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antigua
barbuda, fantastic islandANTIGUA
(more on other site: http://perthamina.spaces.live.com/)
Lifting out at jolly harbor
The last few days went in a blur. We had a lovely motor up to jolly harbour, the sea was sparkling, no wind, just as well ,. we had taken down the foresail already and it was tucked up in the front cabin. The approach to Jolly harbour is in very shallow water, over the reef and as always the water was such a beautiful colour...why are we going home!! We went and got some fuel and water and then into the marina, as normal when it is time to moor up, the wind starts to blow like mad across the mooring!! The berthing master at jolly is called william and he is fond of shouting instructions. Of course alan is deaf and ccannot understand the accent either, so it was quite amusing if not confusing. There are two poles either side of the mooring and the only way you can get a boat in or out involves untying one of the other boats, a bit of a cats cradle really. Anyway finally tucked up in the marina. now the covers
to come off, the bimini, the main sail to be tied up. Last minute presents and then a bit of a relax. We went to the beach for a swim at the end of the day. Very nice too. /the r people on the boat next door come from Dorchester and live at poundbury and are having their b oat shipped b ack from tortola in may, they have a place in Portland Marina, but will lift out at Timmy clarks,. a small world really. The boats all around were very friendly and helpful. Lots of chatting and then just the finishing off things.
27th March
Tonight is our 32nd wedding anniversary so went to the italian. but first to the bar on the boardwalk.
Next morning busy day, boat lifted outat 8.30 am . went to the beach again for breakfast. started feeling better. boat lifted out, opposite seahawk. Met Delroy, he is going to varnish our cabin soles and the steps etc, also all the antifouling, how much better will that be. He had very sweet red shoes. he seems nice. he says, 'when you come back all will be done. ' (I hope so).
Time for
lunch at the sports bar, then back to the boat, sleep, shower and final checks. Airport hot, tin can plane and then 7 hours later ejected at gatwick.
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antigua
Antigua,
Well here we are again, all ready to be lifted out. After Barbuda we came to Falmouth Harbour, there had been reports of a giant swell coming. The weather reports were talking of an 18 feeet swell, which would cause some damage to the shore line, so we were concerned to find a safe anchorage. Falmouth Harbour is all of those things. A great big inlet with several marinas, full off boats about 200 feet long. The real superyacht heart of the caribbean. Of course we are anchored off in the bay. It is very pretty with some good restaurants ashore and villas scattered int he trees. The big swell did come, and even ran over the road, but no damage and we definitly did not have a problem here. In fact loads of boats were anchored in non such bay and looked perfectly secure. Thye recorded 15 feet on
the buoy.
We decided to go for a drink to English harbour and met ian and tracey off loon . We were just getting settled when Trevor from weymouth came in, he had a drink with us and told us that Neil and Josie from WEymouth were anchored near us. Then tracey went to the loo and when she was gone her relatives appeared. they had no idea she was there, but knew she was in the island. So then a big celebration! we missed our meal out and ended up with the tin meal back on the boat. We all went out for a meal the next night, it was great fun.
Then a beach bbq on sunday, which was also a good laugh. We hired a car and drove round the island visiting many of the places we had only seen from the sea. Antigua is beautiful, and the people so friendly. Alan and jim did several dives, unfortunately one of the regualtors is broken so they went on their own. We also snorkelled on the reef on the corner of this bay, it is really pretty with lots of fish and lovely fluorescent coral.
We took
huge sailing boat aground
large sailing ship aground in falmouth harbour jim back to the airport monday, then on tuesday got up early to take our regulator to st johns. While it was being repaired we took all our laundry round to jolly harbour to collect later. It was a fantastic morning so went and had a big west indidan breakfast on the beach. White white sand. We had loads of different fruits along with sausage, two eggs, potatoes etc. yum yum. then a lttle shopping and the alternator was ready. We did have abit of trouble locating the place in the town, but alan spotted some gear and guessed where it was. They had repaired it, all for £16. Back to the boat and fitted it. all is well. =
We have spent the last few days pottering really, working chatting, reading our books, walking ashore and eating.!! Now this morning it is time to go up to Jolly harbor. We ran out of water last night, so alan had his hair washed int he sink! We are going to the marina ready to be lifted out on friday morning . our flight back is friday evening. Seems to have gone by so quickly.
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Barbuda
ANGUILLA
The anchorage in Anguilla has crystal clear water, but is quite crowded. We managed to lay our anchor in a very good position, so that we could swim round the boat, as long as no passing ribs ran us over! Immediately ashore there was a dinghy dock and a few restaurants. The first one we went to was Johnnys which was very much a beach restaurant, but quite acceptable. We hired a taxi driver, Wendall, to take us round the island.
Wendall was all prepared with a talk and we did wonder if he had swallowed a tape recorder. The island is in the process of being developed and after he had taken us to the second resort hotel, we told him that we had seen enough of new villa and timeshare developments. On the flat plateau on the centre of the island, a capital town with shopping malls, hospital and small airport seemed very organised. It still does have a slight colonial feel to it. When we spoke to Wendall about all the new development, he seemed to realise the
dangers for the people of the island. For the young people before there had been no work, they had to leave, to go to England or the states to get work. Wendall himself had been working the cargo ships round the islands for 25 years before starting his taxi business. We drove past plush hotels, manicured gardens, for sale signs, and stunning villas, available to rent. The island seemed to be buzzing with building. The money which is developing many of these all inclusive resorts is all from abroad, some british, a lot of american. Once the punters are inside sometimes they never leave the resort area, therefore no money for the local traders. It is such a double edged sword. They do bring work for theyoung people but also block off whole areas of the island for everyone. We spoke to some fishermen on the beach. The older man had lived in slough for many years working there, there was nothing for him on the island when he was young. He said 'now there is lots of work , I am too old. ' We discussed the new resort being built on the opposite headland. The fishermen used to
fish off the beach and lay their nets and now they are not allowed to go near it.
Wendall took us to a beautiful beach called Shoal beach, Little cafes on the beach, it was stunning.
Back to the boat, after asking Wendall to stop at the local Roti shack. A little hut with curtains between the serving area and the kitchen, they cooked up rotis to take away. They were still piping hot by the time we got back.
After a rest we decided to go across to the little desert island, about a mile away . The dinghy ride did not take long and we went in through the reef onto a advert perfect island. But.. we did not realise there was abar there, nobody had brought any money, we just had to imagine that lovely cold beer. We snorkelled , but not that brilliant a snorkel. Back to the boat, and then out for the evening to a very nice restaurant on the beach., barrel, or something.
up early next day for the very unpleasant trip to windward to St Barts, We did actually manage to sail, but only about 5 knots. When
dolphins
dolphins by the boat we got there we did a really nice dive on the wreck of a boat. There were some great french angel fish, very appropriate as we were in france.! Little baby lobsters, and a moray eel in the wreck. Jim ended up diving with alan first, then me, as one of the regulators has been damaged. Then back to the boat, a lovely trip to a french supermarket. Loads of lovely stuff to buy. home and back again, out for a meal. very nice too. During the dive we encountered a turtle, that let me stroke its shell, and then followed us around a little. They are lovely creatures.
Friday.
Got up a t 5 am to sail to Barbuda. The sea is flat calm, which is why I am down here typing this. We have the mainsail up but it is doing nothing, and the sea is the calmest I have ever seen it here. Even the swell has gone. Yesterday we saw a whale right next to the boat, it was great to see it jump and splash. So, today so far is calm, relaxed and we are only 18.4 miles from Barbuda. 17.42.49N, 62.09.89W.
getting fuel
long hot walk with dinghy fuel Going through the reefs into Barbuda was relatively easy and we were soon anchored off the eleven mile beach. On one side of thethin strip of beach is the sea, and the other a huge lagoon which takes up a lot of the island. The small village of Codrington is on the other side of the lagoon, the pilot book suggested pulling up the dinghy over the sand spit, so we went to have a look , no way could we do that. It almost killed us to pull it up the beach. We tried to ring someone to organise a water taxi but no luck. We asked another yacht but he had no idea either. We were just settling down to our sunset drinks when we saw a figure on the beach. I sent Alan and Jim over in the dinghy, and he was a water taxi. They managed to arrange a taxi for the next day, as they launched the dinghy off the steep to beach Jim fell in, wearing his shorts and t shirt! We had a lovely meal of prawns and then bbqd sardines. (courtesy of a great french supermarket in St Barts. )
julian in dinghy
catching fish again 8 O clock in the morning and we were pulling the dinghy way up the beach ready to meet Clarence. He was a jolly chap and took us over the lagoon. His flat bottomed boat whooshed quickly across, it is quite a long way. The lagoon is about 20 foot deep in the middle. At one end of the lagoon is a frigate bird colony, and this is only accessible with a guide. So arriving at Codrington, wanting to check in.
First, round to a petrol station, fuel for the dinghy, then a surburban house in a pretty street. A small child ran about outside and a couple lounged on top of a car bonnet, but smiling and friendly. George, our taxi driver is a member of the island council and obviously was pretty busy, directing all the other taxis, talking on the cell phone, and generally preparing for the boat load of tourists arriving from Antigua. Every other house in the middle was not much more than a grass strip. The Port lady sat on a tree trunk and filled in the forms, she was wearing a pink track suit and was very nice. Back in the
bruce
Bruce happy after a day at sea car to a house around the corner, the sign outside said, Customs and a telephone number. A pair of trainers sat on the doorstep but no other sign of life. George saw us waiting and was soon on the phone. Then a car drew up, a very friendly man jumped out, apologised for the cooking smells and gave us the customs form to fill in. He was in a rush, a plane was landing at the airport in ten minutes. Onwards to the centre of the village, where there was a little supermarket. We bought some drinks and then into a little office called immigration. The girl was not happy. George had woken her to come down and check us in, a little drink was in order for her time. She stamped our passports after the usual filling in of forms and gave George a hard time. Back to the dock.
There was Clarence. Into the boat and far across the lagoon, the water was gently ruffled by the light wind, cooling as we raced across, skimming over the top, like a scene from the Everglades in Florida. In the distance the mangroves grew from a tiny little ribbon
of vegetation into a more pronounced dark green line, then more distinctive bushes , roots stretching from the water. We whizzed to a halt next to a whirling scene of wings and chicks. The frigate birds are large, wingspan about 90 inches across. There were hundreds of them, the chicks sitting on the mangroves, no nests apparent waiting for food. By this time of the year the chicks are quite big, white fluffy faces, disney cute. Trying to take a picture of the birds, it is hard to capture the scene. The brilliant shine on the water, the darkness of the birds and the noise they make, calling out. Clarence dropped us back on the beach and we were back on the boat, tour over by 10.30 am.
We went for a snorkel, Jim saw a shark, I saw some lovely coral and pretty fish and managed to get stranded on the shallow stuff and scratch my stomach! In the anchorage are about 4 other yachts, right next to us was a boat called scehawk, and Michele and John were on it, they came round for a drink that night,. we had a lovely time.
sunset
Another caribbean sunset, this time in Culebra, what a beautiful place. Sunday
Lay in this morning, Michele and John brought more books round. Hurrah!! Jim and Alan off diving.
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Anguilla
Leaving Leverick bay in the dark was not a very pleasant experience. We were staring out into the dark trying to identify the lights round the reef, and it is amazing how all those flashes seem the same. We slowly felt our way out until we were in the open sea, just off Necker Island. We managed to motor sail but well heeled over to windward, long time since we have sailed to windward really. After the conversation about the sail, we continued with reefed down mainsail. It was a fairly comfortable trip, and eventually the wind headed us and we had to take down the foresail and motor into it. But the sea was calmer than normal, so it was no real problem. The boat is covered in a shell of salt, reminds me of bass baked in salt , the way they do it in spain! We arrived at Anguilla about 6pm and went ashore to find Jim , like Robinson Crusoe, shoeless on the beach, drinking a beer. We all had a rum punch and then went back to the boat, got changed and had a meal ashore. It was very nice too. The boat was rolling around and we thought we were in for a bad night. Just across from us a barge was being unloaded, in the dark the digger was floodlit waving around like antennae on a lobster. The lorries were coming and getting filled up with four big scoops. Soon all this activity stopped and the anchorage settled down nicely. Jim and Alan have gone ashore to try and organise either diving or a taxi tour! 13:06 · Add a comment · Send a message · Permalink · View trackbacks (0) · Blog it11 March
st johns onward
7th March
Went to Mingo cay for dive for alan and Julian, they managed to find a lobster, just before they came up,. Sharon and I had a snorkel in the blue lagoon... well that is what it felt like. The sea is very unsettled still, but it has been very colourful once you actually get in. After the dive we carried on to Caneel bay so that we could have lunch ashore and a little bit more of a shop. We quite enjoyed our time ashore and then we went back later to the Banana dock,., for a very poor meal. how can you mess up a steak? Anyway they managed it, but to their credit they did not charge for the wrecked steak or the drinks. Back to a very unsettled night, I think caneel bay is a bit unpleasant really.
8th March Sob sob goodbye to julian and sharon. We dropped them off on the customs jetty and waited for fuel. then we saw Squander, Adrian and Jan, it was lovely to see them so back to caneel bay for coffee and cake. After that we headed up to coral bay. AS we were anchoring, peg and jack from free spirit came alaong., we went to see them later and they kindly gave us a few drinks. The swell came in that night and it was very unpleasant. hardly any sleep so in the morning headed off.
10th march
Did customs in tortola today in road harbor. how can it take that long to fill in a few bits of paper? one and a half hours later, went and did a bit of shopping and picked up sail,. we were lucky. it is a holiday here, and the sail maker just happened to be around, so that was good,. headed up to leverick bay. spent allAFTERNOON doing washing!!! all done now. back to the bar for a takeaway chicken and chips, up at 4 AM TO pick up jim from anguilla night nightxx01:59 · Add a comment · Send a message · Permalink · View trackbacks (0) · Blog itculebra to st johns
A quiet and peaceful night in puerto Mangal. Such lovely colours, we woke after a very calm night and decided to go to culebrita. We carried on to the shore of culebrita, anchored in slightly rolly conditions while Eleanor, alan and Julian did a dive, while sharon sun bathed. It was very pretty down there, and the coral was pristine. Stag coral and the colours were so clear. We saw a Stingray (stingray de ded deh) and it was all very pleasant. We went on to the next bahia de tortuga, what a beautiful bay it is. White sand, palm trees, and best of all conch, which Sharon and Julian went snorkelling for. They were very succesful and brought back about five conch. We had a lovely day, alan and eleanor walked over the hill past the rustling lizards to the /flamenco Bay, it was so pretty over there, with the swell producing a surf that lookedlike fun. We walked back to see the boat gently bobbing in the blue blue sea. A turtle popped up on the way home. Sharon and julian and Alan were forced to drink beer in floating containers bought in st johns. They were not that brilliant, as the beers and cokes turned over. still the thought was there. when sharon started shivering we guessed it was time to go back to the boat! Arrived Ensenada malen 5.15pm.
18.22.55
64.59/068
Leaving culebra for st johns. Sun shining quite windy. alternator playing up. negotiating the reef. unfortuately the weather was not that kind. The wind was directly against us and the waves poured over the deck.. The bow of the boat was falling deeply into the seventh wave, not very pleasant really. The whole journey which took over five hours was up and down, clinging on, but eventually managed to get some sail up. approaching st thomas, did not really calm down till almost round the island then we managed to have a sausage sandwich. passing inner brassil island. eventually anchored cruz bay for shopping.
Had a nice time ashore, and then on to francis bay for two nights.
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culebra with julian and sharon
Another night in Frances bay, peaceful and fun. We went to the eco camp with two other british boats , far flu and alterego, we met them in the Cape Verde Islands two years ago! It is a small world when you are cruising. We had a good night out and the ribs and salmon were tasty. So was the wine....
Next morning we set off to St Thomas to pick up Julian and Sharon. We cruised by Christmas Cove, it looked a good anchorage. We went to Charlotte Amalie and anchored off Crowne Bay Marina. The marina had a good supermarket and chandlers so we had a good afternoon stocking up.
We had arranged to meet Julian and Sharon at Tickles Dockside Bar and we were there at 7.15. their plane was due to land at ten to seven. Five minutes after we arrived so did they exhausted but still smiling. A beer and a water for sharon , some food from Tickles and back to the boat. It was really calm that night so at least they had a chance to sleep. Next morning up at seven, listen to the weather and off to Culebra. We had a great sail there and arrived at a very pretty anchorage about 1pm/ On the way Julian caught a barracuda which he managed to get a photo of. then Alan and Julian went for a dive.
Later we walked up to the old Lighthouse on Culebrita , quite a climb. The island is covered in low dense scrub with big cacti rising up from the prickly thorn bushes, and every yard a scrabbling from the lizards. The lighthouse was still functional but the empty building beneath it was quite eerie.
When we returned to the boat the water was still and clear so Julian wenr for a snorkel. It was a very productive snorkel because he found a lobster, causing alan to jump into his dive gear, still on the back deck andhelp Julian catch it.
We motored back topuerto mangal, an anchorage surrounded by reef, with a little mangrove island in the middl.e We had a lobster bbq and also made some pinchos.
Monday.
Today we sailed round to Flamenco bay, a beautiful beach but too rough for the boat so carried on Carlos Roasario, we were the only yacht there and the boat was on a mooring ball right over the edge of the reef, so a great snorkel. Alan and I walked over to Flamenco Beach. It was strange to see a car park and lots of people, a few kiosks selling seafood and meat pinchos. The beach itself was stunning, with a surf coming in and people bodyboarding. Looked great.
We motor sailed back to Ensenada Honda, and Dewey the lttle town. That night we went to Mamacitas, a nice restuarant, but stopping to go to the Dinghy Dock Bar for pre dinnner drinks. They gave us a rum so strong, Sharon was falling asleep at the restuarant bar by 9 pm!!
Tuesday
Woke up with sore head, but went ashore to cruise the shops. That took about half an hour to walk all round the strange laid back little place. It has an spanish feel, but with an american culture. We went into the local bakery for coffee, everyone was speaking spanish there. It was interesting.
pm
Went back to culebrita where Alan Julian and I did a dive over the most amazing coral. It is so untouched there.
In the evening went to another anchorage off the reef for a very relaxed bbq and cocktails
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cruz bay trauma and jost van dyke
Jost Van Dyke
There is an anchorage in Jost Van Dyke (yes everyone calls it Dick Van Dyke) which we have returned to many times. It is very quiet , there is only one bar ashore, and a pleasant walk to the jacuzzi in the rocks. This is the kind of place that reminds me of Greece, we always used to anchor just before Levkas, in a cove , for several days. The only thing that used to happed there was the goat herder collecting his goats each evening. Sometimes we saw a boat we knew, but mostly we just snorkelled, read books, and fished. The anchorage in Jost van dyke by Foxys' second bar, has a sandy cay at one end, the water is crystal clear. Sometimes it is rolly here because a big fetch comes across from Tortola. The wind dropped after we anchored and we went ashore for a quick drink. Here too, the goats are on the rocky foreshore climbing up the little cliff. Pelicans dive every few minutes, like stones falling into the water, coming up with something in their large gullets. Turtles pass by, gently minding their own business. When the wind blows the reef surges and hisses.
The bar was closing, and soon we were back on the boat, barbecuing. We had a lovely evening then watched one of Julias' videos.
In the morning we set off for Sopers Hole to collect our sail, on the way we saw Ian and Tracey anchored off a little sandy cay so decided to go over. It was a lovely little island, pure white sand beach with a botanical walk round it. We can thank Rockerfellar for that. He was a great philanthropist in this region. Snorkelled a bit, and swam and then discovered that while we were snorkelling Ian and Tracey had seen a big charter catamaran drive into our boat, after doing the usual thing of dropping 5 metres of chain. Luckily there was no damage, and we did see the yacht and get its name just in case. Sopers Hole was not that special,but we had a good meal ashore at the Jolly Roger. The sail will not be ready for a week so on to St Johns and Francis Bay.
We had to check in at Cruz Bay (again!) so anchored just off the little harbour in some quite shallow water, 1.8 . We went ashore, checked in with immigration, had a walk to the shopping mall, where we had coffee, went to the book shop, enjoyed all the shops and got a taxi back to the national park centre where we had moored the dinghy. On the way back to the boat it was obvious we were hard aground. Probably a ferry wash had bounced us onto the bottom. We tried everything., pulling on the anchor, me in the dinghy like a tug against the bow, Alan in the dinghy and me on the anchor chain, loads of bow thruster and engine, in the end Alan got the fore sail out when a big gust of wind came, heeled the boat over and we gently sailed out of the mud, I like to imagine a big sucking sound, but really there was nothing. I pulled the sail in and we picked up the anchor. Hot, sweaty, but free. We snorkelled under the boat when we got to Frances Bay but not a mark.
We decided to walk up to the eco camp at Maho point, we had some rubbish as well, so took the dinghy into the beach which is the other side of the headland. There is an honours system here, and you take your 15$ and put it in the box provided on a boat anchored in the bay. We reached the beach pulled the dinghy up and as we did so realised we were being attacked by a million sand flies. It was horrible, we ran off the beach and walked up about a mile straight up, through the forest, to the eco camp. It is in a fantastic position, with a little shop, a pottery, and every day activities like glass blowing or yoga. The inmates eat in a big open restaurant, and live in little huts, which are quite basic, and so kind to the environment. There was about 100 people there. We bought some bug spray for the return walk!
Last night Alan was fishing again here, he pulled up a fish and as he did so noticed it looked a bit odd. Then he realised that the bottom half of the fish was missing. Something big had got it on the way up. He put it back in the water and a six foot shark chased it for another go. And to think I had been swimming round the boat earlier! He was very excited and keen to put wire traces on etc etc. Somehow I was not so keen. Several large bites later, it was time to go to bed.
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lobster catching
Star date: monday 25th February.
Rained in the night but still flat calm. soon cleared to a lovely day. Alan and I went shopping first for supplies for tonight, took down the foresail which had a rip in it and bundled it off in a taxi to Doyles at Road Town. Luckily the old one is in good repair so put that up as well.
St Johns Island us virgins
Then a dive. Over to the reef where we anchored our dinghy on the edge of the reef. The water was like glass, just the way I like to dive. We went down to about 12 metres and the coral was teeming with fish. I have never seen such big angel fish, and loads of Queen angelfish as well.banded butterfly fish, cherub fish and trigger fish. Also a barracuda. Yesterday alan saw two huge manta rays, about 7 feet wide, but they were not there today. We caught a lobster and tusseled with it on the sand only for it to escape at the last minute. Luckily we soon caught another..it was lobster city down there, i was squeaking through the regulator every time I saw one. Quite a battle to get him in the bag, see photos. A big turtle has just surfaced by the boat.
We met Trevor on Gloria with his captain Roger, they seem to be having a fun time in Cane Bay. Cant say I like the loud music ashore every night, but seems like party beach. We recognised Trevor because he had a Weymouth and Portland tourist flag from the crosstrees!!
Had a good sail over from Anageda, downwind, lovely. Now heading for Jost van dyke for a night then, onto st Johns, for a few quiet days before going over to st thomas to pick up julian and sharon.
Now to tell you how Alan almost killed me. We had noticed that the cord on the dinghy was stringy, but did he mend it? No. Yesterday he decided to dive with his smb and I would hover around and pick him up. This is a big wide bay, I did not want to be too close to him so hovered about 200 yards away. Stopping and starting the dinghy to move in closer.....started the outboard and the cord and handle broke off in my hand. I dropped the anchor in about 18 metres and tried to put the oars together. We have not had the dinghy long and could not work out how to stop them popping out of the rollocks. Pulled up the anchor and tried to row, every time a gust of wind came I was heading further out in the bay. I rowed for 35 minutes, in great heat, getting more nad more worried, until finally I had to rest, dropped the anchor again, then rowed again. Finally Alan popped up, too far to swim, so he had to wait while I frantically rowed nearer and nearer. He took the outboard to peices and got it going,. I had sat on the petrol tank to row in my bikini and petrol had burnt my bum....I was petrified, furious and glad to get back to the boat. I had to sleep for an hour when I got back and he had to cook lunch. I will not leave the boat again without a vhf and phone. silly really., Still no harm done except to mypoor shoulders.
more later.
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anageda
Trellis bay and beyond
Trellis bay is an enclosed bay, similar shape to lulworth cove, but far more protected. Turtles appear every few minutes and the bottom is very clear. We tied on to the loose mongoose buoys,. Soon we got the internet password, a great signal even halfway out in the bay. We went to the loose mongoose with bruce for his last night. We had a good bbq and met another English boat, bob and sally, very nice couple. Bruce enjoyed his meal and then back to the boat. Soon time to go to the airport for his flight with Cape air, a tiny airline. Tiny planes as well!! He booked in and then we went back to the beach for breakfast. We left him at about 12.00 to go through for his flight at 12.35. We just about got back to the boat as his plane went over. We stood on the back deck waving and hopefully he got a good photo. After bruce was gone we had a couple of days chilling out. We had bob and sally for a drink and then loon, the boat we met in Frances bay,St Johns, came in. Tracey and Ian were great company and came round for a drink that night.
The following day Alan was going to do a dive between the small islands here, when we got there , it was a lot of current. Eventually he went in, but was not down for long. It was quite hard to keep close to him in the dinghy, kept being swept by the current away. He put up an smb so that I could work out where he was. We spent some time just floating round the anchorage, talking to the other boats and looking at the rays in the water. There was a young couple from Sweden in a 27 foot boat, came for a drink as they were passing. We snorkelled the rock a couple of times, some lovely fish there. Bruce enjoyed the snorkel before he went.
We went to Tracey and Ians’ boat that night for a drink before the full moon party. We went ashore and it was great. Aragorn is the artist who makes the fire balls. They are actually big old buoys which have been cut into fantastic shapes. Then they are in the sea bed, just off the beach and they fill them with fire, pour petrol on them, huge flames , it was great. Next came the stilt dancers, who entertained us with a bit of prancing. The great event of the evening was the eclipse of the moon. We sat on the beach ( with lots of other people!) and the music playing watching the moon slowly disappear. It was so much fun, and the sky cleared at the crucial moment. The fireballs were still boiling over the water, reds and glows, then the golden moon seemed to change shape, darkness blackening the sky, then reappearing golden ball. We were all really happy (drunk!) by the time we got back to the boat. What a great evening.
Next morning.
Off to Marina cay for water. So sad to talk to the guy who does the fuel, the manager was drowned last week when he was out fishing, they are all really feeling the shock still.
We set off for Anageda, this means drowned in Spanish, the highest point of the island is 24 feet. We could not see it until we were almost there. It was about 25 miles from trellis bay . We threaded through the reefs, but there are buoys here to help. We anchored off the Setting point, but it is pretty shallow! We touch bottom at 1.4 on the echo sounder, so when we could see 1.4 for about 10 mins alan let out more anchor chain, and now we are safely in 1.8/ checked the tide, it is only 8” so should be no problem/ Anageda seems to be really a giant sandbank and very shallow.
Anageda is famous for its lobsters, they are prolific lobster divers. There are about 7 restaurants offering lobster dinners etc. We walked right along the beach to the point, passing most of the restaurants, we noticed that they were all preparing the lobsters. They chop them up with a knife, still alive..then on the bbq for half an hour! We decided to go to the lobster trap restaurant, looked the best. We arrived at 7 pm, drink first, lobster dinner $50 each. Everyone was served at once. Salad first, v nice then lobster with jacket potato, clarified butter,. And fresh rolls. Then afterwards pudding and coffee. We were very suprised to get a huge whole lobster each. Of course I could not eat that much, we took it home and have just had it for a starter!! Back to the boat, a bit of swell, but not too bad.
Next morning decided to hire a jeep, weather still windy and iffy for diving etc. Drove right around the island. Mostly sand tracks, just like Namibia. Little tiny places, really not much here, but a lot of cars with no wheels, rusting wrecks. The north side of the island was interesting. The blue and turquoise of the beaches are stunning. We sat on one beach just amazed by its’ perfection. We liked loblolly beach, the snorkelling was probably ok but still quite cool at 10 am and a bit rough. Carried on after coffee and went to some totally remote places, found a conk at the side of the beach but left it for the fisherman. Alan saw two snakes, and i saw a yellow rat.
Went on to cow wreck bay, little beach bar, not more than 30 people there but luckily an English guy from surrey changed our £20 note for dollars as we had no money left. No atms here. Had a snorkel, but not too much to see. Back to the boat. V calm evening., nice dinner, and just watched the sunset,. Bird landed on the boat. There is a bit of movement here, but not too bad. It is all very calm on Perthamina
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culebra to the virgins with bruce
Culebra to the virgins
Arriving at Culebra we decided to try and enjoy a day, diving, swimming and snorkelling. So we went round to the anchorage at Culebrita, the small island of Culebra. Tracing through the reefs, it all seems so much easier once you have done it before. The sea was breaking over the reef when Bruce and Alan and I went into the water. It is funny to imagine the Smith family in a row all swimming along, and even weirder not being able to shout at each other!! Ha ha. We had a very pleasant dive and saw quite a few fish. Later that evening we headed back into Ensenada Honda, and went out for a meal to Mamacitas. The restaurant is up the little canal cut which divides the island, set on a deck, a mixture of Puerto Rican mixed with California! The food was good, and the people there very friendly. After a drink at the bar we went home to watch a dvd.
Next morning we set off for the other end of Culebra, it was blowing really strongly still and the seas were quite big coming around. When we got to Cayo Luis Pena, we found a fantastic white sand beach, with a coral reef just out from there. We anchored gently in sand, avoiding the odd patch of coral and Alan and Bruce did a dive. The water is so blue and clear, and on the beach the palm trees sway in the wind. Obviously no sign of palm tree disease here, in St Kitts the tops of the trees were all dying or had fallen off. This island was owned by the navy for many years and used as bombing practice, it is so unspoilt because of that, However there are mooring buoys (free) in every anchorage, and hardly any other boats. It is so different from the virgins, even though they are only 20 miles away. The bird life and fish life seem very tame and unalarmed. We returned in the evening to Ensenada Honda and then we ate at the dinghy dock. This was a pleasant enough place, more cafe than restaurant, eating out of paper plates and so on, but that does seem to be the norm here. The night was windy, but in Ensenada Honda, a big enclosed bay, we felt quite safe laying on our anchor.
Next morning we headed off to the other anchorage, which is the other side of Culebrita, on the seaward side. Last time we went there it was so rough a huge swell was coming onto the beach, and the moorings were untenable. Today, with the wind in the east, the bay was tranquil, shades of blue with white patches of sand gleaming through. We tied onto a mooring ball and spent the day snorkelling, swimming and walking round the little island. It was a really hot day, we loved the snorkelling and even saw a huge stingray under the boat. Bruce and I were all round the banks of coral, and Alan and Bruce went out to the edge of the reef. A lovely day.
10.20.08
6pm
We are anchored in Puerto de la mangal, this is right behind a coral reef, a green stillness next to white foam. Although the wind whistled all around you the boat is calm and does not roll at all. There is a tiny island in the anchorage, we found loads of empty conch shells on it. Alan and Bruce went off to the mangroves to hunt for bonefish. They were gone for ages and came back covered in mozzie bites. That night they had another good fishing fun.
11.2.08
We woke up this morning to hear Chris Parker from Tortola on the single side band radio. He really does give a very thorough weather service and is a boon for the traveller round these islands. He said that the wind was becoming very strong on Wednesday and today was the only day to travel. So we had to make a decision, stay here for another week or go on to the virgins? We decided to go on to the Virgins, and return here another time.
We set off straight away, the wind was dead against us, I was glad Bruce was there to wind the sails up, as we bashed into the waves. It did get rougher during the trip , we had 30+ winds right in our path, and even approaching the Gregory channel as we came into ST Thomas the wind was still strong. We had another change of plan. Bruce wanted to see the shops at Charlotte Amalie, so we anchored in the bay and quickly launched the dinghy. Lunch ashore (actually really nice) in a cafe next to where Mum and I had sat when we came on the Cruise ship. It is such an ugly place, all cheap jewellery shops. Foot lockers, more jewellery shops...zzzz. After about 2 hours Bruce had shopped enough and so we went up to the new dock, Bruce rushed off to Macdonalds, a fair walk in the heat. Alan went to the chandlers, was gone hours and eventually came back with new sheets. We had chafed our old ones crossing the Atlantic.
Right enough of that, up with the anchor and over to cruz bay, or actually Caneel bay. We were shattered, so after a swim round the boat stayed at home for the evening.
Next morning we went to get fuel and water and anchored off the little town. Long hot walks in the sun, lunch ashore and a trip to a big supermarket. Then motored up to Frances bay to ride out the worst of the weather. It is beautiful in Frances Bay. A national park, there is little or no development, just white sand beaches, and an eco resort. We swam, and they went off in the dinghy to do a dive. The next day it was rough so we took the dinghy to Trunk Bay and did the snorkel trail. It was really good, Bruce and I did it twice, people obviously feed the fish, there are so many. Then Alan insisted on a bbq even though we were right next door tot he cafe... We all had to gather wood and he made enough smoke to blank out the beach. Bruce ran away to drink daiquiris and eat burgers only coming back when the smoke had cleared!! We had pinchos and tuna, which Bruce caught, it was lovely actually, we drank beer (alan says he is american now) and daiquiris and wine, came back to the boat and snoozed until it was time for another snorkel. That night they decided to fish. Alan caught the biggest fish in the world...a huge snapper...seemed about 50+ pounds, he got it to the side of the boat, but then let it go, did not even get a good photo of it. He and Bruce were whooping, excited it was so huge. A big orange fish, it seemed very put out.
12/1/08
Wind still howling, what rotten weather it has been, luckily we have had very good anchorages and not had an uncomfortable night. Alan and Bruce dived Mingo Cay on the leeward side, they had a wonderful experience. Just as they were about to come up a dolphin came behind alan , as he was taking bruces’ photo. It was really playful and jumped all around them, doing tricks, standing on its nose in the sand. They took loads of photos, until bruce only had 10 bar left in his tank. They really enjoyed it.
During the afternoon we motored over to Norman island, and tied onto a mooring ball in the Bight. We went to Treasure island caves to snorkel. I took a bit of bread an dI was fish woman. Those brightly coloured little hamlets, beau Gregory, damselfish, angel fish and small yellow tailed snappers were like clouds in the water. We went into the dark cave, and saw a few bigger fish lurking down below.
That night we went to a very subdued Willy ts, Very quiet, but laid back , and actually fun. We watched the bats skimming over the water, seeming to eat the fish which were in a huge shoal by the boat,. We fed them chicken bones and the remains of my dinner. There were loads of bats there. It was good to see them insuch numbers.
Friday
This was the morning we decided to dive the Rhone, the wreck sunk by Capt Woolley, has to be a relation of Julians! Anyway we set off to the dive site, and the sea was breaking over the boat and landing in the cockpit. When we got there, it was rough. The yacht was rolling and smashing into the water on the buoy, which incidentally was quite an effort to pick up. Alan considered the situation and decided that the only way we could cope with the conditions was to put our gear in the dingy and dive from there. It was impossible to have the dingy stern to so we brought it alongside, where it was snatching and pulling. Eventually we got allour gear into it, and set off to the buoy. Down on the rhone, the fish were prolific, you can see why they used it for the Deep, it is so blue down there, and the water is crystal clear. A giant lobster waved at us, we had a good look at him! We could see the bow of the ship clearly and some of the machinery. There was not too much current and we all enjoyed the dive. When we surfaced all the dive boats had gone, and there were never any yachts there, too rough. We managed to all get back into the dinghy and get onto the boat, now the swell was much bigger and the dinghy was snatching horribly. Bruce was in the dinghy handing stuff up to alan, when one big swell came and the dinghy tipped over, bruce fell over but his foot was caught in the dive stuff, he seemed to be in the water for ages, but finally surfaced coughing and spluttering. He was glad to get out of the dinghy and back on the boat, we moved to calmer water and pulled most of the stuff out of the dinghy. Bruce split up the dive gear and he and i put the cylinders away. We were all exhausted. We slowly motored to Peter Island for the evening.
Later,
We could see a new beach bar in the corner of the bay so went over. It was nice, tables, sun bed circular bar, etc. We had a few drinks and Bruce had mahe mahe, so he was happy. A small cruise ship called sundream were taking over the resort later. We had steak on the boat, and alan and bruce did a bit of fishing.
Sat
We started off this morning, it seems so long ago! We filled the bottles, Bruce and I snorkelled the reef, we did some washing etc etc. Then over to the Rhone. A lot less rough today, and we managed to tie onto a buoy out of the swell, a little. We had already put our gear together and today we lowered the dinghy with the dive gear in it. So then all we had to do was jump in and head off towards the stern of the ship. We jumped in and were straight on the wreck. Again, the colours were fantastic and polychromatic, we had a problem straight away with the amount of current. We were swept down quite a way and then had to claw our way back. It was hard to swim against the current. We saw loads of fish, and machinery, it is pretty impressive. There were quite a few other divers there as well. Back to the dinghy holding onto the buoy rope as we went up.
Soon packed away, we even had lunch before dashing off to Road town, but none of us wanted to stay there. We looked round the shops, but most of them were shut, before setting off for Fat hogs bay. I think we have given up sailing, another good motor here. And here we are, in fat hogs bay, a bay with three marinas, but we are on a mooring ball. Tonight we went ashore for a meal and went to a very nice chinease, slightly too expensive, but good. Now relaxed, bruces last day tomorrow. Good night, xx
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puerto de la rey to vieques
Puerto de la rey to vieque
Puerto de la rey is a massive marina, full of motorboats, great big towers on top of them. To get around the marina they come and get you in a golf buggy,. A bit of a souless place really, but the staff and marina management were very friendly and helpful.
Brendan and Nancy came round to dinner the night we arrived at Puerto de la rey and all four of us could not eat the lobster! We had a great night but I think the croatiancherry brandy might have been a mistake,,especially the next day!
Bruce arrived on 4th February, we had hired a car, so had a few days to spend. We went to west marine, what a place, huge, alan was mesmerised by everything. I have never seen him so absorbed shopping, but I could see why. Everything that we have been searching the Caribbean for was on the shelves, and not only that it was cheap!! We bought spares for almost everything, and had awonderful time. We also spent hours in walmart and kmart, stocking up with all kinds of things. We found time for a quick side trip to the El Yunque rain forest, but it was not that impressive. Having seen unspoilt rainforest all over the world, it was like a glorifed park up there. Trails, picknic places, people, cars, like the new forest on a bank holiday. In St Croix we had seen a shy deer walk in front of the car, no chance here. We drove up to San Juan to pick Bruce up, it was dark when he arrived and the roads were four lane highways, with america flashing from the sides, Macdonalds, burger king, Kentucky fried chicken every few miles. Bruce was wandering around outside the arrivals, so we went straight to Wendys for a quick snack, and coffee. Then on back through the metropolis to the strip of endless neon lights. Stopped at ‘Sizzlers’ for tea. We were very confused by the permutations of dinner, salad , soup all for $3.00, huge plates of ribs, all very confusing to an English person. There was a Puerto Rican family all singing happy birthday to a small boy stood up on a chair, in Spanish. Bruce by now was totally jet lagged so time to get him home.
The next day I had to take Bruce to the big shops, and another 4 hours wandering round huge stores. I am getting really bored with them now. I drove on the freeway no problem. Alan spent half the morning fiddling with his compressor hose(!) He had an extension made to go on the deck and then nothing worked,. The man in the hose place spoke no English, but it turned out to be some debris in the hose or something else terribly boring. The good news is that it is working perfectly.
The next day we got up early and headed up to Vieques, the other Spanish virgin island. It was windy on the way over and quite tricky navigation past the reefs. The sea was big as well. We soon came to the first place, Esperanza, tried to get into sun bay, but too much swell. We anchored off the little town and went ashore. We had a lovely meal that night, and guess who fell in the water (well half fell in). Yes all my clothes were wet and i was shivering and teeth chattering. Bruce and Alan thought it was highly amusing. Only time I have worn a skirt as well. Typical.
During the night the wind got up and the boat started rolling. That is so miserable when it is dark and you are tired. We endured it until the morning when alan went out and attached the stern to a rope which brought the boat head up to the swell, immediately it improved. We went ashore int he dinghy and had a walk round the headland. The wind was so strong it was unpleasant.
We headed up to the bioluminescent cove http://www.enchanted-isle.com/ but when we got there much to our disappointment it was too rough. We were running out of places to go, we went right up to the island where there is a big inlet, previously owned by the navy, so no development, not even a house, just mangroves and coral reef. It was fun to catch the baby sharks there. But it did feel very inhospitable, jelly fish sharks in the water and deep deep mangroves all around for miles, hemmed in by a coral reef. Alan and Bruce had such fun fishing, and then we watched a dvd. I was a bit spooked to be in such an isolated place, but alan said no one could get in after dark because of the reefs. The colours were amazing in the sunset, greens and blues, turquoise deepening into darkness. In the morning we set off for Culebra
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st croix to culebra
St Croix to culebra
The journey to St Croix was nothing if not annoying. The wind was dead behind us, so after having dinner, we put up the pole, the sea was full of holes, and it was a little tricky on the foredeck. Still we managed a very clacky night, one minute the wind was on the starboard , then on the port, the sail was filling and falling, the pole was clacking and gybing. It was like having a particularly fractious toddler waking you up every 10 minutes. We were glad to see the island appear , but good to see some dolphins on the way.
Firstly we were shattered, tied up called customs convinced it was Saturday even though it really was a Friday! Went ashore checked into america and had our passports stamped. We are now official aliens! Not illegal but legal aliens, doesn’t scan quite so well in the song but close. The next thing was a big sleep, then ashore for a meal. St Croix is very american, ribs, burgers fries etc etc. Still we made the best of it. The anchorage was close to a reef , we could see the sea just foaming over it. Our first two dives were witht eh local dive boat. They were very friendly and helpful, how nice to have someone help you on the boat and put your stuff together., I like this kind of diving. The first dive was on a wall which falls to 13000 feet, dont want to make a mistake with your buoyancy here! It was interesting, but not loads of fish,. The next dive was near saltwater river, and was very good. I saw a big moray eel and loads of fish, it was fun. The couple on the boat had a boat in the next marina, and had decided to live there.
Back to the boat and really shattered, laying out in the cockpit with all that stuff everywhere, put it away later. Then a knock on the hull, the boat behind us has an English flag, but had not seen them.
‘I see you are from my home port Weymouth...bloody hell its alan smith’ It was Simon Frampton, last seen playing folk music with arish mell in the kings arms and selling pine furniture at the spa. He had sailed to the Caribbean 16 ye ars ago and never expected to see a boat from Weymouth in his bay. The bar ashore in the boatyard was full of Simons friends, and now he plays blue instead of folk music! His band played during the evening and he was very good, and obviously has lots of friends, quite a little scene going really. It was fun. The next day Alan dived the reef and i sat in the dinghy , he caught a little lobster which we had for tea. We hired a car the following day and drove all round. Intot he rain forest, I remembered it from when mum and I went there. Over to the other side of the island, and swiming at Cane bay and lunch in a nice bar overlooking the bay. How pretty it is, white sand, but strange to see all those people laying in the water drinking beer in coolers. So carried on, back to the boat. Next day Alan went diving again and I can tell you it was horrid for me, a squall came by and I crouched in my yellow cape waiting for the rain and wind to stop. He enjoyed his dive though.
Simon came round for drinks and then alan and i went to one of the restaurant s for dinner..it was dire. Will eat on the boat next time i think. Folllowing day more of the same, to the bar to say goodbye to simon and get ready for our journey to culebra.
The sail to Culebra was good. Much better wind, and the boat went really well. We enjoyed our sail alot. We arrived at Culebra with a problem. The inverter that runs the computer had blown up, three weeks old!! So no c maps just when we needed them. The approach seemed difficult, through reefs and threading through buoys, remember red returning for the Caribbean!!
Later when we were in ensenada Honda, it seemed no problem at all. So, then over the next few days, we went to an anchorage by the reeg at the the entrance and alan did a dive. But....firstly we were catcing a buoy and some american was watching us, ignoring our struggles, alan said, ‘why doesn’t he help when someone is in trouble?’ Then half an hour later we saw an american boat, Roxanne, come by,,, I said, ‘hes in trouble alan, just as his boat hook fell under the water! Alan went out in the dinghy to help. Half an hour later we are ready to go diving and Alan is lifting the bcd into the dinghy when....splash it fell in...and sankk!! It was at this point that Brendan came over to say thank you for the hlp inmooring... I have never seen anyone get a kit for diving together so quickly and jump over the side. The visibility was not good, because I had already tried to snorkel and inspect the mooring and could not see 5 yards. He was down for about 15 minutes before he surfaced cluthxin the bcd!! Haa ha glad i did not do that.
Brendan and Nancy came round for a drink that night. I t was fun./ Then the next day we went to culabrita a smalll island with acoral reef. It was stunning. We anchored inpure blue water and quickly got the dive stuff ready. We jumped off the boat straiht onto the most amazing reef, apparently only 20% of Culebra has been dived. The coral and visibility were fantastic. We saw loads of fish, and then a turtle who seemed totally unphased by us. But best of all for alan we caught a 6 lb lobster. What a tussle it was. I was one side of the rock, alan the other, me waving my fingers and the lobster clutching the rock. Even when we were trying to put it in the bag it fought like mad.
Then back to dewey the laid back town, and a meal out. It seemed like I was in California here, very relaxed kind of meal/ Next day weather forecast not that good. We sailed round through the reefs, not qiuite so easy to an anchorage where Brendan and nancy were, We had cakes, and coffee v, nice and then headed off to Puerto del rey.
02:03 · Add a comment · Send a message · Permalink · View trackbacks (0) · Blog it30 January
antigua to st kitts 2008
Sailing from Antigua to St Kitts was good. The weather was fair and we arrived at Nevis about 3.30 pm. If you have time to look at the photos you will see that Nevis was shrouded in mist, and I am afraid it stayed that way the entire time we visited. We anchored off the famous four winds resort and sunshines bar. We went ashore and had a drink at sunshines, but it was a wet affair and the beach looked slightly sad with water dripping from the sunbeds. The moutain in the background loomed into the grey shrugging mist.
The next morning we went ashore to Charlestown, a tiny town , to check in. Up one flight of stairs for immigration, down another and up the street to the police station for customs and finally back to the dock for port authorities, this all took half the morning and a cup of coffeein a snackette or cafe. The town is small, hick and very Caribbean. Palm trees tower over small courtyards and tables chairs and the odd hammock sway gently. We walked around the town and came to the very comical sign of ‘no pissing’ (take a look at the photos) ,.
A taxi driver persuaded us to do the island tour, which was good. We saw the flamboyant tree where Nelson was reputed to have married Frances Nisbet, a local girl. We saw the really old plantation houses, we walked through no body cared. Mostly exclusive hotels now. Then the remains of the sugar making industry. Great presses and machinery, now abandoned. Rusting brown in the lush greenery.
Tiny towns, the taxi drivers village, his school and his road, and then back to Charlestown. I amsure there were some great views there but hard to see through the rain. It was really pretty and colourful to wander round.
The next afternoon we went to st kitts. Last time we were there we had a job to get into the marina, it is almost as if they don’t want boats. So I had booked in advance. We called and called, kept getting no response or an unintelligible one so in the end just went on in./ A very friendly reception and an apology for not answering. The wind blew quite hard over the next few days, just as Chris Parker had told us it would. We were glad to be tucked up in the marina, when we could see the masthead lights on the boats anchored outside going up and down and side to side. Later the next day some of the boats that were at nevis came in, they would not let them in before, so they had come in via dinghy and nabbed a space! We met two boats there, both nice people . Again not masses of cruising yachts. St kitts is a great place,. We got a taxi to frigate bay to swim and have lunch in a beach resort. Really felt like being on holiday. The little town of Basseterre has a central round about with a very English monument in the middle. The restaurants and taxis are around this circle and all the roads lead off it. There were some very good little shops, and the people so helpful and kind. The cruise ship terminal also had some good airconditioned shops so i had quite a nice time wandering round, not buying much but giving it all a good looking at! They loved my pink crocs and all asked me if they were English.
Alan has finished the davits and pumped quite a few bottles of air now. The dive compressor is working well, although it does need clear air round it, so lifting up the bed or it is likely to catch fire! He looks like Casey Jones the engine driver with a bit of rag, terrible clatterings and whooshes as the cylinder fills. He goes back there and has a lovely time.
We had the motor bike looked at in St kitts and percy the taxi driver stood all day waiting for alan to go back and collect it. Every half an hour he was by the boat,’Captain, you ready to go yet?’ Eventually it was done, they could not repair it but told us exactly what it was so bruce can bring this small matchbox of machinery out with him. We got up early to walk to the fort, but found it part of an abandoned hotel. It was cool early on, the bougavilla was tumbling over the walls, in beautiful colours tangled up with the old walls and streets.
We had some good meals out too. We went to the chinease which was very rapid and very silent but ok. We went to a restaurant in a courtyard which was pretty expensive and a lovely setting, the food was fine, but would not go again. The weather settled down and the sea was looking inviting again. It was time to go, we had a 20 hour sail ahead of us to st Croix and the boat was ready now. Checked out in the marina office and customs, let the ropes go and out to sea.
01:44 · Add a comment · Send a message · Permalink · View trackbacks (0) · Blog it14 January
coming back to the boat 2008
Hello, finally made it to the computer screen to write a few lines. Weather? hot and sunny, interspersed by cooling rain showers. Boat? almost up together now. Wind? not much at the moment but more at the weekend.
Firstly the davits and dive compressor arrived while Alan and I were still living in a little house on the edge of the water, for a few days. After the terrible time we had in Trinidad I wanted to make sure that we did not come back to a scene of horror and cockroaches. Good news all round, the boat had been cleaned inside and guess what , not a trace of our tricky little friends. The boat has taken the last five days to get in some semblance of order. Alan has fitted the davits and has just gone over in our (new) dinghy to get something welded before we leave this afternoon. The new dinghy is great , we tested it out by going up three bays to a beach bar for lunch and a swim yesterday afternoon, inbetween jobs. The aluminium bottom is really stable, and the whole thing much smoother and solid. It seemed easier to pull it up the beach as well with its solid keel.
The bad news was that the outboard had become corroded onto the wooden support and alan managed to break one of the attachements off when he tried to take it off. He had the innovative idea of using the bbq as a blow lamp so although I protested that he would blow us both up, he dismantled it and appplied heat until it came loose....
Today we have finally put the foresail up and cleared out the front cabin. still loads of jobs to do, but beginning to feel like home again.
Everyone in the boatyard here at Jolly harbour have been so helpful,. kind and friendly. they really can't do enough for us. We have been whizzing about on the motorbike but it has developed a terrible problem and alan cant mend it. never mind.
The light is so intense, yesterday on our trip to th ebeach bar, the scenery was so deep, greenof the hills and the blue sea. everything is so very crisp. After all that greyness it is lovely. Thenext job is the dive comressor which may or may not fit under my bed. That is a job for the next few days. We were just so pleased to see it being brought on a pickup truck by a rasta guy with big boots on.
more later.15:01 · Add a comment · Send a message · Permalink · View trackbacks (0) · Blog it23 December
Panama canal and christmas
So here we are again at the back end of the year. What a long year it seems to have been. So many places, friends, and experiences. Our cruise with barry and rose was so much fun. The panama canal was stunning, both from an engieering point of view and the heat that made us wilt in a minute or two. How that big ship (island Princess) mananged to get through, with only 2 foot either side, without scratching the paintwork was amazing! When you are approaching the lock it seems as if it will never fit in, but of course n o problem. We had a storm in the middle of hte canals, passing through the lake and the ship had to stop until it was safe to proceed. We did not see any other yachts, but certainly got a good idea of the layout and general way the canal works. Will we go through in Perthamina? Watch this space.
We also enjoyed colombia , cartagena was very pretty, with wooden balconies, clusters of bouganvilia falling out of them, we went to a great restaurant on the city walls, at the fishing club. 12:40 · Add a comment · Send a message · Permalink · View trackbacks (0) · Blog it
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