Rum punch Friday

A flock of birds circled around the bay at Isle de Ronde this morning. They seemed unsettled, landing in the water, taking off, circling again. They looked like ducks, and paddled around like ducks, but they didn’t sound like ducks. Rather, they had a high-pitched whine of sorts. So two out of three on the looks-like-a-duck puzzle. Cap’n Jason identified them as black-bellied whistle ducks. They soon found their way out of the bay to destinations unknown. 

Our destination this morning was a channel between Isle de Ronde and Caille Island, where the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea swap water, and create some very swift currents. We’ve only seen them running east to west, but this morning they looked the opposite, and the water was swirling and boiling and confused, so just as we were all ready to jump in we had to abandon our plans for safety’s sake. 

Still in our caps and goggles and swim buoys, we headed for a couple of tall, rocky islands topped with bright green vegetation. Pelicans, Boobies and Frigates love this spot, and they dive and swoop over the churning seas below.  We jumped in with the idea that we’d do some figure eight around the two islands. Our first pass between them was through a narrow chute, with a strong current pulling us through, then around the other side to where we couldn’t make progress against the current, backtracked to the other side, then made another attempt to get back to where we started. The current was running really hard, but a few of us got through it and surfed the surge through the narrow chute once again, met up with the rest of the group, and jumped back aboard the yacht. An exciting, dynamic swim in a brilliant, wild, natural setting. 

We still had some miles to cover to get back to Grenada, so we set sail again. Once we were in Grenada’s wind shadow, the seas calmed enough for Maya to set out a tasty eggplant and pasta lunch. Jason turned the engines off, and the afternoon grew still and quiet. Suddenly, he screamed out “I can’t take it anymore!!!!”, left the helm, and jumped off the bow, trying to prank us. He floated in between the pontoons and as the boat passed over him, he grabbed onto a line he had tied off the stern and climbed back aboard, laughing at our startled faces. The boat was only moving along at about 1 knot, so the rest of us jumped in and splashed around at the bow. This fun pastime is called bridle surfing, as swimmers can jump off the bow and hang on to the bridle lines beneath the boat in between the pontoons as the boat moves slowly under one sail. Such fun.

Moored off Grenada, Jason dinghied in with our customs forms and passports to check us into the country. Heavy rains all through this chain of islands last weekend, and a lot of streets were flooded. A lot of runoff entered the ocean, and we thought it best to avoid swimming in the bays close to shore, so we took off for the open seas. Copying our earlier adventure, we had Jason put up a sail and turn off the engines. The boat cruised along at about 1-1/4 knots, and we swam ahead of it for 45 minutes. Kyle attracted a little fish friend that stayed with us for about a mile. This is the first time we’ve done a swim like this, but it won't be the last.

I made 2 pitchers of rum punch and filled a third with ice, plopping them down up top where the guests had gathered with some apps Maya had put out. Then I hit the charcoal grill, which Zack and Jason had already lit, and flipped burgers as the moon rose over Grenada. A dance party broke out after dinner and a group shot of tequila, followed by Heather’s always fantastic slide show  It got very hot in the salon during the show, and we realized the AC had knocked itself out. Many of us spread out on the deck to sleep under the stars. 

This group of guests really dug into this trip. They stayed tough through head currents, choppy water, and the occasional sting from sea lice. They feasted on everything these islands had to offer, and I can’t wait to swim with them again. 

Our crew worked their tails off. Jason always put us where we wanted to be, when we wanted to be there. Zack works non-stop. Dishes, stocking the drinks fridge, deck handing, serving, cleaning, trash, and hundreds of other tasks that keep these trips afloat. Heather captured stunning images of the trip, and always provides a gentle hand and a calm voice during intense swims. John straightened out our guests’ strokes and often led the way on our swims, testing new waters and leaping from every high rock he could find. 

SwimVacation now takes a break until our April trip to the Seychelles, but Heather and I have a lot of office type stuff to do until then. Heather has a boy that is swimming in college, and I have two that swim for a local club and their high school, so we have many hours on the bleachers ahead of us this winter. 

We can’t wait to swim with you in 2025!

Cheers,

Hopper