Dolphin

Dolphins! I see Dolphins! Quick, come see, they’re right here! Intensity and excitement are just bursting out of Ruth as she tries to include us in her discovery. She is jumping up and down and running as quietly as she can on the deck to tell us. We have learnt that most dolphins don’t like it when you shriek that they are there. They like you waving and smiling and laughing or clapping, but not yelling to announce their presence.

The short presence of the dolphin pod marks the end of our first season on the boat. We are arriving at St. George’s, Grenada, to put the boat to bed for a few weeks, as we are travelling to Canada to visit family and friends. In the past few days we have been very lucky to catch up with some of the other cruising families we have met along the way. We are so very lucky to have been able to meet so many wonderful families, it has truly enriched our cruising experience.

 But before we talk about boat prep and goings on in St. George, Grenada, let’s look back at what we were up to while we continued to wait for my passport to arrive in Martinique.

As you can see from our previous post we were in Martinique for quite awhile with friends, but eventually we were the only kid boat left in the anchorage so guess what we did?

We got the bikes out and went for our first family cycle since we left the Canaries. The bikes and trailer have faired very well considering they have been in such a salty humid climate for so long. It took some doing to get the trailer wheels back on the trailer but with a lot of WD40 and John ingenuity we had two functioning tandems and trailer on land ready for our first excursion.

For our first trip we went into town and on the way back we stopped at a restored sugar cane mill.

This mill is different from others we have seen because they used mules and horses to turn a series of gears that crushed the cane.

Our next excursion took us up over the hills and along the southern coast to the beach. It was hot coming back on the late afternoon, but well worth it. So nice to exercise those legs!

We celebrated John’s birthday in style with a strawberry and cream sponge cake and champagne on June 30^th. And what birthday would not be complete without trying to figure out how to pull new reefing lines through the boom. 

We tried plugging up all the holes in the boom and using a vacuum to suck the line threw as suggested by someone on their blog (didn’t work). Then John tried using a spare piece of rigging wire, which did the trick. New reefing lines are in and ready to be used.

Finally on July 2^nd, my passport was delivered to DHL and we were able to pick it up and get ourselves out of Martinique. Really a lovely place, but after 6 weeks there it was time to get going. Canada was calling.

We sailed from St. Anne Martinique directly to Bequia, where we were pleased to catch up with Day Star, Day Dreamer, Traveller and Proud Mary. But we didn’t stay long before we were off to Mayeau and Tobago Cays.

We were really looking forward to the Tobago Cays, they are described as a turtle sanctuary, a place of crystal clear waters and coral reefs, with millions of stars lighting the night sky. It sounded like the beautiful isolation we were looking for. `However, it became clear that there are many cruisers who seek out isolated sanctuaries as there were over 30 boat crammed into a little space. But, while the anchorage was not as deserted as we were hoping, the reef was incredible! 

Imagine, you have just taken your dinghy out toward the edge of the barrier reef. You find a nice spot to anchor in soft sand. You can see waves breaking over the reef, you get your fins and snorkel on and hop right in, the anticipation of what is waiting for you is making you move quickly. Once in the water you paddle around and get your bearings, there are some lovely coral heads, box fish, sergeant majors, parrot fish and blue tangs. But now it is time for the challenge. You are going to swim out over, well under/through, the breaking waves beyond the barrier reef to have a look at the drop off. You have to time this carefully, if you don’t you could get beaten up by the waves and knocked against coral. So you wait and watch, much like a surfer waiting for the big wave, though we are waiting for the calm. Finally there seems to be a calm, quickly you pull and fin yourself over the top of the coral. You go as quickly and lightly as you can, clearing your snorkel when you get swamped trying to stay calm as it is not far to go. Just one more push and the bubbles clear and there is calm. The waves are not crashing over the top of you, you are in a nice rolling sea and the wall of coral and fish just drops down into the depth in front of you. Beauty, tranquility, awesome!

While we were out off the reef John saw an Atlantic Snubbed Nosed Shark and I was very privileged to see two Eagle Rays! It was extremely exhilarating.

From Tobago Cays we sailed directly for St. George, Grenada. Which brings us back to where we started.

So, the boat is tied up all necessary small jobs are done.  We have had Gavroche and Sasquatch over to play and swim. We have been on a walk around St. George and saw the fort where communism rose and fell in Grenada so many years ago. We have said good bye to our dear friends Trish and Mike whom have put their catamaran up for sale and have returned to Australia.

And now it is time for us to head on our way to Canada. I cannot wait!