Words and Photos by Chrystal Young
My last port of call before I moved to the Caribbean was the Pacific Northwest. Summer consisted of days not really months. If the sun came out, everyone rushed to the seashore. I mean, the Seattle area is stunning – the San Juan Islands, the Olympic National Forest, Mt. Rainier – all that. The lack of sun did not stop me from sailing as much as I could. (My doctor, however, did prescribe a regiment of vitamin D.) Summer or no – I was sailing! The one thing that stopped me was, of course, was the lack of wind.
In 2013, I was presented with the opportunity to move to the Southern Caribbean and start a sailing school. Yes, please! Watch out Grenada, here I come!
Grenada is located at the Southern end of the Caribbean Island chain just above Trinidad. Not many people have actually heard of Grenada except for an America “intervention” in 1983. And just for the sake of geographic accuracy, it’s Grenada not Granada. Granada is in Spain. Be sure and take note before you make your airline reservations like that one dentist guy.
What about this Endless Summer idea? Well, Grenada averages around 27.5 c (81.5 f) degrees every day and the water temperature is about the same. You don’t get that initial shock when you cannon ball into the ocean but it is still very refreshing! The nights are about 12 hours long and so are the days. There is not much tide, either. Grenada does not recognize daylight savings time so the hours don’t fluctuate.
For your Endless Summer enjoyment, we have white sand beaches, black sand beaches, waterfalls, hot springs, rum shacks, and volcanos. We have lush rain forests, winding mountain roads and dry, desert like conditions such as on the sister islands of Carriacou and Petite Martinique.
Ah! But best of all is the wind! The consistent trade winds blow all year around with the peak being around December which brings the Christmas winds. Average wind speed is 10 – 15 knots with gusts 20 – 25 knots. Honestly, sailboats out number power boats 10 – 1 in this area. It attracts cruisers from all over the world as a first stop crossing the Atlantic and last stop for hurricane season.
When Summer Sailstice Ambassador Marissa Neely from SV Avocet posted on Women Who Sail Facebook page that Summer Sailstice was looking for bloggers to write about summer sailing, I didn’t think I would qualify. Not everyone lives in an area with four seasons. Some of us have escaped to an area with only one. That would be the Endless Summer! Honestly, if I can do it, anyone can.
Bio: Chrystal lives in Grenada, is part owner of LTD Sailing “Living the Dream!” Sailing School and is a yacht broker for The Multihull Company. When she is not sailing on her Jeanneau 39i “Crazy Love”, you will find her Hashing, traveling to distance shores and blazing trails in a Land Rover Defender 110. Website: www.LTDsailing.com Other articles: https://www.multihullcompany.com/articles/its-a-rental/ ; https://www.bwsailing.com/cc/2017/04/st-vincent-to-grenada-in-ten-days/
