Departing Grenada and Entering New Countries

Tyrell Anchorage

Union Island

Located some 20 miles north of Grenada, of which it is a dependency is Carriacou. It has retained considerable cultural autonomy, especially with regard to its religious practices. There are even thought to be voodoo rites of Haitian origin. The island has aprox. 7000 residence. It is not as mountainous as Grenada and seems to have more agricultural land. This island has more rum factories than anywhere for the size of the land mass. It is said that the islanders do quite nicely from the trade in alcohol.
The Grenadines consists of islands both Grenadan dependencies and St Vincent dependencies. The history of these islands is tied to the Anglo-French struggle over the islands. The islands are definitely British however there are many French speaking people still living amongst the islands. Sounds Canadian eh!
We anchored in Tyrell Bay which is one of the best sheltered anchorages in the Grenada- Grenadines which is a good thing as the winds howled the whole night. Being the Captain has its disadvantages as I now must listen to all the strange noises and make sure all is ok. I am not getting as much sleep as when Ken was with me as he was the one to jump up in the night generally. Tyrell Bay has mangroves that act as a hurricane hole should the need arise. It was interesting to see how large it was. This area is closed unless there is a hurricane as it contains mangrove oysters. This would be the final Grenadian outpost and it was here that we had to exit with immigration and customs. All went smoothly.
A new flag was raised up the mast. It is the St Vincent Grenadine flag. The southern most port of entry for this country is on Union Island. We anchored in Clifton and some passing fishermen picked us up and took us to the dock. Union Island is off the beaten track with relaxed and friendly individuals. It is such a pleasure to deal with government agencies that have a relaxed attitude. I bet these people don't get high blood pressure. This area is sometimes referred to as the Tahiti of the Caribbean. It is very easy to see why.
We visited the Tobago Cays. It has a South Pacific feel with the white sand beaches, reefs and the aqua blue water. I would rank it up there with the San Blas other than there are LOTS of boats. On the chart the Tobago Cays look like five small islands surrounded by mass amounts of coral. There are many passes one could use to get in but it is best to stay in the well charted areas without being totally sure of what you are doing. The Cays are protected by a large barrier reef called Horseshoe Reef and another called World's End Reef.
We were ready to carry on further North and started with our rituals of checking fluids and stowing things away in case it gets rough. It was at this point we noticed a problem with the oil cooler to the transmission. We were getting sea water. Not a good thing as if mixed in the transmission we would be buying a transmission and since this one is brand new I was not impressed, Now they say that God will only give you what you can handle. Luckily we could limp back on one engine to Union where the guides say there is a diesel mechanic. As Ken would say to me "Quit believing in the guides, they are just guidelines" Yep he was right again. Ernie and Kenny were able to get the transmission fluid out and new in. We had checked everything just prior to going to the Cays and everything was fine so we are hoping it just happened as we were getting there as there was no transmission problems or signs of any kind. Everyone keep your fingers crossed. We have ordered up 2 new oil coolants out of St Martin and they could be here in 4 days or 11 days.Lets hope 4. Union is not a bad place to be held up in it just means that we will have to do a lot of traveling missing things we may have seen otherwise to make it to Florida  in time.
Through all this I am reading about confidence and learning as much as I can absorbed. Some days better than others. I do know that confidence allows us to face life with boldness, openness and honesty. It enables us to live without worry and to feel safe. It enables us to live authentically. I am trying my hardest to have as much confidence as I can so that this journey will be a powerful learning experience. One I can be proud of at the end. For those sending their encouragement thanks it helps a lot.
Hopefully next week we will be further north if not we plan on doing as much as we can around here.