toni, Laura plus on the other side of the island and so the boats moved back to Tyrrel Bay and we all organized a taxi van to get us to the party. What awaited us there was the most beautiful view over flat calm turquoise and blue water protected by a big reef which surrounds the north and east side of Carriacou. Carriacou by the way means reef. Beyond the reef about 3 miles away the two islands of Petite Martinique (PM) and Petite San Vincent (PSV), just breathtaking. Not just that along the beach the BBQ was hot and ready for the most delicious baby back ribs followed by seared fresh tuna. A local group with native drums showed up and entertained us, we all had a blast. Unfortunately time went by way too fast and the taxi was already back to drive us back to Tyrrel. Early the next morning Paul picked us up, drove to their house, climbed down to the beach and sailed his boat across to the same reef where we picked up Laura from there we sailed across to PM and PSV. The two islands are joined by a big reef with deep enough water for boats to anchor. We anchored off the beach at PSV which is a privately owned island with only one resort which is frequented by the rich and famous. After along day with loads of swimming, liming, drinking champagne we sailed back to the drop Laura off then the boats decided to spend the night there. Laura drove Sid und me back to Tyrell since we had to run the engine to recharge the batteries. We had way too much fun in the last few days so we will not join them today for another fun lime somewhere in these beautiful waters. We need a general health day to recoup!