We left Fort de France on May 24th for an overnight sail to Carriacou and Tyrrel Bay. The passage was superb and the wind was on the beam the whole way so it was a great run. The wind does die away some what in the lee of the larger islands like when passing Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and we dropped some speed even though we were 5 miles or more to the east and in what we thought might be clean air. In any case the ride was fast and relatively smooth given the 15-20 knots of wind and 4-6 foot seas.
Tyrrel Bay is a wide open bay with great protection from the prevailing easterly winds and NE swells so it is pretty flat as anchorages go around the Caribbean. The anchorage looked very full to us as we came in and we tried a couple of spots before settling, after settling in and talking to others they said it often had 50% more boats in it!
We were exceptionally lucky on leaving Martinique to hear from good friend Joy and Steve that they had not left Bequia yet and we might meet them. As we passed we hailed them but got no response, so we guessed they were in Tyrrel Bay already. They did briefly catch us on the radio as we were getting out of range but just enough to know they had not left yet. A quick check of email revealed they missed our call but where coming to Tyrrell Bay soon so we would see them. So we settled in as it was Sunday for a check in the following morning. Check in went well and we toured a little of the island to see what was there.
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| Checking in |
When Ocean Angel arrived we let them settle before inviting ourselves over to catch up with Joy and Steve. They have spent the whole winter in the Caribbean and were among several friends we had hoped to catch so we were delighted to have done it. They both looked fabulous and very relaxed aboard their boat and for us it was a first to see them aboard as we normally met at SSCA events in Florida either locally or at the GAMS. We had a great evening catching up with them both.
The following day everyone had boat chores so Steve tending to his mainsail while we cleaned Moosetracks. We arranged to get together with Native Dancer and Ocean Angle for Mexican train dominoes that evening. We made great friends with Gary and Patty and see why Joy and Steve had a great time with them. It was a great evening and huge fun all around. Sadly Ocean Angle and Native Dancer had appointments for haul outs in Trinidad so had to get moving while weather allows so we bade them farewell and promised to look out for them both next year.
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| Joy, Liz & Steve on Ocean Angel |
Well it was time for us to explore the anchorage and meet some folks so we first decided to attend the noodling class, which is basically in water (sea) aerobics with floatation (noodle). It was great fun and we met lots of other people like; Barb & Chuck of Tusen Takk II, Sharon & Lee of Allegro, Heather and Don of Asseance, Annie & Ian of Celtic Spirit.
We took a walk to Paradise beach which has a wonderful view and lovely white sand then stopped and had a beer or two there before walking back via the bakery and villages.
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| Hardwood Bar |
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| Paradise Beach |
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| Awesome T-Shirts for sale |
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| The beach view |
Our first walk was with Barb to Manchaneel Bay.
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| Our first walk on Carriacou |
Our next outing was to Hillsborough to shop for cell phone cards and see the largest town on the island. It was a fun bus ride over for EC$3.50 each about US$1.30 so a great bargain. We stopped at the tourist office as well to get our bearings and a map of town before visiting both cell phone providers to choose our plans. So we now have a local phone for Grenada! We stopped for lunch at a local roti shop and had a great sea view to look out on. We toured town and saw the local Museum and talked with the curator about the exhibits that were very interesting and showed the local amerindian finds as well as the origins of the current population from Africa. All very worth a visit. We then had a lovely evening with Barb and Chuck on Moosetracks for dominoes.
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| Roti lunch at the beach bar |
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| Museum in Hillsborough with the curator |
The next walk was with Barb & Chuck a few days later to the second highest point on the island for great views over the harbor and a look at the plantation ruins on the way. Unfortunately our destination restaurant was closed so we had a little further to walk before catching a bus back. On the way the bus stopped for us all to buy roti’s for lunch and the driver and passengers sat outside and waited for us, now how cool is that! We arrived back in Tyrrel bay and sat on the beach and eat our lunch with a view over the bay.
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| Beautiful tree in School yard |
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| Plantation ruins |
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| View from the top |
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| Tyrrel Bay |
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| Devin, Chuck & Barb |
Well the noodle activities came to an end as Barb and Chuck had to start heading for Trinidad to and were leaving. But before they went they wanted to host dominoes on their boat so invited us over. That day our friends from Out of Africa, Jo and John arrived. Since Barb and Chuck knew them as well they joined us with a fourth boat Chimayo with Debbie & Bob aboard. We all had a wonderful evening and Barb really topped it off when she brought out Ice Cream to go with the cake folks had made!
Our next outing was the Saturday night BBQ at Lucky’s restaurant, she only does it once a week and has a happy hour too so the local cruisers all tend to congregate there as it’s good atmosphere and great company. We went along with Celtic Spay, Ocean Rainbow, Spirited Lady and Santiago. It was a great night even though the BBQ chicken was sold out so pork was only left for us. The local specialty was rum sold by the 1/4 or 1/3 bottle and since we were trying local fare Devin tried the Clarke's Court Bay 1/4 bottle and it was so nice he had two!
Well it a very good crowd here with lots of ideas and since it was regatta weekend in Petite Martinique Susie on Spirited Lady wanted to go. On Sunday she had made the trek and decided again on Monday to go as it was a holiday weekend and the final races. She announced on the radio and after a very hasty decision Moosetracks & Celtic Lady joined her. We took a taxi from Tyrrel Bay to the far side of the island to Windward and then a fast “ferry” across to the island. It was a beach full of sailboats that greeted us as all the boats were beached overnight and between races. We were a little early so we toured town and had refreshments at the local market and guest house. Surprisingly Ocean Rainbow arrived just a little later as they missed the early morning departure but it was great to see them here too. Back at the beach we watched the races start by group, first the kids in dinghies then each class of the senior boats. Most classes had 3 boats with the other having 4, but the competition was still very intense as these were all nearby island folks and had long rivalries to contend. The festivities included beach games for all the family; egg and spoon races, eating apples form bucket of water, slipper racing with 3 kids to each “slipper” and some beer drinking competitions for women and men.
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| Petite Martinique arrival |
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| The "Ferry" |
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| Awaiting the start of the day |
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| Gina's entrant? |
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| Flipping Crystal Clair for repairs |
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| Our refreshment guest house and market |
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| Race Start |
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| Another start |
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| Devin & Locals comparing notes on positions |
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| One of the beach bars |
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| Apple eating competition - no hands allowed |
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| Slipper races |
Unfortunately we missed the greasy pole competition as we wanted to be back before dark but we bet that was hilarious too! It was a great day and we were so glad we had made the effort to do it.
We have really enjoyed Tyrrel Bay, it is so quite and peaceful with just enough places to explore, trails to walk and bars/restaurants that we could be back here in not so long. Anyway our last few nights we will enjoy the company we found and then move on to Grenada for the weekend.
We hope everyone is fully into their summer and is having a great time too.
