First Things First
My how time flies when you are having fun! We can hardly believe that this is our 5th Hurricane Season to hang out in Grenada. Of course, if you’ve read Summer Recap 2026, you know that while the boat was in Granada, the crew didn’t spend the entire hurricane season here. However, since we returned in September, it has been a beehive of activity. Our first priority was to splash Daggers Down with her new rig, and make way to our summer home, Port Louis Marina. Thanks to Heather, Phil and Shaun, we had a smooth splash and motor to the marina. Anne captured this great video of Daggers Down gliding into her slip.
Gremlins Again?
Now that we were home, it was time to give Daggers Down some love and spiff her up for another sailing season. Oh, but wait, what is happening….our battery charger has bit the dust…ok only one gremlin this year from her long stay in the yard, but it’s an important gremlin to address. (See Grenada Boat Gremlins for what happened last time we stayed on the hard a long time.)
After consideration of how old our AGM battery bank was and the cost of a new battery charger (which we use on a European power dock), we decided to investigate the possibility of upgrading to lithium. Last time we needed to replace our battery bank, we were not located on an island where we could tackle this upgrade. So, maybe now we could, but what were the chances we could get this done before the end of Hurricane Season?
Ben called Marine Tech and discovered that they actually had Epoch lithium batteries in stock! No waiting on delivery—wowser! Ok, when could they be installed—this week? Really? We called on Monday and the batteries were installed and working by Friday! What a miracle! Plus, it cost a third of what it would have cost had we installed lithium 7 years ago when we took possession of Daggers Down.
Boat Love
Now that we had a way to charge the batteries, we could get back to spiffing up Daggers Down. We polished the stainless and weatherproofed the teak with Semco. We cleaned and scotchgarded the cockpit cushions.
Jordan and his crew steam cleaned the inside cushions and washed the outside of the vessel from top to bottom. She was sparkling!
Ben made new bridles and sewed on chafe protection.
And the list goes on, but now we are getting close to the end of the chores.
Fun Times
Nirvana Pasta Paradise
Meanwhile, all work and no play makes for grumpy crew. While the boat was torn up getting new batteries, we visited our friend, Nirvana from Nirvana Pasta Paradise and ordered up some delicious pasta and chicken parmesan. She even shared some fresh spinach from her plant which made a scrumptious side dish.
Birthday Festivities
Nirvana even made me an amazing birthday cake. I think the cake weighed about six pounds, and it just barely fit in our freezer!
Since the batteries where being installed on my birthday, we went to one of our favorite lunch spots on the beach, Sand Bar and Grill with Shaun and Anne from SV Sea Rabbit. The beach bar provided great food, yummy drinks and a lovey beach. It was always a delightful place to spend the afternoon. They also surprised me with cake and ice cream for my birthday.
Finally, the battery installation was complete, and we were able to put the salon area back together. Now it was time to for my real birthday dinner of grilled lobster and all the fixins’. Thanks to Anne and Shaun for springing for the lobster, and t0 Ben for his perfect grilling skills, the dinner was simply divine, and as good as any restaurant on the island!
Ladies’ Coffee
In addition, the fun continued with the tradition of Ladies Coffee each Thursday at 9:30. This island is so populated with cruisers that sometimes there are 2 or more ladies’ coffees around the island. However, as Hurricane season closes, people begin to drift away, and the coffees get smaller. Nevertheless, they continue as a support for lady cruisers, and a way to stay in touch throughout the islands.
5th Annual SV Daggers Down Happy Hour
Another annual tradition in Grenada for the last five years at Port Louis Marina has been happy hour hosted by SV Daggers Down. Somehow each season 20+ folks crowd onto her bringing some amazing appetizers and drinks for an evening of socializing. It’s fun to meet new folks as well as catch up with old friends.
Catching up with Texas Cruiser Buddies
This year we also got to catch up with cruiser friends we met five years ago when we first arrived in Grenada. We saw Doug and Amy from SV Black River a couple of times during the summer in Texas. Then Doug appeared on the docks in Grenada to give SV Black River some much needed TLC. Life had happened, and he had not seen his beautiful boat in 2 years. It was great to have Doug back on island and to spend additional time with him. Hopefully we will see him and the rest of his family, wife, Amy and dog, Crew somewhere on the water this year.
Gotta’ Love Orchids
Two years ago, we attended an open house near Secret Harbor, Orchid 473, where some expats had begun growing and selling orchids. I love orchids and thought it might be a fun outing again. The proprietor indicated that he was not having an open house for a while but would love for us to stop by anytime just to have a look. So, we grabbed Anne and Shaun and did just that. We did not expect a personalized tour, but we got one anyway. We learned so much about orchids and growing them. There were all kinds of varietals of many colors. It was a beautiful way to spend a few hours. Michael is passionate about orchids!
We even bought one for Nirvana as a thank you for her making me the amazing birthday cake. Turns out her cat, Blackie, likes orchids as much as I do!
The Time is Drawing Near
Its now November and hurricane season has come to a close. Boats are leaving every day. Some are headed north, some west and others have their sights on Europe to the east.
This week is the 5-month anniversary of my knee replacement, and it is coming along nicely. I have worked it out religiously at the gym or the pool. It is nice to have a solid foundation to use as I navigate the boats and docks.
Thus, we are now contemplating making our escape from the marina. We are looking forward to being on anchor and watching the sunsets. Ben is finishing chores such as filling jerry cans with diesel, and I am reprovisioning the boat. I am also trying new recipes that might work well on the boat like Instant Pot Cabbage Roll Casserole.
The freezer is now full of food as I have meal prepped meat and gather food that is difficult to find in other destinations.
Any day now, we should be shedding our lines and going north. Where will we go this season is the question we are asked frequently, but the answer is vague. We will go north up the Caribbean island chain staying where we want to stay and moving when the weather allows. Uhmmm, will we make St. Croix this year? I guess we will have to wait and see…
Hope you will travel with us as we continue to explore everything the Caribbean has to offer; meet up with friends and make new friends; and deal with what nature dishes out to us—the beauty of nature every day!
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