According to Jupiter, Eugenie and Julie are coming to see Jupiter and only Jupiter today… Darn little blind doggy. Daddy has a taxi set up to get them here to the boat… and Jupiter has approved the expenditure provided they have DINGOS in their baggage… Otherwise, Jupiter will bite the tubes on the dink and let them sink!!!
I sure hope they let the cajun sausage in…

Wet rainy day, so the pups won't get hair cuts today.

I have a couple of contacts for groomer here that may make my dogs look like schnauzers again. We will see. I have to run to Woburn to get eggs and beer. Tuesday is the shopping bus and I've got my shopping list prepared for all the things we need.
Update, one groomer can't see them until August, and the other doesn't answer her phone. Oh well, looks like it will be shaggy hair cuts for the pups :)

It started raining at about 3:30 AM this morning and has been on and off ever since. Sometimes it is a full downpour for 5 min or so. Then just light showers. I've been doing laundry today and the light weight items have dried, but the heavy items will be out all night and then some. Cinco got sick last night. At about the time the rain started to fall I heard a puppy walking around and then the smell. Ugh he puked and dumped all over the main rug just after the rain started. This is no sea sickness, he must have managed to snag something on the beach yesterday. Rugs went out into the cockpit last night and got scrubbed and washed this morning. The rugs are still hanging on the boom getting rain upon every couple of hours. Spare rugs are down in the boat. Hopefully tonight the washed rugs will dry in the winds.

I told the puppies that they have to start cleaning their areas up for out guest this week. They both looked at me like they didn't understand what I was saying — typical. I also told them, "no pee pee on the rug" yeh; all the rugs are clean and I'd like them to stay that way for a few days (fingers crossed).
I've got some rearranging to do to make room for them as well. Shouldn't be hard, but I'll have to pack the extra clothes in the V-berth or give them to the Red Cross. I am a little surprise by the amount of clothing I took on board and the amount that I actually use day to day. I threw out lots before I left and I could have thrown out even more. So the stacks of T-shirts that are never used will get bagged and stored. And I need to bag and store the winter stuff since leaving Hampton VA last Fall I have not needed the winter clothes but just have not packed and stored them.
Tonight is CHEESE BURGER IN PARADISE night! I have all the makings for a CHEESE BURGER including fresh tomatoes, lettuce, onion, grnd sirloin, and a bun. I have enough for 2 burgers. I'll make the patties and only cook one tonight. I have to decide on the side dish… I have lettuce and tomatoes that have to be eaten soon, so it may be a salad with Balsamic dressing. I also have a mango that needs to be eaten.

This is the burger, sirloin with Gouda Cheese (purchased in the Dutch Islands) melted on top. Set on a Butter Roll (locally baked) that has been toasted in French Butter, with a thin slice on sweet onion from the front porch of a Lady in St. Lucia, lettuce also from the front porch of another lady from St. Lucia, tomato from the yard of a house in Bequia. Decision ???

It was Yummy… Some folks have complained that my end of the meal photos are sweet, but they would like to see what the beginning was… So this is my first "before and after" photo of food.
The water is clearing up here in Clarks Court Bay so I may not move out of this Bay. The advantage here is the access to the town of Woburn… while there is very little in Woburn, it does have Bus service where other location do not. The water here is also very calm, no waves or swell and the Stainless Steel guy, who is back in town on Tuesday, is based out of this Bay.
The pups and I went to the Beach on Hog Island today for a long walk. I'll have to take a camera there for pictures. It is a very nice beach with no waves and a grassy ledge on the back side. We didn't swim today, but on Sunday morning, we are going to swim (and the dogs will hate that).
I just opened a bottle of Westerhall dark rum. I never knew they made a dark aged rum. Their plantation rum is so awesome and my first glass of this stuff (on ice) is on par with the Cruzan or Mt Gay aged rums. Not very sweet and definitely doesn't have the french rum taste (Old Crow).

I talked to a local taxi driver today and he said that Mama's Restaurant is closed. Mama's Restaurant was the most unique culinary experience in the world! Yes, the most unique culinary experience in the world. She provided a 26 course meal served for over 3 hours, reservations REQUIRED!!! Mama was a "big woman" about 300 to 400 lbs and she could cook anything. In fact she cooked anything! The restaurant would have never earned a fancy rating but it was unique in the world by my experience (and I've been to many of the fancy restaurants around the world where they charge $400 per person and more).
Mama's restaurant was a tin shack with plywood tables and benches; red and white checkered plastic table cloths were stapled to the plywood. Bring your own mosquito spray for your legs. You had to show up by 6:30pm and serving began at 7:00pm sharp. Everyone is served the same course at the same time. A new course is severed every 5 to 7 minutes so you are there for 3 hours or more for the complete experience.
Mama cooked everything… (honestly) if her family caught it or it was run over on the road in front of her house, she cooked it. Soup, fried bread, lobster, lambis, sea slugs, goat, chicken, possum, armadillo, beef, pork, pidgin, fish, etc. Each dish was severed and you were told what it contained and the decision to eat it or not was yours. I think I hold the record for my table each time I've been to Mama's. If I recall properly I've done at most 24 course of Mama's. I wish I could remember which dishes I wouldn't eat. But everything tasted great, sometimes the texture wasn't what you would like… but hey, how many of us have eaten sea slugs or armadillo? Mama could have tenderized and cook by old tennis shoes.
Mama died many years ago and her sisters ran the place for a couple of years until they died. Now everything is closed.
Here is a picture of Mama's from 1990 or 1991. Reservations REQUIRED! And well worth the experience! (at about $30 a person)

Just take a close look at the picture. Is this the kind of place you would expect to have a world class foodie experience with a reservation REQUIRED? What a loss for the island and for foodies around the world.

I took the shopping bus today with about 8 other people, most of them have been here for several years and I was the stranger as they knew everyone including the driver and many locals on the side of the road. The Bus from this location runs on Tuesday and Friday and stops at a vegetable market (nice) the Bank (nice)/mini mart, the IGA supermarket and Mall (nice) then the local mini-COSCO. Departs at 9:30 and I was back on the boat just before 1:00PM.
On Saturday I'll take the regular bus to St. George for Saturday Market and hopefully some Lambis Roti at the Nutmeg (if it is still open). It has been 20 years since I was in Grenada and there is so much new development. It is hard to recognize some of the locations cause of all the new buildings.
For those wanting more photos, here are two. First is of Sandy Island the second is one of the many groups of boats tied up the mangroves for TS BRET. Basically you crash your boat into the mangrove and tie it on with 4 or five lines and drop a couple of anchors off the stern. It holds tight.

We left at 8:00 AM and got here just after 2:30PM. It was a very nice sail for all but the last 8 miles when the wind died. We had 10 to 15kts of wind until the last two hours when the wind dropped to 5kts or less. At this point we were down wind sailing and the 4+ft swells were cause the sails to flog and back at each wave. To save the sails from damage I turned on the engine and we motored the last few miles into Clarks Court Bay where we dropped anchor. The water is not very clean here. I think it is a result of the 2 days of down pour they had with TS BRET. It should clear up, but then again, I may move to L'Anse Aux Epines (aka Prickly Bay) in the next day or two.
Cinco was sick today, so I have to clean the main rug. He may have been sea sick cause the 4+ft swells were on the beam and making it rolley down below.

Getting out was a bit of a challenge. Lucky I had some help when needed. My secondary anchor was snatched by another anchor. Once it was freed with some help, the primary anchor was snatched by two anchors and with even more help those lines were freed and then a third line was on the hook. So overall 4 anchors were set over mine. We left the swamp at about 12:00 and went out to the bay to anchor. Pups went for a walk and I got a six pack for the next couple days. I hoisted the Dink up and we are almost ready to head to the main island of Grenada. Just a few thing to secure after breakfast and then we will be of the St. Davids or Clarks Court. Not sure which we will do until we are almost there.

TS BRET had a track that at times put it directly over Carriacou with 50kts of wind and at other times over Trinidad with Carriacou having just slightly higher than normal winds in squalls. Lucky for us, TS BRET when over Trinidad and the maximum sustained winds we saw in the swamp were just above the normal trade-winds. We had gusts up to 26kts, but those were short lived. When the wind was above 20kts it was usually a gust and nothing sustained. All the lines and anchors held and no body was damaged. The new problem is untangling the mess of lines and anchors that were laid out for the storm while it is still raining. We will stay in the swamp one more night. As one of the first boats into the Mangrove swamp and the first to put down stern anchors (180ft on one and 120ft on the other), there are 3 or 4 other boats with anchors that are crossing over mine. Hopefully they will pull out this afternoon or early on Wednesday morning so I can pull up my anchors.

I have two anchors set off the stern and 4 lines tide to the mangroves from the bow. Looks like Tuesday morning from 5 AM until 10 AM we will see the brunt of the storm over use with winds of 50Kts from the south. That is the forecast as of 2:00 today. I was the second boat in the mangroves. I can't go to the very back cause there is a 5ft sand bar that my boat will not go over; however, I am in the first mangrove bay and should be safe from the waves. Not sure about the wind. There are about 50 boats in here now all setting anchors and pulling lines to the mangrove trees. I imagine that even more will show up on Monday.

I'm still waiting to see where it is headed. Right now it is a 5deg N and that is very far south for a tropical system. Yesterday it was projected to go between Grenada and Trinidad. This morning it is projected to go right over Grenada. Chris says that you need to be in St. Lucia to completely avoid the storm. That is a two day sail from here. I'll move into Tyrrel Bay later today and see what is going on there. Terrell Bay is the local Hurricane hole here in Carriacou.
I'll make my decision based on todays 2PM NOAA forecast. That will put it 3 days out and the 3 day forecast is usually accurate.
I may be hunkered down in the mangrove swamps of Carriacou.
I've got 70 or 80 black faced boobies flying around my boat. It is so cool… They are hunting the little fishes that hide in the shadow of a boat.
Going to Tyrrel Bay to hunker down in the Mangrove swamp for a few days to weather out the storm that is headed our way.
I have to wait until 10PM to get in for the tide. Should be there through tuesday. The storm is expect to hit here on Monday night.
Tide is not high enough so we will try on Sunday to get into the swap. New noises, we have the secondary anchor out cause the windless wouldn't work when we came into port. Fixed that, but we are on the CQR anchor for tonight. She makes a popping noise when we shift from side to side. Holding is good. The noise will take some getting used to.

It took about 15min to get here and my first pass at the mooring the wind kicked to 20kts and blew to bow off. My second pass was a success. I have the engine still running to charge the batts as they are low with all the clouds and rain in Bequia. We are going to the BEACH today to run and plan and swim. I'm waiting for the sun to go down a bit so I can wear swim shorts at the beach. I have the beach bag packed with puppy treats and water. I expect the pups to wear themselves out today and sleep all night after they have dinner.

The sail from Bequia to Carriacou was very nice. Most of the trip was at 15 to 20kts on the beam. 6 to 7kts of boat speed when the wind was on the high side.. We got here in 6 hours so the average was about 5.8 Kts. There was one stretch were the waves were cause us to surf and the winds were variable between 12kts and 22kts and this was driving Otto crazy (or me crazy watching Otto do it wrong. So I took the wheel and she was well balanced. I think the combo of surfing waves and variable winds where the problem cause even at 20+kts I was not fighting weather helm. Now when a surfing wave hits from behind on the quarter and the boat heads up hard while the wind is also heading up, then you have to be careful to to assume the head up is pure weather helm… If you do you will over steer as the wave passes you will find no weather helm and you have turned the boat too hard down…. But with the winds the boat is quick to recover.
We are in Hillsborough for now. Ah, today is a national holiday (who knew????) so everything is closed (almost like the French islands)! Except customs and immigration, but we pay more today cause they are on overtime. I'll stay overnight so I can get my SIM card update here from with Digicell or Flow and do just a little shopping. I think we will go to Tyrrel Bay later in the day and see if any of our friends are there. There is a storm coming in. For now it looks like it will pass south of here and mostly impact the waters from Trinidad to Grenada. I'm keeping an eye on it.
To my Dear Sister Eugenie, the Donkey is not in the grass by the restaurant across from Ades Grocery and rooms to rent. I have not checked upon Dave and Ulla. Also Sandy Island is not what it was…. A couple years after we were here, the palms died and a Hurricane capped it with corral. The residents have planted trees on Sandy… So she is stable, but never like we saw here, 4 palm trees on and sand spit.
I got a bottle of Jack Iron rum.

About two weeks ago I noticed a small sheen of oil after my bilge pump ran. I figured one of my tanks had been over filled last time I purchased diesel in St. Martin. So I alternated tanks to burn off about 5 gallons from each. You see my tanks have several opening on the top for the sending unit, the sounding rods, and the inspection lids and the seals will leak a bit if the tank is over filled. Yesterday I noticed an oil slick after the pump ran. So this time I opened the cabinets with access to the diesel tanks to inspect them, no leeks. So next I pull on the nitrol gloves, head lamp and paper towels to inspect all the fuel lines and connections. Sometimes a hose clamp is not as tight as you thought it was. All the fuel lines are oil free. So I inspect the stern drop into the bilge sump. Ugh there is a shine. There is a diesel diaper at that point int he bilge just incase a fitting drips. I get a fresh diaper and pull the old one up. It is soaked with oil, not diesel, but oil, clean fresh oil. I put down a new diaper and then go the the aft lockers where I store about 5 gallons of 15W40 oil. Sure enough one of those has cracked and leaked it's contents into the bilge. Lucky it is the one I used to change oil a few weeks ago, but all the same about 2 quarts of clean oil dripped down the hull to the diaper and into the bilge. I cleaned the locker and then added an emulsifier to the bilge to turn the oil into soap. Problem solved, but now I have to watch the remaining 4 gallon jugs to make sure they don't spring a leak.
Went to Mac's Pizza restaurant last night. It has new ownership, but the pizza is just as awesome as it was 20, 15, 10, 9 years ago. (see I've been here a few times).

We left at 6:30AM for Bequia. I put one reef in the main and the full ginny expecting 15kts of wind. This worked great delivering 5.5 to 6.5kts of speed until about 1/2 way through the channel I decided to tweet the main. My tweak was not good, I was spilling too much air and we dropped down to 4kts of speed, but Otto was better able to handle the gusts up to 21kts. So I undid my tweak and now were were up at 5.8 to 7.4kts of speed. This worked great until we go into the lee of St. Vincent. At that point the winds were 12kts normal with gusts to 24kts. The gust would only last for about 3 minutes, but with the amount of main sail I had up it was too much weather helm for Otto. After three of these events, I took control and turned Otto off. Wow, Otto was doing it's best, but there was way too much weather helm on the gust, I even had problems maintaining the heading. After about 5 miles in a lull, I headed up and took another two reefs in the main. Now Otto was able to handle the rig, but our speed dropped about 1/2kts. About 30 minutes later in the lee of St. Vincent the wind dropped to below 10kts. So I fired up the Yanmar engine and we motor sailed for another 5 miles. The wind then picked back up and I shook out 3/4 reef on the main. So now we where just below the top spreader on the main with the full ginny up. This worked great until about 5 miles from Bequia when I tried to make a course adjustment and Otto ignored it. The helm was balanced and Otto wouldn't take a 5 degree adjustment to wind. So then I requested another 10 degrees to wind and Otto still refused to move. So I turned Otto off and took the helm, she was well balanced and after getting the course adjusted, I turned Otto back on and she worked perfectly (not sure why she refused the adjustment). We sailed into Admiralty Bay, dropped the sails and picked up a mooring at 4PM.
After I cleared customs/immigration and stopped by the grocery it started to rain. I got the dink and headed to the boat and then it really started to rain. By the time I got home I was soaked and there was an inch of water in dink. Unloaded quickly ran down below, closed hatches and it rained hard for 20 minutes or more. I have not yet opened the dry sack to see if everything is dry.
I have no phone service here and will not get server in St. Vincent since I'll only be here for three nights. I'll wait until I reach Grenada to get new SIM cards for the phone.
Hopefully I'll find a good wifi spot here.