Grenada, January 2020
The sail from Tobago to Grenada was a beautiful overnight spinnaker sail. Yuka and I are now so used to our 3-hour night watches, and we handled it really well.
When we approached Prickly Bay a big squall forced us to take down the parasailor in a hurry and put it away still wet. Luckily we were very close to the anchorage.
The anchorage in Prickly Bay was very crowded. We had never seen so many sailboats at anchor! Since we left Ilha Grande in Brazil, usually Oroboro (and Plan B) were anchored among fishing boats, not sailing boats. We need to get used to it.
The check-in formalities were a breeze. The Customs and Immigration office were located in the same building — no running around town from customs to immigration and to the Navy, like we did in Brazil! The only consolation is that in Brazil they didn't ask any money. Here in the Caribbean, things would be different.
Grenada has a very large cruising community with sailors from all over the world. Every day at 7:30 am there is a Cruiser's Net on VHF channel 68. People take turns to run it, and it's very nicely structured:
- Priority Traffic: Medical problems, security concerns or navigational issues.
- Weather: Wind and sea state forecasts.
- Arrivals and Departures: New boats are welcomed and given tips.
- Parts and Services: People who need help with parts or services can ask here.
- Cruiser announcements: Social activities occurring around the island.
- Treasures of the bilge: My favorite part — items to find, sell, trade, or give away.
- Business Section: Local businesses let cruisers know about goods and services. Very useful.
The cruising community in Grenada is very active: yoga classes, beach volley tournaments, shopping buses to the supermarkets. I hope we'll find more communities like this one when we sail further north.
At some point, with Joaquin and Monica we hired a tour guide to take us around the island. Highlights included the River Antoine Rum Factory, the Spice Island, and the Chocolate Factory.
After a few weeks at anchor we are already missing the long passages. Strange life that of a sailor — you dream about sailing somewhere for a very long time, and once you're there you start dreaming about somewhere else.
Carriacou
Grenada's most northerly island, Carriacou, is a 90-minute sail from the main island and a world apart. The water turns electric turquoise, the anchorages are uncrowded, and the beach life is pure Caribbean.
The snorkeling around Carriacou is exceptional. In one afternoon we saw a sea turtle, a starfish, and a reef full of Caribbean fish.
The beaches near Carriacou are some of the most beautiful we've seen — white sand, shallow turquoise water, the odd beach bar, and absolutely no crowds.
Yuka took advantage of the flat lagoons around Carriacou to get some kiteboarding hours in.
We returned to Grenada a couple of months later. No visit is complete without a meal at BB's Crabback in St. George's — the best local seafood restaurant on the island, and the walls prove it.
We also spent time in Carriacou in the summer of 2020, as the Caribbean slowly reopened after the pandemic.
Every anchorage — Grenada & Carriacou, Jan–Mar 2020
Three stops exploring Grenada and Carriacou before continuing north through the Caribbean chain.
| Stop | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Prickly Bay | Jan 2020 | First Caribbean anchorage · crowded cruisers fleet |
| St George’s | Jan–Feb 2020 | BB’s Crabback · capital · 2020 haul-out |
| Tyrrell Bay, Carriacou | Feb–Mar 2020 | Kite boarding · turquoise water |
Anchorage maps
Zoomed-in charts of each stop in Grenada and Carriacou, with GPS track overlay.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. GPS tracks from Raymarine chartplotter, archived January–March 2020.