Family

Jo and Cliff on board Zooropa

Jo helping out with the lines

 We picked up Joanne and Cliff from Rodney Bay Marina on a Sunday night and took them directly to the boat anchored out in Rodney Bay. The next day was filled with a walk up to the Fort then in to town for a few groceries, an early supper and bed in anticipation of a midnight wake up call. It was anchor up and off by 0030, headed for Bequia, an approximately  12 hour trip. Cliff was keen to stay up and help with the watches, Joanne, not so much!!  Just kidding, she kindly kept me company as we sailed down the coast of St.Vincent. We were all pretty tired when we arrived and so had a quick snooze before going ashore to check into the Grenadines.






 Admiralty Bay, Bequia is a favourite anchorage of ours. It has just about everything that we would wish for.  We like to anchor near Princess Margaret beach, a lovely long stretch of white sand. It is good for swimming and at the headland there is excellent snorkelling. There are multiple dingy docks, all in good condition. From any one of these you take the newly( looks like) constructed path which meanders along the waterfront into the town of Port Elizabeth. Spread out along the path are various bars and restaurants with nice seating areas looking out across the bay. The town is nice, neither too large nor too run down and is home to a fabulous specialty grocery store called Doris's. This shop is jam packed with good stuff, lots of it from England, good frozen meats and fresh baked goodies, yum yum.   We spent three days in Bequia, enjoying beach time and snorkelling. Most of one day was taken up with an attempted walk up to Peggy's Rock, a rock face from which you look down over the entire bay. Unfortunately we never did find the correct trail and ended up practically having to make our own trail thru the undergrowth; a machete would have come in handy! Many hours later and after an incredibly steep descent; by now covered in scratches; we ended up in a local mans garden who kindly showed us the way back to the main road and a bus back home, Peggy's Rock never having been reached.

The Tobago Cays with Canouan Island in the background.

    We had a lovely sail down to the Tobago Cays. The cays consist of five uninhabited islands, mostly surrounded by the Horseshoe reef and beyond that the End of the World Reef. Anchored behind the reef, even with the wind blowing hard, you are in protected waters. Mooring balls are provided closer still to the reef from which you tie up the dingy and then jump over to enjoy some very good snorkelling. We saw an enormous Barracuda, which fortunately kept a respectable distance!

Overlooking the Tobago Cays

The sisters at the Cays

Anchoring in the Cays

John, Lauren, Joanne, Phil and Ian on Pasture Bay, Mustique

Then it was off to Mustique, we had a rough ride right into 30 knot squalls and ended up motoring most of the way. Our Uncle John and family rent a villa on the Island each February and we had planned a family reunion. We were treated to a wonderful day with them. We did a tour of the Island,were served wonderful meals, one of which was a full on picnic lunch served by the staff of the villa down on the beach, delicious! It was so nice to have a refreshing dip in the pool ( fresh water!) in the afternoon and then another great meal that evening.  All in all a wonderful day and so nice to see our cousins and their young families. Thank you again John and Lauren.

Family time. L to R Meredith, Ryan holding Benjamin, Marie, Paul, John, Lauren, Ian, Cliff, Jo, Phil, Nicola, Milly, Justin holding Harrison.

 Now it was time to head north to St.Lucia again. We had a quick sail up to Bequia where we checked out of the Grenadines. Spent the rest of the afternoon on the beach and then back to the boat to prep for another overnighter to Soufriere, St.Lucia

Liquid lunch at Anse Chastenet, St Lucia

Many thanks to Jo and Cliff for being such good company, good chefs, great galley help and excellent crew on board Zooropa.


                                                       

Jo hard at work!  

Martinique. Land of baguettes, croissants and nude beaches.

It was a four hour sail / motorsail from Rodney Bay, St.Lucia over to Le Marin, Martinique. We were hit by gusty squall after squall, not a lot of fun in my books. Le Marin is a large harbour absolutely packed with boats; we have never seen so many in one place at one time. The check in / check out process in Martinique is amazingly easy. Where in most countries you are required to report to the Customs and Immigration office, here you find either the local tourist office, yacht broker office, or even the local Cafe ( Cafe Bou Bou in Ste. Anne). Fill in an on-line form, print it off on provided printer, have the staff person sign it for you and voila, you are legal!  No customs officers, no need to show your passport; the Brazilian bureaucracy could take a few lessons!!

 We enjoyed Martinique very much. At every anchorage we were able to find a bakery with croissants, pain au chocolate and baguettes ( we are now in withdrawal in St. Lucia ). The French also have THE best frozen veggies. Just empty the bag of veggies ( potatoes, green beans, mushrooms, carrots ) into a frying pan and heat. The veggies have been frozen in either garlic butter or duck fat, which when heated melts over them with delicious results.  Fortunately, with all this eating, we were able to find some really nice walks.

Anse D'Arlet.  We anchored nearby at Anse Chaudiere where there is excellent snorkelling. We walked the hilly coastal trail to Grande Anse D'Arlet

Anse D"Arlet

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Cute village church St. Anne.  Great anchorage, bakery and coastal walks past nude beaches!

Jardin de Balata - beautiful gardens in the mountains above Fort  de France

Fort de France.  Easy anchorage with great dingy dock.

Coastal walk towards Anse des Salines.  Martinique has a well developed  trail system

St. Pierre theatre ruins - over 30,000 people died in 1902 eruption with 1 survivor - an inmate in adjacent jail!

Zooropa approaching St. Pierre with Mt. Pelee looming in the distance.

Back to St. Lucia to pick up Joanne and Cliff then heading South to the Grenadines.

Christmas holidays in St. Lucia

 We had an easy passage from Bequia to St.Lucia, sailing for a few hours before the wind died on us. While travelling up the coast of St. Lucia we were treated to the sights of whales and dolphins  playing at our bow. What a great sight the dolphins are, speeding bullets of blubber, so incredibly fast. Too fast for our camera man unfortunately;  all we got were blurred shots, we will try again next time.

Sailing by the Pitons

Mum and "Chips"

We anchored in Rodney Bay, which is a very large bay with many different anchoring areas. Checking in to St. Lucia was easily done at the Rodney Bay Marina. The next few days were spent checking out Rodney Bay, grocery shopping and cleaning the boat ready for our kiddlies arrival. Arrive they did!  All safe and sound and on time, it was great to see them again ( and Dean too).  We had a nice dinner on shore and then managed to fit all five of us plus luggage into the dingy for the ride back to Zooropa. The kids were seeing her for the first time and I think they were impressed.

Hobie Cat sailing

The next few days were spent hanging out on the boat, snorkelling and enjoying all that the Sandals Resort ( day passes for the kids) had to offer. Ryan dropped by the boat on a Hobie Cat and took me for a spin; lots of fun.

Christmas eve, day and Boxing day were spent moored in the southern end of the Island, near to the Pitons. The Petit Piton ( 2460 feet) and Gros Piton ( 2619 feet) rise out of the water dwarfing the bay at Soufriere, a very impressive sight. The snorkelling in this area is very good right off the boat, you just need to be aware of the quite strong current - next stop Venezuela !












 The last few days of the Ball Family Christmas Vacation were spent in Marigot Bay. We actually had intended to just drop by and see the bay, but the kids liked it there so much we ended up staying for three nights. Marigot Bay is well protected and very pretty, it has a small palm tree lined beach and several bars and restaurants. Perfect!

Head gear

Made it to the top

  

 All good things must come to an end, apparently, and we were sad to say goodbye to the kids ( and Dean). We had a great trip, come back soon kiddlies, I miss you !!!

















We have now moved back to Rodney Bay where we have had a life raft installed on the boat and a few dingy modifications done.  Since my New Years resolution is to exercise more we decided to hike the Gros Piton. To do this you have to take a local guide-ours was a young fellow named Rice- who patiently waits while you huff and puff your way up the winding, rock strewn path. The round trip took us 4 hours, the saving grace being that for most of the climb we were in the shade. The view at the top is spectacular, looking down onto the Petit Piton.


 We are now preparing for our next stop, Martinique. Get out the French phrase books!

 

Carriocou to St.Lucia

 Looking at my calendar I see it has been two weeks since we left Grenada;  it feels like much longer than that. Eight islands later ( I’m including Sandy Island, Carriacou a mere spit of sand and coral in the count) each island seems to blur into the next and we are having trouble remembering the names of the anchorages and towns.  Two things remain constant. The weather has been outstanding. Day after day of sun and warmth with the occasional cloud thrown in giving us momentary shade for which we are quite grateful. It might very well rain during the night, but only for a few minutes, just long enough to require us to jump up and close the hatches. Repeat daily.   The scenery is just beautiful. Mountainous Islands, cute little towns, sandy beaches all surrounded by turquoise waters.

Grenada to Carriacou - Diamond Rock

The Islands we have visited these last two weeks are all part of the Grenadines. We checked in on Union Island, the most southerly and cleared out of Bequia, the most northerly excluding St. Vincent, last week. The islands are typically 10 to 15 miles apart, a short sail and within sight of the next in the chain. They have all been delightful. They all offer good uphill hiking with magnificent views. The snorkeling and diving has been very good. At the Tobago Cays we snorkeled off the dingy at Horseshoe Reef where there were lots of fish and healthy looking coral. One of these days I will remember to take my underwater camera!  At all of the anchorages we have been greeted by the local “boat boys” hoping to sell either a service or product. Water taxi, laundry pick up, bread, ice,  drinks, live lobster, fish, t-shirts, we have been offered it all. 

Hillsborough, Carriacou

Petite St. Vincent from Carriacou

Sandy Island off Carriacou

Clifton Anchorage, Union Island with Palm Island in distance

Downtown Clifton, Union Island

Ian limin', Salt Whistle Bay, Mayreau

Pippa chillin, Salt Whistle Bay

Ian goes to church, Mayreau

Salt Whistle Bay, Mayreau

Sidney, boat dude, Tobago Cays

Zooropa off Horseshoe Reef, Tobago Cays

Mustique is an island unlike any other we have seen. The scenery and vegetation are the same but the houses!  Unbelievable. We biked the Island ( well, half of it, the hills and heat got the better of us). It is immaculate. The roads are all in good repair, there’s no garbage to be seen, the hedges are neatly trimmed and the landscaping is simply beautiful.

Shops, Mustique

Macaroni Beach, Mustique

We have really enjoyed Admiralty Bay, Bequia, and wish we could have stayed longer. We will definitely be back for a more leisurely visit. It has a large anchorage with lots of different anchoring or mooring ball options. Two very nice sandy beaches, with good snorkeling off of them. A very nice pathway winds around the southern side of the bay giving a pleasant walk from the beach into town. The town is actually a good size with several chandelry’s , grocery stores and a fresh fruit market.  Doris’ Fresh Foods was particularly outstanding.

  

  We are currently anchored at Rodney Bay, St. Lucia following a midnight to noon passage.  Unfortunately the winds were on our nose so we ended up motoring.  We did have a couple of pesky porpoises off the Pitons playing in our bow wake and encountered a pod of whales (species unknown) during the passage.

 Rodney Bay is a large anchorage with beaches, hiking and lots of boating infrastructure centered around the IGY Marina.   Seems like a great place to get some boat work done.  The marina is quite congested at the moment as the ARC boats have been arriving over the past week with many remaining for recuperation.

 The excitement is building on Zooropa  now as the kiddlies arrive tomorrow to spend Christmas with us. We can hardly wait!!   Merry Christmas everyone from the Zoo crew. 

Marina Heaven

We have now spent four nights at the Port Louis Marina here in Grenada and I have to say, we are liking it, a lot!   A marina is like a trailor park for boats, this one is upscale. Here, as I see it, are the pros and cons.

St.Georges carenage

Pros

1    1  You hook your boat up to shore power, which means you can have air conditioning ( not a normal occurance on Zooropa).

2    2  The marina has (somewhat) reliable wi-fi.  We have been feeling internet deprived.

3     3  You can step directly off the back of your boat onto land. No having to get on to a wildly bouncing, possibly wet dingy for a ride into shore where you then have to either climb out onto a rickety dock or attempt a beach landing, often in the dark.

4     4  Unlimited and long showers. The water can be left running while you lather up and wash hair and body, a real treat. If I feel like it I can even blow dry my hair afterwards too.

5    5 The boat is more or less completely stationary. No wild rocking when a power boat or jet ski goes by and no rolly nights when the wind and the swell are coming from different directions.

      6  There is a nice pool by which to while away an afternoon.

7    7   A nice salon and spa at which I had a good haircut.

8    8   Dinner out every night at their reasonably priced restaurant.

Cons

        The only one I can think of

      1) We had to Med. Moor ( meaning stern to) against the dock. It was our first time. There was a dock, mooring balls, another boat and the cross wind to contend with, a bit “hairy”.  

 We intend to pry ourselves off the dock tomorrow and head back out. All good things must come to an end at some time.  

Zooropa med moored at dock

Looking down on St. Georges