As I write this next post, we have experienced the terribly sad and heartbreaking loss of Billy’s sister Bonnie.

Bonnie had been fighting lung cancer for many years and for a while had it under control, but just over a year ago it showed signs of advancing and while she was heroic in her approach to the treatments, it looks it’s toll. She suffered a setback last fall landing her in the hospital and rehab for many weeks up in Portsmouth NH. She battled back and she and Mitzi were able to return home to Key West in December. She was happy to be back in their beautiful conch home. Several weeks ago we got a note from Bonnie explaining that the cancer was progressing and that she had made the courageous choice to enter hospice care. Of course with her positive attitude, she explained that she could have many months if not years left to live – sadly she didn’t get either.

Billy and I were so fortunate to be able to get to Key West for a few days in early April. We had a great visit with Bonnie and Mitzi. Bonnie had the energy to hang with us for a lot of the time we were there. We watched lots of the Women’s NCAA basketball tournament and visited with her many friends who stopped by. Having made so many wonderful trips to Key West and with Bonnie coming up for summer cruises to the Cape, we had lots of fond and funny memories to recount together. Bonnie of course had all her photos well organized and we poured through them remembering so many wonderful times together. Saying goodbye was nothing short of brutal.

Bonnie passed away peacefully on April 12th with Mitzi by her side and Pam nearby. In memory of Bonnie, a dear friend sent along Maya Angelou’s poem “When Great Trees Fall” The whole poem is appropriate for losing someone as extraordinary as Bonnie – but the last line particularly resonates: “We can be. Be and be better. For they existed.”

Bonnie never had the chance to join us on Carried Away and that makes us very sad as she was so excited about our adventure, but we will carry her with us every day in our hearts.

GRENADA & CARRIACOU – Our Southernmost Point

Back at the end of March, our friends Danny & Jenn (recently engaged – YAHOO!) came and spent a week with us in Grenada. Danny landed first and came right to the marina at Phare Blue Bay – which is a small but lovely marina on the southern coast of the island. Jenn arrived the next afternoon and we settled right in for cocktails with some Salty Dawg friends who were also staying at the marina.

The next day we were off to Carriacou (pronounced Kerry-Ah-COO) which is an island 20 miles north of Grenada. Leaving the marina and heading west, we passed the southernmost point of our journey (Latitude 11^o58.439’N) roughly 1900 nm from home! We had a lovely sail up the western coastline and passed by the underwater still active volcano called Kick-Em Jenny (see chart). We stayed well clear of the volcano danger zone and sailed on up to Sandy Island which is an absolutely breathtaking little island off of Carriacou’s western shore.

Sandy Island is covered in palm trees and in addition to the amazing color of the water, sky and long white sand beach, it’s a nature preserve so there are tons of birds and fish. As we dropped the anchor we noticed flocks of seabirds and turbulence in the water from jumping fish. Soon the local fishermen came racing out in their small skiffs with hand lines – they caught one fish after the other – it was amazing to watch.

We stayed at anchor off Sandy Island for the whole week. The first day, we took the dingy over to Pleasant Bay on the main island of Carriacou and pulled it up on the beach. No locking, safe as can be, just tied it to a mangrove tree. We walked up to the small village that had a few restaurants and a small grocery store. The main harbor town, Tyrell Bay, was just over a mile away, but up really steep hills so eventually when a local taxi guy offered to give us a ride we jumped in! When he dropped us in town, he didn’t want to charge us as he said he was “going that way anyway”. We did give him a fair fare and wandered all down the main coastal road of Tyrrel Bay. It’s there that Jenn and I came upon the lovely and eccentric Sexy Romantic Venus (that’s the name she gave us) who was selling oranges (that were actually green) on the side of the road. She talked me into buying a dozen of them and when we later juiced them they were so good! She was a riot! We walked the whole main road along the bay, to the big marina and then stopped along the beach road for beers and lunch. While it was very quiet without many other patrons, the food and service was wonderful.

When anchored at Sandy Island, many enterprising young men come by to offer fresh fish for sale, trash pick up or to bring you ice. The very friendly son of the Paradise Beach Club owner had been by several times to invite us in for drinks and dinner, so we decided to head in and loved having cocktails on the beach for sunset. One evening they had live music and “painting” when you can paint a board with your boat name on it which gets added to their wall (their main decor). We painted the Carried Away board – well, actually Jenn, who was an art major painted it and the rest of us had cocktails. It came out great! Lucy Halsted recently sent a photo of the board which was up on the fence at PBC!

We absolutely loved Sandy Island and Carriacou. Definitely a favorite spot for swimming, snorkeling, hanging and relaxing, but even more so for the wonderful people: happy, helpful and warm. We had lunch in the local “tree house” restaurant and other than a westerly swell which kicked up and made beaching the dingy quite tricky – it was a perfect 10 stay. Before we knew it, it was time to head back to Grenada and Port Louis Marina where we would leave the boat for the days we headed to Key West.

After returning from our visit with Bonnie and Mitzi, we had a few days before Bobby Alves was due to arrive to help us head North. We signed up for an island tour which is something we’ve found to be worthwhile as we learn so much from the local guides about the culture, history and nature of the island. Alexander was our guide and it was just Billy and me so we got to pick where to go, what to see and ask a ton of questions. My one request was to see monkeys in the wild. First stop was La Grand Etang Park which is mountainous and lush with a beautiful big lake. On the way to the lake we saw a park ranger who apparently is the “monkey whisperer” and we not only saw a mona monkey who lives in the wild, but were able to have him jump onto our shoulders and eat bananas out of our hands before he bounded back into the forest – it was so cool!

We also stopped at The River Antoine Rum Distillery for a tour and tasting – 150 proof Rum, so powerful you aren’t allowed to take it on a plane (it’s flammable) but you can take on your boat – so we bought some! Billy did two shots and found himself a bit woozy at our next stop which was the Belmont Estate – a plantation tour with cocoa growing and harvesting as well as chocolate making and tasting!  It was lovely to see more of the island than just the coastline and we had a great day with Alexander.

The next post will include our northbound journey with Bobby Alves which will take us from Grenada north through the Windward Islands up to St. Martin and then over to the BVI. Stay tuned…