Adventure Swimming and Gumbo.
Tuesday is a day for giving over, for going with the flow. It’s also for adventure swimming and gumbo.
The four of us stood on the back of the boat, ready to jump in, as our yacht Antares battled against a 5-knot current between two islands, one with sheer cliffs 70 feet high, the other with a sandy beach that looked much calmer than the water running past it. The water boiled and swirled as choppy waves had their tops blown off, sending spray several yards. Whirlpools appeared, evidenced by the Sargasso weed spinning in tight circles. After two days of swimming in relatively flat, calm waters, this looked like the last place someone would want to swim, yet here we were, seeking adventure. Captain Jason gave us the go-ahead, and we leaped.
Before I even took a stroke, I laid out flat in a superman pose to watch the bottom fly by in about 20 feet of water. We were moving very fast, but we were all sticking together as planned. I could see Jason turning around to follow us in our yacht, also as planned. Our goal was to enjoy a wild ride then split off from the current on the right side, along Ronde Island, so we cheated that way a little, hoping not to get pulled onto shore. It worked! The water got very deep here, maybe 70 feet, and I could still see the bottom clearly. We passed a man in an impossibly small rowboat, and I gave him a wave. He seemed bewildered by our presence, and rightly so. The current began to fade, and the four of us fell into a nice rhythm, stroking along a little cove where a few farmer/fishermen accessed the otherwise empty island. We felt so good, we decided to swim for another 10 minutes before Jason picked us up, Zack throwing a thick line off the stern for us to pull ourselves to the yacht against the current.
This little swimming adventure was planned by Captain Jason, who had done this as a drift dive many times before with his teenagers on the trips he’s run here for so many years. If not for that, I’d have never jumped into that mess. Miriam and Melinda were totally game, and executed the swim perfectly. We’ll do this one again on future trips, perhaps even next week. These adventure swims are really dynamic, and just about the opposite of a workout in a pool. We love this.
Boobies circle one of the Sisters, a stunning cluster of rock promontory islands.
The nearby Sisters Islands are a dramatic cluster of tall volcanic outcroppings that serve as a rookery for a flock of brown boobies. Fluffy, bright white chicks in precarious nests are fed a steady diet of fish as the adult boobies swoop and squawk. I wonder how long they’ve been roosting here. 1000 years? 10,0000 years?
We had a 2 hour sail ahead of us, to the Island of Carriacou. Chef Miriam started a roux, which requires a great deal of stirring, which she did in a seated position before abandoning the project temporarily as the seas picked up. I downed 1/2 a dramamine and drank a ginger beer, inducing a nap. Miriam and Melinda stretched out on the foredeck. Zack worked the sails as Captain Jason steered with his feet.
I woke up in a new level of paradise as we anchored off Sandy Island, just off Carriacou. The whole scene resembles an old Corona Beer commercial, with bright white sand and a row of perfectly placed palm trees. We snorkeled the reef here, which is as healthy as I’ve seen in the Caribbean. I spotted a purple-nosed trumpet fish, tilefish building nests from rubble, a barracuda, french grunt, parrot fish, and schools of lots of other little friends.
Our afternoon swim was a circumnavigation of Sandy Island. The backside was downwind, but into the sun, and we took wide berths around the ends to avoid shallow reef. Back on the yacht side of the island, we hugged the sandy shoreline as we headed into the wind, brown pelicans splashing all around us, and a massive school of silversides splitting ahead of us and filling in all around behind us.
Back on Antares, we watched a show put on by leaping Jacks acting like spinner dolphins as we sipped mojitos. No one seemed to mind. The sunset included the mysterious green flash, followed by a deep red sky. Eventually that roux became a delicious gumbo, served with a chilled Merlot. Miriam really nailed this one. When you’re in Texas or on facebook, check her and her vittles out.
Chef Miriam stirring her roux early in the day, then grabbing a few minutes of evening with us on the bow.
Several of us jumped in for an after dark cool-off swim, which set us up nicely for a long, deserved rest. Before sleeping, however, we found out that the 2-day quarantine has been lifted in Grenada! This means that our Spring guests will only require the typical negative PCR test 72 hours prior to flying, and a rapid test upon landing. Easy! If you’ve been thinking about joining us for one of our Spring trips here, things just got a lot more convenient. After the first two days of swimming adventures here, I can’t imagine not wanting to come back.
- Hopper
