Hog Island, Grenada
12.00.050N
61.44.548W

We made our way out through the dinghy cut this morning and over to Mt. Hartman Bay to make our connection to the internet. It might be too soon to say but it appears that the low pressure system we’ve been keeping an eye on will pass us to the south. Still upon our return, Dale and I moved the boat up a little closer to the island and out of way of swells that might come into this anchorage.

This afternoon, Linda and I took their kayaks and paddled all around our anchorage and then through another cut over to Clarkes Court Bay. We passed 3 partially sunken Cuban cement work boats which had been given to the Grenadians. For some reason or other, the Grenadians didn’t quite know what to do with them, so they were left at anchor in the harbor until Hurricane Ivan blew them up into the mangroves. After we explored these a bit, we paddled over to say hi to Moon Goddess but no one was on board at the time. So, we paddled all the way back, up current and up wind. We definitely got a workout.

Later in the afternoon, Gary & Linda invited us to go snorkeling outside the reef, but with the wind and waves picking up, Dale and I held back. Gary told us later that we didn’t miss anything as the water was pretty cloudy.

This evening we all met up with Jeff & Sue on Raggy Chap, John & Debra on Sea Witch, and Len & Sue on Wind Dancer for a night of Julio on the Patio. Julio is a Spaniard who sailed to the Caribbean 20 years ago on a trimerand and never left. To this day, he lives on that trimerand. Although he is an extremely talented guitarist, he is also extraordinarily shy. On Friday nights, he plays guitar at the Whispering Cove Marina during dinner hours while Phillip & Shelly and their two young daughters, Melinda & Sandra, serve the most delicious meals. There were probably 30 people who showed up, including some medical students who came over from the college.

Dinner was served on candlelit tables set up under trees, open tents, or along patios where string lights danced among the small palm trees, bougainvilleas, and red sided haliconias. Small pots with candles were spaced around all of the walkways. Passion fruit vines wound their way through the trellises that formed the sides of the patios spilling their lacy white flowers overhead. A conch-o-nut tree was in one corner and several papaya trees circled from another. With live Spanish guitar music playing quietly in the background, and the bug spray only slightly more pungent than my perfume, it was a magical night.

Hog Island, Grenada
12.00.039N
61.44.580W

Today we woke with the news (they sometimes read the headlines on the cruisers net) that the Democrats have taken the majority in Congress and that Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has resigned. No details were given. Sounds like another internet run to catch up on what’s going on back home.

Right now we’re all rather cautiously watching a low pressure system to our east. We had decided to stay in Grenada to the weekend to allow the regatta taking place in Carriacou to dispense before we made our way in that direction. That low pressure system will be effecting the winds and waves between here and there over the same days. Needless to say, we’ll stay here until it passes and we fair weather sailors can mosey on up without undue drama.

Tonight’s social hour was on Rainbow Rider. John & Debra from Sea Witch and Jim & Sue from Raggy Chap were also in attendance. Debra noted that with all of us bringing horsdoeuvres, there’s never a need for dinner afterwards. We had turned off the lights to watch as a brightly lit space station (or some satellite) flew overhead. Unfortunately, it was at the same time a large working boat (or a really small freighter) decided to leave the harbor beyond us and came a little too close for comfort. Linda was scrambling around to turn the lights back on but wasn’t able to get to them before he passed only a few yards behind us. Our dinghies took the majority of the jostle but I’m sure the freighter was surprised to see how close we were when the lights did come back on. Never a dull moment.

Tomorrow, if the forecast holds true, we’ll probably move a little further up into the anchorage to give ourselves a bit more protection from the outside swells. If things really start to look interesting, we’ll throw out a second anchor, just in case.

Hog Island, Grenada
12.00.039N
61.44.580W

Dale hitched a ride with John into town today and was finally able to locate the part needed for the outboard. At first the Mercury dealer said that they didn’t have the part but when Dale started asking about whether there were salvage yards in the area, they found that they had and old engine themselves in the back and sold him the used part.

Upon his return he was able to finish putting the engine back together with no extra bits and pieces left over but he spent the better part of the day trying to start the dang thing. He definitely got his work out for the day. In the end, he gave up and called John and asked for his buddy’s number. To his credit, John waited about a half hour and then came over. One pull and the engine started. Apparently, it had been flooded (although I did see Dale empty the fuel filter a couple of times). They tinkered with it a bit longer, adjusting the idle before Dale did a couple of victory laps around the anchorage. He’s still not happy with the way its running but at least we have transportation now.

Since we were told almost 4 years ago that the engine was damaged from a water intrusion problem back then, I suspect that the end is in sight. It’s been extremely reliable and I am going to pick up some gas additive to help clean the innards some more; maybe it’ll help, it certainly can’t hurt.

We ended our day with the social hour on Sea Witch with John & Debra and Gary & Linda from Rainbow Rider. Again, we enjoyed everyone’s company and lots of stories were told.

Hog Island, Grenada
12.00.039N
61.44.580W

We’re still sitting inHog Island. The man with the part still hasn’t shown.

We caught a ride with Gary & Linda (Rainbow Rider) over to the next harbor to get our internet fix in the morning. Then, we spent the rest of the day waiting for the man with the part. I assumed my position in the hammock and Dale grabbed a book for himself.

This evening we invited Gary & Linda, as well as John & Debra over for cocktails and appetizers on our boat. We learned that Debra was an anchor woman in her previous life and John was a pilot. We all swapped stories, listened to Jimmy Buffett, and had a wonderful time.

John has offered to take Dale into town tomorrow to the Mercury dealer, so hopefully, they’ll have the part needed and we’ll be able to get around on our own soon. Truth is, I really don’t mind being stuck in paradise; then again, I haven’t really needed to go anywhere. As long as I have food and toilet paper, I’m good.

Hog Island, Grenada
12.00.039N
61.44.580W

Except for the fact that we confirmed Chardeaux arrived safely in Carriacou, this was a wasted day. Debra , John’s wife, set up a relay to Carriacou and confirmed that Chardeaux did, indeed, arrive. I feel better now.

On another front, John had told us that he knew of a local who most likely had the part we needed for our outboard. So I busied myself reading (an entire novel) in the hammock all day, still the man never showed. My tan is looking a little better, not that I’m actually trying. We’ll see what happens tomorrow.

Hog Island, Grenada
12.00.039N
61.44.580W

Well, today we moved from Prickly Bay to Hog Island. A man named John (Sea Witch) came by to say that I had done a nice job relaying information to Chardeaux. He had been one of those who had offered the name of a mechanic. I thanked him and asked if he had heard anything further about them. He had not. In fact, later at the Sunday night barbeque, I asked everyone who said that they knew them or had heard the exchange, whether anyone knew for certain that they had made their destination. No one had. In fact, I learned that Lorraine’s husband is legally blind. To be quite honest with you, I’m worried. I wanted to ask Mia but learned that he too, had left for points further north. I’m hoping that he joined them when they couldn’t make it in and went with them to Carriacou.

In the meantime, Gary commented that Dale had a good rapport with King Neptune in that we had been able to anchor on the first try in a spot where they had dragged only a short time before. I can now say that it’s due to the fact that Dale has made a habit (of late) of making generous offerings to the King.

When we were in Chacachacare, one of his fins went missing when he washed them off and laid them out to dry on the back transom. On our crossing from Trinidad to Grenada, the bow light bulb fell into the briny (although he swears he never touched the bulb itself) when he went to check on why it wasn’t working (even though we had confirmed that it was working before we left our slip). Today, he decided that since the outboard on the dinghy was starting to run rough, he’d clean and rebuild the carburetor. I’m sure you can see where this is going. When he dropped a nut into the casing of the outboard and it disappeared (no lie, we both checked everywhere and neither one of us heard anything drop), he was extra careful for the rest of the procedure. He was in the process of putting everything back together when a small plastic piece that the choke fits into decided that it was a superball and bounced high into the air and into the drink. You’d hope plastic would float. It doesn’t. Unless it’s garbage.

It’s been said that water is magnetic. You can work all summer on tiny bits and pieces while you’re on the hard and never drop a thing. But the second you try to make a repair after your boat is splashed, everything goes directly into the water and sinks.

Needless to say, he grabbed his head (why do people do that) and swore a blue streak. I was in the process of heading in his direction to offer assistance but decided I’d be better off staying as far away, and as quiet, as possible.

Later, we hitched a ride with Rainbow Rider to the barbeque where John, remember John, said that he knew of a local who was extremely good with Mercury engines and might actually have a replacement part. If not, there’s a Mercury representative in town. John and Debra have been here for the last 4 years making repairs to their boat which was damaged in Hurricane Ivan. In that amount of time, I guess you learn who the good mechanics are.

Instead of heading on up to Tobago Cays, we’ll be staying in Grenada for a while longer. It seems we waited for parts the last time we were here. Remember, cruising is fixing your boat in exotic places.

Prickly Bay, Grenada
11.59.991N
61.45.778W

Today’s agenda consisted of checking into Customs, finding a bank to withdraw EC’s (East Caribbean Dollars), tuck away our TT’s (Trinidad & Tobago Dollars), make a quick run to the grocery store so Gary could get his cookie fix, and then finish the day with a burger from Bananas, although Dale preferred lobster for his dinner.

Along the way, we noted some changes in Grenada since our last visit. The Coast Guard station had cleaned up their grounds considerably, ‘de Big Fish’ restaurant added a new drink bar in the middle of their restaurant and changed their décor, and the goats (lawn mowers) were tethered at this time of the year.

Other than that, our big excitement was via the radio. We heard Chardeaux trying to hail any boat in St. Georges’. We really don’t know the people on Chardeaux but Lorraine used to give the daily weather reports when we were in Trinidad and we were familiar with her voice. Mia tried to respond but apparently Chardeaux couldn’t hear them. Dale was in the back getting ready for us to leave the boat but encouraged me to act as relay for them. The next thing I know, I’m in the middle of a distress call trying to relay information from all of the anchorages on the south side of Grenada to Chardeaux.

You see, Chardeaux had lost their engine and wanted to alert those anchored in St. Georges’ to the fact that they would be coming in under sail and that those in the anchorage might need to assist or fend off when they approached. I relayed that information to Mia and back to Chardeaux that Mia was the outer most boat and would be keeping a lookout for them.

Then Chardeaux described that they had sheered off the bolts that hold the strut mount in place and that she had tied the shaft to the boat so that no further damage would occur. She asked if we could recommend a mechanic for her type of engine but that they specifically did not want to use a certain service. When I radioed that we were not familiar with the mechanics in Grenada, everyone and their brother wanted to break into our conversation and offer a suggestion, including the service that she had already said she did not want to use. However, no one thought to put their radios on high power and I continued to relay the information back and forth. An hour or so later, I signed off by getting the coordinates to her location and promised to answer if she should call later on as they got closer. As they were still almost 30 miles away, they wouldn’t be arriving for a few more hours.

A couple of hours later, Chardeaux radioed saying that the wind had died and that they were floundering. They weren’t in trouble, just that they weren’t going anywhere. She also asked that I confirm the depth of her present location as her chart plotter said one thing and her depth sounder indicated another. I suspected that since it was obvious that they wouldn’t make it in before night fall, she was starting to get nervous. Dale checked with our chart plotter and confirmed that she was in over 5000 feet and that the 10’ reading on her depth gauge was probably a big fish beneath them. (We’d had the same thing when we crossed and it can be really disconcerting.) She told us that she had started to prepare the anchor for deployment but that the pin holding the anchor in place was bent and that they were readying their secondary anchor to use when they finally did make it in. Mia was also listening and said that he could see their lights from his boat and that he would wait up for them until they arrived. Again, I made note of her position.

By 9pm, she sounded frustrated and said that although they had some wind, there was no way they were going to be able to make it to St. Georges’ and that they were going to continue north until they got to the next island. Once again, I made note of her position.

At 11pm, I tried to radio her for an update. She didn’t respond. Neither did anyone else. Since I know she’s made it past us and is heading farther north, I pray that she is simply out of radio contact. I’ll check around tomorrow, to see if anyone knows for certain where they are.

Atlantic Ocean between Trinidad and Grenada
11.07.207N
61.40.446W

We spent most of today preparing for a major crossing. We dug out our jacklines, harnesses and life jackets. We locked all of our cupboard doors, secured as best we could everything that doesn’t necessarily have a place. We took the outboard off the dinghy and put it in its cradle on the back arch and then hoisted and secured the dinghy. We unfurled the main sail just to make sure that it would, indeed, unfurl when needed. We checked our charts to confirm our heading with the various currents within the ocean and then tried to nap the remainder of the afternoon. Unfortunately, every time we would lay down, one or the other of us would remember something else and hop up and run do it. We never did get much rest.

At 3:00pm, as planned, we hoisted anchor and headed back the way we had come yesterday to Scotland Bay but today, continued on around through the Boca and out into the Ocean arriving about 4pm; perfect timing, we should arrive in Grenada at day break.

We had a 2 knot current squeezing us through the Boca and could see the waves where the current ran head long into the tides on the other side. In essence, we were being spit out into the ocean. What could have been an ugly couple of minutes were actually rather fun.

We had been counting on the standard 15-20kt trade winds out of the east but once we got out into the ocean, you guessed it!! The winds were directly on our nose. So we powered our way for the first couple of hours until we got out far enough to lose the land effects on the wind. Once the winds turned more to the east and filled in, we turned off the engine and tried to hoist the big white floppy things.

Remember I said that we had tested the main sail to make sure that it would indeed unfurl the way it was supposed to? Well, when we actually needed it, it jammed again. Dale had to climb up the mast to the boom and take one of my spatulas that we have dubbed the sail spatula, and coax it out. It only took a couple of minutes, but its not something we want to do after dark with the boat bobbing up and down. Once both the main and jib were unfurled we turned off the wind and raced the rest of the way to Grenada.

In fact, the conditions were about as perfect as you can get and still sail between the two islands. We had almost a full moon to the east of us. We could see some infrequent lightening to the west of us and all ships were far away from us with Rainbow Rider about a half mile behind us.

With all of these good things, what could possibly go wrong? Well, we arrived in Grenadian waters at 3:00 am and we usually don’t like going into a harbor after dark. The red and green buoys at the entrance to the harbor gave us something to aim for. However, just as the island comes abruptly out of the ocean, there is sometimes a current that runs parallel to it. Sure enough, there was a 2 knot current running directly across our path. The slower I tried to go in order to stall for sunlight, the farther west we were being taken away from our destination.

Dale heard me constantly tweaking the sails and finally gave up all thoughts of rest. We decided to just go for it before we lost the moonlight. I revved up the engine and powered through the current and into Prickly Bay via the chart plotter. Trust me, that was easier said than done. Dale grabbed our head sets and flood light and guided us in through all of the day buoys not already lit and any boat that was close to our path. Our angel is still firmly attached to our shoulders, as we were able to pick our way back into the bay to a protected spot where we dropped our anchor at 5 am and dropped ourselves into bed and blissful sleep moments later.

Rainbow Rider apparently held back until daylight and a couple of hours later anchored not too far from us.

Sanders Bay,
Chacachacare Island, TTWI
10.41.325N
61.44.791W

Well, you can certainly tell we’re away from the dock. We were in bed shortly after dinner last night and then rose with the sun this morning. Sweating buckets the entire time.

We listened to the net from Chagauramas more out of habit than anything else but were surprised when the TTPost Office radioed several boat names saying that they had packages being held for them. One was for Gypsy. Since we were the only boat in Charauramas with Gypsy in its name, Dale took off in the dinghy back the way we had come. Sure enough, the antenna was there but addressed to Gary (on Rainbow Rider) with a boat name of Gypsy. I’m surprised we ever got it.

We hoisted anchor as soon as he returned and made our way via the ‘southern route’ to Chacachacare Island. Some of the other cruisers had told us to where to anchor and advised us to dive the anchor to make sure that it was well dug in as the bottom was sand over marl which means a couple of inches of sand, coral and rock over cement. Essentially, pure weight holds you in place. We took their advice and found ourselves in a natural harbor surrounded by an island jungle. We anchored in front of a big sign stating “Chacachacare” which proved that we had arrived at the point we had set out for, I’m glad to see we haven’t lost our touch.

Chacachacare was a leper colony established by an order of nuns supposedly out of Trinidad (I noticed in the cemetery that most were born in France and Portugal) who, in the early 1980’s, simply closed its doors and left. Medical records, hospital beds, x-ray equipment, medicines, you name it, were left where they were last used. Even the nunnery and its attending buildings were walked away from. Since then, however, the jungle, termites, and graffiti artists have taken their toll. We were able to tell that at one time, this had been a beautiful area.

There had apparently been an entire village on the island with a road that boasted its own traffic light. Dale was pretty certain that he had found where the road had been, however, the jungle had reclaimed it. Only the stone bridges and steps from the water that led to various structures were still evident of any traffic.

We walked through old buildings that had been churches, a hospital, a pharmacy, a movie theater, probably nurses’ quarters and a couple of doctors’ homes on one side of the harbor. Then turned our attention to the nunnery on the other side of the harbor. We were surprised to see that someone was sort of taking care of this side. The growth had been cleared from the walkways, so the paths and buildings were in better shape with the jungle kept at bay. We followed the path to a well kept cemetery and read the headstones. The first nun had been buried there in 1872 and the last one had been buried in 1947. I assume that after that, the cure for leprosy was discovered and only those who were most afflicted remained until the doors closed.

We made our way back to the boat and at sundown, Dale blew the conch horn and wished Roger comfort from his treatments. He fired off the grill and threw a couple of tuna steaks on to cook while I made a salad.

During dinner, we listened to Russian speaking people on the radio chattering like magpies and so far, have been able to resist turning it off. Safety dictates that we leave it on throughout the night, so hopefully, they’ll tire of their constant chatter and we’ll be able to sleep. In the meantime, I’ve set my air horn, flood light and pepper spray near the door in case of trouble. This way I won’t need any of it. If I didn’t bring it all out, I might need it in a hurry.

Don’t worry guys, tomorrow night we’ll head to Grenada.

Scotland Bay, Trinidad
10.41.9N
61.40.1W

I find it interesting that the second part of our trip begins on the first of November as did the 1st leg of our trip. We checked out of customs and immigration and from sheer habit, went to see if the antenna that we have been waiting for the entire time we’ve been in Trinidad ever arrived; (it hadn’t) before heading to the duty free shop to purchase some rum for the trip back.

We said our goodbyes along the way and checked one last time on how the new owners (Debbie & Gary) of DocNoMore were doing. They had taken the boat out for a sea trial yesterday and had tried to drive it while the autopilot was engaged and ended up having the steering linkage mess up. They had called asking that we meet them and assist in getting them back into their dock. They were lucky in that they had a skilled captain on board who brought her back into the dock using the two engines and did a great job, we only gave a little push at the end to snug her up. They also mentioned that they couldn’t get a couple of other things running but since they were in working order before Roger & Elaine left, we can only assume that any problems are minor. We asked if they planned on keeping the DocNoMore name. Debbie said she didn’t know but gave me the distinct impression that they wouldn’t; which is fine with me. DocNoMore will always be Roger & Elaine in my mind.

I ran up to the marina office area where there is a restaurant and grabbed one last pizza for the road and almost made it back to the boat before the daily rain came and forced me to seek refuge in the cabana half way back. By the time I got back, Dale had disconnected our cir conditioning and cable TV umbilical cords and had singled up the lines, I had no time to mourn their loss. The only thing left for me to do was to shoehorn myself into a bathing suit and assume my position behind the wheel and wait for instructions to back the Palace out.

Needless to say, we slipped away from our dock and skirted our way through the anchorage without incident. We found our way out into the channel between the islands leading to the Boca, the main channel closest to Trinidad between the Atlantic and the Bay of Paria. Our destination to spend the night was Scotland Bay, a spot we picked about half way out of the Boca.

It was with somewhat mixed feelings that we left Chaguaramas. Of course, it took no time at all to adjust to air conditioning, water and electricity at the flip of a switch and eventually, we adapted to our surroundings and learned how to get around safely. Once we started touring the island, we actually enjoyed the sights Trinidad had to offer.

Surprisingly, after we disconnected, it only took a couple of hours to readjust to no air conditioning, making our own water and turning off electricity when we weren’t using it. We made our way as far up into Scotland Bay as we could without disturbing the other boats and dropped our anchor. It dragged the first time but set well on the second attempt. Rainbow Rider followed suit with their first attempt behind us and then ended up anchoring solidly further ahead of us. Moon Goddess stopped only for a couple of hours before they headed across to Grenada.

Dale commented that he had forgotten how quiet everything was at anchor.

After dinner, I spread out the charts to locate where Chacachacare, our next destination, was. Chacachacare is part of Trinidad but it is the out island closest to Venezuela. Even though other cruisers have told us about their stays there, I’m a little uneasy at being so close to the notorious “peninsula” where all of the modern day pirates roam. We’ll try our luck tomorrow and the first that you’ll hear of it will be after the fact when I upload our blogs, most likely in Grenada.

Chaguaramas, Trinidad
10.40.822N
61.37.899W

Jesse, our guide, and about 8 other drivers he recruited, picked up over a hundred of us cruisers to ferry us to a Hindu temple in Felicity, Trinidad, to witness the celebration of Divali, the Hindu New Year and the Festival of Light. This was like a cross between Christmas and the Fourth of July. It appeared that the whole town dressed in traditional Indian attire and deyas (clay lamps) were lighted at sun down to show the triumph of light over darkness. They reminded me of our luminaries on Christmas Eve except for the occasional bamboo rockets being set off throughout the evening.

We began by entering the temple gates to the music of drums and cymbals being played by only 3 people but loud enough to hear throughout the village. We removed our shoes before entering the temple itself and were captivated by the beautiful colors displayed in the artwork and statutes depicting their various deities.

The Pundit (the temple priest) described the five day festival as beginning on the date of the new moon with a thorough house cleaning and opening of windows to welcome Mother Laksmi, the goddess of light. Kali, the goddess of strength, is called upon so that laziness and evil can be abolished on the second day. The lighting of the deyas takes place on the third day (the last day of their lunar year). The fourth day is the first day of the New Year and a time for old business accounts to be settled and new books opened. This is also the day that participants are encouraged to removed anger, hate, and jealousy from their lives. Finally, there is Balipratipada, when the life of the ancient king Bali is celebrated and everyone is encouraged to look for the good in others, including their enemies.

We were also entertained by a young Indian dancer. Many of her moves reminded me of the South Pacific dancers. Some of her hand movements reminded me of the gentle hands of Hawaiian dancers and other dance steps more akin to the Tahitian dances. At the end of the program, we were encouraged to join in the dancing but I prefer to keep all of my belly dancing behind closed doors, it keeps the laughter to a minimum.

We ate a traditional Indian dinner with our fingers from giant leaves the size of placemats. We used something akin to shredded pie dough to pick up curried beans, plantains, mangos, coconut burfi (like dried cookie dough), and a few other things I didn’t recognize but certainly enjoyed the taste of.

After our dinner, we walked along the streets of the village enjoying the displays of deyas and the beautify saris the women wore and the traditional garb the men wore. We stopped and talked with a retired customs officer who explained the symbol his deyas were placed in. It represented the trinity of his religion. Again, it reminded me of how similar this was to ours.

We finished our tour of the village and returned to catch our bus back to the marina and made it back before Elaine arrived with her son-in-law, David. Roger was too ill from his chemo and radiation to travel.

Clearly this was a difficult task for her to undertake but she wanted no assistance from outside her immediate family and we abided by her wishes. Dale and Dennis were able to lend a hand by replacing all of the canvas that had been removed for the season and shuttled them and their belongings back and forth a couple of times but other than that, she preferred to work alone. Surprisingly, she was able to accomplish everything she had set out to do in the single day that she had allotted herself. She gave Dale some wine and her conch horn that she blew at sunset and me some rum and her Mexican Dominos that we had learned to play in Luperon.

Life has dealt our friends a terrible blow and in turn, anyone who knew them. The most frustrating part is knowing that there is nothing we can do or anything we can say, that will change what’s happened or ease their pain. I was glad to hear Elaine comment that she had been able to sleep the first night she was with us, attributing it to the rocking of the boat and being back home on the water. I wish we could provide the same comfort to Roger.

Jesse picked Elaine and David up at 4 am for their return trip to the airport. Once again, Jesse amazed us with his dedication; I don’t think the man ever sleeps.

Just when I thought the crime spree had ended, Tuesday we had another mugging of someone heading back from the bank. On Wednesday, a restaurant located a couple of hundred feet from the back of our boat and one we had planned on going to that evening, was robbed by 3 men brandishing machetes and hand guns. We had changed our minds about going because we were running late from all of our shopping. The thieves approached the owner just before closing and robbed him of the nights’ proceeds. They were apparently surprised to find so many customers still in attendance but then quickly relieved them of their cash and credit cards and fired off a couple of rounds just to make their point. No one was injured seriously; a few cuts from the machetes. Again, it took a couple of hours before the local police showed up. The hired security never saw them or heard the gun shots.

We finished our week with preparations for leaving on the 1st of November. I’ve overstocked again and am in the process of precooking several meals for those days when we pull into an anchorage late; I’ll save the laundry until the very last day to make sure we’re as fresh as possible. Dale is running through all of the systems to make sure they are in working order, as well as coordinating a few last minute details for the transfer of DocNoMore to the new owners.
So once again, we’ll take off on a new adventure next week. Hopefully, we’ll meet up with Gerry & Nicky in December and there will be wonderful things to write about.

Chaguaramas, Trinidad
10.40.822N
61.37.899W

Happy Birthday to my sister, Carolyn!

Our trip to Asa Wright Park this week was wonderful, especially since neither Dale nor I could be considered ‘real’ bird watchers.

Jesse James, our local entrepreneur/guardian angel picked us up along with 4 other couples. Jesse caters his business to the cruising community and has a huge network of family and friends that he can call upon to expand his business to fit the need. He’s the first one to call if you need anything or want to go somewhere. He’s also the first to offer help when he learns of a misfortune to befall you. He’s ferried people back and forth to hospitals and doctor appointments when illness or accidents happened and usually knows who to call if you need some specific item that can’t be found in the area. He has a wealth of knowledge and has quite possibly the most even keeled personality I have ever encountered.

We began our journey up through the rain forest with a stop at a corner vendor for “doubles,” aloo pie, and kitachorie, some of the local East Indian fast food. Doubles are two small pieces of fried bread with curried split peas between. Aloo pie is a type of potato pie and kitachorie is like a hush puppy made with split peas. Dale and I liked the doubles and aloo pie best with just a touch of hot sauce.

We wound our way up the mountains through the rainforest while Jesse quizzed those of us who had been on his previous tours regarding the names of the local flowers. There was, of course, Christophene, the Trinidad National Flower named after the first governor, which appears to be a brilliant red from a distance but upon closer inspection is a tiny yellow flower surrounded by red brackets. There were the various types of haliconia like the red and yellow lobster claws and the small orange flowers that look like tiny birds of paradise but there was also flowers called “sexy pinks” which are becoming more and more scarce. These look like upside down pink, white and green lobster claws. I thought they were beautiful. One of the first plants pointed out to us when we arrived was a rare 'psychopsis papilio' orchid.

The Asa Wright preserve itself is an old coffee, cocoa, citrus plantation of about 200 hundred acres. We were lucky enough to be given a room in the original house which was built in 1907 and had 20’ ceilings. The house itself wasn’t as grand as some others we have seen but none compared with the view the veranda of this one had to offer. The house is located at an elevation of 1200 feet with the veranda overlooking the Arima Valley. You could, and we did, spend hours there, both at dusk and dawn watching the birds come to feed in their gardens and feeders placed just below.

They offered tea at 4pm, cocktails at 6pm, dinner at 7pm and a nature walk at 8pm. During the afternoon, we toured some of the trails surrounding the mainhouse and found a waterfall nearby. We ended up skipping the tea but sampled their rum punch in celebration of our 26th wedding anniversary before being ringed in to dinner. The nature walk later was directed more toward the insects, including a giant roach and praying mantis, but we ended up stalking a couple of pigmy owls by the end of the evening.

The next morning we rose early in hopes of seeing a toucan. One appeared but was so far away, you needed binoculars to get a good look, otherwise we were thoroughly entertained by the hummingbirds, banana quits, honeycreepers, orioles, blue-gray tanagers and crested oropendolas (which looked like crows with bright yellow tail feathers.)

We were ringed in to breakfast and soon after were off on another nature hike. This time we tracked bearded bellbirds, chestnut woodpeckers and looked deep into caverns for the noisy oilbird. We never saw them but definitely heard them.

We were able to shower and spend another couple of hours on the veranda before Jesse returned to pick us up.

When we got back to our boat, we were met by Dennis and Alayne (Audry Page) with news that Roger & Elaine had an offer on DocNoMore and that Elaine and her son-in-law would be arriving late Saturday night to remove all of their personal belongings before leaving early on Monday morning; she wanted to be in, out and gone before anyone knew. Unfortunately, the cruising community is small and people already knew of her arrival before we even stepped onto our boat and turned on the computer to read the e-mail. Oh well.

We’re scheduled to attend the Festival of Light in celebration of Divali, the Hindu New Year, on Saturday so we’ve left our keys with Dennis in case Elaine gets here before we get back. It will be good to see her again but I wish it were under different circumstances. Elaine & Roger touched our lives by having shared adventures with us, traveling to places we’ve never been before, exploring meandering creeks though desert islands, hiking to the highest forts in the Caribbean, jumping off waterfalls into chilly ponds below, defending ourselves against mighty bulls blocking our paths, and discovering all of this together for the first time. Christopher Columbus has nothing on us.

Chaguaramas, Trinidad
10.40.822N
61.37.899W

Well, I guess it has been a long time, so let me see if I can bring everyone up to date.

For the most part, we’ve just been killing time. Every other Tuesday we go to the movies. Every other Friday we go to the ‘Shark and Bake’ (I’ve been eating fried shark sandwiches, Mom). Every other Sunday, we head across the channel for the Sunday brunch and of course, every other Wednesday, there’s laundry and occasionally, there’s rib night at the Wheel House.

I started swimming every day working up to 50 laps a day until the dock master at the marina where I was swimming said that it didn’t matter whether or not I was Carol’s (Take Time) guest, I couldn’t use the pool. So I signed up at a local gym and pedal my old decrepit bones up the hill a mile and a half away to go just about every day. Linda (Rainbow Rider) goes with me quite a bit. When she can’t, Dale forgoes his daily jog and rides the bicycle with me.

Otherwise, Dale's kept busy fixing things. He replaced the circuit board in the genset we ordered several months ago. Replaced the alternator on the engine (we had a spare). Replaced the shower sump pump. Added a new solar panel regulator. Cleaned the dinghy engine. Replaced circuit board in the air conditioner. Cleaned all the through hulls. Pulled plastic bags from our water intakes on a fairly regular basis (I have to disinfect him when he comes out of the water-no pump out stations around here). Washed the boat a few times. Ordered a new WiFi antenna - hopefully soon to arrive so that I can find better internet connections along the way. And we bought a new dinghy. The old one just wouldn‘t hold air for any length of time.

I’ve been sewing and giving sewing advice. I made a couple of kayak sacks for Linda’s kayaks, replaced our back awning, and made a cover for our life raft, as well as showing our neighbor how to make jerry can covers. Word has gotten out, so Linda and Dale are trying to protect me from the onslaught of those wanting to put me to work, which is strictly forbidden without the proper visa.

One exciting thing, a week or so ago, we did have a couple of earthquakes. Both were in the 5 point range (5.6 and 5.4). Dale was riding with me to the gym during the first one, which neither of us felt, bumpy roads and all. The second one came when we were getting some papers off DocNoMore; shades of California. I guess the people here aren’t used to them, which was surprising to us considering the volcanic activity along the island chain.

What truly shook us to the core was the news that Roger on DocNoMore has pancreatic cancer and would not be returning to finish cruising with us. If you’ve followed this blog for any time, you know that we’ve been sailing with them since November of 2005 and have become quite close to both Roger and Elaine. We were looking forward to them returning and comparing Dale’s ponytail with Roger’s and continuing our adventures with them. Now, we say our prayers for them and do what we can in making their transition back to shore life as easy as possible.

When last I wrote, we were in the mist of a crime epidemic. I’m happy to report that our neighborhood watch has paid off and only 2 dinghies have been stolen since its inception; the second just today. I suspect that with time, complacency is starting to set in or newcomers aren't locking their dinghies religiously. Dale and I keep ours locked at all times and hoisted and locked if we don’t anticipate using it. I haven’t heard of any more muggings/robberies targeting cruisers but then, people are encouraged to travel in groups.

Last week, Dale & I, together with 4 other couples, signed up for a hike in the mountains up to the Rincon Waterfall. I’m glad I’d been working out in the gym because I don’t think I would have made it any other way. It was advertised as being a moderately difficult hike. This was very true; it was not easy but it wasn’t extremely difficult either. Roger and Elaine would have been in their element. At the highest point, it did require ropes to descend into the pool at the bottom of the falls and then to pull ourselves back out again. I managed to slip and rip a few layers of skin off my hand catching myself on the rope; should have worn gloves, I guess.

Our guide, "Snake" pictured with his pet boa.

Along the trail, a fleur de lance snake was seen, caught and milked for its venom. The venom was then licked off the knife to demonstrate that it was only poisonous if injected into the bloodstream. I sincerely hoped that our guide did not stumble and accidentally bite his tongue. We also saw various spiders and poisonous fruit that I would have sworn were as edible as the real thing. Other vines, berries and fruits were pointed out to be excellent sources of food, tea or spice. I told Dale that I hoped we never got deserted on an island where we had to fend for ourselves because I’d be hard pressed to figure out what was edible and what wasn’t.

The large, neon blue Empress Butterflies were a delight to see in their natural habitat along the hillsides of the rainforest by the waterfalls. It added a bit of enchantment to an otherwise challenging experience.

We’ve noticed that cruisers who went home for hurricane season are starting to return and splash their boats back into the water after being stored “on the hard“ all of this time. We too are in the process of getting ready to head back north to meet Jerry & Nicki, our very dear friends from home who on their way back to their original home in Australia. We’re stocking up on food and toilet paper again as well as making sure that all of the systems are up to snuff. We anticipate unplugging from the marina the first of November and stopping at some of the anchorages nearby before making our cross over to Grenada. We’ll go north until we meet them or as far as Puerto Rico, and then sail south again possibly accompanying them all the way to Panama and returning via the western route to south Florida, eventually returning to Jacksonville by July. The route will depend upon what our insurance company will allow. Our plans are firmly written in warm jello, so we’ll let you know what we do, when we do it.

Until that time, next week, we’re joining a few other couples for an over night trip to the Asa Wright park. It’s supposed to be a botanical garden/bird sanctuary type of park. Pictures will follow when we return.

So dear readers, we have not fallen off the face of the earth as many have suspected but are sitting around catching up on our favorite TV shows, movies and thoroughly enjoying the air conditioning, cable TV and laundromats while we have them.

08/14-20/2006
Chaguaramas, Trinidad
10.40.822N
61.37.899W

Happy Birthday to our daughter, Michelle and my sister Pam!!!

Well, the luck for our anchorage wore out. In the wee hours of Thursday morning, a new boat to the anchorage (Vespa) was boarded, attacked and robbed.

Six young people had just returned from the airport when a fishing boat with 3 men approached them as they sat in their cockpit catching up with their friends. The description of the thieves (except for the different dinghy) appeared to be the same as the previous armed robbery in the next harbor over. They were robbed of radios, cameras, computers, cash and credit cards. A couple of the men were hit with the handles of the guns and machetes and their dinghy was slashed dropping their engine into the water.

They radioed a mayday over the radio as soon as the thieves left. Dale and I both heard it and were scrambling for clothes when we heard that the thieves appeared to be heading towards the fishing village, which is just past us. Our slip is directly across from the customs dock in the area which naturally narrows before you enter the fishing village.

I grabbed the flashlight and ran topside ready to catch the bad guys as they entered their lair but suddenly realized that I made myself a target to thieves who were reportedly carrying guns and knives. I suddenly understood why people stand by when crime is being perpetrated right under their noses. What was I going to do if I did see them? Shine my light on them? So I sat, watched and listened to the updated information coming across the radio. No boat ever approached from the direction of the anchorage; however, 5-6 boats did leave from the fishing village; none fit the description of the thieves’ boat. I still don’t know what I would have done if I had seen them, I feel like such a wimp.

Of course, by daylight the radio was buzzing. The biggest concern being that it took a couple hours for the Coast Guard to respond. It was even considered that it wasn’t the “real” Coast Guard who responded to the radio call and directed the victims to another radio channel. Whoever answered the call wasn’t as professional as the ones who responded to the previous robbery the next harbor over. Was it just a coincidence that the Coast Guard showed up 10 minutes after a telephone call was placed?

At this point, a lot of us feel trapped. If you have insurance, you are required to be outside the “hurricane box”. That means, here, Venezuela (which is worse), or further south or west which doesn’t have the marine support most cruisers are looking for. Dale and I have decided that if things don’t resolve themselves soon, we’ll head back to Grenada and take our chances that a hurricane doesn’t head in that direction again and force us to take to the sea heading south.
Another problem was that people tend to turn off their radios when they go to bed. So, we’ve all decided to sound our air horns in addition to radioing a distress call. I’ve put our air horn right next to our floodlight so next time, hopefully, I’ll be braver and shine my light and sound my horn if I really do see a bad guy. If nothing else, I’ll wake up everyone on our slip and get everyone shot at!

Also, we’ve finally been able to get the local American Embassy to at listen to us. A meeting has been set up for Thursday of next week.

08/07-13/2006
Chaguaramas, Trinidad
10.40.822N
61.37.899W

The big topic this week has been the speeding fishing boats. Rainbow Rider caught a flight out Friday morning and by 5pm that evening, the boat that had taken their mooring ball, Odyssey, had been struck by a speeding fishing boat.

The family of 4 had just returned to their boat when a fishing boat (who claimed problems with a stuck throttle) slammed into their dinghy throwing the father out. The mother had already climbed out onto the main boat and was in the process of transferring the children from the dinghy to the boat when it was struck. Thankfully, no one was injured but needless to say, the mother and children were hysterical when the father didn’t bounce back right away. (He intelligently stayed below the waterline until the props were cut.)

There was some damage to the swim platform on Odyssey and a police report was filed. However, the owner of the fishing boat, who wasn't the driver, didn’t appear to be concerned and claimed that she had no insurance and no money to compensate the family (according to the father who reported the follow-up the on the next morning net.)

On a happier note, we went to town and saw the movie, The Devil wears Prada and had dinner at a Ruby Tuesday. We’re still very concerned about security, so (don’t worry Mom) we took a marina taxi instead of a regular one; more expensive but definitely more secure.

08/01 - 06/2006
Chaguaramas, Trinidad
10.40.822N
61.37.899W

Nothing much new to tell you about.

Linda and I swim laps every morning, or as many mornings as we can. She and Gary are returning to California for a few weeks and are putting Rainbow Rider on the hard. We helped them take down their sails one morning. They have been kind enough to offer to take with them mail and lists from various boats for items to bring back. Ours was among them. Dale needed more twizzlers.

Our little neighborhood dinghy watch appears to be working. Unfortunately for the next harbor down, the thieves have moved on to their area as there was an armed robbery of a boat in their anchorage. The boat owner reported on the morning radio net that three men, who appeared to be locals, brandished small hand guns when they boarded their boat. Luckily, they were able to fend them off with “knives and clubs”. The organizer of our neighborhood watch said that he would let them know how we were doing ours. Hopefully, this will work.

07/24 - 31/2006
Chaguaramas, Trinidad
10.40.822N
61.37.899W

There were more security concerns this week, Wayne & Carol on Take Time were boarded. They are at Crews Inn, the largest, certainly the most expensive, and one of the most “secure” marinas here. Carol heard the intruder rattling their door in the wee hours of the morning and woke Wayne, who ran naked to the door and scared the guy away. (We keep telling Wayne that it was the sight of him running naked that scared him away). Wayne said that the security people were able to apprehend the man but then let him go! Wayne also observed that the guards looked terrified of him. He didn’t have any identification and they didn’t bother to get his name. Later the marina manager apologized to them for their scare and for the fact that this was apparently the second time the same guy was seen on a boat that didn’t belong to him. His explanation was that he’s on the wrong boat. The belief is that the man is homeless and sleeps on boats that are uninhabited. Still, with all of the thefts occurring and the fact that there are a couple of “cowboys” itching for a fight, no one is safe.

There was also a theft from a boat “on the hard” at our marina. That one appeared to be an “inside job” since tools in a locked cupboard were specifically targeted.

We’re all being very careful. Except for Dale jogging in the morning or Wayne riding his motorcycle into town, even the men are going places in pairs. Needless to say, after Wayne & Carol’s scare, we’re all popping up from time to time to flash our lights around. Finally, that 3:00am potty run is useful for something other than relief.

Also this week, we joined the crews of Sea Bird, Take Time, Wasabe, and Jade Explorer for a trip into town to a Japanese restaurant; sushi again. We arranged to be dropped off at the restaurant by the shuttle from the marina (due to last week’s bus scare) and to be picked up 2 hours later; we barely made it. It was a rather small restaurant and I think our large crowd overwhelmed the chef as it took forever to get our dinners.

Don off Jade Explorer, educated us with his newly acquired, yet vast knowledge of marine engineering forensics. His 50 ton, 47’ Nordhaven was dropped 31” when the buckle on one of the straps of the boat lift broke. Luckily, no one was seriously injured. Furthermore, glass boats don’t do well when dropped. Luckily, the yard admitted liability and is apparently doing everything in its power to repair the boat. All of the tests completed thus far indicate that it probably needs a new hull in addition to repair of all of the interior damage. At what point do you write it off a year old boat? Even if all of the damage can be repaired, his boat will always have a history of being severely damaged and most likely will never be sold for its true value of over a million dollars.

07/17-23/2006
Chaguaramas, Trinidad
10.40.822N
61.37.899W

Happy Birthday Veronica!!

Rainbow Rider finally made it! You may recall that we’ve been expecting them to catch up to us since we left Jacksonville. We’ve been introducing them to our boat buddies and they have made a great addition to our little group.

Since we anticipate being here for a couple of months, we’ve settled into a bit of a routine. Dale has returned to jogging in the morning. Linda and I walk over to Crews Inn around the end of the harbor but located directly across from us in the channel to swim laps in their pool, then we return to our own boats for our various projects or goofing off.

To spice things up a bit, there is a local entrepreneur who offers shuttles into town to the larger grocery stores, malls, movie theater, open market or wherever you might like to go (price depending upon how many people want to go with you - the more - the cheaper). Sunday is Mexican Dominos at Crew Inn and potluck night at Coral Cove. Tuesday is the shuttle to the movies, Wednesday is Price Smart day (like Sam’s or Cosco), Friday is the larger supermarket and Saturday is open market day.

This week we went to the open market. Fresh fish, meat and poultry (as in butchered, plucked or filleted in front of you) and rows and rows of stalls selling fruits and vegetables.

We also went to see the second Pirates of the Caribbean movie. It was great fun to nudge each other saying “we’ve been there, we saw that!” Of course, a lot of the movie was shot on location at St. Vincent, an island we avoided for safety reasons. We met some other cruisers who were boarded there but luckily were able to send the thieves running. We figured the movie crews must have had their own security force.

Speaking of security force, we’ve set up a sort of neighbor hood watch organization here. It has gotten to the point where we have at least one theft per night lately. Usually it’s dinghies, engines or something in the cockpit not locked up that get stolen and generally from boats out in the mooring fields but there have been two separate robberies of people walking along the road and a robbery at gunpoint of the driver and passengers (all but one were cruisers) on a bus that has the marina route. One cruiser on the bus had just gone to the ATM and the pocket in which he placed his money was ripped from his pants. Clearly, he had been watched.

Because of the thefts and robberies, a very well attended meeting was organized at one of the local restaurants to discuss the situation. That’s where some “cowboys” surfaced. Everyone is concerned and wants to do their part but most of us prefer the less radical method of protecting ourselves. The most interesting aspect of the situation is that of jurisdiction. If the theft occurs on land, it’s a police problem; if the theft occurs on water, it’s a coast guard problem; the Chaguaramas area itself seems to pose a dilemma and has its own organization to report to. Our biggest problem was that no one was responding!

The meeting ended with a consensus that those in the mooring fields would divide up the days into segments among themselves, taking turns shining their million watt floodlights periodically around the field checking for intruders from their own boats and hail the coast guard on channel 16 if something is found amiss. Hopefully, this will at least dampen the interest or resolve the situation if the thief or thieves can be apprehended.

In the meantime, we’ve all be encouraged to raise our dinks high, and lock them to the boat. I made a mental note to update our insurance and registration to include the new dinghy which at this point, as no markings whatsoever to designate who it belongs to.

On a happier note, we finished our week with sushi on Take Time. Brian on Wasabe, used to own a shushi bar in California and prepared our meal in Carol & Wayne’s large galley. We reaped the benefits together with the crews from Sea Bird, Rainbow Rider, Take Time, and Wasabe. Although I took a steak, I did scarf up a few of the seaweed wrapped rice pieces in addition to it. The thought of raw fish just doesn’t sit well with me but the taste was pretty good and the seaweed salad was delicious. I’m slow, but I’m learning.

07/10-16/2006
Chaguaramas, Trinidad
10.40.822N
61.37.899W

We were in luck when it came to our turtle tour. We got to see 5 different turtles!

Carol & Wayne (Take Time), Jim & Freddie (Chez Freddie), Brian, Lisa & Suzanne (Wasabe) took the long bus ride to the far side of the island for the event. We viewed a film about the leatherneck turtles describing the threatened extinction particularly the problem of so many returning females becoming tangled in fishing nets and drowning. Trinidad is making a valiant effort to educate their population regarding the plight of the leathernecks and is definitely making progress with the next generations by providing education in the primary schools.

As we approached the beach, one monstrous sized leatherneck turtle had just finished covering her nest and was on her way back to the sea. A few more yards down the beach, another had just finished digging her nest and we were present when she laid her cache of rubbery eggs. Although we were disappointed that the forestry guide would not allow us to photograph the turtles, we were able to touch her shell, head and flippers while she was in her trance-like state during the egg laying portion.

During our time on the beach, three more turtles lumbered ashore to start the arduous process of digging their 3’ deep nest. One changed her mind twice; she would struggle out of the surf and up the beach then turn around and head back out again. Twice she made the trek before she returned to the surf for good.

On our way back to the bus, we were allowed to touch and photograph the little turtles that had emerged from their nests earlier in the day.

It was quite the experience of sights and smells.

For the rest of the week, Dale tried to repair a slow leak in our dinghy while I re-stitched the chaps where the seams had separated with our scraping against less than perfect dinghy docks. He used the soapy water method of locating the leak and then we hoisted it up to stand it on its nose to get the liquid sealer to the leak area. I had to make a quick side step when the brass shackle broke and the whole thing came crashing down. No harm was done and after a day of being inflated, we thought the leak had been repaired. However, the first time we used it visiting Carol & Wayne across the channel, we returned to find it completely flat. Not just a little flat, but totally flat. I was surprised that the hard bottom had enough buoyancy to keep the motor afloat. In fact, we carefully stepped onto what was left and slowly motored home. As you can see from the photo, I was more than a little concerned that one of the go fast boats zinging through the channel would swamp us. We were in luck and none appeared.

When we returned and took off the chaps, we found that one of the pontoon seams had come completely unglued. We knew that it could be repaired but Dale felt that since one seam failed, it was a matter of time before the rest would fail and it would be better to get a new one here where they are available rather than be caught some place where we wouldn’t be able to replace it. Once again, my budget is obliterated. Our new dinghy should be here by the end of the week. Of course, the chaps I made for our original dinghy won’t fit the new one, so we’ll splurge and have a pair made here (with leather chafe guards).

NOTE to GG & Nicky: Put leather on the bow and along the rub rail of your dinghy chaps if you can.

07/3-9/2006
Chaguaramas, Trinidad
10.40.822N
61.37.899W

Happy Birthday Robbie!!

This week we walked around getting the lay of the land and visited with our new neighbors. Our marina has a laundromat and a small supermarket is just a short dinghy ride across the channel. We checked the dry storage nearby to make sure that DocNoMore, Foreclosure and Exit Strategy were looking well cared for and that the air conditioning units were dripping indicating that mildew was being held at bay.

We discovered that Trinidad is now in its rainy season which lasts approximately 6 months and we arrived just in time for this year‘s season! It rains just about every day and we’ve been promised that this is just the beginning. So when it rains. . . we play Mexican Dominos with Wayne & Carol who are across the channel in Crews Inn.

On Tuesday, we joined Wayne & Carol on Take Time when they invited a few of us over for a barbeque of hamburgers and hotdogs with homemade buns. They were disappointed on Friday when the turtle tour they went on failed to be the night when the leatherneck turtles laid their eggs on the beach.

We’ve signed up for the turtle tour for next week. It’s a 3 hour drive to the northeast side of the island where the turtles lay their eggs, so we’ve chosen the tour with the larger, more comfortable bus.

One bit of drama this week, Dale and I dined at one of the local restaurants where I ordered the chicken Lorraine. Unfortunately, the spinach came with more protein than I wanted in the form of a beetle. Thank heavens it was a whole bug and not just part.