It's a three-day run to the ABC islands from Grenada, and embedded within those days is a birthday. All things being equal (I must say that, not to say it is like leaving the front door open), we'll get going this morning. The strong trades are breaking up and by the middle of next week we sailors will be crying out for wind. That's what Chris Parker, the Caribbean weatherman, says.
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| Saturday morning in St George's |
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| Pigeon peas |
Grenada has been our place of reckoning. We have made a rough plan, something we can work with. We've bought another (outdated) guide book for the Pacific, Warwick Clay's South Pacific Anchorages, and Alex has a new cockpit seat. For him, that's like buying new runners - feel the bounce. The old seat had bottomed out. We don't want to be crossing the Pacific ocean on a bottomed-out seat, not with HIS skeletal shortcomings.
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| The Tiki bar at Prickly Bay marina - communications hub for a month |
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| Thanks to Grenada, from the Italians whose ship caught fire in the harbour |
When we were browsing the Clay book in the chandlery, trying to assess its usefulness, we compared what we remembered of the approach and anchorage in Port Vila with his notes. Vanuatu is a bit of heaven in our memories, and our point of reference for things tropical. It won't look the same now. The photos coming through of the damage caused by Pam's vicious winds are awful. The country was poor enough without being ripped apart by a cyclone.
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| An old island trader is loaded on the Carenage |
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| Quite a few buildings have never been repaired after Ivan |
Hurricane Ivan which hit Grenada in 2004 destroyed 85% of the island's nutmeg trees, according to Cutty. Grenada was then the second largest producer in the world of nutmeg. Thousands of people lost their jobs when the nutmeg cooperatives closed. Trees re-planted after 2004 are only just starting to mature and bear fruit, and the jobs are coming back slowly. The cocoa crop was more resilient. I bought more bars of Grenada Chocolate Factory 82% dark chocolate yesterday. It's good stuff.
To the west! If it's worth anything, I really like South Pacific Anchorages - we've always found it accurate, and it give you just enough information on lots and lots of places...
ReplyDeleteThanks! There's this thing called Panama canal between us and those anchorages still, but we're working on that. It's good for the head having the guide book.
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