Grenada - and home

Wednesday 27th May 2009, 7,171 miles, day 312,. 12° 01’.42 N, 061° 40’.69 W. St David’s Bay, Grenada


Here we are in the pretty little harbour of St David’s, in Grenada. It is the place where we shall leave Tomia, and the blog, for the summer, so our appreciation of the place is tinged with sadness. Except that of course the whole reason for coming home is to see you, which we are so looking forward to, along with chatting on the phone in a hot, deep bath (Celia) and reading the sports pages every day (Anthony)

Tomia has been hauled out, and we are living precariously (or so it seems, compared to the stability of the friendly water) balanced on six struts, a long way above the ground. We have shore power, so for the first time in almost a year, can turn on lights and computers and fans with abandon. But we have swapped this convenience for having to lower the washing-up down to ground level in a bucket, and the loos and showers being 200 yards away … and at the bottom of a rather long ladder – certainly too long to negotiate in comfort at 3 in the morning.

Grenada for the minute exists for us only as a boatyard, a bar on the beach to have a cold beer in at lunch time, and a palm-fringed bay. A bit like Antigua, we are exploiting it for its boating facilities, rather than exploring it properly. At first glance, though, it seems very pleasant and laid back, although we have only ventured out of the yard for long enough to track down a few chicken thighs, and visit Rhoda’s Ice Cream Parlour and Refreshment Centre for some Hurricane flavour ice-cream.

The only inhospitable creatures on the island appear to be the sand flies – or “No See ‘Ums” as they are known locally. Tiny little critters with sharp teeth and a bite that itches for days. We walk around in a cloud of “Off” the local insect repellent, but it only seems to last for four hours or so, so we wake slapping and scratching in the middle of the night. The little devils are far too fast and small to even have the pleasure of swatting them.

We’ve had a week of laying up and readying Tomia against any strong winds that arrive. Grenada is at the south of the hurricane belt, but Hurricane Ivan came through five years ago, so we can’t assume the island will be spared – and anyway, in the Caribbean summer, you can get plenty strong winds without it actually getting up to hurricane force. She is prepared as best we can, and now we just hope for the best.

Back to England now, to see as many of you as possible.


This ends the Voyage of Tomia – Part One