Iles Des Saintes

On our passage south, due to time limitations, we by-passed Guadeloupe and the Saintes. We now realize what a mistake that was - we loved the Saintes! They are French, quaint and irrestibly charming.
While anchored off the beach at Ilet a Cabrit we snorkelled for 3 hours straight, directly off of our boat, in the crystal clear water. Sightings of interest were three 10" squid, several sand divers, 2 spotted drum fish, several eels, vibrant orange tube coral, lots of sponges, plus sergeant majors, parrotfish, wrasses, rockfish...
We anxiously await our next passage south when we definitely plan to explore on land as well again in the sea, in the Saintes and Guadeloupe.

Indian River Tour - Dominica

The Indian River tour came highly recommended to us by our friends, Wendy & Giorgio (Argonauta), so we made sure to fit it in while in Dominica.
We contacted tour guide, Martin, on his boat Providence and he agreed to row us up the river at 7 a.m. when the light and the birds were at their best.
The river is edged with the very interestingly shaped roots of the bloodroot tree. The lush banks are home to many birds. We sighted many different hummingbirds, yellow crested night herons and mud hens. As well we saw different varieties of crabs, some very large. The brackish water in the river seemed to be absolutely swelling with mullet fish.
As we reached the part of the river where it narrowed to a babbling brook we set off on foot to explore.
Martin, who has spent the last 15 years giving tours on the tranquil river, shared with us some of his vast natural history knowledge on this beautiful National Park area.

Earth Shaking Passage - Dominica

We arrived at Dominica on the evening of November 30th. We were surprised to hear the next morning that 3 earthquakes had taken place under us yesterday as we made our passage. We were just 15 miles away from one when it happened.
All 3 quakes were approximately 150 miles below us. They registered in magnitude 7.4,5.1,and 5.0. Fortunately no tsunami was generated and no damage was reported.
When we picked up the weather through Eric on our single-side band radio he reported that they were quite noticeable where he was in Trinidad. He reported that he sat down and counted out the one tremor for 1 minute and 15 seconds.
There were reports as well from as far in the other direction - Puerto Rico.
Thankfully, we noticed nothing unusual.

Touring Bequia

While on anchor in Admiralty Bay we took great pleasure in finally getting some time together with fellow Canadians, John & Marie on Metalia. Barry first met them in Emerald Bay Marina, Great Exuma Island, Bahamas. We were delighted when our paths crossed 3 months later in Grenada. Regretfully, they were flying home (Penetanguishene) and we were off to Trinidad so once again our time together was all too short. Our paths seemed to always be crossing but never for long so it was wonderful to finally have a few days together in Bequia. We look forward to when we'll meet again.
During our time in Bequia we took a guided tour which included the turtle sanctuary, which was regretfully closed, as well as sight-seeing on the island. We recieved information on some of the native fruits such as guava and tamarind and took great pleasure in the beauty of the island's bounty of flowers.
While walking the beach we came upon a local diver who had succeeded in capturing (what we believed was) an electric eel. The eel was very much still alive and looked amazingly strong. The diver had a very firm grip on it as he repeatedly rubbed the eel down with sand, we believe to remove its charge.
It was quite an interesting sight to see.

Thankful for Bequia

We had more problems than we needed on Thurs. November 22nd (U.S. Thanksgiving Day).
In an effort to reach Petit Tabac our sea water-pump impeller broke. Fortunately we were in open water at the time and able to hold our own while Barry replaced it.
We no sooner got underway again when the engine over-heated as the belt on the engine water-pump was slipping and required replacing.
Since we had, by then, drifted to the west of Mayreau we decided to save our exploration of Petit Tabac for our return trip and make our way north to Bequia.
As we attempted to start the diesel on our approach to Bequia it stalled out due to an algae plugged filter. Barry replaced the filter and for the third time that day got us underway, in to Admiralty Bay.
As we dropped anchor, in the dark, after a 27 mile passage that saw us broken down 3 time and took 12 hours, we were truly thankful to have reached Bequia.

Tobago Cays - Perched on the edge of the world

After a short 5 mile hop from Union Island we tucked in behind nature's spectacular horseshoe reef.
We chose a secluded location to relax in the tranquil turquoise water rather than crowd in with the unbelievable number of 58 boats already there. Obviously many of the U.S. cruisers and those on charter boats chose the Cays for their Thanksgiving holiday location. Good choice, for sure.
While snorkelling on the reef we sighted 3 hawksbill turtles (swam along with one), l shark (nurse we believe, it was hiding on us), a school of squid, jelly-fish, wrasses, not mention fish of all imaginable colours and combinations.
Anchoring behind the horseshoe reef lets you feel like you're on the edge of the world. The bounty of fish and beauty leave you wondering if you're not perched on the edge of heaven.

Heading Home for Christmas

November 16th saw us leave Prickly Bay behind but Grenada kept us safely anchored for 2 more nights, one in Halifax Harbour and one in Grand Mal Bay.
We made Tyrrel Bay in Carriacou on the l8th and Union Island in the Grenadines the next day, where we tucked in the turquoise water behind the reef with a crowd of charter boats.
After much concern regarding the new A.P.I.S. regulations we cleared in to the Grenadines with no problem what-so-ever as they had, just the day before, eliminated the controversial, lenghtly A.P.I.S. requirements.

Sad Good-byes in Grenada

By mid-November the time had come to say good-bye to our friends and start making our way north to catch our flight home for Christmas out of St. Martin, Dec. 19th.
Sandra and Robin on Ngoma hosted a very special dinner party for us along with our good friend, Neal (Dream Chaser). We are grateful to them for hosting an evening of such great fun, food and lots of laughs. Sandra prepared a delicious traditional meal from their home, Zimbabwe and we showed some of our pictures, from the beginning of our trip (on the lap-top) of the North Channel, as that is one of their dream destinations.
A group of us enjoyed a Chinese dinner night out kindly arranged by our friends Gary and Sharon on Elusive; even though they had just dined there a couple of nights before.
It was hard to leave - we had formed some wonderful friendships and enjoyed so many fun times together. We anxiously await the day when we meet up again - until then we will follow each other's adventures by email.
Our wish to all is: fair winds, calm seas and safe harbours.

Anse Bateau - Little Tobago Island

We inched our way through vast areas of coral reef to tuck in to Tobago's east coast anchorage of Anse Bateau where we joined others on a glass bottom boat tour to the bird sanctuary of Little Tobago.
We identified many different brightly coloured land birds as well as sea birds such as red-billed tropic birds and frigats.
Our tour included snorkelling in the areas rich coral reef which is home to many turtles.
Dive boats were leaving regularly, loaded with divers off to explore the 15 dive sites in the area.
We were the only visiting boat in the bay and were welcomed to enjoy the facilities offered at the Blue Waters Inn.
A short hike over the headland brought us to the town of Speyside, home of Jemma's restaurant which is built "tree house" style in an almond tree over-looking the beach - truly a tasty spot.
Barry went by bus from Speyside to Scarborough and arranged our clearance out of customs and immigration.
On November 5th we set sail for Grenada. With the wind, wave and swell all on our aft quarter we vanged our main sail and had a rather wobbly, but safe and uneventful passage.
Anchor to anchor - Anse Bateau, Tobago to Prickly Bay, Grenada - 85 miles - 20 hours

Tropical Colour

Tobago is an island of gorgeous palm-lined beaches, vast turquoise reefs and lush tropical rainforest.
It is impossible to go to shore without easily sighting vividly coloured birds.
Tobago's waters are rich with sea life. Snorkelling in the clear, warm water revealed fish of absolutely every colour and shape imaginable.
Added to all the bright and vibrant colours are the unusual profusion of rainbows.
Yes, Tobago is resplendent in tropical colour.

Anchorages - Tobago

We enjoyed 5 different anchorages during our 10 day stay in Tobago.
Our counter-clockwise direction of travel around the island found us making slow progress as we worked against the up to 4 knot current and north-easterly swell.
We discovered that Tobago has its own unique fishing style of trolling with bamboo poles off each side of their perogues. Anchorage area was limited as seine net fishing was taking place in virtually every bay.
We unsuccessfully attempted to purchase fish and sadly found it was always "already all sold". Happily we could still enjoy the locals favourite dish "rotis" which are a combination of curry, potatoes, vegetables, fish/chicken/lambi/goat, in a flour tortilla type wrap - very delicious but watch the (hot) pepper.
As we made our way from anchorage to anchorage we had numerous dolphin sightings. As well as the bottlenose type that we usually see we also have sighted many that are white spotted with longer pointed snouts.

Sunday School Lime

Just down the road from our Store Bay anchorage is the oldest liming spot on the island, Buccoo, where every Sunday night is party time.
We caught a cab there with our friends and enjoyed a sumptuous dinner, prepared and served by local women, followed by an evening of entertainment by a steel pan band.
This weekly gathering is advertised as "Sunday School" and we could clearly see why locals came from all over the island to take part.