February 2013

February

Fri 1^st

Search out a doctor, a small cut on my shin is going septic; small cuts can be a problem out here so it is good to catch things early. I start a course of antibiotics, so no rum for a while.

Sat 2^nd

Trudy spend the weekend making a a leatherette cover for our saloon table. New Sail-rite machine copes easily with 4 layers (and more) every home should have one. Their website is extremely comprehensive, with videos for all kinds of sewing projects, even reupholstering motorcycle seats!

Sun 3^rd

Saloon table looks great with cream leatherette cover! Robin has planned another mega-jam on Tjeldøy for 14^th Feb. Wasn't I supposed to be doing something else that day? Oh well never mind. Each member needs to prepare 6 songs and swap the details around. Seems a bit organised...

Mon 4^th

Day spent downloading backing tracks, chord charts and lyrics. I can't sing but at least I can try to remember the words to mime. Last day of antibiotics so a visit to Sailors bar is due.

Tue 5^th

SSB fails to work, so spend a couple of hours lifting panels and checking all wiring only to discover that the battery used solely for SSB has not been charging. This is a design fault as we assumed that we would use the port engine every couple of days and we have been sitting here for a few weeks now.

Wed 6^th

Three hours in the engine bay squirming over the batteries to fill up with water and check acid strength. Every time we do this the battery sensors go up the spout. Suddenly we are showing -800 amp hours, with red flashing lights, when we have been fully charged for two months. Voltage is fine so suspect instrument not batteries. Perform a reset, fingers crossed. Cocos to see Ice-cream Bob and Jackie. Thoroughly good set with loads of dancing and falling over. Stan Cora, Scott and Dave have to work valentines night so it looks like Robin's bash will be postponed.

Thur 7^th

Popped out to see Terry on Libertine, he has just got rid of his crew who seemed to spend all her time breaking stuff. Invited Stan and Cora for sundowners, shopping for a few vegetables and beers, Fedex to send forms to John Simpson for the Stars, bumped into Ronnie Wood with new wife Sally and Trudy on the dinghy dock;

Fri 8^th

First thing on the morning net, a complaint about Miranda's karaoke going on too late and being too loud. Argument ensues over the air waves regarding who's island it is anyway. Cruisers should just accept the party spirit of these island. Jam session on Libertine, then off to Fish Friday at The Fig Tree. Lobster, conch and kingfish barbecued but a 2 ½ hour wait! Wont do that again.

Sat 8^th

Calypso evening in Sailors bar, a visit to Mrs. Ts rum shop followed by karaoke at Miranda's. We leave at 12 and its still going on.

Sun 10^th

Just manage to get up at 11:00 to watch England Ireland game.

Wed 20^th

Trudy's birthday, so Dinner at L'Auberge, beef carpacio, tuna sashimi with wasabi cream, barracuda in a Roquefort sauce, lobster and chicken curry, green papaya gratin, callalou fritters, followed by Mango and passion fruit sorbet, rum steeped in mandarin or papaya, and off to Cocos for a last dance.

Thur 21^st

Evening on Rock and roll Star with Gill and Matthew. Gill is an excellent chef and provides quesedillas, Coconut shrimp and lamb koftas. We had planned an early evening but ended up back at midnight.

Fri 22^nd

Well deserved night in.

Sat 23^rd

Bit of shopping then Coco's to watch England vs France, Surrounded by French yachts in the bay..shame! Meet the 1976 world champion spoon player Heini who is Danish. He will try to regain his title in Ireland this year.

Mon 25^th

Set off to Industry beach for a Tai Chi class, no one turned up so we walked back via the pottery, up a huge hill. We are not used to hills as the largest number of steps we need to manage on the yacht is 4! Pottery is closed so in stead of Tai Chi we end up having a long walk and a beer.

Tue 26^th

Each year some trainee chiropractors visit the island to test their skills, So we head off for our free check up. Obviously..... hips are out of alignment and legs are different lengths etc. so after much manipulation and bone crunching we walk around town an inch taller.

Wed 27^th

Our Rocnor anchor has arrived! We now spend the day angle grinding the shackles off the chain to remove the old anchor, reverse the chain so the best galvanising is attached to the anchor, re mark the chain at each ten metres and stow the two old anchors at the bottom of a locker. Discover our second best torch has been nicked from the dinghy.

Thur 28^th

We have rust spots from the angle grinding all over the decks.

Can't find our best torch that's two gone in one day!

Another jam session on Tjeldøy, this time 9 musicians including three guitars and a very tight set was enjoyed by all.

January 2013

2013

January

This month has been a bit of a holiday for us and as such we have not done any sailing. We have spent all the time in Bequia doing holiday stuff, so not much to report. This is our favourite island so far. For anyone wishing to stay here we have been looking through brochures and would recommend either the Frangipani or Gingerbread hotels as the places to stay as they are right on the waterfront.

Please let your engineering friends know that our friend Robin, “Fixman 2” ,aka Simpson Engineering is for sale. Robin the ex-Ferrari driver and workshop owner wishes to retire to work on his ship Tjeldøy, but is prepared to do a couple of days a week to help out. His fully equipped workshop has all the kit for machining parts, milling, grinding, turning, aluminium and stainless welding. This would suit someone with an engineering background looking to semi retire or live in the Caribbean. There is a constant variable supply of work on yachts, large and small, ferries, cars and mopeds. Workshop 001784 457 3962 or mobile 001784 526 6729 for details. (remember we are 4 hours behind you)

Tue 1^st

Moved the boat again, this is the sixth move in Bequia Admiralty bay and I think we are now settled. Apart from that, it is just a recovery day.

Wed 2^nd

We end up at Coco's to listen to Ice-cream Bob and Jackie, They start slow but by the time the usual suspects arrive we are into some serious rock and R&R. Bobs wife Maran makes yoghurt and ice cream for the island.

Thur 3^rd

We are dragging anchor again, so we move and take advice on putting a second anchor down “in tandem”. Stan from Ambler helps us do this and we are happy again. (ish)

The problem with socialising with folk from foreign lands and e.g. tourists in Bequia's busy season is that they bring a lot of germs with them. After 18 months free of bugs I am hit by what ends up being a 48 hour flu (mini epidemic), along with a load of others. I miss the party on Tjeldøy, Trudy goes and has an excellent time. I sleep for the best part of 48 hours.

Fri 4^th

?

Sat 5^th

Winds are due to increase so anchor checks are a must. We think that our anchor is probably too small. The tandem second anchor helps, but does not dig in. Internet suggests 25kg for a 43ft mono-hull or next size up for a catamaran that means 33kg or 73lb for us. I hope Trudy can carry it.

Sun 6^th

We hear a complaint from Flawless “D” that a rude Scotsman has asked them to get off his private mooring. They have only been blocking it for three weeks! They ask us if this is because we want the mooring, and can they then use our space to anchor. No, we assumed that Robin wants to use his own mooring and we have just put a second anchor out... We meet Robin later and he says that now they have moved we had better use the mooring. We will move tomorrow.

Mon 7^th

Trudy dives in three metres and attaches a floating line to the second anchor she undoes the shackle so we can lift the anchor back into the dinghy (real action girl now). We check the mooring, it is in 17metres, and in case we lose Robin's lines we get Angie to act as boat boy and help moor up.

Tues 8^th

Great nights sleep the mooring is solid and flat calm with no snatching, even in the northerly swells. Peace at last.

Wed 9^th

We head out to the Firefly hotel and restaurant; for £2.50 they do a plantation tour, one of the best value tours in the Caribbean. Unfortunately the rain is so heavy that the tour is cancelled and we walk back to the docks. On the way back we meet “Irish” John, he invites us to his place Saturday morning before the blues festival for bloody Marys. Excellent! We lunch at Sweetie pies another cheap and cheerful colourful and basic restaurant that has been hidden from us in a back street. Probably now the best rotis in the islands. The only ones that were better were Mrs Taylor's, but she has passed the cooking on to someone new.

Thur 10^th

Cora from Ambler tells us that she dived on our anchor and that it seems quite small. We are now quite paranoid about anchor and decide to get a new oversize “modern” anchor, a Rocna 33kg, Juergen can get us one but it will take three weeks. Oh well it looks like we may have to stay here for the Bequia blues festival. We cook a Tagine for guests on board as we needed to thank Robin for hospitality and free use of his mooring.

Fri 11^th

Friday early doors is usually at the New York Bar, a regular meeting of ex-pats. After this we head out to try out a pizza at Macs, This is voted the best place to eat on Bequia and is always packed. We take a look at the food and the menu, decide it was probably chosen for its American influence and leave. They had lobster pizza for $100. Pizzas are an inch thick with little topping. We head to Aaron's shack and get a few slices of his excellent thin crust pizza at £1-50 each and head back to the boat. At Aaron's you only get what he has made. And he usually has a veggie and a meaty on the go at the same time. Today he has veggie and lobster. We take three slices of each about $15!

Sat 12^th

The butcher arrives with four or five iceboxes full of meat, sets up a table in a side street and people (and dogs) crowd around to see what he has got. We are late so no ribs left so we get some pork chops. He slices these using a 2ft or 60cm long machete which he swings above his head and misses his fingers by no more than 1mm. Whilst cooking supper we see flames and smoke in the bay. We have heard nothing on the VHF radio, but turn it up anyway. The Admiral II, a local ferry is on fire. Yachties with large dinghies and locals get all the passengers off and the crew remain on board to put out the fire. We later hear that the skipper was the first off! Whatever happened to going down with the ship? The generator failed and caught fire, there was no back up lighting, there were no lifeboats, only life jackets, so everyone would have had to get in the water if the fire had started between islands.

Sun 13^th

De Reef is a bar that has live music on Sunday afternoons. It is a large venue where ex-pats and locals mingle. We get a 1$ bus there and a flat bed truck taxi back to the dock.

Mon 14^th

Tue 15^th

Stan cooks a Hungarian goulash with sauerkraut which we consume on Tjeldøy, a great venue as there is room to walk around. We have a wild time but unfortunately I fall into the sea trying to get back on board. The first time since we bought the boat. Shows we are not immune to the dangers.

Wed 16^th

?wake up with bruises on my leg? Don't know where I got them.....

Thur 17^th

Robin invites musicians to Tjeldøy and we have a fantastic jam, Stan – accordion, Scott drums, Dave - bass, Bob - guitar, Cora – sax, all professional musicians, and I get to play second guitar; seriously enjoyable. We rock it up for four hours until after midnight.

Fri 18^th

rest?

Sat 19^th

Karaoke at Miranda's. The machine is poor, the screen is at a 45 degree angle its dark, rum is bad, but some of the voices are world class. Rica, a barmaid at Sailors Bar wins.

Sun 20^th

A day at the beach and a beer at De Reef. Peter (Fixman1) and his wife Brit ask us if we would like to house sit for them from May to July. Lovely house with view and pool, use of car, all services free. Very tempting must think about it. We get a flat bed truck (aka taxi) back. All land and water taxis are on VHF and have nicknames. We get a ride with “Fat man” who is tall and thin. Other boat boys are called Dede (girl), African, Dumpling, Why ask, Whats my name and Phat Shag. We see them passing all the time.

Mon 21^st

Need to find a dentist, I have just lost two fillings. This means a

ferry to St Vincent and a long wait. Phone the dentist no appointments for a month, can you come in tomorrow – any time? Yes

Tue 22^nd

We go for the second ferry of the day, its cancelled, arrive in St Vincent at 10:30, find the dentist, half an hour later three crowns are diagnosed and an hour after that three temporary crowns are fitted! £850. I need to go back for moulds when gums have healed.

Wed 23^rd

I go back to St Vincent to get a mould for permanent crowns. Just need to wait two weeks for crowns to arrive.

Thur 24^th

Opening night of the Bequia Blues Festival. This starts with a movie about the history of whale hunting on Bequia. They are allowed to take four whales per year but average less than one. Then off to listen to the Elite steel band. They are an excellent steel band but don't play blues; the bar next door has decent reggae.

Fri 25^th

Dana Gillespie sing with the London Blues band and others. There is a five band line-up.

Sat 26^th

Bloody Marys for lunch at John's then off to the beach to listen to a free concert all afternoon, in the evening we catch a calypso band “Farine” then crash, missing another five bands at De Reef, the other end of the island.

Sun 27^th

Back to De Reef and we see mostly a repeat of the bands we missed, get the T-shirt..Toby Armstrong was particularly good.

Mon 28^th

We get dry enough weather to visit the Firefly estate. Keith walks us round describing local fruits veggies and herbs. We come away with a rucksack full of fruit. Guava and Bequia apples; there is only one apple tree on the island. They look almost like plumbs and have a plumb type stone inside, but they taste like very sweet apples with a good crunch.

Tue 29^th

We get dragged out to a quiz night, lucky it is only on once a month.

Wed 30^th

Throughout the month we have been using our watermaker which has proved a good choice. It runs on 12v and whilst the sun is high and the wind is blowing the combined effect produces almost sufficient power to run it. We are consistently making enough power to keep 900 ah battery topped up.

Thur 31^st

Guitar practice day, after doing boat accounts..

December 2012

December

Things we forgot in November:-

Termites;

At the ASA Wright nature reserve we ate termites. They taste like carrots! And the taste lasts a long time. You dig them out of the tree and eat them live. You need to bite into them for the pop of flavour.

More termites;

When Brian made our new engine bays he used pitch pine. Victor the local carpenter tells us that pitch pine is termites favourite food and we are parked 20 metres from a termite nest! We need to buy “Termite Fuel” to treat the wood.

Sat 1^st

Trini 64^th day of Christmas. Still on the hard in Chaguaramas. However we could not have picked a better spot. Under a mango tree that is sheltering us from the morning sun and wind. It houses weaver birds and iguanas and is a delightful view when we are not “working”. Also houses termite nest.

Sun 2^nd

Boat jobs.

Mon 3^rd

Trudy stays on board to entertain electricians and carpenters, whilst I go on the “Taste of Trinidad” tour. It is her choice as this (gourmet?) event has in the past featured tastes of over 70 items of food and drink grown in Trinidad. 9:00 start and a 7pm finish and we also managed over 70 items and were completely stuffed. Not for the faint hearted or flakey. Please email for details. They may even get to facebook.

Tue 4^th

Work on Taste of Trini photos and babysit electricians. Barry sends list of food and I try to match up with photos. I have forgotten to mention that with all the workers on the boat I have been kept busy showing where things are, deciding where new kit should be fixed and switching stuff on and off. I have been dashing around the boat and as a result have split my head in several places and split my nose on some marine ply. Some blood and bruising so I cannot wait to get everyone off the boat and slow down the pace.

Wed 5^th

Trudy picks up 3 bikinis a swimsuit and a sun dress from Debby the Lycra lady who tailors swimwear from your own material with excellent results.

Thur 6^th

Yeehah we're in the water! Yes but starboard engine won't start and port won't prime with sea water. A search round finds a wire hanging loose, reconnect and starboard starts but won't prime with seawater either. After much head scratching the sea water filter is opened and a running hose pushed in, engine started and about two minutes later water trap has filled and water is exiting via the exhaust. Quickly replace the seawater filter cap and she eventually self primes. Repeat with Port engine. Phew, its scorching hot in an engine room with the sun beating down on your head.

Fri 7^th

Sammy from Echotec arrives at 8:45 to commission the watermaker. All goes well and we are making 15 gallons of water per hour, spec. says we will make 13 gph so I am well chuffed. Trudy set off to get vitals for the next three months! Electricians arrive to put aerial block in the mast again, first one was too low! 11:00 Dennis from electricians arrives to fit pactor modem. Wrong connectors and coaxial cable for aerial is too short.

Sat 8^th

Dennis arrives with all remaining SSB stuff and we get the pactor modem working. I should be able to receive email at sea and get grib (.grb) files and fax for weather.

Mon 10^th

Final final stuff completed by electricians. Including fitting the counterpoise (earth). This just needs to be laid down in the bilge.

Tue 11^th

Pick up final food, try to check out at customs open 24 hours....i.e. From 9 to 4 with an hour for lunch...so we arrive at at 11:55 and are sent away until after 1pm..We had planned to travel with Barry and Gail from Gaiamar. But they say weather is going to be too bad. 16:30 set off for Granada. A great sail for 4 hours until past the gas rigs between islands. We put an extra reef in and the wind dies completely... For an hour, then we get 30 knot gusts under clouds and we are racing along.

Wed 12^th

12 miles south of Grenada we hove to, we have made good time and otherwise we will be crossing reefs in darkness. We enter Prickley Bay at 07:30 just as the cruisers net is operating so we announce our arrival over the VHF.

Thur 13^th

After a sleep Trudy hears some sloshing in the bilge. We assume that I have not tightened the speed impeller enough and so set the bilge pumps off to pump us dry.

Fri 14^th

More water in the bilge, so it is time to investigate further. We dry all bilges and start tracking down and dampness. A couple of hours later we find a 3mm drill hole in the keel! When installing our counterpoise an electrician has drilled a hole in the bottom of the boat! The worst thing is that he did not tell us. A call to the surveyor Bob Goodchild and I get good advice on how serious the problem is. This is cured temporarily by screwing in a bolt. It cannot be fixed properly until we next haul out – we had hoped that this would not be for another two years.

Sat 15^th

We see Doc Adams at De Big Fish. He is the reason we have stopped in Prickley bay as we have heard good reports. A bit of Blues and Rock and Roll. Went down well.

Sun 16^th

We invite Tuatora, Umido and Lateral thinking over for a sundowner and discuss how to fix holes in boats. Tuatora bring corn fritters, a new thing for us but simple to make and delicious. Check google for recipe.

Mon 17^th

Preparations for heading off to Bequia. Including syringing some epoxy into the hole in the hull. This is topped off with a self tapping screw that we can remove next time we haul out.

Tue 18^th

Set off early about 9:00...The first hour is a quick sail around the point and then we get the wind on the nose for the next 8 hours. Progress is slow and because we are hard on the wind we get bashed about and are surprised the boat holds together. We anchor in Hillsborough and await the morning to get an early check out.

Wed 19^th

I go to fill petrol cans and Trudy heads for the police station to see the immigration officer. It is 7:50 and a red sign on the door says open 8:00 till 16:00. When asked if we can check in early he is rude off hand and says he is not available until 9:00 as there is a cruise ship coming in. I ask if he can check us out now on the overtime rate and he says he is not affected by my money. We have never seen cruise ships in Carriacou. We have breakfast in a local café then return. The cruise ship did not turn up! And we finally get away by 8:50. A good sail past Union Island then we are back to banging and slamming with the wind on the nose again. Arrive in Bequia in time to meet immigration and customs all be it with an overtime payment. A search round and we meet old friends and end up on Tjeldøy late.

Thur 20^th

We have anchored close to Africa's mooring buoys and he is not happy. And asks us to move. “It is his livelihood” There are about 40 empty mooring buoys and we are close to two. They are all too close together and there is nowhere in the bay that does not have them. A sign in customs says all moorings are unofficial not maintained and not insured. If you are hassled let the customs know. We send him on his way. And later have second thoughts. We meet with Phil and Monica at the art exhibition. They have free rum punch so it is a forgone conclusion. We later head to “Maria's”, a French restaurant where we have a first class meal including steak tartare. On the way we pass “The Almond Tree”. Every year under (near) an old almond tree a stage is built and a fantastic display of Christmas lights appears. There are no Santas or reindeer or sleighs, bells etc. no colour theme, just a tasteful arrangement of string lights under the trees on the beach and around shrubs and flower beds. Each night from 7pm (local i.e. sometime before 9pm) local groups get on stage, play music and sing. Crowds gather and beers are consumed. We hear some fantastic voices, presumably only normally heard in church, and also some pretty ropey stuff to keep the balance and an inclusive feeling.

Fri 21^st

End of the world is due so make the most of it.

We get up early and decide to track down somewhere else to moor. Robin has given us his mooring but “Flawless D” are parked near it and they won't move. African is really helpful when we tell him we are moving and takes us to a spot which in the end is too deep. We end up close to shore with 1 metre below the keel sand and weed underneath so hope we are OK when the 2m swell arrives in two days. My credit card is due for renewal so we need to get an address to send it. A local chandler Juergan is helpful and will get customs clearance for this and another parcel. Gavin needs “technical advice”. He boards the boat with soprano sax and we discus chords for some Christmas songs. We bump into Africa who is now very friendly and have a long chat, he is resting but will get busy later in the day when the Sunsail fleet arrive and he has to moor them all up.

We meet up with a load of cruisers to plan what to do Xmas day. Cheryl the owner of the Fig tree restaurant has lent us her barbecue and restaurant for the day. Later some of us meet for chicken in silver foil a local take away speciality. The normal thing is to take it to the New York Bar next door who welcome the practice. Then off to see Ruffanuff, Stan and Cora's band who have recruited Dave and Scott on guitar and drums. Afterwards Stan says this was their best set yet (in 27 years!). We all agree, truly a good night.

Sat 22^nd

Surprise! Its not the end of the world. A day of rest catching up with sleep and guitar practice. There is a musicians gathering on Sunday and I need to prepare something new. Trudy finds jobs for me and settles into a book. (The Wilding Maria McCann). Engine checks, stick rubber on door frame where I always bang my head, put up water catcher, find a cookie recipe?!! then back to the drudgery of guitar practice. Damn wish there were more jobs to do. Winds have got up and I find the wind generator is keeping up with the night time use of fridge, freezer, and computer. This is very pleasing as it will save on diesel.

Sun 23^rd

Research cookie recipe; Americans decided that along with the music gathering it was appropriate to have a cookie bake off. So we now need to find ingredients for something we have never cooked before. As cookies are just undercooked biscuits (twice cooked) we decide to under cook some biscuits (uncuits?) anyway it saves on one of our scarce resources ...gas. We are expecting a large swell from the north that will make some anchorages unpleasant and wind get up further. We swing around on the chain and the bridle creaks away. Last year at this time we were on the other side of the bay and were stuck on the boat for two days. Hope not this year as we would miss the festivities!

Mon 24^th

Christmas eve so we set off to do usual last minute shop, first beer of the day and back to the boat. Just before the storm. Bad karma, we never expected southerlies; we swing north and depth gauge reads 1.2m we draw 1.4. oops, got to move. We get the anchor up and try to dig in where we were but wind and current are in the wrong direction so we have to try somewhere else. The bay is now full so we end up in 14m and as we only have 60m of chain this is a bit deep. We try twice and end up with a good hold. A bit alarmed I spot a large buoy too close with a seagull sitting on the top close but can't remember it being there when we anchored. Eventually it sails through the bay and is lost to sight. Then it is off to the Fig Tree restaurant...again.

Tue 25^th

Drama first thing as a large cat tries to moor near us and four other boats. The bay is full and there is just no room. Steve from “Christina Pearl” dinghys (verb?) over to tell them it is not safe and has the usual barny with the boat boys; they will sell any buoy at Christmas, even if it is not attached to the bottom! They have not tied on properly and by accidental fortune slip away and try at the other side of the bay. We are “late” for the barbecue cos the sausage rolls won't cook in our super cool oven. They take the best part of two hours. We end up with the crowd and have a great time. Unfortunately the boat did not fare so well, we have variable winds and when we get back on board there are boat boys milling around and we are about a metre away from a Norwegian vessel. We have “bumped 7 times”. No harm done as they were on board and were able to fend us off. Unfortunately this means that we are going to have to do an anchor watch all night as we are not in the best of form to re-anchor at night!

Wed 26^th

Moved the boat...again...Gavin comes over for coffee and jam. We go through all the stuff we know but I am knackered after staying up half the night. Back to sleep for half the day then off to Miss Molly for a sundowner. This includes some Dutch spirit made by widow

jarlsbourg or something like that.

Thur 27^th

We are invited to a local party ashore at Dee's place it goes on until 1am, 4 hours after cruiser's midnight. Bring a bottle of rum...The best thing is the food which is excellent and included roast ham, the like of which we have not seen since leaving England.

Fri 28^th

We are tracked down by two people who have just completed the 'ARC', friends in England suggested we may be in Bequia and they asked around at customs and someone pointed us out. We will meet tomorrow for cocktails at Frangipani.

Sat 29^th

We move for the 5^th time, due to weather conditions and boat boys selling moorings. We have parked in front of Navé and visit to see when they are leaving as we may be on their anchor. Its Peter and Edith. French Canadians that we met in Trinidad. They have already checked their anchor and we are not too close, they ask what we are doing for “Old Years Night” we don't know yet but will keep in touch. Whilst in town we bump into Jay, the girl who had her boat stolen; and recovered by Robin, Angie and Bob. Locals are trying to press her into paying the coastguard to give evidence. She is already out of pocket $4000 and does not want to further anger friends of the guy who stole it. Its a different world out here.

Sun 30^th

Cooked a chilli and Phil and Monica came over for a bite and a jam. Brought limoncello very nice.

Mon 31^st

Late start then off to Maria's for happy hour cocktails, no mint so no mohito, but Pastis, rum punch, margaritas, bloody mary, a bit of a mix to start the evening. Then off to Hibiscus aka Baj's for more rum, lobster, chicken and beer, the bar is filled with smoke from the barbecue, we buy a lobster to share for £10 and get a free chicken! This has been voted the best bar in the Caribbean. Then on to the New York bar; the oldest bar in the Caribbean. Then back to the boat to watch Bequia's famous fireworks, very nearly as good as London!

Happy New Year

November 2012

November

Thurs 1^st

Pick up stop cable. Sewing machine should arrive tomorrow. Miss Molly drive by to say they are off to Tobago,hope to see them there. We pull out all our cupboards to fit the stop cable.

Fri 2^nd

Pick up sewing machine, it is a monster. Sailrite LSZ-1; check it out. It can sew through 10 layers of canvas! And weighs a ton.

Sat 3^rd

Spend most of the day assembling the sewing machine and watching the 2 ½ hour video that comes with it. This is needed as shows how to put it together and use it. A second gig with Stan and Cora this time at the Oasis bar in Clarkes Court Bay. Pot luck dinner; you each bring a dish and something to barbecue.

Sun 4^th

One of the local divers, Kirt, is in hospital in St Lucia with the the bends. One other guy died from bends injuries. Today there is a fish and lobster lunch put on by the fishermen and divers all proceeds to go to Kirt's medical fund. It is extremely well attended by locals and cruisers alike.

Mon 5^th

Final bottom clean, customs and immigration check out, fill with water and leave at 17:00 for Trinidad. There are several flashes of lightning during the night, which is always a worry, but none get too close. We see bright lights in the distance and pass three gas rigs only two of which were charted. There were only about ten vessels crossing our path, throughout the night, travelling along the Venezuelan coast. The quarter moon rises about midnight to help visibility through the second half of the night.

Tue 6^th

Overnight sail and motor. The water around Trinidad is brown. We were told to expect rubbish in the water and strong currents through the “Bocas”. There is rubbish, but not that much; and there was only about ½ knot current against us travelling through the first Boca de Monos. We arrive on the customs dock in Chaguaramas Trinidad at 08:02 two minutes after the overtime rate stopped! And a saving of US$50. Back on the boat for a long sleep.

Wed 7^th

Visit Echotec to order and pay for our watermaker then head out to Port of Spain to pay for our US visas. The town is really clean and rubbish free. After reports we have heard this is a big surprise. When we get back to Chaguaramas we dinghy round to find a cash-point and a bar. There are several bars but none are busy. We cannot find any happy hours and between one and three people in each bar. We ask around and everyone says the same.

Thurs 8^th

We have invited Lateral Thinking, Brian and Catherine for supper but have to cancel because weather is so bad. Rain chucking it down and heat and humidity high, and we don't want to spend an evening inside. They have a Fountaine Pajot the next size up from ours and have spent a long time making improvements.

Fri 9^th

Roti for lunch at Power Boats. You turn up and queue sitting down until they have finished cooking, then all stand up and queue again to collect your food. We finally get to invite Brian and Catherine back, it is several months since they barbecued an excellent stake for us in St Lucia. Rick has produced another video of the bays where we anchor south of Grenada island. At the start on the left is Michael, one of our best cricketers. “Lucky” the parrot is also on board.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PD6Vtlk8XZA&feature=em-unknown&list=TL83XureDI57g

Sat 10^th

Up at 5:30 to get the bus to the market, clothes fruit veg, meat, poultry and fish. The biggest market I have ever visited with a fantastic selection. King prawns fresh at £3 per pound. One stall has about 50 small sharks another massive dorado, yet another is carving up a huge tuna. Butchers have pigs head, a bullocks head and all manner of other cuts. We are still looking for soursop juice and passion fruit syrup but can only find soursop fruit. Driver returns with live chicks. We go for an arranged walk though the bamboo cathedral and up to an old radar station, then to the beach for a swim. The Orinoco chucks out loads of mud so water is all a bit murky.

Sun 11^th

Peel the soursop and squeeze the fruit by hand. This produces about 200cc of thin juice; overnight this thickens and can be used as a juice concentrate. A wonderful grown up flavour with a slightly bitter finish.

Mon 12^th

Miss Molly arrive and later invite us for drinks. I spend about 4 hours working on Brian's Big Boy! This is a WiFi booster that is not getting a signal. After various diagnostics it appears the band width of the various providers is such that all signals keep dropping out. As a result of this “work” Brian offers to rebuild our engine covers as he is a carpenter.

Tue 13^th

Divali is a bank holiday in Trinidad and Tobago so all day spent on the yacht fixing and planning. 7pm there is a jam at Coral Cove. John from Out of Africa hosts it Phil from Miss Molly, Terry from Liberty, Samuel and Corinne, a French couple from Ercolousa all on guitars and Rob from Marie Elise, who played a brilliant trumpet. The best jam for ages as we had a variety of music including some Buena Vista with trumpet solos. We all bring our own booze as there is no bar.

Wed 14^th

A hike around chandlers and hardware stores looking for marine ply, 2x2 and 4x2 for our engine covers, plus some LED light strips. Electronic position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) and satellite phone. As a result of hearing about Windigo our friends Steve and Tania we have decided to take safety more seriously. They were recently rescued by the New Zealand services after their 12 metre boat was turned upside down in 20 metre waves. The Pacific cyclone season came a month early this year.

Thur 15^th

Haul out at 8:00 am. Busy day filling out paperwork and tracking down service providers.

Fri 16^th

Call Echotec the watermaker manufacturers and book fitting for Monday. Brian tracks down the wood required for our engine bays.

Sat 17^th

Brian arrives to repay my (failed) attempt to improve his wifi; He puts in 1 ½ days work and enlarges one engine bay and repairs the other. And fits a sewing table for our new machine.

Sun 18^th

Brian completes wood work and we begin tidying up and preparing for the electricians tomorrow. Pulling cupboards out, emptying under seat lockers and lifting floor panels. We will be in a mess again for a couple of weeks.

Mon 19^th

Watermaker engineer and Electrician both turn up to start work; both perform a “survey” that requires teeth sucking end further expertise to be brought in. Electrician requires a different electrician to provide power to units being wired in. Second electrician provides a survey and will get back with a quote. Quote arrives later, I accept at once – work can start tomorrow.

Tue 20^th

We have an appointment at the US embassy to apply for our US visas. 7:00 taxi we arrive at the embassy 7:55 in time for our 8:00 appointment. There are about 50 people in the queue outside the embassy for their 7:30 appointment and another 50 in the 8:00 queue. We get in to the embassy about 9:00, register and are finally the second to last to be interviewed at about 11:30. interview last 45 seconds, visa approved, pay for it to be delivered and collect it later. Too late to get any engineers on the boat so go shopping. Tonight is a special food night “sucking pig” we presume this is suckling pig and have booked. Pig is a metre long! Presumably not still suckling.

Wed 21^st

Watermaker work started Radio fitting stalled as wires will be too long, second electrician called in again. Further survey, will get back with a quote, it arrives later we need an extra battery, I accept immediately; work can start tomorrow. At 2:30 get a call from US embassy, visas are ready for collection, before 3:30 – impossible to do today, they are closed tomorrow so will come Friday.

Thur 22^nd

Thanksgiving – whatever that is! Most workmen have an excuse to take the day off. Also religious holiday for seventh day adventists. Watermaker engineer turns up at 11:00 then goes for lunch. Comes back fits primer pump exactly where I would crouch to service engine and so has to move it.

Fri 23^rd

Trudy collects our US visas from the embassy. Electricians and watermaker staff all arrive by midday and the boat is a shambles with people crawling all over. Winch is dismantled for servicing and is found to b a total write off. The casing has turned to powder to such an extent that a stud has dropped out, the motor housing is brown rust with the windings showing through. So its off to the chandlers for another large bill. I buy a larger winch that needs the deck to be filled and re-drilled; also wiring is not up to scratch so bill gets even bigger.

Sat 24^th

Pull all flooring out again as we need to run a small pipe from the watermaker to the tank. Also our “KISS counterpoise radial system” (a kind of earth for the short wave radio) needs to be hidden under the floor. We book tickets for the cinema on Monday. I am surprised to discover that, being over 55, I get senior citizen's discount! Saturday evening is Shark and Bake night at the “Wheelhouse” and we meet up with Steve and Jodie from “Blue Pelican”, a couple of Aussies who we first met at the cricket in Grenada.

Sun 25^th

Bilge cleaning. We have some sound proofing in the engine bays that is falling apart with age. So it all needs to be removed and replaced. The trouble is that it is partially fibre, filled with diesel and is very irritating. You spend an hour in the bilge and come up black and itching all over.

Mon 26^th

Engineers all arrive between 9 and 10 and by the end of the day we have a watermaker that should work.

Tue 27^th

More boat fixing, nearing completion

Wed 28^th

Swordfish, Ribs and parang night at the wheelhouse. Parang and Parang Soca are types of Christmas music. Lyrics are usually about drink, mostly rum and or food, mostly pork. These being the most important aspects of Christmas.

Thur 29^th

We take a trip to the Asa Wright nature centre. This is a large area of land that was given away in a will provided it remained a nature sanctuary. We see a huge selection of humming birds, 11 species in all. We miss out the scorpions and snakes but see several large lizards and a couple of agouti, a large hamster type thing. The interesting thing was that certain creatures habit specific areas of the rain forest. They are not spread all over; so you need to walk to specific locations to view individual species. This is followed by a visit to the Coroni swamp where we see the roosting of the red ibis and several types of egret. Quite a spectacular splash of colour. We also see a bird that looks like a log and a couple of brown tree boas. Apparently Trinidadians celebrate 100 days of Christmas ending 6^th January, then follow this up with two months of carnival. Celebrating means eating and drinking each other out of house and home. For almost half the year!

Fri 30^th

The electricians turned up yesterday, even though we told them we were out all day. Can't come today so remaining work will not be completed until Monday. Echotec tell us they need to go out on the boat to commission the watermaker and won't deliver filters until we go into the water, so that will hold us up another few days as well. Last day of November and we go to the annual Christmas cook-out. This is type of street party with stalls selling food and drink. We win two prizes in the raffle, a taxi ride to the airport which auctioned for £15 and two ferry tickets to Tobago which we will try and use.

October 2012

October

Mon 1^st

Piereve runs the yoga practice first thing in secret harbour. He and his wife Miray have retired and live on Umido. He has studied kendo, judo, karate, tai chi and yoga. The French don't do cricket at school but martial arts are an option.

Tue 2^nd

I won $100 by drinking Carib but had to take the bottle top to the brewery to collect the award. Tough job.

Wed 3^rd

Best book swap at IWW then guitar practice.

Thur 4^th

Yoga first thing then boat fixing. Our decompression lever has corroded and will not stop the port engine. Not as bad as it sounds, its just inconvenient to have to dive into the hot engine bay and reach down a metre to move the decompresser when we stop.

Fri 5^th

The boules tournament is cancelled so we take the dinghy ashore to give it a scrub underneath. A new top tip, turn it over and let it dry, cover with bleach and let it dry, done. It seems to work so far. Not sure what the fish think. Piereve and Miray teach us Tai Chi on the beach for about an hour first Tai Chi in years and Trudy's first try ever. All good stuff.

Sat 6^th

We go to our second ever Hash House Harriers Hash. We remember why we didn't enjoy it last time. It only lasted a bit more than an hour and a half but we slither about in mud, in and out of streams up and down 45 degree and steeper inclines getting scratched and bruised, just avoiding broken limbs. We discover red ants about 1.5 cms long and get bitten by some so small you can hardly see them. This is followed by an “oil down” (local dish) and a few beers. There is a great following out here among many locals and cruisers and up to 250 hashers do this every week sometimes up to 500. Actually it doesn't sound that bad; perhaps we will go again next year!

Sun 7^th

Peter Bonta from yacht “Too Much Fun” arrived at the jam session and standards rose again.

Mon 8^th

Yoga with Piereeve.

Tue 9^th

Meray and Piereve show us more Tai Chi moves on the beach.

Wed 10^th

We weather watch Invest 98L that is destined to become storm Raphael.

Thur 11^th

Yoga again. More storm watching. Every 2 to three hours we pick up another weather forecast. It seems to be heading straight for us but at last minute heads north towards St Lucia.

Fri 12^th

Start the day with Tai Chi, and. Collect some parts from Island water world and budget marine; Sherri calls to say she will drop some more stuff off at the local bar. We go to cricket, Trudy plays for the first time in her life, we are on opposite sides, it is the same for all couples....she scores as many runs as me....duck....Its the closest match yet. With an equal number of West Indians on each side! Complete with barracking.

Sat 13^th

Storm Raphael passes north but leaves us with a large swell. Too roly and windy to get off the boat. Fitted new fridge pump, a smaller one using less than half the amps of the old one.

Sun 14^th

Jam session again. Rajun Cajun Tony turns up and starts telling everyone off! We have a miserable time and moan into our beer. Many decide they are not coming back.

Mon 15^th

Liming

Tue 16^th

Tai Chi, shopping and a move into the next bay, Clarkes Court, Flat calm; lovely. We discover the windex is not working.

Wed 17^th

We find out our water maker has not been ordered and we need to order and collect it in Trinidad. Good job we were going there.

Thur 18^th

Pick up all remaining parts for out SSB radio kit. All we need to do now is install it; and pass the exam in the UK!

Fri 19^th

Trudy uses our old fridge pump to replace the deck cleaning pump. We get great water pressure for deck cleaning.

Sat 20^th

HHH 750^th Grenada hash in La Sargese, a beautiful beach resort and beers after a two hour walk in the hills. Back to Oasis bar to listen to live sax and trumpet from Gforce.

Sun 21^st

Trudy jerry rigs a stop cable, a bit Heath Robinson but it works.

Mon 22^nd

Our windex is still stuck so there are now two reasons to go up the mast, fix the windex and change the anchor light bulb for an LED that uses a 10^th of the power. Trudy hauls me up on two halyards and I discover the led will not work as the polarity is wrong and the fitting is an off set bayonet. I decide not to bodge it but reverse the polarity below deck instead.

Tue 23^rd

Of to IWW chandlers. The barometer that we bought to use forecasting storms has remained on 1011 millibars for over a month. We are convinced it does not work so exchange it for a more expensive version. As we travel by bus over the hills it changes continuously without tapping, perhaps we now have a good one.

Wed 24^th

All morning spent tracking down a 30' cable to activate the port decompresser and stop the engine. It is now on order and should be with us in 5 days....

Afternoon is spent removing every seat from the saloon and emptying all the under seat lockers in order to track down the junction box for the mast head lights. Polarity changed for the anchor light, Job finally completed, all lockers re filled, so just need to go up the mast again. We need to wait for the winds and waves to subside.

Thur 25^th

Grenada public holiday. Bruce from Serenity comes on board to swap some guitar riffs. Cooking class teaches us how to male plantain in a ginger and orange sauce; they also provide some mahi mahi in passion fruit sauce, calalou au gratin followed by soursop ice cream. All for £3. brilliant. Omega and Ester, the two girls that run the class will be videoed for a British television company on Saturday so you may get to see them on the box. Apparently they are having to use cocoa and nutmeg, two ingredients that come from Grenada. Back to the boat for a sundowner with Serenity and Secret Smile.

Fri 26^th

Grenada day off after public holiday! Tai chi first thing then shopping bus. No cricket this Friday as we are having a Halloween cricket party instead.

Sat 27^th

Trudy goes shopping for Halloween costumes, I practice with guitar. Stan and Cora play keyboard and sax at the local marina bar. The are with two guitarists and one is heading north, Do I want to play with them at Roger's beach bar on Tuesday? YES PLEASE!

Sun 28^th

Trudy spends hours filling in online visa application, Jam session at whisper cove.

Mon 29^th

No stop cable.

Tue 30^th

First thing tai chi, then customs to renew our visas. We are told we need to go to Immigration in town, rumour has it that this will take all day. Bus in, a mile walk, arrive in immigration, queue, register, wait, sent to treasury, queue, back to immigration queue to hand in receipt, wait, 1/2 mile walk as bus reverses to pick us up, back to marina to collect boxes of wine. My turn to spend hours on US visa application. We get to Roger's beach bar at about five and after problems with generators extension cables and adapters I end up playing on battery power. It goes well and I am invited back to play next Saturday. A dream come true.

Wed 31^st

Trudy climbs he mast to change our anchor light from a 3watt halogen to a 0.3 watt led. Then off to Miss Molly to see Phill and Monica. We need all to upload portrait pictures to the US web site to obtain US visas. We will apply for them in Trinidad. Then off to fancy dress cricket. Double runs if you wear a hat! Then a 20^th wedding anniversary party at de big fish with Barracuda and Ilfie doing an acoustic set, back to the Oasis bar for Kung Fu, an amazing 60 plus drummer, making quite a busy day! No stop cable no sewing machine.