Back down the chain to Trini

In many ways, this post reverses what I wrote about in my next to last post about our passages up from Trinidad to Antigua because on the way back down the chain, rather unsurprisingly, we stopped in many of the same places. So, I will try my best not to bore you and concentrate mainly on the different things we did or saw.

A few squalls during the morning of 25^th April, interrupted what was otherwise a pretty good 50nm sail from Jolly Harbour, Antigua to Deshais, Guadeloupe….

… where we stayed for just two nights. This gave us time to finally get a meal at “Kathryn’s Bar” [Death in Paradise], where, if I am being honest, the food was nothing to rave about but the “pour your own” ‘Ti Punch wasn’t to be sniffed at.

Clearance into Guadeloupe also covers the Îles des Saintes and it was great to have the right weather be able to visit these for the second time this season.

Having stuck to the village side of Terre-de-Haut previously it was nice to see a little more of the island with a walk first to Grande Anse….

…. and then further up the coast to Baie du Marigot…

…. where we had a super La Formule lunch at “La Paillote”.

If we return to the Saintes again, I hope the conditions are right for anchoring in this bay because it really is lovely.

Off again on 1^st May to Dominica where we returned to one of the Tan Tan mooring balls – as we had promised “Bongo” that we would…

….and spent two nights as the only boat in the bay. Lovely.

All in all we spent just over a week at the north end of Dominica which meant we were able to, once again, experience one of the famous PAYS Sunday BBQ’s [Portsmouth Association Yacht Services – an excellent organisation set up some years ago by “boat boys”].

The rest of the time was just small boat jobs, relaxing and generally passing the time with no worries.

Rather than complete a 60nm passage straight to St. Pierre, – as we have done on every other occasion we have sailed from Dominica to Martinique – we decided to get a cruising permit to enable us to visit some of the west coast anchorages of Dominica. The permit is free and it is really more of a formality for customs. We get the feeling that some people don’t bother with getting this and just stop where they fancy – but it was hardly a difficult thing to do.

So we spent two nights at the lovely Mero Beach….

….. and then one night at Point Michel….

…. which is the most southerly part of Dominica where anchoring is permitted as, from Point Michel to Scotts Head, at the very SW tip of the island, is the Soufriere National Park.

On again, after a couple of nights in St. Pierre…

….to Fort de France for another Decathlon trip and then just 3nm across the bay to Anse Mitan– my gosh, this blog might be a short one – we are almost half way back!

Steve and Gill had spent quite a bit of time in Anse Mitan on the way up so were keen to show us around. While the anchorage is fine, unfortunately it didn’t turn out to be our kind of place really – a bit too touristy with a marina village – but we were rewarded with a stunning end to our evenings there.

On our second day, Mike and I decided to follow Google Maps for a walk to L’Anse a l’Âne. We got a little more than we bargained for when the route took us up this dry stream bed!

To top it all, the restaurant we had wanted to have lunch in was closing when we arrived, but fortunately there was a nice one open on the beach. I think we would try this anchorage if we passed by again.

From Anse Mitan, it was back down to Rodney Bay, St Lucia for a week and then down to the Pitons, where Mike had been with John in 2023 but I hadn’t been since 2012. On those occasions we had taken a mooring ball off the town of Soufriere, this time we took a mooring ball in between the two Pitons…

….a marvellous place to stay.

At first we thought we weren’t going to get the views we wanted as light drizzle and then heavy rain started just after we had taken the ball.

However, it could have been worse – the rain could have started before we were safely tied up and, as it only lasted about 45 minutes, we got the scenery we wanted when the sun came out again.

On 28^th May we left the Pitons at 0600 intending to anchor and clear in at Chateaubelair on St. Vincent. However, we were having such a good sail and making excellent progress so decided to carry on going and completed the 55nm passage straight back to Bequia.

We managed to miss two pretty awful squalls – both of which, unfortunately, caught “Coriander” fair and square – but it gave them something to tell us about when we met up for drinks.

As well as the usual things, Mike and I took a walk down the north side of Admiralty Bay….

….to Fort Hamilton.

A small British Battery built in the 1700’s it was actually named after Alexander Hamilton, born on the island of Nevis, and a founding father of the American Constitution.

We also joined Steve and Gill for sundowners on the floating bar.

Although not new to the bay, it was the first time we have ventured “aboard”.

It was much more stable than the one Mike and I had been on in Grand Case, St. Martin – so the experience was rather more enjoyable.

An overnight stay in Canouan on 6^th June was followed by a night at Salt Whistle Bay on the north end of Mayreau.

We have avoided this previously because in high season it is absolutely full of charter boats. Understandably, as it is very beautiful, it is a recommended stop for charter yachts but, being very small, and for much of it, rather shallow, it is not somewhere we would be wanting to visit when 30+ boats are trying to find space.

With only three other monohulls and the same number of catamarans it felt fine.

Back in Tyrell Bay we found a new bar had opened…

… and we also visited “Tanty Mavis’s” restaurant for the first time….

…..and had a celebratory Wedding Anniversary lunch at Paradise Beach.

Friends Pete and Jan, who I mentioned in my previous post, recommended that we stop outside Halifax Harbour in Black Bay, Grenada, so when we left Carriacou on 13^th June, that’s exactly what we did.

With good shelter and very clear water it was a great place to while away some time, swim and clean the waterline.

The only downside we found was that we couldn’t see an obvious way ashore – though there must be one as on a couple of afternoons children made their way down the cliff and through the trees to the beach. There doesn’t seem to be an obvious route out either through Halifax Harbour – which doesn’t actually seem to be a working harbour containing just one derelict boat. Maybe we should have explored more – but we were very happy where we were.

Our final stop before leaving for Trinidad was, of course, Prickly Bay where we spent a week. On arrival on 17^th June it was much busier than we expected and we ended up anchored further out than normal where, with swell rolling in from the SE, it was fairly uncomfortable. Fortunately, on going ashore the following day we saw a couple of mooring balls free and, on enquiring, were told that one was available but only until 1^st July. This seemed perfect so we took it.

Of course, we couldn’t have stayed in Prickly without a visit to the Brewery…

… or without a swim and drinks on “our beach”….

… but all the time we were watching the weather quite closely because something seemed to be heading our way, or close to our way, across the Atlantic.

Looking again at our Windy App on Wed 26^th June I said to Mike that I thought we ought to leave earlier than intended for Trinidad because it looked likely that, in the next few days, a strong Tropical storm was going to pass over either St. Vincent or, worse still, over the south Grenadines and Carriacou. Most “formal” forecasts were favouring the former. I didn’t want to risk it and, even if that had been the case, it could still have been a bit tasty in the south of Grenada.

So, overnight on 27/28 June we sailed down to Trinidad.

It was definitely the right decision and friends “Saracen” and “Coriander” decided – almost at the last minute – to follow suit, by arriving in Trinidad on 29 and 30th June respectively.

By the evening of 1^st July, the Chaguaramas and Scotland Bay anchorages were full, there was “overspill” in Chacachacare Bay and at Cocorite but, strangely enough only a few boats in Morris Bay where “Coriander” found their safe and, we are told, beautiful anchorage. We might well have to try it before we leave in Nov/Dec. It has to be said that MSATT [with the help of some cruisers], Customs, Immigration, Health and Veterinary Services really pulled out all the stops to get all the boats and their crew processed.

As many of you might know, by the time that strong Tropical Storm reached the Lesser Antilles it had become the extremely destructive Category 4/5 Hurricane Beryl that completely battered Carriacou, Petite Martinique, the very north end of Grenada and the Grenadine Islands, having badly damaged parts of the south coast and the fishing harbour in Bridgetown, Barbados on its way. 200 fishing boats were wrecked.

Although still Category 4 when it hit the islands [it became 5 later] 95% of houses in Carriacou were damaged or destroyed, all the trees wiped out, almost all the boats on the hard in the two Tyrell Bay Marinas were toppled and most of the boats which had gone for shelter in the mangroves, sank. Although the majority of boats in the southern anchorages of Grenada were fine, five or six did end up beached in Prickly Bay.

Both of the above photos were posted on the Carriacou Cruisers Facebook page and taken by Alvis Cudjoe.

Union Island, Canouan, Mayreau and Bequia also suffered badly with many businesses lost and homes left without roofs, water and electricity.

As you can see below, Salt Whistle Bay – no longer looks like it does earlier in this post – though we understand work is going on to restore the sand bar and make it back into a protected bay – albeit the bars and trees having been lost.

Paradise Beach Bar, Carriacou and the bars on the Saline Beach, Union, have also been completely washed away by storm surge.

So, a sad end to this post. We hope that by the time we go “up island” again things might have improved for those islanders. Whilst relief work arrived quite quickly, much of it being sent by the Trinidad Government and Businesses, and some of it taken up by boats returning to Grenada having sailed down to escape the Hurricane. But, almost two months on there is still much to be done. It is likely to be the same in November/December when we will be heading north again so we are intending to offer help in some way wherever we can and hope that, in the meantime there is no other major hurricane hit in these beautiful islands.