November 19
Forecast is a week without rain! Yes! We can confidently leave windows and hatches open, let the breeze go through the hot air inside the boat, cool and dry our skin/hair, let us complete our outdoor projects, wear my new shades.
Contrary to what some might think, on a sailboat in the sun everyday, we need good sunglasses. When we left for our 10-month trip in 2022, I didn't spend money on new shades opting to last one more year with my old prescription ones, a more city-like design. I made the same decision for my long-distance glasses. Sailing, one needs dark shades with a round edge design to avoid side glances from the sun in your eyes for hours. Many athletes opt for the same too. This past summer, I splurged on Oakley sunglasses and a pair of regular long-distance glasses. The store I use has 2 for 1 sales.
In many bays on Caribbean island West shores, the wind comes from the East therefore boats face the islands. The waves however often come from the side of boats. That position make boats rock side to side almost non-stop. Sometimes as much as making items on tables and counters to slide off them. Even though we may get used to it - laying anti-slide mats, holding ourselves on handles, rock our sitting bodies with the boat - it's still nice to avoid it when you can. Right now because we're staying at Prickly Bay for a few weeks instead of a forthnight, we decided to drop 2 anchors: one at the front of the boat as usual; and the other at about 45 degrees to the left of the first one. One end of a long rope is attached to the second anchor and the other end to the back of the boat on a winch. The idea is by shortening the rope, the boat stern nears the second anchor while the front starts facing the waves. This angle change of the boat now facing the waves prevents the boat from rocking side to side; a much more comfortable angle.
Every night, there's something special happening at the tiki bar by the beach: 1/2 price pizza on Monday/Saturday, Trivia on Tuesday, Bingo on Wednesday, etc. On Tuesday, we decided to try International Trivia. We invited our friends who happily joined us. The four of us, with a few more participants at other tables, did our best to find the right answers to forty questions. Each answer was one point. If we were certain of our answer, we could even circle it to gain 2 points for it. If our circled answer was wrong though, we lost 5 points! Our table had one of the highest score! We were lucky to have a friend who had lived and worked in many countries. LOL!
We continue our projects on Komeekha before leaving Grenada. As per this blog's picture, one of the little jobs was to replace the tie wraps attaching the poulie for the courtesy flags. Last year, I mentioned that boats travelling in many countries should have at least 2 flags: one at the stern representing one's own country (it's size is determined by the boat size), and one on the side of the mast representing the host country. We have ones for Grenada, France (French islands), Antigua, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Bahamas, Turks & Caicos, Puerto Rico, US (standard size is 12"x18"). Other jobs are greasing the winches, replacing old ropes (we don't want one to snap in two in the middle of a 30-knot wind, right?), oiling the teak steps, benches and handrails. Frank has also been helping friends and strangers with their own electrical and mechanical challenges.
Talking about helping strangers, every morning Grenada - and many other islands - has a daily "cruisers' net". A cruiser net is a one-hour marine radio get-together during which sailors can share information. The transmission usually starts with emergencies (anyone who lost something, need help), then weather, newcomers or those leaving, local events, parts & services (looking for or want to get rid of), local businesses. It's our lifeline to all kindred spirits floating around us. During the "parts & services", a Canadian sailor (Andrew on sailboat Falcon 1) in the next bay was looking for someone who knows how to start a Schenker watermaker - the same brand as we have. Frank jumped on the opportunity to help. After many WhatsApp conversations during the day, they couldn't find a solution. So this morning, Falcon 1 dropped anchor nearby. Frank will spend the afternoon trying to figure out what's wrong. He loves a challenge. That's why he married me LOL!
We'll be ready to leave Prickly Bay and make our way North on Thursday. We'll start with Halifax Harbour for a night. It's just up the West coast, about a couple of hours sail, enough time and sail to make some water and empty our black water tank. From there, we'd like to sail to Ronde Island, just North of Grenada. We heard there's good snorkeling; and it's quiet. I don't know how long we'll stay. As mentioned before, we don't have itineraries this year; we play it by ear.
Tomorrow is a special day. With another couple of friends, we're chartering a bus for an all-day island tour. For USD 350 among the 4 of us, we'll visit 2 rum distilleries, a chocolate plantation, swim under waterfalls, lunch. I'll tell you all about it in my next blog.
