Grenada is one of the major sailing hubs in the Caribbean. Lots of sailors crossing the Atlantic from both the South and the North choose one of the many Southern bays of Grenada as their first landfall in the Caribbean. The main island therefore has a lot to offer sail crews in terms of marine supplies and services, and many stay here for the entire season.
We ended up spending only four nights on Grenada, but also made time to spend some time on the adjoining two islands Carriacou and Petit Martinique.
Grenada – Spice Isle
There are many bays on the Southern side of the island, which all are excellent and sheltered anchorages. Some of the bays are too full of boats for our taste. Our first anchorage as we arrived from an overnight sail from Trinidad, was Clark’s Court Bay, just off the private resort on Calivigny island. Calivigny island is an extremely exclusive resort consisting of only three residences. We were not allowed onshore, but enjoyed the beautiful views of probably one of the best kept beach and resort areas we have ever witnessed.
Grenada is called Spice Isle, as they grow lots of spices on the island, they even have a nutmeg in their flag. We were lucky to have a great tour of the island (thanks to our guests, Kyrre and Ann Iren 😀) with an excellent guide, Cutty. We saw waterfalls, a spice garden, forts and got a very good overview of what life is about in Grenada. It is really a beautiful island, which feels safe and well developed. We even bumped into a Norwegian ex sailor who had taken residence on Grenada. It is easy to understand why, it is safe, well organized and with lots of beautiful nature in its mountains, rainforests and beaches.
We spent a total of two nights at the first anchorage, then went on a mooring outside of St. George, the capital, for one night. We walked the city, which is probably one of the most quaint capitals in the Caribbean. It lays stretched out over three bays, which makes it very enjoyable to walk.
The last night on Grenada was spent at an anchorage on the West coast, called Flamingo Bay. It was only us there, and we were just one bay over from where the famous dive site of the underwater sculpture park is. In the early morning we snorkeled the sculpture park, the visibility was so bad that we nearly missed it. But, the captain is an excellent free diver, so he located the most impressive circle of 20 statues as well as a lone statue who looked like she was praying. We tried to make photos with our GoPro, but no luck – the visibility was too poor.
Carriacou
The other two islands that are part of Grenada, are Carriacou to the North and Petit Martinique to the North East. We got to visit all three islands on our way back and forth and ended up spending a total of about three weeks in Grenada.
During our time together with Kyrre and Ann Iren, we spent two nights at anchor and mooring by Sandy Island, which is a truly pristine little island just off Carriacou. We gathered coconuts and spent some time on a dream like white sandy beach 😍
When at Sandy Island, it is a must to visit Paradise Beach Club, which is a restaurant just at the other side of the bay. They can organize pick up of their guests from the boat, which makes it very convenient. We were lucky to be there on a Monday, which is lobster BBQ night! On Wednesdays they have a special day for sailors, where you can paint a sign of your boat, which is then hung up at the restaurant. Would have loved to do it, but the pristine waters of Tobago Cays were calling us!
Petit Martinique
We visited Petit Martinique after having returned our friends to Trinidad. It is the smallest of the three islands, and also the most authentic. There is very little tourism there, and people live of fishing. We were in fact anchored off the neighboring island Petit St Vincent, and took the dinghy for a short ride to go for a couple of hikes.
A beautiful, cute little island, well worth a visit!