Carriacou was fun. The beautiful small Sandy Island had great snorkelling. The water was crystal clear and full of fish life.

A local had recommended we go to the Friday night party at the Lambi Queen in Tyrrell Bay to hear one of his church members, who “sings like an angel”. It was obviously the place to be, the small restaurant/bar was full to overflowing with locals and visitors. The band was great and the African drummers, a specialty of Carriacou were fantastic.

We toured the island on the local bus, particularly wanting to see Windward where they still make the traditional timber boats. There weren’t many boats to see, but the houses were very picturesque.

The buses are so much more casual than at home. There is no schedule, the bus leaves when full. Our driver did his shopping while doing a few loops of the town waiting for customers. Coming back from Windward, the bus driver was stopping off along the way to sell chicken rotis (with bones) to her regular customers.

Tyrrell Bay is a favourite with cruisers. It has internet and you can even have your hair cut at the waterfront bar.

Grenada, was our last stop in this island chain. We went into Clarkes Court Bay, then then the Marina so Mike at Palm Tree Marine could work on our generator. Not the pristine anchorage we’d been used to! The rum distillery is close by, so the water in the bay is the colour of stewed tea. We worked hard getting many jobs done.

We were very pleased to find Cardius, a local who restored Sea Cloud’s very sad looking timberwork. He was a pleasure to have around and did a beautiful job.

Like St Martin, the cruising community is very strong here, with many people sitting here permanently enjoying the many social activities and services organised by the cruisers advertised on the morning’s local net.

We’d decided to rent a car for the weekend – a hint – don’t use Thomas and Sons car rental! Instead of the new car shown on their website, they gave us a wreck which died within the first half hour, so we resorted to the very good local bus system for the day. Saturday market in the main town of St Georges, was colourful and busy.

Klaus and Helene on Lusea (a HR46) joined us for a day tour of the island. It was much more relaxing to be driven and not to have to navigate the small winding roads. Grenada is lush and green with many hills and waterfalls.

The tour of the Belmont Estate where they still process cocoa and grow many different types of fruit was well worthwhile.

We anchored in Prickly Bay for our last evening in Grenada – what a change from Clarke’s Court Bay! We could see why cruisers stay in this spot. The St George University Club was a great place for our last dinner in this part of the world and prepare Sea Cloud before our 3 day sail to Bonaire.

Bonaire