Power is one of the key components on a yacht. We soon
realised after we left the States that Passages did not have enough power – we
have a wind generator and one 120watt solar panel but together they do not
produce enough power to charge our battery bank without running our 2kW
portable Honda generator every day. (See Week 14 for the saga in buying the
generator)
Mel has said all along that he wanted to put on more
solar panels but he wanted a particular type – Kyocera. Many places along the
way had solar panels for sale but they were not the right type, size and cost!!
The States is definitely the cheapest place to buy solar panels!!!
We knew Grenada was a HUGE boating and yachting centre,
plus as a transit boat we don’t have to pay import duties. We also thought we
would be down in Grenada by the end of July not mid-October as the southern
part of Grenada is out of the hurricane zone and for insurance purposes we are
meant to be 12degrees south – i.o.w. out of the hurricane zone. That is why we
always checked the weather and a few of the hurricane watch centres in case we
had to sail south, suddenly.
Ivo, on Fata Morgana has over 1500 watts of solar panels
and he put us in touch with his USA solar panel dealer. We got such a good deal
from this solar panel dealer in the States that it was even worth our while
having them shipped out to Grenada. To add to this Mel was getting exactly what
he had wanted all along – x2 325 watt Kyocera panels. I am hoping by the end of
this week, we do not need to run our generator.
The generator, I know, serves a purpose but it has been a
pain….. we have had to run it every day, for at least 4 - 6 hours at a time. It
sits at the back of the cockpit, on the helmsman’s seat and although it is not
noisy like some generators can be, it still prevents one from sitting in the
cockpit and enjoying our beautiful surroundings. The fumes get to me as our CO2
detector has gone off on a number of times! SO the focus for this week was to
fit our new solar panels.
Ivo was so keen to help Mel which has been great!!! (It
certainly saved me from having to help make the new frame work to fit the solar
panels on.)
Oh dear…… we planned for the wind shadow caused by the
island as we were approaching main land Grenada but… guess what? We ended up
bobbing up and down for over an hour. It was then that we decided we would have
to put the engine on and motor sail until we found some wind otherwise it would
be another very long day and night.
We motor sailed for about 1/2hour when we found some wind
but it was coming from the SW!!! The direction we were heading….. so we tacked
at least 6-8 times until we were at the entrance to St George’s. It was now
after sunset – and night time was fast approaching. Not the best way to enter
an anchorage particularly since quite a number of boats do not put their anchor
light on, nor do they have any form of lighting to show their whereabouts. It is
a “colregs” regulation (the International Martine Organisation regulations for
avoidance of collisions at sea) to have your anchor light on when anchored but
we have noticed that many boats do not care, bother or otherwise. This can be
very dangerous – obviously.
Well we switched the engine on, took the sails down, put
on our two way communications and Mel went up on the bow with a torch to guide
me in. We put down our anchor at 7.00pm utterly exhausted!!!
We kept our radio on and tried calling Fata Morgana every
few minutes eventually getting in touch with them at about 8.00pm. We tried
staying up for them, kept our radio on in case they needed any assistance but
by 10.00pm we were falling asleep sitting up so off to bed we went.
When we got up at about 1 - 2 .00am we saw that they were
anchored close by. Thank goodness.
Tuesday was spent organising the delivery of the solar
panels. Mel and I decided to make things easier, we would go into the Port
Louis Marina for 2 – 3 days. Mel needed to cut piping for the frame which would
be extremely difficult and impractical on the boat – what with the constant
movement and the stainless steel fillings.
By 2.30pm we were docked in the marina and we had our
solar panels on the dock. Mel and Ivo were so looking forward to getting stuck
into the whole solar panel project that they spent the rest of the afternoon
discussing what needed to be done and went off to buy whatever extra fittings
they needed.
 |
| Pillar Rossi on the left |
At the marina was a lovely swimming pool which we used
quite a few times to cool off. In the
marina were quite a few mega yachts – one called Pillar Rossi, owned by Nelson
Piquet the F1 racing driver. There were also a few restaurants and thought we
would try at least one while we were there – we did on Wednesday evening. Great
pizzas!
Wednesday, bright and early – 7.30 am Mel and Ivo were
starting to put together the frame work for the panels. Everything was going
well until they realised that the stainless steel connections said one thing on
the label of the bag they were in, but they were actually a different size!
Always expect there to be a delay or an issue.
Thursday was spent very much the same way as Wednesday,
Mel and Ivo working on the solar panels. By the evening the solar panels were
up but not connected. We all did a little dance as the last of the solar panels
went up. The electrical work was for Friday after we had left the marina and
were anchored safely in the bay.
Friday morning we stayed in the marina until 12.30pm, so
that we could go to the local bakery for “Build a burger” – every Friday lunch
time at the bakery is “Build a burger”. Most of the proceeds go towards
assisting the local vets with the feral cat issue that Grenada has.
Friday afternoon we were back in St George’s Bay
anchorage and spent the rest of the day organising some of the wiring that
needed to be done to connect the solar panels to the battery bank.
Saturday morning we decided to go into the town to the
local market to buy some fresh produce before Mel finished putting the final
touches to the solar panels. By midnight that evening, the panels were
connected and we couldn’t wait for the morning to see just how much power the
panels were making.
The following information taken from “Truly Discover –
Grenada, Carriacou & Petite Martinque – complimentary tourist information
booklet”.
“St George is a very pretty town and is the oldest town
in Grenada, dating back to the mid 1600’s. In
March 1649, the French started a
small settlement – Port Louis where the Port Louis Marina is located. The
settlement grew as the threat of the Kalinago or Island Caribs diminished. Fort
Royal or Ville du Fort Royal (present day Fort George – the oldest built
structure on the island) was built on the main headland opposite to where Port
Louis was located. Between 1706 and 1710, it was extensively rebuilt. From Fort
Royal, the town quickly spread and it was named St George.
Many alleyways and stairs connect the various levels of
the town – it is very picturesque.
Sunday
morning we decided to dinghy out to the Underwater Sculpture Park located in
Dragon Bay.
“The Grenada Underwater Sculpture Park was the first in
the world and due to its success of rejuvenating the sea life after only seven
years, National Geographic featured them in an issue dedicated to the 24
wonders of the World.
The 65 sculptures
were installed by Jason De Caires Taylor who combined his love of diving and
his skills as a sculpture – he created a plan to sculpt pieces of artwork that
would evolve and be enhanced by nature as the art becomes transformed by the
living reef.”.
Lots of love
Young Street is one of the most historic streets in St
George where the Sendall Tunnel can be found. This tunnel was constructed in
1895. Today the Sendall Tunnel remains a major thoroughfare for vehicles and
pedestrians to and from Market Square to the waterfront area known as the
Carenage.”
Here are
two websites that have photos of some of the sculptures found at the Underwater
Sculpture
Park:
The following information taken from “Truly Discover –
Grenada, Carriacou & Petite Martinque – complimentary tourist information
booklet”.
We spent about 1 ½ hours snorkelling looking at as many
sculptures as possible – it was a bit difficult as the clarity was not great
and there was a huge swell coming from the NW – all the result of Hurricane
Gonzales that hit Antigua and St Martin. (20 out of 37 boats anchored in
Simpson Bay Lagoon, St Martin, sank – we spent time in Simpson Bay Lagoon –
remember that is where our anchor dragged and I was on my own to deal with it –
Week 25). There was an abundance of
colourful fish which added to the experience.
So that was Week 44… we now have a lot more power on the
boat which means the generator will ONLY be used in case of emergencies, which
I hope is never!!!
Our plans are to explore Grenada a bit more – we are also
making inquiries about boat yards and yacht maintenance as we need to start
thinking about where to put Passages when we return to reality and the
treadmill of work, next year.
Until next time –
Take care.
Captain Mel and Admiral Caryn/xx
