Carriacou Regatta

The 39th annual Carriacou Regatta will take place July 25-Aug. 2, 2004. The most southerly of the Grenadines, Carriacou is the largest of the chain of islands between Grenada and St. Vincent. The festival is a salute to its sister island of Grenada’s art of boatbuilding, handed down by Irish and Scottish ancestors.

Race events focus mainly on the locally built “workboats,” ranging from 14 to 35 feet in length. Onshore festivities include the Miss Aquaval Queen Show, a donkey race, bicycle races, musical chairs, tug-o-war, a greasy pole competition (it’s suspended over the sea and participants vie to reach the prize hanging from the end) and arm wrestling.

SVG-Air has five flights a day between Grenada and Carriacou; Trans Island Air has one flight per day between Barbados and Carriacou, and Osprey Lines (motorized catamarans) operates twice daily from Grenada to Carriacou.

For info on the regatta, call 473/443-7930 or visit www.carriacouregatta.com. For info on Carriacou, call the Grenada Board of Tourism at 473/443-7948 or visit www.grenadagrenadines.com.