Sunday, April 29, 2018

We Have Closed the Circle

We have closed the circle.  We are back in Trinidad and have been hauled out and are getting the boat ready for the summer.

We prepared to leave Granada by offloading a lot of “stuff” that we would not need on the boat over the summer.  Our friend, Sperry, is storing it for us.  Once we had everything off we then needed to decide when to go.  We had an appointment at Power Boats in Trinidad to be hauled out May 4.  Checking with our weather advisor we decided to take the opportunity that was coming up on Tuesday, April 24th.  Better to arrive early then to be stuck with weather problems.  Tuesday we pulled anchor and motored to Prickly Bay to take on fuel and to check out of the country.  As we entered Prickly Bay the engine started to act up, losing power and then died.  The symptoms were the same for running out of fuel.  We still showed a half a tank on the gauge but we all know that they can be wrong.  Were we out of fuel?  Opening the fuel filter showed that it was empty.  It wasn’t getting any fuel.  We quickly put out the headsail and proceeded to sail into the bay making several tacks to get into a position to anchor.  We picked a spot and dropped the anchor.  We dropped the dinghy from the davits and I headed to the marina to see if I could get a can of diesel.  All of our fuel jugs are now in storage.  With a borrowed can and five gallons of diesel, I headed back to the boat.  We added the fuel to the tank and primed the filter and pump and she started right up.  We then pulled the anchor and maneuvered to the fuel dock and tied up.  I was a bit surprised when it only took 41 gallons.  We still had a half tank.  Something else is the problem, I am suspecting there is something in the tank that is blocking the pickup and causing the engine to starve, drops off when the engine dies.  I need to look into it a bit more.  After checking out we ran into Dean and Kim from Dreamcatcher and sat down to visit for a bit.  They had watched us sailing in and thought we were just showing off, they had no idea how much adrenalin was pumping through our systems as we were coming in.  After the visit we moved out to a mooring to get everything ready for the trip.  We figure at best it is a twelve hour trip and if we leave in the morning we arrive in the dark so instead we leave in the evening and arrive sometime in the morning.

At 5:00 pm we dropped the mooring and headed out, next stop Trinidad.  We had decided to just run with the headsail and the mizzen since the forecast was for winds out of the ESE at around 15 knots.  Usually they run a bit higher so we did not want to have too much sail up.  We set a waypoint and we then had a line on the chart plotter to guide us.  After a couple of hours it was evident that there was a strong west flowing current.  We adjusted the sails and our course to minimize it but at one point it had us about five miles west of our line and heading to Venezuela.  Eventually the current weakened and we were able to work our way back on coarse again, even moving a bit east.  In the morning the current started to build again but we and had gotten enough easting that we were still on course for our waypoint.  The track on the chart plotter looks like we were drunkenly weaving our way along.  Most of the night we had better then a half moon and it was a beautiful night to be sailing.  Eventually we lost the moon but in a couple of hours the eastern sky was getting lighter.  We saw the lights of a number of boats but nothing came close to us until the next morning and we still had a lot of room to pass by.  During the night the winds died off and we started to drop from five knots to four, to three and by morning we were down to two.  The winds had died to below ten knots; it was time to start motoring.  We had 25 miles to go and the gps said it would take another fifteen hours to the waypoint.  We made our waypoint, went up the channel between two islands without the rough water we had experienced when we left in December and motored into the bay to pick up a mooring.  We had arrived.  We dropped the dinghy and made our way to the dock at Customs and Immigration to check in.  Once that was taken care of we dinghied over to the boatyard to let them know we had arrived.  Since we were showing up a week early they had offered to move up our haul out.  We would be hauled out the next day, after lunch.  It had been a long trip, nineteen hours and we were beat.  We keep four hour watches; someone is always on deck and keeping a watch while the other tries to sleep switching off every four hours.  We are able to get some rest but we still get very tired.

We were up early the next morning to get ready for the haul out.  Just before noon we dropped the mooring, maneuvered to the dock and positioned the boat to be lifted.  Once tied up the work crew left for their lunch and we waited.  The haul out went without any problems and soon we were resting between the stands and a worker was giving the bottom a good cleaning.

It was our first night without the boat rocking or rolling since we were launched December 11, 2017.  We had traveled 876 nautical miles, or just under 1000 statute miles.  Most years we will stop and spend a couple of days at a marina to service batteries, take on provision or just take a break but this year we did not.  Every night was either on the anchor or on a mooring ball, a first for us.  We visited six countries and I am not sure of how many islands.  Our Spot reports that we stopped in 26 different locations.  I have entered these locations into a Google map and have added a link to it over there on the right side of the blog page.


We have about three weeks to work on the boat and then we will be flying back to South Dakota and Minnesota for the summer.  Next year’s pan is still in the works but obviously it will begin in Trinidad somewhere around November, where we will end up is still to be decided.

Monday, April 23, 2018

Back to Granada

I have been informed that I am overdue for a blog update.  I can’t argue, I can only make excuses.

When I last I reported we are in St Pierre, Martinique.  It was our last day so Cori went to shore early to search for more sea-glass and I ran the generator to give the batteries a little boost.  Midday we pulled the anchor to move on, we were headed to Grand Anse Bay further down the coast.  Grand Anse is a bay that has a lot of small restaurants, several resorts, a couple of shops catering to divers and tourists, it is not a town.  We spent two days, one relaxing on the boat and another hiking over the ridge to the next bay.  Being as the restaurants and bars cater to the tourists they are open late and as usual have their music turned to full volume so everyone in the anchorage can enjoy it until 2:00 am.  After two days we had enough, we knew the next bay was more peaceful.  The highlight of the stay was dinner one evening delivered from another boat.  It is a boat that travels to various harbors, in the morning they announce the menu for day in French and English, and will deliver to your boat.  The price is reasonable and the food is good.  They have found a way to go cruising and make money as they go, not a bad way to live.  Sunday morning, Easter Sunday, we pulled anchor and motored around the peninsula and dropped anchor in Petite Anse, a smaller but quieter bay.  There is an actual town here and we had spent about a week here on our trip up the island.  Since it was Sunday and the town was shut down I just hung out on the boat while Cori went in her kayak in search of the elusive sea-glass.  Monday was a holiday so it was another relaxing day of reading, napping and of course Cori was off for more sea-glass.

It was time to move on so the next morning we went to shore to hit the bakery and checked out of Martinique with Immigration and Customs.  Back at the boat we pulled the anchor and headed out.  We were making for Rodney Bay in St Lucia.  We beat into the wind for a bit until we got clear of the island then had 15-20 knot winds on the beam.  We did a nice comfortable 6 knots across the gap and pulled into Rodney Bay and dropped anchor about 2:30, a nice quick passage of 28 miles.  I took the dinghy to check into the country and Cori stayed on the boat to make sure we did not drag on our anchor.  We try not to be those sailors that pull into a harbor, drop their anchor, quickly make the trip to shore and come back later to where thy left the boat except that it is no longer there.  We try to wait to make sure the anchor has set and is holding properly.  There was an incident several years ago in the Bahamas where a sailor anchored to go ashore to check-in and when he returned his boat was no longer there and has never been seen since.  We don’t want to be in that situation.  The next day we went ashore to hit the shops, have lunch and pick up some groceries.  There have been a number of dinghy thefts this year in Rodney Bay (14 at last count) and there was an attendant at the dock leading to the shopping area keeping an eye on the dinghies.  Maybe they are catching on that cruisers are starting to bypass them feeling unsafe.  Where we were anchored was close to the marina entrance and there was a fair amount of traffic so we pulled anchor and moved further along the bay to re-anchor by the National Park.  The next day we went ashore, paid our park entrance fee and hiked Pigeon Point.  There is the remains of the old fort overlooking the bay entrance and another hike to a higher point overlooking the North end of the island and across to Martinique.  It was a tough climb but worth it for the view.  Once back down the hill we toured the rest of the fort, stopped at a cafĂ© for Wi-Fi and a late lunch.  We went back to the boat for a couple of Ibuprofen and a nap.  In the morning we heard via the radio net and listening to the Martinique Coast Guard that that there had been a mayday call from a boat making the passage we had just made reporting he was taking on water and was sinking.  They were broadcasting for all boats in the area to be on the watch for a man overboard.  After several days the search was abandoned.  This was a stark reminder of how things can go wrong and lives are in danger when they do.  There is no pulling off the side of the road and calling AAA when you have a problem.  There was a mooring close to us that boats from the resorts would tie up to and disperse groups of snorkelers so I decided I needed to see what the attraction was,  I dropped overboard and swam over to see.  It was very disappointing, there were hardly any fish, there wasn’t much coral and most of it was dead.  It was one of my most disappointing outings.  The next day, Saturday, we spent on the boat relaxing while Cori polished the stainless steel.  Salt water will make anything, including stainless, rust and corrode if you do not keep at it. Sunday morning we tried to pull anchor and move down the island but had a small problem.  In the switching winds our anchor chain had wrapped around a rock.  I tried diving down to see if I could dislodge it but it was below my diving depth.  I swam over to our neighbors on Party of Five to see if he was a diver.  Travis came over to see if he could help.  With him in the water and Cori at the bow he was able to direct us so that we were able to free ourselves from the rock.  After thanking him profusely we were able to pull the anchor and head off to Soufriere.  Soufriere is at the base of the Petons, two volcanic peaks that are the pride and national symbol of the island.  Cori was able to get a couple of nice pictures of Hi Flite with them in the background when she went out in her kayak.  



This harbor has a reputation of having aggressive boat-boys, guys who come out in their boats to help get you tied to a mooring, sell you everything from fish, fruit, vegetables and homemade jewelry.  We didn’t experience that aggressiveness but there were a number of them but left when we declined to buy their wares.  The anchorage is in a marine park so in the evening the park rangers come by to collect the mooring fee, no anchoring is allowed but they provide secure mooring for a fee.  We scheduled a water taxi to pick me up in the morning to take me to shore to check out of the country.  We had the dinghy secure in its davits and didn’t want to take the time to drop it, make the run to the dock and then stow it again.  It was time to move.  The taxi arrived on time in the morning, Customs went without a hitch and then the Immigration officer was an hour late.  So much for getting an early start.  We motored against a headwind and current until we got to the bottom of the island and the winds shifted again from the east.  We had been fighting the wraparound from the winds funneling through the gap.  We had 20 knot winds with 4-5 foot swells and we ran about 5-6 knots with a reefed headsail and the mizzen.  With less sail out we had a fairly comfortable ride until we got into the lee of St Vincent where we lost the wind.  We continued to motor along the island trying to decide where to stop for the night and where we would be able to check-in.  Our planned stop was not as protected as we had hoped and we were arriving late so we would have to spend the night before checking in.  We continued several miles until we arrived at Wallilabou Bay and pulled in.  We got tied to a mooring with a line off the back of the boat to the pier and were set for the night.  It turned out that the Customs and Immigration officials were there so we were able to get checked in right away.  The appeal of this bay is that besides being well protected it is one of the locations used in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.  We were in the movie site of Port Royal.



Some of the buildings built and remodeled for the movie are still there and house a small museum.  The next day we did a hike, more of a walk up the road, to a small waterfalls, for a swim under the falls and in a freshwater pool.  A nice break from swimming in saltwater.  After that we dinghied around the area to check out the other bays and the caves carved into the shoreline.  That night it was a nice break from loud music blasting from shore, all we had to listen to was the natural sounds of the critters on shore.

WE wanted to go back to the Tobago Cays since the last time we were there I was not feeling well and the wind was blowing so hard it was hard to get off the boat.  Everyone says the Cays are beautiful with short hikes on the islands and great snorkeling on the reef.  We left Willilabou Bay towing one of the boat-boys to the next bay so he didn’t have to paddle.  He had what was busily a salvaged boat with home-made oars and had to stop to bail every few minutes.  After dropping him off we set sails for Tobago Cays.  We motorsailed against the current until we reached the bottom of the island and then caught the east trade winds blowing 20 knots with the swell on our beam causing a rolling rough ride.  We arrived at the Cays and motored into the central harbor and decided to pick up a mooring instead of anchoring with the wind still blowing 20 knots.  The reef cut down the big waves but the wind was kicking up small waves after that causing a lot of rolling during the night.  In the morning the wind had not let up and we decided to find a more protected harbor.  We dropped the mooring and once clear of the reef we sailed downwind under a headsail to Chatham Bay on the west side of Union Island.  We dropped anchor in the bay, got the dinghy in the water and headed to shore stopping first to say hello to our friends on Heavy Metal that we had spent time in Margot Bay with.  The evening was spent having beers at a beach bar and visiting with a group from Burlington Vermont.  In the morning we went snorkeling with Koen and Yvonne from Heavy Metal.  Koen and I snorkeling and Cori and Yvonne stayed the dinghies keeping them from drifting off to Central America.  I have never seen so many fish, schools of small baitfish all moving as a group.  I tried getting pictures and video but I’m not happy with how they turned out.  After that Cori and I hiked up to the take in the view from the top of of the ridge.  Up there we got to visit with “Bushman”, one of the locals who takes care of the cows grazing in the area.  Instead of building fences they have a rope tied around its neck and tied to a tree or to some rocks and periodically move them to another spot.  Later as we were walking down the road we met up with one of these just walking along dragging a small bush still tied to its rope.  It ignored us and just continued on to wherever it was going.  We did not see it on our return so it must have gotten to wherever it was going.



We also see a lot of goats out grazing this way, some tethered to a tree or just dragging their rope behind them.  Back at the beach we stopped at one of the bar/restaurants but had not brought money with us on the hike.  Our credit was good and with a promise to be back later to pay we had cold beers.  While there we learned that the bartender, Claudia, could take care of our checking out when it was time to leave.  Saturday we went ashore, did the hike to the road and then hiked over the ridge to the small town of Ashton.  There are only two towns on the island and from there we caught a bus to Clifton.  Clifton is where we would have to go to check out and the anchorage was rough with the wind still blowing 20 knots.  We checked out the shops, had lunch at one of the non-tourist cafes, bought some of the best tomatoes we have had on this trip and caught a bus back to Ashton.  For an extra fee the bus took us to where the trail from the beach met the road, we didn’t have to make the hike over the ridge.  That evening’s entertainment was watching the fishermen pulling their nets real close to us; quite an operation with lots of yelling and it seemed everyone was giving orders.  Sunday morning we slept in then went to shore to have lunch and give our paperwork to Claudia.  She lives in Clifton and would take the paperwork to the airport first thing on Monday and have it for us at 10:00 when she got to work.  She gets a ride to work on one of the boats that travel back and forth.  Monday morning at 10:00 we jumped in the dinghy to get our paperwork and as soon as we left the boat it started raining.  One ashore, soaking wet we waited out the squall, got our paperwork, paid her for the service and then back to the boat to pull the anchor.

We had plans to go to Petite St Vincent and Petite Martinique, two small islands nearby for a couple of days, but the wind was still blowing 20 and it would be an unwind trip.  We decided to just head down to Carriacou, stop in Tyrell Bay to check in and spend a couple of days.  This turned out to be a classic example of why we don’t travel with other boats.  By the time we arrived at Tyrell bay we were having such a good sail we decided to continue on to Granada.  We estimated we would arrive at Dragon Bay to pick up a mooring about 4:30.  We were off by a little, arriving after 5:00, but there were no moorings available.  This being a marine park there is no anchoring.  We continued on to St George Bay off the capital city of St George and set the anchor while it was still daylight.  St George Bay is reported to be a very rolly anchorage but with the wind direction it was a fairly calm night.  In the morning when we pulled the anchor there was a rock caught in it.  Evidently it was not as well set as I thought.  If the winds had kicked up we would have dragged and had to reset during the night.  We were lucky.  We motored around the southwest point and turned east heading to Prickly Bay.  The winds were kicking up some big waves and we pounded into them for about an hour until we made the turn into the Bay.  We scouted out a spot to anchor, dropped it, set it and shut everything down.  We were back in Granada, about a week earlier then we had planned.  I made the quick trip to Immigration and Customs and we are legal again.  Later we made a trip to shore to walk to the bank to get some local cash and a stop for more groceries.  I got real excited when I found 12 packs of Diet Coke.  It is not available on very many islands and I had run out of my supply.  That night we rolled violently and were uncomfortable, so in the morning we pulled the anchor and moved over to Clarks Court Bay where we had spent Christmas and New Year’s.  It is much more comfortable.  Cori took the kayak over to Hog Island to help her friend Sperry prepare the “sea eggs” he sells and I made a trip to the nearby marina for a loaf of the best bread you can find anywhere.  Sperry is going to store a lot of our extra stuff for the summer while we have work done on the boat so we started sorting and offloading some of to him.  In the evening we went ashore for pizza night at the marina.  The next day Sperry picked up us with more of our stuff and brought us to his home where Cori got several loads of laundry done.  He also brought us to the grocery store for more provisions then we spent the evening with his family.

Friday, the 20th, Cori was off to the island with Sperry to help out again and I was on board for projects.  I need to clean and prepare the watermaker for summer storage.  When that was almost done I noticed a smell of something burning.  I checked outside since there is often someone burning something but didn’t see or smell anything.  It seemed to be coming from the aft cabin.  I checked the hanging locker where all of the electrical connects are and found a wire that was melting its insulation and smoking.  An overheated wire.  It was the feed wire from the solar panels to the solar controller.  It doesn’t have a switch, just a fuse and it was the fuse holder that was melting.  I cut the wire, breaking the connection and everything was okay again, we just had no solar charging.  The next morning I caught the scheduled shopping bus to Budget Marine, running the dinghy out of fuel on the way, to buy a new fuse holder and a solar control.  I hoped the controller was okay but bought one just in case.  After inspecting the old controller I found a component that had failed and melted.  Now I knew what caused the problem.  After removing the old and installing the new controller we had lots of power going from the solar panels to the batteries.  I don’t want to think of what could have happened had I not been on the boat when this happened.  There are a lot of jackets and such hanging in that locker and there was the possibility of a fire breaking out.  About the running out of fuel, I had the fuel jug ready to put in the dinghy to top off but got into a rush and forgot.  I also left the boat with the hatch above the bed open but was fortunate that it did not rain.  I just got into too much of a hurry worrying about being on time for the bus.  As my friend Bill puts it: “I don’t know how you mere mortals do it”. I was able to get a tow back to the boat so I didn’t have to row.  Sunday we spent the day with Sperry’s family with games being played and sea-glass jewelry being made.  Sperry’s daughter, who is going to cooking school, did the cooking and made some of the best fried chicken we have had in a very long time.

It is Monday and our weather advisor says that we should have good conditions for the trip to Trinidad on Tuesday.  We plan to move back to Prickly Bay to top off the fuel and check out of the country.  We will leave late in the afternoon or early evening for an overnight sail.  We estimate about 12 hour to get there so if we leave in the morning we will arrive after dark, therefore we leave in the evening and arrive in the daylight.  We will spend a few days before we are scheduled to be hauled out and then will meet with the workers we have scheduled for the summer projects.  After that we will be flying back to the US for the summer again.