ELEPHANTS CHILD

Arrived in the Saintes

2012-01-31T15:59:00.000-08:00

We had a romp up to the Saintes of the Southern end of Guadeloupe. This has been one of my favourite stops in the islands but as they now DEMAND that you take one of their mooring balls and anchoring is not allowed off the main town or Cabrits Island I think I will be spending less time here in the future.

COCAINE GUPPY SCRAP METAL AND CABRITS

2012-01-30T16:21:00.000-08:00

1.2 tonnes cocaine bust

The two yachts that were carrying 1.2 tonnes of cocaine between them are shown in the pics. They were shadowed chased and eventually forced to stop and boarded by the French douane when we were in Grand Anse d'Arlet watching all the activity.

It looks like they had some kind of tip off or info on the suspect yachts and were checking out anchorages and yachts at sea. However there does seem to be a heightened level of customs activity in French waters as we see more movements and more interceptions of vessels although not much is coming up on local nets.

One thing that is coming up on local nets esp. the St Maarten one is the triumphal arrival of Laura Dekker after her round the world cruise in Guppy. Kudos to her.

I have bemoaned the state of the anchorage here in Portsmouth Dominica on previous visits. The unsightly spectacle of rusting steel hulks lining the seafront and parts of the bay. I mentioned before that there seemed to be some small scale activity to clean up at least one of the smaller wrecks but I was wrong, there is a major project underway to cut up and cart away all the wrecks. They are working hard on this one and the plasma cutters are sputtering away turning once proud ships into manageable chunks of scrap metal.

Picking a day with no cruise ships in the bay we went over to the point and explored Fort Shirley as well as doing some exploring on the old cobbled roads laid by slave labor in the 1700s and 1800s.

But the most atmospheric of the locations is the Douglas battery overlooking the sound to the North that separates Dominica from the Saintes.

If it dawns fair tomorrow we will be off to the Saintes, a short 18 mile sail.

WHAT A SURPRISE

2012-01-26T11:26:00.000-08:00

What is the most unlikely thing you might expect to see in Dominica, in this little mountainous Caribbean island. I got a big surprise when I went to check in at customs. To keep the suspense going I will post the pic at the bottom.

The anchorage was full in the preferred corner out in front of the Purple Turtle. We managed to find a nice spot and had a peaceful night. I did not bother checking in on the afternoon when we arrived knowing that they are pretty laidback here. Not so laidback were the boat boys who, on spotting that I was only flying the Q flag, were on the attack waving local courtesy flags and warning of terrible customs retribution if I did not hoist the Dominica flag. Fat chance there I thought, I would be surprised if the customs boat has fuel! And if it does they have better things to do.

After checking in we went for a wander around Portsmouth, the street wise chickens were still there playing in the traffic, the dominoes game was as noisy as ever in the bus station car park and the rather strange lady who haunts the grocery store was still telling her story of the conspiracy that had robbed her of her mobile phones. The only surprise was the work going on at the seafront to cut up and carry away one of the many rusting hulks that decorate the seafront. I wonder if it is a private initiative and it is just someone improving their view or maybe just maybe the government is finally tidying things up.

Back in Martinique

Before we left St Pierre we explored the town looking for stonework that had survived the volcanic eruption of 1902 and feeling strange to walking over some of the cobbles that had been laid by slaves 200+ years ago.

A Trinidad and Tobago dragster – go figure what it is doing in Dominica, never mind the Caribbean, the customs guy certainly didn't. But there it was all covered in a neat custom made cover sitting on a trailer. The pic is of it in action. Where I know not but I can't believe it's Dominica.

Portsmouth well before sunset.

2012-01-24T15:29:00.000-08:00

We arrived at Portsmouth, Dominica, mid afternoon having held the breeze untill we were 4 miles off the anchorage. I guess the decision to be a little further away from the blanketing affect of the mountains paid off.

The squadron I predicted left at dawn but we were a bit more civilized waiting till the hot morning drinks were taken.

Those who know me ALWAYS make sure I get my morning coffee fix.

St Pierre Martinique to Dominica.

2012-01-23T14:43:00.001-08:00

We will be leaving for Dominica early on Tuesday January 24th It is a 50 mile sail from St Pierre up to Portsmouth bay. The wind is not ideal but it is as good as it is going to get in the next 10 days or so. We shall be part of a fleet of boats that have looked at the same forecast and made the same decision.

Stad Amsterdam and the Royal Clipper and a torn sail

2012-01-21T07:11:00.000-08:00

After the Chopin we have had the Stad Amsterdam and the Royal Clipper square rigged cruise ships visit us. I got a good pic of the Stad Amsterdam at night all lit up. Reminded me of the Pirates of the Caribbean somehow.

The Royal Clipper went past me leaving Fort de France and hoisted a veritable cloud of canvas. The web site says that they can fly 42 sails and it looked like they were all hoisted and pulling that big lady along. I was on my way to pick up my mainsail in the dinghy so did not have a camera.

Tear in my mainsail

It was my own damn fault, I was cranking away on the mainsail halyard winch and it was a little slower going up than normal and somehow a panel near the head of the sail got trapped somehow on a shroud or maybe a running backstay. Anyway the result was a 6 inch near vertical tear in my mainsail.

It held up as we sailed over to Fort de France and where we were going to do some banking and get some dinghy fuel and now some sail repairs

So I had a sweaty afternoon getting it off the mast and into the dinghy. It was a real unwieldy load as I was reluctant to remove the full length battens as this requires dismantling the Battcars and then there will be problems getting the tension right on refitting. I have the sail setting just the way I want it at the moment.

But the good news was that the local sailmaker is right on the waterfront so I was able to deliver the sail from the dinghy straight into his workshop. The repair should be straight forward and he has promised it for Friday afternoon.

Fryderyk Chopin Ali Foil and a Wild Weekend

2012-01-16T08:41:00.000-08:00

I saw an old friend motor into the bay and anchor, The Fryderyk Chopin, a Polish sail training ship operated by a private university in Poland.

“On 29 October 2010 the vessel is reported as in distress 100 miles off the Scilly Isles having lost both masts in gale force winds and heavy seas. It was on a three and a half month cruise from the Netherlands to the Caribbean with 47 crew aboard including 36 trainees aged 14 years. Although there was an engine the ship's master was unwilling to use it for fear of trailing debris snagging on the propeller. There were no reported injuries. The ship was towed into the sheltered waters of Falmouth Bay after 100 miles and three days on tow by a small fishing trawler the Nova Spero; whose Captain, Shaun Edwards answered the Mayday call”

I had been invited aboard when I saw her in the 90s and remembered how neat and tidy if functional she was and clearly needed a big crew to work the sails as she was set up in the same manner as the clippers in days gone by with crews climbing the mast then working their way out the yards with one hand for themselves and one for the ship.

She looks as if times might be hard now and cosmetic maintenance such as cleaning the rust off the anchor plates well down the agenda although she must have had her masts and sails renewed. But she is still working hard I guess, unlike me.

We were relaxing in the cockpit when someone swam over and asked to borrow some cooking foil for the barbecue.. Here she is swimming back with her prize in hand. The cruisers version of popping next door for a cup of sugar.

It has been a squally weekend with rainbows and colourful sunsets and the numbers of weekends crowding into the anchorage were down a little.

Still it is quiet here on Monday morning with the huge Privilege 745 catamaran dominating the scene. Judy and I disagree over the multitude of lights bordering the decks and ports she displays at night , I think they are 'naf' but she likes them. I suppose they might be OK at least they don't flash or change colour. I have seen boats with displays that do both.

Just another day in paradise is the cruisers lament.

2012-01-12T12:39:00.001-08:00

We were entertained this morning by this two masted square rigger getting under way with the sun shining on tanbark sails and people busy on the yardarms, a sight that evoked the days of wooden ships and iron men from centuries past.

But it was time to stop lollyagging around and a snorkel on the wall south of the bay was next on the agenda. We dinked over and were soon in the crystal clear water. This spotted box fish posed nicely for me. I had seen a lionfish here last year and thought it was a common sighting but since learned that it was one of the first sightings of this invasive and damaging predator this far South, however there were none on display this time around.

At the going down of the day I had the opportunity to act as a quality control inspector on the Lords of the Sunset and as you can see their offering was of a high standard. No green flash but a long and changing offering. A score of 9.7 I think.

St Lucia to Martinique.

2012-01-06T11:34:00.000-08:00

Of all the people that might anchor right over the top of our anchor and hamper our attempts to leave it was surprising to see Chris Doyle, the doyen of the Caribbean Cruising guides slide in right in front of us and drop anchor so as to settle back and sit on ours. This despite acres of anchoring space.

Still he hung on and maneuvered clear of us as we up anchored and left for Martinique. The strong and blustery winds of the last weeks had abated and we had full sail up. We romped up, covering the 20 odd miles in 3 and a bit hours without it being too stressful. But no whales , no dolphins and only a few baby flying fish to show that there was life in the ocean.

Turning in to Marin I checked out the Club Med but alas the topless volleyball courts were empty, in fact the sun loungers were empty, the beach was empty and the only people on show were a few hardy types in the bar along with a mastless French race boat anchored tight to the beach.

Cul de Sac du Marin is a peaceful anchorage from the point of view of having flat water and shelter from the trades but we are being serenaded tonight by some loud African style drumming and Judy is alarmed by the number of boats running through the anchorage without lights.

Still we will look forward to visiting the local bakery in the morning for a croissant and a cup of breakfast chocolate.

NEXT DAY

Well we did not make it in to the bakery for croissants but did visit the patissiere for a baguette and sticky cakes for lunch. Tarte aux pommes and myrtille crumble yummmmmmm.

As we relaxed in the cockpit for sundowners I had a moment of real biting nostalgia and a wish I could turn back time to my hang gliding days. As the sun set a couple of paragliders took off and started working a small bowl above out anchorage. How I wished I was up there with them flying around clouds washed pink by the setting sun and enjoying total freedom.

MARTINIQUE BOUND TOMORROW

2012-01-03T16:13:00.000-08:00

The wind direction on Wednesday looks like the best we are going to get for about ten days so we are off to Martinique and hope to make Cul de Sac du Marin in a single tack.

Took Judy over to Jambe de Bois bar on Pidgeon Island and we had a look at Josset Leigh's ruined house. She lived on the island on and off for 40 years. She was quite the entertainer and her parties legendary. During WWII she ceded her deed to the island to the British, but it was restored to her after. Later, she gave the land to the St. Lucians and retained only her house on the point. She left St. Lucia in 1976 and most of her house was destroyed by the last hurricane to hit the island in 1980.

We watched the sunset from her patio, if I listened really hard I thought maybe the party was still going.

RODNEY BAY ST LUCIA

2012-01-01T11:54:00.000-08:00

After the rather cramped confines of Marigot Bay it was nice to pull into the wide sweep of Rodney Bay, an anchorage that could have comfortably housed the whole of the British fleet in it's Caribbean heyday.

We soon were anchored up in front of the yacht club and with a sundowner in hand were watching the sunset in peace.

But our peace was rudely destroyed by some late arriving boats who proceeded to charge about the anchorage at high speed and anchoring seemingly at random. At one point a high energy impact looked certain, but they missed just. The shouting was pretty good though!

Things quietened down for a while but there was a thunderous fireworks display to bring in the new year.

We tootled into the marina next day and met Patrick & Amanda on Egret, a Sweden Yachts 390, who had just completed their transatlantic passge sans rudder. Kudos to them for a great bit of proper seamanship where others have just jumped aboard the first passing ship in similar situations.

Bye Bye Bequia Bye Bye Wallilabou Hullo Marigot Bay

2011-12-30T10:36:00.000-08:00

Well the Lords of the Sunset got their acrylics out for our last night in Beuia.

I went in to clear out and was met with a big queue, well it had been overtime clearing in and out for the last three days so people had been putting it off. Well customs at least had been monitoring things and taking names and some captains were sitting on the naughty chairs waiting for a “ senior customs officer “ to decide their fate and the extent of their fine.

After clearing out in Bequia we romped up to Wallilabou and as in the past we were met miles away by boat boys offering their services, while holding up a rope for a tow back to Wallilabou.

However as in the recent past I was pleasantly surprised at how restrained and well behaved the boat boys, now renamed and trained as “Beach Front Service Providers”, were. When I declined their services and said I would get someone in the bay to help they shrugged smiled and said “ Welcome to Wallilabou. “

We were soon anchored with a stern line tied to a tree, and well out just in case the westerly swell arrives. Wallilabou is untenable in a westerly swell of any size and being well out gives you a better chance of escaping.

The usual vendors came buy and one was offering really well made hematite necklaces and Judy succumbed to his sales talk. Mind you it looks good and at only 20 ec or 7 US can't be said to be overly expensive.

We got our cozzies on and with shampoo in our packs headed up to the heritage falls for a refreshing dip, good hair rinse in soft rain water and serious natural jacuzzi under the waterfall. It has not rained much in the last few days so you could stand up under the main fall but only just.

Back on the boat after a wander around the Pirates of the Caribbean set we soon had the dink on board lashed down and with a sundowner in hand watched the late arrivals shoe horn themselves into what ever space was left. There was double parking and rafting up. I really hope we don't get a swell tonight!

Well be did get a wind switch so some of the sardines were playing bumper boats in the night but not us.

Next day saw us off to St Lucia with a reefed main and just the staysail. The North end os St Vincent was it's usual unpleasant self with short steep seas and some wind acceleration but we were soon clear and settled in with 6 knts and the odd 7 showing on the GPS.

Late afternoon saw us in Marigot Bay St Lucia and the usual tour boats were charging in doing a quick circuit with their loads of sardines pinking up nicely out on the bows.

After the exertions of finding customs and immigration we stopped for an ice cream and were entranced by this cheeky little sparrow or finch who was taking advantage of the servers back being turned to sneak in for a beak full.

STILL IN BEQUIA 2

2011-12-22T15:48:00.001-08:00

Well the Christmas winds are blowing hard, 20 to 30 knots, and the big winter swells are rolling in from the North East and giving the boats anchored on the South side of the harbour a tough time. Many have moved over and it is getting pretty crowded where we are.

Some boats are still biting the bullet double reefing and pounding North but we have seen a couple returning with torn sails and one with dead engine. That boat provided some VHF entertainment as they started by calling for a tow, SVG radio suggested they hoisted sail, then they were not sure of the course and were clearly getting rattled. However a cruisers self help group quickly formed and they were given a course, identified by getting them to switch their running lights on and off, met by couple of dinghies and lead into a safe spot to anchor.

I have decided to be in Bequia for Christmas and we will ,move North to Wallilabou for a day or so then onto St Lucia.

STILL IN BEQUIA

2011-12-16T11:54:00.000-08:00

I had a small sewing job done on the mainsail stack pack sail cover and needed a new staysail storage bag made. The zip had failed on the old one and I had intended to add a flap and ties to it but it went over the side on the last passage so it was a new one.

Bequia canvas is run by a hard working German lady and she got it all sorted for me and at a very reasonable price.

But this meant we missed the possible window to head North and the wind has gone round to the North East with a big NE swell so we are stuck here. Also it is COLD I needed a blanket over me last night. Life is tough, ah well it is snowing in Britain so I guess everything is relative.

The arrow marks Elephants Child.

OOPS BOING

Guess they won't bother fixing it.

I will leave you with two Bequia sunsets.

No prizes for telling me what is wrong with number 2.

No prizes for telling me what is wrong with no 2.

It really is a big swell, todays cruise ship is having problems retrieving it's tenders.

DEVILS TABLE REEF

2011-12-10T15:33:00.000-08:00

We paid a visit to the Devils Table Reef today. It is just around the point and provided with a dive boat / dinghy mooring buoy.

Judy stayed around the dinghy getting used to her flippers while I ventured further afield.

Got a good shot of a elk ? horn coral

A file fish or surgeon fish

a mixed shoal

A small eel which seemed to be grazing on sea urchins.

Hurricane Bawbag seems to have done a fair bit of damage to Scotland but I was glad to hear from my sister Janet that they had escaped with only the loss of a chimney 'top hat'.

BEQUIA

2011-12-07T16:34:00.000-08:00

Back in beautiful Bequia.

We enjoyed light but favourable winds from Hillsborough to Union Island then on to Petit Nevis. This is a small island just off Friendship Bay Bequia. It was once the place used by the islanders to butcher the whales and you can still see the concrete slipway and the remains of the windlass they used to haul them ashore.

The island is now for sale $15 milllion US to you sir!

I like stopping here as the snorkeling is excellent with large numbers of varied species on offer. I am still looking to see another lion fish but not today.

Rather than spend the night here I decided that the possibility of a swell making things uncomfortable was just too great so we popped round the corner to the main anchorage and got tucked up to the North shore to hide from any swell.

Onshore fro the first time I headed for my favourite roti shack only to be told that they had no cooking gas and that there was no gas on the island so rotis were off as well as everything else needing cooking. Judy is getting used to this sort of thing and said without prompting " Oh it is the Caribbean I suppose "

Still we found someone whose battle still had gas and enjoyed a roti even though we had to fend of the predatory locals who were quite fearless in their hunt for food aka unwanted roti skin.

We finished of our hard day at the office with a local freshly made ice cream

MARIANNE'S ICE CREAM PARLOUR

CARRIACOU

2011-12-04T15:38:00.000-08:00

We are up in Tyrell Bay, Carriacou after a wet sail up from Grenada. The rain started as we hit the high point of Grenada and just kept going.

Still it is warm rain however Judy had a sweat suit top on for the first time.

Tomorrow we will move round to Hillsborough the capital and check out before heading over to Union Island the most southerly of the grnadines.

CLICK WHIRR BRM BRM

2011-11-30T16:21:00.000-08:00

Well it is fixed and back in place and normal service has been resumed.

Al Bernadine took a totally f****d starter and rebuilt it with a new rotor rewound field coil and a new solenoid.

Now the engine on Elephants Child was made 34 years ago in Japan to a design by Perkins and used a US made starter that also has not been made for many many years.

So what were the chances of finding spares on this tiny island ? Somewhere between small and zero, I thought but Al had them in stock.

We are at anchor just now off St Georges and are waiting for a favourable wind to go North.

So tomorrow we will go and snorkle the underwater statue park.

THANKSGIVING then A BAD CLICK

2011-11-29T15:52:00.000-08:00

The Cruisers and the folks at Clarkes Court Bay Marina organised a splendid Thanks giving dinner last Thursday. The marina did the turkey and stuffing and cruisers bought a dish to share.

Well we were totally stuffed to the gills when we made our way back out to Elephants Child. From guacamole dip to pumpkin pie we had the lot. Not to mention Judy's brownies to finish with.

But next day it was clean up the boat and get ready to head north as the forecast was good over the weekend then showed very light winds for a week or so. We anchored off St Georges did our last minute big shop at the supermarket and prepared to go into to pick up water. St Georges being the last good supermarket and cheap good water for some islands.

Well we tried but the starter just went click, no whirr. After checking all the connections and encouraging it with a tap or two I bit the bullet and removed it so I could check the brushes.

When I took the end cap off my heart sank. It was a mass of rust inside and it was clear that the rotor had spun some of the solder joints.

Now I have a Japanese Perkins 4.154 fitted in 1978 and not made in great numbers and not at all since the mid 80s. A trawl on the internet showed the starter to be long out of production.

The local cruisers VHF net threw up a guy by the name of Al Bernadine in Gouave as being the best starter repair man on the island.

I took it up to him more in hope than expectation as a quick diagnostic check with a resistance meter showed that the rotor was toast and at least one of the field coils had a short.

Well Al confirmed my worst fears, the rotor was beyond repair, the field winding was shorted out and the solenoid although producing a healthy click also needed attention and possible replacement.

At this point I though that my options lay in the USA maybe fiding a used one and getting it air freighted down but Al " You know I think I have a rotor for this in stock. " Now Al's workshop will not win any awards for the world's tidiest work space but he went right to a shelf, ran his finger down a pile of boxes and pulled one out. On opening it up and comparing it with the rusty burnt out original it was clear that we did have a new rotor, wonder of wonders!

Al had said that he would have to rewind and repot the field winding so it would be a day or two before I could get it back.

SPOTTED A NEW [ TO ME ] FISH

2011-11-22T06:25:00.000-08:00

We snorkled the reef off Hog Island and I spotted a rather ugly fish pretending to be invisible on the bottom. It was a fish that I had never seen before and was curious as to what it might be.

Well it turns out to be a STONEFISH a nasty little bugger.

The stonefish is considered the most dangerous fish in the world. Thirteen poisoned spines coming from their dorsal fin can inject highly dangerous venom. The reef stonefish can be identified from the estuary stonefish by its sunken eyes opposed to the elevated eyes of the estuary dwelling stonefish. Stonefish camouflage very well into their surroundings, and can be mistaken for rocks. They are brown and can have yellow, orange and/or red patches. They are usually 35cm but have been recorded at just under a meter long. Care should be taken not to step on these fish and to leave them alone. If you are walking along a rocky shore in the water wear shoes and be careful. Sever pain follows the attack and the stonefish’s venom has been accused of causing the death of many islanders

Another reminder to wear shoes when swimming off the beach or anytime you might put your feet down.

UH OH

2011-11-20T06:18:00.000-08:00

When you live aboard a boat your senses get tuned to the ebb and flow of water, the normal sounds of the boat at anchor, the everyday feel of familiar components in use. So when something unusual intrudes on my senses it is a " UH OH " moment. Some " UH OH " moments are more serious than others.

So when after communing with nature I went to operate the manual pump on the toilet and an abnormal resistance was felt, I knew I had one of the more serious moments.

Yup a plumbing blockage is a bit of a nightmare scenario especially when the toilet is situated below the waterline as it is in Elphants Child.

So after leaving it for a while in the [vain] hope that the clog might dissolve of it's own accord I donned the rubber gloves, put the plans to go ashore to the pot luck on hold and set about troubleshooting the plumbing. Working back from the outlet seacock I traced it to a large pipe which was just about completely blocked with hard calcium scale. I have no idea how this formed as I have been following the good heads guidelines and using vinegar on a monthly basis and this is supposed to prevent the build up.

My neighbours in the anchorage were treated to the unusual sight of a man beating the steps on the back of the cockpit with a large hose. Boat S&M maybe?

But no I was just trying to breakup the scale deposits and open up the hose.

Well it worked, the scale broke up, the hose cleared and I refitted it.

Normal service was resumed.

Just as well, the alternative is too hard on my knees.

Calivigny island and Grand Etang

2011-11-18T11:23:00.000-08:00

We are anchored off Calivigny island a super luxurious resort for the seriously wealthy. It can only be booked by a single party with a maximum size of 20.

Calivigny features the ‘Beach House’, a stunning residence with 10 sumptuous suites and spectacular views. Each suite is fully air-conditioned with its own lavish en-suite bathroom and first-class amenities ensuring total refined comfort. The house is an architectural masterpiece, harmoniously blending French Colonial and Balinese style, creating a sanctuary for its guests. Tastefully decorated and furnished with custom-designed furniture by Oscar de la Renta and Richard Frinier providing an authentic home away from home atmosphere.

But the sunset looks the same for them as it does for us here on Elephants Child.

The sunsets have been spectacular recently and this one is a dramatic example of a Caribbean sunset, best viewed from the cockpit with a little rum of course.

Having spent a few days swimming and snorkeling we ventured up into the rain forest and visited the national park that is centered around the caldera lake called Grand Etang.

The park vegetation is extremely diverse, including cloud forests, montane thickets, palm brakes, and elfin woodland, as well as rain forest. Lots of ferns strange trees and this variant of a palm tree which had these strange red spikes growing out of the side of the trunk below the crown. I guess that they might be a variant of the date palm but am not sure.
The park staff were kept busy dealing with the hordes that had bussed in from the cruise ship docked in St Georges but found time to advise us on the various hikes available around the park.

We stated off with an easy short walk up to a point overlooking Grenville on the east coast but then set off for the lakeside trail round Grand Etang itself. I had done my due diligence and knew that it was classed as an easy hike taking 90 minutes with good views of the Etang. Although we had been warned that it was muddy the site of a couple emerging from the trail encouraged us to have a go.

MISTAKE

To begin with it was not too bad but soon we were in deep glutinous shoe sucking mud. Up to our knees in mud puddles and having to retrieve foot ware by digging down with our hands it soon became apparent that I was going to suffer death by Judy if we got out of here. But we made it round, washed the mud off and got back to Clarks Court Bay marina for burger night with a truly magnificent appetites.

EATING OUR WAY AROUND TRINIDAD

2011-11-07T12:43:00.000-08:00

We had heard that Jesse James of MEMBERS ONLY MAXI TAXI service was the man to see for a tour so signed up for his Taste of Trinidad tour.

Well we certainly saw some interesting parts of Trinidad and had a chance to taste what the locals eat. Not at 'fancy' restaurants like KFC [ believe it or not the local meal of choice for many! ] but roadside shacks and vendors working out of their houses.

This is us trying pigtail very tasty!

Many of the place names were Spanish, there is a big Hindu Indian population and a vociferous Moslem minority.

I think the final food tally was in the high 20s for number of different dishes we got to sample, everything from just picked watermelon to souse to fresh cocoa from the pod to chicken feet and yes I tried everything except I passed up on the chicken feet.

I was surprised how clean nearly all areas of Trinidad were with much less roadside litter than I have seen in other islands but we stopped at viewpoint to check out the river mouth and we had further evidence of the Colonels popularity.

We got a chance to swim in the Atlantic as we made it to the east coast where the water is clean, clear and surf was up. The Atlantic coast has an area of brackish mangrove behind it and a specialized eco system.

At a roadside shelter in the middle of nowhere we came across these. They are called Black conch and come from the mangroves but looked like a giant version of the winkles I would collect and eat on the west coast of Scotland in my youth.

Jesse regaled us with stories of Trini life and as he is a keen birder he spotted some interesting birds including this pair of toucans, the first I have seen in the wild.

We got back to Chagouramus late, tired, full up but with memories of a fascinating trip around around part of Trini.

As the forecast was favourable we cleared out on Saturday and left for Grenada in the evening. It is an 80 mile sail from Chagouramus up to Clarks Court Bay in Grenada. I had timed it to arrive in Grenada at 10am but the weather and Elephants Child running on a clean bottom conspired to set my plans agly. We were flying at 8 to 9 knots with the odd 10, even after I rolled the genoa away we were still hitting 8s. So we had to heave to of the south coast for 40 minutes and waited for the sun rise. I will not enter a reef strewn anchorage at night. There are too many stories of wrecked boats and some deaths associated with those who chance it.

We dropped anchor just after 6 am and went to bed.

It is good to be back in Grenada friendly officials greeted us at customs, the water is clean and litter free, there was no loud music, noisy 24hr generators and no oil rigs to spoil the view.

PASSING US BY

2011-10-31T17:05:00.000-07:00

Well we had a quiet day out at anchor on Sunday except for the usual mid day thunderstorm.

What was not so usual was the stuff that went past us. We are used to the styrofoam slurry at one point in the tide but the dead dog was new. At least I think it was a dog, could have been a monster iguana.

Then we had a pair of these giant Ballyhoo which seem have adopted us a home.

Then a whole pack of tugs started up with huge plums of smoke and took up positions around the oil rig that we saw being worked on a few days ago and stated moving it out through the anchorage to the gulf.

Good sunset though!

Karma Half Boats and a great pot luck.

2011-10-27T16:58:00.000-07:00

For the last month or two I have been without a depth sounder due to the through hull transducer failure. The transducer got replaced during the haulout but the job of leading the cable throught the space under the cockpit was waiting to be done. Basically I needed a hunchback legless dwarf. So I put out a call on the morning net for a small person and bravely Devvie fom Artic Tern answered and crawled into the space and did the business. Kudos and much good karma to Devvie.

We met her again at the cruisers pot luck at Peakes which we enjoyed on wednesday night. General Tso's chicken barbecues really well and Judy's brownies disappeared at the speed of light. We also talked a lot with other adventurous cruisers about possible routes if I ever decide to leave my comfort zone.

You know that phrase in Jaws "We are going to need a bigger boat!" well here is one mans solution to the problem. Cut it in half stretcch it and glue ine a new bit.

PORT OF SPAIN

2011-10-24T18:01:00.000-07:00

Well I made a big mistake today. I decided to visit Port of Spain in the afternoon and hit a huge traffic jam going in to PoS and rush hour at the bus station going home.

But Judy and I had a good time walking around admiring some of the old buildings and parks in the centre.

The police station which looks like a church had been bombed in some previous coup attempt but looks fine today.

The red house is not looking so good but the scaffolding suggests that restoration might be being considered.

However the church and fountain were both in fine fettle.

As we waited in a somewhat undisciplined bus station queue we heard that there had been a major fire in PoS which might have been the cause of the traffic jams.

Judy arrives and settles in.

2011-10-23T13:31:00.000-07:00

Well Judy flew down from Maine to sail on Elephants Child for a while. The flight arrived at a time that allowed us to beat the traffic jams and curfew jams that bedevil the roads around the capital in the late afternoon and evening.

We are having a few quiet days at anchor which is great and Judy has a chance to decompress from her working days in Maine and bcome a laid back cruiser. Mind you I have not got her to take her watch off yet.

Sooooo not running on island time yet.

We toured the anchorage and found a little cove where boats go to die and another cove where the stranges building lined the shore. I can not figue out what the arches are for.

Between them was the shipyards and oil rigs which get worked on 24/7 or at least it appears that way from the noise.

I am sleeping through it and Judy did get a good nights sleep last night after a good sunset even though I think we had generators and our neighbours main engine running late.

Just heard from Victor and Nilo and family that Frodo their beloved black lab has crossed the rainbow bridge and is chasing birds in the sky waiting for his owners arrival.

We will see if we can get a tour of the island sometime next week and after that a good weather window to sail up to Grenada.

THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT

2011-10-13T16:49:00.000-07:00

and into my newly painted and pretty Elephants Child.

I might be paranoid but it really feels like they are out to get me.

This was the boat that broke free a few nights ago and drifted through the anchorage. Somebody towed it out and anchored it but it dragged again. I guess it might be abandoned as it looks like things like winches have been stripped of it. Certainly nobody loves it anymore. However somebody else came out and dropped a second anchor from it so it looks like it is staying put. However it is now one boat over from me.

Then this tow job came by. Now it is often squally and fairly strong currents run through the anchorage. So I feel entitled to worry when a fairly large steel work boat is towed past me by a rubber dinghy with a small outboard. Eeek

Then we had a squall and several boats dragged, I was out there with fenders at the ready eek eeek !

Oh well what was painted once can be repainted if needs be I suppose.

I visited Port of Spain on a shopping trip bus organized by Jesse James of Members Only who does taxis tours and airport transfers.. We first visited this shopping mall. Now I was confused by the name as the mall was clearly short, small and square. I guess there is a Trini explanation somewhere.

The bird life here is prolific with a fairly large colony of frigate birds that sometimes seem to gather together and make a mass raid on the poor pelicans. Also I have a kiscadee that comes and sits on the solar panel array and noisily tells me “Kiss me too, Kiss me too” at least I think that is what it says.

We had a pretty sunset although it signals the time to “start ze generators! “ which run all night and light up the barges, tugboats, workboats, drilling rigs and other contraptions that litter the harbor.

SPLASHED and TIRED

2011-10-01T05:57:00.000-07:00

Got dropped back into the water on Friday morning pretty much on schedule. There were a few last minute jobs that could have held us up but it all went to plan in the end.

The paint job is excellent and it is clear that Selwyn and Michael really know how to get a good finish even though they work outside in the dusty conditions of a boatyard. The weather gods smiled on us though with only a couple of afternoon showers and mostly calm conditions in the early morning when he would spray.

This was the job that I thought was going to be a problem. The mechanic with the special tool to change the bearing was very elusive but did turn up and did get the job done.

I was going over to the local roti shop shack inside the boatyard for lunch and while there supporting the disabled and the greens. I am sure I have read somewhere that it is bad to feed iguana on processed foods but these guys certainly scarf down left over roti skin. The one legged grackle is really fearless and if you look away from your plate for a few seconds he is in there for a tit bit or two.

I was looking forward to a really good nights sleep at anchor but I forgot it was Friday night so there were a few party boats on the go and after I finally got to sleep a fellow cruiser came buy and woke me up to warn me that there was a local boat adrift in the anchor field and banging into boats, with Elephants Child in the line of drift. Eeek !

It did drift past only a few metres away and there did seem to be some attention being paid to it so for once I did not put on my good samaritan cloak and speed to the rescue. I was just too knackered.

But the sun is shining this morning and I slept late so with a good breakfast inside me I will set to and clean up the decks which are covered in dust and overspray.

It is a boat, there is always something to do.

SPLASHING TOMORROW YIPPEE

2011-09-29T04:45:00.000-07:00

If all goes to plan we should be back in the water tomorow.

Just got to find the guy to do my cutlass bearing. He is running on 'Island time'!

Bootstripe on and looking good and I get a fright as my neighbour burns his boat.

2011-09-24T15:06:00.001-07:00

Well it is republic day here in Trinidad so the speedboat launch squad were busy

and so were my painters, taking advantage of a dry day to get the bootstripe done Two coats in 40 minutes, no problemo at 85 degrees!

I was some what horrified when I saw what had been holding the keel up. I have been very pleased with the quality of work done by the previous and suspect they may have inherited this.

To finish the day off I got a hell of a fright when I saw the guy who is my neighbour on the hard fire up this giant gas torch and start to burn his boat. I was slightly relieved when I saw someone standing by with a fire extinquisher.

Apparently he was heating up his teak planking to kill off the marine worms that are turning it into Swiss cheese.

You learn something new everyday.

Bootstripe on and looking good.

2011-09-24T15:06:00.000-07:00

IN THE YARD

2011-09-22T05:54:00.000-07:00

Grinding, sanding, fairing, filling,

fixing the worn bearing

and watching my local crew hard at work.

Good progress todate.

Apparently the boss Alan wants my boat done by the middle of next week ! Weather permitting!

HAULOUT at POWERBOATS

2011-09-20T16:02:00.000-07:00

After a bit of indecision by the travelift driver I got hauled on the given date. I called them up this morning got told not today tomorrow, then 15 minutes later heard them calling Elephants Child Elephants Child and got the news that they would haul me now this very minute and give me as long in the slings as I needed to remove my drop keel

.

So out we came with a couple of locals keeping a close eye on the proceedings.

The keel came out more easily tahn I could have believed possible but it is a heavy old thing and I needed to get a forklift to move it.

HOME FOR A WEEK OR SO!

Odd sort of cloud at sunset today just the one building out of an inversion plane.

Och it was a braw bricht monlicht nicht and so I set off to Trini.

2011-09-15T14:37:00.000-07:00

Arrived safely in Trinidad but am very very tired. I had a great sail down with a full moon and full sail except when entering the Boca Monas.

I got delayed on arrival by a tug towing an oil rig on a kilometer of tow rope and for security they had a one mile exclusion zone. So everybody caught up with me and all of us had to hang about. I was slow negotiating the Boca and the anchorage, just call me extra careful Jones. But it meant that the old hands got to immigration first then when it was my turn he closed for lunch! Still it was an excuse for a consolation Haagen Daz.

CRAP WIFI won't let me load pics

ABORT RETRY II

2011-09-13T05:53:00.000-07:00

Well I think it is Maria's fault. The wind was supposed to be favourable for the trip down to trini on Sunday night but Maria slowed right down and spread out so the winds were forced round to the South and making the trip down dead into wind. One boat did try but gave up after 17 miles.

I did not even check out it was so obvious that what was forecast was just not happening.

So it looks like Wednesday evening is the next window.

Third time lucky !

ABORT RETRY

2011-09-09T17:23:00.000-07:00

Well when I started the engine to go the pesky alternator showed no charge. It has done this before and I wiggled the suspect connection but no go.

I decided I was tired and it was later than I had planned to go already and Maria was being a problem girl so ABORT.

RETRY A bunch of cruisers had already planned to go Sunday so I guess I will go with them.

Sunsets Sax and Trini bound tonight.

2011-09-08T03:53:00.000-07:00

Well the lords of the sunset have been working hard the last few nights with some spectacular sunsets.

Also on one evening as I was lazing in the cockpit making sure they were getting the colour changes right, the sounds of good jazz sax floated over the anchorage. Just made it a little better.

Well the bottom is clean things are back in lockers and the forecast is showing some suitable winds so I am off to Trinidad tonight. Should arrive mid morning on Friday.

Officially I am told it is best to enter Trini waters after 8am. Why well they charge you overtime. Not because you arrived at their offices before 8am but because you entered Trini water before 8am. Hmm got to pay those AC bills somehow.

INVENTIONS , WEED and POT LUCK ENVY

2011-09-04T09:50:00.000-07:00

I have been working on a couple of things to help life along on Elephants Child. The first is a water catchment system based on an awning, a funnel and a filter. Well so far despite three attempts at rigging it in different ways this has failed. I would have collected more water by placing a bucket under the corner of the bimini.

But my anchor chain scrubber has been a success at shifting the weed and algae and I am pleased with that. The barnacles were another matter though and required chipping off with a knife, boy o boy is Clarkes Court fertile. Some say it is the run off from the rum distillery that does it.

Yup that is my anchor chain under those barnacles.

WEED

The south east and south winds that we have had recently have bought in rafts of weed and in a couple of the marinas staff have been forking it out by hand and carting it away by the lorry load. Bad news for those who suffer weed phobia when swimming. It is creepy to feel it brush by you. I had a few encounters when scraping my bottom. But we have a clean bottom clean chain and those two things are ready to jump down to Trinidad. Just need the wind to cooperate.

Pot Luck Envy

I felt like being sociable and moseyed over to the pot luck at Clarkes Court Bay marina only to suffer a bad case of dish envy, my Louisiana style dirty rice was blown away by iced cakes chocolate brownies stuffed eggs layered sweet potato pie etc. Got to be more creative next time.

OK OK Who said I was competitive.

TRINIDAD SPREADER LIGHTS and GOOD KARMA

2011-08-25T16:22:00.000-07:00

While the messages I am getting from cruisers in Trinidad is that it is Business as Usual it is clear that there is some quite serious restrictions being applied in some spots.

COMMISSIONER of Police Dwayne Gibbs yesterday stated that the entire country is under curfew restrictions during the specified period of 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.

This contradicts statements made by National Security Minister Brigadier John Sandy and Attorney General Anand Ramlogan.

On Tuesday at a news briefing at the National Security Ministry on Abercromby Street, Port of Spain, Sandy and Ramlogan said that citizens living in communities in which there are no curfew restrictions are free to go about their business.

Sandy had stated that persons who live outside the curfew zones were free to congregate on the roadways, and even have parties in their communities, once they conform to the rule of law.

Ah well I will give it a week and see what is going on.

Weather wise Hurricane Irene is pounding the Bahamas tonight and may become a Cat 4 by the time it hits the USA. This will not be good for the outer banks and a full scale panic is underway up there. Meanwhile down here in Grenada things are quiet and the next two being fired out of the Cape Verdes are almost certainly fish storms.

As I will be overnighting if and when I head down to Trinidad I thought I needed to fix my spreader lights. So I had someone go up the mast yesterday for the 10 minute job of replacing the bulbs in my spreader lights. BUT they were not the right ones, despite being marked spreaders. In fact the young man was not able to get the sealed light unit out so I got him to bring down the whole light assy. down. I have been into town and traipsing around the chandlers and hardware stores in search of something that would fit or if not I was prepared to buy new ones. I had phoned the most convienient store who told me they did not have the bulbs I needed. I finished up there last knowing that they had new but different ones in stock which would mean changing the screw holes and what did I discover - the right sealed light units arrrrrggggghhhhhhhh.

Ah well at least I got them and know what to ask for next time.

Zach came back today and I now have working spreader lights. Much good karma for Zach!

Had a real fright as I started to write this, my screen went grey and I thought that it had died for good. This is not the place to buy a lappie! But a rest and a reboot and it is trucking along as usual. Phew.

TRINIDAD and BIG RAYS

2011-08-22T07:14:00.000-07:00

AT midnight last night, TRINIDAD was placed under a limited state of emergency to facilitate anti-crime curfews in hot spots, by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar.

The measure specifically allows the 5,000 Defence Force powers of search and seizure, and of arrest, so they will be able to better supplement the work of the TT Police Service. The measure follows two recent instances of mass killings, namely four persons shot dead at Jonestown, Arima, on Thursday, a woman killed at Pt Lisas on Friday and three killed in Laventille and another in El Socorro yesterday .

The 2011 murder rate is about 261 persons.

YIKES I had just asked on the net if anyone else was going down to Trini as I thought a buddy boat might be good. Plans to go are on hold !

Had a good snorkel yesterday on the outer reef system off Hog Island and got a great shot of a big ray. Not sure what kind but he flapped around the spot I was working for about 10 minutes. Maybe I was on his territory?

Oh yes my second experiment with my water collection system also failed. Back to the drawing board.

An Archers Bow, subtle sunset and a funny little boat.

2011-08-18T16:31:00.000-07:00

After hoping for rain at the weekend to fill my water tanks using my new water catching system we got some today but I had dismantled the system so missed the chance but the everywhere god hung the archers bow in the sky to console me.

Quiet sunset tonight which reflects my mood as I think I have caught the lurgy that seems to be going around the cruisers. Possibly passed on to me at a meeting I attended about sailing in Venuzuela. Cough splutter and retires to bed.

This funny little boat is a smaller version of one parked in the mangroves at Hog Island.

I wonder how well or badly it sails.

SOME MAGIC CRUISING MOMENTS

2011-08-14T07:07:00.000-07:00

I was lying in bed with the hatch above me wide open and the gentle night sounds lulling me to sleep when I saw some faint streaks appear in the sky.

Middle of August so it is time for the Perseid meteor shower I thought. I guess I was lucky because a few minutes later the moon rose and obliterated any chance of the trails being visible.

The next magic moment was in the afternoon when I took of the headphone after a prolonged Skype session to hear singing floating across the water. I had seen the little local tug appear earlier on during the day with a couple of floating platforms and had been curious as what was going on. It turns out it was the 4th Clarkes Court Bay dinghy concert.

http://youtu.be/1i2ST8wRsxo

The song she is singing reflects my cruising life at the moment, things are good.

EMILY SPICEMAS and a BOAT ON THE REEF

2011-08-07T13:33:00.000-07:00

Well EMILY brushed past well to the North. This spectacular sunset was a result of one of the outlying rain bands. Some of the northern islands got a bit of a drenching but know wind damage as she never really developed just flattering to deceive.

However there are a couple of waves showing signs of potential development out there.

It is SpiceMas [Carnival] here I visited one of the prelim events where the kids dress up.

I would have liked to take some pics but did not. It's a shame that such an innocent amount of joy is now a forbidden subject.

Also I am just trying to decide if I want to get up early and pay my $75 EC to go and march with one of the bands. The weather is forecast to be good sooooo I might just................. beeee lazy and stay in bed.

Some excitement on Friday morning as "Fox Sea" found the reef in Calvigny Bay! Now mostly when they find the bottom out here a few dinks get it off by heeling the boat and possibly pushing the nose around. But not this time, either she hit at speed or the swell lifted her on to her side on the reef.

Kudos go to the Grenada coastguard who got there quickly and horsed her off the reef. Apparently they were in the area anyway checking on cruiser's immigration documents. Nice to know that they're now willing to tow.

Fox Sea are are now on the hard drying the boat out as they had some water ingress and assessing their hull damage.

Night diving Dogfighting and the first scare of this years huricane season looms out in the Atlantic

2011-07-30T10:46:00.000-07:00

Night Diving

Hi Victor this is a reply to your comment as I can't reply any other way as blogspot is rejecting me as a commentor!

I really don't feel comfortable at night I have only done one night dive and frankly it gave the the screaming ab dabs.

Just a big wuss on this.

Dogfights

I was treated to some stunning dogfighting yesterday. We have had a strange southerly drift into the bays on the south coast of grenada. Some it has filled with seaweed others with fish. I had a bay full of fish behind Elephants Child and the seabirds were feasting. The frigate birds don't fish for themselves but steal from other birds and each other. So I and my fellow cruisers were treated to some spectacular aerial dogfights sometimes with the same fish changing beak 10 times before some luck box had a couple of seconds of clear sky and time to turn the fish and swallow it.

Potential hurricane and it's forecast tracks.

I think we are OK in Grenada but will get a change to the usual wind and waves for a day or two next week. But if you are in Antigua I would be stuffing my nose into the mangroves in English Harbour and stripping the sails.

RAIN

2011-07-27T13:39:00.000-07:00

It is a bit of a miserable morning so time for some overdue housekeeping.

I had a good snorkle yesterday on reef inside Clarks Court Bay and had broken a sea urchin open to get some food for the hungry reef fish when I realised I was being watched. Why do barracuda look so INTIMIDATING?

Lovely long sunset last night which I enjoyed from the cockpit, it outlasted my G&T and Chariots of Fire started to repeat.

Coral of Cowes and quiet days in Grenada

2011-07-21T11:51:00.000-07:00

I had used a picture of the classic yacht called Coral of Cowes in a post and was contacted by the great grandson of some who had been the professional skipper of the elegant edwardian piece of sailing history.

The internet is making the world a very small place.

Anyway they are asking for more pics and having got the OK from the current professional crew [ thanks Paul ] here they are along with some stats.

DESIGNER Fred Shepherd BUILDER White Bros Southampton UK
DATE 1902 LOA 96ft / 29 m incl spars
LWL 64 ft / 19.5 m BEAM 15 ft 5 ins/ 4.6 m
DISPLACEMENT 68 tons DRAFT 11 ft / 3.3m
CONSTRUCTION Hardwood plank on oak and Iroko frames
ENGINE 200 HP Volvo turbo diesel

History

CORAL was registered in Cowes and spent the first 36 years of her life racing under the Royal Yacht Squadron burgee, Her real heyday came with some maturity at around 30 years old and her much coveted trophies include Winner of the King’s Cup in 1926 and 1928. She came 3rd in the 1932 Queen Mary’s Cup then going on to win it in 1934.

She had been built by White Brothers of Southampton in 1902 to Lloyds 100 A1 + standards. Not only were the finest materials used but every design detail checked against those stringent requirements at all stages of construction. Her massive construction was indeed unusual for a yacht designed – originally as a yawl - to be raced in the Solent. Nevertheless that very high standard and resultant strength have undoubtedly contributed to her remarkable state of preservation as much that pre war she was routinely dry docked for the winter.

During the 2nd World War she was laid up so that her 25 ton lead keel could be removed for the metal so essential to the war effort.

QUIET DAYS

It has been quiet here in Grenada and I have been having a lazy time of it exploring the little bays and seeing what the many reefs that speckle this area hold in the way of fish.

I have also been tinkering around with three things that interest me; poker,computer programs and fuzzy logic.

I have made a little money playing poker on the internet at low stakes, I much prefer live poker so grinding away playing 4 tables at the same time on the internet quickly became boring. However I had worked on a poker playing program, not something I programmed from scratch but one that is available with the source code so I could modify it and it is doing ok playing on one of the poker sites that uses play money and it is doing OK. Profit over $135 million so far.

Maybe I should let it out onto one of the sites that uses real money?

Or maybe I should just watch the sun set over the Caribbean while sipping a cold G&T.

CHARTER BOAT PROVIDES TODAY'S LUNCHTIME ENTERTAINMENT

2011-07-05T17:55:00.000-07:00

Charters just keep on providing entertainment. Here is todays episode, a charter boat aground on the very well documented shoal in the middle of Clarkes Court Bay Grenada, with the usual suspects arriving to assist.

Only 30 minutes worth though as they were soon pulled off and on their sheepish way.

LAZY SUMMER DAYS IN GRENADA with PLENTY OF BOATS

2011-07-03T14:05:00.000-07:00

The Grenada routine is established, listen drowsily to the cruisers radio net while still in bed then a swim and a very leasurly breakfast. The wifi here has been good so far so I catch up with the wide world on the web and decide if I am going to be sociable and join in whatever activity those who bustle about and onganise others have got on the go.

Today I went ashore to watch the start of an island boat race. It was a proper start, in other words from the beach with some of the crew still in the water holding the boat.

Last night I dinghied in to the marina for a pot luck supper and spotted these three. They say misery loves company and there can be few more miserable things than losing your rig down here.

The range of liveaboards astounds me. here is a big assed old tugboat, maybe being used a diving mothership if the murals are anything to go by.

Or you have this one who has al the creature comforts including satellite TV.

I spotted this old girl Coral of Cowes who has masts to spare, schooner rigged with topmasts that appear to be capable of being lowered to the deck.

Finally what about this? plenty of freeboard but I wonder how she sails? Still she got here from Canada.

Carriacou to Grenada and round to Clarks Court Bay.

2011-06-28T15:25:00.001-07:00

Well it was rolling in Tyrrel Bay not badly but enough to make things a little uncomfortable.

I put up with it for a day or two but the settled waters of the bays on the south side of Grenada were calling me.

So I headed south on a day with a touch of North in the prevailing trades. This meant I was able to sail all the way down the west coast of Grenada. I usually have to motor at least part of the way. As a bonus half way down the coast of Grenada I caught another Mahi Mahi.

I stopped of at the capital and stocked up from the supermarket on the waterfront as they have a door to dinghy service. Added an extra jar of tartar sauce too.

Nice one Foodland!

I pulled into Clarks Court Bay late this afternoon and got a reminder that you never rely on buoys in the Caribbean. The entrance is a little scary with reefs on one side and shallow rocks on the other. Well the three outer buoys that lead you into the pass were missing. If I had not been in a few times before I think I wold have chickened out as a fair swell was running.

Anyway the anchor is down. The sails and ropes all made shipshape and my G&T was extra good tonight. Several boats that I saw here last year were anchored here again.

SCARY SEAGULLS

2011-06-25T16:45:00.000-07:00

It was a scene worthy of inclusion in that famous Hitchcock film "The Birds".

I had decided that I would have some grilled fish for lunch, the last of the Mahi Mahi I had caught on the way down. Now this was the second time I had used the barbecue to cook fish in two days and a couple of gulls had got lucky over the scraps and skin.

Well they came back and they bought their friends with them.

I flet at times that they were going to filch the fish right off my plate, I am pretty sure if I had gone below even for a couple of seconds it would have gone.

Like I said scary birds.

Tyrell Bay Carriacou

2011-06-23T13:55:00.000-07:00

Azuli catamarans are FAST. I have been pretty smug about how fast Elephants Child is and we frequently leave other similar size boats in our wake but I was just blown away on the passage down to Tyrell bay by a smaller boat. A French built Azuli catamaran just whizzed past me, I was doing 7 knots and he must have been doing 10 or 12. Wow do they go fast.

I was boatbound yesterday as the weather was very squally

and I was concerned that there might be draggers in this tight and crowded anchorage but nobody moved. So today I was off ashore to find some lunch. I usually frequent the yacht club but they were shut up so went next door for the first time to the slipway . So named as it is next to the old slipway/marine railway. I believe it was used recently to build a boat on the carriage then launch it.

After lunch it was off to the mangroves to check the depth of the entrance channel. As my depth sounder has packed and the boat has to be hauled to install it's replacement I like to manually check the depth of any shallow passage that I might have to take. The mangroves here are a good hurricane hole.

The wrecks were still there but one at least had a good use being made of it. This pelican was using the mizzen to fish from, at least that is what it seemed to me to be doing as it made short flights almost plunges and returned to its perch.

I found this apt quote on a forum

"......beware, membership of the bluewater cruising tribe is for life and there will be the ever present knowledge that all you have to do to reach Narnia once more is steer for the wardrobe......"

Perhaps it explains the difficulty I had in recalling the day and the month when I checked in here. Lost in Narnia again.

And to finish with here is something you don't see much of in the Caribbean ICE DAMAGE.

The owner is repainting his steel boat after transiting the famed North West Passage. RESPECT!

Bequia to Union via the Tobeago Cays

2011-06-20T17:04:00.000-07:00

It's the same ever year. All winter, that is to say from October to May, you look forward to some summer sailing in balmy force 3 and sunshine. And every summer it's the same f*****g weather - strong winds and rain. Until that is you have unwisely booked some committment or other when the sun will briefly appear.

Why do we kid ourselves that the UK has a climate suitable for family sailing? It hasnt. The UK climate suits scrabble playing and thats it!

Problem is, what would you do with yourself if you didnt have a boat? I'd class myself as a petrolhead but these days I cant afford the fuel for a decent sized V8. So thats no alternative. Gardening? DIY Visiting Nat Trust gardens with SWMBO and a load of zimmer frame drivers?

It's mid JUne and again there are gales forecast for the weekend.

I posted this acouple of days ago after a fellow forumite was despairing of getting any sailing [see above]

"Ahh I knew there was a reason I am where I am.

Off to do about 20 miles tomorrow, rough plan allows 3hrs 20mins but as it is forecast to be 18 gusting 23 just north of east and my course is west of south; I guess we'll be flying so maybe 2hrs 30mins.

The temp is 81 F [sea that is ] and the rum is about £3 a bottle.

Look it is really quite tough out here I am now tasked to be in the cockpit and to watch the sunset JUST in case we have a green flash AND there are some ladies on a French boat next to me showering au naturel off their bathing platform. It really is a pretty sight yes I AM talking about the sunset. "

Well I got my comeuppance today; I don't know where the disturbance came from but we have had a horrible weather day in Bequia with severe squall lines coming through all day 2 of which had thunderstorms with them followed by near calm periods.

I did start getting ready to go but when the first one blew through at 40 knots plus staying at anchor seemed wiser.

Hopefully normal service will be resumed tomorrow.

Well normal service it was 15 to 18 knts the sun was shining and the old lady was flying at 8 knots most of the way down.
I only slowed down to boat a dorado which sorted out what I was having for dinner.

A lunch stop in the Tobeago cays and a snorkel on the outer drop off was good but a little disapointing as I saw no sharks rays or even cuda just some good size jacks.

Finally on to Union Island for the night as it was rolling in the Cays.

Bound for Union Island today.

2011-06-19T06:05:00.000-07:00

After some R&R I am on the move today. I had planned to go yesterday and had been posting on a forum some smug comments about just how wonderful the weather was out here in Bequia. Well we got hammered yesterday. Heavy squalls all day with thunder and lightening. I was reduced to playing online poker disconnecting the Tosh when the big sparkies were flying.

Shutting down in a few minutes and raising sail.

2011-06-13T11:08:00.000-07:00

I have had a few quiet days tucked up in Friendship bay away from the hustle and bustle of mainstream Bequia. I completed a few odd jobs including mounting the boats mascot.

I have also had a couple of sundowner evenings with other single handers but none that can match these guys.

Alessandro Di Benedetto sailed this solo round-the-world in 270 days, achieving nearly 28,360 miles of sea crossings completely alone and without assistance.
His boat was damaged during a crossing of the South Pacific, but he managed to recover the pieces of broken mast and with his new makeshift mast, crossed another ocean and a half, passing by Cape Horn.

Mario Pirri has sailed the elegant Fifer Latifa single handed including a transatlantic passage from Italy to Antigua for this years classic week. A famous racer in her day she finished second in both the 1937 and 1939 Fastnets. She was used to search for clandestine German submarine bases in Irish waters during the second world war.

And then we have the white rasta single handing this, it is about 80 feet long and who knows what it weighs. It looks like an old deep sea fishing boat that has had masts added. The sails are bent on and look ready to hoist be he left under power today.

ADDED THIS AS IT WONT LET ME COMMENT ??

I was looking for an elephants head for ages. Most suppliers would not post it international, finally got one sent to Colorado when I was skiing.

It replaces one that the previous owners of the boat took with them.

The saloon looks complete now, also it is a handy place to hang things! LOL to.

HURRICANE SEASON and MORE BARGE ANTICS

2011-06-01T06:25:00.000-07:00

Today is the first of June and the official start of hurricane season and the start of the time of year when I check the weather reports each morning just in case.

So I logged into NOAA and guess what " A potential hurricane !" was shown on the site. However it is a LOOOOOOONG way a away just off the coast of Florida - so "No Worries".

BARGE UPDATE

They flipped her yesterday by anchoring the sunken side and pulling on the topside with the tug. They had done this before but the barge flipped back when the tug stopped pulling.

This time they kept puling for several hours holding the barge, right side up while they pumped water out of the barge tanks.

Bet there was a few drinks on the tug to celebrate last night.

BACK IN BEQUIA AGAIN

2011-05-29T07:14:00.000-07:00

Back in Bequia and watching the harbour antics. The mooring buoy vendors scurrying out to greet every incoming charter boat, the magnificent frigate birds harrying the masked boobies and the efforts of the tug crew working on the inverted barge.

They tried again to flip the barge yesterday and got it past the vertical for the first time but as soon as the tug stopped pulling back she went.

BACK IN BEQUIA AFTER A LITTLE LOCAL TOURING

2011-05-27T16:59:00.000-07:00

Friendship Rose

This old island schooner, veteran of many an interisland voyage is out of service and getting some attention from island shipwrights. I watched as they tested for rot in the time honoured way with a spike and then set about digging out the rotten planks they found.

Upturned Barge

They made a couple of attempts to pull it over with it partially sunk and sitting at an angle without success. So they have sunk it further and the angle has increased but things seem to be on hold for the moment, at least I have not seen any further attempts.

Snorkeling at Petit Nevis Petit Bayault and on the Devils Table.

I sailed round to Petit Nevis, the site of the old Bequia whaling station and anchored out off one of the great snorkeling spots. There were some shoals of bait fish but nothing like the shoals seen at the Devils Table just off Elizabeth Harbour. Here there were shoals of several different types of bait fish and all being harried into the shallows by a variety of predators.

However this horned box fish was happy to be picking up scraps from the bottom as well as posing for me.

Locals fishing in a bay with a couple of people snorkeling around to direct the setting of the nets.

Circumnavigating square rigger, more barge antics and another visitor

2011-05-20T18:53:00.000-07:00

The Barque Picton Castle is a three-masted tall ship based in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada but best known for their sail training voyages around the world.

They are just completing a fifth circumnavigaton of the globe in. Many crew had no previous sailing experience, just a strong back, a willing heart and the $46,000 US for the trip!

It looked a little salt spattered and well worn as it sailed in fro Cape Town and rested at anchor just behind us for a few days while the crew chipped and painted. When they set off this morning their sail handling skills looked wel honew and all sail was soon flying.

MORE BARGE ANTICS

The first effort to right the barge by partially sinking it and then towing it sideways failed and they have carried on sinking it deeper on one side and towing but again without success.

NO SUNSET PIC TODAY BUT I GOT THIS SHOT NOT LONG AFTER SUNRISE

ANOTHER VISITOR

A black headed gull has decided that my dink is a suitable roost. He or she is a welcome visitor as long as it leaves a clean wake.

VISITORS

2011-05-16T16:47:00.000-07:00

I spent time with a charming old girl recently. I was getting to know her really well but It was frustrating me. I tickled her bits, checked for lubrication, but despite a prolonged spin she just was not a goer. She had been interfered with by several locals before she came to me so I was expecting problems.

These old girls are usually reliable and get going without much trouble this one was stubborn and I was getting nowhere. So it was back to first principles and time to get up close and personal and dirty with this rather mucky Scandinavian lady and look for her bleeding nipples.

BTW she is a 2 cylinder Bukh diesel fitted to Anni and Michels Choy Lee and I don't know what the rest of you were thinking about.

In the end I found a blocked up filter that they did not know about hidden in the stern cave behind the fuel tank. The genius who fitted that should be condemned to spend eternity bleeding Bukhs in the tropics with a good swell running and a stinky bilge. None of us could get in there but we found a really skinny young local who wriggled in and by passed the d******* thing. Instant start after we bled things through her nipples again.

So I added to my good karma bank and got a nice meal that I didn't cook. Breadfruit gnocchi, kallalou and fried salt fish. YUM YUM.

More visitors, I heard something come aboard, and got an unexpected flash of a brown booby peeking round my roller furler. Yes I finally had a bird on board Elephants Child.

My next visitor was a real high flier but sadly died on board.

The last visitor was a large lady called Alice. Like many large ladies she took her time but did get settled in. Fortunately her visit was a short one as she is a bit gassy.

Jeanne Socrates

2011-05-11T08:32:00.000-07:00

When I have a good Wifi connection I like to keep up with some other sailing blogs. One that I follow makes me realize that I am just a wimp. Jeanne Socrates has just completed a circumnavigation.

So what you say, lots of people circumnavigate but not many do it by going south of the 5 great Capes.

Plenty of people have done that you say, well there is no other woman has done it at age 68 or older and she had the fortitude to go back out when she lost her first boat.

On her way down the west coast of Mexico from Guatemala, she lost "Nereida" on a steep surf beach north of Acapulco, less than twelve hours and about sixty miles short of completing her first circumnavigation, on 19th June '08.

Nothing daunted and fortunately well insured she bought a new boat and set of again and on friday 6th May 2011 crossed over the track made in December 2009 when sailing down to Cape Town from Lanzarote (Canaries). This completes a single-handed circumnavigation of the globe, her route taking her from Cape Town, around the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Agulhas, past Cape Leeuwin (Australia), through the Bass Strait and Cook Strait (New Zealand) to Kauai (Hawaii), on to Cape Flattery (Pacific US/Canada), Sth from Victoria, B.C., around Cape Horn where she suffered a knockdown

The knockdown damaged the yacht badly including breaking the boom and created total chaos down below. Declining offers of assistance at sea she limped in to Ushuaia the capital city of Tierra del Fuego in Argentina.

There was little in Ushuaia in the way of facilities. At the time, Jeanne was uncertain as to how to proceed. However, with incredible perseverance, she ordered the spares fought with customs repaired Nereida once again, and set off from Ushuaia heading for Cape Town, where she had previously spent two months replacing her engine.

Despite this and a few other problems along the way, it will have taken just 14 months to complete sailing from Cape Town back to Cape Town (March 2010 - May 2011).

The lady has bottle.

I am getting wussy at the moment at the possibility of having to sail up to St Lucia this weekend with a forecast of 25 to 30 knots and squalls and an erratic depth sounder.

Still it is only one doomsayer that is giving that sort of forecast, the others that I usually rely on are not expecting things to brew up so strongly.

BARGE UPDATE

Still upside down.

They have been working away and apparently have a plan to flip it in the water somehow. This I want to see!

SUNNY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN IN BEQUIA

2011-05-07T11:58:00.000-07:00

Just as well as I was about to have to run the engine to charge the batteries. But the sun is shining, my solar panels are putting out more than 20 amps and the bank is coming back up.

It is good to get the hatches open again and the air moving through the boat.

I was down snorkeling off the Devils Table the reef by the entrance to Elizabeth Harbour when I saw Jambalya flying all sail as she came across from St Vincent. A working charter boat she is the first Antillean schooner to be built on Carriacou in many years, once one of the great centres of wooden boat construction in the Caribbean. Crafted by the last master shipwrights on the island, she is an authentic and actual expression of the wooden ship building culture that once dominated the Caribbean. The name Jambalaya is an anagram of their initials. Alwyn Enoe who I saw working on Genesis when we hauled out in Tyrell Bay was one of them.

I thought she might have been competing in Antigua this year like last but not according to the entry list or the results.

Still with entries down to to less than a 100 things are not flourishing. The Heineken in St Maarten being the best attended regatta so far this year.

WET WET WET and some FISHY BUSINESS

2011-05-04T08:39:00.000-07:00

“Into every life a little rain must fall”, I don't remember to whom this quote is attributed but it has been falling big time for the last two days in Bequia. I thought it had finished yesterday and as I was a bit fed up with sitting in the boat so went over the the Gingerbread for a fish sandwich [ yum ] and some of Marianne's famous ice cream [ yum yum ] both eaten sitting under the tree and watching the comings and goings as the cruisers scurried around doing the chores on deck and ashore that had been put off during the rain.

I had one of these to do, posting some letters but the rain returned with a vengeance and I sat it out for a while on the bookshop veranda but gave up, got wet, posted the letters and got really wet getting back to the boat.

It continued to rain and I really regretted not having my raincatcher sorted out as I could have filled the tanks with ease. As it was the buckets filled in minutes and I filled my empty containers. I have bailed the dink 4 times in the last 36 hours, it filled up again overnight!

I have grumbled about the wifi in the Caribbean from time to time esp. HotHotHotSpot the supplier with the best coverage but often slow and inclined to drop out. Well they must have upgraded it in Bequia because it was lightening fast yesterday and I watched some online video stuff with almost no delays, caught up with my mail and began sorting out my online poker accounts. Life has got difficult for players with any kind of US connection because the US authorities have shut down the big online US sites. My accounts got caught up in the shutdown as I have used my US bank to make withdrawals in dollars when I was in the US. It will get sorted eventually but some of the big time nosebleed gamblers that are US based are faced with having hundreds of thousands of dollars in frozen accounts.

Todays ONLY IN AMERICA MOMENT

Cindy Vong uses fish to eat dead skin off clients’ feet in her beauty salon.
But the Arizona Board of Cosmetology went to court and took away her licence, why, well the board alleged the fish were unsafe because they couldn’t be sterilized.

Only in America

Still on a vaguely fishy subject on my last snorkel I came across this mooring block just stuffed with lobsters. I am realy surprised that they have not been harvested by the locals, but maybe they know the season has just closed and this is the lobster equivelent of the finger.

TUG BOAT DAMAGE and WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE

2011-05-01T12:09:00.000-07:00

I went over to the tugboat by the upturned barge to see if I could find out who the owners were or at least the name. A fellow forumite on Sailnet was on his way down to the Caribbean and knew the operators of the tugboat and barge service working out of Carriacou. I had seen them when I was anchored in Tyrell bay and knew that both barge and tug were somewhat similar in size.

However a closer look showed that the paint scheme was different. I could see no name but some of the superstructure damaged when the barge tilted and 3000 tonnes of cement slid across the barge and hit the side of the tug, is covered by tarpaulins.

I talked briefly to a couple of the crew who were being close mouthed about things but they did confirm that this tug and barge operation works out of Bequia.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE

Well it is a boat with a tender, nothing odd about that except that it is a motorboat with a sailing tender.

Still blowing and a bit more on the upturned barge

2011-04-30T14:20:00.000-07:00

Well it blew up again during the night and I got involved this morning in helping a couple on a nearby boat retrieve their dinghy and outboard which had turned over during the night. It was a lightweight dink with a tiny 2 hp Suzuki and a line attached to rowlock soon pulled it over. We got the motor on to its rail mount sprayed it with fresh water, removed the plug and gave it a few pulls, replaced the plug, a splash of fresh fuel in the tank followed by a liberal spray of WD40 and Jeff prepared to give it a go. He said that this was the third time it had been dunked. 4 or 5 pulls and it coughed a couple more and the little clockwork YoYo spluttered into life. Jeff blipped it a couple of times and beamed, "best $60 I ever spent. You just can't kill it!"

Over a beer or two I discovered that they were both Canadian, in their late 70s and had been cruising for over 20 years. During this time they had made the trip down the thorny path from Florida through the Bahamas and out to the USVI no less than five times. RESPECT.

A bit more on the upturning of the barge from a local surveyor

The barge was loading cement from a ship in Kingston St Vincent by laying alongside and they had 3000 tons to deliver to Canouan for a hotel project. They would normally load the cements slings two high but because the weather has been very calm and the crew wanted to be home for the Easter Weekend in Bequia which is where the tug and barge call home, they decided to load the slings three high and carry all 3000 tons in one trip rather than the two it would normally take!

Well they finished loading around 2 in the morning and decided to take off. The tug was tied up alongside with its port side to the tug, the lines were cast off and the vessel pulled it away from the ship and then made a hard turn to head out to sea. The barge heeled a bit towards the tug and it just kept going until the cement slid across the barge and piled up between the tug and barge. Luckily for the barge the lines must have parted or it would have gone down to.

There is considerable damage to the topsides and superstructure of the tug. If you look closely at the pic you can see they have a tarpaulin over the wheelhouse.

As the barge capsized one of crew got caught up somehow and had one of his feet cut off but that was the only injury!!

Obviously all 3000 tons of cement is now lying in a pile on the bottom of Kingstown, it might even be a hazard to shipping as the bottom is not very deep there and it might have to be moved!!

I would think the captain if he was responsible is looking for another job!!

Getting the barge back upright is not going to be easy or cheap. It will have to be carefully sunk on one side only until it can be rolled over but this requires skilled divers, air compressors a calm port and someone with the knowledge to do it.

BLOWING OLD BOOTS

2011-04-28T07:28:00.000-07:00

It has been blowning hard the last couple of days with squalls up to 30 knots. Admiralty Bay is a bowl so the wind swirls around and boats have been lying at all sorts of odd angles. I have been up and down a few times checking that I was still where I had been for the last few days and nobody else was going walkabout upwinnd of me.

Also with all the changing winds I had a good look at my snubber and chafe protection to make sure that was OK.

It has given me a chance to tidy up my photo albums and rename some.

These two are squatters 1 and 2 from now on. A Csy 44 that has been in Bequia for a long time has some unwanted guests.

BEQUIA REGATTA DOUBLE ENDERS ON EASTER MONDAY

2011-04-26T06:04:00.001-07:00

I am just back from watching the start of the last days racing and did get to see the local boats start.

This guy sailed his boat down for the start and one or two others did as well but most were left overnight on the beach.

It was interesting to see how the traditional materials and boat layouts were changing with high tech sailcloth, full batten mainsails aluminum masts and booms creeping in esp on the top class 7 boats which are 28 feet long. I saw a dagger board on Confusion and on some boats there were trapeze harness set ups.

Team uniforms were also creeping in and I liked the guys in the matching Mount Gay Rum T shirts and assorted shorts very spiffy!

As usual in the Caribbean the start time was a moveable feast but eventually boats were rigged hip flasks filled and the racing was underway.

They have changed things and instead of the mass chaos of the Le Mans style beach start, they now start like an English Steeplechase with the boats milling around until they are sort of lined up and pointing in the same direction at which point the starter should fire a cannon but is best Caribbean style they have no gunpowder, the batteries are flat in their bull horn they have no gas for their air horn so he just shouts loudly. Lots of fun to watch.

Last off were the small 12 footers and it was here that booms were bamboo sails rarely sported battens and I did not see anybody trapezing.

LIFE CAN BE A DRAG

2011-04-24T07:04:00.000-07:00

I missed seeing the start of the local double enders races because when I was about to leave I realised that the boat upwind of me that had come in late yesterday afternoon was getting closer. I watched for a few minutes and it was clearly dragging and going to get close to me. So as it was unattended I stayed on board, got the fenders out and waited for the owner[s] to return. My thinking was that as they had the Q flag up they were ashore to clear in and would reurn soon.

I did get a couple of shots of the starts in the distance including this one of yet another spi wrap, and watched through binocs but it was not the same as being on the beach. Drat and double drat.

I finished up being on boat bump watch for 2 or 3 hours and eventually moved a power boat of a mooring behing me just before the dragger hit it and attached the dragger to the now vacant mooring.

In the late afternoon I pottered over to the strange shape that I had thought might be an inverted barge and confirmed that it was indeed such an animal. There had been more entertainment when a large yacht not spotting the connection had sailed bewteen the tug and the barge the rope is now marked with a plethra of assorted floating things.

GOOD FRIDAY AT THE BEQUIA REGATTA

2011-04-22T14:14:00.001-07:00

The local guys were out getting some practice in but their races doon't start till tomorrow.

I wondered for some time what this strange object that had arrived last night under tow but now think it is an upside down barge! How did this happen? Parked in the course too!

The prestart manouvres were enlivend by this charter boat blundering through the melee.

I am not sure if this was one of the crew who had been practicing spinnaker hoists yesterday but yet another wrap.

They got it sorted out though and everybody headed off on a downwind run.

This was a colourful class mostly French and they were

pretty clued up on their boat handling and good at the intimidation with much shouting too as they rounded the mark together.

By this time the cruising class was starting

spot the solar panels

wind generator

radar SAT DOME and red hats!

Nice shiny bottom paint too!

The first boat home was one of the French boats with crisp paper sails. My battery was flat so did not get a pic. A group of J24s finished with a few seconds of each other and everybody had big grins, nothing like a close race but the biggest fist pump came from the leading boat.

PULLED IN TO BEQUIA ROUND THE DEVILS TABLE.

2011-04-21T14:10:00.002-07:00

I had a slow run down so stopped off in Wallilabou. Also I was tired because there were a lot of big bits of tree trunk floating around at the North end of St Vincent. So I was standing up in the cockpit and manualy steering, well with a foot actually, to slalom around them for about two hours. A charter boat was in a Pan Pan situation as they had bent a prop or shaft hitting one.

It was something I had not seen before, most pieces were between 6 and 12 feet whithout any bark but also not bleached or carrying any sealife in the form of barnacles or weed. No recent heavy rain to wash them down in streams either.

Anyway I made it in to Bequia today Thursday and remembered that as tomorrow is good Friday everything will be shut so did my shopping for the Weekend.

The J24 race boats are here from all over the Caribbean, some with motherships and many are out for a final shakedown/tuneup/messup before the races. I saw two spinnaker wraps with much shouting and buck passing over who was to blame. Wish I had had my camera ready! But this pic from another day shows the sort of thing that happened.

PULLED IN TO BEQUIA ROUND THE DEVILS TABLE.

2011-04-21T14:10:00.001-07:00

BEQUIA BOUND ON WEDNESDAY

2011-04-19T09:50:00.000-07:00

I am off down to Bequia for the Easter regatta held over this coming weekend. Races for local boats, cruisers plus the growing J 24 fleet.

I will drop down to Marigot bay this afternoon then if I get a good run go all the way to Bequia on Wednesday, if not then stop in Wallilabou for the night. I don't mind stopping there now that the rude boat boys are now polite beach front service providers.

ST LUCIA and a major RANT

2011-04-17T05:29:00.002-07:00

First of all I wish that the Microsoft nerd that forced my lappie to update to IE9 have his garden infested with fire ants, his TV remote default to the weather channel and his car to develop a random misfire on every intersection.

Internet Explorer 9 produced some random failures across my entire system. I know I have a slightly weird set up but it has NO BUSINESS SCREWING UP MY JAVASCRIPT APPLETS. Amongs all the other problems I have been unable to post to the blog until I dismantled some of the forced setups. AND SPELCHEKER IS GORNE WILKABOUT.

ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH hours of wasted blundering about in the dark reaches of Windows Vista and IE9 setup.

The first time I have a week to mess with my system it is LINUX and CHROME for me.

Anyway I am in the lagoon in St Lucia after a gentle sail down from Martinique. So gentle that the bucket of water I collected in the rain in Marin was still 3/4 full when I arrived despite seeing some 7s on the way down.

The lagoon is being filled with IGY moorings, sometimes placed so close to existing moorings that they could not be used. A local says that the IGY contractors will just cut the existing established private moorings off when they finish the installation of the last 15. Ah well I really prefer to be outside in the bay except that it is so noisy on Friday and Saturday when Gros Islet cranks up the volume.

Spotted in Marin

I had seen this at anchor before and dismissed it as some kind of unseaworthy pirate ship wannabee but got to talking with people who knew the owner/builder/logger who had cut down the trees built the boat sailed it round the world THEN fitted an engine. They cross the Atlantic back to Europe most years.

RESPECT!

2011-04-17T05:29:00.001-07:00

testing

PIN BALL BOAT WIZARD

2011-04-07T13:28:00.000-07:00

The wind has continued to blow and the dragging has continued. This boat bounced off at least two others before coming to rest quite neatly alongside the Beneteau 38.

I was amazed to see that no one has been out to sort out the mess as it was at least 48 hours since the first movement of the power boat.

Still he had his fenders out so it might have been a pinball boat wizard and a piece of planned rafting up. Who knows?

Marin Martique

2011-04-06T14:05:00.000-07:00

I had had enough of rolling all night so I beat up to Marin checking on the quiet Club Med at the entrance but no volley ball acttion to be seen.

lala, the cruising Canadian family, is still were and Hendrik popped over to see what was going on and asked if he could borrow a gas bottle as the insular French refuse to refill US style gas bottles.

It has been windy on and off and there have been some dragging mostly power boats, perhaps if they used better than 2to1 scope it would help.

There is some labour trouble at the docks again! so the containers full of fresh food from France are not getting through to the supermarkets and some of the shelves are emptying. Just when I want to stock up too.

Oh yes this is what can happen when you clean a fish, recycling the guts etc to the ocean. The airborne pirates arrive!

Martinique Grand Anse D'Arlet

2011-04-01T17:46:00.000-07:00

Anchor is down in one of my favorite places in the world. Now you can even do the whole customs and immigration thing in a tiny bar by the dinghy dock.

I had a good sail down and was going so quickly that I bypassed my usual stop at St Pierre in favour of the Anse.

Mind you I was hoping that it would be less rolly than St Pierre and my last two nights where I was hanging on to the bed and listening to the dishes sliding back and forth. But whatever it is that is producing the big swell it is getting in here too!

Martinique bound tomorrow

2011-03-30T15:19:00.003-07:00

Fresh fish for dinner tonight as we had a strike on the way down to Roseau and off to Martinique tomorrow.

Martinique bound tomorrow

2011-03-30T15:19:00.001-07:00

Portsmouth and an unbelievable Only in America story

2011-03-25T16:48:00.000-07:00

I am having a few quiet days in Portsmouth harbor surrounded by an unusually high percentage of British flagged boats. Everything from this little wooden cruiser up to a 70 foot steel junk rigged schooner.

The town is quiet and everyone seems to be able to take their time to look out for each other even this hen was able to guard her brood in the middle of the main road.

Only in America

Hair-Raising Arrest:

Megan Mariah Barnes was driving her Ford Thunderbird in South Florida and rammed into another vehicle that had slowed to make a left turn. Police say that her license was under suspension because of a DUI conviction.

Florida Highway Patrol troopers say the two-vehicle crash Tuesday at Mile Marker 21 on Cudjoe Key was caused by the 37-year-old woman driver concentrating on her preparations for a date while her ex-husband took the wheel from the passenger seat.

“She said she was meeting her boyfriend in Key West and wanted to be ready for the visit,” Trooper Gary Dunick said. “

If I wasn’t there, I wouldn’t have believed it.

Oh yes what was she doing? She was shaving her bikini area. Could you make that up?

SUNSET IN DOMINICA

2011-03-22T17:08:00.000-07:00

Had a pleasant sail down to Dominica today after a bit of hassle yesterday when a charter cat managed to drag across my anchor and pick it up. it took an hour or so to sort it out. They had burnt out their electric anchor winch and were having to haul by hand. So I finished up using my winch to lift their anchor and chain.

Anyway down in Dominica with the boat tidied up as usual I timed my evening rum and coke with the sunset. Well someone has to check that the Lords of the Sunset are doing a good job.

Tonight was a bit special with the Lords digging deep into their bag of tricks and showing some unusual effects.

A glorious sunset, a small libation in hand, Springsteen on the stereo and a giant local avocado bought from one of the boat boys for dinner. Life is good!

OFF DOWN TO DOMINICA TODAY

2011-03-21T06:42:00.000-07:00

The trade winds are well North so I will take advantage of the angle and head South today down to Dominica.

I have to get going anyway if I want to make it down to Bequia in time for the Easter Regatta.

RED SAILS IN THE SUNSET and some other stuff.

2011-03-17T07:45:00.000-07:00

ROSA of FALMOUTHThe wooden boat I had seen in Deshaies came sailing in to the main Saintes harbour at sunset.

No engine was heard just the creak of old fashioned spars and rigging as they beat up wind in the evening breese to find a spot to anchor.

Just lovely to watch.

I had suspected a bit of French influence in her design and despite being registered out of Falmouth England it turns out she was originally built in Belgium as a fishing boat in the 30s. I had to ask of course, my 'satiable curiosity at work.

SAINTES CLASS BOATS

The local boy racers were polishing their steeds and preparing to race on Sunday. No souped up Evos here though. Some fifty years ago, every inhabitant of Les Saintes had his own fishing sail boat. On holidays, regattas and races were organized for fun in the splendid Saintes bay.

In 2000, the Comité Guadeloupéen de Voile Traditionnele (Guadeloupean Committee of Traditional Sailing) had been created to encourage building and racing such boats.

In 2005, the class of boats and the races have been made official by an affiliation to the French Sailing Organization.

Spécification as for the boat construction and the material used have been defined in order to be in conformity with the traditional shipbuilding:
Hull of natural wood with ribs, 5,35m max. length and 1,80m max. beam, keel max. 33cm and 5cm thick.
Mast of natural plain local wood, max. 7,25m, collars of creepers for the main sail, wooden cleats, pulleys without winch.
Sails (main sail and jib) without laths of cotton or woven polyester

It has been a successfull endeavour as todays racing shows, the boy racers out on the water doing their stuff and the greybeards sitting under the shade with beer in hand saying how their grandfathers would have beaten them all.

Mind you I wonder if the originals were as tricky to sail as the modern boats seem to be, lots of capsizes today in fairly benign conditions.

OH YES The b*******s towing out the buoys stopped off got me out of bed and said I had to move as I was on the start line. Haven't they heard of a Sunday lie in?

CONFIRMATION OF WHAT I HAD FEARED.
Tony Blair's famous EDUCATION EDUCATION EDUCATION drive was all smoke and mirrors.

Exam grades have been artificially inflated and billions of pounds in increased spending on education wasted, according to a damning international report.

Those relentlessly improving GCSE and A-level results have hidden a true picture of failure in UK schools.

It is REALLY GOOD to be retired and out of it.

TODAY'S ONLY IN AMERICA MOMENT

UTAH has a state gun!

Until this week, Utah had 24 state symbols, from tree (the blue spruce) to insect (the honeybee) to even cooking pot (the Dutch oven).

Now it's added an official state firearm -- the John M. Browning-designed M1911 pistol, becoming the first state in the nation to have one, according to the state legislator who sponsored the law.

HOW DID THEY GET THAT IN HERE?

2011-03-16T13:05:00.000-07:00

A bloody great cruise ship shoehorned itself into the Saintes anchorage this morning. Muzak and ferries all day. I don't believe it! [ as Victor Meldrum would have said.]If I had not wanted to do some wifi I would have gone around the corner to Cabrits.

The anchorage had been full of Russians too all on some race/jolly around the Caribbean on Landrover sponsored charter boats. I rescued a dinghy load who had run out of dinghy gas and were drifitng off into the sunset happily intoxicated but without a paddle. The pic shows them starting the leg down to Dominica and the other pic shows my reward.

Wooden boats, dolphins and ring of fire worries.

2011-03-13T11:52:00.000-07:00

It turns out topsail schooner I had spotted making full sail out of Antigua was built in Nevis. The skipper and crew were busy re - anchoring for the 5th or 6th time so were a bit 'busy' and I left them to it.

There is another inteesting boat at anchor nearby Rosa of Falmouth. I do not know her history but she looks a bit French to me based on the style of her transom but what do I know. I do know she is not a 'Nobby' though.

A pod of dolphins paid Deshaies a brief visit making a quick round of the harbour and skimming under Elphants Child before heading off. They are only the second pod I have seen in the last year.

Like everyone else I have been looking at the reports coming out of Japan with horror. The pictures of the tsunami washing large ships under bridges and carrying 100s of cars and buses along were just unbelievable. As was the clip of the photographer standing there as the water washed over his shoes then retreated as he stood capturing the moment. Bravery or foolishness I do not know, maybe he did not either. Looming over everything is the prospect of another Chernobyl or maybe two or even three Chernobyls.

I checked on our local volcanoes this morning. Montserrat is still venting as can be seen. This is the offical story.

4 to 11 March 2011
Activity at the Soufrière Hills Volcano has been low this week.

Nine rockfalls events and four Volcano Tectonic (VT) earthquakes were recorded this week.

The average sulphur dioxide measurement this week was 552 tons per day, with a maximum of 861 and a minimum of 370 tons per day.

Clear views of the dome this week revealed no major changes. Large steep, unstable and, in places, overhanging areas are present in several parts of the lava dome and pyroclastic flows remain likely, particularly to the north, west and east.

Despite the low level of activity, sporadic pyroclastic flows can and do occur without any warning. The Hazard Level is 3. There is no access to the terrestrial Zone C and only daytime transit access to shipping through the maritime extension of the zone.

Guadeloupe also has a volcano but it has been sleeping since 1976 and seems to be still quiet today.

I am having a lazy day, I do not know if it is still a bit of jet lag or I am still feeling the effects of the sking but I am feeling lazy. I need to look at the mainsail halyard winch [URGENT!] and think about testing the watermaker somehow [non urgent ] before refitting it. Captain Fatty Goodlander, it was I think who, said that cruising is just boat maintenance in exotic locations.

ANTIGUA TO GUADELOUPE

2011-03-11T18:03:00.000-08:00

Picked a nice day to sail fom Falmouth to Deshaies. The wind was a round 12 knots just aft of the beam and the swells around 5 feet.

A lot of other boats picked this day to move as well and the anchorages were busy at both ends.

I enjoyed watching an island built topsail schooner making full sail out of Antigua. The crew soon had all the rags flying.

I am heading down to the Bequia Easter Regatta, April 21 - 25 this year, but have no plans to race Elephants Child however I do have the offer of a crewing spot on a another cruising boat. I am not sure if I will take it up as watching with a been in hand from the Green Boley might be more my scene nwoadays.

BACK HOME

2011-03-08T16:05:00.000-08:00

It was good to see Elephants Child sitting peacefully behind Galatea in Falmouth harbour when I came over the crest of the hill.

Judd Tinius of Galatea had kept an eye on her while I was away and it was a pleasure to pass over to him the Japanese style pull saw [or nokogiri] that he had asked me to source for him in the USA.

But it was a greater pleasure to sit in the warm evening breeze with a rum in my hand and watch the sun set over Montserrat. The visibility was excellent and the volcanic activity in the forms of wisps of white smoke was clear as it rumbles away. Gisela and I visited the observatory and walked across some of ash flows and I am fingering a piece of pumice picked up from there as I write this.

ON THE WHITE STUFF AGAIN!

2011-03-05T20:07:00.000-08:00

A skiing bucket list trip

ARAPAHO BASIN
BEAVER CREEK
BRECKENRIDGE
LOVELAND
COPPER MOUNTAIN
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS
KEYSTONE
VAIL
WINTERPARK

9 Ski resorts
3 pairs of boots
$30 skis
One wonderful B & B in Silverthorne with great company and a HOT TUB!

I had a great time the last three weeks starting with some acclimatisation in Denver and a little bit of shopping, then starting at Winterpark I have skied my buns off for 19 days. I would ski a couple of days then take a day off then I was out again.

It was a sad day when my beloved Salomon SX 90s broke on me. I bought a new pair of 4 clip boots and PAIN PAIN PAIN so against the BOOT EXPURTS [ drips under pressure ] advice I went out looking for another pair of rear entry boots and found a pair in Denver offered that was my size. I wore them for the first time today and it was bliss after my painful boots.

I was at Vail today with 9 skiing Elvis impersonators, a spaceman and a bunch of tiggers in tiger suits and I closed down the mountain.

I was so tired I needed a restorative beer in a little piece of Disneyland.

Loveland

2011-03-02T16:15:00.000-08:00

Another beautiful day on the slopes and another tick on my list.

I was a Loveland today overlooking the I 70 as it exits the tunnel. This Ski Area first opened its slopes to skiers back in 1936 when a tow at what is now called Loveland Basin using a Model T car engine for power.

The pic is taken from the highest lift and starts off a 2 mile run down to the base. The pistes were empty and there were no queues at the lifts, just bliss!

I might ski here again but not the weekend as it is the closest resort to Denver.

BRECKENRIDGE again!

2011-02-28T19:14:00.000-08:00

Well there I was again driving up to Breckenridge, dodging the giant potholes and listening to the weather forecast. The sun was shining but it looked like it was blowing hard and I had heard the ski patrollers say that the higher runs were vulnerable to being closed with the wind.

I enjoyed the morning but by early afternoon the giant wind devils were dancing on the tops and their baby brothers were appearing on the slopes along with occasional whiteouts from blowing snow.

So the upper lifts were shut down as forecast and I was back down on the lower slopes.

Still the wide groomed [ pisted ] slopes were ideal for blasting down GS style with hard rock on the earphones.

Another good day on the white stuff

Skiing the "Boat"

2011-02-26T20:22:00.000-08:00

I drove over the continental divide at Rabbit Ears pass to Steamboat Springs AKA "The Boat" on a snowy day.

The skiing was good but the visibility was much poorer than my previous day at Beaver Creek where I was able to ski gently down some of the famous Birds of Prey downhill course in the sunshine.

My legs are protesting at dealing with skiing in the powder at Steamboat even though it was the famed champagne powder that the resorts on the western slope are famous for and I spent an hour in one of the local natural hot springs that night. So I will have a day off tomorrow and relax.

BEAVER CREEK and MARDI GRAS TREES

2011-02-24T19:50:00.000-08:00

Beaver Creek is one of the sort of places that have gates on the roads and the wealthy but frightened people pay for guards and valet parking and hot and cold running service.

Opened for 1980–81 ski season, Beaver Creek was a very costly state-of-the-art European style village. However, as most of the condominiums built remain empty during the ski season, as their owners do not need the income of renting them out there is not much going on off the slopes..

However the skiing was some of the best I have had so far and I will be going ack for another day along with Breckenridge.

BEADS AND BRAS IN THE TREES

I added to my collection of adorned trees and learned from a ski patroller I talked to over lunch that this strange habit is somehow derived from the New Orleans tradition where woman bare their boobs in return for plastic beads during Mari Gras.

He did not quite explain to me how this leads to people throwing beads and bras over trees close to ski lifts.

BRECKENRIDGE

2011-02-22T19:31:00.000-08:00

Rated by some as the best ski resort in North America I hit Breckenridge today.

I liked the parking sign on airport road.

After a few so so days weatherwise the sun came out although the wind was still blowing hard on the tops. As you can see from the snow devil blowing across the piste.

But it was really beautiful day in the mountains.

Breck as the locals call it has the highest chair lift in North America at 12,840 feet, servicing one of the steepest runs in the resort. Several inches of snow had fallen overnight which made for relatively easy skiing despite the steep nature of the piste and I enjoyed it so much I went back up and did it again.

I had been worried about skiing and staying at altitude as I have been at sea level for months but so far so good. In fact this is the best I have felt for some time.

I am staying in a great Bed and Breakfast which is a luxury home with a terrific view of the Rockies.

NEW BOOTS, NEW RESORT and NEW BUNKMATES

2011-02-20T19:47:00.000-08:00

Spent a day sorting out some boots, it was cheaper to buy than rent and to buy I had to find a seller who would let me hand carry the boots out of the store as my skis have bindings that they will no longer adjust. [ Nice racket to sell more kit ! ]

So it was off to Arapaho Ski Basin known as A Basin by the locals who ski there rather than the tonier places like Vail or Breckenridge. Simpler facilities and no ski hosts or people to carry your skis for you but the day was sunny, the snow good and I had a great day.

I liked the exterior bar made out of ice.

BUT THERE IS CRAZY SIDE TO ARAPAHO

Arapahoe Basin's infamous "Beach" scene cannot be replicated by any other ski resort in Colorado. The Early Riser parking lot is home to a stretch of prime real estate known as the "Beach." The Beach backs up to the three lower mountain chairlifts, snow and great skiable terrain.

Come Saturday and Sunday, it is home to birthday celebrations, events, employee parties and crazy costumes.

Due to its popularity, the Beach fills up fast! Availability for reservations start February 19, 2011. There are 10 spots total.

Starting February 19, 2011
Monday through Thursday $100 per spot
Fridays $150 per spot
Saturday and Sunday $175 per spot

DISASTER ON THE MOUNTAIN

2011-02-18T10:19:00.000-08:00

I lost old friends today. My Salomon SX 90 Equipes my old faithful ski boots finally gave up. I had had two really good days sking at Winter Park when on the last run down yesterday I felt something give on my right boot. Having already had some issues with the back clip I thought it was just that clip coming undone so I carried on down to the bottom but when I took my skis off I saw that the boot was broken.

Still I had a great days skiing in powder but the snow kept falling as you can see from the ice in my beard. No smiles though as I am in mourning for my boots!

I drove up to Summit and will be based at Silverthorne for the next few days while I ski Breckenridge Copper Keystone Arapaho and Steam Boat. But first of all I will have to find a pair of boots to buy or rent.

The pic is of the sunset from Winter park.

As promised I visited a MEDICAL CANNABIS CENTER. I can only show the outside of the shop as they would not let me take pics inside.

They had a doctor there on site with a list of things for which they can offer a prescription for legal marijuana. [ and the things to say that allowed him to offer it ]

Getting high again in Colorado

2011-02-13T20:37:00.000-08:00

Getting high in the Caribbean is easy if not legal. Everywhere you go you see mellow people rolling giants zoots and you come across marijuana plants pretty often. We saw some as we hiked around Indian Creek last week. However it is still illegal and the locals do get busted from time to time. As a result there is a popular song that gets a lot of plays about going to Amsterdam to the “smoke” shops to get a legal high.

Well I am here in Denver and I guess I am high at least 5000 feet and going to get higher as I drive up to the ski resorts. but it was a shock to find pages and pages of advertisements in local free papers for marijuana and how to obtain and grow it legally in Colorado.

Colorado removed state-level criminal penalties on the use, possession and cultivation of marijuana by patients who possess written documentation from their physician affirming that he or she suffers from a debilitating condition and advising that they “might benefit from the medical use of marijuana.” They can possess up to two ounces of a usable form of marijuana and they or their primary caregivers can legally possess no more than six marijuana plants, with three or fewer being mature flowering plants that are producing a usable form of marijuana.
So you really can get high in Colorado.

I guess John Denver new what was going to happen when he wrote “Rocky mountain high in Colorado.”

Stoners rule in Denver! Bob Marley would like it here!

They even have competitions to compare brands and award trophies.

I am off to do some on site research tomorrow.

2011-02-08T10:38:00.000-08:00

After some days in Indian Creek where we lazed about and Pelican watched we sailed down to Falmouth harbour and decided that we needed some shoreside exercise.

So we walked over to English harbour and took the water taxi to Gallion beach to make the climb up to Shirley heights. Wanting to make sure of our directions I asked the water taxi driver for directions. This proved to be an error as he sent us the wrong way.

Still we had a pleasant walk around some of the other fortifications and cactus.

During our wanderings we met other groups who had also been misdirected by the water taxi man.

This one reminds me of something rude but Gisela says I have a low sort of mind.

We found the route up and set off climbing on a steep path chopped out of the hillside by Desmond Nicholson although I suspect he might have been following indications of an earlier trail made by soldiers commuting to the Dockyard from Shirley Heights.

On the way up we saw some large airplants decorating the trees and bushes beside the trail.

Shirley Heights itself refers to the military complex, along the whole ridge just to the North of English harbour. It is named after Sir Thomas Shirley, Governor of the Leeward Islands, who strengthened Antigua’s defences in 1781. Britain had lost all her West Indian colonies (including North America) at this time except Antigua and Barbados. Much effort, therefore, was put into Antigua’s defences, mainly because of the island’s great sugar producing value and the important Dockyard.

We got there and found the advertised barbecue and steel band.

However the place was already overflowing with people and more were flooding in with minibuses queuing up to discharge their contingent of cruise ship Q tips, so we decided to walk back down on the road and look for somewhere quieter and less crowded. A friendly local retired policeman took pity on us and gave us a lift down, we must have looked a little footsore.

He made up for the bum steer we got from the water taxi captain.

A quiet dinner and we both were asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillow on Elephants Child.

INDIAN CREEK

2011-02-04T17:12:00.000-08:00

We moved to Indian Creek to get away from the party music that will boom out all Friday and Saturday night at Falmouth harbour.

After topping off our water tanks at the marina [- boy was I nervous as I manouvered around multi million dollar mega yachts! ] we headed out past the splendid copper stripe that marks the entrance to Falmouth.

We snuck in past the magnificent estate [$14million] owned by the rock icon Eric Clapton.

We parked ourselves in the inner pool which we have had to ourselves most of the time except for the pelicans and one white heron who fish around us all day.

The snorkeling has been excellent in the outer part of the harbour.

Mind you this barracuda did a quick 'drive by' checking us out.

Just a reminder that it is a fish eat fish world down here.

However best of all is the peace, perfect peace we enjoy at night. Serenity is a thing greater than money.

Back in Antigua again,

2011-02-01T15:51:00.000-08:00

We are tucked up in Falmouth harbour and enjoying some peace, quiet and a bug free environment.

The anchorage is not so busy but the marinas are full of mega yachts, most of which are available for charter.

The charter mega yachts are not seeing much business and some are even anchoring out to save the dockage.

However the Maltese Falcon, a stunning tall square rigger was on the dock. It has fifteen square sails stored inside the mast which unfurl into tracks along the yards. The masts rotate. It's weekly charter fee is between €325,000 to €335,000 per week plus expenses. Who pays for something like that?

We spent a fascinating afternoon looking at the history of the English Harbour dockyard. It was abandoned in 1889 after a 150 years of service to the British navy.

The Nelson exhibit in the dockyard covered his life including the time he spent in English Harbour which he did not like much, the locals wanted to arrest him because he enforced some unpopular legislation so he stayed on board and he was badly affected by mosquitos. We both could appreciate the last point as we got badly bitten when we transited the River Salee this time, Gisela suffering more than I.

Gisela was intrigued to find that some of the troops stationed in and around English Harbour were mercenaries from the area of Germany where she lives. A Ferdinand von Hompesch raised over a 1000 troops reputedly worth £24 each to him ! which then fought for the British Army in the Caribbean.

I was intrigued to find that in the very early days of chartering out of English Habour in fact some of the very first charters anywhere in the Caribbean were Philip Openheimer, the father of the atom bomb and C S Forester, author of the Hornblower novels. Names to conjure with!

RECENT WILDLIFE SIGHTINGS

The little herons are off to roost in the mangroves on the River Salee.

This fellow seemed to pose for us but was also keeping a wary eye out as he had already lost one tail!

This fine fellow Gisela spotted is about 5 inches long and is a Tetrio sphinx caterpillar. They love frangipani trees and can defoliate a tree in a few days or couple of weeks.

The caterpillar will eventually become a giant gray sphinx moth.

ANTIGUA

2011-01-31T17:24:00.000-08:00

We arrived safely in Antigua after another fast passage, averaging 7 knots from the pass out of Cul de Sac du Marin to the entrance to Falmouth harbour.