LIFE: Part 2

Current Location: Simpson's Bay, St. Martin
Current Position: 18°2.38'N, 63°5.51'W
Distance sailed since last post: 16 nautical miles

We are now back home on Life Part2 in St Martin.

We sure had a very busy month in Kelowna, visiting family and friends. I got to spend lots of time with my daughters and grandson Tiago who is so much fun! I miss him a lot, thanks to Skype for allowing me to talk to him, laugh and be silly with.

And it sure has been busy here too. Noel arrived on Sunday night and I arrived on Monday. Grabbed some lunch on the way from the airport and it was back to work on the boat immediately. Noel got the anchor chain out and was ready for painting again. The one we did last Summer didn’t hold up very well, and is sure easier to do it when the boat is hauled out.

On Tuesday evening Noels finds out he had to go back to Seattle on a business trip. He had to meet up with some prospective buyers of the business he’s selling.

On Wednesday, we launched our boat into the water at Simpson’s Bay Lagoon from Bobby’s Shipyard.

On Thursday morning Noel left to Seattle and I stayed here to make sure we were still afloat when he got back!!!! In the afternoon I had someone knocking on my door, what a nice surprise! Someone calling my name here? It was Val and daughter Olivia who we met last August along with her husband Ron way back in Grenada, and they recognized our boat. So it was nice to know someone you knew was around. We went out for dinner and drinks and it was a fun night meeting other yachties.
They told me they usually monitor channel 14, in case I needed anything. Left them at the restaurant at about 9:00pm.

Let my own adventure begin!

The evening came and everything around the boat was cool. I left extra light s On, flashlight handy and went to sleep…very late!

I woke up at about 4,15 am with a little thump noise. I got up pretty quick, to find out my dinghy was a very good fender…..we hit a little old boat, no one living aboard. We were dragging anchor. GRReat, never even happened to us when Noel is here why now? Well I quickly started the engines and kept boat away from other boats while planning my strategy. I pulled up the anchored and thought I could just anchor again on my own, till I realized the snuber was jammed and I couldn’t drop the anchor. It needed some work maybe with a crowbar or something. I was busy just keeping the boat away from the others in a 10 knots breeze.

Decided to call Ron.

“Exodo, Exodo, this is LifePart2, LifePart2.”

Lucky ME, they keep their radio ON during the night. Val said he was coming …..There I am, this little person, big boat, dark night with all my lights on, including big flash light so Ron could spot me easily. Surprisingly my neighbours never heard a thing.

Ron arrives and after all my running around between the helm, the tools room and the anchor, we got the snubber out and was able to pull the anchor all the way up.
Ron recommended I anchor closer to him, he says its better holding there as it was very weedy in this area. At this time is still very dark, and difficult to drive between boats and the channel. Ron stayed up at the front with a good flash light and guided me through the channel and we anchored successfully in our new area.

I made a fruit smoothie, and stayed and watched the anchor for a few minutes to make sure we were holding. Lucky with all these adventures we didn’t hit the worlds largest sloop, Mirabella V, moored very near to us.

I thanked Ron so much and sorry about the wake up call. He said, “no problem.”

I made some coffee, sat at the front, watched the anchor and I  actually had my cup of coffee without letting it go cold, like I normally do.

I was happy to be in a different neighbourhood and holding well. I admired the beautifull views around the Lagoon. I took a shower and it wasn’t till then that I realized my little tank top across the front said  ” burnettes rule  ” way too funny!  Yesss, we stayed there till next day.

This time the anchor waited until 8am, better than 4am.

I was up in the galley making some coffee when through the window, I saw that my view was changing, quick. I was just glad it was daylight. My suspicion was right. We were dragging again.

Started engines and kept boat away from neighbors. Two of them came over right way and helped me anchor again. Scott and Bill. Scott tied his dinghy up to our boat, couple of minutes later we watched it drifting away. No Problem, the third neighbor already has it.

The bow line had gotten caught in the propeller and it chewed it right up. No surprise we’ve done that too. They’re suppose to float (but I guess not enough!). Nothing is a surprise around here, we’ve all been there and done that. Ah, now I don’t feel so bad!!!

We kept going to find a good sandy spot that they knew about. Mission accomplished!

After dragging twice in 2 days, I was very suspicious and I decided not to go out and stay close to home. At lunch time we had about 12 knots of wind and I just had a bad feeling. 12 knots may not be much, but when you’re not anchored, it sure is a lot. Put on my snorkels and went to see the anchor. Bad! It was sideways and sitting on lots of weeds.

I also wanted to see if some remainder line was still around the prop. A piece but didn’t look too bad. I jumped on the boat and took snorkels off. Just in time to realize It was dragging again and one of the neighbors was also watching and was already on his way to help again. This time we found a really good patch of sand and it was a success. I also got him to pull the little piece of line from prop. We were holding fine till Noel got back on Tuesday. The next day I baked and gave them each a warm loaf of bread, which they enjoyed.

I must say that sailors are a great bunch of friendly and helpful people around. You leave Canada where  you barely see your neighbors, you get here and everyone is out and about singing, doing boat maintenance, socializing, its great!!!! AHHHH and of course, beer is only a dollar a piece.

I picked up Noel last Tuesday at the airport. We communicated via email during his absence, but I never said anything about my adventures, I thought he was too busy to be worried. On the way from the airport in the short bus ride we could see our home on the water. He said, Ohh you have moved! I said Yes, meet your new Skipper! He was all smiley, so I told him I have been busy from neighborhood to neighborhood meeting different neighbors every day….now he was laughing……I told him the first one was at 4,30 am the first night. He said he was glad it happened. Now he knows I can handle it!!!! LOL

So he tells me his adventures! No wonder he was smiling ( he said he was just so happy to see me). While I’m working so hard, he was staying in a Mansion, being catered to and taking day trips with these prospective business buyers on their 90′ motor Yacht. He never told me that via email. Only that it was very tiring and couldn’t wait to come home.

I don’t want to talk to You anymore!!!!!

But just One Thing!

Well, when the the going gets tough……the tough go shopping!!!

While you were gone I was really good with your money. ( It was sure tiring, running around in this heat to find the best deals).

See makeover…may not be what you’re thinking

The next day, Wednesday we left St Martin to BVI. Noel needs to catch up with some work and we have a great connection out here on the boat. We did a nice full moon overnight crossing of 12 hours and we are now in this beautiful Bay in Spanish Town.

Update:

While writing this we lost connection. I couldn’t publish it. Then we went out and Party. Overnight it got pretty rough, some northerly swells came in, so we moved . We did a great 1 hour crossing, 17 knots of wind to a different bay. We are now at Marina Cay. Much more protected and still have a connection. Very pretty here as well.

Yep, we are back in the land of snow. In fact, we arrived in Kelowna on Friday, and had an awesome powder day on Monday.And, of course, Ceu got to spend heaps of time with Tiago.

Unfortunately I had to catch up on some business stuff, so couldn’t hit the slopes that day, but the next day…

Up at 6:30 (no hardship with our jet lag waking us up at 5am anyway). Bundle our skis, boots, poles, coat, pants, goggles, neck scarves, gloves, helmets, beacons, probes, shovels and backpacks into the jeep, and off we set for Revelstoke.

Revelstoke, in case you don’t know, has the highest skiable vertical in all North America. Almost 6,000 ft from top to bottom, and all covered with well over 2m of fluffy snow. And, since the mountain is so vast, it doesn’t get instantly tracked out. The runs are long, the terrain is steep, the trees are nicely spaced. It is probably the best ski hill I have skied.

Which all adds up to a very tiring day!

Bear in mind that this was our first skiing since last season – and we headed straight for the black runs and the trees, of course. What? Drive 2 hours to ski some groomed blues??? On a powder day? Not a chance!

Fitting really, since the last day of the last season was also a wicked powder day at Revelstoke. That day we did well over ‘an Everest’ in vertical. I don’t think we managed that this time, but still we were dead by the end of the day.

Ah!

A few days before that, after a great week with Ben visiting, we were hauling Life Part 2 out of the water for a yearly bottom paint. While she is out, we are also getting some other work done:

A new starboard cutlass bearing (necessary).

Interior cushions re-upholstered with SensaSuade (voluntary). Will be much more comfortable than the sticky vinyl we currently have.

A new comfortable sofa-style seat behind the helm (voluntary)

Hull polished and some gel coat repairs (mostly voluntary)

It is just like a house – there is always something to be fixed or upgraded! As I said before, you have to like DIY if you are going to live on a boat.

Current Location: St. Bart's
Current Position: 17°54'N, 62°51.14'W
Distance sailed since last post: 82 nautical miles

He finally made it. We picked him up from SXM airport at 9pm, put him in our dinghy, and drove him across the bay to Life Part 2.

Unfortunately, Simpson Bay is quite exposed and seems to often be quite rolly – certainly more bumpy than other bays in which we have anchored. Which, after spending about 20 hours traveling was all a bit too much for Ben.

So, as soon as he had unpacked, we jumped back in the dinghy and went ashore to find some stable land for a few hours. We had some drinks and then went for a late night burger for Ben, and then finally retired back to the boat and a moving bed.

On Sunday we took a tour around Simpson Bay Lagoon in the dinghy, and had a lazy day on the boat and in the turquoise Caribbean sea.

On Monday we hoisted sail and had a fast reach across to Anguilla. Ben announced that he rather liked this sailing thing.

Anguilla is a very quiet and peaceful island, with almost all of the beaches and anchorages being protected marine parks which cost $US 100 per day to visit! And even then the conditions were too rough for us to actually stop and visit them.

So on Wednesday we hoisted sail again and went back to the French side of St Martin for an overnight stop before carrying on to St. Barth’s.

Now, St. Barth’s is the complete opposite to Anguilla. Small in size too, but busy with narrow streets, lots of cars and, of course, dozens of chic French boutiques because St. Barth’s is, after all, quintessentially French. French bread and pastries, French cheese, French cuisine, French shopping, and French people. Many of them well off, for this is the Paris of the Caribbean. That honor used to belong to St. Pierre in Martinique, but a certain volcano in 1902 put an end to that, so now all the chick people find their way to Gustavia, St Barth’s.

Ben got so swim with some turtles in St. Barth’s, found some cotton buds, admired the mega yachts, and then it was back to St. Martin to fly off for a three day visit to New York.

It was great having him aboard – and having lots of fun discussions about Donald Trump and his philosophies on life and business.

On Friday evening we finally got our prop shaft seal fixed, and so we sailed overnight to St. Maarten as we have a bunch of stuff to orgainize before we fly to Canada. And also Ben is arriving here on Saturday.

St. Maarten is hugely different from the other islands.

For one thing, it is low, which means dry. Not much rain, no rainforests, no rivers or waterfalls.

And secondly it is very developed. This is not some sleepy Caribbean island. It is a bustling, busy, almost-metropolis. No, no big skyscrapers, but lots of buildings, lots of stores of all descriptions, lots of traffic, lots of huge mega yachts (mostly power) and, of course, duty free shopping, which explains all the rest. It is for all these reasons that it is the best place to get stuff done on the boat.

But despite all that (or maybe because of it)  it is very difficult to find a wifi connection. Out in the bay where we are anchored there isn’t even one that we can buy. So right now we are literally sitting on a park bench outside a store next to a hotel where we do actually have a connection. But no power of course.

The other day we had a good connection in Burger King (and they have signs up saying free wifi), but the last two times it wasn’t working.

All very frustrating.

But, the good news is that Ben arrives on Saturday for a week’s holiday! Will be good to have him aboard. We will probably visit nearby St Barth’s and Anguilla.

Will update when I find a connection!

Current Location: English Harbour, Antigua
Current Position: 17°0.47'N, 61°45.8'W
Distance sailed since last post: 87 nautical miles

Well, we have been sitting in Antigua waiting for our spare part to arrive. Three days just waiting for some French guy in St. Martin to get his act together to get the part to us.  Now, finally, I went to the airport to pick it up. So, hopefully we will get it all put back together again today. Once we do, we shall depart for St. Martin.

In the photo below you can see  how the propshaft unit is separated from the engine. At the top end of the unit there is a black rubber seal that encloses the prop shaft and stops water coming through. But with the unit separated it got pulled aft, thus damaging that seal and so letting water in. That seal, made by Volvo, is the bit we were waiting for.

In the meantime it is not all bad here. We have Ceu cooking up a treat in the galley, as usual (better food than any of the restaurants).

And we have a whole selection of multi-million dollar superyachts to gape at!  They cost millions, have full-time professional crews to maintain and sail them, charter out at hundreds of thousands of dollars a week, and the owners rarely come to visit them!

So, life’s not to bad really. Even  if we had to wait in paradise for an extra day or two!

Current Location: Portsmouth, Dominica
Current Position: 15°34.79'N, 61°27.87'W
Distance sailed since last post: 18 nautical miles

Here we were, all set to sail to Gaudeloupe, and what do we find when we check the engines before we fire up! The port engine compartment FULL of water. I mean water up to sea level outside. The compartment is separate from the rest of the hull, so only that section was affected, the rest of the boat was dry.

Clearly there were two problems – water coming in from somewhere, and the bilge pump not working. Very odd. An additional problem was the lack of a high water-level alarm to tell us about this state of affairs before the water got this high.

So, lower the dinghy back into the water and head to the shore in Portsmouth (Dominica) to find a new bilge pump and a whole boat-load of wire to hook it all up.

Pretty quickly we had it all bailed out and we could assess the damage.

First, and oddest of all, was the site of the gearbox completely separated from the engine. And the source of the water – coming through the shaft seal where the propeller shaft goes through the hull into the water.

Then of course was the disintegrated battery terminals and starter solenoid, plus who knows what else?

Since there are no services in Dominica, we figured the best course of action was to sail to Antigua where we could find a decent mechanic and haulout if necessary. The new bilge pump was working great, we only had to run it for about 5 minutes every hour to keep up with the water coming in, so we were pretty sure we would make it there without any problems.

We left at about 7pm, sailed across to Gaudeloupe in a nice fresh breeze, then up the lee shore of Gaudeloupe in a flat calm, and then across the St.Martin in a nice breeze again – doing 7 – 8 knots even with our propeller hanging off the end! Of course while we motored up the side of Gaudeloupe we had only one engine, so were a bit slow. But at least that is one advantage of a Cat – two engines!

The night sail was very pleasant, with Ceu and I taking 4 hour watches.

When we arrived at St. Martin we called the marina in English Harbour and had them waiting for us, as docking is a bit tricky with only one engine. You might think it is just like a monohull, but with the one engine so far out from the centerline, it is impossible to reverse in a straight line. Forward is not too bad, as the prop wash over the rudder counteracts the turning moment of the single engine. But it meant we had to come alongside the dock, into a narrow space, with just forward movement. Rather like parallel parking in forward rather than reverse!

Still, with some helpful people ashore, we were soon snugged up.

Of course, being a Saturday, there wasn’t much chance of finding a mechanic. We did however put in a new float switch for the bilge pump, so that it would work automatically again, which meant that we could go to bed and not worry about it till Monday.

Current Location: Dominica
Current Position: 15°17.68'N, 61°23.23'W
Distance sailed since last post: 59 nautical miles

Left Martinique around 10am and arrived Dominica at 4pm. It was a really nice sail with winds up to 20knots. Anchored in Roseau near the cruise ship dock. Two big ships were there for the day.

If you like nature, you will love Dominica for its spectacular natural beauty. Amazing rain forests, lush vegetation, valleys and gorges, and an endless array of hikes.

Our favorite attraction was the boiling Lake.

YouTube Link: Hiking to the Boiling Lake

We hiked with a guide for 3 hours to get to it. It started off through the rain forest, and up into a cloud forest with great views. Down muddy scramble into the Valley of Desolation where the rocks felt soft and springs of boiling water and steam everywhere.

We followed this hot river for a while, I mean rocks, water, trees that had fallen over and up the hill again, this time into some low vegetation.

Soon we arrive at this 70 meters wide crater, throwing clouds of steam into the air. We stood at the natural ledge, once in awhile the steam clears away and you see the boiling water. It is the second largest boiling lake in the world. We sat and had a picnic and admired the views all around us. Our guide said the largest is in New Zealand. It took us just over 2 hours to hike back. At the end of the trail we stopped at Titou Gorge for a great swim through this deep slot canyon that narrows and winds through the mountain and into a thundering waterfall. According to the locals, Pirates of the Caribbean shot some scenes there too.

Our guide was impressed we were so fast.

Probably not so impressed when we told him the day wasn’t over yet. ( after all he was paid for the day. ) Normally he doesn’t plan anything else on that tour because the hike is tiring. We were ready to see more sites we had investigated beforehand! Our next stop was at Trafalgar Falls. Only half hour walk from car park very beautiful gardens all the way to the 2 beautiful Falls, male and female they call it.

Our day ended with a nice soak at Tia’s Spa. Not the kind of Spa you’re thinking! We went down this nature trail, into this luscious valley and jumped into these sulphur springs baths. The Spa also offers private, enclosed Baths if one prefers, but with all the crowds from the cruise ship gone, by then it was late afternoon, Noel and I had the place all to ourselves. Ahhh who wants to be cooped up inside with a view like this? We were surrounded by banana trees, cocoa trees, nutmegs so many flowers, the sounds of all kinds of birds and of course the Springs. It was magical! A short drive through the Botanical gardens and that brought us back home.

The next day we took a taxi up to the Carib Indian village. That was a bit of a disappointment. Not much there really. Except for a guide who told us that only 10%of the Caribs were still pure blood – and they had forgotten almost all of their customs and traditions, which makes it a bit hard to put on an informative display about their past lives!

On the way back from that we visited the Emerald Pool, a world heritage site. Again, beautiful forest, lovely river and waterfall and a plunge pool. Delightful.

Well, that did it for Roseau, so we sailed up to Portsmouth, at the top end of the island, where we took a quiet boat trip up Indian River. Rather like our boat trip in the Amazon – but way warmer this time! Saw kingfishers, iguanas and of course lots of herons.

In the afternoon we were sitting in the cockpit doing not a lot, when we heard this plaintive cry “help! Help!” There was a little girl sailing past in a small sailing dinghy. We still had the dinghy in the water, so we leapt in that, took some extra line, and went off after her. It seems she had lost her dagger board or something, but in any case was unable to tack. No problem, we towed her back to her parent’s catamaran Ondine, and then had a very pleasant visit with Jon, Lucy, and Emma Kate. Well, I guess that is one way to meet the neighbors!

Tomorrow we sail for Guadeloupe – time for some more French cheeses!

Current Location: St. Anne, Martinique
Current Position: 14°26.46'N, 60°53.08'W
Distance sailed since last post: 2 nautical miles

Finally customs opened and we were able to check in. We are now legal and able to move to somewhere where we can get internet connection out on the boat. It is Boxing day and we went around the Bay to the cute town of Ste Anne. Great atmosphere, very lively and I enjoyed their local market for fresh vegetables and of course fresh-out-of-the-oven baguette every morning. It was a very short dinghy ride to shore. Same night we arrived, boxing day, we had just finished our dinner out on the boat when this amazing show of fireworks started. What a surprise! We believe they were coming from Club Med.

Noel caught up with some work and we left on the 30^th.

Our destination: Trois Islets, just opposite Fort de France.

Very charming and scenic little town. Noel and I picked up a map at the tourist office and went exploring on foot. We really enjoyed the great scenery. (and a yummy ice cream) We took a country-side road that took us to La Pagerie Museum, the original home of Empress Josephine. The guide explained that’s where she lived till she left for France for an arranged marriage at the age of 16. She later married Napoleon, after the first husband died.

On the 31^st we sailed around to the big capital Fort de France. I confess I’m not into shopping, but one must check out the French shopping …after all, I read it’s the only place where you can get fashion from Paris. Noel and I set off for more walking! Typical big city stuff, lots of traffic, busy streets,, shoppers everywhere…tried to get into the supermarket, vegetable bins were mostly empty. Noel and I don’t do lineups very well and we don’t really need anything this bad!

Went home and cooked. Enjoyed a great meal of Lobster Thermidor along with our French cheeses, wine, pate and bread.

Waited for fireworks. Nothing. We expected it to be more lively for a big city, but I guess we should have stayed in the small villages; they are way more fun.

Its weekend. We would stay a bit longer and get some stuff for the boat, but as usual everything is closed Saturday and Sunday.

New Years Day at 8:30am we moved on. Three hours later we anchored in St. Pierre. It lies at the foot of Mt. Pelee and it was once known as the Paris of the Caribbean. St.Pierre was once very wealthy. Ships would take on rum, sugar, coffee and cocoa, enough to make some plantation owners multi-millionaires.

It all changed in 1902 when the volcano erupted and destroyed it all along with the population of 30,000 people. All that remained were smoking ruins. People burned to death except for two: a cobbler that was in his cellar, and a prisoner in a stone cell who was in jail for murder.

A lot of the ruins are still there. Some have been built up with houses on top, some form garden walls and some have been tidied up as historical sites. I was amazed and happy to find this historical little place. It now has a population of 5,000 people.

We were anchored just bellow some of the ruins, and also at the same anchorage where12 ships sank in the tragedy. It is now a very popular diving site.

Again Noel and I went on foot and visited some of the remains. Most interesting places were the theater ruins, the prison where Cypron was jailed and the history museum. Took a long hike up the road, very scenic and with great views of the harbor. It took us through some rain forest, rivers and waterfalls. Stopped to visit a Rum distillery. It was closed. No surprise! Did you know that January 2nd is a holiday? Yes, It’s called Recovery day!!! No joke. And again, we had to wait for customs to open the next day Jan 3th, so we could check out since St. Pierre was our last port of entry. Au revoir Martinique

Off to Dominica. Stay tuned!

Current Location: Le Marin, Martinique
Current Position: 14°27.78'N, 60°52'W
Distance sailed since last post: 24 nautical miles

It is Christmas Morning! A wet Christmas it poured all night and still drizzling!

I did break the Portuguese tradition for the first time. I did not cook codfish. But it is soaking at the moment and I will cook it sometime this week. We cooked a roast of lamb with roasted potatoes other veggies and all the trimmings. We turned on the candles, the music and Christmas lights and sat down outside for a nice meal with an ocean view and beautiful city lights. It was very nice and peaceful with the occasional fireworks display.

Today we will have a Christmas Ham and more French cheese and wine. Right now we are sitting at a café. It’s time for some pain au chocolat and some good coffee.

Hope you are having a great Christmas too!

 

 

 

 

We had a lovely sail across from St. Lucia yesterday.

The sun was shining, the wind was close hauled about 15kts, and the seas were quiet.

After about 4 hours we arrived at Marin Bay, and we short tacked up the narrow channel between various shoals. Why? Why not? We had the time, there was no rush, and it was fun to sail it rather than to motor.

Of course once we did reach the end of the bay, crowded with anchored yachts, we did switch on the engines while we hunted for a good mooring spot. We eventually snuggled between a few other boats fairly near the shore (hoping for internet connection – no such luck 🙁 ).

We eventually dropped anchor at 3:15pm and went ashore in the dinghy to find customs. They were closed. So we wandered around town a bit and then came back again in the evening to try to get an internet connection in the bar. Unfortunately they have French style sockets which wouldn’t accept our American style plugs, so no power and no computing.

Oh well. This morning we will go ashore, check in at customs, upload this blog post, and do some shopping at the supermarket to get ready for Christmas – wine, cheese (when in France do as the French), and various other necessities. Ceu just told me we are going to buy some cognac too.

Roast lamb for tonight, I think, and then a Christmas ham for tomorrow. We will probably move out of the bay here, around the corner to St. Anne which is quieter and has nice clear water and a sandy beach.

It is different having a Christmas with no snow – and certainly it has been a lot less commercial and frantic than back in Canada. It is also a shame that our kids can’t be here with us.

So, wherever you might be, have yourself a MERRY CHRISTMAS!

We love you all!

Update: Customs is closed! So we are now illegal immigrants! Supposed to be open every morning, including holidays, so I guess the guy was sick or something. Well, will try again tomorrow morning I guess!