EMILY SPICEMAS and a BOAT ON THE REEF

Well EMILY brushed past well to the North. This spectacular sunset was a result of one of the outlying rain bands. Some of the northern islands got a bit of a drenching but know wind damage as she never really developed just flattering to deceive.

However there are a couple of waves showing signs of potential development out there.

It is SpiceMas [Carnival] here I visited one of the prelim events where the kids dress up.

I would have liked to take some pics but did not. It's a shame that such an innocent amount of joy is now a forbidden subject.

Also I am just trying to decide if I want to get up early and pay my $75 EC to go and march with one of the bands. The weather is forecast to be good sooooo I might just................. beeee lazy and stay in bed.

Some excitement on Friday morning as "Fox Sea" found the reef in Calvigny Bay! Now mostly when they find the bottom out here a few dinks get it off by heeling the boat and possibly pushing the nose around. But not this time, either she hit at speed or the swell lifted her on to her side on the reef.

Kudos go to the Grenada coastguard who got there quickly and horsed her off the reef. Apparently they were in the area anyway checking on cruiser's immigration documents. Nice to know that they're now willing to tow.

Fox Sea are are now on the hard drying the boat out as they had some water ingress and assessing their hull damage.

Night diving Dogfighting and the first scare of this years huricane season looms out in the Atlantic

Night Diving

Hi Victor this is a reply to your comment as I can't reply any other way as blogspot is rejecting me as a commentor!

I really don't feel comfortable at night I have only done one night dive and frankly it gave the the screaming ab dabs.

Just a big wuss on this.

Dogfights

I was treated to some stunning dogfighting yesterday. We have had a strange southerly drift into the bays on the south coast of grenada. Some it has filled with seaweed others with fish. I had a bay full of fish behind Elephants Child and the seabirds were feasting. The frigate birds don't fish for themselves but steal from other birds and each other. So I and my fellow cruisers were treated to some spectacular aerial dogfights sometimes with the same fish changing beak 10 times before some luck box had a couple of seconds of clear sky and time to turn the fish and swallow it.

Potential hurricane and it's forecast tracks.


I think we are OK in Grenada but will get a change to the usual wind and waves for a day or two next week. But if you are in Antigua I would be stuffing my nose into the mangroves in English Harbour and stripping the sails.

RAIN

It is a bit of a miserable morning so time for some overdue housekeeping.

I had a good snorkle yesterday on reef inside Clarks Court Bay and had broken a sea urchin open to get some food for the hungry reef fish when I realised I was being watched. Why do barracuda look so INTIMIDATING?




Lovely long sunset last night which I enjoyed from the cockpit, it outlasted my G&T and Chariots of Fire started to repeat.

Coral of Cowes and quiet days in Grenada

I had used a picture of the classic yacht called Coral of Cowes in a post and was contacted by the great grandson of some who had been the professional skipper of the elegant edwardian piece of sailing history.

The internet is making the world a very small place.

Anyway they are asking for more pics and having got the OK from the current professional crew [ thanks Paul ] here they are along with some stats.


DESIGNER Fred Shepherd BUILDER White Bros Southampton UK
DATE 1902 LOA 96ft / 29 m incl spars
LWL 64 ft / 19.5 m BEAM 15 ft 5 ins/ 4.6 m
DISPLACEMENT 68 tons DRAFT 11 ft / 3.3m
CONSTRUCTION Hardwood plank on oak and Iroko frames
ENGINE 200 HP Volvo turbo diesel

History

CORAL was registered in Cowes and spent the first 36 years of her life racing under the Royal Yacht Squadron burgee, Her real heyday came with some maturity at around 30 years old and her much coveted trophies include Winner of the King’s Cup in 1926 and 1928. She came 3rd in the 1932 Queen Mary’s Cup then going on to win it in 1934.

She had been built by White Brothers of Southampton in 1902 to Lloyds 100 A1 + standards. Not only were the finest materials used but every design detail checked against those stringent requirements at all stages of construction. Her massive construction was indeed unusual for a yacht designed – originally as a yawl - to be raced in the Solent. Nevertheless that very high standard and resultant strength have undoubtedly contributed to her remarkable state of preservation as much that pre war she was routinely dry docked for the winter.

During the 2nd World War she was laid up so that her 25 ton lead keel could be removed for the metal so essential to the war effort.

QUIET DAYS

It has been quiet here in Grenada and I have been having a lazy time of it exploring the little bays and seeing what the many reefs that speckle this area hold in the way of fish.

I have also been tinkering around with three things that interest me; poker,computer programs and fuzzy logic.





I have made a little money playing poker on the internet at low stakes, I much prefer live poker so grinding away playing 4 tables at the same time on the internet quickly became boring. However I had worked on a poker playing program, not something I programmed from scratch but one that is available with the source code so I could modify it and it is doing ok playing on one of the poker sites that uses play money and it is doing OK. Profit over $135 million so far.

Maybe I should let it out onto one of the sites that uses real money?

Or maybe I should just watch the sun set over the Caribbean while sipping a cold G&T.

CHARTER BOAT PROVIDES TODAY'S LUNCHTIME ENTERTAINMENT

Charters just keep on providing entertainment. Here is todays episode, a charter boat aground on the very well documented shoal in the middle of Clarkes Court Bay Grenada, with the usual suspects arriving to assist.

Only 30 minutes worth though as they were soon pulled off and on their sheepish way.

LAZY SUMMER DAYS IN GRENADA with PLENTY OF BOATS

The Grenada routine is established, listen drowsily to the cruisers radio net while still in bed then a swim and a very leasurly breakfast. The wifi here has been good so far so I catch up with the wide world on the web and decide if I am going to be sociable and join in whatever activity those who bustle about and onganise others have got on the go.















Today I went ashore to watch the start of an island boat race. It was a proper start, in other words from the beach with some of the crew still in the water holding the boat.










Last night I dinghied in to the marina for a pot luck supper and spotted these three. They say misery loves company and there can be few more miserable things than losing your rig down here.



































The range of liveaboards astounds me. here is a big assed old tugboat, maybe being used a diving mothership if the murals are anything to go by.


















Or you have this one who has al the creature comforts including satellite TV.







I spotted this old girl Coral of Cowes who has masts to spare, schooner rigged with topmasts that appear to be capable of being lowered to the deck.







Finally what about this? plenty of freeboard but I wonder how she sails? Still she got here from Canada.

Carriacou to Grenada and round to Clarks Court Bay.

Well it was rolling in Tyrrel Bay not badly but enough to make things a little uncomfortable.

I put up with it for a day or two but the settled waters of the bays on the south side of Grenada were calling me.

So I headed south on a day with a touch of North in the prevailing trades. This meant I was able to sail all the way down the west coast of Grenada. I usually have to motor at least part of the way. As a bonus half way down the coast of Grenada I caught another Mahi Mahi.













I stopped of at the capital and stocked up from the supermarket on the waterfront as they have a door to dinghy service. Added an extra jar of tartar sauce too.

Nice one Foodland!

I pulled into Clarks Court Bay late this afternoon and got a reminder that you never rely on buoys in the Caribbean. The entrance is a little scary with reefs on one side and shallow rocks on the other. Well the three outer buoys that lead you into the pass were missing. If I had not been in a few times before I think I wold have chickened out as a fair swell was running.

Anyway the anchor is down. The sails and ropes all made shipshape and my G&T was extra good tonight. Several boats that I saw here last year were anchored here again.