Apr 1
When we got up this morning, we noticed that the catamaran next to us, Skimpy, had a disco ball hanging in the cockpit that had not been there yesterday. When we went to bed last night, they were not onboard. I guess they came back later and we missed their party.
Today was pretty much a wasted day. Between being physically worn out and sore still from the physical work of replacing the head hose, and possibly having been over-served last night, I didn't feel too great. The day was spent watching the world go by, a little reading, an after lunch nap, and all meals onboard.
In the course of sitting all day, I was admiring the big boats in the marina. One of them is Talithia. She was built in 1929 and has been through several refits to keep her in shape and up-to-date. But she has beautiful lines and an old classic style. If my son had won the recent huge Mega Millions jackpot, I would have used some of the money he would have given me to charter her for a week with the family for a mere $300K. Another big good looking motor yacht that has been here left today. Bystander was here when we got here. They got a lot of horn blowing when they left.
The other day a boat was forced to move from the no-anchor zone near the marina so a mega yacht could get out. There are two other boats clearly anchored in the same area, and this morning one of them moved also. He moved to where when he falls back on his anchor, the boat is just across the line between the two no-anchor buoys. Guess he's conceding the point but just barely.
The only productive thing I did was replace a fuse in the solar/wind charging system. Mid-afternoon, when we should be getting good solar charging, I noticed that the monitor showed a discharge (from the fridge) instead of a charge. I checked the fuse and found it blown. It is a 30 amp, slow-blow fuse, which I don't know if I have a spare of or not. Checking my fuse supply, I found I had one spare. It must have come with the solar panels, since it is the only one like it on the boat. I replaced the fuse and we were charging once more. The mystery though is why did it blow. With full sun, and a big sustained gust of wind, it is theoretically possible that the solar panels and wind generator combined could exceed 30 amps. But it's never happened in all the years we've been cruising. I'm afraid this won't be the end of this story.
GPS N 17-00.863 W 061-46.433 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 10125.
Apr 2
We spent the morning aboard reading. We are both feeling much better today. About 11:30, we went to shore to have lunch, do internet stuff, and see if the ATM is working now. Our plan was to go to the Mad Mongoose for lunch and internet, but when we got there, we found a sign on the door saying they were not open for lunch this week. So, we kept going towards Nelson's Dockyard and the ATM. There is a restaurant just before Nelson's Dockyard called The Anchorage, which we had never tried before. And, we saw several people sitting at tables with computers. So, we went in there, got a table, and Barb started getting online while I continued to the dockyard to see if the ATM worked. When I got to the entrance gate, I simply said I needed to go to the bank, and there was no question of an admission fee. I waited for a couple of people to use the ATM and then got my turn. It went through all the motions and then said it could not process my transaction. So, this time, I went inside the bank. I was only third in line, but it took about ten minutes to get my turn at a window (there were five windows open). I asked if the ATM took MasterCard, and the answer was no, it only took VISA. But, they could do a cash advance on the MasterCard. I wasn't sure if that would work since the card is a debit card, not a credit card, but it did. However, it amazingly took over 15 minutes for her to complete this transaction. Besides swiping the card and immediately getting the transaction approved, she had to fill out two other forms, do something on her computer, and walk to the back to get approval of somebody. Where these tellers go to school to be trained to move so slowly is a mystery to me also. Finally, the cash drawer was opened, and my $1000 EC (about $370 USD) was counted out. Three times, and slowly.
I rejoined Barb at The Anchorage and she was online. She had already checked her e-mail and set the computer on fetching mine. The waitress took our lunch order as I worked on uploading the website update and reading mail. There were two other cruising couples there that we have recently met, so we chatted with them also. Lunch came and it was a nice departure from typical fare. I had a cheeseburger, but it was served on a bagel and came with a small salad instead of fries. Barb had spinach frittata which also came with a salad. We finished lunch had had several beers, staying until almost 15:00 surfing the net. Two days of no connection has us in withdrawal. OK, it had me in withdrawal.
One of the e-mails I got today was a response from the guy whom I bought my amplified wi-fi antenna from. He sent several documents to help me resolve the problem I introduced when I started changing options. He also sent a firmware update to the latest version of the firmware, since what I have is almost a year old already. (I bought the antenna last summer, and am just now trying to use it.) With his instructions and the program he sent, I was able to get online from the boat in a matter of minutes. I will probably not bother to do the real permanent mounting of the antenna this year, as I can just stick it outside and it works great. Of course, we won't be online all the time like we were in the marina, because the computer and antenna take power, which we have to manage while away from the dock. But, it will be nice to be able to check things several times a day, and not have to carry the computer in to shore.
For dinner, Barb made jambalaya. It was a little different this time. To the basic rice mixture, she adds whatever meat we have. Usually there is some sausage (like Hillshire Farms turkey sausage), or shrimp, or chicken, or some combination thereof. While in Jolly Harbor, she was making it with a combination of sausage and chicken that was a finely cut up spicy fried chicken breast from the supermarket across the street from the marina. Tonight's was sans chicken, but still good.
While here in Falmouth Harbor, I have been reminded of two of my pet peeves of boating. Proper light usage on boats, and speed and lighting of dinghies. By their nature, most cruisers are out here because there is an adventurous spirit in them that doesn't conform to the "normal" life expected of them. Because of this, they tend to be doing this so they aren't constricted by all of societies rules. But, there are some rules that have good reasons behind them and make good sense. One is the proper use of lights on the boat. I couldn't tell you how many time we have seen sailboats underway with their anchor light on. When you are underway in a sailboat, you should have a red light in front on the port (left) side which is visible only in the 90° quadrant from the bow to mid-ships, a green light in front on the starboard (right) side similarly visible , a white light on the stern which is visible 180° from the rear, and if you are under power and not under sail, then you also have a white light halfway up the mast visible 180° from the front. When you are anchored, all those lights go off, and you should have a white light visible 360°. This light is commonly on the masthead, although it doesn't have to be. But it should be visible all around, so most other placements don't offer that as they will be blocked by something on the boat from one vantage point or another. Now, we commonly see boats underway that apparently just turn everything on. So, we joke at the sailboat that is making 5 knots while anchored. Not a lot of harm in that one, you just look stupid. But, we are astounded by the number of boats we see anchored, with no lights at all on them. We see many with some type of anchor light that doesn't really meet the criteria, but at least they try, but so many have no lights at all. We display our anchor light even though we are on a mooring, where we really aren't required to. The theory is that everybody knows where the moorings are, even in the dark, so a boat on a mooring doesn't need the light. I personally don't buy that, especially in a place like this where you have both anchored and moored boats mixed together. My other issue is with dinghies at night. In the week we have been here, we have heard two dinghies come to abrupt stops when they apparently hit something, like a mooring ball, at high speed. There are two things that can happen when you have no lights in a dinghy. If you have no white light that can been seen all around, others can't see you and may run you over. If you have no forward facing light, like a good waterproof flashlight or dive light, you can't see what you are about to run into. So, we always have our all-around light either on the engine via suction cup, or held high by the passenger. Then flashlight or no flashlight, we go slow so if we do hit something, we aren't thrown out of the dinghy or do any damage. Rant done.
GPS N 17-00.863 W 061-46.433 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 10125.
Apr 3
After a morning of laying about, we dinghied ashore a little after 11:00. We walked to the right from the dinghy dock, away from town over the hill to Pigeon Point beach. We have seen the beach from the water, but have never been over here. There is a nice beach, with a newly opened public shower and restroom facility. When cruise ships call here, they ferry people to this beach. The Royal Clipper is in today, but even with their people and their BBQ and bar set up on the beach, it is not crowded. We walked to the far end of the beach, and then back to the other end where Bumpkin's restaurant is. By now it was a little after noon, so we went to Bumpkin's and ordered lunch. I had a burger and Barb had a fish sandwich. They were both good. Not spectacular, but when you figured in the setting, it didn't suck. Interestingly, the only beer they had was Dos Equis. In general, in the Caribbean, you can get Carib and Heineken pretty much everywhere. Occasionally there will be other options. But I've never seen Dos Equis here, and for that to be the only choice was odd. I'm not sure if they were just out of other brands, or if that's all they carry. Speaking of the setting, after we finished eating, we were enjoying one more beer, looking out at the people on the beach and the anchored cruise ship across the way, and listening to Ray Charles rendition of America The Beautiful. A little juxtaposition there.
Leaving the beach, we were overtaken by two teenage boys with three horses. Yes, that math doesn't work, since there was no physical connection between any of them. One boy had one horse by it's halter. The other was trying to just herd the second horse, which had no halter. The third horse, which did have a halter on, was just kind of following along. About the time they passed us, the one with no halter started to protest where they were going. This made the third one also make a turn towards us. Sensing the boys needed a little help, I grabbed the halter of the third horse and held him until the boy took him from me. The boy then removed the halter from horse number three and put it on horse number two. He then resumed leading horse number two up the road. Horse number three seemed more willing to follow without intervention than the others. When we got to the fork in the road halfway up the hill, we were going one way and they were going the other. Horse number three briefly thought following us instead of his buddies would be good, but I waved at him and he turned back to the others.
As we continued up and over the hill to Pigeon Pointe, we passed a high gate of a villa that we can see from the boat. St. Anne's Pointe is the name. Another little place you can spend a week with a few close friends for a small fortune.
When we returned to the boat in the mid-afternoon, I remembered I had things to fix. This isn't all play you know. A problem that has been bugging us since we replaced the water heater in Grenada is that it does not heat when we are running the motor. A marine hot water heater is electric (110v) or heated by the engine cooling water. We heat fine electrically, but unless we are plugged in to a dock, it takes way too much power to do it off the batteries. Anyway, the only explanation I can come up with for the water not circulating through the water heater is if there is air trapped in the lines. When I replaced the water heater, I did end up with a fairly large loop of hose that is higher than the heater itself so that it came at the fitting from the right direction. Today, I took that hose off, added a 90° elbow at the heater and that allowed me to cut over a foot off the hose and have it make a more direct route. I also accidentally found that the potable hot water was leaking slightly at the fitting where it comes out of the water heater, so I removed that fitting, redid the plumbers tape and tightened it back up. I ran the engine for a while to test my theory, and still no engine coolant circulating. I may have to add some kind of bleed valve at the water heater. Good thing cool showers in the tropics are acceptable.
Late in the afternoon, I noticed that once again, we were not charging from the solar panels or wind generator. I pulled the fuse out and sure enough it had blown again. Since there has been almost no wind today, and I know the wind generator has not been running at all, that kind of eliminates the hope that just maybe we legitimately overloaded the circuit. I don't have another spare fuse, so I'll have to look at that first thing in the morning. I did get an e-mail back from Xantrex regarding a possible cause for why the battery monitor is reporting incorrect amps when I am running the motor to charge the batteries. A project for tomorrow.
GPS N 17-00.863 W 061-46.433 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 10125.
Apr 4
Right after the Coconut Telegraph this morning, I hopped in the dinghy and went over to the chandlery at Catamaran Marina. Yesterday I had checked at the chandlery by the Yacht Club, and they didn't have any 30 amp fuses, just 25's. I found the same to be true at Catamaran Marina. So, I bought a box of five 25 amp ones. I suspect I will blow a few before I figure this out. Back at the boat, I started to look for an explanation to the fuse blowing. I started at the terminal block where the two wires come from the two solar panels and join to be one wire to the controller. There was a fair amount of corrosion there, which I cleaned up, but that would have reduced current to the fuse not increased it. I then checked the connections where the wires from the wind generator come into the boat from the davits. They looked fine, with no sign of corrosion or any indication they could or have shorted together. Next I pulled the cover off the wind generator control box. Nothing looked odd there. No corrosion, arching, or lose wires. Next I took the controller for the solar panels out of the wall. Again, no sign of anything amiss, and with that out of the wall, I could see the terminal block that merged the output of the wind and solar to the wire that goes to the battery and it looked fine. I put a new fuse in and the system came alive. The display on the solar controller still shows some suspect numbers, but the main monitor shows a proper number for the solar and wind contribution. I'm not convinced I've really fixed anything.
Next step was to see why the main monitor is showing obviously incorrect numbers when charging from the engine. I had sent an e-mail to Xantrex customer support, but frankly hadn't expected a reply. The monitor I have is a discontinued product. Xantrex has been purchased by another company, and from what I hear is getting out of the marine business. I had also read on some cruiser forums that they never had been great about customer service. So, I was surprised when I got an e-mail back in one day, suggesting what might be wrong. The monitor uses a thing called shunt to measure the input and output from the batteries. Each charging source's negative wire attaches to the shunt, as well as both battery banks. Then there are two twisted-pair wires that attach to the shunt at four different places and go to the monitor. The e-mail had suggested that one of the twisted pair wires was not connected. To get to the shunt requires pulling up a section of floor in the main saloon that is normally held down by about a dozen screws. But, since we are still waiting to finish our survey of the boat and the surveyor will need to see under the floor, I have not put the screws in since I have done other work under there recently. So, within just a few minutes, I had the floor all opened up and was looking at the shunt. It had a fair amount of corrosion on all the connections, but at first glance, all the wires seemed attached. I was really hoping to find one dangling. Figuring that perhaps just the corrosion was the problem, I started disconnecting one wire at a time cleaning the wire connector and the shunt connection and replacing it. There are twelve wires and/or cables that attach to the shunt at ten different points. So, one at a time was prudent. I started with the two twisted pairs that go to the monitor. The first pair were ok and I cleaned the connections and replaced them. When I got to the second pair, which I originally thought had been attached ok, I found that one of the wires was hanging on by the last strand of wire. I love it when I find a real cause of a problem. I put a new connector on the wire, cleaned the connections and reattached the wire to the shunt. Since I was here, I went ahead and took apart the big cable connections and cleaned them all too. When it was all back together I had Barb start the motor. I watched with anticipation as the monitor readings changed as the alternator and voltage regulator ramped up through the start-up cycle. Then I gave Barb a thumbs up as the readings were what they should be. I put the floor all back together and dashed off a thank you e-mail to the guy at Xantrex. I do not have any degree of confidence that fixing the monitor has anything to do with blowing the fuse in the solar/wind system. But, as of sundown, the fuse has not blown.
For a celebration lunch for fixing something without breaking something else, we went to shore to Bar-B's. We have never eaten here, although it is right outside the marina dinghy dock complex, even before you get to the Mad Mongoose which was our old lunch standby. Bar-B's turns out to be a cool place. They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner, have a real sports bar, pool table, darts, and are part of a complex that has tennis and squash courts that you would never know are there from the road. (Unless you read the signs.) I had a good burger and Barb had a spinach quiche and salad that were very nice. We have found most salads in the Caribbean are pretty basic. Lettuce, grated carrots, and a couple cucumber slices are pretty standard, with oil & vinegar the only dressing choice. Barb's salad had avocado, black olives, red & yellow peppers, cucumbers, lettuce, and tomato, and it came with a nice honey mustard type of dressing that was probably made there. Too bad we discovered this place on our last day here.
The parade of big boats leaving continued today, with three leaving. We overheard a conversation at lunch that explained that a lot of them are leaving early because they are returning to England early because of the Olympics. The first boat that left was Velsheda. If you like classic boats at all, I encourage you to follow the link. I was really surprised Velsheda was leaving before Antigua Classic Week since she is the kind of boat Classic Week was made for. In the ten days we have been here, Velsheda and Bystander were talking to each other on the VHF frequently. Being a typical party line little old lady, I sometimes followed their conversations to whatever channel they choose, and listened in. From several conversations, we got the picture that neither boat had owners or guests aboard, and Velsheda was providing food service as needed for the crew of Bystander. Well, in my internet searching for links for both boats, I found this link that implies that Bystander and Velsheda go together. So, would you consider Bystander the tender to Velsheda, or Velsheda a toy for Bystander? Another boat that left today was Kokomo. Kokomo was shortly followed by my favorite here, Talithia. About fifteen minutes after Talithia left, Woodstock Boatbuilders hailed them on the radio. The first thing I said to Barb was "They left without paying their bill." which would be reminiscent of a Grenada story. In fact they had left without some pieces Woodstock had been working on for them. They made an arrangement to launch their tender and have it come back to the marina to pick up the pieces as-is, and through the magic of e-mail and credit cards, they'll settle up later. Ah, the difference between real yachts with rich owners, and wanna-be's like the Grenada story. (The Grenada story is known to some but was never documented here. Maybe someday. It didn't directly involve us.)
There is another cool boat moored next to us called Spirited Lady. To my untrained eye, I thought it was obviously an old classic. Since arriving here about a week ago, there have been three or four guys working everyday to sand and re-varnish all the beautiful wood. I did a Google search and found that Spirited Lady is a Spirit 56, built in 2008. Not exactly a classic, but there is a class in the Classic Regatta for new boats built to the old design standards. She certainly qualifies for that. Spirited Lady appears to be captained by a single lady, along with her two Spaniels, and a cat.
Dinner was left over jambalaya. The dinghy is hoisted in preparation of tomorrow's planned journey. As much as we have enjoyed Falmouth harbor, it's time to move. Of course, we are only retracing our steps back to Jolly Harbor Marina. Our friends Micky & Karen, and Steve & Debbie, whom we charted with last year, and another couple Kevin & Kathy, are coming Friday to spend ten days at the resort right next to the marina. So, we will be playing with them for a while. And, they are smuggling more parts to us!
GPS N 17-00.863 W 061-46.433 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 10125.
Apr 5
In the morning after the Coconut Telegraph, we flagged Sea Pony down as he was making his rounds to other boats collecting mooring fees. We asked him if he took reservations for moorings. He said he could try, but not guarantee it until closer to the date. So we had him put us down for the 17th for a week. That is when we will be back for the Classic Regatta.
About 9:00 we dropped the mooring and headed out of Falmouth Harbor. Half the trip to Jolly is downwind, then you turn north and have a reach. We started to unfurl the mainsail as we were motoring out of the main channel, and it jammed about halfway out. I pulled it back in a bit, and tried again, but it jammed again. So, I left it half out, but sheeted in tight. We then made the turn west out of the harbor, and I unfurled the jib. The wind was blowing about 15 knots, about 20° off the stern. I shut the engine off, and we were sailing. You may not realize what a cool step this was for us. Ever since we left Texas in 2005, we have motored or motor-sailed 95% of the time. Even though it was only going to be for a couple hours, just sailing brought back the memories of why we do this. A couple miles out of Falmouth, you travel between the island and Cades reef. When we made that slight turn, that put the wind dead on our stern. We jibed the headsail to the other side where it seemed a little happier catching the wind. We were making about 5 knots with just the jib, since the main was sheeted in flat. During the several miles on this course, we jibed the headsail twice again trying to keep up with the wind as it did little shifts. At about the halfway point of the trip, we turned north for Jolly Harbor. We were already on a starboard tack, so there was no sail handling to be done with the turn. We continued to make about 4.5 to 5 knots in almost flat seas. It doesn't get much better than that. As we were approaching the turn into the Jolly Harbor entrance, two other sailboats came out and turned south. They were both going to cross our path. It's been so long since we were sailing, that I actually had to think about the rules of the road, and who had the right-of-way. Turns out we did, but I almost always defer if I can, and make my turn clear. So, I adjusted our course so we would pass behind the second of the two boats. Of course, the autopilot was driving. As we got closer, I reached up to adjust our course back to our original course a bit. I meant to turn 5°, so I hit the auto-pilot button five times. Except I hit the 10° button instead of the 1° button. So we made an abrupt turn into the path of the other boat. Even before the turn had completed, I disengaged the auto-pilot and steered back to a course astern of the other boat. I'm sure he wondered just what all that was about. As we approached the channel into Jolly Harbor, the wind died, and we were down to about 2 knots. Barb could tell I was thinking about starting the motor. Before I reached for the key, she said, "We are not in any hurry". So, we didn't start the motor and furl the sails until we were in the anchorage area.
Of course, no trip would be complete without something breaking. Nothing really "broke", but I found that a second one of my rope clutches doesn't seem to want to hold the line like it should. That will have to be addressed before we sail much more. On the up-side of the day, we saw several sea turtles along the way. We did not see the dolphin that had greeted us on our way down to Falmouth, but that's ok. Can't expect them every trip.
We motored in through the mooring field and towards the marina. We had been going over what lines we needed, and how we were going to handle the fact that the dinghy was hanging from the davits, precluding a jump from the stern. If there is someone on the dock to throw lines to, it shouldn't be an issue, but if I have to get off the stern in a hurry myself, it could be tricky. I hailed William, the dockmaster, on the VHF as we approached, and he asked if we wanted to go back in our same slip. We said sure, as we had prepared our lines assuming that would be the case. This was to be my first backing up of the boat in three years. And, to make it a little more challenging, there is a boat in the slip next to us, so I will really have to hit just one slip and not have the other as leeway. William was waiting at the piling in his dinghy as I backed in. Barb handed him the spring line and bow line as we backed in. Her next job was to secure the bow line so we didn't get blown against the boat in the slip next door. I had been a bit nervous since I saw nobody on the dock, but just as we were backing in, Gavin & Mandy from Secret Smiles, the boat on the other side of us, returned from the grocery. So, I was able to hop out of the cockpit and throw our stern lines to them. Once Barb had the spring and bow secure, I was able to get off the stern and adjust the stern lines. It wasn't a picture perfect docking, but pretty good for a rusty old captain.
The rest of the afternoon was kind of like a homecoming. I went up to Pineapple's Rent-a-car to make sure they had us down for the van we are renting, and as I walked in the door, the young lady greeted me with "Mr. Mooney. You are still renting the van Saturday right?". I confirmed we were. We went to happy hour and bartender Fred was very happy to see us. Then we went to dinner at Peter's, and they were all smiles and glad to see us also. We got an update from Peter's owner, Patricia on her mother. She is still alive, but unfortunately not doing well. We saw Adrian & Sam from Blue Moon, whom we last saw a few days ago in Falmouth. We had thought they had gone north already, but they stayed on here a couple of days. It truly was like coming home.
GPS N 17-03.996 W 061-53.006 Nautical miles traveled today 12. Total miles 10137.
Apr 6
Our TX friends arrive today. They don't get in until mid-afternoon, but we pretty much didn't do anything all day just waiting for them. I tracked their flights from Houston to Miami, and then Miami to here on FlightAware. Their flights were right on time, so then we guessed how long it would take them to get through Customs and Immigration, get their bags, and taxi here. We finally thought the time was right, and started walking over to Tranquility Bay. When we got to the security gate, we bluffed our way through, as we have before, just waving and wishing a pleasant "Good Afternoon" to the security guard. As we walked up to the reception area, they were getting out of the taxi. We couldn't have done that better with tracking devices.
As they were checking in, we kind of stood to the side. We weren't sure about our status as guests of the guests. The deal is the gang has two two-bedroom rooms. Mickey & Karen and Steve & Debbie have one, and Kevin & Kathy have the other. The price isn't based on per-person. It's based on per-room. So, as the check-in procedure proceeded, we were eventually given wristbands and beach towels as if we were in the room with Kevin & Kathy. This will make our coming and going from the property much easier, as it is gated and there is always a security guard.
It was about 15:30 when they arrived at the resort, so by the time they were checked in and got there stuff in their rooms, it was happy hour time. We walked over to MoonSail, where we served happy hour drinks. Drinks included a new rum punch recipe Barb got off the Internet. You mix a 46 oz. can of pineapple juice, a 46 oz. can of orange juice, a 16 oz. can of Coco Lopez coconut cream, and Grenadine to color and flavor to taste. This makes almost a gallon of the mix. We then added the rum as we poured each drink. The gang was very happy to be here and happy hour on the boat was the perfect start.
Our plan for dinner tonight is the Castaway's Beach Bar. But, WestPoint is between MoonSail and Castaway's. So, we had to stop there for a drink and to introduce the gang to Fred. When we got there, the bar was fairly busy, but the "VIP" section that had been set up for the Russian Regatta was empty. So, we deemed ourselves to be VIP's, and sat down. Fred came over and took our order and then brought the drinks. Considering WestPoint doesn't really have table service, we really were being treated like VIP's. We only had the one round and continued on to dinner.
When I had called Castaway's earlier to make our reservation, they said they were full, but could seat us on the beach. We said that was fine, but when we got there, they had a table "inside" for us. I quoted "inside", because inside just means covered. There are no walls. We had the normal experience at Castaway's, in that the service is a bit slow, especially when it comes time to pay, but the food was very good. I think everybody was happy with their meal. Friday is karaoke night at Castaway's, and Mickey and I both sang songs. Eventually, we were done with dinner, and had been waiting on our checks for some time, when the checks finally got settled. Even though we had more songs in the karaoke queue, we left, because the gang had a long day and needed to get to bed.
GPS N 17-03.996 W 061-53.006 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 10137.
Apr 7
Tranquility Bay offers several different plans for food and drink. You can buy your whole vacation as an all-inclusive deal, or you can buy daily wristbands. The daily wristbands can be for just drinks, or a deal where you get drinks and the lunchtime grill, or a band where you get all meals and drinks, but just for one day. Today, the gang decided to try the all-inclusive full deal. So, we didn't make breakfast plans with the gang, but it paid off later.
We had decided early in this plan that we would rent a van for the week, rather than do excursions with a taxi/tour guy. So, this morning I went to pick up the van we have rented for a week. Since we have rented from Pineapple's before, I had a discount card that the girl in the office gave me last time I rented. When I went up to get the van, the first thing she said was, "Do you have your discount card?" I did not, so I said I would be back in a minute and walked back to the boat to get it. When I got back, she laughed and said she would have given me the discount even without the card. Then, she looked at the card, which gave me a 10% discount, laughed and said she gave me 15% already, so no card required. We had been concerned about the rental van, because even though it is called a van, we are afraid fitting eight of us in it may be problematic. It is a Toyota Noah, which is the largest vehicle they rent. Once I saw it from the inside, I felt better that we all fit, although it would be tight. If you follow the link, you will see this vehicle was only sold in Asia. This is not uncommon in the Caribbean to see cars that are not models we know in the US. This also means they don't meet US safety standards, like airbags, big-ass bumpers, etc. Since we never go over about 40 MPH on the islands, I guess it's OK.
Today's major plan is to hit the beach. After all, the gang has come from a US winter, even if it is Texas. So, we all went to the beach and got chairs and umbrellas. The deal with Tranquility Bay is that all the food/ drink/beach services are provided by Jolly Beach Resort, which is right next door. So, two chairs and an umbrella cost $10 USD or $25 EC. That's a pretty good exchange rate. While we were at the beach over lunchtime, the gang smuggled us drinks and burgers for lunch. While on one hand, the bar and grill are very careful to see that you have a wristband on, they don't blink if you have a wristband and order four drinks at a time, or six burgers at a time.
After an afternoon at the beach, we went back to the rooms, showered, and then I took the guys to the grocery store to provision. They wouldn't let me contribute to the food bill, even though we will be partaking all week. We took the food back to the "main" room, which was the Mickey/Karen, Steve/Debbie room, and stowed it. Since they have the all-inclusive deal which includes dinner, Barb and I went back to the boat for dinner, while the gang went to dinner at the resort. We rejoined the group later and learned that they were not impressed with the service at the restaurant. When we got back to their room, expecting them all to be done with dinner, we found only Steve & Debbie there. Turned out they just couldn't wait, and were told they could not take their meals to go. So we visited with them for an hour before the others came back from dinner. They all decided the dinner deal was not worth it.
The gang has two two-bedroom rooms, very close to each other. One of them was upgraded to the third (top) floor, and has a huge balcony with a small Jacuzzi tub on it. We joked about how cozy it would be with 8 of us in the tub. That was never tried, but the tub was filled and a little dishwashing soap was added. This resulted in some interesting soap sculptures being created.
GPS N 17-03.996 W 061-53.006 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 10137.
Apr 8
Mickey became our designated galley slave for the week. This morning he made us all breakfast of a sausage and egg scramble, with hash browns and toast. We were glad we had the car and didn't have to walk from the boat to the resort, because it had started raining about 06:00, and didn't show signs of stopping. We spent the whole day at the resort, in the room watching TV. Boring for the gang, but a treat for us, since we rarely see live TV.
The rain kept coming and going all day. Our plan for the evening is to go to Shirley Heights for their Sunday BBQ and pan band. I'm sure it goes on rain or shine, but it will be less fun in the rain. About 16:30, we loaded up the van and headed that way. All day we had been joking about maybe it wasn't raining on the other side of the island. While this is a possibility, we were not really hopeful. Once we got over the mountain to the Falmouth Harbor area, not only was it not raining, but the ground looked pretty dry as if it hadn't been raining all day. We drove up the hill towards Shirley Heights, and took a short detour to the overlook that looks east from this point instead of west. From here on Indian Creek Point, you overlook Indian Creek, and Standfast Point, where Eric Clapton's house is. After a brief stop for pictures, we went over to the other side of the point to Shirley Heights. We parked and walked up the road, stopping to pay our $8 park entrance fee along the way. As we walked up the road, we realized the ground was bone dry. It didn't seem to have rained there at all.
At Shirley Heights, we got beers and enjoyed the sounds of the A.M.P. Halcyon Steel Band. We wandered around the grounds and took pictures of the great view of English and Falmouth Harbors. We all then got some food and ate. I had ribs, Barb had a fish sandwich, several others had jerk pork and a couple had jerk chicken. Everybody enjoyed the meal. About 19:30, we were thinking about going, but then the pan band finished playing and the late band started. This was more of a dancing band, and the ladies got a second wind and wanted to dance. So another hour was spent dancing and watching the crowd. We left about 21:00 for the ride home. This was my first opportunity to drive on the left at night since returning to the Islands. We also got back into rain on the west side of the mountain making it even more fun. But, I had been responsible and only had two beers all day, with dinner, so we made it fine. I was ready for some rum punch once we got to the resort.
When we got back to the boat, we found an odd display on our microwave. It looked like somebody had pressed the buttons to change the power setting and left it. Hitting CLEAR did nothing. Hitting any other button did nothing. Unplugging it and plugging it back in did nothing but bring back the same display. See? We don't even have to be here and stuff breaks! I'm going to guess maybe there was a power surge during the storms, although there is no thunder and lightening in the Islands. One more thing to replace. I guess I can't complain since it's 20 years old, but geez!
GPS N 17-03.996 W 061-53.006 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 10137.
Apr 9
This morning before going to the resort, Jim from Cat Tales II, stopped by to go over the details of our upcoming charter. We have decided to do a four-hour lunch charter with Cat Tales II, rather than cram 8 people on MoonSail. Being a catamaran, it will be more comfortable for the non-sailors in the group, and Barb & I can be guests too instead of hosts. After Jim left, we went over to the resort and had breakfast. Today Mickey made French toast. Yum!
We are going to do some touring today. We loaded up and retraced our path from yesterday over the mountain to English Harbor. We went directly to Nelson's Dockyard. The gang paid the $8 USD park entrance fee, while we once again bluffed our way in by saying we were on a boat in the harbor. We walked around looking at the old buildings, and I gave as much tour guide information as I knew. We made it about halfway around the dockyard and stopped at The Galley Bar for lunch. We had one of those Island restaurant experiences, when Karen ordered a Garden Salad for her meal. The waiter came back in a few minutes and said they had no Garden Salad. Karen ordered a Cesar salad instead. When all our meals came, every meal was accompanied by a small salad of lettuce, cucumber, tomato, and carrots. So, just what were they out of? It's one of those questions to which there is no answer and it's better left unasked. After lunch we continued our walk around the dockyard. This included passing by the mega boats tied stern to the quay. Several of the big sailboats with lots of beautiful wood were being sanded and varnished in preparation for Classic Week. It's a good time to be a varnish guy in Antigua right now.
We left the dockyard and went over the hill to Pigeon Beach. We had planned to spend a few hours there on the beach. When we were here a week ago, we found this to be a nice quiet beach, and there was no cruise ship in Falmouth Harbor, so it should be even quieter. Well what a surprise we got when we came over the hill. It turns out that since it is a nice beach that isn't part of a resort, it is hugely popular with locals on holidays. Being the Monday after Easter, this is a holiday here, and the beach was packed. Once I drove down in the parking area, I had trouble finding a place where I could even turn us around. We decided that this was not the day to be at this beach, and headed back to Jolly Harbor.
We went out to Jolly Beach for a couple of hours. Since it was for a short time, we toted a Styrofoam cooler of beer with us instead of buying wristbands for drinks. We had discovered the other day, that the only way to get drinks was with the wristbands. There is no cash option at the bar. After the beach time, we went back to the room where Mickey prepared a spaghetti with meat sauce dinner.
GPS N 17-03.996 W 061-53.006 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 10137.
Apr 10
Part of our plan yesterday when we went to Falmouth Harbor was to stop at Seagull Inflatables, where our EPIRB has been for several weeks getting it's battery replaced. However, due to the holiday, they were closed. So, today after breakfast with the gang and a quick trip to the grocery, we took the van to Falmouth while the gang went back to the beach. We got to Seagull and got the EPIRB. Dino, one of the owners took care of me and we had a good chat while he did the paperwork. I told him that when they patch my dinghy four years ago, they did too good a job, because it still holds air so I didn't buy a new one from them this year.
We got back to the resort and joined the gang on the beach. The guys, including me, all bought the all-day drink wristbands. We had sandwiches and fresh pineapples that we bought on our way back from Falmouth for lunch, and spent the afternoon on the beach. The deal with the wristbands is kind of funny. They will not serve you without one - we saw several people try to no avail. They will not let you pay cash for drinks. But, they don't bat an eye when you order several drinks at a time, and they aren't even all the same thing. They have to know you are getting drinks for someone who probably doesn't have the band, but they don't seem to care. I even had the beach vendors discretely ask me to get them one a couple times.
Dinner tonight was at Al Porto for the 2-for-1 pizza. We had a table right in front of the singer, which was a little loud, but fortunately her style of music isn't overbearing. The name of the singer is Arianne Whyte and she does a wide variety of music. The pizza was great as usual, and everybody enjoyed it. Angie, the owner, had contacted us a few days ago to ask if we would be terribly upset if the pizza contest was postponed a couple of weeks. We were the only entry, and she hadn't had time to really promote it properly. We said that was fine, although that means we won't have our six votes from the gang. Oh well. Just have to win it fair and square.
GPS N 17-03.996 W 061-53.006 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 10137.
Apr 11
We went to the gangs room for breakfast where Mickey once again whipped up a good easy meal. Today was breakfast tacos. We hung around the room for a couple of hours and then headed out for our lunch charter on Cat Tales II.
We met Jim & Sherrill at the bar in the marina a couple months ago. Jersey Dave introduced us and mentioned that they operated a day charter business on their catamaran. We got to thinking about the fact that the gang would want to do a sailing trip, but that MoonSail was not a good platform for eight people, half of which have not been on a monohull before. I was concerned they wouldn't be comfortable with the motion, and I knew I wouldn't be comfortable being responsible for them. So, we decided to charter Cat Tales II for four hours including lunch and a snorkel stop. We met Cat Tales II at the mega yacht dock and hopped aboard. After a briefing about the few rules there were, we were headed out of the harbor. There was a pretty good breeze, so once clear of the anchorage, we hoisted the main and headed north. We sailed north to Deep Bay where we will anchor for lunch. Deep Bay is home to the wreck of the Andes. The Andes was carrying a load of pitch from Trinidad in 1905 when it caught fire. They were trying to run it aground when it sank in the bay about a quarter mile shy of the beach. The wreck is sitting upright on the bottom with bow just below the surface and the rest of the wreck sloping into deeper water. There is a stub of the main mast sticking out of the water just a tad at low tide. We anchored ahead of the wreck and fell back to just about twenty feet from it. This made snorkeling easy for those who partook. I did not snorkel, but I gave Steve our waterproof camera to get a few pictures.
While we were snorkeling and relaxing, Jim and Sherrill were busy making our lunch. We had seasoned chicken breasts grilled on the BBQ, a fresh salad, and mashed sweet potatoes with onion, followed by a fresh fruit plate for desert. Of course there was plenty of beer, wine, etc for the whole trip. After lunch was cleaned up, we weighed anchor and headed back south. The sail south was a little trickier because the wind direction had changed a bit and was coming too much on the nose to make good the course we needed to. Eventually, we gave it up and motor sailed the rest of the way. Back at the dock the gang departed Cat Tales II and had thoroughly enjoyed the trip.
We went back to the resort and spent a couple hours at the pool. Late in the afternoon, a good portion of the pool is shaded by the bar building. So we took beers from the room and went and soaked in the cool pool water for a couple hours. We had a very informal pool volleyball game with five of us and four girls from NY/NJ who had just arrived the day before.
Steve, Mickey, and Kevin left the pool a little ahead of the rest of us to go start the BBQ near their building. We have brats, burgers, and chicken to cook. While they got the fire going and cooked, I guarded the women. When they got done, we enjoyed a good meal. They cooked way more than we could eat in one meal, but that way it was all cooked and wouldn't go bad, and we could just warm up leftovers in a day or two. The chicken had been marinated in a jerk marinade, and was a bit hotter than we expected. So only a couple pieces of that got eaten, and the rest got frozen and will come home with us to be included in a jambalaya down the road.
GPS N 17-03.996 W 061-53.006 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 10137.
Apr 12
Today is an island tour day. After breakfast at the room, we piled in the van and headed north. Our first stop was St. Johns. There were three large cruise ships in port, so town was pretty busy. I dropped everybody off near the cruise ship shopping zone and went to try and park. I didn't find any open street parking, but eventually made my way back around to a parking lot near the cruise ships. Remarkably, I found the gang within a few minutes of looking. They were browsing shops, and we eventually made it to the bar right at the dock. We had a couple of beers, and decided to make our way towards the car and go further north to find a place to eat.
North of St. Johns is Dickenson Bay. Dickenson Bay is dominated by a large Sandals resort. We found a restaurant right next to Sandals on the beach called Pepperz & Lime. They had a Caribbean version of Mexican food. We all enjoyed our meal and several beers. We then took a walk down the beach by Sandals. Although this beach is in front of the resort, Antiguan law states that the beaches are all public up to the high water line. There is a fence about fifty feet from the water with several entrances to the property and each was guarded by a security guard to keep people without the Sandals wristband out. Debbie, who is a travel agent, wanted to see inside the property, so she talked to a security guard, who called on his radio for someone. In a few minutes a person appeared who took Debbie & Steve, and Kathy & Kevin in to show them around. I continued down to the far end of the beach and back, meeting up with Barb & Mickey & Karen who were relaxing in hammocks back at the restaurant. After a while, the others returned with travel agent brochures and great things to say about Sandals.
We left Dickenson Bay and followed the road that goes along the north coast. This eventually brought us around by the airport, which is on the northeast corner of the island. We found that there are US Air Force and US Navy installations here. I had no idea. From the airport, we continued east to Devil's Bridge. Devil's Bridge is a natural bridge that has been eroded by the wave action. The road to Devil's Bridge is dirt for the last mile or more and quite bumpy. When we finally got to the end, we found a sign that said Devil's Bridge. But, we didn't see anything. I knew there was a natural bridge here somewhere, because friends had recently said it was worth the drive. I got out of the car and walked a couple hundred feet to the edge of the bluff, and found the bridge. I waved to the others to come over. The bridge is about twenty or thirty feet over the ocean in a little cove that has been cut out by the waves. It was pretty cool. I wonder how many people get to the end of the road, don't see anything, and leave without ever finding the bridge.
We drove back across the island to Jolly Harbor. We had dinner tonight at Peter's BBQ. We had promised them last week that we would bring the gang in at least once. I think most of us had steaks and everyone was pleased.
GPS N 17-03.996 W 061-53.006 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 10137.
Apr 13
Today, Mickey & Karen, and Kevin & Kathy are going to play golf. One of the two golf courses on the island is here in the Jolly Harbor complex. It's on the opposite side from the resort though, so at 7:30, I drove over and picked them up. I dropped them at the golf course, where they had been told they didn't need a reservation. I went in with them to make sure they were going to play, and I left them my phone number so they could call me when they were done.
I went back to the boat, listened to the Coconut Telegraph, and then we went back over to the resort about 9:00. We took Steve & Debbie back to the marina complex to check out the couple of souvenir shops and the art gallery. We then stopped at the boat so they could use my computer to check their e-mail. I had taken my computer over to the resort for them to use, but could never get properly connected to the resorts wi-fi. By the time they were done and we had a beer, it was 12:30. We thought the golfers should have been done by then and maybe they got a ride back to the resort without calling me. But, since the golf course is on the boat side of the complex, we stopped there to check before going back to the resort. They were still playing. The man at the desk said he would call us when they were done. As we drove back, we came upon Angie, the owner of Al Porto. We asked her if we needed reservations for dinner on Saturday, and she said yes. So, she took down our time and number, and our request to be near the singer, but not right in front of the speakers like last time.
We went back to the room and warmed up some leftovers for lunch. Finally about 14:00, we got the call to come pick up the golfers. When I got them, they explained that it took so long because since they were the only people on the course, they could take more time to look for lost balls, etc. But they had a good time and contributed to the local economy with all the balls they lost.
We went and spent a couple hours at the pool again. No volleyball this time, just soaking. For dinner, we went to a Greek restaurant that Barb & I had not tried before. It's just outside the resort gates, which makes it a bit of a walk from the boat, thus why we never tried it. This turned out to be a highlight of the week. Not only was the food excellent, but we had a great time. The place is family run, with Mom & Dad in back, and three sons bartending, food running, etc. There was also a young Dutch girl waiting on us, who was very pleasant but a bit overwhelmed by this party of 8 who showed up in addition to the other dozen or so people who were there before us. During the course of the meal, the Dad came out to make sure we were doing ok. He introduced himself and told us a little about how he ended up running a restaurant in the Caribbean. When we were about halfway through eating, Mom came out in her chef's outfit to make sure we liked the food. After we were done, most of us enjoyed an after-dinner brandy. Mickey is of Greek heritage and enjoyed talking to the owners about their story. Next thing you know, the music changed to a Greek song, and Mom & Debbie were dancing in front of the bar. Then three plates got tossed from behind the bar and smashed on the floor. After it was all over, we all laughed and the owner pointed out that while that's a great Greek tradition, they don't do it so much here where the plates might cost $25 each. It was one of those cool times where you make a personal connection beyond the regular proprietor/customer relationship.
GPS N 17-03.996 W 061-53.006 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 10137.
Apr 14
Today is the last full day of the gang's visit. It's hard to believe the week has gone by already. It has been like a vacation for us too. Although we are here for six months, spending all this week pretty much off the boat except for sleeping, and doing so much time just relaxing on the beach has been like a vacation from our vacation.
I had to turn the rental van in this morning. I had kind of gotten used to just hopping in the car instead of walking everywhere. Back to the healthy routine. We walked over to the resort
Speaking of the beach, that was all today was about. This time we came closer to being legit with the wristbands. Each couple bought one all-day drink band, and one drink and lunch band. So, the only smuggling was when each couple appeared to have one very hungry person. The weather today was a bit odd. There is a huge cold front coming from the States that is expected to actually push through here today and tomorrow. So, about mid-morning, we noticed that the wind had shifted from the west. The only time you get a west wind here is maybe as a localized squall passes. But it blew from the west until mid-afternoon when it shifted to the south, which is also unusual. There was a large dark cloud over the island, including the beach most of the day, but it never rained on us. Even though we were under beach umbrellas, the clouds are actually welcome sometimes.
We have 19:30 reservations at Al Porto tonight. The gang liked the singer that was there on Tuesday night, and she sings there every Tuesday and Saturday. Barb & I have always said we needed to go to Al Porto on a night other than pizza night to sample something else. We had all cleaned up back at the rooms and then walked to Al Porto. Al Porto is across the street from the golf course, which means walking all the way around the marina. It's probably no more than half a mile, so it's not really a big deal. We got to the restaurant exactly on time and were seated a couple of tables back from the stage. We had a variety of different meals, with only one person repeating on pizza, and everything was excellent.
On the way back to the resort, we stopped at WestPoint for a final drink together. Fred took care of us again. We only had one round, as it was getting late. Since we are on foot, we pointed the gang in the right direction and we went back to the boat.
GPS N 17-03.996 W 061-53.006 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 10137.
Apr 15
We were awakened this morning to a heavy rain shower. As listened to the Coconut Telegraph, the rain started again and continued. About 09:00, there was a lull in it and we walked over to the resort. Everybody was already packed and watching TV. The rain started again just as we got to the room, so we had timed that perfectly. We packed up our roll-behind cart with all the leftover food from the gang. We had brought a couple large black plastic garbage bags to enclose everything in, just in case we end up walking back in the rain. About 10:30, they were getting ready to take their luggage down to the front desk and check out, and the rain stopped, so we said our goodbyes and walked back to the boat. Just as we got back the rain resumed. That's two for two on the timing.
We didn't get any knocks on the boat later in the day, so we assume everybody was allowed to board their flight back to reality. I did check the flight, and it came and went on time. We finally took off our gold wristbands that allowed us access to the resort. As much time as we spent on the beach, I'm surprised there isn't a noticeable lack of tan where the wristband was. The rain continued most if the day. This must be associated with that cold front that made the wind do odd things yesterday. About 16:30, the rain stopped once more. We went to WestPoint for happy hour at 17:00, and while it looked like a large squall went just south of us, it didn't rain anymore. After happy hour, Barb made us pizza for dinner.
GPS N 17-03.996 W 061-53.006 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 10137.