There is a choice of bays to anchor in on the southern end of Grenada and each has its merits and disadvantages. For my purposes Prickly Bay was best which I was able to see for myself when I visited most of the others on social calls.
Christmas was 10 days away when I arrived giving plenty of time to settle in and meet new people. For the day itself I signed up for a "pot luck" lunch and for a contribution I made a potato salad which I'm pleased to report was soon snapped up. A great time was had by all. I was very pleased to meet up with Dan and Cindy, Canadian friends, who when we left Trinidad in company had had the good sense to turn back and sailed the next day in much greater comfort. On my way back to PS I was invited aboard a nearby yacht for drinks but still managed to climb aboard PS before dark. Skype kindly provided contact with family and friends including my brother and sister and their families in London. Skype's inventor should be nominated for a Nobel Prize and a Knighthood.
There was some drama among the cruising community when a 28 foot yacht, home to an elderly couple was reported overdue. They remained overdue until their Pan Pan call was picked up by a radio ham. It was heartening to see how effectively the cruisers rallied round to alert ham nets, various maritime SAR Agencies and support the rescue when they were located. Both had been injured but thankfully not too seriously.
I joined a group to travel up the west coast by bus to Victoria which puts on a food festival to celebrate local cuisine. I liked a breadfruit bake and some fairly conventional chicken dishes but most of the traditional dishes would not have me seeking a second helping. Still, it was a great outing and it was nice to mix with the local community including some keen fans of the England football team. It seems there are still a few left.
The reliability of the tender and its outboard at an anchorage is fundamental and mine let me down just before new crew were due to arrive. The result was a lot of rowing and tows from helpful friends. The Avon suffered from a dirty valve mechanism and the outboard from contaminated fuel.
Geva, short for Ginger, flew into Grenada and had a little time to settle in and celebrate the New Year before the more serious business of sailing PS. Having owned a yacht herself she soon learned how everything worked on PS. Mastering the Taylors paraffin cooker has been the cause of some grief to others but Geva got to grips with it soon enough.
A weather window for the passage north to Carriacou appeared 6 January and we set off in good time for the 35 mile passage. Headwinds, unhelpful seas and the west going current did exactly what the guide books described. So 51 miles and 12 hours later we set the hook in Tyrell Bay, Carriacou. The trip gave Geva the chance to experience PS under sail and motor in a range of conditions. She is the first crew I have had learn straight away to handle the Monitor wind self-steering gear.
We now await fair winds to progress north towards Bequia, as currently the Trades are blowing fresh to strong for a few days.
