Ada's boat blog

Location: Tyrrel Bay, Carriacou You'd think that 11 years of sailing would give you at least some immunity to seasickness.  I survived my first sea crossing, but just barely. We went up the east coast of Grenada, thinking that after we turned northwards we'd have a beautiful crosswind which would allow us to sail up to Carriacou. Instead, we motored up against a headwind, current, and 2-meter-high swells. I tried to nap off the feeling that my stomach was turning inside-out, but it only got worse so I spent five hours sitting on the top deck. I burnt my legs and lost my hat, but at least the seasickness went away. We were able to get the genoa (headsail) up for an hour or so towards the end, which was quite nice. Then it started to rain, and we did the whole mooring process (pulling various lines through an unwieldy mooring ball and getting a few fingers pinched) in a rainstorm. So that was fun.  On the bright side, we had some excellent cold pizza, and Jem lent me one of his ...

Fun fact: the local word for "vibing" is "liming."  Yesterday morning I woke up at the uncharacteristically late hour of 7:30 a.m. and was greeted with the news that during the night, the bolt holding the dinghy tethers had detached and the dinghy was now on the rocky shore of nearby Hog Island. (There are no pigs on Hog Island, but further west there is a Goat Island, which is properly inhabited by its namesake.) (Again, please turn the sound way up for the video.) Luckily, everything turned out fine. (The rescue dinghy belongs to Allan's friend Meredith, who's staying on a nearby catamaran. We appreciate Meredith very much.) After a quick dive to put back the bolt, the dinghy was fine and Hell's Gate was once again open. Fun fact: underwater adhesive is very sticky and, if accidentally smudged on, can stay on your face for days. Also, saltwater going up your nose multiple times is not very fun, especially while trying to make a repair. After a nice br...

The ultimate reading nook is literally anywhere on an anchored boat. TLDR: motored down to Le Phare Bleu, anchored there, read a bit, swam a bit, partied a bit. I'm writing this from the marina restaurant, where they serve absolutely enormous glasses of margarita. We are currently anchored in a little bay just outside Le Phare Bleu marina, named after the docked lighthouse boat there. Astern of us is a beautiful trimaran, to port is a nice navy blue monohull, and to starboard is the Caribbean sea. The sunsets are amazing! There's a strong breeze which (finally) allows me to work out without melting, and the boat rocks you to sleep at night. Most of yesterday was spent reading while Jem and Allan napped. Jem has a delightfully extensive book collection. I'm currently reading A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. It focuses on how scientists discovered how the world works, and is filled with wry anecdotes. Fun fact: Isaac Newton once took a long needle and rubb...

Dumb act of the day: hiking for two hours in flip flops. TLDR: I saw some waterfalls, did some unprepared hiking, and accidentally took a tour of the island by bus. Look at my map page. Jem kicked me off the boat yesterday to to some exploring of the island. I decided to go see Annandale Falls, which are the closest waterfalls to St. George's which is the town in which our marina is. Jem gave me instructions on how to find the nearest bus stop, and warned me that the buses were minibuses and were quite crowded. The way a Grenadian bus works is that you walk along the street, they honk at you to get your attention, you signal where you want to get on, signal when you want to get off, and pay your fare when the bus drops you off. It's also quite difficult to speak to the driver when the bus is moving, because the driver plays intensely loud music. Furthermore, the buses go quite quickly through tight turns, so you're mostly just concentrating on not falling on someone. Howeve...