Grenada

Because of the situation in Venezuela we didn’t want to sail from Suriname to Bonaire in one go, so I’d decided on a pit stop in Grenada to see how things were looking from there. We had to go there now anyway, because Abbie was due to arrive on Thursday the 9th. He was originally going to join us from Paramaribo, but a medical development meant that first he couldn’t come and then, later, he could after all. Since we didn’t leave until the 5th we actually had to get a bit of a move on, but in the end we dropped anchor in Prickly Bay at a lovely 9 o’clock in the morning and then went to clear in. I got told off by the immigration officer straight away: “I did not say you could sit down…”, which set the tone nicely.

We’d barely started on our first beer at the yacht club when Abbie was already standing in front of us, with a very neat little bag. After some mediocre fish and reasonable other food, Abbie made his first dinghy trip out to the boat. That always takes some getting used to for visitors; there’s a certain knack you have to develop. Unfortunately, once on board it turned out Abbie had left his notebook somewhere, possibly at one of his two layovers. Oops.

The next day Abbie and I took the shared minibus to the supermarket for 20 XCD (Eastern Caribbean dollars), or about €7. A quick immersion in the lives of the cruising community and the locals. Most of the boats here have been around since June to dodge the hurricane season and haven’t set off again yet. Lots of Americans and Canadians, mixed with a few Brits. From here they can easily fly home and back. You spend the whole morning on two bags of groceries. Abbie, you see, was keen to do all the cooking, since there isn’t much else he can do on the sailing side. Great was his disappointment when I had to shoot down a lot of his ideas for a nice meal. Risotto, for example, takes three quarters of an hour of power, and besides, you don’t want to stand in a hot galley that long.

At 1 o’clock we were welcome aboard the Eendracht; Ferry from the Mana knew someone in the organisation there and had arranged it. The Eendracht is on an eight-month-or-so voyage with 45 German school pupils and teachers, just like the Alexander von Humboldt we saw in Suriname. We got a nice short tour and a glimpse of life on board. That evening we walked with Carla and Ferry to the local brewery, where we drank some excellent beers with an outstanding burger. Nice prices too: €3.50 for a large glass of craft beer is very cheap for the Caribbean. And for the Netherlands, for that matter!

Saturday was a combined odd-jobs and rest day. I secured the toilet, which had worked itself loose on the passage. Hopefully that’s the last thing to go wrong with it for a while. I also repaired the Watt&Sea, where the power cable I’d replaced at home hadn’t been connected 100% watertight. With three layers of insulation it should be fine now.

Carla and Ferry came over for drinks and to return my mended trousers. In Suriname I’d sat down on the dinghy dock to climb into the tender, and in doing so my nice long trousers got a big L-shaped tear. Since I’d helped them improve their AIS reception and transmission, I felt I could ask. As a joke Carla had ironed a colourful little flower patch onto the inside, but the fabric turned out to be rather see-through, so now I’ve got a little flower on the outside too! Afterwards Abbie cooked us a lovely meal and that was the day gone again.

On Sunday the five of us drove around the island. A tour guide was rather expensive, and the descriptions on the websites made it clear enough where to go. Up into the mountains for a view and a waterfall, then on to an estate where cocoa, nutmeg and other spices are grown. The cocoa is processed into chocolate right there. A funny guide with a remarkable voice explained everything. Then a fine lunch in the estate’s restaurant. I’d already read about that on the website, and it was just as well we ate there, because the whole island is pretty much at rest on Sundays and in the northeast places where you can actually sit on a chair are few and far between. Back along the coast. It’s a very beautiful, very green island. The roads are roughly on a par with Suriname, only the people are a good deal less friendly. Along the way we met several people with a distinctly surly air about them. Same story at the little restaurant where we sat beautifully on the beach overlooking the bay. The food was okay, but the service could easily have passed for Dutch. Boorish. Shame…

The next day a quick last bit of shopping and then clearing out. The two officials’ mood was once again not exactly sunny.

Now we’re on our way to Bonaire, taking a big detour so as not to pass close to Venezuela. Last night we had a few hours of faint radar echoes keeping us company, at roughly matching speed. Someone’s navy, perhaps? Apart from that, plenty of freighters and tankers, so we’re not alone.