Ready to leave Grenada

Our departure from Granada went great. 


I set my internal alarm clock for 6 am and woke to a beautiful day with winds around 15 knots.  I gave Josh a nudge to get ready for getting underway – not the normal hours for a 19 year old, but he took it well.


We prepped the salt water wash down hose for the anchor.  The day before we had raised the chain about 30 feet to clean off what growth there was from a 3 month stay.


Leaving Mount Hartman
sv Joana
“Anchor’s off the bottom” Cath yelled “along with about 60 pounds of Grenadian mud!” Once the anchor was stowed and the main sail was set, we were off to Carriacou, about 40 miles away.  Once again it looked like a motor sail kind of day.  Our friends Wade and Diane on s/v Joanatook the lead and covering the rear was Mike and Rebecca on s/v Zero to Cruising.  As we got clear of the Grenada coast, the wind became much cleaner and a few knots higher. Boy did it feel great to be back underway!  Josh was doing well until we started plowing into the five foot seas and then the green gills started to form.  Cath thoughtfully reminded him always get sick over the leeward side “for your sake and others!”


Near Kick’ Em Jenny
At this point we were clicking at around 5.5 knots and another 5 minutes to Kick’ Em Jenny, which is an underwater volcano just off of Diamond Rock.  I was determined to catch the Mahi Mahi that  had gotten away 3 months before as we were sailing over this same spot. I gave Cath the wheel, jumped over the sick Pollywog hunched on the step, and made it to the bumpkin to do some fine tuning on the fishing reels.  Cath informed me that we were right over Kick’ Em Jenny and there were lots of flying fish around -jumping not away from us but toward us, always a good sign.


What a bute
“ZZZZZZZZZ” the rod sounds – there she goes!  I slipped into the belt as Cath throttled back.  Of course, just at that moment, the wind picked up and the seas started to look confused.  Always when we hook a fish it gets this way –  Neptune makes sure you earn his gift!  I looked down and saw a brilliant flash of blue and green.   Below me was a good sized bull Dorado, better known as a Mahi Mahi.  We estimated he was about 35 pounds and definitely mad.  We had quite the show as he flew out of the water, trying for the life of him to toss the hook.  Cath was doing her best to keep the ship stable.  I yelled to Josh to grab the gaff.  He had never seen a Dorado before outside a book or TV – at least it kept his mind off his seasickness for about a minute!


Cover their eyes – no flopping
I fought the fish for about 15 minutes and had him up to the boat a few times just to have him see the ship and take off again. After two tries with the gaff from Josh, I yelled to Cath to come and gaff it.  At this point I was starting to breathe a little harder as all that fighting for my foothold while reeling in was getting to me.  “Now or never!” I yelled to Cath.  Up along side he came and Cath swiped at him and BLAM up on the deck he went.  Her first ever gaffing job – not to shabby, even if it was through the tail!


Carraicaou in the morning 
Back underway again, I realized it was easier trying to catch the fish then filet it, especially with the confused seas and dull knife.
We pulled into Carricaou with the winds clocking around 30 knots from a nearby squall and a fridge full of fish, ready to enjoy a good dinner and big fish tales with friends.
Oh, did I mention how great it feels to be under way again?