We are back again at Prickly Bay, having had our first taste of the cruising life in the Caribbean. What do we think of it so far? WONDERFUL!

After a very sociable and eventful Christmas and New Year at Hog Island, Grenada,  we headed north to the Grenadan island of Carriacou and anchored in charming Tyrrel Bay, where Max joined us for a two week vacation. From there we sailed with him to the turquoise and azure seas and abundant coral reefs of the Grenadines. All too soon  it was time to head back south west again, to Grenada, to explore some of the island before sending Max back to chilly England. We think he got something of a taste for this life too.....

Left: relaxing in the Tobago Cays

On 4th January we travelled north in company with Island Moon, and with the wind being favourably south of east (prevailing tradewinds are north-east), we had a most wonderful sail north-east along the leeward coast of Grenada and past the outlying rocks and islands to Carriacou. There we met up again with friends on A Bientot and Nanamuk. 

We visited the main town, Hillsborough, which is very much an unspoilt West Indian place, with a good number of rum shops and a small, lively market. Some great wine and spirit bargains to be had in Ade's Dream Supermarket, good bread from Gramma's and lovely lunch overlooking the bay at the Calaloo by the Sea restaurant.

We had originally planned to return to Grenada to meet Max off the plane, but were advised to stay in place and put him on the ferry instead. This saved him an 8 hour beat to windward, and was a much more relaxing start to his holiday.

Right: Island Moon sailing past Kick Em Jenny (Diamond Rock) to the north of Grenada, on our way to Carriacou

Arriving at Tyrrel Bay in the late afternoon, we were astonished to see huge pelicans diving into the water right alongside the anchored yachts. Along with the Magnificent Frigate birds and Boobies, they are evidence of the abundant fish life around these islands.

Here we saw our first green flash sunset! This phenomenon occurs as the last of the sun sinks below the horizon, and briefly turns a brilliant green. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes in the company of others I would still disbelieve it.... and this was witnessed before the rum punches, honestly....

We had a wonderful evening at the Poivre et Sel restaurant (after happy hour at the Sea Blast internet cafe), and great lunches at the delightful Carriacou Yacht Club.

A new venture in the bay is the Angel's Rest floating bar, a neat innovation for yachties who want to go out for a drink but don't want to be too far from their boat. Many other services are available without even leaving your boat, as the 'boat boys', such as Warrior and Simon, will come round to offer you lobsters, limes, wines and beers and other services

For a small place, Carriacou seems to have everything, but they have still not fully recovered from the damage done in 1999 by Hurricane Lenny, which washed away roads, jetties, beachside bars and the underpinnings of some of the houses in Hillsborough.

The snorkelling was almost as good as scuba diving, with a wonderful range and variety of fish, corals and sponges, all within a few feet of the surface. The whole area is a marine park, with mooring buoys for dinghies, to avoid any damage to the reefs.The surrounding islands are uninhabited, and the anchorage is open to the Atlantic tradewinds but the waters are protected by the surrounding horseshoe reef.

Fabulous. A real tropical paradise

Left: The fabulous colours of the Grenadines

Right: Hog Island Christmas lunch. An excellent feast and an ace location!

Below Left: Sunset at Tyrrel Bay 
Below Right:  Sunset at Tobago Cays
Below Centre: Sunset at Petit St Vincent