I wake up at 9 am after the best sleep for ages. Well, when I say I wake up, I mean Mike wakes me to tell me that he is going to clear out at customs with Bill and Roland, and that I should think about getting myself up and out to do the provisioning with Bev.
I am still eating breakfast when he comes back having been a lot quicker than I thought he would be (check in took nearly 2 hours). Bev and I then quickly get our act together and Matt ferries us across the marina to Foodland, the conveniently placed supermarket where we quickly throw together a trolley-load of food and dash back.
In the meantime, Mike and Moe have got the repaired main back up and everything seems to be hunky dory for leaving. We had been going to stay for two nights but as the marina staff had not been authorised to give us the discounted WARC rate we decide to go to Carriacou today instead and get half of the journey to Mayreau over and done with – but not before Moe gives the cockpit a good clean. Although it’s not quite to his satisfaction, I am more than happy with it especially as I haven’t had to have a hand in it!
I rush down to the bar to try to get the blog published but it won’t go as the signal is not strong enough. On my way back to the boat the heavens open and I dive for cover, glad for once that I have an excuse not to get my hair wet (can’t get the computer wet, can I?). When it stops I am wandering along the pontoon when a member of the marina staff in a golf buggy stops to give me a lift back to the boat. He says he has been instructed to find me and take me back immediately. Crazy Horse head out first but of course, as we head out of the marina a large container ship comes in blocking our way, just like last time. We wait for a few minutes then are able to edge our way past them and get back into the Caribbean Sea. We motor up the west side of the island for a mile or so and then get the main up. For a while, once up, it makes the most awful groaning noises and I am terrified that something is about to break when Mike tells me that it is just all the new knots settling and tightening into place. We then put the genoa out.
For a while we have a pleasant sail, gradually leaving the lovely Spice Island – Grenada – behind. We still keep the motor on giving us a bit of extra speed and Bev and I put together lunch – self assembly sandwiches – which we can eat outside.
Later in the afternoon, the sea gets more and more confused, with waves hitting us from all sides and the boat plunging headfirst into others, it’s not long before it all becomes a bit miserable. Not only that but the current against us starts to build up until in the end we have 2.5 knots that we are fighting and can only get to a speed of 3.5 knots over the ground even though by this time we have both engines on. Crazy Horse calls us – they are struggling in exactly the same way but on top of that they have an ominous rumbling from the propeller and are afraid that they either have something wrapped around it or that something wasn’t tightened properly before they left.
We had anticipated being able to make it to the anchorage at Hillsborough before dark, just over 30 miles away. With our miserable speed it is now obvious that we won’t make it until much later and Mike makes the decision to head for Tyrrel Bay instead, a few miles closer.
The beautiful sky, with its setting sun partially hidden behind a lovely squall, does not make the entrance to Tyrrel Bay any easier. Luckily a few WARC rally boats are in and John from Tzigane calls over the VHF to tell us about some unlit yachts that could be in our path. As we pass one, a nice big, expensive looking thing with a blue hull, we can’t believe that no one has left a light on anywhere aboard. With no moon, we could have ploughed straight into it, unable to stop until it was too late. Stupidity indeed.
We put the anchor down but it doesn’t settle and I have to get it up again. Moe is busy waving our spotlight over the unlit boat so that Crazy Horse, coming in behind us can avoid it too. Eventually we get the anchor to set and Crazy Horse anchors behind us. It is nearly 8 pm and it has taken us over six hours to do 30 very uncomfortable miles. We settle down for a drink (me introducing Bev to the delights of Amarula which we managed to find – amazingly – in Foodland) and dinner, pasta bolognaise, which has been bubbling away on the stove for the last hour or so.
Mike and I head off to bed quite early. We can still hear the wind howling although it is not as strong as it sounds. We are in the sheltered bay (sheltered from the waves if not the wind). I’m glad we didn’t continue to Hillsborough – it would have been very rolly.
Our position is: 12 deg 27 min N, 61 deg 29 min W
Distance so far: 24601 nautical miles
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