On The Hard in Grenada

In a Hurricane Cradle
St Davids, Grenada
12 01.463'N 061 40.712'W


I spent two weeks in the anchorage off Grenada Marine boat yard where I hauled-out this morning. I am happy to finally be out of the water. The anchorage was rolly, even when the wind stayed easterly. Any wind south of east caused an uncomfortable situation. Two days ago a minor squall came through, and I could tell the anchor had moved, not by much, maybe a foot or two, but any movement at all is cause for concern. A Catamaran completely broke loose and was going to wash up on the beach. An alert Frenchmen blasted his horn until the sleepy sailor came out the hatch blinking. Afterward I moved to a mooring.

Each day while anchored I'd tackled a small prep project to get things situated for haul-out. I've found I'm not one to do everything at once and then take a few days off. Little successes seem to fit me. The hauling process went great. The most difficult portion of the haul-out was backing Christa into the slings. After 11 years of ownership, I am about as expert as one can get with maneuvering a Westsail32. Any boat or ship has limitations. The trick always is to explore the limitation. To explore limitations you have to have boat driving skills in the first place. This is where my time in the Coast Guard has made all the difference. If you can believe it, I found it takes more skill to maneuver Christa at a whooping 39 feet length overall than it did to maneuver Morgenthau at 378 feet. You could actually "walk" Morgenthau sideways with an outboard shaft backing bell and the bowthruster. So with backing Christa into the slings I understood I couldn't do it with out "bumping" into things. So now I just estimated what and where I'd bump and made sure I was able to fend off. Worked like a champ.

The yard folks seem to be really knowledgeable and professional. It can be a little rattling at first, bacause like many places in the Banana Republics, there is junk everywhere. Old cars, engine blocks and trash of all kind strewn about. This always makes me wonder, if they can't bother to clean up, how can you trust they will come through elsewhere. But I've payed attention, checked out the travel lift and some other equipment and as far as I can tell all the equipment is maintained. And, the crew who hauled and placed Christa in the cradle were all business.

First night up on the hard, I quickly learned that with all the short-comings of the anchorage, one advantage was lack of mosquitos. At sunset, as I reveled in the electricity pouring into the batteries and the hum of the refrig, I suddenly noticed the hundreds of mosqitos buzzing around. I closed all hatches, fired up two fans and deployed the Off. I was held at bay until I started blasting away with my can of Raid. I knocked down the sworm and gained the upper hand. I think the word was out as I had no more troubles the rest of the evening.

So this week I'll finish up the jobs that can only be done out of water. I'll get some estimates on a couple of projects for the future so I can budget properly and then blast off next Monday aboard an American Airlines flight bound for Florida.

Capt Chris

Poolside Video

Poolside Grenada

Anchored St Davids Harbor
Southern Coast of Grenada
12.01.00N 061 40.05W


I was clued in the other day by Tom & Amy, formerly of the Team Sandpiper, and currently Team SadieSea Charters of St John USVI, that a phat pool could be used at the little resort. So yesterday the day dawned clear with no rain in sight. I was poolside the bulk of the bay. The resort is empty as it is now hurricane season. I didn't see one person the whole day. Since I deep sixed my iTouch awhile ago and my iPod nano also broke, I'm without mobile tunes. So I enjoyed the symphony of nature. Good thing I had my kindle up and running for max reading.

Pretty nice view of Christa I should say. But the weather is back to the norm. Dreadful down pours every hour or so and very humid. When I head ashore I generally get pinned down somewhere, waiting for a gusher to let up. Post deluge, I nose out, assess the likely hood of making it to my next destination before another gusher. Leap frog Grenada style. Right now I'm pinned down at the little beach bar at Grenada Marine. Thankfully we haven't had any thunderstoms, Salinas style with heavy winds. Just lots of rain thus far.

Capt Chris

The Southern Edge

Anchored St Davids Harbor
Southern Coast of Grenada
12.01.00N 061 40.05W




I arrived on Tuesday June 16th after a short, but painful motor sail from St Georges harbor. This is as far south as I intend to go. Christa will be hauled out on the 29th and set ashore, in a hurricane cradle. What is a hurricane cradle vis-a-vis a regular cradle? I'll provide a picture once Christa is in the cradle and let the pic tell the story. But in normal fashion, and I guess it is par, that my last seven miles were straight into the teeth of the trades. You may recall when I sailed from Carriacou I tried mightily to sail down the eastern shore of Grenada to prevent the aforementioned seven mile beat to windward. But I failed and ended up in St. Georges Lagoon, which in hindsight turned out to be for the best, even though I had the recent tough sail. St Davids really is deep in a valley far from the conveniences of the main town of St Georges. I'd go nuts spending a month or more in St Davids.


Above is a picture of Christa's current spot on the planet, taken from atop an abutment at a small resort called the Bel Air Plantation that overlooks the harbor. The anchorage is open to the south and when the wind swings around to the southeast, as it does frequently this time of year, the boat starts to roll. But, thus far it hasn't be out of hand. I will spend the next couple of weeks getting Christa ready for long term storage. Some of the items to attend to are, change the main engine oil, strip the sails, strip and wash canvas, winterize the Honda 2000, same for the outboard, strip as much rigging as possible. Generally get the boat hurricane ready, just in case. I'll also try and pre-stage some things to make life easier when I return.


So what do I do all day? I know many wonder and it can some times be a tough question to answer. As some many know I plan on using the the GI Bill to complete college. I've been shocked at the amount of effort and planning such a transition entails. But that is what I have been doing. Submitting applications, working on personal statements, crunching dollars, checking time lines, thinking about the downside and generally doing some soul searching. Since I plan on using the new Post 9/11 GI Bill, just being rolled out, it has taken many Skype calls and research to digest what is happening. I even did an interview with the LA Times regarding California and how the new bill and California school systems are not meshing well. It can be very confusing and critical for me to understand the bill before I make any big moves, such as sailing back to Florida and trucking Christa to California, only to find the GI Bill will not cover the tuition. Wouldn't want that kind of Wuups. But I should know what I'm doing by September. So that's it for now from Grenada.


Capt Chris


PS: Don't forget that you can double click on the image to expand out. Also have a gander at my Picasso Photo Album and Youtube videos

Short Video of Marigot Bay

The Cut. My Head

Ever since I left the Coast Guard my hair has been an issue. I don't know why, but it seems I was constantly concerned with what was happening with it. Follicle loss, to long, no long enough, brush or comb, turning blond and on and on. As if I may have an appearance on the red carpet. Over it. Plus water is precious on a boat and the more hair the more water use. So today as if I had a drug problem I checked into the gangster Barber Shop, replete with P-Diddy and Snoop Dog videos blasting and a shrine to the Notorious BIG. I queried Marc AKA Barber M/2 if he'd be able to handle my situation. He was nonchalant about it so I plopped into the chair. Well, it was hot and my hair was still damp and this served to gum up his clippers. Clearly I don't fit M/2 normal clientele and he found he'd need to adapt a bit. He struggled but persevered and after awhile M/2 had whittled away enough of my hair where the clippers could get some traction. Game on! Barber M/2 did a great job, kept it tight and even trimmed up the goatee a bit. Price 8 US dollars. I'm very happy to have shed the baggage, although when I scowled in the mirror I looked like Edward Norton from American History X. Not the image I'd like to exude, so I guess I won't scowl.

Capt Chris


Don't forget you can double click the image to exand

A Bus Story

This morning I was picked up by the Grenada bus, not a bus in the Greyhound fashion but more in a hippie VW motif. Not occupied by peace loving beatniks with stringy hair and bad breath heading to a Phish show, but with thuggish looking black fellows adorned with long nails. Immediately overwhelmed with the overpowering beats pulsating from the deep bass subwoffers and tweeters throughout-"sesame street sesame street sesame street yeah yeah" fills the bus from the local guerrilla radio station. Mid beat the DJ lowers the volume enough so he can be heard with the music in the background and his deep Rasta voice says "a car accident has dampened the spirit mon of this mornings show, the car....injuries unknown has hit a pole." The Rasta Rap beat "sesame street sesame street" continues as a subdued gasp from the riders acknowledges this news. Suddenly the bus pulls over to pick up a large jolly black women. She piles in and sits next to me on the bench that has room for two of me but not one of me and one of her. She looks at me and says "y'all gonna be squished, but I'm sure you like that" other riders looking on and nodding to see how the white boy may handle the situation. I acknowledge that in fact I may enjoy it and she starts whooping with laughter and then she says "did ya all hear about the car hittin da pole?" News travels fast with such a collectively concerned society. The driver with his white nylon hosiery over his head with a hole in the top and a fro sticking out the top reminding me of a Dairy Queen sugar cone with vanilla ice cream and chocolate jimmies, gracefully using is inch long index finger nail pumps up the volume after embarking the Jolly women....the deep Rasta voice continues "we pray for the occupants or lone occupant of the vehicle that has struck the pole and hope this dark mood that has been cast over us all will be lifted." Jolly lady gives us all an Amen! The Rasta DJ then feels that Ziggy Marley's "One Bright Day" might serve to remove the shadow the wreck has cast. Ziggy's voice permeates "one bright day we get togetha" as my stop rapidly approaches, I rap on the roof to signal the Ice Cream cone to pull over, Jolly women gets off my lap and everyone wishes me a nice day.

This is how I started my day. A slice of sailors life amongst a different people. Small snippets like this sustain me.


Capt Chris

PS: The photo is a typical bus and driver......full of color and banter

2009 Hurricane Season Starts

Today is June 1st and the official start of the hurricane season. This time last year Christa was in a slip in Salinas Puerto Rico and I was back in the United States. This year my anxiety level is positively low. Grenada sits nearly out of the hurricane belt and rarely gets whacked. And as you can see from the history of June storms, the islands of the eastern Caribbean are pretty safe in June. Furthermore the experts are forecasting a El Nino event this year which normally translates to fewer and less intense storms in Atlantic and Caribbean basin. Furthermore water temps between African the eastern Carib are relatively chilly. These are all good signs.

Another Great Sunset From Grenada

Since arriving here in Grenada the setting sun has put on a show each night. Here is tonight's feature. This was taken from Christa looking west north west. You can see a great fortress on the hill overlooking the Caribbean Sea. Not long after I took this shot a band fired up ashore playing good old American Rock and Roll. Not something you hear much in the island. I sped ashore to see what the hub bub was about. It was the U.S. Air Force Academy Band named "Blue Steel." They are on a public relations tour of the islands. They are a bunch of enlisted folks who do nothing but tour the world in a C-130 and do this type of thing as a full time duty. And people thougt I had it cush in the Coast Guard. In fact they are still jamming as I type. I have a great seat from the deck of the Christa.

Capt Chris

PS: Don't forget you can double click on the image to expand out.

Grenada To Port

Anchored in the lagoon St George Harbor
Island of Grenada

I snapped this digital picture as I was approaching the north coast of Grenada. The island is called Diamond Island. Not long after, the seas became much more turbulent, stacked up and generally chaotic. Turns out I was sailing right over an underwater volcano known of Kickem Jenny. Christa was like a washing machine for a good while.

My original intent upon leaving Carriacou was to sail straight south and make for the eastern or windward side of Grenada and anchor in St Davids on the south coast. Well conditions dictated something else. The wind was south of east at 15 to 20 which theoretically should have been a close reach; manageable under normal 15 to 20 knots. The conditions were anything but normal. On the southern side of Carriacou and the northern coast of Grenada, peppered everywhere lay volcanic rocks jutting up from the earth's mantle. All kinds of heinous current, refracted waves and generally uncomfortable conditions churn between the twenty mile stretch of water between.
I bugged out from Carriacou yesterday morning bright and early. For the first two hours Christa and I struggled to make way to windward, but were just in the grips of the aforementioned elements. To hell with this we said and eased the sheets and made for the leeward side of Grenada. The reason why we would want to sail the windward vice the leeward side you may ask? Well it was to save pain down the road. To get to Christa's haul out spot, we'll need to sail what could be a difficult 7 miles to windward, along the south coast of Grenada. Coming down the windward side would have solved that issue. But I wasn't about to get beat up to ease some future unknown condition. Besides I have until early July to wait for calm conditions to round the south coast and make for St Davids. Also, I would have missed anchoring in St George's Harbor which is about the busiest place I've seen since St Thomas. I might even be able to get a good cup of coffee. But I still awoke to roosters crowing. Some things never change in El Carib.

Capt Chris