A Tale of Two Chemists: Exploring Carriacou

Exploring Carriacou

Wednesday 15th - Thursday 16th May 2024

We have been looking forward to visiting Carriacou for a long time. We got as far south as the Tobago Cays when Simon was visiting us in the spring of 2018, and we hoped to sail the remaining 10 or 15 miles to Carriacou, but the prospect of poor weather and the need to get Simon back to St Lucia to catch his flight prompted us to cut short our plans. We had a marvelous genoa-only sail down from Chatham Bay on a broad reach and when we turned into Tyrrel Bay, we were a little surprised to find it quite crowded, with maybe 100 boats at anchor. It’s a large and well protected harbor and we had no trouble finding a space for ourselves.

Studying Google maps for the location of Customs and Immigration, I noticed that of 7 reviewers, 6 had given them 1 star … so my expectations were limited! However, I have to say that the lady and gentleman that I met were very pleasant and helpful and the whole procedure for checking-in to Grenada went smoothly. No complaints here!

Whilst at anchor, we were approached by a local man in a small boat about the prospect of a taxi tour of the island the following day. John seemed like a genuine guy and we decided to take him up on his offer. We met up the following morning outside the marina and were joined by a fellow sailor, Gary, who we had met previously on Union Island. The tour was interesting and fun and lasted about 3 hours. It was a good way to get an impression of the island as a whole. Carriacou is part of Grenada and gained independence from the Britain in 1974. This year marks 50 years of independence and there were red, yellow and green decorations all over the island. Wooden boatbuilding was historically an important part of the lifestyle and economy, and whilst some of that remains, it doesn’t seem to be as prevalent as it once was. There appears to be a lot of small boat fishing and in the wet season people grow fruit and vegetables. However, this year the rains are late. It is hot and very dry at this point and we saw fields that were dug over ready for crops, but nothing will be planted until it rains. Carriacou does have a large desalination plant and many houses have water storage tanks, so in some ways the island is well prepared to deal with the drought. We heard that on the main island of Grenada, where the drought is also extreme, water generation and storage is less prevalent and there is actually a water shortage. Overall, we were came away with a very positive impression of the island and its people.

On Thursday, we took a quick walk around the town of Tyrrel Bay and bought some extra provisions. Then we pulled up our anchor and motored a couple of miles north to Sandy Island. This area is part of a Marine National Park and is absolutely gorgeous. We picked up a mooring about 100 yards off the beach in crystal clear turquoise water. Gulls and terns are everywhere, and the views are spectacular. We took the dinghy into shore and beached it, before setting off to snorkel the north-east corner of the island. Whilst some of the coral looks quite beaten up, we did get the impression that it was starting to re-grow and some areas looked good. As we proceeded across the reef we reached a drop-off to deeper water. I love the areas where you have contrasting depths. We saw a lot of fish, including a large puffer fish. It’s notable how you see more and bigger fish in areas that are protected from fishing.

On our return to Cotinga, Gloria snorkeled over our mooring and declared it “solid”. From the surface all the lines looked stout and brand new. I gather it looked good below as well. We paid $62 ECD for two nights on the mooring (i.e about $12 USD per night). In fact, this is all a park fee and if you anchor you pay the same price. It’s a deal.

Sunset from Cotinga was spectacular

Mike

12 29.000 N, 61 28.990 W