Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Auld Langsyne

When you think about where you’d like to spend your New Years Eve, what comes to mind? I’ve certainly had years that involved being around way too many people. However, in the end I’d always want to be with Rick. I also like to be in the thick of things as well, so I could amend that by saying Rick and a party.






This year was again a new experience for me. We sailed from Chatham Bay to Clifton, the main harbor on Union Island. We spent one night here to get some additional groceries and have a look around the town. It was a very pleasant town and everyone was very friendly.




The harbor is protected by a reef to the east. There are two small islands within the reef. The first is Green Cay and the second is Happy Island. Green Cay doesn’t have much on it other than crabs, palm trees and the occasional Cocker Spaniel. Happy Island is just a bar. I’m not kidding. The entire island is a bar and you can only access it via your dinghy. Everyone there certainly seemed happy – we observed from a distance.





The next day we left for the Tobago Cays. When you’ve spent so much time in the Caribbean, you start to realize that the names of places don’t always give you information on where they are. For example, you might expect the Tobago Cays (pronounced keys) to be near Tobago. But they are actually part of the Grenadines and are nearly 100 miles north of Tobago. I guess in the scheme of things, they are close – but it can cause confusion for family and friends when we tell them where we are.




The Tobago Cays are described as “serene anchorages in gin-clear turquoise waters, good holding on sandy bottoms, scenic coral reefs, all caressed by the constant trade winds.” I’d describe the water as vodka-clear, but despite that small change they lived up to the description. They are protected by a reef to the east which is unlike most anchorages that have an island to block the wind and seas. This allows for beautiful sunrises and a clear view into the Atlantic while the seas are very calm.



We had a quite New Years Eve with Chris and Margit in this beautiful anchorage. We departed on New Years Day for a short sail to Petite St. Vincent and spent the night there. The following day, we made our way to Carriacou, which is an island that is north of and part of Grenada.


(written in February)
We ended up spending quite a long time in Grenada, but have decided it was our second favorite island save Guadeloupe. Will write more to detail what has happened since that time.

Keep the comments coming. Don't be shy.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Jim and Rick -

What pictures and what stories! I check in on you from time to time to see what new things you have done and seen and I am never disappointed. The pictures always take my breath away. Some day I hope to actually see these places in person! Thanks for sharing.