S/V Koinonia Weekly Sailing Log - Arriving in Grenada (Wed Sep 6 - Tue Sep 12, 2023)
Highlights this week, we leave Martinique and finally make it to our target destination for the remainder of hurricane season in Grenada. Lost a very big tuna on our passage. Reunion with friends and fellow kid boat in St George’s and meeting other kid boats to the delight of our whole crew. Enjoy beautiful clear weather (oddly, no rain at all this entire week - highly unusual this time of year). Ben’s dad, Glenn, celebrates a birthday.
Wed Sep 6 - contacted the marina in Tyrrel Bay and made a reservation to haul out in mid-November. Hurricane Lee is now expected to become a major storm by the weekend, but we are well out of harms way, praise the Lord! Amber and the kids do school, then we go ashore to explore Sainte-Anne. We didn’t realize there was a holiday of some sort yesterday, so many stores and shops were closed or closed early today. Fortunately, we found a restaurant that was open and had a delicious lunch inside with cold AC then did some final provisioning at the Carrefour Express. Went back to the boat to drop off our provisions, then took the dinghy to the marina office in Le Marina to clear out of Martinique, since the clearance office in Sainte-Anne was closed; we made it just 3-minutes before closing but they were super nice about it and we got cleared out in record time! Returned to the boat and began to prepare the boat to get underway first thing tomorrow; enjoyed a lovely sunset. Amber made toasted sandwiches for dinner with a fresh baguette we picked up at the market. Discovered that the fan in the forward cabin, where Ben and Amber sleep, died. Fortunately, we had a spare plug-in fan we could use until we could buy a replacement in Grenada.
Thu Sep 7 - woke up early, made coffee, and weighed anchor by 7:15am. Absolutely beautiful conditions with consistent 10-13kt just behind the beam. Spotted some birds working flying fish in the passage between Martinique and Saint Lucia; about 5 mins later, we hooked a tuna that very nearly spooled a 30-class reel before breaking our steel leader. The reel was absolutely screaming! Ben worked with some brokerage clients to submit an offer on a boat. We put St Lucia astern and St Vincent was abeam by nightfall. A couple of birds followed us throughout the day and provided entertainment, chasing flying fish as Koinonia glided through the water under sail only. The stars were brilliant after nightfall!
Fri Sep 8 - arrived in St George’s Harbour, Grenada by noon. Caught a Mahi Mahi on our approach but it was too small to keep. No mooring balls were available so we anchored behind the mooring field after getting permission. Took the whole crew ashore to clear in. Dropped trash for $5 EC and then went to the customs office behind the marina office; clearance and a one month cruising permit cost $110 EC ($41.00 US). Reunited with our friends on S/V Bagia, whom we first met in Luperón, DR; had dinner together at “Victory” in the marina complex. Returned to the boat, went to bed, and slept hard.
Sat Sep 9 - slept in to recover from our passage; took the laundry ashore to the drop-off facility in the marina. Went to Island Water World and bought a bunch of odds and ends, including a replacement fan for the forward cabin. Returned to the boat and had leftovers for lunch. Amber passed out in the cockpit for an hour and Ben caught up with one of his best friends in Alabama, then took the whole crew ashore so the kids could play with their friends on Bagia. Ended up having dinner at “Fork and Knife,” which took about 3 hours and cost $300 EC ($111 US), including tip. Returned to the boat and made water. Everyone got showers and went to bed.
Sun Sep 10 - woke up and everyone got ready to go ashore for worship; this is the first time we have attended a church service in person since leaving from Spanish Wells in the Bahamas. Met up with our friends and shared a mini bus taxi with “Green Man” (wears green from head to toe and has a green van) to the church, then the taxi picked us up after the service and took us to an Indian Restaurant, “Spice Affair”; the service was very poor but the food was ok. Returned to the marina and went back to the boat. Ben did some fishing off the side of the boat and caught several small grouper (all released). Made water and everyone got showers. Dinner was a charcuterie board.
Mon Sep 11 - grapefruit for breakfast; the grapefruit here are incredible. Today is Ben’s Dad’s birthday. We learned that a guy we met at Puerto Blanco in Luperón, DR who is very hard working (literally works 7 days a week), who treated us very well and has been taking care of his aging parents, was in a tragic accident -- he fell off of a boat he was working on and got caught in the propeller. He needs to have surgery and also needs a blood transfusion but blood is in short supply and he does not have the funds to pay for the surgery he needs. If you feel inclined to help, you can donate at https://gofund.me/1b127a63. Met a German family with three kids and went to the beach to let our kids play together. The kids had a blast. Ben caught and cleaned a few yellow tailed Snapper, right off the side of the boat. Amber made chicken fajitas in the solar oven with black beans. Called Ben’s father and wished him a happy birthday and let the kids sing to him.
Tue Sep 12 - Amber and the kids do school. Ben works with two brokerage clients, then helps a boat buddy get his Starlink registration, then polished the stainless on deck. Did some research and discovered the area we are staying in is a designated Marine Protected Area (MPA) and we are not supposed to be fishing off the side of the boat here...Ooops (shame on us for not checking first)! Fortunately, we can just dinghy a short distance and fish with no problem. Amber made a yummy pasta for dinner.
God Bless,
S/V Koinonia