'Grenada...
...where everybody knows your name.'
Saturday September 13th 2014
Grenada is a place where Caribbean and World Cruisers alike all seem to converge to, at some point or another. Some come to wait for hurricane season to end, others stop in on their way towards South and Central America, so it has been a very social time for us, we have met tons of people, locals and cruisers alike.
It has been especially great that have met so many cruising families. You might be surprised to know how many people are doing this with their kids ! Wonderful friendships have been made; we share ideas, travel plans and good times together. Come October/November the exodus of cruisers will start and as we all go our separate ways we will have to say: “Goodbye, Good luck and Hope to See You Again Someday” ! We ourselves will be leaving to go further on our adventure, better prepared (boat wise, provision wise,knowledge wise) to see new and exciting places ! More on that at the end of the blog.
Safety First !
Thursday Sept 11th was an exciting day in Prickly Bay (Southern Grenada) ! The day started as usual, with school (Yay!) and some volleyball (Meg) and wake boarding (Matthew) practice on the beach, but the real fun started when we all gathered at the marina at 15:00 where the (27!) cruising kids were given some safety demonstrations. First off was radio operation (which- not surprisingly- ALL the kids, even the 4 year olds, already had some experience with !) The demonstration was useful nevertheless as it reminded the kids (and some adults) of proper etiquette and hailing techniques, as well as how to place the all important MAYDAY call and EPIRB information. By the way, did you know that MAY DAY comes from the French: “ Venez M’AIDER!” (Come and help me)/ Yup, please, feel free to use this’ tidbit’ of knowledge to impress your friends and colleagues at your next social gathering. You are welcome !
Anyways, lets get back on topic: Radio operation was followed by a ride in the COAST GUARD BOAT !!! I am not sure who was more excited about this one, but I’d put money on the adults being the ones who were the most giddy (me included) ! We got to ride really REALLY fast (35+ knots and AIR..are you kidding me!!! ), lights flashing , sirens blaring, it was a wild ride that I am sure no one is going to forget , especially not the non participating cruisers who were sitting on their boats trying to enjoy a peaceful sunset meal as we flew by, yeeeee hahahahaha ! What a rush that was, really!! Way more fun than I had anticipated !
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| No photos were taken while on the ride, because the coast guards asked us not to take any shots inside the cabin, and because I was too busy HOLDING ON for dear life ! |
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| After the 900 horse power ride, one of the kids asked if they could use this boat to go tubing ! |
Afterwards, the kids learned about life vests (PFDs) and jumped into the water to swim to a “liferaft” ! Well, okay, it was not
actually a “liferaft”, but it was
meant to be a liferaft, and the kids were promised a liferaft, but, it so happens that
our liferaft (our old one which we had donated for the exercise) had not been serviced since 1992 or so (and hence, why we were donating it). Being so old,we weren’t sure exactly that it would deploy, but we thought we’d
give it a go, and, well, it
was all VERY exciting at first when, with 27 pairs of eager eyes glued on him, Cpt. Mark commenced the countdown to launch the raft: “3-2-1...
And... down went the raft, into the water, and there was a valiant effort made on the rafts part; It did go “POP” as it tried to push its way out of its soft sided valise, but then, (sigh) that was all she wrote. We got the: “No hope, raft is dead” call from one of the “Rescue One” operators.Yup, there was a big-ole tear in one of the seams. The liferaft had to be quickly replaced by one of the two floating doughnuts operated by Prickly Bay Marina, thanks to a quick thinking Darren (the marina manager and organizer of the safety events). So the kids still got to swim out to a “liferaft” and work as a team as they hoisted one another into the raft.Mark did get to show the kids all of the neat “goodies” that come in a life raft, so all in all it was a great exercise !
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| 3...2...1 |
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We hear a "pop"
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| Wait a second.... |
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| ..and so kids, this is WHY you get your parents to service your life raft ! |
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| Cptn. Mark displays the LifeRaft Supplies |
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| Mark sharing the stale crackers from the old liferaft food reserve. Those look, um….yummy ? |
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The event ended with A BANG (or ten) at sunset as a flotilla of dinghies went back out into the bay, to light off FLARES ! All under the watchful eye of the coastguards, (Who stood by, from a distance-probably shaking their heads as they watched). A volunteer cruiser lit off flare after flare”, “star flares”, “rocket flares”, “smoke flares”, “orange flares”, “red flares”.The kids sure got an up close and personal “show”. Now, to be honest: I am not entirely sure that my safety instructor, Cpt. Eric Hill* (See Part 1, Volume 1 of our Safety at Sea Blog), would have approved of the way that this last exercise was conducted. No safety goggles or gloves in sight, however, in the end, all flares were shot down wind, as they should have been and no one was hurt, and everyone left understanding how loud and BRIGHT flares can be !
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| I remember hearing him say something like: " Holy &#$t this is bright! |
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| *Bright* smiles from the spectators |
Latest Boat Project: The decks !
Having pondered about this for a long, long time, Cpt. Mark decided that it was time to replace the decks, this could be compared to having all of your laminate flooring ripped out in your house..while you still live there, except that it is only our outdoor floors which are affected. Cpt Mark is doing this immense project in stages, starting with Amelie's Port side. The plan is to have all the “faux teak” (called Nu-Teak) removed, the decks sanded and repaired and then anti skid paint applied instead. (Paint which will be light coloured for the comfort of our over heated feet!!) This project is an ambitious one and we all (especially Cptn Mark) will be VERY grateful once it is completed, in about a month or so, we hope!
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So ? Where to next? Ah, the million dollar question! As we start to see the end of the hurricane season approach, this question has been more and more on our minds lately (and on some of yours too it seems). We have been back and forth about this and it finally became clear that, with our time table, it only makes sense to stay South and sail West. So: once we get an “all clear” from the weather man, and after our obligatory northern stop In Martinique (which, from thispoint on, shall be referred to as: the 'Rum Run'), we will surely be found sailing in the vicinity of the ABCs. (That is; Aruba, Bonair and Curaçao- although NOT in that order!) We hear that the diving is exceptional there !
Then, by November we will be very excited to set sail for SOUTH AMERICA, yeah Baby! Starting with Columbia which we hope to visit during Christmas and where we hope to catch up with one of Mark’s fellow Mahina Crew Members who lives there. After Columbia, it will be the idyllic San Blas Islands which we have heard so much about, followed by Panama and then, we are taking about, a plane ride to PERU, Where we look forward to being able to show the kids Machu Picchu, (I can hardly contain my excitement about this one !!)
and other wonders of this country!!! We will try to see and do as much as we can cram in a two week land based trip, which is all we are willing to leave Amelie. We will ensure that she will be safely docked in a marina of good reputation, of course.
So, that’s the PLAN folks, but remember, when one is sailing one needs to always stay flexible and go with the flow, “all plans are made in sand at low tide, so where we actually end up going to, could be a very different story, indeed, but we will keep you posted !
Stay safe out there kids ! AMELIE IV- OUT !
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| Meg doing a demonstration on how to make a radio call |
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