Carnival Grenada style

Hi to all,
There are 78 pics this time, the most amazing Carnival on the planet in my opinion!
First though a few I took of Carriacou day before I left.

Windward side

This is where they make the famous Carriacou Sloops on the beach by hand and no plans, all done by eye

Even the dingy tender

Ok now the Carnival

I left the anchorage at 0800hrs Sunday 10th August, and after a a nice sail down to St Gorges Harbour, I anchored there at 1515hrs same day. It wasn't long before I had found out what the plan was going to be. First off was a beach party with all the other cruisers that had also come for carnival, 1700hrs start. The party went on till 11pm, It was at this party I was told how the carnival is run, hang on to your hats!

0400 am Monday 11th. till aprox 12 noon

Carnival starts at Ross Point, the various bands and floats had been assembling all night blasting out music at an unbelievable volume. I had chosen to anchor 200 yards off the point in my ignorance.

What happens then is gob smacking. The floats, bands and hundreds of people walk at a snails pace about 3 miles to the centre of St Georges, people choose the group of people to join by getting covered in paint that colour of the band, some use old engine oil as paint! 

drinking rum, beer and anything you like. also dancing like the possessed, very primitively

the Mele is awe inspiring 

I joined in, it was pitch dark and we had a tropical downpour which got everyone in even more mess!

No pics of the beginning, but I started taking some as it got light.

I then found a band I liked! so I joined in,

They were called 'Angel Harps', a steel band with a problem! the 12, 45 gall bass drums, and the two who play them, couldn't fit on the truck, and had to be pushed! as a new member..........I was pushing a steel trolly with 6 bass drums and the girl who played them!

The ANGEL HARPS

The trolly six drums and young lady bass player

and so it was, till this parade ended

still a couple of miles to get home

at Port Louis Marina after being hosed off and getting all cleaned up

! Well I was drunk at the time

I now had a few hours to relax before the next parade

Episode 2

3pm the next parade starts in the same place, all the same bands at the same volume, this was a clean affair, with costumes and judges at the stadium to finish

This ended at approx 8pm, so after another hike back to the marina for a quick bite to eat and another recover session.......

Episode 3

This next parade was a fun one..............all the bands again....... ended about 2am for me, back to the boat for a sleep. Tomorrow it starts again!!!

Episode 4 Tuesday 11th

This Parade is a more relaxed official affair in the beginning, and were the amazing ladies show off their costumes and perform their dance routines in front of judges a few places along the route. There are sections were anyone can dress up in costume and dance along too, many yacht crews do this and local people. Having said that it does degenerate into a full blown wild party later, and yes I ended up pushing the bass section again, even turning round at the end and going back up the route, total pandemonium. I finished that after pushing it into a field to park at about 10pm. Now knackered unable to walk, and not too sure what to blame for that, me, drink, or the pushing thingy, I staggered back up the road, and met Kevin(crew on GL in regatta) and his wife Marina, he had been waiting for me to pass by.

Episode 5!!!

As we made our way back to the marina to collect our dinghies we had to pass the Grenada Yacht Club..........they were about to start a 'Jump Up'............it would have been rude just to walk pass........ and there were an awful lot of the ladies still in costume inside........we joined in of course......think I got to the boat about 0200hrs

I left St Gorges  on Friday after I had recovered a bit, and I am round the corner in True Blue Bay for a look see.

As a note I have not been to any kind of a partying like this Carnival ever in my life

Roy

Hi Everyone,
Well I had a few jobs to do on the boat when I arrived, but the biggest problem turned out to be replacing the dingy. Without it No one can cruise anywhere. I was finally forced into buying one far to big, and guess what Alex! Again! circumstances make me have to tow this one all the time! I have to laugh though, it cost a fortune, But, its like the difference between a Rolls and a banger. I under any other pressure would never chosen this one, and it was the smallest I could find. Its great.

 2 pics next of the water maker in bits! I haven't used this since 30-11-2011 ! reef day (thinks) maybe I should celibate that date each year!

So now with new dingy and a professionally fitted tow line like I used to make for millionaires I set off for the regatta in Carriacou, a bit late. A few pics of St Lucia as I passed And one of Bequai next morning haviving passed St Vincent during the night.

Next Few pics are of Tyrrel Bay were I arrived on Wednesday before it started and last pick is the events flyer.

This is where I'm posting from!

breakfast English of course gets no better

Race 1 I didn't finish DNF as the wind disappeared and the current was pushing me backwards, 2nd race I was 5th in pic, 3rd race I was 4th, so 4th is were I ended up overall. Guiding Light was the oldest boat! all others were plastic or steel Schooners, Ketches or racing boats, so Coming 4th surprised everyone!

Grenada next for the Carnival !
 Roy

update to 19th July

Hi All,
This post as predicted is from St Luca and takes the reader up to 19 July 2014.
Having been a visitor to Water Island many times before I decided to stay awhile and enjoy. This enjoyment lasted 1 week in total. I did some shopping too, I also had a visit from the new owner of Principito (1933), they invited me for dinner at their rental house on the island, and we all had a pleasant time.
Time was getting on though and after doing a couple of jobs to the boat, it was  off to Cruz Bay again, this time to clear customs ready to head back down island to St Lucia. I had a very nice sail to the town, arriving at 1500hrs on 2nd July, I hadn't realized it though, that Emancipation day 4th of July, was almost upon us. So as this is celebrated in good style I stayed to enjoy the carnival atmosphere and parade!

Tuesday morning 8th, I was helped by Grace to lift the anchor and picked up a mooring ball in Caneel Bay to get the boat ready for the trip, this was done early like 0600hrs as I had cleared customs on Monday afternoon.
By 0900hrs I was ready and set sail for St Lucia direct, sails all up by 0930hrs. with 356nm to go.
The wind on this trip was going to be on the nose all the way to Rodney Bay, but I was hoping to do this in one tack once I had cleared the Virgin Islands. After tacking all the way to the eastern end of the chain, I was going past Virgin Gorda 'Necker Island Passage' at 1940hrs as it went dark. Steering 134 -> 140 mag. I was now on my way with the islands lights dimming in the distance behind me.

First 24hrs I had completed 76nm with 280nm left to go. winds 23-24knts
Second 24hrs I completed 85nm with 195 left to go. winds 25-27knts
Third 24hrs I completed 124nm with only 70.9nm left to go. winds 28-35knts. So fourth 24 hrs I was going to have to slow down somewhere, as time to destination was 0100hrs Saturday morning.
It was very rough seas, but I had managed to pinch into the wind about 25nm high. This made it possible to make for the lee of Martinique, so as I was crossing the Dominican Passage a rain squall  hit me, with a wind of over 55knts and solid 'white out' rain! WHEW, GL handled it calmly and we came out of it after 10 minutes unscathed.
At the southern end of Martinique I heaved too, this at about 2100hrs, still on a port tack, but now only doing about 1.9 to 3.2knts, it took all night to cross between the islands arriving in Rodney Bay at 0600hrs Saturday morning 12th July. wind approx 28-30knts. It took over an hour to put the sails down and I eventually docked at the marina at 0740hrs.

The only one thing to report about the trip happened during the 3rd 24hrs.
At about 1900hrs I was getting really hungry, and decided to heave too so I could cook 'Egg Chips and Beans', I pulled the dingy up close during this maneuver, and it was behaving perfectly. So potatoes peeled and in the pan heating up................. a big swell hit the boat portside!.............what I hadn't noticed was the galley fire blanket! and I mean why should I, the blanket is just there, its not as if I need to check it every five minutes or anything.................well although it was still 'there' it had moved a few inches, and I do mean inches! just my luck to hit a really rough patch of water just because I'm hungry! ................the few inches though in this case were critical, the blanket had moved and positioned itself, Helped by the wave, on top of the galley stove fuel pipe! the stove now could no longer execute its gimbaling effect when the next wave hit, the pan of chips had of course chosen to reach full frying temperature at the same moment................oil and a fair quantity of par boiled chips issued from under the lid and were deposited unceremoniously in some amazing places all over the galley, stove, chart table, me, I even found some later in the saloon by treading on them! I fought on regardless and after cancelling the beans part of the menu managed 3 fried eggs and chips with a cup of coffee, I was very hot and bothered and didn't really enjoy the meal, and went into the cockpit to savor the coffee................. sitting down after giving the horizon a quick shufty, I tried to relax. I felt something was not quite right....it took a few minutes......DINGY.....ITS NOT THERE....I can't write the next sentence you will just have to imagine which foreign language I chose to use to express myself  to the empty sea, well, empty of my new dingy anyway!
I checked the dingy tow rope and painter, all was as it should be, but the 2 painters I was using still had all three stainless steel towing eyes still attached, the dingy was no longer attached to them!
What happened to that dingy will remain a mystery to me forever.

By 1030hrs I had cleared customs, checked into the marina and collected the spares I had sent here. I have since been attending to maintenance and a bit of electrical work as well as re fitting the spares. All is going well so far and I think I'm nearly done, I've also put the word out that I'm looking for a dingy, hoping something will turn up.
Roy