Currently here in Green Cove Springs we're celebrating the return of our friends, Jerry and Linda, to Florida after 6 years cruising in the eastern and southern Caribbean. They're back here for the same reason as we are - make enough money to continue cruising. How they found their boat S/V "Summer Breeze", a 44-foot Gulfstar, is one incredible tale.

Originally they had S/V"Heartland", a 34-foot True North, on which they sailed until 2004 when Hurricane Ivan struck Grenada. We had been in the same marina with them and left for Trinidad the day before the hurricane struck Grenada. Jerry and Linda were on a visit to the States and were due back in Grenada the day after the hurricane struck.

Until we went to Trinidad we were watching their boat for them and so stayed longer in Grenada than we normally would have with a hurricane in the vicinity. Ivan was forecast to turn north; however, its actual course was almost due west. When we awoke Monday morning and Ivan was scheduled to pass 70 miles to the north of Grenada, we quickly decided to go south. As we sailed to Trinidad we heard that the storm was already north of the latitude for Trinidad and still well east of our position. We had a smooth sail and the seas didn't start to build until we reached the entrance to the Chaguaramus anchorage in Trinidad.

Ivan hit Grenada dead on the next day with the eye passing directly over the marina we had been in. In Trinidad we only had 25 knot winds although when the wind changed direction on Tuesday night our anchors broke loose and reset themselves, fortunately without incident except it took Charlie 1 hour to pull them up on Wednesday morning.

Since the airport in Grenada was closed we told Linda and Jerry to fly into Trinidad and we'd sail back to Grenada. The four of us made the trip on a boat laden with groceries and fuel donated by the cruisers in Trinidad. The Trinidad Coast Guard was monitoring all vessels going to and from Grenada since some of the boats bringing supplies to Grenada had been attacked by pirates. We checked in with them a couple of times. During the night while Jerry and Charlie were on watch they saw a small boat rapidly approaching. Both men went for the weapons we carried on board, and apparently the speedboat saw this because they backed off at the last minute. We sailed the rest of the way without incident.

Grenada, formerly a green island, was now a totally brown one with not a leaf to be seen anywhere. Of the 40 or so boats that were in our marina, only 4 were sitting on their anchors; the rest were piled on shore or jammed into the brand new floating docks that had broken loose. Unfortunately an aluminum sailboat had smashed broadside into several boats, including "Heartland" which was now minus over 3 feet of her bow. She wasn't taking on water since the boat that rammed her was now propping her up, but she was declared a total loss by Jerry and Linda's insurance company.

Another security incident I should mention occurred while we were in Grenada. There were numerous reports of looting and we had heard gunshots during our stay, so we weren't surprised when one of the locals swam out to our boat from shore and tried to board. When Charlie pointed a suitable weapon at him, he said he just wanted to make sure we were OK and left quickly. After that incident no more looting occurred in that area since the locals now understood cruisers were armed. A good example of why it doesn't pay to have a victim mentality.

Back to Jerry and Linda who are now minus a boat. We suggested that they load everything they wanted from "Heartland" onto "Blue Star" (thank God for 5 cabins!) and return to Trinidad with us. So after 5 days in Grenada, the four of us returned to Trinidad where Jerry and Linda ended up staying with us for 6 weeks until they bought "Summer Breeze" which had been sitting on the hard in Trinidad for over 4 years because her owners fell ill and were unable to return to the boat. With a bit of elbow grease and getting rid of all the stuff her owners had left behind, "Summer Breeze" turned out to be in great shape. Even her fuel was still good according to Jerry, a mechanic by trade, who fired up the engine using the original fuel. The rest, as they say, is history.

Tomorrow we'll continue with our shakedown voyage.