Friday
1st July
Checking in and out of each country will become a regular routine as we travel between the islands.
We
meet Patrich at customs to check in to Martinique. For all the French islands this is a simple
on
line
process and is free! On other islands the customs officers make a charge depending on time and day of the week.
It will be a few days before we check out under
a British
flag.
We start unpacking and at 6 pm Francois picks up in his dinghy and
we go for a drink with him and his Venezuelan wife Marina on his
Legend 45
Feline Good. He is a wealth of information both locally and in
Venezuela.
We
have a beer in the Mango Bay, a local yachty bar and go to a local
restaurant for a meal.
Saturday
2nd July
We
try to get our local phone topped up but the orange shop is shut on
Saturday. So we go to the internet café who are very helpful and we
finally get connected, and do a few emails.
We head back to the boat, pump
the dingy up and set off across the bay to do some shopping. Very
exciting ride as we have a 15hp Tohatsu 2 stroke engine on a Caribe rib with v shaped
hull. (We thought it was a 4 stroke at the time)
Emmanuel, the French Dr who sold us the boat, arrives about 4pm and we spend the rest of the day removing a broken
topping lift spinlock from the mast that has completely rusted up. I
wish I had remembered my grinder! (and my allen keys). We cooked our
usual Saturday curry with local scotch bonnets that are not as hot as
those we get in England.
Sunday
3rd July
We
get free wifi at the Mango Bay bar so spend 2 hours there accessing all
accounts to keep up to date until the laptop battery is flat. Back to the
boat to empty water from the dinghy check engine filters and complete
the unpacking.
Monday
4th July
Started
the day with a dinghy ride across the bay and up a small mango creek
to find a sailmaker and a cheap chandler. We found the sail maker but
the chandler was too far to walk.
On the way back the dinghy packed
up. This was a bad time to realise that we did not bring the oars! A
quick paddle with our shoes took us onto a yacht anchored in the bay
where we tried to work out what to do. Got the engine restarted just
as some kindly French people offered to follow us back to the marina
in case we had another fault. We got out the oars but it was now too
late to get back to the chandler; all shops shut between 12 and 1:30
in Martinique.
We
took a walk for a juice at the internet café and completed the
monthly banking logons.
Priced
up a range of parts in the expensive chandler and came back to the
boat to complete a few more chores.
We got hold of Pichto, a well worn old school mechanic who estimated about €250 to clean injectors and fix a
gearbox selector. We visit another sail maker and return to remove
the head sail for delivery tomorrow as the sail maker closes at 1pm. We asked around about Pichto and it appears he is an excellent mechanic when he is sober. (which he is when his wife is with him)
Tuesday
5th
Headsail
stitched and looking good. Will not put this up until main halyard is
replaced in order to use two halyards for the lift. Buy blue tooth
dongle to access net via phones.
Bought
jack-stay material and two headsail sheets (half meter too short!)
Spend two hours trying to install the dongle – and fail it
requires registration.
Wednesday
6th
Bought
new main sail halyard in spectre (two meters too long) and reef line
material.
Plumber
inspects gas hose (with a lighter!) and says it is ok.
Pichto
returns with his wife and fits clean injectors and gear selector.
Spend two hours on the net trying to register the dongle – and fail
bad internet connection.
Thursday
7th
Got the riggers to fit the new main sheet and radar reflector, Did all deep
freeze shopping, checked out the gas pipe shop and place for
servicing extinguishers for the fourth time – beginning to think we
go without them. Took Reef line and strop material to sail maker
Josine. Extinguisher service man calls to say he will visit us at 9am
tomorrow.
DigiNav
man does not show, phones at 10:45 to say he he will be with us at
3pm, I phone at 4:30 and he will be with us later...
Our
friend Stephan from Germany, living in Venezuela arrives fresh from a
major drug bust on a yacht and we have dinner in the Mango Bay, the
Tourist menu with Ti-punch cocktail, lemon, sugar syrup and white rum.
Friday
8th
Diginav
arrive 9am and prepare half the work, some faults need correcting in
the workshop so we wait another day. We collect reefing strops and
jack stays. Extinguisher service man calls says ours are ok to use
but he will not service them, he sells us two new ones.
Saturday
9th
Diginav
complete all work, we check out of Martinique at the customs, so we
can leave on Sunday. We fill with diesel and water and anchor in the
bay overnight. It is the first time out on the boat on our own and it
feels great.
Sunday
10th
a
very quiet night with an excellent anchor, At 8:30 we up anchor and
head out. We try two reefs for a while then shake one out and go with
full headsail at 7.5 knots a lovely day sail with a pleasant breeze
and plenty of sun. We moor in Rodney bay and check into St Lucia, the
nice man in the customs clears us out of St Lucia as well so we don't
need to go to customs again, then charges $15EC because it is Sunday
and they are on overtime.
Monday
Shop
for food and chandlery, Island Water World (IWW)and Johnson's for
resin, pilot-book, snap shackle and Tupperware and look for an
electrician to test the log. He comes immediately and after half an hour
tells us its broken and he doesn't have another. So we are without a
log until Grenada. (thank heavens for GPS!) We move to an anchorage
in the bay and reorganise the boat cupboards and draws. We read the
pilot and it tells of “Life-rafts and Inflatables” (Lr&I) a
company dealing in dinghys.
Tuesday
We
ring Lr&I to find they have no new dingy stock but a one year old
and a few others. We head off in our old dingy and get a lift to
their warehouse. There are non that fit between our hulls but they
say they can repair ours overnight! (US$325 – a snip) We borrow
their rib and get back to our boat that is now 10 meters from the
boat behind ("Wind's Way") the owners tell us that local fishermen have
lifted our anchor and “reset” it. They had removed the bridle
which made us less stable at anchor. We lift and reset the anchor
again with 40m chain in 5m water. Should be ok for another fishing
attack. A loud crack and the heavier dingy on loan has pulled the
snap shackle out from our davit block (with Becket). Have our first
swim in the sea - marvellous.
Wednesday
Watch
fishermen putting nets around yachts and lifting their anchors. At
least they were on board. We pick up our dinghy and drop the security
chain in the water. Back to IWW and Johnson's for shackles and a
large screwdriver (that I left at home). The weather forecast this
morning was grim with rain and thunder so we decide to stay in the
bay for another night. Strangely weather is pretty good very sunny,
with a light breeze and a couple of light showers.
Thursday
We
set off for Soufrier bay, a beautiful bay between the two Pitons, the
mountains on the St Lucia flag. It is a protected bay with no
anchoring allowed. This would have been ok but the mooring we got
allocated was too close to the next one and we spent a night on
“mooring watch” as at times we were side by side with a monohull
..fenders out! Etc.
The
customs official had a touch of “epiletsy” and gave us a talking
to because we had not left St Lucia when we said we would. The last
customs officer told us to drop into Soufrier if we didn't leave by
the date set, but no point in arguing.
Friday
It
takes an eight hour sail to reach Williabou on St Vincent. We arrive
and moor with the full main still up! It was a long day...the mooring
guys have an argument about how much to pay them to take the mooring
lines to a buoy. Trudy gives them EC$10, like the book says. They
expect twice as much. Try to find customs to check into the
Grenadines but find that they phone about 3pm to ask if anyone has
arrived. As we didn't get there until 3:50 there is no customs and we
have visions of a further issue when we get to the next port of
entry.
We have a beer or two in the Waliabou Hotel and look at all
the Pirates of the Caribbean memorabilia. The whole bay has been left
as it was when the set was put up, with stuffed pirates, the water
wheel, cannons and coffins lined up against several walls.
Saturday
We
set off for Bequia with no wind, so we motor. The Starboard engine
overheating alarm goes off so off goes the engine for inspection. Not
much water in the filter but it is clean, start her up again with
load of revs and with water out the side it cools down and we are ok
again. After a couple of hours when I raise the revs we get black
smoke from the Port engine and a streak of oil behind. Rev up and
down we get no more than 2000 rpm until it clears, then ok again. We
get the Sails up and engine off and sail on a warm 15 kt breeze at 6
to 7 knts. We see loads of flying fish as usual but also dolphins for
the first time this trip. They are in a pod of about 20. We get to
Admiralty Bay and anchor in Princess Margaret / Tony Gibson bay in
time for lunch. When rounding the point at Devils Table we see a dead
dog floating out to sea with a string lead attached, not a pretty
site.
We
check in at customs and get clearance for a month, this is for St
Vincent and the Grenadines.
Sunday
Not
much happening so we have a day cleaning the boat and reading the
pilot.
Monday
There
are three chandlers in Port Elizabeth so we track down each one and
buy a new 1/2 inch main sheet 123 feet for about £150. Cockpit looks
a bit smarter when it's rigged. It runs freely though an open spinlock
and pulls easily though a closed one. The old sheet did neither of
these. We find Robin Smith (Fixman 2) an ex Ferrari driver in Le
Mans. He agrees to service our engines on Wednesday, he hopes he can
see better by then, we just need to get part numbers for service kit.
He has recently had a battery explode in his face and has Bakelite
scars and an acid burn near his eye.
Tuesday
Deliver
engine type, impeller and filter numbers to Robin. Shop for frozen
food, stop by at the boat and go to Nolene Taylor's for a Roti lunch,
Conch for me Chicken for Trudy. This is our first “local” meal.
It is a bit like a Chinese yellow curry with potato corn and peppers
wrapped in a 10 inch Chapati. Both chicken and conch are tender. At
5:30 we go for a beer in the New York, the ex pats bar and meet
Jurgen, Sue, Deborah, Dee, Robin and Tony who will start the yachting
net on Wednesday ch68 at 8:00am broadcasting from the Fig Tree.
Wednesday
In
the quest to find free wifi we visit the Fig tree, but it does not
open until 11am. Back to the boat to wait for Robin who arrives about
4pm, fits port impeller and takes oil and fine filters to try to
obtain a match. We go back to the Fig Tree to catch up with emails
and a fruit cocktail (beer for Trudy)
Thursday
Robin
spends most of the day completing the service on the engines. We have
a “raccord” primary diesel filter that is leaking but there is
nothing we can do about that until we get a replacement. We go to the
New York bar and meet Duff, Dave, Bob, Robin, Chris and Dee have a
few rums and beers and home for supper.
Friday
Took
the ferry for a day out in Kingstown St Vincent, an hour each way on
an old roly vessel. Busy working port will endless street vendors but
no decent chandlers however we did find a nice piece of beef sirloin.
We visit Digicel head office and a helpful guy gives us the settings
to link phone to internet. For lunch we go back to Nolene 's for a
chicken roti.
I
finally get an internet link using my old Nokia 6230i with new
settings and we hear the shocking new about Mark Williams. a neighbour from England who at 32 has just been killed in a fork lift accident.
Saturday
Whist
Trudy is sourcing envelopes and writing paper I check dinghy engine
for misfire. A local (girl) water taxi driver takes over, cleans the
plugs and after looking in the tank tells me that my fuel has too
much two stroke oil in the mix, and that this will make it stutter
and stall, which is exactly what has been happening. Bought new fins
and masks with nose clearing valves, and go snorkelling, get back to
the boat and clean the weed off the outside hulls. Steak for supper,
we got 12 from a £10 sirloin!
Sunday
Clean
bilges put bilge matting down, relaxing day before the “jump up”
at Beige, an acoustic music night. Quite a few attend and there are
good local musicians and yachties alike. We see an example of
Caribbean dancing that is pretty raunchy.
Monday
Rest
day, filled up with water diesel and petrol.
Tuesday
Head
for Charles town on Canouan, we walk around the bay buy a few supplies
and head to the Pirates Cove for two beers and rum. EC$75 we will not
recommend this place!
Wednesday
Canouan
to Mayreau, a beautiful small friendly island. We walk to the top and
view Tobago Keys from the top. On the way back we stop off a Dennis's
bar for a Dennis special – 2 rums, bitters, grenadine, lime
pineapple grapefruit and orange juice – very good.
Thursday
Mayreau
to Union Island a 2 mile motor as our starboard and house batteries
are dead. We check out at customs and immigration have a beer and
wifi access at the Green light bar and head back to check the battery
water. Use the 2 litres we have to top up 3 cells and go ashore again
to buy more to complete the job.
Friday
We
wake to dead batteries on starboard again. Left Union and head for
Hillsborough on Cariacou. We check in and deal with very friendly
customs and immigration and port authority. EC$ 50 to cruise in
Grenada and we are given a 3 month visa. The immigration officer
tells us all about the Cariacou regatta and that this is the safest
place in the Caribbean with only one homicide in the last five years.
We do a bit if victualling, watch the hand built fishing vessels
practising in the bay and have an early night.
Saturday
Move
4 miles around the coast to Tyrrel bay meet up with the crowd from Bequia
to discover that Jay has been taken to hospital with an undiagnosed
stomach pain. We have conch creole in the Twilight bar and finish up in a bar
run by a scot, Lorna.
Sunday
Recheck
batteries and add a further 2 litres of water they are not bubbling
up so I must not have refilled with enough in the first place. Need
to keep a close watch on them. We move anchor but it takes 3 goes to
get a good hold in the right place – tropical storm “91L” may
become more organised and get classified as a Tropical Cyclone it is
150 miles to our East. We need to get some reliable weather
information.
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