Now THAT is how a passage should be!
Contrary to what I wrote in this post, Rebecca and I decided that it would be more relaxing to make the return trip to Grenada during daylight hours as opposed to overnight as we typically would. Our motivation for doing so was to more easily be able to deal with the large amount of shipping traffic that is commonly found in that area. As it turned out, we are glad that we did so, there was a lot of traffic!
While we expected that we’d end up in Grenada after dark, calm sees, full sails and a bit of assistance from our engine allowed us to get our anchor down just as the sun was setting. As far as passages go, things don’t get too much better.
Sunrise in Trinidad. We cast off our lines at exactly 6:00 AM.
As is typical, the winds were extremely light by the Trinidad coast.
Rebecca decided that she’d do 20 pushups every hour on the hour.
One of many ships that we had to contend with.
The wind has filled in enough to warrant raising the main.
Without AIS, it was initially difficult to tell if this ship was stationary or underway.
As it turned out, he was stationary.
Frost’s first fish.
As noted, we left Chaguaramus at 6:00 AM. ETA to the mouth of Prickly Bay is 5:25 PM.
The wind has definitely filled in by this point! Good thing we had our new life raft lashed down.
The sky was clear until we neared Grenada.
Before drinks, food, showers, etc., we always tidy up the boat after a passage. We began the day with an orange sky and we ended with one too!
Do we see a future post about sailng with a tilt v flat cats?
Maybe.
A post about the differences between a sailboat and a catamaran will help a lot of your readers make a wise decision about what to purchase. We are getting ready to get in the game, but totally confused between a monohull vs. a catamaran. Obviously a lot of people make the decision based on pricing, but we would love more details on comfort, space, ease of maneuvering, how it feels on the water, seasickness, docking, draft, etc… Your insight will be greatly appreciated since not too many experience both choices.
I will ultimately get around to creating such a post. Here are the basics though: Catamarans cost twice as much as monohulls, if not more. That will be the deciding factor for many people.
Doesn’t get better than that. How are you finding the monohull vs the cat?
As long as it floats and gets me where I want to go, comfortably and safely, I am happy.
That looks like a beautiful trip! Glad to hear that things went well with the repairs. The shakedown cruise after repairs are always done with a little apprehension, I am sure.
I see Rebecca raising the main, putting away the main, doing pushups, etc. and I see you fishing! You’ve got it good, Mike! LOL
<--Smart.
So the name of the boat is Frost?
Nice name, isn’t it?
She’s a pretty vessel.
Thank you. We think so too.
Greetings to both of you, and this one the eve of Canadian Thanksgiving weekend. It has been most interesting to witness your cross-over to monohull sailing, and this with such deft and determination.
We are glad your passage Trinidad to Grenada was so effortless and that SV Frost was up to the task. As always, you both rose to the occasion as the experienced sailors that you are. “Prepare, execute, and tidy up!”.
Happy (Canadian) Thanksgiving!!
Cheers,
Alan and Christina
Alan and Christina
Wow… That’s how out of touch we are, I didn’t know it was Thanksgiving weekend. Now where and I going to find some turkey?
🙂
Not too shabby, for a first fish on Frost. Enjoy!
Thanks. Yes, that’s the biggest Mahi we’ve caught in a long time!
I’m glad the switch to the mono hull worked out well.
The transition is ongoing but we’re getting it all figured out.