It rained last night. Miriam and Myssie took in Alina and I which was very kind and totally beyond the call of guest duty but very much appreciated. Fitz stayed dry in the salon. All three of us slept like the dead.

The rain cooled things off a touch, which no one complained about. Even the water was a full degree cooler when we jumped in. Amazing how much difference a degree can make.

But I’m getting ahead of myself!

First, a little about our bling. Samantha has been making T. Swift style friendship bracelets for her SwimVacation crews and fellow guests for her last two trips. She asks everyone their fav colors, wrist sizes and gets to work. For this trip, I asked her to make a very special one for Miriam who will pass the milestone of 100th day on SwimVacation this week. If that isn’t worth a custom commissioned bracelet, I’m not sure what is. It’s a small thing that adds more color and sparkle to what we do. We love these bracelets, and we love Samantha for being our official SV beader.

Another thing that has started happening on some trips, especially trips with Miriam and Myssie, is that we get a pre-trip text chain going. I love this trend as it turns strangers into friends and gets everyone excited before the trip even starts. It’s on the text thread that Samantha dials in everyone’s fav colors, and it’s also the place where the ladies decided on a matching trip swim suit. Not required, but everyone participated including Alina and I, and wearing them made for a fun start to the morning swim.

Another fun thing about our morning swim: Art from Westbrook, Maine, who we met on the monohull we swam past yesterday decided to join us! He had said he wanted to yesterday, and we didn’t believe he’d actually do it until he pulled up in his dinghy about 5 minutes before we jumped in. We put a buoy on him and threw him in. He did pretty well to keep up with us, and after our fun exploration of the big water off the point, made a beeline back for the boat instead of the scenic route over the reef which we all opted for. No judgements! It was fun to have you Art! See you in Maine!

The best thing about this swim was the great visibility and the wildlife sightings! It was the kind of SwimVacation swim we are accustomed to, and the type that makes Grenada a place we love to swim. We saw many turtles (I only managed a photo of one!), some very friendly reef fish including a trunk fish mugging for the camera, and my personal fvorite thing about Grenada, a flying gurnard. Miriam decided the FG looks more like a “Dragon Fish”, and I quite agree, so behold, the Grenadian Dragon Fish.

We pulled the hook and made another long sail up to Carriacou where we lunched while Jason took our passports ashore to check us out of Grenada. We are nationless for the moment, as tomorrow we will leave the Grenadian islands and cross into the waters of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

A brief note about the state of Carriacou - most of us did not go ashore and so I cannot personally attest to the stage of rebuilding here after the cat 5 hurricane Beryl raked right across this island a few months ago. The bay is certainly filled with ship carcasses similar to what we saw in BVI after Irma devastated things there. Jason reports many ruined buildings and blue tarps for roofs as well. As we planned our afternoon swim, I felt the anxiety creeping up in me about the state of one of our favorite reefs on the tip of Sandy Island, just off shore.

*Tattered sails are a common sight here off shore of Carriacou.*

But first, RAIN. A proper soaker. It rained so hard everything went white and drenched our guys coming back from town. It cooled things down nicely though, and made for some incredibly dramatic skies as we sailed up to Sandy Island.

Most of us hadn’t changed our suits from the morning, and so like ballerinas lining up for our recital, one by one we jetéd our pink selves into the drink.

We circumnavigated Sandy Island, now almost two islands after the violence of a monster storm, as we have many times before. The swim was filled with highs and lows for me - beautiful clear water and lots of fish, but they all looked a little bewildered among the debris of what was a fairly healthy reef the last time we were here. It was hard to see the rubble and ruin, but on close inspection I noticed the babies and cleaners hard at work - tiny algae eaters who will hopefully clean things up a bit, perhaps enough for new corals to take hold. With this water temperature it’s hard to imagine, but I’d like to anyway.

We ended our swim with an impromptu underwater photo session with 7 of us in our matching pink suits, which look lovely in the turquoise waters here. Fitzy boldly did some photo duty for me so I could be in a few frames too, and he did a pretty good job!

As always here, the evening light got soft and pink and lovely and great. I noticed a family out playing on the narrow spit of sand that was once a broader island. Our guests enjoyed the evening breezes on the bow in between a beautiful plate of appetizers from Maya and a delicious coconut shrimp gumbo stewy sort of thing for dinner. Banana bread with chocolate ganache didn’t hurt anyone.

I always write about how open water swimming is an exercise in working with what we are given. Often it’s current or swell that keeps us present and on our toes. But on this trip it’s the facts of a warming world we are wrestling with, and it’s the consequences we are facing. I try to stay present and mark what I see. I look for details and signs of rebirth to keep heartache at bay. I also know that life of some kind will always find a way, and I’m hopeful for what might take hold by the next time I’m here.

The stars are out tonight. Should be an incredible sky.

Love,

Heather

Tuesday turtles and a flying gurnard.

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