LIFE: Part 2

Current Location: Guana Island, British Virgin Islands
Current Position: 18 28.41 N 064 34.61 W Click to view map.
Distance sailed since last post: 421 nautical miles. View the map of our voyage track here

It is time for s/y Ventus to have new rigging. So our friend Nick asked me if, starting from stainless rigging, I would still recommend the switch to Dyneema Dux (Dux is a heat treated dyneema that increases its strength).

That is not a simple question, so it deserves a considered response. Here are my thoughts:

The Good

Back in 2011 our stainless rigging was 10 years old. So it was time to replace it, and we decided we would do just that when we made it across the Atlantic to Gibraltar where we could import stuff tax free. Before we did the crossing, we checked all the rigging and everything looked good.

When we got to the other side, we were shocked to find that two of the fittings holding up the shrouds had died. One was for a shroud, the other for the forestay. When I say ‘died’ I mean that they had a big crack in them that had actually separated such that the shroud/forestay was about to fall down.

That is pretty scary and, for us cruisers, is probably the main argument in favour of Dyneema. The problem with stainless steel is that it can develop crevice corrosion .This most often occurs in places where there is stagnant water and little oxygen. In other words in places where you cannot see it. Like your chain plate bolts. And one also gets stress corrosion cracking when the metal is subjected to stress and sea water. Such as the rigging fittings. In fact, it appears that our friend, 316 stainless steel, is actually one of the worst alloys for stress corrosion cracking. Both of these mean that generally you have no idea that it is happening until the item fails with a big bang and something falls down or off. Not good. It can happen on your end fittings, especially swages. And it can happen inside your steel rope, even while the outside continues to look bright and shiny.

Dyneema does not have that problem. It IS affected by UV light which makes it all go fluffy and, over the space of about 8 years will cause it to lose about 50% of its strength. But since when you put it up it is about three times as strong as the steel wire you are replacing, that is not a huge concern.

Dyneema is also very light. In fact it floats, much like polypropylene does. When we switched from steel to dyneema in 2011 we lost about 150lbs of weight from the boat. This year, eliminating the stainless fittings lost us even more.

It is soft and easy on the hands when grabbing a shroud as you walk by. It is easy to splice (and re-splice). It has high abrasion resistance and is actually very hard to cut with a knife. When I do the splices I use a wire cutter to cut the strands. It can also be cut with a heat knife fairly easily.

It is an electrical insulator – which may (or may not) affect your strategy for mitigating lightening strikes.

Really the only downside to the fibre is that over time if under constant tension it will very gradually ‘creep’ – ie extend in length. This is not the same as stretch, which, like with steel, is minimal. So to deal with this you need to size the rope to keep the creep at manageable limits, which is why you end up with rope 3 times as strong as the steel.

So, with all these advantages, what’s not to love?

The Bad

Dyneema rope is great. But you still have to connect it to your boat and your mast, and that needs to be thought through.

The first step is to use the correct terminators (like thimbles, but more solid and made of aluminum) in the eye splices at each end. They come with a nice hole through which you can put a pin or bolt and the connect it to something.

But that is where the problem starts. To what do you connect it? When we changed to dyneema in 2011 we simply got some 316 stainless steel adaptors that would connect our dyneema shroud to the mast in the same way as it was done previously, ie using a ‘stemball’ which is rather like a ball in socket joint.

But you see the problem? We are back to stainless again. And, last year, three of those stainless fittings died, at the age of just 7 years. One of them failed as we were sailing past St. Vincent, dropping our lower shroud onto the deck. It wasn’t the dyneema at fault. It was the stainless steel, again. 

So we are really no further ahead.

At the other end we have another stainless fitting that connects the terminator to a normal bronze (chrome plated) turnbuckle. This allows us to tension the rig as normal, and also to take up the creep each year. Although these too are stainless, so far they have not given us any worries and show no signs of corrosion or cracking. Is it their location? Or better quality steel? Who knows. But they are at deck level so easily seen, and we keep an eye on them.

This year we decided to do away with those upper stainless fittings altogether. The technology was not available in 2011, but since then John Franta, of Colligo Marine, has designed a ‘cheeky tang’ fitting. This is a new-style terminator that is spliced into the upper end of the shroud. It is then attached to the mast by passing a titanium bolt through the cheeky tang, through the mast and then out through the other cheeky tang on the other side. An alternative to the titanium bolt would be the super-austentitic stainless steel alloy al-6xn.

Voila! A simple and effective solution that eliminates stainless steel crevice corrosion and stress corrosion cracking.

To convert to the cheeky tang from the stemball fitting requires cutting back the old fitting to make it flush with the side of the mast. I did that using about half a dozen 4 inch cutting discs on my battery operated drill. Not an easy job, and don’t forget to wear the safety goggles. Actually it might not be totally necessary to cut off what protrudes, as long as the bolt is long enough, but it is a neater finish. To measure the width of your mast, take off a stay from both sides and pass a rod through the mast, marking it on each side where it comes out. We could have done with our bolts being just 1/4 inch longer.

If you decide to switch from stainless rigging to dyneema, give careful thought to the terminators and see if you can eliminate all stainless fittings from (at the least) the top of your mast. Also, whatever metals you used, if you have two different metals touching each other, use some Tef-Gel or even just some electrical tape to separate them so as to prevent galvanic corrosion. USP Anhydrous Lanolin (ask your pharmacy or order online) also prevents galvanic corrosion.

The Ugly

Now we come to the nitty gritty part of doing the switch. In theory it is very easy. In fact it differs little from putting in new stainless rigging. Just measure the old ones, order some new ones, and replace the former with the latter.

The devil, as they say, is in the details.

If you take your boat to a rigger to change the rigging, they will take down one shroud, bring it into the shop, lay it along their long bench, and cut and swage a new wire to the same length.

Unless you can find a rigger who does dyneema (pretty rare, still), you cannot do that. What you have to do is measure it, order the lengths and then, when you get them, hope they are correct and the switch them over. As you will see, even that is not as simple as it sounds.

First, how do you measure it? You are talking about a piece of string that is about 50ft long and has to be measured to within a half inch of accuracy. That is 0.1% tolerance.

Method one is to climb up the mast and try to measure it in situ. You can try to ‘walk’ a tape measure down the shroud (and over the end of the spreader) while you hang onto the angled shroud in your bosun’s chair with your third hand. Not easy.

Or you could take a solid rod of known length and walk that down the shroud.

Or you could take up a long string or rope and attach it at the top (making note of the length allowance you need to make for your knot) and then stretch it down to the bottom. You then mark the string at the correct length at the bottom. Then climb back up the mast, take the string down, and measure its length.

But how long is a piece of string? It depends on how tight it is. Since you are trying measure a shroud that is at an angle to vertical, you will have to tension that string significantly in order to get the sag out of it. That will lengthen it. Quite a bit, given it is 50ft or so. Then when you bring it down, you need to tension it to the exact same tension so as to get an accurate measurement. The solution to that is to use some dyneema string (say 3mm – 1/8inch) that won’t stretch much when you tension it. Whatever you do, don’t use nylon!

All of these methods have significant challenges. It is hard to measure, accurately, your existing rigging.

The second method is to take the rigging down and, like the rigging shop, lay it down on a long flat surface (like a dock) and measure it in sections with a tape measure. Or, better yet, a long 100ft tape measure like the landscape gardeners use. Then you have to put it all back up again while you wait for your new rigging to arrive.

Be very aware when you make your measurements exactly what you are measuring. Since you will probably be changing how the rigging will be attached at each end, you will need to make adjustments to the length to take into account the new terminator systems. For instance, we made our measurements up to the bearing surface of the stemball fitting where it goes into the mast wall. Just be very clear exactly what your measurements are measuring. Your goal is to receive a shroud that will just fit into the turnbuckle, leaving you with ample space to tension your rig and, over the years, to take up the creep that will gradually develop.

Do each measurement multiple times, and for both sides of the boat, until you are confident that you are getting reproducible consistent results that make sense. You will never get two measurements that match. So then make an adjustment that gives you a worst case/best case range that is still usable with the range you have available in your turnbuckles.

As you can see, just getting the measurements done takes multiple trips up the mast.

But your woes are not over yet.

You have the measurements. And they are accurate and reproducible. You send them off to John, and he makes up some new shrouds for you, complete with your new terminator system, and sends it back to you. He is very accurate in his lengths.

But when you receive them, they won’t match the lengths that you ordered. They will be too short, and you won’t be able to fit them on your boat.

What the heck is going on?

The problem is ‘construction stretch’. John will make up the shrouds to the correct length, and will pull them to 4,000 lbs of tension. That will get the splices to settle in, and everything will be hunky dory. He will even put heat shrink tubing over the splice to hold it all together nicely. Dyneema that has been well tensioned goes very stiff and hard, almost like a rod.

But then the rope gets rolled up and packed in a box and sent to you. Just doing that loosens up the braid and causes the rope to get fatter and shorter.

To get it to fit on your boat you need to pre-stretch it again. That means finding some way to pull it hard with your winches. Either put it up the mast and pull down. Or pass it round a block or two at your bow(s) and bring it back to your biggest winch. And tighten it. And then tighten it more. Then go and ‘twang’ the tight rope, pulling it sideways to tighten it even more. Then leave it for a while to ‘relax’. Then tighten it some more. When you are sure you can’t tighten it any more then try to fit it onto your mast. You won’t be able to stretch it to 4,000 lbs, but maybe this time it will fit.

If it doesn’t, then make some kind of temporary extension to the end fitting. Put it all in place and crank up your turnbuckles. Go for a sail. Tack a few times. Tighten up the turnbuckles some more – always on the leeward side, of course. Then bring it all back to your anchorage, and you can probably remove your temporary extension. Yes, that is exactly what we did in 2011.

As you can see, measuring, ordering, and fitting your new dyneema rigging is a lot of work – and many trips up the mast. You will probably screw up your measurements somewhere along the way. It all takes time.

The UV Problem

Unprotected dyneema will last you about 8 years. But what if we can put a covering over the rope so that it does not degrade with ultraviolet? Indeed, the heat shrink that John puts over the splices does just that, and the rope that is covered looks basically brand new (but dirty) compared with the uncovered rope.

That was our goal for this year. We decided that we would cover the entire lengths of the shrouds and stays with a combination of heat shrink and self-amalgamating ‘Rescue Tape’.

Again this proved to be more challenging than expected. The biggest problem being that the roll of heat shrink tubing that we ordered said ‘Store below 70 deg F’! Oh yeah? On a boat in the TROPICS? So it contracted back on itself and we were unable to easily thread the new ropes into the tubing. So we had to put the tubing on the size below – i.e. the tubing intended for our 13 mm main shrouds was put onto our 11 mm lower shrouds. Quite a bit of work threading it through (use a stout knitting needle with some 3mm string taped firmly to it), but we got there in the end. Our hair dryer from our big inverter then did a fair job of shrinking it onto the rope.

The self amalgamating tape also seems to work quite well, especially for putting over the eyes, but it is clearly not as tough as the heat shrink.

I think this is a solution that has potential. The proof will be in another 8-10 years when we see how it holds up to normal use. In this case we were able to do this because we actually made up our own shrouds, splicing then ourselves, as we did not fully trust the whole measuring business. The splicing is not hard, but you do have to pull the completed splice HARD to take out all the construction stretch. John may well be able to put on the heat shrink on the whole length for you when you order your rigging.

At this point we have done all the rigging except the main shrouds as we need to get some more heat shrink to cover those.

Conclusion

Would we do it again? Yes, because I really, really, don’t like 316 stainless steel for critical applications. And the weight loss is also nice. But it is a LOT of work installing the rigging – hence my desire to find a way to make the dyneema last longer so that it is a LONG time before I have to do it again.

Of course, over time there will be more and more riggers who are able to do it for you, which will take the stress out of it (and the dollars out of your pocket). Or you can make them up yourselves. Not hard to do, but the challenge is pulling the ropes hard enough, and you will probably have to re-do the splices a couple of times as you figure out the correct length and allowances for the shortening caused by the splice. It seems to be about 7% of the length of the bury – which itself is 72 times the diameter of the rope.  And next time we can re-use the terminators and cheeky tangs, so won’t have to buy those again.

Some Q’s & A’s

What about spreaders?

Our diamonds go over the spreader ends. It is not ideal to bend any rope or cable over a sharp angle. However, your dyneema is 3 times as strong as your old steel, so losing a bit of strength is not a huge worry. However, chafe can be. So we wrapped the dyneema in some nylon webbing before putting it into the slots at the end of the spreaders. This prevents any chafe from the dyneema rubbing against the aluminum, and also protects it from UV degradation, thus preserving its full strength. We then sew a vinyl or leather ‘boot’ over the end of the spreader that keeps everything neat and tidy. If your genoa rubs against the spreader ends you would definitely want to do that.

What about chafe?

Dyneema is very resistant to chafe. Even so, persistent chafe will cut through anything, If you have a situation where something is repeatedly rubbing against the shrouds, such as a genoa sheet, you might want to put a solid plastic tube (commonly done with stainless steel rigging) over the lower section of the shroud so that it can roll when you move the sheets.

What about roller furling?

Unfortunately at the moment there is no solution for using dyneema inside the aluminum extrusion on a genoa roller furling system. This is mostly a size issue, since the dyneema is just that bit fatter for the same strength ( and sizing for creep). So we are still dependent on stainless steel for that. 🙁 One day, maybe…

Having said that, John DOES have a dyneema solution for soft furling applications, like gennakers.

Where to Buy your Rigging

John Franta of Colligo Marine is really the pioneer in dyneema dux rigging. He is super helpful, and is constantly adding new and ingenious solutions to his line of products – like the cheeky tangs which are excellent. Note that dyneema DUX is not the same as ordinary dyneema. Get the right stuff.

Snow, hey???

We Ski ( we do have a Summer as well)

Deep snow,ungroomed slopes

 

Snow shoeing and dog sleding

Family time…

Birthdays parties, and beach time in our local Lakes

Lots of special moments like the first day of school. Little one wants to go too!

Canoying trips and camping

This fire is looking good!

 

 

 

Weddings and family gatherings..

 

 

These 2 are ready to party!

 

Special time with my beauties…

 

 

 

Trips to Portugal to spend time with Mom and siblings. 2 are missing on this photo

 

 

Trips to the Lakes with the other Mom, in Canada, to watch salmon spawning…

 

At the Fall fair

 

 

Camping with the grandkids

Good job at setting up the tent

 

Time to rest now. It must have been hard work!

Hike to nearby falls

Special outings at Christmas with Mom

 

Visits with elderly friends

Shopping for cars…its hard work, but someone ‘s gota do it. Delivered and received in the Fall

 

Ready for Halloween….is it  time to trick or treat yet???

Portugal

More family time, my Mom meeting Ben for the first time, the youngest great-grandson.

 

With much of the traditions dying down in the villages, it was nice to still see this celebration in my hometown.

When I was growing up, it was traditional to decorate the streets where the procession passes. That was always fun. Everyone competed to have their street look the best.  These days only looks like this near the church.

The procession is followed by traditional folk music and big barbeque at the park along our little river.

 

More family times and birthdays. My lovely sister in law, and my grandson’s other grandma

 

 

Grandson Tiago’s 9th Birthday

And road trips through our beautiful Canadian Rockies

Glacier Lakes.

Espectacular mountain scenery

 

On the drive up it was Fall, but coming back a week later, was Winter Wonderland. Nice wildlife.

 

One of the trips we brought Mom along.

 

 

 

Boatbuilding

Cruising is about fixing boats in exotic locations. Well, I consider Vernon to be an exotic location, so how about BUILDING boats in exotic locations?

To get from LIFE Part 2 to the shore and back requires a small dinghy. Most people, including us, us a Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB) with a 15 hp outboard. It works well as a ‘runabout’. 

But it uses a motor, which is noisy and boring And it doesn’t keep you fit. It rows like a brick, and doesn’t sail at all.  What one really needs is a boat that can carry lots of people and shopping, can motor, row, and sail, and do all of those with panache. And it needs to be less than 10ft long and capable of being hoisted up on our davits between the two sterns.

Such a beast does not exist. So I decided to design and build one. And so I did, in our parking space in the parkade below our Vernon apartment. Then, last summer, we tested out the first prototype, which worked well, although I didn’t get to try it in any wind, nor with a bigger motor. So now I am making a second prototype with a few design modifications. But where is the time to complete it and test it?

 

It is made of 3mm plywood with a covering of glassfiber cloth and epoxy resin. Very light stitch and glue construction.

 A tyvek sail for prototype 1. This summer I will have a proper 6 sq m sail, and then ultimately an  8sq m sail. 

So far, so good.

 

Off to Canada on Wednesday for Mum’s 90th birthday, then will be back on board Life Part 2 in Antigua in a couple of weeks.

Current Location: English Harbour, Antigua
Current Position: 17 0.54 N 061 45.8 W Click to view map.

Continued from spring 2018 Guadaloupe to Trinidad
Wow…I can’t believe it has been a year since my last post. As promised here is Guadaloupe Part2, showing you more of our beloved French island.
Not only we enjoyed the wine the bread and the cheeses, the beaches and the great snorkeling, but also the luscious green island with many Parks, hiking trails and waterfalls.
Bananas and sugarcane are the principal cash crops. They also grow coffee, vanilla, cacao, vegetables, like eggplants that get exported, coconuts, and some fruits.

 

Above is our lovely anchorage in Isle Gossier, just across from the mainland. Locals and tourists hang out at the bar or have barbeque parties. Really nice beach and a nice walk to the lighthouse.

We did rent a car for a couple of days to get around the island. Some of the trails you have to drive to the start of the hikes.

This waterfall below is Cascade aux Ecrevisses. Very easy access from the main road. A short paved walk even wheelchair friendly. On our first stop there, it was packed with tourists from the Cruise ship, but the next morning we had it all for ourselves.

 

 

 

The 350 feet Carbet Waterfalls are the tallest in the Eastern Caribbean. Chute 1 and 2. First view before you descend to a pool where you can have a refreshing swim and where we had our picnic. 

 The cascades are set amid the tropical rainforests on the lower slopes of the volcano La Soufrière. The hike takes you above the rainforest and through cloud forest.  For some, this hike may be a bit difficult, but so rewarding! 

They charge 2 Euros a person for the hike. That is very cheap. The trail is very well maintained. Many small bridges over creeks covered with chicken wire to make it nonslip and rails where needed. Of course due to the nature of the trails, you still have to scramble through boulders. Which in many areas they even had the rock cut to rough it up for grip. Very impressive.

 

 

 

At the end of a hard day, we are driving through the village of Gouyave and the fisherman were selling live Lobster on the side of the road. We parked the car, bought our dinner, bought 3 litres of coconut water on the next stall, and headed home. The next day was our anniversary. Hmm…yesterday was sure a good day, how are we going to top that one up??? We just celebrate each and everyday.

 

 

And then for those who won’t necessarily want to take all kinds of expeditions hiking through the jungle… here is  Desjhai Botanical Gardens:

This walk in the 7 acres park it’s a magical tropical beauty. Waterfalls, ponds, exotic flowers and birds, this lush and peace and tranquility  is worth the expensive entry fee of 15 Euros. By far is our favorite gardens of the Caribbean.

We had to say goodbye to Guadaloupe.

We are now headed to Antigua where we will meet our friends Phil and Lesley.

It was short 20 nautical miles stretch there, with 16knots of wind,close hauled.

Antigua

We have been in Antigua twice and we enjoy it each time.

Beautiful island but mostly for the coastline. The beaches are amazing, short sails between them all and great anchorages. One can beach/bar hop for a long time. After all, they claim to have 365 beaches. Inside the island is dry and not so special, but friendly island and you can find all amenities there. Public transportation is also easy to get around.

 

Nelson’s Dockyard, in English Harbour. We met our friends here upon arrival in a taxi from the airport. 

It is named after Admiral Nelson who lived in the Royal Navy Dockyard from 1784 through 1787. English Harbour is a UNESCO site a cultural heritage site and marina.

 

Nelson’s Dockyard is also home to some of Antigua’s sailing and yachting events such as Antigua sailing week, Antiga classics and the Antigua Charter Yacht Meeting. As well as some International Optimist North American Championships.

The views of the harbour from Fort Barkeley

Fort Barkeley. Its a beautiful short walk from English Harbour or one can make it longer doing a loop around further up scrambling a bit. The area is very nice whether you anchor here or you anchor in Falmouth harbour. From Falmouth Harbour is a pleasant 10 minute walk to the nice park, English Harbour.

Fort Berkeley is popular at sunset. One morning we were sailing by at sunrise, some young group of people were still there, singing away…not in tune of course, but very happy!!

Our friends, Phil and Lesley. Checking out the sailing lifestyle. They are working on their Skippers certification.

We had a great time sailing around the Island with them for a week, with many stops at the beaches and bars.
We enjoyed the company and cocktails onboard, and especially Leslie’s Sangria.
And the Baileys……

 

 

Never a visit to Antigua without a stop at Jacki O’s bar at beautiful Love beach. The evening gets busy but you get there in the morning and is peace and quiet, great views, and if you don’t want breakfast, bar is open. They open early.

 

 

 

Lesley is looking for the next stop.

 

 

Barbuda

 

We did a nice day sail to the Island of Barbuda, and stayed a night.

We were there months before hurricane Maria hit.  It was devastating to see the damage. We anchored in front of Cocoa Point Hotel. My pictures of before…

 

and the pictures after:

A beautiful bougainvillaea still thrives through…

Everything has been abandoned, no one came to even salvage some of the furniture still in good condition. 

There were desks with papers and books scattered all over the place. We could still read their entries on their books of being still busy in the Spring before they got hit in the Summer and never to open again. We read it was for sale. It has now been a year, We need an update! 

Much has been re built. The whole island was totally evacuated at the time. 

It is also said that big Landlord Robert de Niro is still planning to open his Resort in 2020.

The amazing beaches remain. Please visit, it is still a beautiful piece of heaven. It is no wonder Princess Diana loved it here. They also named a beach after her. 

 

 

Current Location: Prickly Bay, Grenada
Current Position: 11 59.91 N 061 45.79 W Click to view map.
Distance sailed since last post: 79 nautical miles. View the map of our voyage track here

It was good to get out of Chaguaramas. It is a great place for getting work done, but not for chillaxing, being very industrial. 

So we had an afternoon swim and an overnight at Scotland Bay, three miles from Chaguaramas and just a few hundred meters from the open sea.

Then we left at 4am today, and sailed the 80 miles across to Grenada, arriving at 4:15pm. A good fast sail, with mild seas and steady 17 – 20kt of wind on an easy starboard fetch. Lots of current pushing us westwards, though.

So the sail was uneventful, except that neither of us have our sea legs after nine months ashore, so we both felt a bit queasy for the crossing. And no fish caught either. Lots of sargassum weed again, though. I don’t know how the local fishermen cope with this influx of weeks everywhere. And tourism has to suffer with all the beaches covered too.

We are now in cruising mode, and it’s good.

Current Location: Chaguaramas, Trinidad
Current Position: 10 40.95 N 061 38.04 W Click to view map.
Distance sailed since last post: 0 nautical miles. View the map of our voyage track here

It has been a long time. We arrived in Trinidad at the end of June 2018 to leave the boat on the hard for the hurricane season. We then got held up in Canada by a wedding, and then some babysitting. And then we had to go to Portugal for a couple of weeks. So we didn’t make it back to Trinidad until the beginning of November. 

The plan was to pick up the boat, sail across to Grenada for a month or so, and then leave the boat on a mooring  for the ski season.

But no sooner had we arrived, than Mum got ill and was in hospital. So we left the boat on the hard and flew back to Canada. It took until well into January to get her properly sorted out and, of course, we got in some good skiing. 

But now we are back in the Caribbean. While we were gone we had the decks of Life Part 2 totally repainted with Awlgrip (a very expensive process) so now she looks all shiny and new! With that, plus the new flooring that we installed last year, we almost have a brand new boat. Maybe next year we will treat ourselves to some new sails. We also hope the decks will be a lot easier to clean, as the old oxidized gelcoat seemed to just soak up an stain that was passing by.

As we always say, the most expensive part of sailing is not sailing, so this coming year we plan to spend a whole lot more time on board.

Now we are afloat, we will be leaving for Grenada on Thursday, and will then progressively head north to reach Antigua by the beginning of April as we then have to fly to Kelowna again for a couple of weeks, this time for Mum’s 90th birthday. Can’t really miss that one!

After that we haven’t quite figured out the plan. Westwards, perhaps?

Current Location: Vernon, BC, Canada
Current Position: 50 15.36 N 119 17.39 W Click to view map.

So now with the big 60 approaching,  it is with great excitement that I can reveal that it has finally arrived…

She has been christened Sally, after the red MG Midget that I owned when I had just graduated from University.  Since that time I have had a series of ‘practical cars’ – mostly ones that can either carry a windsurfer, or tow a boat, or go off-road for camping, kayaking or skiing, or carry building supplies.  Actually, even the original Sally had a custom built rack to carry a windsurfer!

But now we officially a ‘two car family’, and I am so excited.

Having unpacked her, Ceu and I drove her to the local dump. That elicited some comments, including ‘If you really don’t want it, I will take it off your hands’ from a guy in a big truck. 

No chance.

Actually, the reason for the trip to the dump was to get her weighed (840kg = 1820 lbs) so that we could get her registered. After that she was driven straight to our underground parkade in Vernon, where she is now waiting out the winter until next summer, when we will finally get to drive her.

Meanwhile we are now in Portugal, visiting Ceu’s family, and will be heading back to Trinidad on November 2nd to rejoin Life Part 2. But only for a month, as we will then return to Canada for the ski season.

So difficult to fit everything in (cue violins).

Current Location: Chaguaramas, Trinidad
Current Position: 10 40.74 N 061 38.34 W Click to view map.
Distance sailed since last post: 332 nautical miles. View the map of our voyage track here

As I prepare some new photos from our travels 2019, I get reminded that I must finish catching up with last year. 

We said goodbye to our friends in Antigua and stayed a few more days to see the Antigua Classics race, that’s always fun.

But I forgot to mention on my last post about Antigua, sorry Phill, we had to put you to work on your holiday!

We had to give you a taste of fixing boats in exotic places!

Our windless started to skip while trying to anchor in Barbuda. So the men took it out and had to get their hands dirty, and FIXED it.

 

Dominica

We love this island for the rivers, rain forest, and great hikes. They have the world-renowned hike to the Boiling Lake. The second largest boiling lake in the world. First being New Zealand. We did a smaller hike this time. We’re here on a short visit stop. We did Boiling Lake hike on a previous visit 8 years ago. Plan to do it again next season, 2019

This is 7 months after hurricane Maria. It was sad to see.

The crews were busy fixing the power lines, many roofs have been put on their houses and I hope next year when we return, the beautiful trees have more leaves on them

 

 

Martinique

May 1st at 6:30 Am, we left Dominica to French island of Martinique and early in the afternoon we were anchored in St Pierre, north end of the island.

We had visited this nice place before but had not yet ventured to do this hike:

 

The next day Noel and I and our friend Nick went hiking Mount Pelle. Headed to town and waited forever for a bus that never showed up. Decided to hitchhike up to the base of the mountain. Less than 5 minutes later a nice lady who is from Paris but is now a local there,  picked us up and knew exactly where we were going. She says she picks up tourists there all the time. She did not accept any money but took the chocolate I offered her.

 

 

Mount Pelle is a very steep hike. The altitude is 1397m. We started at about 700m at the base of the mountain. Coming down, wow..straight down from the top, to sea level. Halfway down the mountain,  this scenery changed to bamboo and all shaded tropical jungle.  Ended up at a different village where we got a ride back again to our port.

Here we are scrambling up the mountain with our friend Nick.

We enjoyed the sweaty hike and magnificent views.

 

The next day we hiked again but just a short 3 km to visit the De Paz Distillery. It Was a fun visit along with with our friends Jessica and Nick, and their 3 kids, Asher, Alex, and Sophia. Free entry and lots of Rum tasting. Did I say we were hiking back? lol

The Distillery is situated in a beautiful acreage above the town of St Pierre at the foot of Mt. Pelle. 

 

 

Historical Diamond rock

 

The Diamond Rock as we sail past it on a very calm day. 

Here is another sad site where many battles happened and lives were lost between the French, British, and Spanish. 

It was a naval post for the British in 1804 during the Napoleonic Wars. They thought if they occupied “the rock”  it would allow the British to effectively control the shipping approaching the ports on the western side of the island.

 They blasted the wrock to make space to set up the battery and hauled up everything to the summit of the wrock. They had sleeping areas in caves around the rock and drove out the bats by burning bales of hay. Seems it should be called the “blood rock”

As it looked then….

I took a picture of the posted information. Hard to imagine this kind of life and death on the Rock that is now just a nesting place for the birds.

 

It was also here on this Rock that in 1830 a Slave Ship crashed, claiming the lives of many.

Noel and I took a long walking excursion to The Anse Cafard Memorial site in Southwest of the island.  This Memorial sits up o a hill just above the sea with panoramic views. The 20 statues here memorialize an 1830 incident where a slave ship crashed into Diamond Rock Mountain, killing much of the crew, and the slaves shackled in the cargo areas. Statues are facing the sea, to where the lives were lost and probably facing Africa where they were first sold and taken away. This glimpse into the past, the faces of these slaves, it’s a very moving place.

 

We switched from being a tourist to fixing boats in exotic places! Time to stay home and catch up! (supposed to be recuperating from these hikes, such sore thighs, and calves…) Back to work!

Our floors were really starting to show it’s wearing especially entrance way and galley. But last season when we arrived on the boat, it was even starting to get mildew around the cabinets.  We sailed to Martinique, where we purchased the flooring, and we started the installation. Hard work, with much cutting and cleaning up. But very pleased with the results.

Before and after… well, actually, after, before and after.

 

As usual, we enjoy the French islands. We headed down the coast with a few stops in some cute fishing villages and enjoyed some good snorkeling around as well.  And of course, we stocked up at the grocery store. Cheese, wine and vegetables on the top of the list, before heading to St Lucia.

 

St Lucia.

We were excited to pick up our nice new seats for our cockpit. We had picked out the fabric and left foam and measurements with a seamstress in town.  We like St Lucia, but we actually just stayed the day as we have visited much here. My outdoor living is now more comfortable with new cushions.

 

The Pittons. Leaving St Lucia in a squall but it soon cleared up.

 

We are off to the Grenadines. St Vincent and Grenadines make up one country. 

May 2018

At 7:45 we left to Bequia, North of the Grenadines. Expecting about 20 kts of wind. Passing along St Vincent bigger winds,  big waves, and tides. One of our lower shrouds came down. One of the stainless steel fittings at the top broke, due to corrosion. And it was only 7 years old. Don’t like stainless steel for critical applications.

Sails down and motoring to Bequia where we hope to find someone who will fix it.

Adding time to our journey, which means we will now arrive in the dark. Oh well, it’s a nice big anchorage, easy to get to. Plus our friends are just sailing ahead of us, they will save us a good spot??

Arrived Bequia at 19:45 at Tony Gibbons beach. And we caught NO FISH.

Next day we did find someone who welded our part at huge expense and it was good again. 

A few days later we left for Mustique, next island North of Grenadines

Unique Mustique

Unique in many ways, it is super clean and well manicured.
Very peaceful, barely any traffic, they ride Golf buggies except the maintenance crew.
No bling bling and a laid back atmosphere. No security anywhere, no barbed wire fences and barred windows and doors.
No advertising hoardings, or people selling you stuff you don’t want. No noisy water skiing or jet ski is allowed.

This is a privately owned island, developed into holiday homes for the wealthy. The late Princess Margaret loved it here. She built a beautiful house, in her 10 acres property, given to her by her friend, Colin Tennant who bought Mustique in 1958.

On this posh island, they charge you to visit. You are also only allowed to anchor in Brittania Bay. A minimum of 3 nights for 80 US. 

 

 

 

 

 

2 charming boutiques line the front street along the beach. Golf buggy parked here.

 

 

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the whole Middleton family are regular villa renters here.

 

You can hike or bike on this beautiful island with nice shady paths everywhere. The island is 3 miles long and 1 mile across. Noel and I walked it all. We hiked the North end, more rugged paths along the sea, on the first day. And the next day we did the south end and all through town.

Their mansions are scattered all over the mountain hills with tennis courts and pools. Some, their lawn stretches out all the way to the beach. Manicured yards, lots of flowers, luscious shrubs and large trees. We ended our walks with a refreshing swim with the turtles right off our boat. Ohhh they were soo cute. We enjoyed this spot right in front of their famous “Basil” Bar. At the time was being renovated, so it was closed, but Noel and I had been there before and No…didnt see any Stars there. Although on our last day in Mustique, Noel and I decided to splurge and go for a drink at the bar at the fancy and secluded Firefly Hotel overlooking the ocean and Brittania Bay. The bartender was super friendly and told us about some of the stars he has met here, most recently, like the week before, Kelly from Kelly and Regis, who was there with her Trainer.

We walked below this Mansion, who we were later told belongs to Felix Dennis, founder of Maxim magazine.

 

 

Many tortoises along the roads…

What’s also nice about this island is that has remained unspoiled. With only a small little village, near the sea, and just over a hundred villas scattered throughout the hills, 2 small Hotels and the many unpaved roads.

 

Famous people like Mich Jager, David Bowie, Bryan Adams Raquel Welch, own or have owned here. These houses above, back on to the beach. Most of these are available for rent when the owners are not around.

Everyone on the Island is very friendly. After all, half the people are the maintenance workers and they never know who they talk to, could be their Landlord or some VIP  guest. 

We came across the workers living quarters while exploring the area. They have their own little village. There are no mansions, but decent and very clean.

We left Mustique for a short 13 NM sail to Canouan. We caught a small barracuda, but we let it go because we were not sure it was safe to eat, due to ciguatera. 

 

Canouan

The island looked quite dry on this side, and not as nice as we expected. We anchored in nice turquoise waters in front of Tamarind Hotel.

We did do a hike to the North end of the island and came into this place that was more green and lush with open gates and we kept going. A minute or 2  later we got stopped by friendly security. 

It was this beautiful “Pink Sands Resort” with private cabanas and apartments scattered in the hills hiding amongst luscious trees and blooms that we never saw anywhere else on the island. We have since heard that it was built by Trump, and still expanding it, said the security guard. The beaches are calm protected by the reef ahead.

We kept on exploring the island on foot. At the south end, we walked through a huge new marina development, with many apartments being built. Some of them already painted nicely in pastel colors.

It’s now May 28th and moving on from Canouan. A very short jib out only, and much care on navigating took us to Tobago Cays. It’s a group of small deserted islands and a Marine Reserve Park surrounded by Horseshoe Reef. Well known for the good snorkeling turquoise waters and just beautiful scenery. We saw a beautiful spotted Ray just under our boat and some nice colorful fish. Here we swam with the turtles, took the dinghy out to the reef for more snorkeling and we even saw a nurse shark. 
One evening we joined in a local barbeque at the beach with the locals along with our friends Jess, Nick and kids. They also came over and played games. for the rest of the evening. We have been buddy sailing together with this nice family from the US the last few weeks and we have had some good times together at sea and shore excursions.

We loved our next spot in Mayreau, Salt whistle bay anchorage. We hiked up the hill over to the other side of the island and visited Saline bay beach. Beautiful beach, but we found it a bit smelly from the salt pans right behind it. It does have a proper town with restaurants and grocery shopping and a Church. It was a hot Sunday morning as we got up to the hill. They were having their Mass and I stood at the door for a minute and joined in one of my favorite verses. Noel was outside with a funny smile on his face. OK, Ok, I’m coming ( I was just cooling off in the air conditioning! ) Yes, visiting Churches is great to cool off too!

Our next anchorage was in Union Island, just a short 45-minute smooth sail. Anchored in beautiful Chatham bay. The nice long beach was mostly wild, with only a small charming Resort and restaurant. It was so nice and peaceful, very calm waters even though some big wind gusts there. Free internet from the Resort.
We had some interesting snorkeling there. Huge, massive schools of small fish and we were swimming among them all..Pretty cool.
We moved along further up the island and tried to anchor in the town of Clifton. It was difficult to find a space to anchor. Some boats were on mooring balls, some were at anchor and all around too shallow, there is a big reef around it. So we picked up a ball and went ashore. Nice colorful front street but a bit smelly. The anchorage was close to the town and was quite rolly. We moved around the point to Frigate Bay where was peaceful and not busy at all.
From our anchorage, we took the dinghy ashore into the sleepy town of Aston to start our hike to the top of the mountain and then to another side of the island. It was hot, but the beautiful views from there are amazing!

 

As we approached the sea on the other side, we came across this beautiful and cozy Resort. We couldn’t help but stop and enjoy a much deserved cold drink in this charming place. What a gem! 

 

 

Across from Union Island, just 2 miles away is Palm Island. Another Paradise

 It is a small island occupied mainly by a Resort, but you can walk around the beach and all outside the premises. We enjoyed the gorgeous shallow turquoise beach. We dropped our anchor and our friend Nick and Noel did some windsurfing here. Jess and I and the kids wondered our way around the Resort, into the Resort and got sent out of their gardens by a friendly guard. We were not aware of all this private stuff. But I guess we missed the “No trespassing sign”
We did our checking out of the Grenadines across from here, in Clifton.

In another hour we were on the little island of Petit St Vincent. Just a quick stop to check it out. Turned out to be a private island, taken up by a very nice Resort. Beautiful beach and very luscious hillside make these scattered stone cabanas very private. We wondered ashore and walked along the beach, visitors are also allowed to use their Restaurant, Spa and boutique shopping. We left after lunch for another short sail

Carriacou

A 4-hour sail takes un into Cariacou where went ashore and check in at customs and immigration.

We anchored in Hillsborough. Big bay, quite bouncy. A decent town with a black sandy beach. A grocery store but very expensive. Don’t plan to stock up on groceries here!
We stayed here for a rolly night.

 
The next morning we moved across to visit this beautiful deserted Sandy island. A nice walk and good snorkeling there.

 

 

Mid-afternoon we moved back to Paradise beach in Cariacou. What a gorgeous beach with shallow turquoise waters. Also very protected and calm waters. For the night, we moved around the corner into the nice Tyrell bay. A lot busier than we expected, drove around for a while to find a space. A few bars and Restaurants along the beach. We had a nice pizza at Lazy Turtle, very cute Restaurant. At this Bay, we met other Canadians, Toronto, and Montreal.

The next morning Jess and I went noodling. A noodle water class at the beach. We met a lady who teaches and was very good. It was a surprisingly fun and good workout

But here we had to say goodbye to our nice friends from SV Ventus. 

We have been buddy sailing together for the last 2 months. We sailed, we played games, snorkeling and we explored ashore together. Nice hikes, bushwacking, visiting the towns, we really enjoyed their company. We will miss them. The kids are so sweet. We met them first in Marie Galant just before heading to Guadaloupe. When we got the next anchorage on little island, Petit Terre, there was Nick to take our line and tie it to the mooring ball. How helpful, since there was so much current at this place. We sailed together since, up to Dominica and back down to Carriacou, from the beginning of this blog. Sad to depart without them.

 

They plan to stay here in Cariacou for a while longer, but we must move on…..

Grenada

Beautiful day, calm seas, 12kts wind on Port. Gliding along at 7kts.
Our plan to stop at Dragon bay to dive the not so deep water statues. Flamingo Bay right near it, had signs for No Anchoring Allowed. We took a mooring ball at Dragon Bay. It’s very deep to anchor.
We picked up our snorkeling gear and took the dinghy and tied it to a mooring ball at the site. It took us a while to find the statues. It’s a big area and they are not all together. Shortly after going around looking and looking, a tourist boat showed up and anchored. There is our clue. 

Unfortunately, they did not pick a nice spot with clear waters. The water is pretty murky both times we snorkeled here. We still loved it.  These pictures do no justice! There were some pretty fish around as well, and even a nice spotted ray.

 

The Correspondent, a sculpture of a man sitting at a desk fardown below the surface

 

The Nutmeg Princess. Too bad, the pictures are hazy.

 

The Circle of Children was a beautiful complete statue. When you got close, the coral growth could be seen. It was stunning as we looked at it from many different angles. 

 

Christ of the Deep stood on the bottom with his arms spread wide. 

 

We stayed for 2 nights. From this bay was easy to catch a bus to visit Concord Falls.

From the bus stop was a nice steep hike, but not too far.

Lots of shade on this hike provided by  cocoa trees, nutmeg, star fruit and pomegranates

 

 

 

 

Arrived at the first waterfall and had a refreshing swim.

Noel and I ventured up the mountain, different vegetation and more rugged terrain, and narrow path. We were treated to 2 more Falls where there were no tourists, no one, just the sounds of Nature, birds and the crashing 2 waterfalls one after the other into the nice pools. Another refreshing swim and a picnic.

 

The next day we went to St Georges and anchored out in the bay. We took the dinghy ashore and did some provisioning.

 

Our next stop was a few miles down the coast, where met up with an old friend and went ashore for the evening. Nemrod Pub is a great hangout for the locals and sailors. It was Karaoke night and a great time was had by all.

The next day we took the bus at this pub location to St Georges, where we took a different bus to Grand Etang. Here we ventured on another hike, to Mt. Qua Qua. It was very pleasant with lots of shade and great views.

 

 

 

 

Does it look like Noel really wants to buy the cocoa bean? or flowers? We are tired, waiting for the bus, let’s go home

Hot and sweaty, we made a detour… to the Brewery

Noel is very happy to find an English Pint. |Yep, they actually brew real English Bitter here. What a way to end the day

 

 

Grenada is a friendly and beautiful island. They also have a large yachties community here. Popular during Hurricane season and beyond. They have activities planned for each day of the week and if you have kids this is also the place to spend Hurricane season.

And speaking of Hurricane season, it is approaching, it is now the end of June. We are departing Grenada this evening to Trinidad where we will leave Life Part 2 all tucked in. It is an overnight passage, so we can arrive there the next morning in daylight.

We look forward to always going home and visit the family, and of course, downhill skiing. Looking forward to more adventures and a next Season 2019

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current Location: Islet du Gosier, Guadeloupe
Current Position: 16 12.1 N 061 29.6 W Click to view map.
Distance sailed since last post: 130 nautical miles. View the map of our voyage track here

A bit of an update. .

It was fun to visit once again some of our favourite spots in St Lucia and Martinique. After some maintenance and home improvements along the way, we were happy to go explore new places.

I was tired of having a very messy house…

One cabin full of tools evrywhere

One table full of wires and all kinds of electronics. Looking for instructions. Thanks Google. Another cabin was full of binders spread out with manuals for every part in this boat. Pictures missing because, Noel did something to the sim card on the phone, he forgot I had pictures in it.

Sewing was part of my job in between beeing his assistant when he needed the wires being pulled and tucked under very difficult areas. 

Thank goodness after a good swim I could still find MY safe areas he is not allowed to bring the mess.

Tuesday,March 6th

We left St Lucia to Martinique. Hopping up the coast and staging ourselves to depart to our destination: Guadaloupe. We left after lunch, with a nice sunny afternoon and 18kts of wind. We put 3 fishing lines out and got tired of cleaning weed off the lures. We were just about to give up, it was sunset and about to arrive at our anchorage, when we caught a really nice mahi mahi. What a surprise, with all this sargassum weed. This fish is so tasty! I put away my stew that was going to be dinner, and voila! fresh mahi mahi instead.

In the mean time we had the beautiful Adele classic yacht, pass near us with full sails up What a beauty!  We anchored in the nice small town, Grand Anse in St Lucia for the night and she was anchored just behind us as well.

Next morning, March 7th

We left to Martinique. Not much wind in the lee of the island but it filled in a bit later and we were doing a nice 7kts average. Anchored in St Pierre for the night.

In the morning it was so nice and peaceful there we decided to spend the day and get started on our kitchen floors. We had found these nice vinyl tiles in Fort de France, and thought they would be perfect to replace our tired looking floors we have. Of course one day was not enough and we wanted to see the full results so we stayed 2 days instead to finished it. It takes a long time to put down , because of the many cuts in confined areas. I had to crawl into the locker and lay there to unscrew the legs from the coffee table  we had to remove.

We are very happy with the results.  Hard work and messy but worth it. Gotta keep up with the Joneses, so that means maintenance and home improvements in exotic places. We need 2 more days to do the starboard side now, but no rush!

Ok time to move on to Guadaloupe, France

Friday March 9th

We woke at 3:30 (alarm was supposed to go off at only 5 am) and thought why not leave now? it will definitely give us a nice early arrival in Guadaloupe.

What a beautiful morning. With calm and smooth waters along the lee of the island we enjoyed the sky just covered with stars and many constellations. As we got into the open sea up the Dominica channel, the waves did get a bit big, but not too bad just, long swells. Wind 18 to 22 kts close hauled.

Sad to say we did not catch any fish. Too much weed again. We do not remember this problem in the Caribbean 7 years ago, but now it seems to be everywhere. In fact, later on someone told us that even 3 years ago there was no weed. They had heard that it had something to do with the deforestation in Brazil. Who knows?

At 2pm we anchored in Grand Bourg, the biggest town in Marie Galante, French island, and part of Guadaloupe. It was quite rolly there so we weighed anchor and moved a bit up the coast to the next small sleepy town of St Louis.

That was a busy anchorage and very calm. Good dinghy dock and a really cosy cafe with good Wifi. The next day we tried to check in, but there was no place to do it. We took the bus to Grand Bourg and they were closed, its Saturday! Pa ni pwoblem, as the they say in French Creole, they are very laid back about checking in and out here in France. We took a long walk along the beautiful town beach and part on a main road to get to touristic site of an old sugar mill and estate. At one time they housed up to 300 slaves. Interesting place with a nice museum, park like setting and a nice walk.

Marie Galant is a nice quiet laid-back island, very small but yet a few nice beaches and walks to explore. We enjoyed that and stayed  for 2 days. No photos from here because we switched sim cards on the phone when buying internet and Noel erased all, forgetting I had pictures in it. Normally, I use my camera, but left the battery in Canada.

Monday March 12

Had a nice 17 Nautical miles sail to the main island of Guadaloupe, and anchored in the nice town of St Francois.

And this is why we like to makes sure to arrive at a new destination in daylight. The reefs extend way out, and you are coming in with lots of wind and waves in different directions.

To add to the excitement in the channel you have to figure out from afar if this rusty thing is a buoy that needs a coat of red paint or what??

After anchoring ahead, we took the dinghy to the Marina.  The check in, at the Capitanerie was an easy 10 minutes. Free of charge, instead of the usual 5 euros, so we gave it as a donation to the Search and Rescue fund instead.

Next, we did the usual running around to buy internet, sim card.

Nice Marina lined with many shops and Restaurants. Behind it you find many places for car rentals and many stall selling you day trips to the islands of Petite Terre and Desirade. All amenities are within walking distance, including the market with nice fruit and veggies and also the fish market where one can buy the fish off the fishermen in the morning. Right here by the Fish Market is also the Bus station, that is always good to know. We were on a hunt for the usual upon arriving in a new place. internet, sim card.  Success with Orange.

Next day, Tuesday 13

Took a short bus ride, about 10 km to this really nice peninsula called Pointe des Chateaux.

 

Didn’t realize till we got there how busy and popular and touristic it is. Buses unloading and picking up tourists, souvenirs stalls and a yummy, delicious stand of coconut sorbet. This amazing limestone peninsula is a natural historical and agricultural reserve.

Besides having nice beaches,most of them protected by the reefs, it has hiking trails and a view point, and more than 200 species of plants and many species of migratory and nesting birds.

 

Wednesday March 14

Isles de la Petite Terre
At 10 am we decided to leave our anchorage in St Francois and sail along to Sainte Anne. Picturesque coast with small cliffs and very nice beaches. Once we were out of the anchorage, however, we realised the waves were actually not so bad. So we decided to motor for three hours dead upwind to the two tiny islands that make up Petite Terre. Here we are, arriving in this paradise . I am hurrying to take this picture before the captain starts to tell me to find a mooring ball and watch our depths!!

This is a nature reserve with abundant iguanas ashore, and stingrays and many other fish in the water. There is a bar to cross to get into the anchorage, which is exciting when there are breaking waves over it, but it turned out to be straight forward. We just line up for the deepest part, motored fast against the current, and so we were in.

Once inside we were greeted by Nick, of Ventus, whom me had met in Marie Galante. He grabbed our lines, passed them through the loop on the buoy, and passed them back up to us. Now that is the easy way to tie up to a mooring!

It is a popular destination for day cruises, both on huge sailing catamarans, and also motor speedboats. So during the day the moorings are all taken up. But they leave by 4pm, and then the place is all ours .

What a beautiful place to wake up in the mornings!  between 2 deserted islands. This one on our port side no one is allowed to go ashore. And under our boat there were huge tunas, 2 rays and a turtle. 

One evening we had a big barbecue on shore, above photo, along with Nick, Jessica and their three children, plus Stephane and Laura plus their three children. American flag and Swiss flag. The kids had a great time, and made smores that they shared with us. Haven’t had those in years! Beer was drunk, food eaten, and conversation made. A good time in our own private island!!

We did, of course, do lots of snorkeling. Such a shame that one is fighting through the floating sargassum weed all the time. Definitely wasn’t like that in 2010. And all the coral was dead. But there were some good sized fish. We swam with turtles, stingrays, tuna, grouper, surgeon fish, sand tile fish, blue tang, sergeant majors, angel fish and even a group of three squid. Many others that we recognised but couldn’t name. We also saw a small lemon shark swimming along near shore, as we were walking on the beach.

Friday 16th March, we upped anchor and headed, once again, for Sainte Anne. Of course that meant crossing the bar again, which seemed to be even bigger waves than on the entry. We watched Ventus leave before us, and they smashed through half a dozen breaking waves, their boat pitching up and down like crazy. But with some good timing we found a pause between waves, and only smashed through on breaking wave – which gave us a good soaking.

And so we were on our way in sunshine, with a 10kt following wind, making for a very smooth crossing. The fishing lines are out, and we are busy catching lots of weed again. All part of the fun.

Headed for Sainte Anne. On this coast the attraction is the beaches. Lined with palm trees,turquoise shallow waters protected by the reefs and good snorkelling. The small town is filled with vendors, souvenirs, restaurants,water sports and all that kinda stuff geared for tourists. Club Med is here too.
We stayed one night here, it was quite rolly. Got together in the evening with the other 2 boats at Ventus, hosts Jessica and Nick, for some drinks and Mexican train game.

Saturday, 17 March

6 NM away from St Anne, we are anchored between the town of Gosier and this cute little island

 

During the day is busy with tourists coming in and out by water taxi, but by evening is very nice and peaceful again. We had a nice little walk there to the lighthouse at sunset.

As we approached the anchorage, it was nice to see 2 boats we previously met in St Lucia and paid a little visit. They gave us a tour of their beautiful new Lagoon 450. 

Today is Sunday and most places are closed. Time to do some work!  I had most of this  post ready just had to upload a couple of the last photos.

Busy working on our flooring today. Drinks tonight at the Canadian boat, Leanne and Andrew from Sunshine coast, together with an American boat.

Staying another week here in Guadaloupe, looking forward to do some hikes and explore some waterfalls. Headed to  Antigua end of the month.

Current Location: Rodney Bay, St Lucia
Current Position: 14 5.4 N 060 57.74 W Click to view map.
Distance sailed since last post: 23 nautical miles. View the map of our voyage track here

On Wednesday we finally had our new forestay and furler fitted, and we managed to escape. Enough of boat maintenance for a while.

We had a wonderful sail across to St. Lucia. Beautiful blue sky. A pleasant force 4 wind on the port quarter. And we were joined by dozens of dolphins for at least an hour. There would be at least 10 swimming alongside us, weaving in and out of our bow wave. So cute. And there were dozens of other ones a bit off to windward. Never seen so many at one time.

We also had five fishing lines out, but seemed to be catching nothing but sargassum weed the entire time. You just finish cleaning one hook and you have to go to the next. Sometimes it fouls even as you are lettting the line out again. Still, the sky was blue and the sun was shining, so who cares?

And then just as we were arriving in the dark about about 7:30pm we caught a yellow fin tuna. We were just 10 minutes from arriving in the bay, so I started to bring in the lines. As I was pulling in the first line, Snap! the quick release on another line (the one with the killer lure on it) released. “Fish!” I yelled to Ceu, and it was all action. And that is why that lure is called the ‘killer’.

This fish was caught in the same area as the last few. It seems that just off Pigeon Island is a great place for fishing. We do have a photo, but it is on our phone, which I don’t have with me right now. And we left our camera charger back home, so we are rather limited on photos at the moment. Sorry about that.

It turns out that that fish was actually quite tough. Never knew that fish could be tough, so it wasn’t great as a steak – but it did make wonderful fish cakes. The remainder we will make into a fisherman’s pie or something like that.

And so now we are in St. Lucia again, just for a few days while we get some upholstery done. 

Then next Tuesday, or thereabouts, we will head off for Gaudeloupe, which we have not yet visited. Proper cruising, finally 🙂

Current Location: Le Marin, Martinique
Current Position: 14 28.08 N 060 52.51 W Click to view map.
Distance sailed since last post: 23 nautical miles. View the map of our voyage track here

Yep, (almost) all is working now. We needed some different scenery, and we desperately needed to stock up on cheese, salami, and wine, so we sailed across to Martinique. Hand steered, as it turns out the autopilot is still not working. You press the button for ‘auto’ and it immediately starts to turn to port (left), so that is not too useful!

Still, hand steering for the 5 hour crossing is no different, actually much easier, than highway driving from Vernon to Calgary, especially in winter conditions. So it is not a big deal really, we are just too spoiled. It was hard on the wind with 20kts true and 3 meter swells, so a nice lively sail. Then we had to beat for the last 6 miles. The way back is always easier as it is downwind.

So here in Le Marin is an excellent electronic engineer with a great sense of humour. Last year when he fixed something for us, he asked if we wanted the 10,000 mile, 20,000 mile or 40,000 mile repair. I reminded him of that and he said he has a good stock of jokes – but sometimes needs to be reminded of them so that he can recycle them. I said he was very ecological, doing all that recycling.

Anyway, his flight to Paris yesterday was cancelled because of Parisian snow, and we caught him at the right time this morning – so now he is working on our project as I write this.

While he does that, it is off to Leader Price for the cheese and wine. Martinique really is more like France than the Caribbean. Much more organized and sophisticated than St. Lucia. 

The carnival starts tomorrow. We were here last year for the carnival, and did it to excess, so we might pass on that this time – or maybe we will just go and see it for a day. Then, since everything is closed during carnival week, we will probably just sail back to St. Lucia.

The round tuit list is getting shorter. Using up my Round Tuits at a great rate now, so life is good.