Watch Racing Action in Grenada

ENJOY A FRONT ROW SEAT and secondhand adrenaline rush by celebrating with the teams as they finish the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) Transatlantic Race this month at the Camper and Nicholsons’ Port Louis Marina in St. Georges, Grenada. Originally slated to finish at the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda (YCCS) in the B.V.I. but rerouted due to hurricane damage in the northern Caribbean, the RORC Transatlantic Race is now the longest in the Club’s offshore calendar.

Crews, veteran professionals and also first-time Corinthians depart on November 25th from Marina Lanzarote in the Canary Islands and are expected to arrive in Grenada starting around December 9th. The 20-plus yacht fleet spans from big yachts like the Finot 100 Nomad IV; Volvo 70 Monster Projects; and Whitbread 60 Challenger, to the Sun Fast 3600 Redshift Reloaded. In Grenada, the 170-slip Port Louis will be the dockage headquarters for the teams as well as the site of the regatta’s awards ceremony.

Whether you’re there to meet and greet the race teams or simply cruising the southern Caribbean, be sure to check out the Parang Festival on Grenada’s sister island of Carriacou, which starts on December 16th. It’s a wonderful way to enjoy the run-up to the holidays with music, parades, and feasting. Carriacou, 30 nautical miles north of Grenada, is a great launching-off point to the northern Caribbean, where many of the RORC Transatlantic sailors will also travel to race in the region’s spring regattas.

rorctransatlantic.rorc.org

By Carol Bareuther Southern Boating, December 2017
Photos: Hank George and Claueren Morel

It’s all about sailing— present and past

Cruisers migrating north for the summer may want to join the Spring Salty Dawg Rally. The rally, free to sailors with blue water experience under their belts, departs on May 15th from the B.V.I. en route to Bermuda and the U.S. east coast’s Chesapeake Bay. “We find cruisers particularly like the Spring Rally because it is a safe way to return to the U.S. for the summer,” says rally spokesman Hank George, who with wife Seale are long term “dawgs” and sail the rally aboard their performance catamaran Flash. “The spring rally especially allows cruisers to build on the friendships made and good times they’ve experienced over the winter cruising with other Salty Dawgs. Plus, it’s a great way for new dawgs to experience the rally.”

New this year, the Spring rally offers an expanded set of activities in the B.V.I. prior to launch. Included is a gathering in North Sound, Virgin Gorda, for musician Michael Beans’ pirate show at the Leverick Bay Resort, and dinner at the famed Bitter End Yacht Club. The fun continues to the west at Nanny Cay Marina in Tortola with a pizza party, beach BBQ and weather briefings by Chris Parker as well as final preparations for the cruise. Bristol, Rhode Island residents and long-time cruisers Bill and Linda Knowles, along with their namesake Salty Dawg, a Jack Russell terrier named Brie, founded the nonprofit Salty Dawg rallies in 2011. Since then, more than 470 boats and 1,880 sailors have participated. saltydawgrally.org

The dying art of Caribbean boatbuilding

Little did Alexis Andrews know that purchasing an old Carriacou sloop that had sunk off Antigua back in 1997 would change his life. Rebuilding this West Indian-style wooden boat and sailing it 300 miles south to meet its original maker launched him on an incredible journey. Now, after 15 years of research and 3 years of filming, the Greek native, long-time Antiguan and professional cinematographer has released his 88-minute feature film Vanishing Sail: The story of a Caribbean tradition. This documentary vibrantly illustrates the nearly lost art of boatbuilding on the island of Carriacou, a tradition that started when Scottish settlers arrived in the 19th century to this Grenadine island located north of Grenada. Inter-island trading served as the lifeblood in the southern Caribbean for centuries.

The storyline follows elder, Alwyn Enoe, who uses all of his family’s resources to build one last boat and hopefully incentivizes his sons to keep this seafaring tradition alive. In his final push, Enoe wants to finish the sloop in time to race in the Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta (ACYR). There’s no spoiler alert here. This is a must-see film if you’re a lover of nautical history and native boats. Vanishing Sail is being screened on April 17th in front of the Copper and Lumber Store in Nelson’s Dockyard, Antigua, as part of the ACYR and will debut to its world premiere at the St. Barths Film Festival, as part of the West Indies Regatta on April 30th in Gustavia, St. Barths. vanishingsail.com

— By Carol Bareuther, Southern Boating Magazine May 2016

Grenada Celebrates Competition, Carnival and Chocolate

August is an awesome month to charter a yacht out of the southern Caribbean island of Grenada. “The clarity and calmness of the seas makes for great snorkeling,” says Jacqui Pascall, who with husband James manages Horizon Yacht Charters’ base at the True Blue Bay Resort & Marina. The company offers bareboat, crewed and learn-to-sail charters aboard a fleet of Bavaria monohulls and Fountaine Pajot and Lagoon multihull yachts. “There are fewer crowds during the summer so you can always find a lovely anchorage to overnight. Plus, the reduced low-season charter rates make it easier for families to enjoy the trip.” It’s possible to visit Grenada’s offshore island of Carriacou to the north as well as islands in the Grenadines such as Bequia, Mustique, Canouan, Mayreau, and the Tobago Cays during a one-week sail. What’s more, there are several ways to partake in island cultural events this month.

The Carriacou Regatta Festival kicks off on August 1st with a single-handed race around the island in traditional wooden boats. The sailing competition continues through August 4th when prizes will be given on the beach in the main town of Hillsborough. Several shore-based activities happen at the same time such as beach games by day and shows at night. Grenada’s SpiceMas Festival takes place August 7-12. This annually anticipated event features a week of food, music and traditional arts. The Pretty Mas Pageant on August 1st is a feast for the eyes and ears with Calypso, Soca and steel pan bands and dancing troupes of costumed revelers on parade. There are a number of excellent viewing spots and quaint cafes throughout the historic town of St. George. Chocoholics will enjoy the Grenada Chocolate Fest at the True Blue Bay Resort August 18-24. This chocolate extravaganza includes a tour of a working cocoa estate, chef competitions and samples of decadent chocolate treats.

World-class sport fishermen and fishing aficionados from around the globe are invited to the 2nd Annual MarlinFest. Set for August 5-11, the event is gathering a groundswell of interest by turning the U.S. Virgin Islands/Atlantic Blue Marlin Tournament in St. Thomas into a spectator sport. “It’s a place to gawk at some of the finest fishing machines in the world docked one slip next to the other at the American Yacht Harbor Marina, a place to personally meet owners and builders, and a place to learn angling techniques from the crews whose photos you see in magazines,” explains tournament and fest organizer Jimmy Loveland. Day trips to the B.V.I., sunset parties, a center console competition, arts and crafts festival, and carnival-like Jump Up complete with a chowder competition are all part of the fun. abmt.vi/pages/mfweb.htm

By Carol Bareuther, Southern Boating August 2014