Cruisers Trapped Ashore Since the Construction of a Fence

We are Jérémy and Nadège, owners of the Mister Tong, a 46-foot catamaran on which we live year-round.

We came to Carriacou with our boat to spend several months here and carry out major renovation work. Like many cruisers who come to Tyrell Bay, we chose this marina because of its facilities, including its travel lift and launching ramp.

We could never have imagined that our boat, our home, would remain stuck ashore for several months because of a land dispute in which we have absolutely no involvement.

A fence built without notice

On April 25, 2026, a fence was constructed across part of the Tyrell Bay Marina site.

This fence separates the southern section belonging to the marina from the northern section, which is understood to belong to a Grenadian family. The travel lift and several boats are located in the southern section, while the launching ramp and other boats are located in the northern section. As a result, no boats can currently be launched.

For us, one point is particularly important: we received no prior notice that would have allowed us to arrange the launching of our boat before the fence was built.

The only interaction we had with the person responsible for the works and representing the landowning family took place while the fence was already being closed.

By that point, it was already too late to arrange the departure of all the boats concerned, and in any case, this option was never offered to us.

Furthermore, not all of the boats in the affected area were in a condition to be launched at that time. Some were still undergoing major works, like ours.

We therefore found ourselves trapped, without having been given sufficient notice to make a decision or arrange an alternative solution.

A land dispute that does not concern us

The situation originates from a long-standing land dispute involving interests connected to Tyrell Bay Marina and the heirs of the owners of the land concerned. This dispute has been ongoing for several years and has involved legal proceedings.

But we, as cruisers, have absolutely nothing to do with this dispute.

We are neither landowners nor parties to the legal dispute, nor are we responsible for any of the decisions made in connection with it.

We were simply marina customers who came to work on our boats.

Yet we are now directly suffering the consequences of this fence.

Months of trying to find a solution

Since the fence was constructed, we have made numerous attempts to find a temporary solution and allow the affected boats to return to the water.

We have contacted the marina, various authorities and government departments, as well as diplomatic representatives.

We have also proposed an extremely simple solution: a temporary and controlled opening of the fence, solely for the time necessary to allow the trapped boats to reach the launching ramp and be put back into the water.

The marina has confirmed to us that it is prepared to use its travel lift and assist with launching the boats, provided that the opening of the fence is carried out through a legally authorised process and in a way that protects the marina from liability.

The problem has therefore essentially become one of access to the launching ramp.

Why don’t we simply open the fence ourselves?

This is obviously a question that comes up often.

Technically, it would be possible to open or dismantle part of the fence to allow the travel lift to pass. However, the marina has clearly told us that it can only use its equipment if the opening of the fence is carried out through a legally authorised process.

Another cruiser already attempted to open the fence himself. Following this attempt, the marina distanced itself from any responsibility regarding the intervention, and the cruiser subsequently faced pressure from the family and the police.

This reinforced our belief that a solution must be found within a legal and secure framework, rather than putting ourselves at risk of confrontation or legal proceedings.

What about the authorities?

This is probably the most difficult aspect for us to understand.

For more than five months, we have made numerous attempts to contact the Grenadian authorities. To this day, we have received no response from the Grenadian government to our requests, and therefore nothing that would allow our situation to be resolved.

We have also contacted the French Embassy. The Embassy has undertaken some steps, but from our perspective these have been far too limited and have so far produced no concrete result allowing us to launch our boat.

Other attempts to contact the various relevant parties have also failed to produce a solution. Worse still, all of our legal efforts appear to have been put aside and are not being taken into consideration.

Some press reports have also mentioned possible involvement of the previous Grenadian government in the history of the land concerned. We cannot confirm these reports ourselves and do not wish to speculate. What we can say is that, despite our repeated efforts, we have received no meaningful response from the authorities that would allow the situation to move forward.

Meanwhile, our boats remain ashore

For someone who does not live on a boat, remaining on a boatyard for several months may seem like a simple inconvenience.

For us, it is much more than that.

Our boats are our homes, and we live aboard year-round.

Being trapped ashore means that we continue to bear the costs associated with the situation while being deprived of our freedom of movement — unable to see our children and families, unable to work, and unable to continue our journey. We have also had to incur additional expenses for our efforts to resolve the situation and obtain legal advice. Some of us have lost professional opportunities because it was impossible to leave Carriacou with our boats. Some have effectively lost their source of income.

And throughout all of this, hurricane season continues.

We are not asking anyone to resolve the land dispute

This is probably the point we would most like people to understand.

We are not asking anyone to take sides in the land dispute.

We are simply asking for the fence to be opened so that we can be released from this situation.

A temporary, controlled and legally authorised opening of the fence would allow the affected boats to reach the travel lift and launching ramp. The marina could then launch the boats. We could leave the boatyard and continue our journeys or complete our work from another location. This would allow our situation to be separated from the land dispute that has existed for years.

We have spent months trying to resolve this situation. We have written emails, made phone calls, met with people, contacted government departments and searched for solutions. We have also tried the legal route. We have tried to remain patient and respectful towards everyone involved.

But after several months, we realised that our situation needed to be known by the international cruising community.

We are foreign cruisers who came to Carriacou to travel, live aboard and work on our boats. Like many other cruisers, we contribute to the local economy through boatyards, tradespeople, shops, restaurants, services and marine suppliers. We still do not understand why our boats remain blocked when the consequences could be serious and far-reaching — not only for us, but also for Grenada and the people of Carriacou.

As cruisers, the protection of ourselves and our boats is essential to us. We believe it is important to be informed when, as foreign visitors, we may not be receiving the protections or rights we are entitled to under local law.

We simply want our situation to be known, and we do not want cruisers to be forgotten in the middle of a dispute that has nothing to do with them.

We hope that sharing this story with the Noforeignland community will help raise awareness among other cruisers and remind people that behind this land dispute are real people, families, homes and life plans that have been immobilised for months.

All we are asking for is the opportunity to put our boats back in the water and continue our lives.