Grenada fact file

Grenada enjoys a tropical climate with characteristically heavy rainfall between July and December. An average of 180mm of rainfall can be expected in November, although rain will fall throughout the year. Temperatures are vaguely affected by northern trade winds, and will stay between 25°C to 28°C on average all year.

Hurricanes
The hurricane season is between August and November with a few smaller storms possible in June and July. Most hurricanes pass to the north of the island but it was devastated by Hurricane Ivan in 2004, the aftermath of which is still evident, although the island has made a positive, strong recovery since then.

Tides and currents
Negligible tidal range with a maximum of around 0.5m. Trade Wind-driven currents are typical for the region, especially around headlands. The nutrient-rich Guyana current makes for to a healthy and varied coral reef environment. The waters around the island are a divers’ paradise with few equals in the Caribbean.

By air
Virgin, British Airways, Air Jamaica, American, Delta, Air Canada, Condor (Germany) and several smaller regional airlines all fly into Maurice Bishop International Airport (formerly Point Salines International Airport).
www.grenadaairport.com

The airport receives some commercial flights from several major cities and has a newly built FBO to cater for private aircraft. For St Vincent and the Grenadines, transfers are available via Grenada, Barbados, Martinique, St Lucia, or Trinidad and Tobago. Carriacou is linked twice weekly by air to Union Island.

Local air charter services
SVG Air
www.svgair.com

Island Birds
www.islandbirds.com

St Barth Commuter
www.stbarthcommuter.com

There are links twice a week to the island of Margarita off Venezuela onward connections to Caracas.

Several ferries make the run from St George’s to Carriacou (and beyond to Petite Martinique).

Customs and immigration
There are no visa requirements for US or EU citizens, although passports must presented when required and evidence of an ongoing or return travel plan must be shown.
www.grenadaconsulate.com/Visa_exempt.html

When entering Grenada, yachts should fly their yellow quarantine (Q) flags. In addition, the courtesy flag of Grenada should be flown starboard on the main mast. Grenada uses the red right returning rule, meaning ships should keep red buoys to their right when pulling in to harbour.

Masters will need to make three or four copies of crew lists, as well as immigration cards. Declarations will need to be made of stores and pets, as well as for firearms and medical stores. Firearms will either be kept onshore by officials or can be locked aboard the boat.

Travellers should have passports and identification as well as a clearance from their last port of call. Customs and immigration officials are available Monday through Thursday from 8:00 am to 11:45 am and 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm On Friday’s they are available until 5:00 pm Weekend hours are 9:00 am to 1:00 pm, but weekend or late clearances may incur fees.

A cruising permit valid for one year maximum must be obtained from the customs office in order to sail in local waters. A new one must be obtained every time the boat arrives again from a foreign country, even if that is within the validity of the last cruising permit issued.

Parts and equipment may be imported without duty.

Entry and departure fees

Upon departure from the island, boats must pay EC$1 per person to the Immigration office as an embarkation tax.

Grenada has a EC$50 per person (EC$25 if under age 12) departure fee at the airport. If you are flying in to return to your vessel be sure to have a copy of your vessel documentation and clearance papers to show at the airport, or if you are joining a vessel have a letter from the Captain of the vessel stating that you will be joining the vessel.

Marinas, ports and anchorages

GRENADA

Port Louis Marina
The newish Port Louis Marina is now owned and operated by Camper & Nicholsons Marinas. Port Louis Marina currently operates 170 berths – fully serviced marina slips for yachts of all sizes, including superyachts up to 90m (300ft) in length and 6m (20ft) draught.
www.cnmarinas.com/marinas/port-louis

Clarkes Court Bay
www.clarkescourtbaymarina.com

Martin’s Marina
martinsmarina@caribsurf.com

Prickly Bay Marina*
Prickly Bay has customs and immigration, and is home to Spice Island Marine, with fuelling, a chandlery, a restaurant, and a bar. Spice Island Marine also contains a working boatyard, with a 70-ton TraveLift, electrical and wood shops, a sail loft and rigging shop, plus other services.
www.spiceislandmarine.com

Le Phare Bleu Marina*
Le Phare Bleu Marina, Grenada’s latest marina and port of entry on the eastern side of Clarkes Court Bay, is run by Swiss owners, and a former Swedish lightship (Blue Light) dominates the marina.
www.lepharebleu.com

Grenada Yacht Club – Marina St George’s *
The Grenada Yacht Club is located in Grand Anse, on Grenada’s leeward side.
www.grenadayachtclub.com

CARRIACOU
True Blue Bay, Hillsborough*

*Port of entry

Bunkering
CBL / Horimex Bunkering Services Ltd
Church St Hillsborough (Carriacou)
Tel: 473-443-6400
Email: horimex1@yahoo.com

Provisioning & food
Local markets, supermarkets and shops in St Georges and main towns. With Grenada’s fertile soil, market stalls are piled high with vegetables, including sweet and ‘Irish’ potato, tannia, eddoe, yam, plantain and fig. Grenadian food is influenced by British, French and of course African food and island cooks make good use of local ingredients such as the fish, and the island’s famous spices.

The national dish consists of breadfruit, dasheen leaves, root vegetables and some salt pork (optional) all steamed in coconut milk and spices. Lambi, the French creole name for conch, is often served up curried.

Grenada uses its range of fruits to make some exotic ice-creams, including nutmeg, soursop and even avocado.

Cruising guides
Sailors Guide to the Windward Islands – Grenada to Martinique
Chris Doyle
Published by Cruising Guide Publications
ISBN: 9780944428764

Grenada to the Virgin Islands
Jacques Patuelli
Published by Imray
ISBN: 9781846230110

Beaches
Yachts must stay at least 200 meters offshore from all beaches and should never pump bilge or waste into local waters.

Grenada alone has over 40 beaches, some with restaurants, others hotels and sports facilities or at least good beach bars. Most will be remarkably uncrowded, even at weekends. The best being: Grand Anse Beach, Morne Rouge Beach on the south coast, Magazine Beach on Grenada’s South-western coast, consisting of a mile of white sand, and clear blue waters, secluded Pink Gin Beach behind the hill overlooking Point Salines International Airport. Bathway Beach to the north of the island, La Sagesse Beach, Levera Beach and Paradise Beach on Carriacou.

Fishing permits
Fishing is restricted in the protected marine areas in Grenada (Moliniere Point) and Carriacou (Sandy Island, Saline Island, White Island). Anchoring at Grand Anse and the Carenage in Grenada and at Harvey Vale in Carriacou is restricted. Lobster and spear fishing is prohibited without a licence, which is issued only to Grenadians. Lobster should only be bought in season (31 October to 30 April).

Events

Carnival
Carnival is celebrated in the second week of August. Several exciting activities take place during this time including steel drum contests and parades.

Grenada Round The Island Regatta

The regatta takes place every March, organised by the Grenada South Coast Yacht Club. www.aroundgrenada.com

Grenada Sailing Festival
 Annual Regatta
Grenada Sailing Festival
 Annual Regatta out of Port Louis, with racing off the southern coast. Normally held around the first week in February.

Emergencies
Police & Fire Dial 911
Ambulance Grenada Dial 434
Ambulance Carriacou Dial 774

Coastguard VHF Channel 16
Dial 911
T: 473-440-2112

Marine and Yachting Association of Grenada www.mayag.org
Yacht Hotline T: 473 405 7490

There is no British High Commission in Grenada. British Nationals requiring emergency consular assistance should contact the British High Commission in Barbados.

The US Ambassador to Grenada is resident in Bridgetown, Barbados. The Embassy in Grenada is staffed by a Charge d’Affaires and five locally engaged staff who report to the Ambassador in Bridgetown.

Medical
Dengue fever occurs across the Caribbean and can occur throughout the year. It is a mosquito-borne infection that can cause a feverish illness associated with headache, muscle aches and pains, and rash. Some cases of dengue are severe. Dengue can be prevented by avoiding being bitten by the disease-carrying mosquitoes that feed predominately during daylight hours.

Hazards
There is a 1.5km no-sailing zone around the active underwater volcano Kick Em’ Jenny located between Grenada and Carriacou, west of Isle de Ronde off Grenada’s northwest coast (12.18°N 61.38°W). During an eruption an exclusion zone of 5km is enforced. Vessels should stay at least 10km west of Isle de Ronde.

Crime
Most visits to Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique are trouble-free. The main types of incident include: replacing lost and stolen passports and dealing with arrests and detentions, mostly for drugs offences. There is a low threat from terrorism.

Grenada is a friendly and welcoming country and overall crime rates are relatively low. Despite the relaxed atmosphere, however, there have been incidents of violent crime including murder. These tend to occur within the local community but can sometimes affect tourists. Severe penalties exist for all drug offences.

Dinghy stealing is endemic throughout much of the Caribbean, but marinas are usually pretty safe if the normal precautions are taken.

Certain homosexual acts are illegal under Grenadian laws.

Roads and driving
Motorists drive on the left in Grenada with a more relaxed attitude to the rules of the road. In some areas, there are open drains at the side of roads; extra care is needed to negotiate potential hazards to tyres and bodywork. Many roads are steep, with hairpin bends and potholes in places; drive slowly and vigilantly.



Mini bus services are operating throughout the island, which provide relatively cheap and fast (often dangerously so) travel within Grenada. Water taxi and ferry services are alternative forms of travel. Standard taxi fares exist for most destinations but it is sensible to clarify the fare with the driver before beginning a journey. Self-drive cars can be hired locally. Given the steepness of many roads in the mountainous hinterland, automatic four-wheel drive vehicles are popular, particularly following the damage to many roads caused by the hurricanes. A local three-month driving permit costs EC$30.

Religion
Roman Catholic 53%, Anglican 13.8%, other Protestant 33.2%

Dress
Grenada frowns on nude bathing, or the wearing of bikinis either in town or at the local supermarkets. It is an offence for anyone, including children, to dress in camouflage clothing.

Cruising strategies
Grenada is the southernmost of the Windward Islands and the largest of the Grenadines, and largest member of a group of three islands (Grenada, Carriacou, and Petit Martinique) lying just northeast of Trinidad and Tobago, and southwest of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

Grenada is a popular turning point for cruisers to either return back up the Caribbean chain or to turn westward towards Panama. Called The Spice Island, it is a major source of nutmeg, cloves, ginger, cinnamon, and cocoa.

Carriacou, the southernmost islands of the Grenadines is less developed and boasts a fine natural harbour, Tyrell Bay. Volcanic Petite Martinique, at only 586-acres, is one of the smallest inhabited island in the Windward Islands. The main occupation is fishing and boat building has been a tradition since the mid-1800s. The main beach located on the western side of the island contains two docks. One privately owned by B & C Fuel Enterprise and the other by the Government of Grenada. Sailors wishing to travel to Petite Martinique must first clear in Carriacou.

Best time to go
Winter, outside the hurricane season, although Grenada maintains balmy tropical temperatures almost all year long, with an average around 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Grenada’s rainy season lasts from June to November, when rain falls an average of about 22 days per month.

Coast
Over 40 beaches and a number of sheltered bays on the south and south west coasts make Grenada a must-visit Caribbean island. Trade winds can be brisk, even on the south and south west coasts, reaching 20 knots at times. Shelter, however, is good inside the protection of various peninsulas and bays of which Prickly Bay, two peninsulas east of Port Salines, home to the international airport, is perhaps the most popular. St David’s Harbour, for example, is protected by barrier reefs and a peninsula both sides.

The west, leeward coast is even more sheltered.

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