July 23, 1997

We just returned from Grenada and our cruise on the Yankee Clipper. We really appreciated the cruise reports that we had read before our trip and hope that our thoughts maybe of some value to any of you that may have plans to do a Windjammer cruise.

As an airline employee and traveling on a pass, we left Atlanta a day early on Saturday, July 12 to avoid getting bumped. We had purchased tickets on American Airlines through the Windjammer Fareshare program for the San Juan to Grenada leg. The reservation was for the next day on Sunday. We arrived at the San Juan airport and went over to American in hopes of catching the flight on Saturday, but the American ticket agent would not allow us to go a day early because of restrictions on the ticket. This meant that we would have to spend the extra day in San Juan. We had hoped to use the extra day exploring Grenada.

We found an inexpensive, safe, clean and friendly hotel nearby. The Hotel La Playa is about 3 miles form the San Juan airport and about a $9 cab ride. I say "about" because we were charged $8, 9 and 11 dollars on several trips between the hotel and airport. I suggest that the fare be discussed prior to leaving the curb! The La Playa's rates are $81 (including tax) for a couple which includes a light continental breakfast. It's located right on the water. The rooms are nothing special but very clean and the staff is friendly. The phone number is (787) 791-1115 or 791-7298.

The next day on Sunday, we returned to the airport for our flight to Grenada. The flight departs at 12:30 and takes about 1:20 minutes flying time. Not surprising we had about 30 of our fellow shipmates on the plane with us. American has just one flight a day and BWI is the other carrier that folks use. BWI flies directly from Miami.

After clearing customs and immigration, all the Windjammer people joined up together and Bob from Melbourne Fla., a Windjammer veteran, organized us and arranged for the luggage and cabs. This is a weekly pilgrimage and the cab drivers and porters were all aware of our arrival.

We piled into the cabs and headed for town. Our luggage was put on a truck and driven directly to the Yankee Clipper. The cab ride takes about 10-15 minutes and they charge $5 per person. Not bad for the distance involved.

While on the subject of money, I recommend that you load up on $1, 5 and 10 dollar bills before you leave home. The U.S. dollar is excepted everywhere and shop owners and restaurants will quote you in U.S. dollars or in the local E.C. (Eastern Caribbean) dollar. The set exchange rate is 2.6 E.C for each U.S. dollar. The reason for bringing small U.S. denominations is to eliminate getting any change over the amount of purchase in E.C. dollars. We did this and were not bothered with exchanging back to U.S. dollars at the end of the trip. Of course they will except mastercard and visa and those companies will ensure you receive the correct exchange rate when your bill comes the following month. On a similar subject, in Grenada, I did see one ATM machine but have no idea if they accept our cards. We carried traveler checks but never used them.

The cab will take you to the Nutmeg bar in St. George near where the ship is tied up. Given that it is Sunday, this is about the only place open and you won't be able to board the Yankee Clipper until 5pm. So with about 2 hours to kill you can spend the time getting to know your fellow travelers. The Nutmeg is a small restaurant overlooking the harbor and the ship. The beer is cold and the fish that we had was very good. Prices were not bad either.

Grenada is similar to many of the islands in the Caribbean. Very poor and not very developed. A bit of an annoyance when walking around town will be an array of people offering to sell things, take taxi rides, or offers of walking tours. I suppose this should be expected given the economic conditions there. None of these people seemed threatening when we politely declined. The downtown area is very small and very hilly if you travel more than a block away from the water. There are several tours that are available. The rain forest sounded interesting but time constraints prevented us from taking it.

We left the Nutmeg and walked the short distance around the small harbor to where the ship was located. Exactly at 5pm we were welcomed aboard. We were shown to our cabins and then went to the galley to complete some paper work. The ship takes your passport. They need this to clear customs when the ship passes into the St. Vincent Grenadines, a separate country. They will also run a copy of your credit card for any onboard purchases you may make.

A local band came aboard and played the first night and everyone spent the night getting acquainted.

The cabins are small and the bathrooms even smaller. We had cabin # 13 which was very comfortable otherwise. If you have been on a cruise ship, these facilities are considerably smaller in comparison but than again, it is a sailboat . I particularly mention the cabin number because many of the cabins were unacceptably hot. Several of them so uncomfortable that the people were unable to sleep in them and instead slept out on deck for the entire cruise. The cabin temperatures were a major topic of conversation during the cruise. The Captain and crew worked in an attempt to fix the problem but never really got it under control. I may be a bit cynical but suspect that this was not a one time incident. The main exhaust stack for the engine and generator went through some of the hottest cabins and the people in those cabins reported that the walls adjacent to exhaust stack were extremely warm.

On Monday, the ship had to move off the pier and anchor out in the harbor. Small boats were used to ferry us to the pier in St. George for more sight seeing.

That afternoon we set sail for Bequia. The sails were raised along with the traditional playing of Amazing Grace. We had fun helping with sails. The weather was beautiful, but this was the one leg of our journey that was a bit rough. For those of us that liked to be rocked to sleep this was wonderful but if you were prone to sea sickness, this may have been rougher than you'd like.

During the passage, we were fortunate to see two humpback whales swimming about one hundred yards off the port side of the ship. It appeared to be possibly a mother and a nursing baby whale.

We arrived in Bequia early Tuesday morning about 7:00. Bequia, pronounced BECK-WE, is a beautiful harbor. Admiralty Bay and Port Elizabeth are filled with many beautiful sail boats and is very picturesque.

We went on a one tank dive in the morning. It was a shallow reef dive at the mouth of the bay. Good visibility and an abundance of coral and sea creatures. A good dive. If you are not a certified diver, there are opportunities for resort dive certification.

Another tour that was available at Bequia, was a sailboat/snorkel trip. We didn't go on the tour but I was told by some that did that it was a 3 hour sail out to the snorkel sight, about 2 hours of snorkeling and 3 hour sail back. It was on a catamaran with very little shade. Most agreed that it was too much sailing/sun for them. One other complaint made was that the Yankee Clipper charged everyone $5 for a box lunch. The box lunch consisted of a cheese sandwich and an apple. All were unhappy with the contents and felt it chintzy on the part of the Yankee Clipper

That night some people ate ashore at one of the restaurants. There are several to choose from. Everyone seemed pleased with their selection. Later, a good crowd from the ship gathered at Schooner's across the bay from the restaurant area. It's a karaoke bar. This turned out to be a lot of fun. We met people off some of the sailboats anchored in the bay and nearly everyone had a chance to demonstrate their talents. We all stayed until the last tender left for the ship.

Early the next morning, we again set sail, destination Tobago Cay. Tobago Cay is an uninhabited group of islands that reminds one of the Swiss Family Robinson adventure. It is very beautiful. The swimming and snorkeling are outstanding! Make sure you take the short trail to the far side of the island because this proved to be the best snorkeling and was even prettier. There is also a trail that will lead you to the top of the hill on the island for a wonderful view of the area. Lunch was brought ashore here and as in all the beaches that we visited, the Clipper bar was also available.

For those security minded individuals, when visiting the beaches, a good place to leave your personal possessions when in the water or off exploring is with the crew member who runs the bar ashore. The crew member who had this tough assignment for us was a friendly fellow named "Country". You can feel confident that he will watch out for cameras and other items you may have on the beach.

The only negative about Tabago Cay was having to leave so soon.

That afternoon, the anchor was brought up and the sails trimmed for the short run to Palm Island. This is also when we experienced are only significant rain fall. Palm Island is a small island that has on it a resort hotel and several homes. The island was cleared and manicured many years ago by John Caldwell. He still lives on the island and has gained some notoriety by having authored a book, "Desperate Voyage" that details his exploits in attempting to sail a small sailboat to Australia to meet up with his future bride just after W.W.II.

We arrived at Palm Island just before sunset. A bbq was brought ashore and set up in a shelter area that is also home to one of the bars at the resort. Since the weather was not cooperating and because there was little to do on Palm Island, after dinner most returned early to the ship.

The next day, some of us divers went on a wreck dive. The site is located near the island of Mayreau. Mayreau would also be the Yankee Clipper's next destination. The wreck is a British warship that sunk after striking a reef while on patrol during WW1. She rests in about 35 feet and is pretty much intact. The ship is in a sandy area so other than the ship itself, there is little to see. The wreck is interesting and is home to a lot of lobsters now. It was a good shallow dive with no currents.

Soon after our return to the Yankee Clipper, we set sail for Mayreau.

Palm Island was not that terribly interesting and of all the stops we made, Palm Island is one that most agreed could have been cut much shorter.

Mayreau was a fairly short sail. On arrival we went ashore and again enjoyed the beautiful beach. The snorkeling here was also excellent! We spent the night at anchor off this island.

Friday, we set sail for our last full day aboard the Yankee Clipper. Carriacou was our destination. After a very brief stop to allow several crew members off to clear customs, we anchored off a very lovely beach. This was perhaps the best one yet! Again the bar went ashore and we followed. The snorkeling was again outstanding . It was perfectly deserted like many of the other beaches that we visited. I think one of the advantages of sailing on the Yankee Clipper is the fact that you are so far south away from the U.S. Virgin Islands and British Virgin Islands. The beaches are deserted and free of any pollution. During the entire trip, all the beaches we visited were very clean and virtually deserted.

We left Mayreau for the trip back to St. George, Grenada. This would be a night sail scheduled to arrive very early. The passengers flying out on BWI, would have to rise at 4:30am to have breakfast. I believe that their flight left about 7:30.

The airlines want you to check in 2 hours before departure. This may sound early but it really does take that much time. Also, at the airport after checking in with your airline you are required to pay an exit tax. Again they except U.S. or E.C. dollars. The tax for two people is $27 U.S..

For those of us leaving on American Airlines, we had a very leisurely morning. After a 8:30 breakfast we went for a stroll back into town. Some of our companions even arranged for tours. The Yankee Clipper provided lunch for us at 12:00. Cabs met us at the ship to take us to the airport around 1:00. Our flight left just after 3:00.

Captain John and his crew did an outstanding job during our stay! They were friendly and very helpful and I feel they genuinely were concerned about our welfare and also for us enjoying the cruise. We did enjoyed our cruise. We take back to Atlanta good memories. Story time, blue doubloons, swizzle time, the stars at night, and the playing of "Amazing Grace".

Most of the people on the cruise were in their 40's and 50's. We had 3 younger single ladies. We also had one couple from Holland that were with their two sons 17 and 11. The vast majority of the passengers were Americans with 2 German couples, the Holland family and 1 Canadian couple. Everyone got along just fine! By the end of the week everyone pretty much new everyone and genuinely enjoyed each others company. What was different from the big cruise ships too was the interaction that we all had with the crew members. Good times were had by all!

Having written all that we have, the question begs would we do it again?

Just like taking a cruise on a Carnival type cruise ship is not for everyone, sailing aboard a Windjammer cruise is not for everyone. It takes a certain type of individual to really enjoy the Windjammer experience. Its definitely not the cruise for you if you plan on bringing your children. To appreciate what this cruise has to offer you must really enjoy being around the water, be into water sport (snorkeling and diving) and not need the entertainment package that comes with the traditional cruise line.

We have made several traditional cruises with the big cruise lines. We have also chartered and sailed our own sail boat out of Tortola, BVI. With that said let's discuss some reservations we have about a future Windjammer cruise. Having not sailed on other ships in the Windjammer fleet, some of our criticism may not be true with respect to those ships.

The food on the ship was really quite marginal. There was plenty of it but the menu was poor.

The ship really needs more shady areas or areas to go when the weather is poor. Presently, your either topside or in your cabin.

It would be nice if a ship this size had some chairs where you could sit and read when not under way. The Yankee Clipper is not a very comfortable place to lounge around in. If you really wanted a comfortable place to sit and read or lay down you had to go to your cabin. As mentioned before, many of the cabins were uncomfortably hot which eliminated this option for many of the passengers!

I remember talking to David from Erie, Pa. towards the end of the cruise. This fellow was really beat. He physically looked drained and explained how he had not slept for the whole week due to oppressive conditions in his cabin, and David had an upgraded cabin. This is unacceptable!

Bottom line, when we sail again, we probably will charter our own boat. With your own boat, you have the flexibility to go where and when you want. You have no one else to blame but yourself for meals and entertainment. We know that when we chartered before we had the bimini top up and always stayed cool and protected from the sun. We also were much more comfortable than on the Yankee Clipper.

These thoughts are just ours. They were not expressed to discourage anyone from sailing on the Yankee Clipper. We hope you find them helpful and if you do sail on the Yankee Clipper that you enjoy your time in the islands!

Comments or suggestions can be sent to: Bill and Claudia vonevrvtwo@aol.com