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We have had a fantastic run recently, we have been catching fish every day, sometimes barely out of port!  Greg is starting to take this fishing business very seriously!  

Kick 'em Jenny is a submarine volcano located 8km north of Grenada.  The volcano is approximately 1300 metres high and its summit is thought to be roughly 180 metres below the surface of the sea.  To the best of anyones knowledge, it is the only live submarine volcano in the Eastern Caribbean.  It is also fairly active and has erupted at least twelve times since its discovery in 1939 with the last eruption being in December 2001. There have been recent updates from the University of The West Indies Seismic Unit that due to recent activity, status has changed from yellow to orange alert. this means in real terms is that, most importantly, there is now an exclusion zone of a 5km radius around the volcano.  Although most people won't consider venturing anywhere near that close as orange alert also means that there is the possibility of an eruption within 24 hours, possibility, not probability.  


Speaking to the media today, Director of the Coastal Zone Management Unit in Barbados, Dr Lorna Innis, reassured residents that the probability of a tsunami following the possible eruption of Kick’em Jenny was low.  Kick 'em Jenny's dome is low and the risk of tsunami rises with the proximity of the dome to the water.  Hence, there being NO tsunami alert for any of the islands.   

There seems to be much confusion about the different groups of West Indian Islands.  Sometimes, understandably as ownership changed quite frequently in days gone by and some of the names are similar so it can be quite muddling, however, we will try and clarify.  

The Antilles are made up of the The Lesser Antilles, The Greater Antilles and The Leeward Antilles and together they form the West Indies. The Bahamas and The Turks & Caicos Islands, although part of the West Indies,  are generally not included among the Antillean islands.

The Greater Antilles are the four largest islands in the northwestern portion of the Caribbean Sea and include Cuba, Hispaniola (Haiti and The Dominican Republic) Jamaica and Puerto Rico. They are called the Greater Antilles because they are so much bigger than the rest of the Caribbean islands.  Straightforward enough, until we add in The Cayman Islands (Grand Cayman, Little Cayman and Cayman Brac)!  


The Leeward Antilles is a chain of islands off the coast of Venezuela, which includes Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire, Isla la Tortuga and Isla la Margarita.

The Lesser Antilles are made up of both the Windward and the Leeward Islands. The Windward Island chain consists of St. Lucia, Grenada, St. Vincent and The Grenadines, Dominica and Martinique.  The name dates back to the 1700's when English ships that were bound for Jamaica followed the trade-wind passage, these islands are exposed to the wind (windward) of the northeast trade winds (northeasterlies). 

The Leeward Islands include the Virgin Islands, Guadeloupe, Montserrat, Antigua, Barbuda, St. Kitts, Nevis, Saba, Sint Eustatius, Saint Barthélemy, Anguilla, St. Martin/Sint Maarten, Redonda (Uninhabited),  La Desire, Iles des Saintes and Marie-Galante.  They're called the Leeward Islands because they're away from the wind (lee).   

Barbados is  located to the east of the Windward Islands.  It is not, strictly speaking, a Windward, however it is most certainly in The Lesser Antilles and forms part of The West Indies.  Like Trinidad, it is often included in a list of the Windwards but technically they both stand alone.  Another island that causes further confusion is Dominica as it effectively creates the boundary line between the Windwards and The Leewards.   In essence, it could really be in either but today is generally designated in the Windwards, although it was once a Leeward!  

We have heard quite a few reports of Lionfish recently, although we are very happy to say that despite being at the beach and on the ocean every day, we have yet to encounter one.  That said, it never hurts to be cautious, so just in case any of our readers are also divers or reef snorkelers, please familiarise yourself with the images.  When shallow snorkelling, one of the real dangers is actually from stepping on one, so we advise you to always wear reef shoes and look before you put your feet down.  They are venomous and not poisonous, so they are considered safe to eat, but if you plan on undertaking this yourself, extreme caution is advised with preparation.  They are not generally aggressive fish, spear-fishermen typically get stung once it has been speared and the injured fish is trying to break free.  The spears are short, shorter than they should be, which leaves a thrashing fish with dangerous spines too close to the body. The lionfish will not normally be looking to attack, they use their spines defensively, NOT offensively.  Simply, be aware, look down and like most things in the ocean, the general rule is, that if you don't trouble them, they are unlikely to trouble you... 

Here in Barbados there is a lot of tradition attached to Flying Fish.  In fact, on some levels we could even be accused of being slightly obsessive...  We have a Flying Fish on our one dollar coin, Flying Fish and CouCou is our national dish and Barbados is often called 'The Land of the Flying Fish'.  Needless to say, these small fish are plentiful in the warm waters that surround the island.  Despite the ernest nods of locals (they are teasing) these fish don't actually fly.  What they do is glide through the air up to distances of 30-40 metres, it is impressive to watch and folklore holds that if you visit Barbados and them fly, you will always return.  To achieve this flight, what they do, is to swim quickly towards the surface, then burst into the air at speeds of up to 55 kph! Once it is airborne, the fish spreads its large pectoral fins and appears to be "flying" helping it to speed across the surface of the water and escape from its predators.

Flying Fish is also a favourite Bajan meal, whether in the form of a 'Flying Fish Cutter' which is a huge warm salt bread roll, slathered with Bajan Hot Pepper Sauce, enveloping a lightly breadcrumbed, highly seasoned fish.  Or simply Flying Fish and chips or our national dish of Flying Fish and CouCou.  No matter what, flying fish is always served filleted and is normally soaked in a brine of lime and salt - to cut the fishiness, according to the locals.  It is then heavily seasoned using traditional Bajan seasoning.  For our national dish, the fish is then rolled and steamed in an onion and tomato, hot pepper reduction and served with gut sticking 'CouCou' which is somewhat similar to European polenta. It is made with cornmeal and okra (or occasionally breadfruit), either way it takes skill and a lot of stirring to make it smooth and unctuous without lumps and this requires a special paddle, otherwise known as a CouCou stick, which in days gone by just the mere mention of generally kept young children in line.