Tropical Storm Don: Mangroves, The Goddess of Love and Cap'n Fatty

We arrived in Prickly Bay, Grenada in the dark on Sunday, July 16th. Luckily, our friends on Drakkar had their AIS on, so we could find them in the heaps of boats bobbing at anchor. In the morning, we found ourselves in a delightful bay with lots of familiar boats around. We also noticed that our butt was sticking out into the channel and our water tanks were empty. 

We weighed anchor, and headed to the fuel dock to fill up and do a little scrubbing. Feeling a little more refreshed, we went to find a place to anchor for the next several weeks. 

Filling our water tanks at Prickly Bay Marina

Perhaps it was fatigue or weariness, but we could not decide where to drop our hook. It was like Goldilocks was at the helm: some places were too deep, some too rocky, some too crowded. We finally found a place that was just right, close to the beach with sprawling villas looking down on us from the cliff above. To our frustration, the holding was poor and we dragged twice while setting the anchor. The third time set us firmly in the sand, but we ended up too close to another boat. We had no choice, but had to stay put for awhile, as the windlass (and the crew) got too hot to anchor again. 

After everything (and everyone) cooled down, we snagged a perfect spot. We settled in to enjoy the rest of the afternoon on the palm-lined beach, with several crews from various kid boats. We breathed a collective sigh of relief that we could stay put for awhile and get a lay of the land. 

Prickly Bay with view of beach

This great feeling lasted for about, uh...four hours. While were were checking out the weather, we noticed that Tropical Storm Don was moving quickly with Grenada in his sights. The National Hurricane Center predicted winds up to 60 knots the following night. Yikes. 

Once the kids were dreaming of calm, idyllic beaches, we pored over the internet to search for the best hurricane holes in the south of Grenada. We decided we did not want to haul out due to the cost, inconvenience, and no guarantee that damage won't occur on the hard. As we had never ridden out a Tropical Storm in these parts, our search led us to our Chris Doyle guide and YouTube (of course). A video by Paul and Cheryl Shard proved to be just what we needed to learn about tying to the mangroves.  See Tropical Storm Tactics - Tying Sailboat in Mangrove for a Hurricane. 

On July 18th, we got up earlier than usual. The anchorage was already thinning out, with many boats seeking more secure shelter. As we filled the kids in on our plan for TS Don, they looked a little worried, especially since we were up and ready to move so early. The storm was not due until midnight, but we wanted to find a place in good time. 

We followed two other like-minded boats at 0830 and motored 5 miles east to Port Egmont. Thirty minutes later we motored into a protected lagoon, with mangroves and homes surrounding the peaceful anchorage. My heart jumped when I looked on AIS, and saw that a boat called Ganesh was taking shelter here as well. If this place was good enough for the famous Cap'n Fatty and Carolyn Goodlander, then it was good enough for us! There were several boats in various stages of securing to the mangroves, and a few boats with a couple of anchors out. Crews were taking foresails down and lashing everything on deck.

Port Egmont

Ganesh at anchor

We found a chunk of mangrove to nose into and proceeded to secure ourselves. I will say that we were not the Shards as we ran around deck willy-nilly, gathering ground tackle and lines while our boat came alongside to the mangroves and ran aground. Within minutes, a man and a boy in a dinghy approached from the catamaran Aphrodite, and offered assistance. Fellow Canadians Rick and his nine year old son Paul, willingly crawled into the mangroves and started tying our lines to the roots. Simon was eager to crawl into the branches with them. Then, Rick and Paul helped us set two stern anchors and kedge ourselves off the shore until we were perpendicular to the mangroves. We spent the next couple of hours tying everything down. Our aft cabin became the dumping ground for dinghy parts, cockpit cushions and wet laundry.

Nosing into the mangroves

Simon and Wavey tying lines into the mangroves

Tying up

Setting the stern anchor

Simon working hard

Almost ready for the storm

Voila!

Once we wiped our sweaty brows, we visited Aphrodite, the home of Rick and Lorraine and their four kids. See Aphrodite's awesome blog. Simon and Wavey soon found themselves swimming and swinging off their rope swing with Betty age 12, Paul age 9, and 6 year old twins Henry and Karen. 

Henry and Wavey

Water play on Aphrodite...what else would they play with?

The kids rowed over to Ganesh to see if the rumours were true about Cap'n Fatty having a big sword and a tendency to give out candy. It's all true! He came out on deck wielding his sword, spinning a fantastic tale, and showering the kids with treats. (For more about candy boats, see the link to his article "Chocoholic Harbor Angel" in All at Sea.)

Cap'n Fatty and Carolyn

Later that afternoon, we joined a pre-storm party on Aphrodite, with Joanne and Bill from Baidarka, a family from Sago, and Fatty and Carolyn from Ganesh. While the kids were jumping, swinging, and swimming, we listened to Fatty and Carolyn's seafaring adventures from three circumnavigations (see web site for more about them.) When we thought the day couldn't get any better, Lorraine and Rick made homemade ice cream with fresh mangoes and an enormous bowl of popcorn. It was hard to believe that Don was on his way.

Party food

Afternoon on with Cap'n Fatty and Carolyn on Aphrodite

We returned to Nahanni V at dusk to find that one disadvantage of visiting the mangrove ecosystem was entering the habitat of mosquitoes and noseeums. As we hustled to get our screens up, I cooked up the last of Simon's mahi mahi for dinner. 

Mahi mahi with pesto pasta (now completely out of fresh fruits and vegetables )

The kids were eager to stay up and do what lots of people do in a storm: watch a movie. While we scratched bug bites and watched Harry and the Hendersons, the rain started and the wind picked up. Nahanni V didn't budge as the wind gusted up to 25 knots...and then...died. It was not even enough wind to blow the mosquitoes away. At midnight, we realized that Don was not going to pack the punch predicted, and we all fell sleepily into our bunks with buzzing mosquitoes dancing around our heads. (Made me feel nostalgic for Ontario camping in June.)

See review of storm on The Weather Channel.

The next morning, I awoke to the sounds of lines being untied and the dinghy being launched from the fore deck.  John and Simon were up early and were pulling us out of the mangroves and back to anchor. We decided to stay another day in Port Egmont to play with our new friends, and enjoy the perfect weather. Our kids spent most of the day sailing around the anchorage and swimming off of Aphrodite. 

Simon sailing with Paul, Karen and Henry

Paul in the stern had a perma smile the whole time he was sailing!

Port Egmont

After a relaxing night at anchor, we left Port Egmont after walking to get a few provisions at a local shop. 

Coming back with fresh food

Simon rowing back to Nahanni V

While motoring back to Prickly Bay, we thanked our lucky stars for tropical storms that fizzle out, for successful mangrove maneuvers, and for meeting some pretty cool people.