Holy Moly Its Roly!

The Black Pearl?

Is this the WINDIEST Spring Ever?!

I guess you figured out we escaped from Wallilaboo, SVG with no ill effects. We were glad to hear that the perpetrators of that horrendous attack are in custody. There’s a wonderful site for cruisers called SSCN (Safety and Security Cruisers Net) which keeps us up to date on Safety issues affecting the cruising community throughout the Caribbean. We’re glad to note that the Net has been quiet since the attack in Walilaboo. 

Leaving St Vincent we sailed on to Rodney Bay in St Lucia, sailed passed the mighty and beautiful Pitons, passed magical Marigot Bay and on into Rodney Bay under full sails on a close reach. We were trying to get ourselves situated as a "whole lotta wind" and NE swell was working its way down through the islands. Chris Parker was announcing this as the highest wind we were likely to see this season!

Pitons in St Lucia

Rodney Bay is a mecca of sorts for cruisers. It's home to the ARC (Atlantic Rally of Cruisers) which brings about 200 boats from the Canary Islands across the Atlantic to St Lucia every year in October. Rallies work well as the cruisers involved get to travel with a lot of support services meaning they are "together but alone". 

Rodney Bay is huge with good holding, a wonderful white sand beach and a fort overlooking the Caribbean. From the bay a canal leads to an inner harbor and the world class Rodney Bay Marina. As you can imagine, for a marina that is home to the ARC, it includes a boatyard, shops, watering holes and restaurants, all the amenities a waterlogged sailor and crew could want. But we are not only on a schedule but also on a budget so we didn’t stop in the marina but went on to the small landlocked lagoon to pick up a mooring. Here we were snug and secure as the wind howled and the surf roared from the swells rushing in. Our 1 night stay turned to 5 as the wind just wouldn’t let up. A little boring, yes, but we got on with the boat chores we’d hurried through in order to leave Granada.Things like super thorough cleaning of the bilge, and the entire galley, even the nooks and crannies. Then I went on to give Wahoo’s beautiful teak cabinets a waxing while Roy changed hose clamps and did general manly stuff to the engine. We both attacked the stainless steal on the outside of Wahoo which was looking so grungy after the lay up in Grenada. Taking advantage of the wonderful array of shops in Rodney Village we filled both the clothes lockers and the food lockers. Sailing duds get to looking pretty worn out and you can’t just hop on down to the mall. I know we need stuff when our good clothes are the ones that "only have holes in the back".

Anchored at Anse Matin, rain covers the sunset - still beautiful!

Finally the wind started to go below the mid-twenties. So, even though Chris Parker was saying wait, we just couldn't. Itching to go we  filled up with water and fuel and headed  across the St Lucia Channal on Saturday the 12th. On to Martinique! We ended up in Anse Mitan, a small French tourist village in the Trois Ilets area, across the bay from Fort de France, capital of Martinique. There is a large local cruising community in Martinique which isn't so much interested in us "foreigners", especially if your French is less than adequate. Even so we liked this area last year so we stayed a couple of days and did a little more shopping. We revisited a favorite shop for Roy’s shorts and my bikinis, so bought several. But we weren't into lingering so we headed across the bay for a day in Fort de France before continuing our journey North. The Martinique market was a marvel but it was outside on the street that we finally found a few avocados. Last year they were everywhere, this year the pickings have been slim. We’re thinking it’s due to Erica, the storm that hit Dominica so hard last summer. Dominica and all those Rastafarian farms that supply produce, up and down the island chain, were decimated. 

Quaint, Tragic St Pierre

Mt Pelee

Our last stop in Martinique was St Pierre. This is the site of  Mt Pelee and a visit here is a reminder of the 28,000 who lost there lives to its eruption on the Easter Sunday in1902. We remembered to clear out (so easy in the French islands) and we were on our way to Dominica. 

More than just a 40 mile crossing - this journey across the Dominica Channel means we're leaving the Windward Islands behind. Probably never to return. This season is a journey of endings as we move up through the islands, leaving behind the sights and smells and laughter carrying with us wonderful memories. I try to keep focused on the fact that getting back to Belize lies in our future, but bittersweet thoughts hover.

Beautiful, Magical Dominica

Titus welcomed us back!

We did a 2 night stop in Rouseu and said hello to SeaCat, Beans and Marcus. This time no Titou Gorge, no Waterfalls and Rasta lunches but we did walk into town and had a curried goat lunch at the Fort Young hotel. We even found some Absinthe in the market (aiming to treat our friends to Sazaracs). While the winds had abated somewhat the swell was still so bad that we ended up tying Wahoo’s stern to SeaCat’s dock to keep her bow pointed into the waves. Of course, this was not without its own problem when it was time to go. We had lifted and stowed the dinghy before we remembered to untie the stern line (think there’s pattern in this forgetting thing?). Thankfully Marcus, who provides security in the Roseau anchorage, came to our rescue. A leisurely sail that we extended in the vain hope of seeing a whale, brought us to, our top of the list favorite place, Portsmouth!.  

Titus checking on "his cruisers"

Portsmouth is what I think of when I imagine island life. A beautiful bay with a sandy beach, dinghy docks, beach bars and restaurants. Its small, neat though kinda shabby village has a great market and a place where the local fisherman offer their catch. In addition to these perks you’re in Dominica which is lush with palms, ferns and flowering plants everywhere. To top it off you have what no other harbor offers - the service of PAYS (Portsmouth Association of Yacht Security). Organized by the boat boys to bring service and security in an orderly manner to all visiting cruisers. Fun to watch them  buzz around the harbor checking on us, offering assistance or just visiting. It's also one of the best sunset watching spots we've visited. 

We've seen more green flash sunsets here than anywhere else. No, it's not just the rum! A perfectly clear horizon, a brilliant sun and you're gonna see it. Though "flash" might make you misinterpret. Green dot or green glow is more like it. Just that split second as the sun sinks below the horizon!

You can't see it but the flash was there

All too soon we needed to move on. Trades were going back into the high 20s, seas building to 6ft and more. Soon it would get worse so we wanted to make Iles des Saintes, the islands that are south yet part of Guadeloupe, before that happened. It was a calm crossing of those 20+miles. A beam reach all the way. Most waves below the 4ft mark.

Sunset so amazing it knocked me flat!

One of the important lessons we've learned is that the forecasts gives the gradient wind and seas. But the islands create a different climate. As you watch one island disappear and another rise to greet you the tips of the islands create strong currents you must adjust for, plus they make waves more vicious as they cut down on the seconds or period between each wave. Between the two islands you experience both the full force of the trades and often an added increase of wind speed ( as much as by 1/3, which makes 20 knots go to 30, yikes!). This is  due to compression as the wind squeezes between the islands. Then just as you think the worst is over and you've reached the leeward side of the next island expecting to experience calm you find that the wind can quickly go from very calm to extremely high as it gets caught up in the mountains then hurtles down to the sea.  

(NOTE: Leeward side is the Caribbean side as opposed to the Windward or Atlantic side) This Ventura effect is seen in several harbors that are otherwise wonderful places to stay. Most notably Bequia, Portsmouth and Deshais. Surrounded by hills and mountains these harbors can be even windier than being out at sea. Meaning your ground tackle (anchor and rode) had better be up to holding the boat in place as the wind can easily reach above 40 knots. 

"The Brits"

Our anchorage at Terre Den Haut in Iles des Saintes

Once we reached the Saintes the weather took the expected turn for the worse. We waited but certainly didn't expect our friends, Harvey and Rita (the Brits) aboard Almacantar, to sail 130NM in 30 knots winds, mostly on the nose from St Barths to meet us. That was a plan made in Grenada over rum, no one can blame you for making or breaking those kind of plans. But meet us they did!! So while we all waited for a weather window the 4 of us enjoyed being together again in the charming village of Bourg de Saintes. 

A breadfruit tree, a piece of rebar...

 Roy & Harvey are determined.

Success!

Deshais, Guadeloupe

Now here we are a week later in Deshais, Guadeloupe. Our last little French village. We're having baguettes and pain de chocolate delivered each morning. Stocking up on French island specialties like pate, cheeses, wine and rum agricole.  Watching episodes of the BBCs "Death in Paradise" as it was filmed right here!. 

The winds will supposedly "collapse" on Saturday and we'll take that opportunity to sail the 45 NM to Antigua. Perhaps we'll stop spending days and nights rolling about.

We'll be excited to have our Grenada gang of 8 together again and even more so as our wonderful friends Jane and Dave Mitchel, last year on LaDivina, will also be meeting us as they have chartered out of St Martin for a month. We look forward to Classic Week, time with friends and calm quite nights. 

Where are the Clearance Papers?!!

Did someone say "Green Flash"?

We arrived in Grenada Feb 16th, after our time in the States and what a time it was. Houston with John Edward and Laura, New Orleans at Sammye and Grouper’s then North Carolina to visit Roy’s sister Sandra and her family for Thanksgiving. Nov 29 found us heading back to New Orleans and, YIPPEE! home to 7th St where Austin had cleaned house after the last tenants left and was waiting for us!!! It was great to finally, after 3 years, have loads of time in our own house. We  had time to see friends and eat crawfish, poboys and oysters, go see the lobby of the Roosevelt (with Sazarac’s of course), go to Galatoire’s for Christmas Eve, have family around for the holidays and Mardi Gras, Oh Yeaaahhh.

Caribbean from the top of Mayreau Island in the Grenadines

But now we’re home again aboard Wahoo and on the move. This sailing season will only be about 6 months long and we’re doing the big No, No - sailing to a schedule. We’re aiming to meet up with our cruising friends in Antigua for Classic Yacht Race Week which starts April 13. Then, in June, our niece, Angela, and her family will meet us for a week in the Virgin Islands. Angela and Dave have sailed with us twice but this will be the first time for the two girls. Next, the plan is to head to Puerto Rico where Wahoo’s bottom will get a warranty paint job (hopefully). That’s a lot of schedule - I get really stressed just thinking about it. So I don’t.

Just to show you how much faster we’re moving than last year - we left Mt Hartman Bay, Grenada on Feb 26th, spent only 1 night at Sandy Island as opposed to, oh I don’t know about 10 days last year, skipped Union Island altogether but did get in a 1 night visit at Mayreau Island which we had skipped last year. Then a jump to Bequia and on that trip what a spectacular sight. Hundreds of porpoises swimming toward Wahoo, leaping, twisting, tail turning for nearly an hour. So amazing!! We spent five days in Bequia and met up with both Aviva and Lagniappe (bet you can't guess where they’re from). Had a birthday dinner for Roy at Papa’s, our favorite Bequia restaurant, and even visited the turtle sanctuary again. But it certainly wasn’t the month long stay we had last year. No,this year we’re on a mission.

And being on a mission resulted in our totally FORGETTING to CLEAR OUT OF St Vincent and the Grenadines in Bequia. Six years of cruising and NEVER, NEVER have we forgotten such an important step. For those of you who don’t realize it. Nearly every island is its own country and we need to clear in with Customs and Immigration every time we arrive and clear out every time we leave.

                                                           

Bequia Boats

Roy, the folks from Aviva and Orton King
(Mr King has been saving turtles for 21 years)

Wahoo in the Bay at Wallilabou

"Pirates of the Caribbean" movie set

So after a 5am start we were sailing blithely along the leeward side of St Vincent about 3 hours out of Bequia and suddenly it hit me - No Clearance Papers!! Our plan of skipping the main island, ST Vincent (an aside, the country is St Vincent and the Grenadines with St Vincent being the main island and the Grenadines, including Bequia, being many many smaller islands that are truly picture perfect). So, just in case you have an eye in the sky you can see us sitting in Wallilabou Bay waiting for the Customs man to show up on a Sunday. Wallilabou!! I know you’re saying that word with a shudder and horror in your heart. That’s right - we’re right here where a German cruiser was murdered a few nights ago!!! St Vincent is one of the islands that most cruisers give a wide berth to. They do the long sail between St Lucia to the North and Bequia to the South. Things had been quiet here for several years and cruisers, including us last summer, were beginning to trickle in for at least an overnight. One of the fun things about Wallilabou is that it was a main settings in Pirates of the Caribbean 1, 2 & 3 and  the sets and buildings are still here. But that boarding a few days ago that left one German cruiser dead and another seriously injured has everyone avoiding the island again. But yes, here we sit hoping that lightning doesn’t strike twice. The boat boys who helped us tie up said there’s police all over the bay but we haven’t seen any yet!! Oh well, we were able to trade some fishing line for a fresh tuna and I bought a Jack Sparrow necklace. 

I'm trying to embed videos - but, I can't preview them. They may or may not be working!

Porpoises in the Grenadines.

Turtles at the Old Hegg Sanctuary in Bequia

Leaving on a jet plane...

But I do know that I'll be back again...

Scarlet Ibis roosting - Trinidad's National Bird

Home, home, home!!! Despite the thrill of getting all the way down to Trinidad I find there's an inner voice that keeps trilling "we're going home, we're going home". Thirteen months aboard Wahoo October 28, 2014 to November 4, 2015. A long, long time and it felt great to be aboard, until it didn't. So friends and family be ready. We arrive Houston Nov 4 then New Orleans around the 13th. We plan to stay until after Mardi Gras and this time we'll be staying in New Orleans. We've already made a list and its filled with raw oysters and Galatoire's, roast beef poboys and John Boutte, Mia Borders, Kermit Ruffins, not to mention Mardi Gras. As much New Orleans fun as we can fit in. Can't wait to see everyone!!

To wrap up the trip here's how it went.

Venezuela - so close!

After 4-1/2 months in Grenada we decided to head to the last island nation in the Eastern Caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago. Yes, that's two islands but one nation. We only got to Trini as 2 weeks was all we had left. Trinidad is different, doesn't feel Caribbean at all. Here in Chaguaramus (pronounced shag wah rah mus) it's very commercial as it's a major port with lots of oil and gas infrastructure. It's also the cruising centre where cruisers go to get serious work done or to leave their boats safely away from hurricanes as they fly home. We've found many friends from our trip down-island here. They've been working away getting their boats ready for this next cruising season. You can get anything here as Trinidad is huge by island standards: 1.3 million people, nearly 1850 sq mi. It's also wealthy, thanks to all the oil and gas. On the northwestern side, where we are, there are malls that equal anything you'll find in the States or Europe, and traffic to match. But get out in the country and things take a more, shall we say, island tone. 

Super Crabs to Celebrate arrival in Trinidad

It was a smooth overnight sail with our friends on Almacantar. We left Grenada around 5pm and arrived Trinidad waters around 5am but we slowed way down as we didn't want to get to Customs before 8 as they charge $100 US for overtime. Treated ourselves to a marina for the time here - like a vacation. All that hot water, electricity and wifi WOW!

Opera House in Port of Spain, Trinidad

Wrapping Trinidad in one word I'd say multi-cultural. A true melting pot of the various people who came here. After seeing the divisiveness in the US and around the globe we could all learn from the Trinidadians. These are people of East Indian, Chinese, African, Creole French and Creole Spanish descent. Most have mixed backgrounds and while  they may identify as any of those they all agree they are "Trini" first. While Roman Catholic is the primary religion there are lots and lots of others including Anglican, Hindu, Muslim and the Protestant sects. A nice touch is that they all have their own religious holidays but EVERYONE CELEBRATES THEM ALL AND GETS OFF FROM WORK. That works to all get along. The culture is vibrant and we'd loved to have been here for their Carnival. Always thought we would, but its New Orleans Mardi Gras for us!!

View of Port of Spain from Fort George

Venezuela is so close (less then 10 miles) and has had a major impact on Trinidadian culture in the past. But these days the island walks a thin line to avoid being embroiled in the disaster that is Venezuela today. So far it has worked and as cruisers we appreciate the Trinidad Coast Guard that has made sailing between Trinidad and Grenada safe again.

Scarlet Ibis in Caroni Swamp

One of the wonderful things about Trinidad is the flora and fauna. It is practically a part of South America and once was connected by a land bridge so there is a huge diversity of birds and animals. We enjoyed this part immensely. We're glad for Jesse James (his real name); he's the go-to guy for cruisers. He arranges shopping trips and movie nights but is especially good at showing off Trini food and culture. The tours he set up for us allowed us to experience a taste of Trini during our short stay.  We spent a large part of one day at the Asa Wright Nature Centre which sits high in the rain forest and finished the day with a swamp tour (that's right a Trinidadian swamp tour) into the Caroni Swamp watching hundreds of Scarlet Ibis flying home to roost for the night. Magical!! Our 2nd tour was a cultural tour of Port of Spain and Fort George ending with Afternoon Tea at St Benedict's Monastery with our British friends. Each tour was peppered with a mix of history, anecdotes and stops for street food. (Roti, Doubles, Shark & Bakes, Saheena and Chocolate). We'll spend our last  Trinidadian night anchored in quiet Scotland Bay where we hope for a swim (no swimming in the soupy waters in Chaguaramus) and to hear howler monkeys call plus a front row seat for the evening antics of birds. Finally a full moon sail on Thursday night will have us in Prickly Bay Friday morning picking up our mooring and preparing for our Nov 4th departure to the states.

Viewing Verandah at Asa Wright which was once a cocoa and coffee plantation

Hummingbirds from viewing verandah

Oriole and nest from viewing verandah

Even lunch is open to the rain forest at Asa Wright Nature Preserve.

Grenada Gang - Last lunch together before the Trades blow us apart

Tomorrow we'll be heading back to Grenada putting Wahoo to sleep for the next 3 months. All our buddies are scattering. It's that whole part of cruising life, saying hello and good-by as you sail along. We're thrilled to be getting back to our stateside friends and can only hope to find our sailing buddies along the way next year.  This time we're leaving problems behind. Our bottom paint is still falling off and we haven't settled with Sea Hawk Paints about where she'll be re-painted and our freezer is giving problems. But all that will have to wait. For now Wahoo will rest comfortably on a mooring in Prickly Bay being guarded by Denise from Safe Yachts and we'll be enjoying life in New Orleans.

Roy hoisting our Trinidad flag - the last "New Island" flag (#21) of the voyage we started back in Oct 2014.

Just Limin' in Grenada

Roger's Beach Bar - Hog Island (That's Roy imitating a log in the water.)

Caranage at Sunset

Another six weeks has slipped slided away, slithering quietly into the sea that has grown so warm I can use it for my bath each night. Together with our UK friends, Harvey and Rita from SV Almacantor, we rented a car for two days and explored Grenada on our own. Now, however, most of the exploring is over and we know when to take the #1 bus and when to take the #2 bus. We can walk to Prickly Bay, the Dove Sanctuary or Grand Anse; dinghy over to Lower Woburn and find our way around St. George’s. We’ve even learned the ins and outs of getting things through Customs, believe me that took both patience, time and money!! Grenada now feels like home, well maybe a 2nd (no that’s Belize), or maybe a 3rd or is it a 4th home. But this time the odds are high that we won’t be back (sighhhh). Another season sailing the Eastern Caribbean will most probably find us back in Puerto Rico for the 2016 Hurricane Season.

 Who knows, a sailor’s plans are written on the waves and in the wind!

Sunset Jazz concert to aid Dominica

Silliness prevails
as I get my Peter Whimsey on

But now that we've helped with Aid to Dominica, helped get the school children their new shoes and school supplies, helped gather supplies for the hospital, the time has come to settle into beach BBQs, sundowner’s and lunches. It’s a tough life - remember, we’re doing it so you don’t have to!

We haven’t been entirely idle - In the last week a new way to get electricity has been added to Wahoo. Hopefully it will ease the hours spent listening to the onboard power plant (our Kohler Generator). Roy has installed a wind generator which will take all that free wind and turn it into helpful watts, volts and amps to store in our batteries and use as needed to run those First World things we can’t live without. The solar panels are so damm lazy they insist on sleeping at night and you know freezers and refrigerators they want to run all the time!! What’s a sailor to do?! 

Installing the Wind Generator

Another wonderful little gadget that Roy installed is a sea water manual pump at the sink. Wonderful way to control our fresh water consumption. So much of it gets used in the galley. Now I can clean stuck-on kitchen stuff with sea water first and follow with a rinse of fresh water instead of gulping down all my fresh water and seeing it flow down the drain.

We’re also dealing with the ongoing struggle to get Sea Hawk Paint to honour their warranty. After our Oct, 2014 bottom job we found barnacles growing and paint sloughing off by December. By now we have patches of barrier (primer) coat showing. Not Good!! Being in Grenada put us in touch with plenty of others who are in the same boat!! ( HeHeHe, pun wasn’t intended but its too good to take out.) Hopefully the cruising network (see all those sundowners are not in vain) will make all Sea Hawk's twisty manoeuvres to avoid the issue much more difficult. Like the time Denis, the Sea Hawk rep, was at Island Water World and told Roy he didn’t know of ANY other boats with the issue. Really!!! Strange when we have copies of emails from over a dozen boats, to Denis, describing just this problem!! Poor memory, I guess.

Our crowd at Whisper Cove celebrating Fred and Jo (either side of me). They did the 500 NM round trip run to Dominica with supplies and a Dominican friend whose wife was stranded in the hills and no planes where flying!

But lets not let all those yachty issues interfere with the real purpose of hurricane season in Grenada - namely taking care that all the sugar cane that died so that we could have rum, didn’t die in vain!!

 

  

Folk Art we found while driving around the island

The Blood Moon dinghy drift gets started as the moon rises over Mt Hartman Bay.

No dinghy drift is complete without Spinnaker jumping among the dinghies following treats and pets.

Star of the Show!!!

Grenada History Up Next - some of my time has been spent exercising my brain. Feel free to skip if you want. Promise, no quiz when I return.

Being in any of the islands seems to bring out an urge to see museums and forts. Really anything that gives an historical prospective and tells us more about the country we are visiting. In Grenada the gripping history is recent, bringing back vague memories of Oct 1983 and gritty images of US marines crossing an airport, rescuing Medical students (who didn’t even ask or need to be rescued!). Images and words that sent us looking for a map or an encyclopedia. (Grenada??? Is that in Spain?)  

What we were seeing on TV was the ending of a dream; the 4 year old government  of young men who came of age in that turbulent time when the “ Black Power” movement was surging in Africa, Guyana, Trinidad, and even in the USA . Their dream would allow the descendants of slaves to control their own destiny and government. Their dream was to allow a country where there is a black majority to control their fate and their government. Heady thoughts in the 70s!! It would be the only successful revolution in the Eastern Caribbean since colonial times. A revolution that had started with grand ideals and was implemented by very young men, not even the oldest were over 33. Eventually, tragically, it fell to internal struggles and outside pressures. The tragedy is stated poignantly by Ewart Layne, one of the Grenada 17, only 17 years old when he joined the New Jewel Movement and 20 at the time NJM moved against the military barracks of the corrupt Geiry Regime in a bloodless coup, 23 when his order that sent troops to Fort Rupert to restore peace ended the dream. In his book on the history of that time, “Tonight We Move” he writes of the revolution's collapse…

“ (We operated) in the historical time frame and the realities of the period (but) we were seriously lacking in life experience, fundamentally immature…Our basic orientation and instinct was to resolve conflicts by force.”

Grenada’s early history followed that of the other Caribbean Islands. Settled first by the Arawaks then by the Caribs, it was sighted by Columbus on his third voyage in 1498. The Caribs fought so fiercely for their liberty that it took the Europeans over 100 years to finally settle the islands. The Caribs preferred to leap to their death rather than be enslaved.

Like the other islands, Grenada changed hands between the English and French several times as the wars of the 18th Century played out in the Caribbean. Eventually the English won and Grenada became the capital of the British Windward Islands in 1885. Grenada was a plantation society with nutmeg as its main crop. The island became independent from Great Britain in 1974 but remains a member of the British Commonwealth.

During the turbulent years of struggle to establish Home Rule, between 1950 and 1974, Eric Gairy rose to prominence. First as a labor leader who worked for better conditions for agricultural workers, then as head of the Grenada United Labor Party (GULP) and finally as a life appointed Prime Minister in 1976, Grenada’s first general election after independence. However, as Gairy’s rule became more corrupt, brutal and totalitarian, the New Jewel Movement (NJM) rose in opposition with it young, dynamic leaders believing Gairy had rigged the 1976 elections.

Maurice Bishop

The two main leaders of New Jewel Movement were Maurice Bishop who received his law and doctoral degrees at Grey’s Inn and the London School of Economics. He returned to Grenada to represent the nurses in one of the biggest labor disputes of the Gairy regime. The other was Bernard Coard who majored in economics and sociology at Brandeis University in the USA before attending the University of Sussex in the UK. 

The New Jewel Movement was a leftist movement. They wanted to replace the authoritarian Gairy government with a people’s government founded on a socialist system. They were great followers of Che Guevara and became friends with the other leftist governments of the region. Working with the young people of Grenada they formed a Peoples Revolutionary Army and on March 13, 1979 they staged a bloodless coup to overturn the government and establish a People’s Revolutionary Government (PRG). The new government and especially Bishop were enormously popular with the Grenadians. In the first two years much good was accomplished including women’s rights, free schooling and free health care. Pre-revolutionary Grenada suffered with unemployment levels upward of 50%. Through the development of cooperatives, the expansion of the industrial base, the diversification of agriculture, the expansion of the tourist industry, and the creation of public works programmes, unemployment dropped to 14%, and the percentage of food imports dropped from over 40% to 28%. One of the most remarkable successes was the construction of an international airport in 1983 to expand tourism. This was the first airport built in the post-colonial Caribbean. Now totally refuted are the claims of the US that this airport was being built by Cubans for the use of the Soviet Union military*. In truth, we now know that the USSR was uninterested in Grenada even refusing to buy its nutmeg crop. Actually the airport was built on an older plan from the UK with funding from the IMF, Britain, Canada, Libya and Algeria with Grenada and Cuban engineers and workers. 

The Revolution's Slogan is still around

*(Declassified CIA document from April 1983)

Eventually falling world markets led to difficult economic issues. The new government developed internal problems that were made worse by some very bad personal decisions. Bishop, as a beloved Prime Minister, and Coard, as a brilliant Minister of Finance and also Deputy PM had very different ideas about the direction of the country. The split had catastrophic consequences.

Coard and Bishop

An attempt was made to form a co-Prime Ministership between Bishop and Coard. No records indicate what made Maurice Bishop change his mind and only, difficult to read, hand written minutes tell of Bernad Coard’s decision to put Bishop under house arrest on Oct 14, 1984. What we do know is that the decision was followed by island-wide demonstrations urging Coard to free Bishop and eventually a huge gathering of Grenadians freed Bishop. Bishop in a serious error in judgement led his followers to Fort Rubert (now Fort George) in the capital city of St George instead of to Market Square where he was expected to speak. This created more confusion and a stand off. Shots were fired from or at the fort, to this day no one knows which way or by whom. Ewart Layne, the 23 year old general and head of day to day operations of the army sent a contingent of young solders to keep order. Things got seriously out of control with fire coming from both sides, People who had come to hear Bishop speak were seen jumping from the heights of the fort. On Oct 19, Bishop and 7 others were lined up and executed. General Hudson Austin, head of the Peoples Republican Army who had been another of the young leaders in the original NJM, staged a military coup to try and prevent chaos and only 1 week later the US invaded in what was called Operation Urgent Fury so similar to a 1981 mock battle on Vieques Island in Puerto Rico called "Amber and the Amberines” (Grenada and the Grenadines?). The stated purpose of the mock operation was to free “Amber” and replace its government with one that was friendly to the USA.

In the US this little military action is largely forgotten though we might want to remember that it was the first of the "docudrama" wars.

In Grenada, that airport is now named the Maurice Bishop International Airport.

Today Grenada is indeed ruled by a USA friendly government and we find it a peaceful, friendly island. Though overshadowed by its near neighbour, Trinidad and Tobago, it seems more prosperous than most of the other English speaking Caribbean islands (with the exception of St Martin, St Barths and Anquilla). There is a huge economic disparity and well paying jobs are hard to come by. While the US invested $80 million after the US invasion, later it allowed Grenada to languish. It was the Chinese who helped finance the new National Stadium and other projects. Grenada was hit hard in 2004 by Hurricane Ivan and is still slowly recovering. Its nutmeg plantations were virtually destroyed and, as it takes 10 years to grow a new tree, that industry is only now beginning to recover. Cocoa became the main export as cocoa trees grow much faster. So when you see Grenada Chocolate Bars in Whole Food Stores pick up a few.


Politically the country is democratic. Today's Prime Minister heads a Centrist Right government which is causing a lot of grumbling. He follows a more leftish government and the people we spoke to feel he bought the election. There are still agricultural co-operatives; we visited both a cocoa and a nutmeg co-op but in general the cooperatives were dismantled after the invasion. Health Care and Education are still free though supplies are seriously needed, two of the many causes championed by the cruising community. The Southern part of island is definitely more prosperous thanks to the airport, the cruising community, St George’s University and the tourism that clusters around the beautiful 3 mile long Grand Anse Beach. In the North things are much much harder. Agriculture and fishing are still important economic engines with exports of yellow fin tuna going to the EU each year and high hopes the nutmeg crop will rebound. We have found that the revolution is proudly remembered as the Grenadians continue moving forward.