Grenada
View from our mooring in Prickly Bay
Located just below of the Caribbean hurricane zone, Grenada is home to many cruisers during the summer-fall hurricane season.
Grenada was a British colony after being ceded by the French in 1763. It became an independent country in 1974, with English as its official language. Grenadians celebrate their annual Thanksgiving holiday on October 25th, which, we were surprised to learn, commemorates the 1983 US and Caribbean military coalition that helped oust a coup government and restore democracy to the island.
There are probably close to 800 cruising boats currently being hosted here, spread out between several marinas, multiple boat yards, and all the island’s bays. The long-termers all seem to know one another and are busy helping each other with their never-ending boat maintenance projects. This close-knit community even has a dedicated VHF radio broadcast: every morning at 7:30 cruisers can tune in to learn about upcoming activities, shopping bus schedules, local business specials, and items for sale.
Catalyst’s warranty work has started, but the pace of repairs is slower than we’d hoped thanks to the slew of other boats getting work done. Everyone’s eager to head north once the hurricane season ends (some boat insurance policies consider this November 1, others November 15, and still others, like ours, December 1). We’re hopeful that at least the major repairs will be done before we depart Grenada in early December.
We relocated from a marina near St. George, Grenada’s capital, to a mooring ball in Prickly Bay, about an hour’s motor away. It was the first time Pete and I captained the boat alone! We’re close to the repair facility here and, unlike when we were docked at the marina, we can jump in the water whenever we please! I take a daily morning swim, and we often go stand-up paddleboarding together (SUPping) – sometimes toodling around the boats in the bay, sometimes to the nearby beach bar for a drink, and, most recently, out to a nearby wave break where we’re teaching ourselves to SUP surf (it’s not pretty yet!). We also started an advanced scuba course and have dived a beautiful reef and an underwater sculpture park. Next up is a deep-water wreck dive and a night dive.
We recently went sailing for the first time alone together (both the boat and the marriage survived intact!) and are looking forward to more local sailing excursions when the boat isn’t scheduled for repairs. We’ve met some great people in the boats moored nearby and have enjoyed lovely sundowners and dinners together. I also started teaching swim lessons through the local non-profit Get Grenada Swimming, whose mission is to teach 10,000 Grenadian children and adults to swim before 2026 by offering free lessons.
We’ve seen some of the island’s beautiful vistas, bays, and lush foliage on our outings to various stores and an out-of-the-way hilltop pizza joint. In addition to exploring more of the the island by water, we’re looking forward to touring the island’s interior – including visiting the chocolate factory and rum distillery!
