Grenada and Carriacou

Thursday 29 December saw us leaving Trinidad for the overnight passage to Prickly Bay on the south of Grenada. A fairly uncomfortable passage with the wind fine on the starboard bow and a lumpy sea. There was enough wind to enable good boat speed, which meant we had to slow down for several hours in torrential rain so as to arrive in daylight  - not very comfortable.

2017 was seen in at the Tiki Bar at the Prickly Bay Marina complete with steel band and all drinks included.

After drying out from the passage we begain a sojurn of the sheltered quiet anchorages first in the next inlet to the east - Secret Harbour then to Hog Island anchorage. Several of the deep inlets on the south coast are connected by dinghy passages, so one can move between them without venturing out into the swell. This we did to attend a dinghy raft up concert on wet Sunday afternoon.

The Carenage

Next stop was St George's, the capital of Grenada. The anchorage outside is a bit rolly because of the northern swell at present but OK and a short dinghy ride to the dinghy docks outside the Island water World Chandlery and the Foodland  supermarket in the shelter of the Lagoon. The old part of the town, surrounding the inner harbour - The Carenage - is picturesque.

The Carenage and Fort George

We are told - by Grenadians - that it is the most scenic in the eastern Caribbean.

Cruise ship - St George's in the background

St George's features on the itinerary of many Caribbean cruise ships with one or two at the cruise ship dock every couple of days.

The larger ships dwarf the town but there are some smaller ones sporting masts and even sails.

Cruise ships departing

They generally arrive during the night and leave in the evening.

From St George's we did an island tour but before that as she hadn't fallen for the last 30 year Susan missed the jetty. Having returned to Sea Bunny to change and attend to the vast number of coral grazes she managed to get ashore the second time.

The tour, with an excellent guide, Dexter from Henry's Safari Tours,, took in the NW coast around to Sauteurs, where the last indigenous Carib warriors leaped to their deaths over a cliff rather than be subjugated by the French.

Chocolate tree

On the way we visited a nutmeg packing facility (1.5 M lb - about 680 tonnes - exported annually) and a chocolate factory. When the chocolate pod id broken open the beans are surrounded by juicy white flesh - which is very tasty. While trying it is important not to try to bite on the bean itself - it is certainly not pleasant tasting before it has been dried and roasted.

Chocolate beans drying in the sun

Original water-wheel

The River Antoine rum distillery, dating from 1785, still uses the original overshot water wheel for power to crush the sugar cane.

Cane crusher - water powered

Vats for concentrating the cane liquor

Most of the energy for concentrating the cane liquor comes from burning the residual cane after the juice has been extracted. From the large amounts of spent cane around it appears that there is more than is needed. We didn't ask about the risk of spontaneous combustion in the huge piles. The actual distillation uses wood as fuel, presumable because more intense heat is needed.

High tech it isn't; the contrast with the Bundaberg distillery in Queensland is striking but the product is pretty good and the carbon footprint must be low!

Fermentation

Distillation

The lower crater lake

As a volcanic island Grenada has crater lakes, one fairly close to sea level and one in the highlands. Both are quiet and scenic.

The upper crater lake

Halifax harbour

There are also nearly deserted beaches. And quiet anchorages, although the quietness of Halifax Harbour probably owes a lot to the smouldering rubbish tip.

Some recycling of rubbish to beautify does, however, take place.

Hillsborough the main (only) town on Carriacou

Carriacou is only a hop and skip away and a charming island. Drier then Grenada and, apparently, with much less usage of marijuana. Very little grown here so supply vessels make a regular run. In the north the wooden boat building trade is now dying out.  Sea Bunny is anchored from the northerly swell in Tyrell Bay while the GRP on deck was cut and polished for the first time in a couple of years and the gen set exhaust  was welded.

View across to Petite Martinique & Petit St Vincent

A 2-3 hour island tour enabled us to see most of the island and views to other islands of the Grenadines, including Union Island (St Vincent) which is where Sea Bunny will cross her outbound track from 2001 and complete her circumnavigation..