Christmas Caribbean Sailing

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Living here at the Port Louis Marina docks is an easy life, but we came down here to go sailing, and sailing we will go on Dec 24 and Dec 25. Looks like we will have dream sailing conditions, SE winds from 110 degrees at 15-20 knots, calm seas, 5-7 feet seas. For the Caribbean Sea in the winter, this is as good as it can get. What a Christmas Day sailing adventure it will be. How lucky are we? For now, we are living well here at the dock as we provision the boat, and check each system and prepare. Here we are with our full sunshade up and our side shade drops blocking the hot sun. This really helps to cool the boat.

Sunshades are up on Island Spirit here at Port Louis Marina, St. George’s Grenada

Living on the boat

Living on the boat is similar to living on land in a house. You need to go for groceries and you need to plan and prepare cooking meals. etc. Well, going for groceries from a boat usually requires taking the dinghy to the dock and walking to the store, then walking back to the dinghy to load the groceries and moving to the boat and then climbing onto the boat to lift up the groceries. Below deck its time to find places to stow all these items. Some items need refrigeration, some need to be frozen, some need to be stored in lockers. 

We had help with some provisioning by using the services of John Hovan of Fast Manicou. John is an ex-pat who takes orders for canned food, beer, wine, frozen foods, propane, scuba tanks, etc and cheerfully delivers on a weekly schedule to all the southern bays on Grenada. Radeen is so good at managing our provisions and stowing all of this. It takes time and it takes a plan,and she knows exactly how to do it all. Plus, she knows how to cook great meals on our boat! Lucky us!

Happy Radeen loading provisions into the dinghy to take back to the boat.
Our current favorite breakfast is this particular brand of boxed milk, which is the best we have ever tried, and high protein weetabix.
Heading out to and from the grocery store on the Carenage,, Grenada

Cooking a great meal

Radeen has been making great, healthy meals on Island Spirit for over 18 years! I built her a web site where she adds her recipes for cooking on a boat. These are mostly her own recipes, but we invite others to login and add meals they make on their boats. Check out Radeen’s recipe site here: http;//www.BoatRecipes.com

Here is a simple meal for tonight. I usually do not blog about food, because I figure everyone eats, but here is a post about tonight’s meal. Marinated chicken with a satay peanut sauce and basmati rice, ribbon strips of cucumber and carrots in a sweet and sour dressing  and, of course, red wine.  

Meal prep on Island Spirit, our three burner propane stove is great for making peanut sauce, chicken and rice.
Eating well on Island Spirit, thank you, Radeen.

Photos Around St. George’s, Grenada

Here are a few photos of touring around town on the dinghy….

Colorful fishing boats on the town docks, St. George’s, Grenada
Fisherman work so hard
Very modern and very cool logo on a tuna boat. Notice the beats headphones!

We found our Christmas Present, Dec 24, 25 SAILING WINDS

There is a large weather system north of the Bahamas and this low, with counterclockwise winds, is so large and so strong that it is effecting the tradewinds all the way down to South America! Well, we are in the middle of this area and that means our normal East or NE winds will be moving to the Southeast. That is wonderful for us, as our course north out of Grenada to Bequia and St. Lucia and Martinique is a course of 030, or NE. So, the wind clocking to the SE gives us a perfect BEAM REACH. Ask any sailor and they will tell you that is the dream sail, on the beam. So, MERRY CHRISTMAS TO US. We will leave here Dec 24 and sail NE to Union Island and then Dec 25 we will sail to Bequia where we hope to join the cruisers’ pot luck by 1300 with boating friends. Here are the current wind maps for Dec 24 & 25. Merry Christmas sailing!

Dec 24, 2019, the low off Bahamas is pulling our winds to the south
Dec 25, 2019, the winds are 110 to 115, south of east, and we will be sailing 030 north east to Admiralty Bay, Bequia.
Sailing out of Grenada to Union Island, then to Bequia

Radeen and I are very happy to be here, our boat is ready, all systems seem to be in working order. We have provisioned with dry goods and beverages for several months, All we need to do is move out and go sailing. Here are a few photos walking the beautiful  Port Louis Marina property tonight….

Beautiful landscaping
The beach and sunset over the St. George’s anchorage tonight
Merry Christmas 2019, sailing the Caribbean Sea.

 

 

 

 

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12 Replies to “Christmas Caribbean Sailing”

  1. I am responding to your note about the 5 to 7 foot seas that you are expecting. From your weather map, it looks like they will be on your starboard beam. You seem to be ok with that but I just wonder how comfortable you expect it to be. Here on the Great Lakes the period of the waves is short and 5 to 7s on the beam would set our Island Packet, Inspiration, to rolling from side to side. I understand the period of the waves on the Ocean is longer so maybe it won’t cause you to roll. I hope that you have a wonderful safe and comfortable sail. I will think of you when I eat my Christmas dinner.

  2. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you. Things are finally looking up for you after all of that electrical fiasco! Have a wonderful, safe sail. Loretta and Jim Elliott s/v Plan Sea

    1. Reuben, Good question! Two of the three grocery stores have dinghy docks, making it much easier to provision, compared to walking in the heat. Even taking a cab back to the marina doesn’t help because it is so large and we are out on the farthest dock.
      Thanks for following us!

  3. A freshly provisioned boat; a perfect weather window and a competent crew on a stout boat….Now THAT makes for a very merry Christmas.

  4. Have a very merry sail! Wishing you fair winds and smooth waves, Happy Christmas in the sun and safe sailing, and please keep healthy and fit for The Big One!
    John and Nancy, Marco Island FL, tomorrow off to Lancaster PA.
    Adventuress IP 420, Club Nautico Los Nietos, Mar Menor, Spain

    1. Thank you, John and Nancy! We talk about The Big One nearly every day! Safe travels and have a wonderful Lancaster County Christmas!

  5. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We are enjoying your pictures and reading about your adventures.

    Vince & Linda

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