August 1995 - Grenada to Trinidad

1 August 1995 Mount Hartman Bay, Grenada

The boys were running around at eight o’clock this morning waiting to go to “La Source”. Ros picked us up in her car at half past nine and we had a wonderful day.

Everything in the resort is free to guests including food and drinks. We started the day with a bacon and egg breakfast, then Glenys and I went for a dive while the boys went to archery – poor old Craig couldn’t bend the bow, but Brett did OK. We had a swim in the pool and lounged in the Jacuzzi until one o’clock when we went in for lunch.

One hour, four courses and four glasses of wine later, we staggered out of the dining room to the water sports. I took the boys out on a Sunfish dinghy and we then tackled the water skiing.

Craig went first on a knee board and did very well until he let go of the tow rope about 30 metres from the beach. The board tipped over and Craig couldn’t get his legs out of the strap. He was trapped underwater only just managing to get his head above water to scream. I started to swim out to him, but the ski boat turned around quickly and one of the guys jumped in and got to him just before me.

It scared him immensely, but he was very brave and had another go when I asked him to. I was worried that it might put him off having another try sometime in the future. He went out for a short run and was very cool when he let go – he ripped open the knee strap and slipped out before he had stopped moving!

Brett had a go with the knee board and as usual was very good. I couldn’t get started on a mono ski, (I suspect it was the 4 glasses of wine!), but started OK on 2 and transferred to a mono OK. Glenys and Brett went for another sail in a Sunfish, and then it was back to the pool for a quick dip before a round of golf! The mosquitoes were out on the greens, so we played 4 holes and retired for a game of table tennis.

After another quick dip in the pool, it was back into the restaurant for tea and sandwiches and then to the bar for sundowners. One of the best days we’ve had for ages, very decadent! We are very grateful to Gary and Ros especially because we found out that they have paid £40 to get us in for the day!

We got attacked by mosquitoes and sand flies when we got out of the taxi at Secret Harbour. I’ve been collecting itchy bumps all over my body since we got to Grenada – and I’m getting sick of it now! I’ve just remembered that we’ve been living on the boat for exactly 3 years today – we had a good celebration day!

2 August 1995 Mount Hartman Bay

Glenys did school work while I went into town to have a mooch around. I put a new spark plug in the outboard and I think it’s a bit better. I put a new Triplex filter in the dive compressor and then filled 5 tanks. Glenys went over to a French boat “Anejo” and did a bit of sewing on their awning – she earned $30EC, a good start to the month! I made a prototype collapsible lobster snare from 1/4“ copper tubing, bolts and some extension nuts – we’ll see how it works tomorrow!

3 August 1995 Mount Hartman Bay

We went around to Hog Island and did school work there. After lunch, we went for a dive with Tony and Dee. I tried my collapsible snare and caught a 3-4lb lobster – it worked well and impressed Tony! As soon as we got back, we went to “Marina Em” for a cup of tea – it threw it down for about an hour. We had to have dinner down below when we managed to get back home.

4 August 1995 Mount Hartman Bay

Glenys went into town with Dee in the morning. Just before she left, she announced that she couldn’t find her keys and also couldn’t find her credit card – panic! I spent most of the morning tidying up and looking for the keys and credit card. I found the keys under the chart table seat, but no credit card. When Glenys came back she told me that she’d found it in her handbag – phew! After lunch Glenys cut my hair and that was the end of another day!

5 August 1995 Mount Hartman Bay

School work in the morning. I scrubbed the bottom of the boat. We went for a dive with Dee and Andrew from “Running Free”. I spotted a nurse shark in a small cave. While the others were having a look at it, I sneaked around the back of the cave and gave its tail a good tweak - it shot out of the cave straight at Glenys. She had to lift her legs to let it go underneath her - very funny! I filled 6 tanks. We went for a night dive with Tony which was a bit boring.

6 August 1995 Mount Hartman Bay

We motored around to Hog Island in the morning. I filled 3 tanks. I serviced the tank valves. One of the valves doesn’t have the proper seals, so I’ve asked Gary to get me some spares. Unfortunately, it means that I’ve got one more tank out of action (2 out of 6). We did two dives with Tony and Dee to the east of Calivigny Island. I caught 4 lobsters.

We went back around to Mount Hartman in the evening and took 3 lobsters up to Gary and Ros’s house for dinner – had a good time but unfortunately, Ros got out a bottle of Port. Half a bottle later we staggered down the hill, I wouldn’t say that Glenys was drunk but she stood at someone’s garden gate shouting at and teasing three big dogs for a couple of minutes!

7 August 1995 Mount Hartman Bay to Hog Island

We were feeling a bit dull this morning. We motored around to Hog Island and did schoolwork. In the afternoon, we sent the boys to the beach and had a nap! I spent an hour finishing off scrubbing the bottom of the boat. We had a quiet evening and went to bed early.

8 August 1995 Hog Island

School work in the morning. I filled 3 tanks. We then went for a dive with Tony and Dee. They came for dinner which was pleasant. There was a heavy rain shower and we all got a bit wet. Marina stayed for the night which the children found exciting!

9 August 1995 Hog Island

We motored around to Mount Hartman and filled up with water and diesel. Brett opened the back of our yellow camera and we lost our photos of La Source and Grenada – not a great loss, but I went crackers because it was so unnecessary. In retrospect, I’m surprised that it’s not happened before now!

Gary and Ros came down to say goodbye. Gary went over to see “Manx Cat” and bought a flute from Ian for £250. They were both happy with the deal. (We decided to go back around to Hog Island.) We expected to go to Trinidad tonight, but it’s raining and the wind is south of east so we’ll probably go tomorrow. We spent the afternoon quietly – the boys on the beach, I played the clarinet and Glenys painted some flags for Venezuela and Belize.

My clarinet playing is getting better – I can nearly run through all the major scales, and I can just get through 15 jazz tunes like Robbin’s Nest and Harlem Nocturne. I still don’t breathe properly and lift my top lip to snatch a breath - “like an enraged camel”, but my tone and fingering is getting better.

10 August 1995 Hog Island to Chaguaramas, Trinidad (Day 1)

We did school work in the morning and then motored around to Mount Hartman Bay. We were invited to “Marina Em” for a farewell lunch, sad to say goodbye because we’ve had a good three weeks together. We went round to Prickly Bay and cleared out.

We then spent two hours getting ready to sail overnight – tidy up, deflate dinghy, check engine, etc. We left at five o’clock and had a pleasant sail until eleven o’clock when the wind died on us. We motor-sailed the rest of the way. It was a beautiful night with calm seas and a full moon – great night passage.