Early on June 8th, we left
Union Island in the Grenadines and made the eight mile sail to Carriacou, the
northernmost island in the country of Grenada.
Our first stop was in the main port of Hillsborough on the west coast to
complete clearance formalities. This was
a rolly anchorage, so once we had our papers in hand, we sailed on to the
southwest side of the island to the popular Tyrrel Bay.
Tyrrel Bay provides great protection from the wind and swell
and has a lot of services for cruising boats, so it was not surprising to find another
50 or so boats anchored there. Fortunately
it is a fairly large bay, and there was plenty of room for us to find a nice
spot in 12 feet to drop the hook. The
water was calm and clear over a white sand bottom with no coral heads to foul
our chain. This was our kind of
anchorage and a place we could have easily spent a week. As with many of the Windward Islands, locals
would come out the boat to sell produce and drinks and even the mangrove
oysters, which are harvested in the bay.
Unfortunately, it was already a week into the Caribbean
hurricane season, and we were really feeling the pressure to get even further
south. The island of Grenada is a safer
place to be during this time of year, as it is just outside the official
hurricane belt and there are quite a few very well protected bays on its south
coast. There were already some recent disturbances
just off Guyana on the South American coast that had the potential for
development, and although they never materialized, it was enough to make us
want to keep moving. So after only one
night in Carriacou, we sailed 42 miles to the south side of Grenada.
As soon as we weighed anchor at 6 am, a squall rolled
through with heavy rain and strong winds. Once it passed, the weather that day
was very nice with sunshine and a 15 knot easterly breeze. We didn’t take a direct path, but had to go
around an active underwater volcano called Kick ‘em Jenny that erupted in both
1988 and 1989. There is an exclusion
zone of 1.5 km around the volcano, but if it is rumbling, the exclusion zone
increases to 5 km. We checked the status
before leaving Tyrrel Bay and were glad to find it was still sleeping. It was quite obvious when we approached it, as
the water flowing over the large underwater mass created some choppy seas.
By 11 am, we were in the lee of Grenada, another lush green
mountainous volcanic island. For the next
17 miles, we had amazing sailing, moving along at 6-7 knots in calm seas. As we rounded the southwest point of the
island, the ride became a bash for the last five miles. No longer in the lee, The E winds shifted to
SE and increased to 20 knots, right on our nose. We were sailing directly into five foot short
period seas and had two knots of current against us to boot. We tried short tacking for about 15 minutes,
but just couldn’t make much headway. We
turned the engine on and motored sailed into the swell, making only two knots
per hour.
On the south side of Grenada, there are eight large and deep
bays that have great protection from wind and swell. Clarkes Court Bay was our choice because it
was less crowded, and we could anchor right at the head of the bay next to a
small marina, making it easy to get to shore. It was a relief to reach the protection of
Clarkes Court Bay and out of the wind and swell, but it was disappointing to
find this was a muddy bay with no visibility in the water. We longed for the clear waters we had grown
accustomed to over the last couple months.
By anchoring so close to the marina, it was easy to take
advantage of some of the facilities. We
could fill our tanks with fresh water very cheaply, and they arranged busses
that brought cruisers into town with stops at the grocery store, bank, hardware
store and chandleries for just a few bucks.
This was a big relief because the bay is quite isolated and several
miles from any towns.
Grenada is very popular with cruisers during hurricane
season. Many leave their boats there and
return home for the summer. Others just
hang out for the season, keeping a close eye on the weather and hoping this
isn’t the year a hurricane strays to the south.
Although the island is technically out of the hurricane belt, it has been
hit in recent years. Hurricane Ivan
struck in 2004, causing major damage on the island, and then a year later
Hurricane Emily struck again. Before
that, it had been 49 years since the last one. We were diligent about checking weather every
day, but early in the season the risk is less.
Our plan was to put some more distance between us and the hurricane belt
and head to the Dutch Caribbean shortly.
Other cruisers we met had good things to say about Grenada and
plenty of recommendations of places to see, but we were starting to lose
interest after two months in the Windward Islands. Although the islands are beautiful and the
cruising was really easy and relaxing, most were just too touristy for us, and
we were starting to get bored. It was
time for something new, so we decided to leave when the first nice weather
window appeared.
While we waited, it seemed we should at least take a trip
into St. George’s, which is the capital and biggest city in the country where a
third of the total population of 110,000 live.
This is a horseshoe shaped city built on the hillside of what remains
from an old volcanic crater. In the
middle of the horseshoe is the careenage, where many of the local fishing boats
are moored. Old brick buildings line the
streets around the water, with several old churches perched on the hills. It was definitely worth the visit, and we
found a big market downtown with all sorts of produce, spices and crafts for
sale.
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| around St. George's |
The most interesting place we visited was Fort George, which
has played an important part in the history of this island. It sits atop a hill overlooking the sea and
the entrance to the careenage. It was
built by the French between 1705 and 1710 and was used for defense of the city
during the 115 years they ruled the island.
After the British took control in 1763, it was used to defend against
the French, although not always successfully.
There was quite a bit of political turmoil in Grenada during
their first decade of independence, which started in 1974. Fort George was used as the headquarters for
the People’s Revolutionary Army, formed after the first government was
overthrown following a paramilitary attack.
That government was ousted several years later during a coup, and the Prime
Minister and several members of his cabinet were executed in the fort. It was even occupied by the US Marines for a
short time when they intervened after the coup, concerned with the new
communist government that was aligned with Cuban and Soviet interests. Fortunately, 30 years later the government is
stable, and the country is doing well.
From our vantage point at the fort, we could see that many
of the surrounding buildings had suffered damage in the recent hurricanes. Some were still missing roofs and walls,
another reminder that it was probably time to get moving. After only two weeks in Grenada, it looked
like a good weather window for heading west.
In order to clear out of the country and top off our fuel
and water, we made the short trip into neighboring Phare Bleu Bay. Saviah’s decks were covered with mud from
weighing anchor in Clarkes Court Bay, so it was nice to have water at the fuel
dock to give her a rinse before passage.
Customs and immigration officers were stationed at the marina, which
made checking out a breeze. We spent the
last of our Eastern Caribbean Dollars at the little store there, and then moved
to a mooring in the bay for our last night before making the 400 mile sail west
to Bonaire.