October 2013

Our friends Matt and Sue's beautiful 1920's boat "Luludoo"

"Ambler" Stan and Cora's ex english lifeboat from the 1940's

Our neighbours, Hans and Bettina with a lovely sunset off Hog Island.

The stage at Hog Island with the band setting up.

The band on Hog.

Andy, well into it!

The start of the treck down to the fall's. Walking sticks provided.

Some nice shade from the rain forest.

A steep slippery walk down.

Worth it when we got there! Two of the fall's from " The seven sisters" waterfalls.

Butterfly our guide doing a back flip from about 40ft.

A nice view of the bay on our way back from Seven Sisters.

A rum shop on route.

Concorde Falls.

Andy playing with RuffnNuff at Clarkes court Bay.

Me and the crowd enjoying listening to the band.

The silly dog show at Grand Anse.

One of the stray pups they are trying to find homes for at the show. This is the guy I would have chosen!

Noodling every morning at Hog.

It's not really a spectator sport!

September 2013

September
Most days start with the radio net then Trudy kayaks off to the noodling (water aerobics) set. I get an extra hour in bed reading or an hours guitar practice. In addition this month the Americas Cup racing has kept us busy. As always we are watching the weather for hurricanes. September is renowned for being the most active month but we have been remarkably lucky with a very mild month.


Sun 1st
Usual jam session in Whisper Cove with a few new faces. Including a Blues harpist Christian and his country singing wife Alita from Spirit a Libre. They will come and watch us play next Saturday with a view to joining the band...


Mon 2nd
Stay on board, rest day and loads of rain.



Tues 3rd
Intended to stay on board but Hans and Betina are leaving tomorrow so we have a late farewell party at Rogers bar. Politics are hotting up over the use of this small island beach.


Wed 4th
I phone the owner of Shadowfax tours who supplied a lot of the beach equipment for Roger's bar. The French owner of Shadowfax concedes that as Roger has been squatting on the beach for over 20 years he now has ownership of the beach; so even if the barbecues and tables were originally supplied by them anyone using the beach should ask Roger first. It also seems reasonable that they should patronize his bar for some drinks at least. Mary's food is excellent value at about £4-50 a plateful and drinks are EC$5, about £1-20 for a glass of wine, a rum and coke or a beer. All with ice. I don't know why anyone would bother to bring booze and coolers to the beach at that price. Burger night at the Oasis and we meet Matt and Sue from Luludu. Matt is a good guitarist and agrees to join us next Saturday.


Thur 5th
Darts match at Taffy's bar. Killer, 15 lives each and 12 people play. It takes ages then we have a 3 a side team 501 double in and out to finish just before dark. Then off to the Oasis bar until very late discussing (in great detail) after effects of prostate cancer with a fellow (recovering) cruiser. There is life after the op.


Fri 6th
The fourth final refund payment due on the failed liferaft service was due a week ago. We get confirmation that a second payment (of four) will be made today. Nasty taste. We should probably forgo the remaining payments and just report the guy as there are currently 4 yachts missing and who knows who serviced their liferafts.


Sat 7th
Busy day shopping for 4 hours Ugh! This shopping bus thing is getting to be a drag. Back to boat to cook for tonight's pot luck, Opening Rounds for the Final 17 races in the America's Cup. Then a brilliant night playing with Country Dave and Matt from Luludu. Christian and Alita bring their friends Karin and Jeanjaque and all goes very well. We plan a practice session later in the week with blues harps and vocals.

Short stop at Nimrod's

Sun 8th
Watch Americas Cup racing very close, very exciting. These catamarans fly over a meter above the water!


Mon 9th
Rest day on board. Karin and Jeanjaque from Merlin arrive on our boat, play a little guitar and try to sell us a massage at US$60...No chance.


Tue 10th
Invited for a “Bunhi Chow” a south African dish, curry in half a bread loaf. We are all watching the development of Giselle and Humberto the two named storms out in the Atlantic. Watch a couple of races from the Americas Cup.

Thur 12th
Invited for barbecue ribs at Taffy's after darts but cannot make this as we want to see the Americas cup; it might have been the last day. New Zealand only need two more wins but cocked up by nearly turning their cat upside down. This is followed by a practice session introducing the blues harpist and backing vocals.


Fri 13th
Thundery weather and lots of rain. So miss out on the boules and the karaoke.


Sat 14th
A brilliant set with Country Dave, Peter Bonta, Matthew, Alita, Christian and me. At the end we are swapping guitars and Dave stands down to let the guitars rip. Fantastic time.


Sun 15th
Sunday lunch at Taffy's. Everyone has been raving about this. Good job it was only £8-40 as it was a bit like school dinner. Mash, no roasties, overcooked cabbage and carrots, under cooked stuffing, flat Yorkshire puds, three slices of over cooked pork (with under cooked fat) all covered in gravy. Loads of food but not “The best Sunday Lunch in the Caribbean” as it is billed. They also do “The best Fish and Chips in the Caribbean” but I won't be rushing to find out. Strangely 4 of 6 people on our table also rated this very highly.


Mon 16th
Nothing done! Reading and browsing.


Tues 17th
Head out to the shops and the Grenadian Postal Corporation (GPC) I set up a Miami PO Box with the GPC. For £18 you can get the GPC to forward stuff from a Miami PO Box so it is possible to get imports from e.g. Amazon or Yanmar. Delivery is once a week on Friday for anything received in Miami by Wednesday. There is still stamp and duty to pay but it look like it will be a lot cheaper than the usual importers.
Wind is so strong in San Francisco (23 knots!) that the Americas Cup racing is cancelled, but we are in the bar so have a few before coming home. Hans and Betina are back with Son and girlfriend. They park right next to us. (But much better placed than the Canadians on “Pollucks” were a few days ago)


Wed 18th
Mikes (60th) birthday party on the Flying Buzzard. Starts at 5pm! We watch an Americas Cup race, the second is cancelled (too much wind!) so we get to the 'Buzzard early. A look in their hold unveils a piano! And a Matchless motorcycle of some description.

Thur 19th To Tue 24th
Every day spent doing not much but wait for the  Americas Cup racing at 4pm. The Kiwis we leading by 8 points to 1 needing one further win to take the cup. They then proceeded to lose eight races in a row. They were leading by a huge margin in one race; but we are told that the race must complete in 40 minutes! They cross the line first but 4 minutes late. The wind was too light (12 knots)! On other days the wind has been too strong (23 knots) and from the wrong direction (!). FYI normal boats just get going in a 23 knot breeze. 


Wed 25th
Burger night and we meet up with Else and Peter from “Whatever”, they are Dutch living in Curacao and Edith and Jacque from “Nave”. Final of the Americas Cup. The Americans retain the cup. Only consolation is that Sir Ben Ainsley was their tactician for the last eight races and was no doubt instrumental in the last eight wins.


Thur 26th
We have Julie, Mike and Angie over for a chili with Hans and Betina. Late session. Much talk of Cuba and rum cocktails.


Fri 27th
Fish and Chips at Taffy's;we meet our neighbours Phill, and Piere from Beothuck and Honiara. Fish is Mahi mahi, chips are made from potatoes light batter, pretty good actually. Second best in Caribbean to date.
Dave and friends has been moved to Fridays, we find out this morning. It will be followed by an open mike event. And Karaoke is moved to Saturday. We need to chase around to get boat papers to a Yanmar spares shop and one of the chandlers announced they have a sale today. Dave's set and the open mike are excellent we have a crowd right until 11:30! 2 and a half hours after “cruisers midnight”.


Sat 28th
Rest day we don't go to the karaoke!


Sun 29th
Whisper Cove for a jam then Hog island for the  Sunday afternoon lime on the beach.


Mon 30th
Visit to Stingo. John gives me about 16,000 song sheets. He is the author of the Desperate Sailors website. A great site for finding crew and boats.

August 2013

August
A month without buying anything for the boat, and coincidentally our cheapest month yet!
Thurs 1^st
Last swim in marina pool before heading out into the bay.


Fri 2^nd
Early start to check out of the marina and head round to Clarkes Court Bay otherwise known as Woburn. Drop anchor with brand new G4 (high strength) chain. Windlass operation is very smooth. Happy hour in the Oasis Clarkes Court Bay


Sat 3^rd
Dinghy concert in roly waters “Pink” a Swiss guy was due to play but Eastjet cancelled his flight to London. So we had a local pan band at short notice. Followed, in the Oasis bar, by a set with Dave from Pavane, Peter from Too Much Fun and me. Three guitars and Dave sang, very enjoyable night.


Sun 4^th
Jam at Whisper Cove. Probably the best so far. There were so many good musicians and singers that the standard was extremely high.


Mon 5^th
Bank holiday for Emancipation Day


Tues 6^th
Jazz set at Whisper cove. Renato turns up with a tenor sax so we have thee horns. Peter and I play guitar. There are four people in the “crowd” plus Trudy and Mandy and the four staff! Two leave early...


Wed 7^th
We are back to a three piece band and the crowd has increased to six plus staff. This is our last set at Whisper Cove as Gavin is leaving for the UK.
There is a new service being provided by a local butcher, you order meat on Wednesday to be delivered fresh on Friday or frozen on Saturday. We order lamb Shanks, look forward to these.


Thurs 8^th
We move round to the next bay. “Hog Island”. This is a haven for live aboard cruisers. A quiet bay and a real beach bar. Quite busy with yachts though and we sneak in at the North end near the mainland shore.


Fr1 9^th




Sat 10^th
Country Dave plays with Peter and I at the Oasis.


Sun 11^th
Jam at whisper cove and then we had planned to go to Hog island. We stop off at Pink Panther on the way, 50 metres from the shore, and get Pantherized with Cuban Cigars (Cohibas) and Rum – Cuban, five types! We discuss pros and cons(none) of a trip to Cuba and pick up some good tips.


Mon 12^th
We wait in to see Robin, he has bought a new (very old) steel boat and picks it up from Grenada today. We meet on Hog island at Roger's beach bar. Our first time this year. Much the same thank goodness. Still the most authentic beach bar in the Caribbean. Robin, Angie, Mike and Julie from the Flying Buzzard, a tug boat from Maryport. Long way from home! James their crew and Gary from Margaritas and Tony (the tattooed lady) from Woiee. John the Gringo from Stingo brings out a guitar and we sing a few songs.


Tue 13^th
Visit Carnival parade. Not as good as previous years. Everybody seems to agree. But spectacular all the same and music is not so “insistent” less Soca and out of tune horns. Trudy plans to send out photos.


Wed 14^th
Keep eye on hurricane Erin.


Thur 15^th
Head to Roger's beach bar on Hog Island for early doors. Turns out late...meet Gro and Jason form Inanna and Gary from Margaritas.


Fri 16^th
Play Petanque at Clarkes Court Bay Marina. Trudy is semifinalist I am out in the second round with a near whitewash 10-1 to Jackie from Highheeled.


Sat 17^th
Dinghy around to get some fish and a few supplies.


Sun 18^th
Afternoon on the beach at Hog Island. Local food, barbecue chicken, cilantro salad, bread fruit salad and rice and peas. £6. huge plate and fantastic quality.


Mon 19^th
Trudy goes noodling in the morning and picks up a hull scraper designed and built by Mike from the Flying Buzzard. Works a treat, or so Trudy says!


Tue 20^th
Take shopping bus around town collect the new gas bottle.


Wed 21^st
Noodling and hull scraping for Trudy. Watch Louis Vuiton Americas Cup. Amazing racing between two top class crews and catamarans. They fly! In 14 knots of wind the can reach 40 knots of boat speed and are suspended 1 to 2 metres out of the water on hydrofoil type lifting keels and rudders. You must check it out on Youtube. Listen to some music from Gilfy and Jomo, barbecue supper and I get a birthday surprise in the form of an announcement over the mic, a chocolate cake with three flare sized fireworks and a present from Hans and Betina five Cuban cigars, including two Cohibas. Very generous. Lots of hand shakes and kisses. Its a day early, but who cares! Country Dave asks me to play again on Saturday. Pretty good last day as a 57 year old teenager.


Thurs 22^nd
Make Trudy tea in bed, Take her ashore so she can go to a book swap while I clean the bottom of the dinghy and remove barnacles from the outboard engine. Hang on, Its My birthday...Meal out at Whisper Cove and back to the boat for rum and Havana Cigars mmmmm.


Fri 23^rd
Cricket at Clarkes Court Bay. 28 to 50 and I drop two catches and I'm out for 2 but I'm still on an unbeaten side. A few youngsters have started turning up and the standards have vastly improved. Bowlers are actually bowling now, not chucking! We still have a no LBWs rule though.


Sat 24^th
I do another set with Country Dave in the Oasis. It is not advertised so we only have a small audience. Later we watch Leonard Cohen in concert on the big screen. He is much improved since the 70s! We finish up watching his three encores at 1:30.


Sun 25^th
Another day on the beach at Roger's bar on Hog Island. End up chatting with locals and the German contingent in the early hours. There is talk of two more birthday celebrations, a 50^th on Tuesday and a 70^th on Wednesday. Looks like being another busy week...


Mon 26^th
Chill out day. John from Stingo visits with guitar and we go through a few songs in preparation for the birthday parties. I glue my acoustic guitar back together and readjust the neck.


Tue 27^th
Rumour has it that the pig roast will not go ahead but Trudy checks this out (after noodling 09:30) and the pig is already on the spit. Great party, great pig, home after dark..(somewhere between 18:30 and 05:30!) Gary has paid for the pig roast and all the trimmings, very generous.


Wed 28^th
Another party, this time for Phill on Beothuck (extinct aboriginal tribe from Newfoundland), he is 70. Just a “pot luck” barbecue on the beach from 14:00, but loads arrive including guitars, blues harps, Tom toms, and singers. There is a great atmosphere, even for here, with cruisers and locals mixing. We get away early about 8pm. When we go for our dinghy it is out in the bay. Someone has been in our boat and set us adrift; probably by mistake as the dogs and kids seem to play in all the dinghies. A young chap kayaks out to collect our dinghy and another that is also adrift.


Thurs 29^th
Our usual service provider is not providing a decent signal so..Hunt for internet connections. There is no 3G on the island so we need a 2G USB dongle to connect via the mobile phone network. Unfortunately after a day searching there are none in Grenada. Hans and Betina from Pink Panther do an excellent talk on visiting Cuba which lasts into the night. He has provided three page handouts and burned discs with charts and pilot for all those attending. He must have spent hours.


Fri 30^th
Dinghy to Secret Harbour to get internet. It looks like we will have to do this whenever required. Bit of a pain. The marina has been done up since last year and now has an open kitchen and does food all day. Very handy. We buy petrol in the marina and head back to the boat.


Sat 31^st
We advertise for a 2G dongle on the morning cruisers net, and Stewart and Julia from Desiderata offer one free of charge. We put XCD50 on the number and discover that it is the wrong one! Finally get the correct number, put another XCD50 on it, select a data plan and were off and running.
Night time is pot luck in Clarkes Court Bay marina and Country Dave and I do another set. This one was advertised and coincided with the pot luck so we end up with the biggest audience yet. We (He) now have a regular Saturday night spot.

June and July 2013

June
Sat 1^st
Gavin has a gig in “Coco's”. we go, but there are only two other punters. The whole of Bequia is very quiet, so its probably time to head South.


Sun 2^nd
Spend a day working out what key 20 plus songs are in.
Cocktail party on Tjeldøy Ice-cream Bob, Gavin and I play, thoroughly enjoyable.


Mon 3^rd
Rain and high winds all day keep us on the boat.


Tue 4^th
More rain and wind.


Wed 5^th
Final shop and check out. Stop at Tjeldøy for a sundowner and to swap movies.


Thur 6^th
Early start and head straight to Hillsborough on Carriacou, one of the Grenada parishes and an island paradise. (according to the customs officer). It does however have the lowest murder rate in the world. And very little crime. Only 6000 inhabitants probably helps. We have a great sail with steady winds and not too much sun, ideal. We also see a whale about 15 metres away. I make a quick sketch of what I saw; a “falcate” dorsal fin about half a metre high and about 2 metres of its back, blow not visible, and the tail fluke not raised when it dived. Later investigation suggests this may have been a minke, or with an estimated length of about 8 metres a small Brydes whale. The customs guy that gave us the hard time when we tried to leave early in the morning three month ago comes into the office and greets us like long lost friends and welcomes us back to the island!


Fri 7^th
We try to sail round to the next bay but end up motoring, its only an hour away. We anchor in Tyrell bay. Later the Lambie Queen is the place to go on Fridays, but we head for Tantie Lizzie's first to check if Launa is back. She is still visiting her daughter in Scotland. In the Lambie Queen we meet Francis from Huddersfield. There is a village on Carriacou where most of the residents originally came from Huddersfield. There is a band playing, drums, steel drum, five string bass and keyboard. I ask if I can join them and they invite me to play next Wednesday at the “Off the Hook” on paradise beach.


Sat 8^th
Stayed on board due to wind and rain.


Sun 9^th
Lunch on the slipway, burgers and bloody marys. Perfect. Even though weather is a bit poor.


Mon 10^th To Thur 13^th
Stayed on board due to wind and rain. Weather can be a bit poor out here! Max winds at anchor have been recorded at 37 knots. Missed the evening at Off the Hook on Wednesday.


Fri 14^th
We wake up to the news that yacht Uisge Beatha has caught fire and completely burned out in Prickley Bay, the harbour we were travelling to next week.
Moalis from yacht Moalis came to visit; we met on Tjeldøy a couple of weeks ago. They are from Switzerland and have a small yacht with dagger-boards and no keel.


Sat 15^th
Up at 6:30, anchor up by 7:00 and were off down the windward side of Grenada. Not done this before and we are on a lee shore most of the way. Weather starts grey and gets....a bit less grey....then a bit sunny. Ends up a great sail and with currents behind us part of the way we average 7.5 knots and jolly good time! Arrive in Clarkes Court bay by lunch time. This trip we normally do over two days going the other side of the island so this is a massive improvement.


Sun 16^th
We get to Whisper Cove Marina for the first jam session of the (off) season. It is well supported, including the family from “Cape” dubbed the Von Trapps. They play two guitars, a flute and Mum sings.


Mon 17^th
Farmer's market. It is only one stall with a small selection of small vegetables.


Tue 18^th
Shopping Trip goes all around the houses visiting chandlers and hardware stores ending up at supermarket and off licence. A good tour that reminds us where everything is on Grenada.


Wed 19^th

The afternoon is spent practising with Gavin and Gary a local trumpet player. He is quick to learn and adds a warm tone to our playing. Then burger night at Clarkes Court bay marina.

Thur 20^th
Cooking Class on the dodgy dock at True Blue Bay. Slightly disappointing as it was a creole sauce that we have made loads of times, with chicken strips and pasta. Head to Whisper Cove for tapas, but its not on as tonight its “roast chicken night”. Smells and looks fantastic; shame we were stuffed at the cooking class.


Fri 21^st
IWW to check out gas bottle situation. Cricket at Clarkes Court bay marina, I am equal top scorer with 27 runs. Drop 3 catches and get the 4^th. Probably best to quit now.


Sat 22^nd
Trudy has taken up daily noodling. This is water aerobics with a metre long buoyancy aid, classes start every morning before I get up! Major practice day. Three hours in the morning with Gavin and I, followed by three hours in the afternoon with Gary the trumpeter.


Sun 23^rd
All the exertion of the cricket is beginning to show. Aches all over, must be an age thing.


Mon 24^th
Struggle to get out of bed but we need more music practice. Its turning into a work thing.


Tues 25^th
First Professional Gig...oooh ever! We are not too bad. Ambition realised so I can stop now.


Wed 26^th
Second Gig oooh oooh..We are rubbish. Still the crowd seemed to like us and we are invited back next week. Later we watch Iflie, a real musician who does a great job with backing tracks and an acoustic guitar. Something to aim for. He does have a singer though, which helps him a lot.


Thur 27^th
Jam and jewellery. Gavin and I practice, Trudy and Mandy discuss Mandy's new bead collection. She makes jewellery for a hobby.


Fri 28^th
Out and about chasing gas bottles and anchor chain. We need the stuff made in Europe because the stuff made in China does not last! Out for a beef fondue. Very Grenadian...Chucked the dinghy anchor overboard and the bitter end wasn't attached! £12 to get a local diver to search and rescue whilst we were at the shops.


Sat 29^th
A quick jam with Matthew and Gavin on board. Matthew is a very accomplished guitar player and a joy to jam with. Bus up to Guave for the fishermans birthday celebration. A huge street party with every other bar competing to outdo their neighbours in the noise department. Massive stacks with bass tones travelling through your body. The usual cat herding job at the end trying to find three bus-loads of cruisers.


Sun 30^th
A fun afternoon at whisper cove marina for the jam session. Extremely busy, all tables full and a packed bar.


July
Mon 1^st
Most of July spent in UK with the boat left in the marina in St Georges. Preparation included removing head-sail and bimini cover, doubling up all lines and putting out extra fenders, closing sea-cocks and hatches. Emptying fridge removing shore power, lashing the wind generator.

May 2013

May
Wed 1^st
Bank holiday, everything closed. Most jobs on board have been completed and are up to date and its a good job as Gavin and Mandy arrive on Secret Smile so band practice will start in earnest. Gavin now has five saxophones, and a clarinet aboard and is practising nearly all day every day. We catch up over a sundowner.


Thur 2^nd
Stainless steel parts have been completed so I fix up the wind generator tripod; it is now very secure. We head out to the marina as there is a jazz evening planned. We have a few happy hour bevies and search out the jazz venue. Band is rubbish and the acts are mainly live poetry readings, so its back to the bar.


Fri 3^rd
Gavin and I are running through a couple of songs when we notice Miss Molly is parked next to us and next thing we know Phil is aboard, beers come out and practice is halted for the day. Later we all head out to Gross Islet to the jump up. This Friday it has been combined with the jazz festival and although there seem to be less people attending there is more of a carnival atmosphere with a street parade, dancers, bands ,fire eaters guys on stilts etc. we didn't see any jazz acts though...not quite sure about this jazz festival.


Sat 4^th
Late start but I have band practice with Gavin and Phil. Phil gets us organised and we manage 6 songs that need a bit more work before we go live. The bay is filling up as folk travel south.


Sun 5^th
Every morning starts with band practice when Gavin is around. Add another two songs to practice.
Later we head off to the Fire Grill for some jazz. This time it turned out to be an African drum set, very good, and a reggae / ska band not so good; but no jazz...


Mon 6^th
Today following band practice I get homework! Head out to boatyard to buy pipe and wood that we keep forgetting. Elvis is not about, he has sold our old dinghy. So we should get some beer vouchers.
No jazz near us tonight. We visit Phil and Monica and Phil shows us the fishing bible.


Tue 7^th
Elvis is around and introduces us to Tyson who will work on some teak for us. I give Tyson the measurements and arrange to collect the wood...tomorrow. We pass by the fish stalls near a gas (petrol) station and get some dinghy fuel and a 3 lb tuna, nicely prepared. Later; We get to another two venues for the Jazz Festival. Saxophonist and Guitarist. Both excellent. Although we had to wait two hours after the billed time for each performance.


Wed 8^th
Collect two pieces of teak, back to the boat for some measuring and then ashore to give details to Tyson. Parts should be machined by...tomorrow. I buy the fishing bible. Phil, Monica, Mandy and Gavin visit us for a pot luck supper. We try the ceviche recipe from the fish bible and it goes down very well.


Thur 9^th
Wood need further measuring ...boat...shore.....tomorrow.
We head to Castries for some shopping and the Main free jazz event in the centre of town. This is very varied with good and bad dancing and music. Hey but its free, and there are beer stands.


Fri 10^th
We collect wood, its an almost perfect fit. We now have a board to attach dinghy engine whist in rough seas offshore. We make an effort to see a guitarist that we missed earlier in the week. He is not very inspiring so we head home early. Miss Molly have left, we had said our goodbyes earlier but expected them to leave in the morning. We expect the noise from the Friday jump up might have helped them to a decision to go early.


Sat 11^th
We collect Chris Castle, the surveyor who checks over our rigging; he is very thorough and explains what he is looking at and what we should check. It takes about two hours and we end up with a very favourable report stating we are good to go with annual checks. He suggests two things we can do to strengthen the rig and we plan to make the changes.


Sun 12^th
Begin reading “The Cruisers Handbook of Fishing” and get totally engrossed. This book is full of information and some simple cheap starter suggestions that we must try.


Mon 13^th
Visit Chinaman, they are all busy working on the island's electricity generator. Come back tomorrow.


Tue 14^th
We pick up Claudius from Chinaman's workshop to look at the strengthening plates we need, to upgrade our forward crossbeam. He measures up and we take him ashore. Plates will be ready tomorrow.


Wed 15^th
Collect stainless plates at a cost of £25, we just need a rigger to fit them now. Spend half a day getting flights for us and Gavin and Mandy. Book Port Louis Marina for July. We are heading home for a few weeks in July!


Thur 16^th
Whilst lying in bed reading I hear “Oh shit we know this boat” just as Trudy begins speaking to the guys we met last year who serviced our life raft. We do not need further work done by them! This reminds us that we have a half written complaint letter about the service. I send email out and get immediate response we will meet tomorrow.


Fri 17^th
Meet with Francis, Debbie and TC to discus issues with our life raft service. They agree to refund entirely for the service (they didn't do). Francis just signs the certificate, Debbie checks the work, but was in Trinidad at the time, no ones fault!
Buy fishing rod and reel net, lures etc. Told rods and reels are one size fits all.


Sat 18^th
Meet Francis and Tom (TC) from liferaft and inflatables. We get a letter that states they will return the entire cost of our life raft repair over the next 4 months; we hold our breath...not. Return rod and reel as they don't fit together, get new rod.
Spend the afternoon preparing different lures leaders etc. We have a few practice casts, all seems to work. Trudy notices my squid jig has caught....a plastic bag. Chicken again tonight.


Sun 19^th
Start preparing to head further south. (Trudy cleans bottom, chain and bridle). I catch up with diary and guitar.


Mon 20^th
Another Bank Holiday, everything shut so we rest up another day.


Tue 21^st
Final shops and check out, ready to leave tomorrow morning.
Typical, a Canadian (French) sits on top of our anchor, the whole bay is empty but.....
He can't be bothered to move and doesn't care if we wake him at 5 am tomorrow..


Wed 22^nd
We wake at 5 and set of by half past. A great sail for part of the time with over 8 knots for most of the way. 24 miles to go and the wind drops so we motor-sail. Then the skies open and we get storms on and off for the rest of the trip. 35 knot gusts that are very short lived but full of rain where visibility goes down to nil. We are used to this by now and take sails down in relative calm! We arrive in Bequia at 5:30 and Trudy immediately sets off to customs. By the time she gets back we have had messages from two friend who also arrived today and arrange to meet up later in the week.


Thur 23^rd
Angie from Kibe calls so we are out to Frangipani for the last Jump Up of the season and meet up with her and Robin. They have just been to Gingerbread for a curry and Robin complains that the Vindaloo did not have the strength of a corma. We will make a strong curry next week.


Fri 24^th
Drop off gas bottle. Cruisers jam session and fish Friday at the Fig Tree. We hear on the morning cruisers net that the old fig tree has suffered wind damage and there is a call out to anyone with a chain saw. An unlikely tool on a yacht! Angie comes to the rescue and later we see pictures of Angie chainsawing the tree with a load of guys watching her!
Chris, from Troubadour, Gavin and I are the only musicians and it turns out to be more our gig as we are performing songs, not jamming. Chris actually sings. So we have an ok sound.


Sat 25^th
Terry from Libertine visits early to say goodbye, he is setting off to haul out in Trinidad before going back to Scarborough N. Yorks. Pick up gas bottle and visit butcher. As mentioned before he only visits Bequia once a week on Saturdays. He has four cool boxes filled with mutton, goat, beef and chicken. We look at a goat quarter but decide on beef. It is weighed then the butcher chops it with his machete (much bigger than a cleaver) starting from above his head. Bones are easily split!
Invited for cocktails on Tjeldøy, Chocolate Cow, made by Shaun from Imagination, our own Bloody Mary and Robin's no name concoction with lots of coconut cream Lime and Rum; a few corn fritters, Camembert and salami. No need to make dinner tonight. Shaun recounts his shark stories, they save their fish heads until going to the Tobago Keys. After about 4:30 when most swimmers (but not all) have finished for the day, they put the heads out on lines and after about a half hour the reef sharks up to about 1.7 metres and rays up to a meter across come to the boat.


Sun 26^th
Lazy day. Download and listen to the Archers Omnibus. We do this most weeks.


Mon 27^th
Curry cooking day.


Tue 28^th
Shaun, Ali, Robin and Angie come on board for a curry night. We swap catamaran problems and fishing yarns. Since we bought the fishing bible it has become a daily read and we are always on the lookout for fishing gear and tips. Still haven't caught anything..


Wed 29^th
Quiet day...
Evening on Secret Smile with Gavin and Mandy, raw fish and dips.


Thur 30^th
My vocal effects box has turned up at customs. The officer says he is not sure if he can let me have it and must ask his supervisor; can I come back after lunch. Just a scam to get more cash. I speak to the broker and when I go back there is no problem.


Fri 31^st
Fish Friday again, and a jam. My guitar pickup has stopped working on one string it makes for a rubbish sound so I don't play. We try a new bar, the “Devil's Table” Jackie's band plays there. The booze is very expensive and the band are poor; Jackie's guitar is turned right down so you can't hear him. Its a shame because he is rather good.

April 2013

April
Mon 1^st
Rolly and windy stay on boat.



Tues 2^nd
Still roly and windy with rain; so..Painting and guitar practice, after boat jobs; putting in new hose and stopcock, checking boom ..cant fix it! We need to get to Martinique for a rigger. That is weeks away.



Wed 3^rd
Shopping for music bits, Boss RC30 looper foot switches, mic and stand. Trudy bought a Kindle...Check out, we are heading off to Culebra. There is a nice black lady at customs who was extremely helpful and charming, quite the best customs experience to date. That is 2 nil to the USVI. Head back to the boat and muck about with my new looper pedal. Any idea how we get some decent free books on the kindle?



Thur 4th
8:00 am passes and we get up late. Prep the boat and set off down wind. For the first time we try this without the main sail. The yacht hand book says NEVER use head sail alone. However asking around most yachts are sailed like this. The main sheet is tightened down and we are using a high tech topping lift, so the mast is held reasonable firmly. Off we go in 15 to 20 knots true wind and end up travelling at 6.5 knots with between 10 and 15 knots apparent. It is really smooth and Trudy has a huge smile on her face based on the comfort we are in. Culebra has a tricky entrance and the Pilot book makes it sound and look worse than it is. We concentrate for about half an hour and we are in Ensenada Honda; a beautifully calm bay with a nice cooling breeze. Yellow flag goes up and we phone Customs at the airport. Another pleasant experience, he calls us back as he is dealing with other yachts, takes down most of our details, tells us we can come to customs in the airport tomorrow at 10:00. He also lets us know we can take our yellow flag down and go ashore to enjoy ourselves. He is a sailor and advises us of a couple of other must go stops. There is, what lookslike a log in the water, but it turns out to be an iguana!
We go ashore to “The Dingy Dock” a local yachty hang out, beers aren't too expensive and a rum punch is only $3.50 I happy hour. We meet a lady who asks Trudy if she wants a pit bull as she has a rescue dog to give away; she drags Trudy off to her house to look at him. Apparently it was love at first sight but he would complicate our lives too much. Back on the boat a guy is sailing around, in the dark, on a trimaran that look like three canoes stuck together. He is laughing his head off whilst dodging yachts at about 10 knots!



Fri 5^th
Late start and head off to customs. Another very pleasant experience; although he does tell us that the nice lady in St Thomas gave us some wrong info. Still that gives the Us 2.5 to nil! We wander round town and stop at Zaco Taccos for lunch. Very cheap and excellent Mexican food. We end up at the Dinghy Dock again. It is on the waterfront and next to the dock there are a large number of tarpon over a metre long we wonder if they are edible. Tonight we meet Captain Pat, another lady slightly older than us who is looking for another solo sailor that she can join. From what we have seen so far Culebra is full of friendly and interesting people, very laid back and a million miles away from the rest of the USVIs.
Sat 6th
Took a day to find a laundry and do all our stuff. In between we find a cafe with internet and manage to register the new kindle.
Sun 7th
Guitar practice ..with new looper!
Mon 8th
We hire a golf cart for the day. Top Speed 25 mph and we get stuck going up a hill and have to push! In 4 hours we manage to see most of the island and its beautiful beaches. The best of which, Flamenco beach, has no shade and is full of people. Zoni beach is smaller and almost deserted so much better as far as we were concerned. We pass the only museum on the island which is closed. It is in such a remote place that we will not get to see it. The view of the next islands were brilliant with clear azure seas, quite intoxicating.
Tue 9th
Spend the day (seriously!) downloading Calibre, the software required to get kindle books.
We have a 54mps connection, the best available in the Caribbean so far, showing signal strength and quality permanently in the 90s and we still have trouble. Check out rudders as they are getting a bit sticky; we should have dropped them in Trinidad and lubricated them. So that is something else on the haul out list. (together with filling the hole in the hull!)
Wed 10th
Get up at 5:30 to take the $2-25 6:30 ferry to Fajardo on the Puerto Rican main island. We hire a car and travel up to San Juan after a necessary stop at the West Marine Chandlers. Trudy does some clothes shopping and I go on the hunt for a guitar. We are both successful. I find a fender telecaster for £325, an incredible bargain. Trudy spends nearly as much in Victoria's secrets. We have just enough time to drive through Old San Juan get back to West Marine to pick up some shoes and get back for the last ferry back to Culabra. Old SanJuan is a beautiful Spanish fortress town. Very colourful and we wish we had more time to spend site seeing. Traffic has been awful both ways and the 95 mile round trip has taken over 4 hours. We really do not miss the traffic. We drop the car off at the wrong park and with 5 minutes to spare I have to run around the town locating the right park and move the car. I am the last on the ferry. The Captain very kindly waited for me!
Thur 11th
Day spent playing with new toys whilst Trudy puts on a fashion show.
Fri 12th to Sun 14th
The Ensenada Honda bay is very tranquil with good holding so we enjoy a couple of days relaxing on the boat. The weather is beginning to cool down and is very acceptable.
Mon 15th
Up anchor and head for Viques the next Spanish island. It takes longer than we had expected as we faff about using the auto pilot to automatically tack and eventually succeed. We calculate that we are tacking through 122 degrees so we can make 61 degrees off the true wind which equates to 47 degrees off the apparent wind. Not brilliant but it will get us where we want to go. We arrive too late to go ashore so just have a peaceful evening on board. It is however very roly.
Tue 16th
We have anchored off Espiranza in the south of the island. We dinghy ashore in the morning and take a taxi, $6 for two, to Isabella, the other town on the island where the ferry lands from Fajardo. It takes about an hour to walk around. There is a pretty pink clock tower and in the main plaza there is a large stone built stage. There is one supermarket and two banks. Approximately a third of the island is out of bounds as the Americans were, until 2004 using this area for bombing practise. There is still unexploded ordinance littering the place. We had planned to head south for Martinique or St Lucia on Wednesday but the wind and swell seem to be against us for a few days so we postpone themove.



Wed 17^th
Day spent trying to find a Mexican restaurant that had shut down and marine diesel engine oil as port engine is due a service. You will not find it on this side of the Island!! a $15 taxi takes us both on a trip all around the island to find the right oil. The site seeing is a bonus. Vieques is a much bigger and better appointed island than Culebra. The road are all very smooth and in good condition. The place is full of bars and restaurants but also it has some useful shops. Everyone is very helpful even providing information without being asked. We have been trying to learn Spanish but hasn't been necessary. After a few attempts most of the island inhabitants help out by speaking perfect (American) English.
Thur 18th
Port engine serviced; not much fun as sea a bit rocky. Oops forgot to turn on the diesel again so bleeding required. (along with bleeding swearing). The very nice customs man told us that we can check out by email and he would sent us the departure papers as a pdf file. We phone to see where this is and his colleague tells us that we need to come to the airport! Thanks! We could have done that yesterday. It seem that all the border protection officers try to outdo each other in one way or another.
Fri 19th
We are still watching the weather and it looks like we will get a window on Sunday so plan a trip to the airport on Saturday. Winds are quite high so we spend a roly day on board. Large fish spotted beneath the boat!
Sat 20th
Early start to get to customs for clearance out. Another very friendly and helpful guy. Full marks to the US. We get taxis to airport and to Isabella and they both take us to parts of the island that we previously missed. At the airport we stop for a coffee and a bite to eat. The cafe (garage) is run by a couple of old guys who look like bums the first of whom tells us the coffee is finished, but we can have the bit in the bottom of the jug! Do we want the special, beef hash eggs any way and toast? OK. One easy over and a scrambled. Too late, the “cook” has already done two easy overs. It is without doubt the worst prepared food we have ever had.
We frequently see iguanas up to a metre long crossing the road and Viques is renowned for its wild horses that roam freely and are always seen by the side of the road. Today we saw a mongoose for the first time and two minutes later see another!
Sun 21st
Up early, up anchor and set off for the South. We expect to pass St Croix by 5pm but get there by 3! over 8 knots but not quite the angle we want. We struggle through the night with force 6 winds and waves over 3 metres. We are adopting a 2 hour watch system but if we are not tired we stay on watch for as long as we can. It means the other person gets more rest and you are more likely to get to sleep if you are tired with all the rock and roll and banging around. We are not an ideal boat for large wind and seas. We put an extra reef in for the night and an alarm goes off on the starboard engine. Investigation shows the alternator belt has gone so its out with the tools in a force 6! a half hour later and we have our engine back.
Mon 22nd
Dawn comes and the wind and waves have died down to 2.5 metres and 22 knots! Sun comes out and it is a very pleasant sail. During the night the marine ply wall has detached itself from one of the forward bunks and the wind generator is rocking about due to a loose fitting. Plus the SSB aerial has detached itself. More maintenance required. Wind has still too much easterly in it which will extend our passage by about 20 hours.
No SSB means no weather (GRIB) files by (free) radio, so the Iridium phone comes out for the first time and at 11:30 we request a weather file, not sure when it will be sent. In addition to the satellite phone we subscribe to “Airmail”. This costs about $200 per year and they send you emails by short wave radio (SSB) this is a very slow service and only accepts text emails so we can only use this in emergency. The weather files are also limited in size to 10K which is just enough for a couple of days passage. On line GRIB requests are almost immediate and provide massive files. But the SSB has a very simple file that gets sent sometime during the night; so you need to log on twice. 18:00 we try a tack and forget to plot a position so it is two hours later before we discover that we are going slightly west of north with a strong current against us. I wake Trudy for a tack, she goes back to bed and I have an issue with loose lines on the lazy bag and a crunching noise from the back of the boom I wake Trudy again to sort out both. We need to reef so Trudy gets no sleep in her three hours off watch. The wind generator is supported by a tripod held together by 5mm stainless bolts. With all the banging one is wearing thin. It needs replacing but it is at the back of the boat and high up too dangerous to attempt at sea. Gaffer tape and cable ties are employed to hold back the wear.
Tue 23rd
At 02:00 I check for a Grib file and it has arrived. Weather info it dated 12:00 yesterday so the two day forecast is already 14 hours old. We can expect easterlies for the next day and a half. We are sailing about 50 degrees of the apparent wind in order to sail within 120 miles of our destination, Rodney Bay St. Lucia this angle gives us 6 knots but a terrible slamming. Whilst trying to sleep you get woken by a huge crash which moves your bunk followed by 3 or 4 smaller bangs that feel like we just ran over some large fish. Very uncomfortable and deprives us of much needed sleep. Who said sailing was fun!
08:35 Spongebob Squarepants is seen floating by to starboard.
Wed 24th
A weird morning with winds up and down from 5 knots to 21 knots 3 times in the space of an hour. Shake reef out, put reef in put 2^nd reef in engine on, off on, off, put 3^rd reef in...dies to nothing then starts to climb but we have a 2 .2 knot current against us and 15 knots of wind is not enough to stop us going backwards. Hectic! 3 hours later it settles down to a steady 22 knots! We fly in the wrong direction. After bypassing Dominica we settle down, current reduces to a manageable 0.8 knots and we expect to be in by tomorrow. More ropes used to tie up the wind generator and we turn it off and strap it up..less danger if it collapses. Not sure what angle catamarans are supposed to heel (less than 5 degrees) but the waves are frequently lifting our windward keel to nearly 20 degrees.
Thur 25th
Arrive in Rodney bay at about 4:30 am, quick prep of boat then bed.
Later we go ashore to check in, get some internet and get a few vitals.



Fri 26^th
Prepare a list of boat fixes, jobs and stuff we need to buy. Head out to chandlers and hardware shop. Try to by rocker cover seal but the ever helpful Ian Cowan says he will make me one.



Sat 27^th
Start jobs, reattach wall panel, drill out wind genny support and attach larger bolt, change diesel filters.



Sun 28^th
Remove rocker cover.
Mon 29th
Take rocker cover to Ian and he makes up a gasket on the spot. We also need to my some monel rivets 30 at nearly $5 each!
Meet up with “Chinaman”, actually he is from Guyana and an amerindian descendent, he comes on board and plans a new stainless steel bracket to brace our wind generator. We should collect this on Wednesday.
We buy a new pressure cooker, essential boat cookware! More clothes shopping for Trudy followed by another fashion show. This time I am trying to download software to fix my modem.
Trudy cleans bilges.
Tue 30th
Fitted new bilge pump, new lines on lazy bag, rocker cover gasket, strip light in starboard engine room. Half a day spent downloading modem software and firmware to try to get my SSB modem working. All engine checks. We need to fit new zinc sacrificial anodes.