Location: Prickly Bay, Grenada
Blinking away the gifts of the Sand Man, the crew of Ocean Star awoke this morning to the soothing sounds of Jack Johnson and Jackie Greene. After breakfast and Oceanography class, we were whisked away to the beautiful white sand beach of Grande Anse. Two Hobie Cat catamarans awaited the crew for what we lovingly call Hobie Carnage. Carnage may not have a good connotation for some- you may be thinking to yourself, “Should I be worried?”. Not to worry- the carnage does not really apply to the people but more to the boats. After a quick orientation to our 15′ boats, we split up into two teams- The Commitments and Golden Star. We then commenced a relay race to the death or until the first team to get everyone around the marker buoy made it back to the beach. It was a close race – mind you, that steering a 15′ Hobie and the 88′ Ocean Star turned out to be very different experiences- but The Commitments won the bragging rights in the end. We then opened up the boats to some pleasure cruising around the bay, games of football, and the pursuit of bronze glory on the beach. It sounds innocuous- but it’s called Hobie Carnage for a reason. The bay in Grande Anse is notoriously gusty, and during one of these gusts, Geraldine’s Hobie made a break for the fish, and she was in the water. Thankfully, Kyle, Josh, and a rescue kayak came to her aid- and she was back on the beach (this time via kayak) in no time with a funny story to tell. The rest of the afternoon, the crew explored all Grenada had to offer: tasting interesting local cuisine, riding the local bus, and visiting the spice market in town. Reunited aboard Ocean Star, the crew regaled tales of the day over dinner and finished the evening with an MTE (sailing) class. Another EPIC day!