Happy New Year in Grenada

After saying goodbye to our guest Dawna in mid December we returned to getting the boat prepared to head north up island. We had to provision the boat and boy was it a different process then when we did it in the states for the trip down to the Caribbean! you cant just run to Costco and load up the car and be done with it, although St Georges does have several real grocery stores, you find that some things just can't be found and no matter what the prices are sometimes double or more of what you would pay in the states! But thankfully on the way down we realized that loading the boat up with provisions like we did for the Bahamas is not necessary when your in the Caribe! Three important points to remember, 1. The islands generally have pretty good groceries so you can easily provision  if needed when you arrive, 2. the food on the islands is reasonable and especially on the French islands, not to be missed so you will be eating out more often then you think. 3. The price of food is generally the same on all the islands... Expensive... so it really doesn't matter where you purchase it!

One interesting thing about spending the Christmas season down island in Grenada is the culture shock of hearing Christmas tunes everywhere, in the grocery stores, shops, and even in the buses we use to move around the capital, St Georges. They sound familiar but they all are done in a reggae twist that really lets you know you're not in Kansas anymore Toto!

After Christmas we decided to move around from the south side of the island back to St Georges and take a slip at Port Louis Marina so we could do a few last minute  items on the boat and enjoy the new years fireworks at the marina. We took the opportunity to check the rigging, I went up the mast and polished all the turnbuckles and tangs on the mast and spreaders, checked the standing rigging and generally gave everything aloft a good look see. I also spread the anchor chain out on the dock and inspected it, oiled it and washed out the anchor locker, We filled the tanks up with water and then enjoyed the evening and toured the marina and enjoyed the many super yachts that had all their cool lights on both above and below the water! Nothing says I'm rich like a few thousand watts of blue light piercing the clear Caribbean water at night! The marina had quite a big party going on, the tickets were over a hundred bucks each so we just wandered around and enjoyed the free light show on the docks and the fireworks that came after the clock struck 12! 2016 here we come!

Adding this beautiful yacht to my wish list for Santa next year!

Never get tired of seeing a beautiful boat lit up at night especially the underwater lights!

Discovery trying to hang with the big boys!

How about this big boy! must be about 200 feet long!