Same Places, New Faces

This week we were visited by Rory and Zoe,

16-03-16carib0284

…and we once again went round all the places we went to with James & Emma, Alice & Ben. In an exciting new development for the Boatblog, Rory has made a video of highlights from the trip.

So without more ado, I hand you over to our guest blogger, Rory.

 

What’s dad looking at?

16-03-16carib0276

It was good to be able to spend some family time together.

19-03-16carib0087

And here are a few contenders for this instalments Arty Farty Prize.

 

And here’s a picture of Zoe.

20-03-16carib0005

Bye

Rory

We have a crew!

Yes Boatblog ® fans, we are no longer double handed.

We have been joined first by James & Emma,

James  Emma 2

…and a couple of days later by Alice & Ben.

Ben  Alice 2

So, with our new crew aboard and raring to go…

Crew

…our first stop was Hillsborough, capital city of Carriacou.

Hillsborough

Hillsborough High Street – James has this fancy app on his phone which makes his photos look like Cuba in the 50’s.

It was here that we found Deefer Divers, so we took our crew underwater. Alice has been SCUBA diving before, but for the rest of them it was the first time.

 Getting Ready to Dive

It’s fair to say, that Emma didn’t enjoy it that much. In fact, that’s probably a bit of an understatement. She hated it. Which I guess shouldn’t have been too much of a surprise given that she doesn’t really like snorkelling. But fair play to her – she gave it a go.

We dove/dived (which is it?) off a little atoll called Sandy Island. The water was unbelievably clear. 

 Cool Diving Photo 1

But let us introduce you to the new crew.

JAMES was really keen this year to get more involved with the handling of the boat, and to do some of the sailing, and we agreed to capture pictures of him in action. Here is a short selection…

James In Action 1

TUNING IN MENTALLY

James In Action 2

PREPARING FOR THE NEXT WATCH

James In Action 3

CATCHING FLIES

Then there is BEN. Ben loves to swim. And eat. In fact it is believed that he part fish…

Ben 2

… part wolf.

Ben has a healthy appetite

But it’s not all just muscle on board. We also have glamour.

The girls

(L to R) EMMA, ALICE & LYN

From Carriacou we headed up to Petit St Vincent in The Grenadines. Nearby is a perfect deserted Robinson Crusoe Island called Morpion, which we re-christened The Heap of Sand.

The Heap of Sand 2

It looks a bit like the old Apple screensaver. Here is the Captain and Crew,

The Heap of Sand

 … or The Caribiners as we now call ourselves.

Caribiners

Of course we just had to go back to the Tobago Cays to snorkel with the turtles. 

Turtle 1

James has another fancy app on his phone which turns his photos into an iPhone screensaver.

Turtle 5

The Tobago Cays are not only famous for the turtles, but also the lobster barbecues.

LOBSTER – BEFORE

Lobster  Before

LOBSTER – AFTER

Lobster  After

They couldn’t really be any fresher.

The best way to get around the Cays is by canoe.

Canoe Team

Ju always goes in the back so Lyn can’t see if he’s paddling.

Then from Tobago Cays to Mayreau, once again seen through the lens with the 50’s Postcard filter.

Mayreau

The main village is at the top of a steep hill.

A steep climb

A very steep hill.

A steep climb 2

It was soon time to return to Grenada so that our new crew could get their flights back to the cold and wet. But before they left, Grenada had plenty to offer. There are the famous underwater statues…

Statues 2

Mermaids,

Statues  Mermaid

and James.

Statues 4

We swam in the waterfalls…

Waterfall 1

Ben jumped in, which was pretty brave,

 

Waterfall Jump  Before

…and a shame that the camera missed it.

Waterfall Jump  after

Fortunately, Ju’s photographer was a bit better.

Waterfall Hero

We ventured deep into the reforest, and discovered some strange and exotic creatures,

Creatures of the Rainforest,

…painted rocks,

Painted Rocks

…and a chocolate factory, with the world’s biggest bar of chocolate. 6lbs in fact.

Big Chocolate

One each then.

Then back to St George’s where we anchored the boat, and James took another 50’s postcard photo of The Carenage.

The Carenage

But now it is time for the usual Arty Farty photograph competition. With so many crew, we have a number of strong contenders. 

Arty Farty Branch

BRANCH

Arty Farty Cool Diving Photo 2

INTO THE DEPTHS

Arty Farty Turtles

TURTLES & STARFISH

Arty Farty Patriotic Palm Tree

PATRIOTIC TREE (Red, yellow & green are Grenada’s national colours, and come independence day, everything gets painted)

Arty Farty Tighrope Man

TIGHTROPE MAN WITH LOBSTER

Arty Farty Waterfall 2

WATERFALL

To register your vote please write on the back of a cheque for at least four figures, made payable to the Cayman Island Superyacht account.

Of course it wouldn’t be a true Boatblog ® without a gratuitous sunset…

Gratuitous Sunset

…and a selfie.

Waterfall Selfie

So we say a sad goodbye to our crew for now. But next week we are joined by Rory and Zoe for more adventures on the High Seas.

Yea mon.

 

Ju & Lyn

Deja Vu

Hello again Boatbloggers ® and welcome back to another exciting adventure on the Seven Seas,

We call this episode Deja Vu because we have a strange feeling that we have been here before, which is no doubt because we have. We are following in the wake of our last voyage down the Caribbean, and heading south from St Lucia to Grenada where we are going to pick up our new crew; James & Emma and Alice & Ben.

But first we did a tour of St Lucia. It is strange, given that we spent such a long time here last year, that we didn’t get to see that much of the island. So we decided to put that right, booked a taxi and went exploring.

No trip to St Lucia would be complete without seeing Les Pitons (French for ‘The Pitons.’)

The Pitons

Two fossilised heaps shaped by many years of erosion, with The Pitons in the background. (Boom tisch!) We know it looks like Ju is falling over, but the road was on a bit of a slope.

Then on to the Drive-In Volcanos…

Volcano 2

The key thing to notice in the sign above is the word, “sulphur.” The steaming rocks may look impressive…

Volcanoes

…but it is the stench that is truly awe-inspiring.

Nevertheless, Ju decided to brave the mud baths. Apparently, the minerals in the mud make you look ten years younger, so he went in twice. 

Mudbath

It’s hard to believe that this youthful specimen is actually 95.

Ju has a natural way with animals. This little bird came and drank the milk for his coffee…

Cheeky Bird

…and he wrestled this boa constrictor into submission.

Snake Man

But enough of this messing about. We’ve got to get south to meet our crew.

First stop was Bequia. It was quite a tough sail coming down; strong wide on the nose, but we’re getting use to that. Note the three reefs in the mainsail…

Coming into Bequai

It may look calm here, but we’ve just come round the corner into the bay.

Not everyone made it.

Wreck

But after a long day, we arrived safely.

Ju waving while Lyn does all the work

The Captain found time to wave to the crowds, while the Crew carry on working.

The boat in before us had caught a fish.

Catch of the Day

Seems a shame really.

But then after just few days re-provisioning, re-fuelling and watering, we set sail again for Grenada, where we met many old friends from our last trip. We took them out for a day’s sail.

Party Boat

We also went for lunch with Chris and Helen Tibbs on their boat Taistealai. Chris was our (totally brilliant) weather router when we crossed the Atlantic, and has been selected for the Swiss Olympic Sailing Team in Rio. Now that we’ve done over 17,000 nautical miles, he wanted to meet up to get a few tips before the Games.

One night, we went to the movies.

A night at the movies

Our group were the only ones in the cinema. It was like our own private viewing. (Hail Caesar, in case you’re interested. It’s great fun – go and see it if you get a chance.)

But before we close, here’s one last gratuitous shot of Domini racing into Bequia, included mainly because we paid 50EC$ to the bloke who took it.

Photographer s choice

Avast! No more blogging. We have just a couple of days to get the boat ready for the new crew’s arrival.

Bye for now

 

Ju & Lyn