A SOCIABLE SUNDAY

The final of the hotly contested volley ball tourney was held this Sunday morning.

It was hotly contested in more ways than one as the sand was so hot some people needed socks.

Then it was over to Whisper Cove for Sunday Brunch and some discussion as to what the luckless sailors who are currently beached in St Marten SHOULD have done.

To round off the day it was the Dinghy Concert at Le Phare Bleu.

SNOW IN THE MOUNTAINS AND HURRICANE GONZALO IN THE CARIBBEAN

Well it has been snowing in the mountains

and Arapahoe basin in Colorado wins the race to be the first to open. First tracks will be this Friday.




October surprise or not? Most people in the northern leeward islands like St.Maarten/St.Martin, Anguilla and St.Barts, were expecting a tropical storm, instead they got a strong Category 1/2 hurricane. Unfortunately most people were not prepared for this, and apparently one man lost his life on St.Maarten. As far as I know, two more are missing (one on St.Martin and one in St.Barts).

Something like 50 boats are sunk or badly damaged and 5 to 10 light planes are damaged or unaccounted for.

But the power and water have been restored, planes are landing and St Marten is open for holiday makers again.

Just a little battered.

TALES FROM THE CARIBBEAN GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS

I took this from a fellow cruisers FB page. She goes for a brisk early walk most mornings sometimes on her own.

YOU KNOW YOU LIVE IN GRENADA WHEN:

You're walking down the road and the only other person in sight is a guy in his underwear swinging a machete. And this doesn't bother you at all.

Another fellow cruiser who had to return suddenly to the States on discovering she had cancer has just returned to her boat with the all clear.

A cruising couple who were in the Baja when the devastating hurricane hit have finally managed to get their boat and home refloated and are saying as far as they can see the damage is only cosmetic.

Bad news though as they confirm that Paul and Simone are definitely dead and their boat sunk. It is ironic as they were one of the few who stripped all the canvas and sails off their boat in preparation but their mistake was to stay on the boat. I knew Paul and he was working as a divemaster building up the cruising kitty.

HOT

Yes it has been really hot the last few days. I have been out where I catch the wind so it is not too bad but the fans have been on just to make it a little cooler.

I wonder how the visitors on the first cruise ship of the season coped. Yes the magic kingdom came calling.


Trips into town require excess hydration efforts or you dehydrate. It is not often I wish for A/C on the shopping bus but if one bus had it I might move. As I write this I am thinking ' dumpkoff ' the survival anchorage bus has A/C.


We have had a few 50 knot squalls and it was with some alarm I watched a boat anchored in front drag past Elephants Child go out and reanchor in the same spot and drag past me again. Looks like a an experienced cruiser too with a big Amel.

One of the squalls had a lot of rain and it has boght down a lot of rock onto the tunnel.

This tunnel is an important part of the traffic circulation in St Georges.so until they find the money to move the rock and stabilize things it is going to be really bad at rush hour.

We have had some vivid sunsets recently, quite worthy of a Walt Disney movie but I liked the contrast in this one. The low clouds were light blue with just the tiniest hint of purple.