Floating above the green turtles grazing on
the turtle enclosures’ ground is one of the best
Caribbean wild life experiences. The sandy spit
behind the enclosure invites sun baking or sand
castle building. Jack Sparrow was marooned
with a lonely stash of rum on the next island.
This is the place to give in to the boat boys’
hassling and agree to a lobster BBQ on Petit
Bateu’s beach. It is not cheap, but definitely
worth the money. Locals grill the freshest of
lobsters on the beach and serve them with a fried
plantain dish and salad.Union Island
Most cruisers spend a night in Clifton Harbour’s
busy bay, checking in or out of St Vincent and the
Grenadines. You can pick a mooring or anchor
and watch the kite surfers on the outer reef while
sipping rum punch.
The town is colourful and authentic, fruit and
vegetable stalls and little shops make reprovisioing
easy. At night crowds of locals promenade on the
streets. For a meal out, there is plenty of small
restaurants and bars to choose from.
Chatham Bay on the western side of the
island is extremely popular with cruisers due
to its long sandy beach. Anchoring spots in the
northeasterly corner of the bay are safer than
the southern end of the beach that gets shrieking
wind bullets from the hills.Grenada
The spice island Grenada feels like the most
Caribbean island of all. It is truly beautiful.
Lush vegetation, relaxed, friendly people,
lots to see and very safe. The political unrest
from the 1970s and 80s is long forgotten.
For those not heading on to the Pacific, Grenada
is an excellent spot to leave the boat on the hard for
the hurricane season. It was considered hurricane
safe, outside the belt, but Hurricane Ivan in 2004
and Hurricane Emily in 2005 put an end to that
perception. After the utter destruction caused
by Ivan (90 per cent of the island’s homes were
destroyed), boat hard stands and marinas were
rebuilt in a much safer way, with tie-down cradles
and other insurance-approved methods.
British entrepreneur Peter de Savary was
visionary in seeing the capital St George’s
potential for boating facilities and built Port
Louis superyacht marina, now run by Camper
and Nicholson. You will find most boat services
here and excellent provisioning, the marina
pool is a must for a refreshing afternoon dip
followed by a rum punch and an excellent pizza
overlooking the row of super yachts.
A warning: the much cheaper yacht club
opposite with some berths available is mosquito
infested to an extent that is unpleasant. However,
the yacht club’s terrace is a nice spot for a drink.Put your repellent on.
In Grenada you should hire a minibus from
Henry’s Safari Tours and explore the island with
a guide. Highlights are the waterfalls, a tour of
the Grenada chocolate factory at Belmont estate
and one of the rum distilleries. The mountains
of used sugar cane around the distillery are
impressive. But it is a bit of a shock to the system
to see how the slushy grey molasses ferments in
round basins, it looks more like a sewage plant.
The end product, however, meets expectations.
We had a whoopee moment: when our driver
accelerated down the old airport runway toward
the sea.
When the Caribbean season is coming to an
end in late April, early May and you have decided
to leave the boat in Grenada, Prickly Bay marina’s
haul out facilities have a good reputation.
Alternatively, put the boat up at Grenada
Marine in St David’s, both on the south coast.
On the way there you should conclude this part
of your journey with a few nights at Hog’s Island.
If you have safely put your boat away and need
a few days in a hotel, the beachside location of
La Sargesse in St David on the South coast is
incredible, we stayed there twice and would love
to go back.Februar y 2015 45practical: families practical: families
Karen Erikson
When German finance journalist
Karen met her Australian husband at
the Swan Cup 2000 her life changed
completely. Now firmly settled in
Sydney, Karen and her family sail distant shores
whenever they can. Her book 'Sailing sabbatical'
about a year break from everyday life cruising
the Med. and crossing the Atlantic was published
by Amazon.ABOVE: Getting
together for an
Australian Boxing Day.