I spend just four days prepping the Alannastar in the yard, mainly putting on bottom paint. I clear out Wednesday morning so I can splash and go. And I do mean splash and go - the yard crew didn't even tie my lines in the haul slip - after I checked for leaks and started the engine, they released and pulled the straps out from under the boat and said GO!
So, I motor slowly around the bay while I address a few minor maintenance issues that became apparent after I splashed and then get the mainsail up. I put a double reef in the main and leave it in for the entire trip. I clear the Boca at shortly after noon. My first little excitement is crossing paths with the fast ferry to Tobago, the T&T Express. I'm beating on a starboard tack and they are coming from my left. This is a large 200 car ferry with jet propulsion which is traveling at 35 knots, and we appear to be on a collision course. I jog below and hail them on the radio to make sure that they see me, and then I pop back up. By the time they answer, they are way to close for me to mess with the radio. I am getting ready to head up and tack away when I finally detect that they are going to pass in front of me. After that it is smooth sailing for a while, and I make it through the gas fields without any conflict with the exploration ship out there. At about this point, I hit the northern equatorial current - It is running hard, at about three knots, and is putting me down so much that I am now on a course for the southeast coast of Grenada. I make a short tack before dark, but my progress over the bottom is so slow in that direction that I decide to just try to get clear of the current as quickly as possible. Eventually it abates, and I am now lying for Carriacou. I even get into some counter running eddies that push me east, but I pay for the counter current with very choppy seas. I planned the passage for the full moon, and it most certainly makes things easier. Even though there are quite a few clouds, it never gets completely dark. Once I get east of Grenada, the current stops, and by the time I get north of Grenada, it seems to be running the other way (it goes in six hours cycles, with the tide), and it is clear now that I will be able to sail above Carriacou and head straight for Union. The only issue now is the squalls. I get hit by several, and even with the moon, they can be hard to see as they approach. They are just a black smudge, so it is a little harder to judge distance and direction of travel. One of the hits me with forty knot gusts and has me healing a bit uncomfortably for a few minutes. But then it passes and life is good again. As I am sailing up the east coast of Carriacou, I reduce sail to slow down so that I will make Clifton Harbor just after dawn, which I do.
After inflating the dinghy, I go ashore to pick up Marie, who is waiting with a bottle of Champagne!
This rainbow greeted me shortly after I arrived
