Dec 1
This morning we dropped the mooring and anchored nearby. The moorings here are laid out very haphazard, and there is no control over the boat boys who place them. Therefore, unlike some well planned mooring fields, there are opportunities to anchor amongst the moorings and have enough room. Looking at my chart, I thought perhaps it would be too shallow in the area I had my eye on, but when we saw a fifty-foot charter boat blow through the area at full speed, I guessed it would be ok. We moved over and picked a spot. I dropped the hook and we back down on it. It took a few feet for it to grab, but it seemed to be holding ok. When we stopped though, we were right in front of another boat anchored in the area. I didn't like being lined up with him perfectly, just in case we drag, so we weighed anchor and moved over a little more. The water turned out to be about ten feet deep, which I thought was perfect. Once we were set again, everything seemed fine.
We called Voyaguer C on the VHF to see if they wanted to meet us for lunch ashore. They did, so we met at the Gingerbread Hotel, which is just near where we are anchored. We can get their free Wi-Fi from where we are, so we thought we would patronize them. I had a fish sandwich, Barb had a club sandwich, and Bill was brave and tried a cheeseburger. All the food was good, but Bill commented that the burger wasn't like burger night. After lunch and a few beers, we decided to take a walk. The town is laid out along the waterfront, and Gingerbread is near the south end of the developed area. The main dock, government offices, banks, etc. are about in the middle. We were walking along just taking in all the places when we saw the sky to the east looked like it was about to open up. What is a good cruiser to do but duck in the next bar for shelter. We got into Captain Jack's just as it started to pour. By the time everybody finished a round of drinks, the rain had ended and the sun was out again. We continued along the main road, stopping to inquire about laundry at one place, and checking out the grocery and a marine parts store. At the top of a little hill, we saw a very colorful looking bar/restaurant overlooking the anchorage and decided it needed checking out. Salty Dog has recently moved from where it was on the south side of the anchorage, to this higher, and I would say better location. It is one of at least half a dozen businesses that seem to have relocated in the past year. We were the only customers there and we introduced ourselves to the bartender, who is also part owner, Andre. Andre was a very personable guy who is from Barbados. Bill & Leona (who are from Nova Scotia) just flew to Barbados from Grenada a few weeks ago to visit an old friend. Barbados is well east of the rest of the Caribbean chain, so you have to really want to go to take your boat there. When they mentioned to Andre that they had just been there, he asked their friends name. It turns out that their friend lives next door to Andre's parents and he also knows the guy very well. Another small world experience.
Mid-afternoon, we decided that we had enough pub crawling and walked back to the dinghies. As we approached MoonSail, we saw that the neighbors behind us were back on their boat. We stopped by to introduce ourselves and see if they were leaving soon, as depending on the way we are drifting, we might be near their anchor. They said they were staying a couple of weeks, so we were fine, but they warned us that they had tried to anchor where we are, and they drug three times. I thanked them for that info and said I'd keep an eye on it. I wasn't too worried though because we had backed down hard and seemed to be stuck ok. In the course of our short visit, we learned their boat name is Irise, and their names are Paul & Jan. We mentioned that we had spent the last year in Grenada running a marina and they asked if it was Clarke's Court Bay. We said yes it was and they said they had heard of us over the past year. The reason our story had caught their attention was because they did a similar thing. They were southbound last year and got to St. Vincent where they befriend a lady who ran a bar. She was from Canada and needed to go home, so they offered to run the place for her while she was gone. Well, she either didn't get away right away, or she was gone longer than expected, and they ended up spending a year there. Sounds familiar.
We had a nice dinner aboard and listened as the wind picked up. The forecast for tonight is winds in the twenty to twenty-five knot range. After dinner, we were sitting in the cockpit and we both got the feeling we were a little further back in the anchorage than where we had been. I didn't want to believe it since I trust my Delta anchor, but it seemed so. Because of that, we stayed in the cockpit to watch. The wind was howling and it was very gusty. In the night, it seems that everything seems closer, but we were pretty sure we were slowly dragging. We'll see.
GPS N 13000.049 W 061-14.372 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 9642.
Dec 2
About midnight, Barb went below to try and get some sleep, while I strayed awake in the cockpit. It was clear as the night wore on that we were getting closer to the boats behind us, but since we had moved over, we were going between Irise and the next boat over. As we swung around, we were coming too close to Irise (about twenty feet), but I was watching closely. I really didn't want to re-anchor in the dark if it could be avoided. Barb came back up around 05:00 and joined me in the cockpit. Dawn would be here in another hour, and it couldn't come too soon for me. As soon as there was a hint of light, we weighed anchor. We moved back west a little bit where we had seemed to be hooked good the first time yesterday. Again, the anchor felt like it set well right away. But, over the next hour I could tell we were moving again. We picked it up and anchored again, this time a little further up than we had been. This time, I got in the dinghy with the looky bucket and went to check the anchor. It was set perfectly, in sand, and I could clearly see where it had turned around when I dropped it and set in about two feet. I went back to the boat and was feeling like maybe we had finally gotten it. But with the wind still gusting very high, I felt we were moving again. I took the dinghy back over the anchor and I could clearly see where the anchor had plowed a nice furrow in the sand for about six feet from where it was last time I looked. The problem is the sand is only about a foot deep over hard coral, so the anchor can't bury itself as we tug on it. Recall what I preached about last month about dragging anchor? You either have the wrong equipment or it's a user error. Well, chalk this one up to user error, since this was just a bad place to anchor. No anchor will hold in these conditions on that type of bottom. We weighed anchor again and drove over to the north side of the bay where Voyager C and lots of other boats are anchored to see if we could find a spot there. The problem here is that although it's a very large bay, most of it is more than twenty-feet deep, and I don't want to go more than twenty feet since I haul the anchor by hand. Once we were over by Voyaguer C, it was pretty crowded in the shallow areas. Also, the last time I hauled the anchor the swivel that attaches the anchor to the chain caught my eye. It probably caught my eye because Voyaguer C recently broke their swivel and lost their anchor. Fortunately it happened as they were weighing anchor and not while they were asleep. Anyway, I noticed that my swivel was bent and showing significant signs of corrosion. So I wasn't going to feel good anchored until that was replaced or at least taken out. So, back to the other side we went and we looked for one of the boat boys. Ashley, boat name Mystic, came over when we waved to him. I asked him if he could make me a good deal on a mooring for a month. He said sure and led us to a mooring. Once we were secure, he pulled alongside to discuss the price. We paid the other boat boy, Toots, boat name Afrikan Pride, $50 EC for each night on the other mooring. When Allergic To Cities left the other day, they gave us money to give to Joseph the boat boy who helped them, since they hadn't paid him in advance. He only charged them $40 EC, so I knew there was negotiating room. But, even at $40, that's more than I want to pay if we are going to be here all month. Barb suggested I start by offering him $300 US for the month. Fortunately, I let him go first and he said $20 EC/night which would be $600 EC or $225 US. Deal.
Since early this morning there has been a lot of radio chatter from a boat named Tjeldoy. It is a large steel boat that used to be a ferry in Europe and has long ago been converted to a liveaboard. It is moored a couple hundred feet from us now that we have moved. The radio chatter was about a lost boat. Apparently Tjeldoy also owns a forty foot Grand Banks trawler, and it was anchored on two anchors near Tjeldoy. The owner was on the radio to the Coast Guard, insisting that the Grand Banks had been stolen. Of course, with last night's winds, we assumed it drug anchor to the point where the water was very deep and it was now headed for Panama. The Coast Guard never spoke directly to the guy, but St. Vincent Signal Station did and they told him to go to shore and contact the local police. I'm not sure what he did, but much later, we heard him tell SVSS that an airplane had spotted the boat twelve miles offshore, and he had the GPS coordinates of where it was. He wanted the Coast Guard to go out and tow it back. Again, no word on the radio from the Coast Guard. By noon, finally, the guy and local guys who apparently work for him were preparing to take Tjeldoy out to get it. It took them quite a while to get their mooring undone and then they were underway. Also, one of the boat boys took one of their crew in his faster little boat and headed out. As the boat boy and the crew were leaving though, they came by our boat to ask if we had a handheld GPS they could borrow. It struck me odd that a big boat like Tjeldoy wouldn't have a backup hand held, but I guess they don't. I gave them my brand new Garmin, which I only have in case the boats main GPS were to fail, and off they went.
Later in the early afternoon, Ashley came by and said he was going to dive on our mooring to make sure it was good and strong. I thought that sounded like a dandy idea. He anchored his boat and dove in. A little bit later, I heard him calling me from the water. He asked if I had a spare dock line that we could put from the shackle on the bottom of the mooring to our boat. the moorings here use rope, not chain, to the bottom, and he said while he thought it would be fine, he'd feel better if we had a backup line. Well, I would too, so I got him a line. He dove down, attached it to the bottom, and then tied it to one of our bridle lines. Our line is slack, but if his line breaks, we still won't go anywhere.
We spent the afternoon reading and relaxing since we had no sleep the night before. Surprisingly, I never did nap and I finished the book I was reading. As it was getting dark, we kept watching the horizon for any sign of Tjeldoy coming back. A large fishing boat towed a small island freighter in from somewhere and parked it at the main dock, but no sign of Tjeldoy. They had left two dinghies on a mooring near theirs when they left, so I figure if they don't bring my GPS back, I own a new fleet of dinghies.
GPS N 13000.049 W 061-14.372 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 9642.
Dec 3
When we got up this morning we found Tjeldoy anchored behind us, and tied to her stern was the wandering Grand Banks. About 09:00, their dinghy came over with a couple and two kids. They were guests aboard Tjeldoy and were returning our GPS, along with a bottle of wine to thank us. They had found the Grand Banks twenty miles west of here.
We had a productive morning, taking care of errands. We dinghied to shore to the main dock behind the produce market first. There we found the dumpsters, or skips as their called here, that are provided for cruiser's trash. We had a week's worth of garbage and it's nice when a town provides this service instead of having to pay a boat boy to take it, especially if you're not sure he properly disposes of it. About a hundred feet from the dock is the gas station. I carried the dinghy gas tank over there to fill it. We have been quite low on gas since Union Island, but it wasn't convenient to get it there. Here it's very convenient and within a few minutes that task was done. If you're interested, gas here costs $13.30 EC which is $4.98 US per gallon. That pretty much has been the price for years. For whatever reason, the price was already up there and didn't go higher when prices in the States went crazy, and they haven't gone down now either. Between the dock and the gas station is the market. We didn't really need anything but stopped in to see what they had. We had heard that the vendors are primarily Rasta's and can be pushy about making sure you buy something from each vendor. We didn't encounter that at all. We bought some sweet bananas from one lady, and weren't pressured to buy anything else. Two young men who had tables in the market introduced themselves, asked us where we were from, and proceeded to tell us how happy they were with the US election. (Which is the resounding sentiment we have heard everywhere we've been.)
From the market, we dinghied over to the dock at the Gingerbread Hotel. There is a small bakery there where we got cinnamon buns and juice and sat at a waterside table to eat. While there, Jan & Terry from Kiva saw us and came over. We had only met them once in Grenada on their way south last year, but they are also from Kemah and Barb has been following their log since we met. They also knew us from checking in regularly on the Coconut Telegraph. Jan & Terry are going out on a dive, and the dive boat loads at that dock, so we chatted until they had to board the dive boat. We then walked back towards town to find out about rates for the wireless service that I can see from the boat. On our new mooring, we are too far away to pick up the free ones, but there is a good strong signal from Sam's Taxi. We found the place where you buy the cards for Sam's Taxi, and it is $75 EC per week. Not bad, but I may see if I can live with the sat phone for daily e-mail and just carry the computer to shore every couple of days to do other stuff. We also found an internet cafe that is $3 EC per half hour where I can plug directly in a LAN cable. I may do that option to upload the website update, just because it will be much faster.
While walking, we also checked on canvas shops. There are at least three sail lofts here, and one place that only does canvas. What we need done is replacing the screen in the two rear panels of the cockpit enclosure. The screen has gotten rotten and is just falling apart. We stopped at the North Sails sail loft and inquired if they had any screen. They did, but it was tan which wouldn't match anything else. They suggested we go to Bequia canvas, which is just a little further down the street. We found Bequia canvas with no trouble. Unlike North Sails tidy albeit small work area, Bequia canvas is tiny and a cluttered mess. It is run by a lady who didn't finish first in her class of customer service. She wasn't rude, but she also wasn't very interested in helping us. We told her what we were after, and she dug out the same tan screen material that North Sails had. It wasn't until we spotted the roll, that she volunteered that she also had it in gray. Gray would be much better. We asked when she might be able to do what we needed, and explained that we would be here all month. That was when she told us that she wasn't taking any other work in, as she is moving on the 15th and has to get the place packed up. The very pleasant lady at North Sails had mentioned that perhaps if Bequia Canvas had material we liked, they could get the material from her. So, we inquired of the lady at Bequia sails if we could just buy the material from her and have somebody else do the work. She said oh no, she couldn't do that. I mentioned that the lady at North Sails had suggested that, and then she backed off and said only if they did the work would she agree to that. We thanked her and went back to North Sails and told them we would bring the panels in tomorrow.
On our walk back to the dinghy, we decided to walk away from the waterfront street and see what was on the next street back. There we found Doris' Fresh Food. Barb said we had to go in. I thought it was a restaurant and wondered why we had to go in since it was not lunchtime yet. Well, it's not a restaurant, but rather a grocery. Barb had read about it in the cruising guide and it was well recommended. I obviously skipped that section of the guide. We found a small store packed with wonderful stuff. Best of all was the large section of refrigerated and frozen things, as well as produce other than the locally grown things in the market. Even the dry goods were a great selection of gourmet things and brands from the States that you don't find much here. We got some yogurt, cheese, tortillas, sour cream, and a few other things. To make the visit even more pleasant, Doris herself checks you out and is a nice lady. There are no fancy computers here to check you out, not even a simple cash register. Just a calculator and a cash drawer.
Since we had cold groceries now, we headed back to the dinghy. As we passed the Frangipani Hotel, we saw Judy from Bodacious sitting on a bench. We stopped to say hello. Judy & Barry spent quite a bit of time in Grenada, but over in Prickly Bay. We only met them once or twice at burger nights, so we don't know them well. We chatted for a few minutes and made arrangements to meet back there for sundowners at 17:00. As we walked on to the dinghy which was at the Gingerbread Hotel, we passed the bar that separates the two hotels, which is called the Whaleboner Bar. Not the Whalebone Bar, which would be appropriate since a large whale bone adorns the front edge of the bar itself, but the Whaleboner Bar. Amazing the different connotation one letter can make.
We spent the afternoon on the boat. One of the things we have researched over the past couple of days was laundry options. It seems that $30 EC per load for wash, dry, and fold is the going rate. So, convenience was the deciding factor, and you can't beat the convenience of having the laundry picked up right at the boat. We called Daffodil Marine services on the VHF and asked them to come pick up the laundry. Within about ten minutes a young man in a small yellow boat was there for the laundry. They said it would be ready tomorrow afternoon.
We were watching two guys who work for Tjeldoy, mess around in the water with SCUBA equipment on this afternoon. They had something on a big inflated lift bag that they were moving around. They ended up very close to our port side when they deflated the lift bag to drop whatever it was on the bottom. We asked what they were doing, and they said installing a new mooring. We asked them if they didn't think they were a little close to our mooring, and pointed out that we would be here for a month. They said not to worry. Later Ashley was coming to every boat passing out fliers for a restaurant, and we pointed this new mooring out to him. He agreed it is too close and said he would speak to them about it. He did go over and talk to them, but they haven't moved it yet.
At 17:00 we headed to shore to meet Bodacious at Frangipani for drinks. On the way in we spotted Mariche VII, who we knew from the marina. They are the boat that I helped catch the rat on last summer. Bob & Sally had stored the boat on the hard in Grenada for the summer, and just launched the day after we left. They have guests with them onboard now and are only here for a day, while they entertain the guests for a week. They will be heading back to Grenada where they will fly home for the holidays, and then head north again. We look forward to seeing them again when we can spend more time with them. We continued to shore and met Barry & Judy and enjoyed drinks with them while learning more about each other's travels. They have been cruising for fifteen years, and have done a circumnavigation. They are from New Zealand and sold the boat they went around the world in and then bought Bodacious in Grenada. For this year they are puttering around the Caribbean, but I think they plan to then sail back to New Zealand. Since we first planned to get together earlier this afternoon, we learned that there was a quiz night happening at the Salty Dog Bar tonight, and several cruisers were going. A quiz night is like competitive Trivial Pursuit. You make teams of some number of people, and then the host reads questions that you write down answers to. We had five categories with ten questions each. After each category is read and you have written your answers, you pass your answers to another team and they grade it as the host reads the answers. We only had the four of us on our team. Some teams were six and eight people, and one team was a couple. The categories were geography, food & drink, sports, flags, and general knowledge. It was great fun, but many of the questions were quite obscure. We also were shown how out of touch we were with world news. Who knew that Koufi Anan wasn't Secretary General of the United Nations anymore? We came in last of about twelve teams, with less than 50% of the correct answers. The table of six next to us won, and they only missed four of the answers. Show offs.
We had enjoyed a nice meal at Salty Dog before the quiz started. We proved that we really were smarter than all those other people because we got there early, ordered and ate before everything started. The rest of the crowd all showed up at once about half an hour before the quiz started and expected to eat. The kitchen was overwhelmed and some people were just getting their food by the time the game was over. So who's was smarter? We walked back to the dinghy and made our way slowly back to the boat. We had forgotten to bring our light, but if you go slow, even if you hit something it won't be catastrophic. It amazes me the way people race through dark anchorages, with or without a light.
GPS N 13000.049 W 061-14.372 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 9642.
Dec 4
Chris Parker, the weather guy that I listen to every morning at 07:00 is off for a few days. His substitute guy is doing limited broadcasts, but they aren't until 08:00, when I am on the Coconut Telegraph. So, I won't be hearing weather for a few days, but since we are staying put it's not a big deal. It does mean I can sleep in. I didn't get out of bed until 07:45, which is late for me. I checked e-mail and had a response from Mike at Palm Tree Marine regarding our engine issue. He agrees it is a fuel problem, and he doesn't think it's the injector pump. That's all good news. He suspects that we have crap floating around in the tank that is getting stirred up while underway and clogging the screen on the intake tube in the tank. This makes sense as it seemed to happen most when we were bouncing around a lot. He told me a way to test the theory next time the problem occurs. If it won't reoccur while we are sitting in the harbor, at least in a month I will burn up most of the fuel we have and can take out the pickup tube and check the tank.
We went ashore about 11:00 to drop off the enclosure panels at North Sails. They said it should be done in about a week. Since it was almost lunchtime, we went across the street to Coco's which is a place that has been advertised by the boat boys. It is supposed to be good local food. We were the first customers there, and were waited on by a very pleasant young lady. We ordered beers and fish burgers. I don't know why places call things a burger just because it's served on a burger bun, but they do. It's a fish sandwich ok? A burger is ground up something. Anyway, when ordering a fish burger in the Islands, you never know what kind of fish it is. If you really care, you should probably order something else. You also never know if it may have bones in it. Caribbean folks expect bones in their food, whether it's fish, chicken, or whatever. Well these fish burghers were exceptional. I don't know what kind of fish it was, but it was white and flaky, about a half inch thick, and there were no bones in either sandwich. We shared and order of fries that were not soggy. While we were eating, a group of four sat behind us. They hemmed and hawed over the menu, asked a bunch of questions, and then decided to just have a round of drinks. You have to wonder why people who are so inflexible in their tastes ever leave home. Anyway, we enjoyed the lunch and the service, and may go back Sunday for their all-you-can-eat buffet, which is again, local food.
We walked back to the main part of town and stopped at a place that arranges tours and day charters. They are there primarily for cruise ship passengers I think. I inquired about the turtle sanctuary on the other side of the island. The girl said it was open everyday except Saturday, and that any taxi would take us there. I also inquired about renting a Moke for a day. Mokes are little cars that used to be very popular in the Caribbean. There aren't many left, but there is a place here that rents some. The girl said to just let them know when we wanted one and she could arrange it. I may just try to do it myself to avoid any middle-man markup. We stopped at yet another grocery that we hadn't explored yet and checked it out. It had a fair selection, but not like Doris'. We did get a couple of two-liter bottles of Pepsi though. We are on our last CO2 canister for our soda machine, so we will probably run out soon. We figure we might as well start using regular soda when we can get it and save the soda machine for the remote places.
Back at the boat, we relaxed and watched the world go by. Part of that world here is the big ferries. There are two ferry companies here. One runs the Bequia Express boats, of which there are three. The other runs the Admiral. The Admiral looks a little nicer, and goes faster. Admiral reportedly takes thirty-five minutes to St. Vincent, while Bequia Express takes an hour. The Admiral though is known for coming through the anchorage way too fast and putting up a huge wake which rocks everybody terribly. People frequently get on the VHF and yell at the captain, but he obviously doesn't care. This afternoon, one of the Bequia Express boats was leaving the dock. I was just idly watching it come through the anchorage when I noticed him cut back on the throttles. I heard the engine sound change as well as the smoke from the exhausts stopped. Just as I commented to Barb that something was odd, we heard the big anchor chain going out from the ship. He apparently lost power and was quickly dropping the anchor before getting blown into the anchored boats. He kept going quite a ways with the anchor down. Our view was mostly blocked by Tjeldoy which is next to us and is big, but we did see the ferry was headed for a very large motor yacht that is always anchored here. I should point out that all this was unfolding on the other side of the bay from us and we were in no danger. Just as I saw a man jump from the wheelhouse of the large motor yacht to the foredeck to try and raise anchor and move, smoke came from one of the two exhausts of the ferry. He was trying to stop and back up as fast as he could. He retrieved his anchor and tried to turn around to go back to the dock. But with only one engine he was having trouble maneuvering. Finally he just backed straight up, which took him out in the middle of some open water, and dropped his anchor again. There was no more exhaust smoke coming from it at this point either. After a few minutes another large boat from the dock came out and rafted alongside Bequia Express. They tied it tight and raised the anchor on the ferry. The tow boat then very slowly brought the ferry back to the dock, turned it around, and backed it to the dock. I felt sorry for the passengers who by this time had been onboard for about an hour, and were now disembarking in the same place they just left. Hopefully nobody was catching a plane out of St. Vincent.
About 13:00, the boat from Daffodil's came with our laundry. We had called them on the radio when we returned from town to let them know we were aboard, and to ask them to bring a bag of ice when they came. There were two guys in the boat, and as they handed the laundry up to me I asked about the ice. The looked at each other like they both knew about it and both forgot, and said they'd be right back. In about ten minutes they were back with the ice. This is the first time in our whole trip that we have used a laundry service. We were very pleased with the quality of the service and pleasantly surprised that what we thought would be four loads was only three.
At 16:00, we took the computer to the Frangipani for sundowners and to see if I can connect to the Wi-Fi. Since getting the new computer last month, which of course has Vista on it, I've had trouble connecting to some wi-fi networks. It worked fine with the one in the marina in Grenada, but it's been flaky with unsecured networks we have encountered since. Sometimes it connects and sometimes it doesn't, with no apparent predictability. I have connected via LAN cables with no problem to publish the web updates, and when I did that I did some research on Microsoft's own site and found that this is a known problem that has been affecting people since Vista machines first came out, but there is no clear cut resolution. I've got my PC professional nephew-in-law working on it for me, and going ashore to be in range of several networks today is part of trying something he had me change. Unfortunately, the change didn't help, so it's still unpredictable. I was able to connect for a little while as we enjoyed a couple of beverages. We had left the boat open, which is a risky thing to do as fast as showers can pop up, but we figured we'd see anything coming. Just as I was running low on battery power for the computer anyway, Barb said there was a dark cloud coming over the hill. We packed up and headed back to the boat and got there just in time to close the hatches as a sprinkle came through. It didn't turn out to be much, and we enjoyed a nice cool breeze the rest of the evening. Dinner was chicken quesadillas complete with the sour cream we scored at Doris'.
GPS N 13000.049 W 061-14.372 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 9642.
Dec 5
We ran the motor to charge the batteries this morning. Normally, in the interest of fuel usage and extra hours on the engine, we only use the motor to charge batteries as little as possible. But since I'm on a mission to use up all the fuel in the tank, we're being more generous with our electricity and hot water usage. Since the batteries were being charged, I spent the whole morning with the inverter on so I had AC power to run the computer all morning, and I got caught up on writing logs.
We had a visit from a boat we have heard on the radio over the last few months, but had never met. Wanderlust has Bill & Judy and two of their three kids aboard. We first heard of Wanderlust during the summer, when they were with Voyaguer C up the Macareo River in Venezuela. The Macareo and Manamo rivers are part of the Orinoco River delta system and are popular with cruisers staying in Trinidad for the summer. They are very remote, and you have to take everything you will need for the entire trip. Most people take two or three weeks to explore the rivers depending usually on how much fuel and water they carry. The only people you will find up the rivers are indigenous Indians who speak only their own ancient language, not Spanish, even though they are in Venezuela. Wanderlust and Voyaguer C were in their first week of exploring the river, when Judy on Wanderlust became ill. She had gotten many mosquito bites which were infected, and the fear was that she may have Dengue Fever or something else. A call went out on the Coconut Telegraph one morning to see if by chance anybody listening might be able to help diagnose the problem. Unfortunately there wasn't anybody, and there are no medical resources up the river, so they decided to get back to Trinidad as soon as possible. It took them two or three days to get back to Trinidad, but by then since the word had spread via the Coconut Telegraph, other cruisers were ready to help and had already done a lot of legwork to get help for Judy. After being seen by doctors in Trinidad, it was decided to fly her back to the States for treatment. In the end, after some scary misdiagnosis, everything cleared up and she is fine now and back on the boat. If I recall correctly, they never did really pin down what had been wrong. They left Trinidad headed north after hurricane season was over, and have just caught up to us, so it was nice to meet them in person.
We had lunch aboard and spent the afternoon reading. I finished my second book since leaving, a novel by Carl Hiassen called Skinny Dip. That's two books in three weeks, but only four days really spent reading. That's why I never read books when I was working - once I start I don't want to stop. I can't read a chapter a day or an hour a day. Assuming the book gets my interest, I want to find out how it ends.
About 16:00 we went to shore. We were planning to have dinner out, but went to Frangipani for sundowners first. It is a popular place amongst boaters and locals for happy hour drinks. When we got there, the only outside table open was a table for five, but we sat there anyway. After a few minutes, another couple came looking for a place to sit and asked if they could join us. Bert & Jo are from the boat Gypsy. We had seen Gypsy in the anchorage and noticed it because we have other friends on a different Gypsy. Bert & Jo aren't your typical cruisers though. We have met cruisers like us who live aboard full-time and are cruising long term. Then there are of course the charterers that we deal with everyday, who get their week or two of cruising a year. And up in the northeast we encountered primarily the boat owners who have just a couple of months each year where they go out on their boats every weekend. Bert & Jo retired to Barbados and have a house there. Barbados is a hundred miles due east of here, so it is out of the main chain of islands that make up the typical cruising grounds. Most cruisers don't get to Barbados unless they come across the Atlantic and stop there before they get to the rest of the Caribbean. Bert & Jo bought their boat four years ago and started taking mini cruises. Several times a year, they leave Barbados and sail over to the Windward islands (that's the southern half of the Caribbean chain) and spend a couple of weeks cruising around. They were very interesting to talk to and we spent a couple of hours with them. Our story was a little like theirs in that we weren't life-long sailors before leaving. Neither were they. Like us, this is their first boat and they took up the idea of sailing without having done it as kids or a family tradition. I would say the majority of cruisers we meet have been sailors most of their lives and have had a succession of boats.
We finally said goodbye to Bert & Jo and walked down the waterfront path to Mac's Pizza. We have been hearing about Mac's Pizza for two years now. They are renowned for their lobster pizza. In the past few weeks we have had two other lobster pizzas so we had a frame of reference. One of them was so-so, and one of them was very good. Well, Mac's wins top honors hands down. There was lots of lobster, lots of cheese, and best of all for my tastes, the crust was not the crispy cracker crust that is so common in the Caribbean. It is a thin crust, but it was soft and tasty. Another unique thing about Mac's is that there is a choice of sizes. I haven't seen a pizza place that offered a choice of sizes since Dominoes in Puerto Rico. Mac's offers nine, thirteen, and fifteen inch pizzas. Bert, who was an engineer, told us that he had figured out that the large pizza is the best price performer, even if you can't eat the whole thing. He actually figured out the price per square inch of all three sizes, and the fifteen incher is cheapest per square inch. Bert had also told us a joke about when they ate at Mac's the night before. He ordered the fifteen inch pizza, but told the girl to only cut it in four slices, because they couldn't possibly eat eight slices. The girl didn't get it. We took half of our pizza home for lunch tomorrow.
GPS N 13000.049 W 061-14.372 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 9642.
Dec 6
Today's entry will be short. After hosting the Coconut Telegraph, I started a new book. It was Sidney Poitier's Measure of A Man. Remember what I said about can't put them down? The whole day was consumed with reading, with only two interruptions. One to enjoy our left over pizza for lunch, and the other for a visit from Dick & Jane on Cheetah II. We've been traveling with Cheetah II off and on since the beginning. We first met them our first season in the Bahamas, but got to know them better at the Southbound Cruisers Rendezvous in New Bern, NC in 2006. From there, we traveled together all the way to Grenada. During the year we were in Grenada, we saw them several times as they went north and then south again last season. Jane had to go home for a couple months recently to help her mother through some health problems, but all is well now and she is back aboard and they are cruising again. They are going north fast and plan to slowly come south through the season. They only took two days to get here from Grenada, but plan to stay a few days until the weather calms down a little. When Dick & Jane went to leave, the line from the new mooring next to us had gotten tangled around the prop of their dinghy. We have been watching this damn line float near us ever since they put it down, but they haven't moved it. I'm tempted to just cut the float off and let it sink.
By about 16:00, book three was done. We briefly considered going ashore for drinks and perhaps dinner, but decided that we hadn't gone to the trouble to move the dinghy so far today, so why start now. We just had drinks aboard and dinner was partially thanks to other cruisers again. During our time in the marina, we were the beneficiaries of somebody unloading their food several times. So now, every time we have a meal that includes something that somebody gave us, we toast them as we enjoy it. This one was compliments of Paul & Mary on Sea Otter.
GPS N 13000.049 W 061-14.372 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 9642.
Dec 7
This morning we were running the motor not so much to charge batteries, as we have had good wind and sun for the past two days, but to make hot water. We need to defrost the refrigerator, and the easiest way to do that is to spray hot water from the sink sprayer onto the cold plate and melt the ice. It wastes hot water, but it only take about ten minutes to do the whole job. If we just shut the fridge off and waited for it to melt it would take hours. Since there is a foot pump to pump the water out of the fridge box, this was is simple. While I was working on the fridge, Barb was in the cockpit reading. I heard her talking to someone and looked to see who was here. It was the guy from Tjeldoy. He had noticed that the line from the new mooring was now wrapped around our rudder. I expected that to happen sooner or later. He dove under the boat and removed it, and then tried to use his dinghy to drag whatever is anchoring it away from us. That didn't work, but maybe now they'll believe it's too close and move it.
We went to lunch today at Coco's Place, where they have a West Indian food buffet every Sunday. We got there about noon, but the food wasn't ready yet. We got a nice table in the shade on the patio overlooking the harbor and had a couple of beers while we waited. There were several guys moving concrete from a mixer truck via wheelbarrow to where they were building a bulkhead next door. We worked up a powerful thirst watching them. The food was finally ready about 13:00. There was quite a crowd by then, and everybody jumped up to get in line at the same time. There was plenty of food, so it didn't matter if you were first or not. There were a number of side dishes; coleslaw, potato salad, green salad, rice and peas, fried banana, sweet potato, polenta, and macaroni and cheese. Then there were the entrees; curried mutton (goat), curried pork, chicken in a slightly sweet sauce, and Creole fish. I tried everything and went back for seconds. The fish was exceptional. I think it was tuna and there were no bones. The pork and mutton were ok, except there was a lot of bone and gristle to work around. It's funny how they butcher some animals here. It's like you just take the whole animal and dice it in two inch cubes. No regard for bone, fat, or whatever. Then you stew the chunks in whatever your sauce is and eat. Picking out the bones and stuff is just part of the deal. Maybe they do that with the animals like goats, where the meat is not concentrated in big muscles like cows are. Beats me, but I prefer not to have to work too hard for my meals.
After lunch we went for a walk. We moved the dinghy to the Gingerbread Hotel dock and walked through their property and uphill to the main road. We turned left towards town (and downhill) along the narrow road with no shoulder or sidewalk. Fortunately, there is very little traffic here, and they seem to slow down and be quite conscientious about passing pedestrians. We passed a store called Euro Shopper, which we read about in the cruising guide as being a good place to provision, but unfortunately they seem to have closed down. They certainly were out of the way compared to the other options, but I think they used to deliver your goods to your boat. I guess people just weren't finding them in the poor location. As we approached town, we were getting closer to the music that we could hear from the boat. Near the main dock is an area shaded by several huge almond trees where the taxis all hang out waiting for people coming in to the dock. There was a DJ set up here and a stand selling beer. I'm not sure if it was any kind of special occasion or just a Sunday afternoon regular gathering. The music was loud and had a lot of bass in it, but it wasn't rap crap that we heard many Sundays in Grenada. It was just regular music that had too much bass cranked up. We walked on back to the dinghy and went back to the boat.
I took the computer back to Frangipani to get some free internet access. I have a couple of things to download to complete getting the new computer all setup. I parked myself at a picnic table in the shade near the bar and got a rum and coke. It's only fair that if I'm going to use their wireless I patronize the bar right? I got a new version of the software I use to backup the computer downloaded. This one runs on Vista. I also downloaded a missing piece of the software to use the satellite phone for e-mail. I have still been using the old computer for that. As I was just wrapping up my computing, Bert & Jo from Gypsy came in. They are probably heading back to Barbados tomorrow. I excused myself to take the computer back to the boat, and returned a few minutes later with Barb. We enjoyed another visit with them and also met another couple, Bernard & Jilie (like Julie with an i). Bernard & Jilie are also from Barbados and have been here for a few days via airplane. They are good friends of Bert & Jo's back in Barbados, but if I understood correctly, it was chance that they ended up here at the same time. We had a good time visiting with them again.
GPS N 13000.049 W 061-14.372 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 9642.
Dec 8
I spent most of the morning working on the computer. I installed the backup software that I downloaded yesterday on my computer and setup my backup. After getting it backed up successfully, I installed the software on Barb's machine. We got Barb's computer last March, and that's when we realized the version of the software we had wouldn't run on Vista. She has been using Vista's new built-in backup program in the meantime, but it doesn't look as good as what we have been using. It could just be a matter of not taking the time to understand Vista's over what we already know, but why learn new tricks if we don't have to. After getting her backup squared away, I worked on the sat phone software. I started to install it but you have to be connected to the phone with a good signal to complete the process. Since the Globalstar signal comes and goes, that means getting to the point where the computer wants to connect and then watching the phone for a signal indication. I got lucky and only waited a minute or two. The process completed and now I can get e-mail through the sat phone on the new computer. I think that leaves only getting a new key for some of my charts from whoever bought the rights from Maptech left before I can pack away the old computer.
For lunch, Barb made us nachos onboard. After lunch, she started to not feel well. I felt fine, so we don't know if the cause was the food, but it didn't affect me if it was. We had been planning a trip to town to the grocery, but since Barb didn't feel well, I went by myself to do a few other errands. I went to the Tourist Board office to inquire about a couple of things. I found out the ferry schedule and cost to St. Vincent, the taxi fares to a couple of places here we want to see, and that as far as the girls there know, there is no approved place to get rid of used engine oil. I then went to RMS Internet to buy a card so that I can access Sam's Taxi's wireless. I get the signal good on the boat, and decided to go ahead and buy it instead of carrying the computer ashore every couple of days. We had inquired about the price a couple days ago and were told $75 EC per week. I walked in and said I wanted a card for a week, and the girl said $100. I said I thought it was $75, and she replied that that was a special that was done. I told them that quoting a price one day, with no mention of it being anything special, and then charging a higher rate when the customer comes in, was no way to do business. And I left. The frustrating thing is that they could give a crap if they make the sale or not. Customer service is rarely what we would expect in the States. I guess I'll continue carrying the computer in. From there I walked to Wallace & Co., one of the marine parts stores here. They have Racor fuel filters for about the same price as in the States. I still have several spares aboard, but you can't have too many. The filters are marked with two prices, one duty free and one not. I asked the guy what he needed from me to give me the duty free price, and he said just some info. I just had to tell him the boat name, country it's flagged in, when I plan to depart Bequia, and where we're going. I commented how simple that was, and he told me how the old way worked. For a change, a procedure was simplified, instead of complicated. Usually in the islands, if someone, especially government, can find a way to increase paperwork and create jobs, they go for it. My last errand was to pick up a case of beer. I had inquired about prices at a couple of store as I had walked to Wallace & Co., and found that Knight's right across from the main dock was as cheap as any. As I returned to the dinghy with the beer, I ran into Dick & Jane from Cheetah II. We chatted for a few minutes and then I went back to the boat.
Barb still wasn't feeling great, but I got her to get off the boat for a bit and go to Frangipani for a sundowner. We only had one round and then decided to get a pizza from Mac's to take back to the boat. Unfortunately we found that Mac's is closed on Monday's. So, we just went back to the boat and had some cheese and crackers.
GPS N 13000.049 W 061-14.372 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 9642.
Dec 9
I fell asleep in the cockpit last night, and was awakened by voices around 01:00. My first thought was of our experience with the late night anchoring boat in Salt Whistle Bay. I sat up to see a small powerboat idling a couple hundred feet behind us, and a very large boat about a thousand feet behind him. The large boat was very slowly coming towards us, and the little boat was apparently making sure he didn't get too close to anybody. The big boat anchored with minimal noise, which was unusual but thoughtful. In the morning light we saw that the big boat is Wind Dancer, a liveaboard dive boat from Trinidad. We saw it a couple of weeks ago in Carriacou. Also, shortly after dawn a cruise ship came and anchored out behind Wind Dancer for the day. The night had been fairly rolly, the first time we had any roll here. It wasn't nearly as bad as the night in Salt Whistle Bay, but it was uncomfortable. There had not been a north swell, which causes the roll in anchorages facing west, predicted, so I was puzzled where it came from. Chris Parker, the weather guy, mentioned it in his morning broadcast this morning. He said the wind had come way around to the north overnight, much more than expected, and that the wind driven waves were responsible for the roll, not a northerly ground swell. And , to bear that out, by 09:00 the wind was back out of the east and the roll was gone.
Our main task to accomplish today is filling our water tanks. There is a service here called Daffodil's that runs a small barge around the anchorage selling water and diesel. He was out and about early and I tried to flag him down as he passed near us. I don't think he saw me, so when he left the next boat he serviced, I called on the VHF to him. He had to go refill his water tanks, but said we would be the third boat on his list when he got back. Later we watched him come back and go to two charter cats, and then to a monohull near us. We thought that guy just flagged him down and he was mistaken them for us. We patiently waited until they were through, and then waved to him. He came close by and yelled back that he had at least four boats in front of us. I said, no, you told me I was third three boats ago. I think he realized his mistake and came over to us. I got the tanks filling and Barb chatted with the young man on the barge. His name is Junius, and he was very interested in our travels. I'm sure he deals mostly with charter boats, so he enjoyed talking to some full-time cruisers. While he was tied up to us, a smaller boat from Daffodil's came and rafted to his other side. This guy had several twenty gallon barrels of diesel that we was going to add to the barges tank. The guy with the diesel asked if perhaps we had a cold beer he could have, so Barb went below and got them each a beer. In all our encounters with boat boys and officials, we have never been asked for anything (except in the Dominican Republic). We read or hear about boat boys demanding a handout frequently, but we never encountered it and these guys weren't demanding. He asked very politely, and since they had not even gotten to go to lunch since it was so busy, we were happy to give them a couple of beers.
By the time we got done with the water, it was about 14:00. We headed to shore for lunch. Since a lot of places close between lunch and dinner, we weren't sure what our options were going to be. I was pretty sure Mac's Pizza did not close so we went there. Tempting as it was to do lobster again, we made a custom pizza instead. We had a medium with pepperoni, Italian sausage, and mushrooms. I ordered a rum punch to drink instead of beer, only because the guy at the next table had one and he said it was good. He was right, the rum punch was outstanding, and the pizza was excellent again as well. We visited a little with the couple at the next table. They were off the cruise ship that was in today. The woman volunteered that she and her first husband had been power boaters until the husband got the idea to get a sailboat in the Chesapeake. That was the end of the marriage. (I'm guessing there might have been other reasons, but those were her words.) She and the new husband, who was considerably older and looked like a powerboat sort of guy, live in Florida now. They were headed to Grenada tomorrow and asked us what to do while there. They try to avoid the pre-packaged cruise ship tours, so we gave them an idea of what to see.
On the way back to the dinghy after lunch, we stopped at Dani's Spa, right next to the Gingerbread Hotel and I made an appointment for a massage tomorrow. I have never had a massage before, but my back is so tight these days, that it's got to be good. The girl tried to talk Barb into a pedicure but Barb pointed out that living on a boat full time, and walking barefoot in the sand didn't lend itself to pretty toe maintenance, so she declined.
Back at the boat, we relaxed and listened to the chatter on the VHF. The chatter has been dominated the past few days by a Venezuelan boat named Carmelina hailing Isabella. Isabella is at the main dock, and I think Carmelina must be one of the boats anchored way out in the southwest corner of the harbor. Isabella never answers the guy. But that doesn't keep him from calling over and over and over. It's not like he calls a couple times and then tries again in an hour. He just goes on and on, hailing them a couple of times a minute. Over the course of half an hour, his voice changed to almost a pleading, as if that would make Isabella answer. I suspect Isabella doesn't have their radio on, or nobody is in the wheelhouse. These boats are part of a fleet of half a dozen or so that have been here for a week. They are ratty old fishing boats that have been converted to haul fuel from Venezuela. We saws this in Union Island, where the boat anchored out in the middle of the bay and other boats rafted to him to buy fuel. Here, we have seen one guy using jerry jugs to get fuel from one of the anchored ones, but the others seem to be taking turns at the dock. We have heard that the ferries buy their fuel from them. There is one boat that stands out from the rest. Miss Lori Anne looks like a typical Gulf of Mexico offshore shrimper without any of the fishing equipment. It's about a hundred feet long, and nicely painted. The captain is obviously American, although he speaks Spanish. He finally intervened and got Carmelina to go to another channel to talk. Of course by now, we followed the conversation to see if we can figure out what Carmelina's problem is. I could barely understand the Venezuelan guy at all, but I could pick up a fair amount of what the American skipper said even though it was Spanish. He basically said he (Miss Lori Anne) was leaving and wished the other guys a Merry Christmas and a safe trip back to Venezuela. If he conveyed anything about radio etiquette or not I couldn't tell. I find it very interesting that these boats are allowed to operate. You would think the Venezuelan government wouldn't want to be selling their cheap fuel for export, and you would think that the SVG government must be missing out on some taxes. It's also interesting that these boats can make more money running fuel than fishing. I'm sure it's a lot less demanding work.
GPS N 13000.049 W 061-14.372 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 9642.
Dec 10
We spent the morning on the boat reading. My new book is a James Patterson novel, Beach House. Barb thought I would like it because it is set out in the Hamptons on Long Island. We had a light lunch onboard, and then I went in for my massage at 13:00. I have never had a massage before, so although I think I know what to expect, it's all new. Dani, the masseuse, was very professional and knowing that it was my first time, explained everything and all my options. I thoroughly enjoyed the massage, and while I'm not sure if it will have any long term effect on my back, it sure felt good. When I returned to the boat I told Barb we may need a new budget item. She said I would have to give up something first. Perhaps after we've replenished the coffers some.
Here in Admiralty Bay, it's usually pretty calm. When the wind blows hard, we are far enough out in the bay to get a little chop, but nothing too bad. The exception to that is when the large ferries that run several times a day between here and St. Vincent pass through. This morning we noticed a guy halfway up the mast on a boat up ahead of us. We were watching him work on something, and then he stopped working and was just hanging on tight to the mast with both arms and legs wrapped tightly around it. Then we saw why. One of the ferries was coming in putting up it's usual large wake. If you think about the motion of the boat rocking from the wake when you are in the cockpit, multiply that considerably the further up the mast you are. The top of the mast moves back and forth twenty feet when the boat rocks from a big wake like this. If the guy up the mast hadn't been aware of the wake, he could have lost his grip and been swung around wildly on the halyard that hoisted him, resulting in a minimum of some bruises or possibly worse.
We went to shore about 16:00 to have sundowners at Frangipani. We were earlier than usual, so we got to sit in one of the two-person chairs right on the water's edge facing the sunset and the waterfront walkway. I was looking one way and Barb the other, when Barb excitedly said hi to somebody she obviously didn't expect to see. I turned to see who it was and it was Hal and Inga from Grenada. Hal is a cruiser who single handed his way south the same year we did, although we had never met him until we were in Grenada. Inga is a German born American who moved to Grenada some years ago and built a house there. She was one of the principle people hosting the morning cruiser's net and was a general resource for cruisers setting up tours etc. Hal and Inga got together over the past year and frequently stopped by the marina for burger nights or other events we had. Well here they were walking down the walkway. We had no idea they were leaving Grenada so we were very surprised to see them. As it turns out, Hal had new sails made for his boat and they were being shipped to St. Thomas. They left Grenada planning to sail straight to St. Thomas in three or four days, but the winds that came out of the north more than forecast two nights ago made them decide to stop here. Since they stopped, they got a message that Inga needed to take care of some unexpected business in Germany that required a German notary. So, they are heading back to Grenada where she knows where to get that taken care of. They joined us for drinks, and later we were also joined by Peter &Wendy from Keejse II. We enjoyed visiting for quite a while and then went our separate ways. We went to dinner at Tommy Cantina. As the name implies, it's a Mexican food place. It's one of several restaurants that hand out flyers to all the boats in the harbor every few days advertising specials. When we walked in, the waitress recognized us as a cruiser boat that she had given a flyer to, and was very excited to see us and excited that we brought our flyer, which she took. Being quite familiar with and fond of Mexican food, we didn't expect a meal the quality of which we would get in Texas or Arizona, but it's worth a try. Our expectations were met, that it wasn't as good as Texas or Arizona. It wasn't bad by any means, but it was nothing to write home about. If there was any special pricing or anything as a result of bringing in our flyer, I don't know what it was. I suspect that the waitress might get a little something for returned flyers, since she hands them out. We probably won't be doing Mexican again, simply because there are too many other good options here.
GPS N 13000.049 W 061-14.372 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 9642.
Dec 11
We started the morning by going to the Gingerbread Hotel to use the internet. I specifically wanted to check the status of a package I'm expecting. On Tuesday, the UPS Store back home sent us a package. The package consists of our mail (they are our address), some parts I had ordered and had shipped there, and some parts that our friend John Wright had picked up for me locally and dropped off there. As usual, when shipping internationally, we had them ship it FedEx, billing it directly to my FedEx account. They had e-mailed me the tracking number when they shipped it, and I expected to receive it here in Bequia tomorrow, Friday. This morning, I took the computer to shore to check on the tracking and make sure it was expected here tomorrow. What I found was that it was still in Houston being held because of an incorrect Zip Code. It was kind of hard to understand how an international package would need a Zip Code, since Zip Codes are a US thing. I e-mailed the UPS Store and asked her to check on it.
We then went across the bay to the dock near the produce market to drop a bag of garbage off at the cruisers dumpsters. From there we went back to the boat, dropped off the computer, and continued across the bay to the south side where Princess Margaret Beach and Lower Bay are. There is a dock on Princess Margaret Beach, by Jack's Bar. We passed by there looking at our options. Jack's is the only place to eat on Princess Margaret Beach, but down on Lower Bay, there are three other places. We tooled along Lower Bay, and decided the surf was way too rough to land the dinghy on the beach. There is a good swell coming in this side of the bay, and the beach drops off very steeply from the shore, so we elected not to try that. Landing would have been one thing. Getting back off the beach would have been nearly impossible. We went back to the dock at Jack's and tied up. The dock has been damaged, probably by the huge swell that came in here during Hurricane Omar a couple months ago, but it was still usable. Jack's is a very nice looking open-air place that looks like it could be part of a fancy resort. Regardless of how fancy it looks, the primary clientele are people who have been dropped on the beach by the cruise ships or day charter boats. So being served in just your bathing suit is acceptable. We were overdressed in clean shorts and t-shirts. They had an extensive list of fancy drinks, so we splurged and got some. Barb got a BBC and I got a fruity rum drink. Barb ordered wings and fries, and I took my first big chance since Grenada and ordered a bacon cheeseburger and fries. The food came very quickly and was pretty good. The burger was not as good as our 's CouClarkert Bay burgers, but it was better than the local burgers in Grenada. We enjoyed our lunch and saved a couple of morsels for the little cat that was patiently waiting under the table.
After we ate, we walked along the beach. Princess Margaret Beach is so named because apparently Princess Margaret visited it once. Doesn't seem like enough reason to change the name from Tony Gibbons Beach. Of course, I have no idea who Tony Gibbons was either, so who knows? We found several t-shirt and souvenir vendors along the beach, but otherwise it was empty. The surf was very rough and each crashing wave revealed a rocky bottom just offshore where the beach dropped off quickly. Between waves we would quickly go towards the water where large concentrations of shells and stones were looking for sea glass or anything else interesting. We found quite a few pieces of sea glass, but you had to be quick or you would get soaked by the next wave. At the western end of the beach, there was a trail that went up the cliff. I climbed up a little way to see where it went. The cruising guide mentions a cliff trail that goes to Lower Bay Beach and this must be it. Since we left our shoes back at Jack's, I didn't pursue the trail very far. We headed back to Jack's and found our shoes where we left them this time. We went back to the boat, where I again took the computer and Skype phone to shore to check on the package.
Tina at the UPS Store had e-mailed me back and said they told her it needed a Zip Code, and she gave me the number for FedEx. I called the 800 number through Skype (thank goodness for Skype and their cheap rates) and got a pleasant lady at the main customer service place which is probably Memphis. She looked at it and said she would connect me to the Houston station to see what the problem was. Once finally connected to Houston, I was speaking to a woman who sounded fairly old, and who probably had never been outside the Houston area. She certainly proved she was not qualified to work in FedEx's International Shipping Exceptions department, because she had zero knowledge of geography. She had never heard of Bequia, she had never heard of The Grenadines, she had never heard of St. Vincent, and she thought the West Indies was Trinidad and only Trinidad. I had visited the FedEx agent here in Bequia before the package was shipped, to obtain the exact address to send it to. They said all it needed was Port Elizabeth, Bequia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, West Indies. Since that was similar to how we got things via FedEx in Grenada many times, I thought everything should be OK. Well, according to the lady in Texas, there was no place called Bequia. If she entered St. Vincent as the country (not St. Vincent and the Grenadines which is the proper name) the only option for a city was Prospect. I don't know where that comes from since the main city in St. Vincent is Kingstown. The lady refused to accept anything other than what her computer was telling her. She actually told me that if the computer didn't know about a country, then it wasn't there. It didn't matter to her that there was a FedEx agent here and that they gave me the address. After about half an hour of arguing with this lady about geography, I had enough and hung up. I walked around the waterfront to Solana's the FedEx agent. Solana and her husband were there and they laughed and told me to tell the FedEx lady to look in her own book. There is a physical book of all FedEx agents worldwide, and they are in it and the address is what I already had. They said this happens frequently because apparently the computer doesn't have the same information as the book. They said that if the country was St. Vincent, and the word Bequia was on it anywhere, they would get it. I went back to the Gingerbread Hotel and called FedEx again. Of course I had to first go through another pleasant lady in Memphis, and then get transferred to Houston. This time I got a different girl, but I could hear the original lady yapping in the background that the address was wrong. I finally convinced the second girl to make the country St. Vincent, and make sure the word Bequia was there, and it would get here. Then she says, "But there's no commercial invoice for the parts. It won't get through Customs". I said the invoices were inside the package, and if she insisted on them being outside, could she please open the box and get them. She opened the box and in about three seconds proclaimed that there were no invoices there. She asked if I could fax them to her, obviously also unaware of life on a tiny island. I got her name and fax number and raced back to the boat, since it was already after 16:00 here. I printed the invoices off my computer and raced back to town. I thought the internet cafe that I used to upload the website also offered fax services, so I went there. They did and for a mere $24 EC (that's $9 USD) they faxed my three pages to Houston. We'll see if that resolves it. We've listened to many a horror story from other cruisers about shipping packages through various methods. We have shipped many things down here, always using FedEx, and always with excellent results. I guess that's why I'm so frustrated at this experience.
Back at the boat we relaxed and enjoyed the almost full moon rising. I made one last check of e-mail, and decided to try and actually connect to the internet on the sat phone long enough to see if the tracking status had changed. I got connected and found that the tracking status said "Return to shipper". I was livid. After an hour on the phone and the cost of faxing the invoices, they had simply blown me off and returned it?.
GPS N 13000.049 W 061-14.372 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 9642.
Dec 12
I waited to go to shore and call FedEx, until about 10:00 so that the Texas people would be at work. I got a pleasant lady in Memphis first who said the package was being returned to the shipper. I explained that I wanted to speak to the Houston station to see why that was so, since I thought we had everything resolved yesterday. She finally tried to transfer me to Houston, and eventually came back on the line and said they weren't answering the phone. She offered to have them call me back. I tried to explain that I wasn't just down the road and calling me back was not possible. She suggested I call back in half an hour and they would try again. So, I spent the next half hour doing other things on the computer while I had a good connection. After about forty-five minutes I called back. Of course I got yet another pleasant lady in Memphis who transferred me to Houston. This time I got a different girl in Houston who said she would look into it and call me back. I explained that wasn't an option and that I would hold while she looked into it right now. She came back on the line several minutes later and said she couldn't find the package or the girl who took care of it yesterday. She offered again to call me back after she spoke to the other girl. I again said no, I'll hold while you find her now. Several more minutes passed and a different voice picked up and asked who I was holding for. I said she hadn't told me her name but it was about a screwed up international shipment. At this point I recognized that this voice was the girl from yesterday. She somewhat exasperatedly said the package will leave here today like I told you yesterday. I explained that I was confused by the tracking status. She explained that she had to do that to hold the package there and restart the shipping process. She assured me that the papers I faxed are sufficient and that it will be on it's way today. Let's just say my confidence level is low.
Since it was now lunchtime, we decided to go to Mac's Pizza. The short walk down the waterfront sidewalk was a bit exciting, as the waves were washing over the sidewalk. We stopped and watched for several minutes trying to get the timing correct and then went for it. There was no hope of not getting your feet wet, but we were trying to avoid a large wave that would crash against the wall and soak us all over. We made it without getting more than knee deep. At Mac's there were two other couples eating. They had started a conversation which you couldn't help but listening to. One couple is visiting from Seattle and the other owns a house at Moonhole. Moonhole is on the southwestern tip of the island past the airport. We could see it as we came in the bay when we first arrived. It is a bunch of houses built into the cliffs back in the sixties. They used to offer tours there, but that has apparently stopped. Back in October 2006, when we were coming south on the East Coast, we had dinner at The Lobster House in Cape May, NJ. There we sat next to a couple who we chatted with. They lived in NYC, but the wife was a native of Bequia, and they had a house at Moonhole. At the time, I wrote "Moonhole - LaFleur" on a Post-It and put it on the Bequia page of our cruising guide. Well, we ended up not stopping here on our way south in early 2007, so we forgot all about it. Upon starting our journey this year, we found that Post-It in the cruising guide. I couldn't remember if LaFleur lived at Moonhole, or simply said we should see it. Here we were now with this resident of Moonhole, so I introduced myself and asked if she knew of a lady named LaFleur. She indeed does know them, and they do have a home at Moonhole. But, she said they wouldn't be there until the end of January. I gave her one of our cards and asked her if she could possibly get it to LaFleur. Perhaps she'll drop us a line someday.
After lunch we went back to the boat. We were reading in the cockpit when we started to hear Christmas songs coming from the main dock area. After a couple of songs, we realized that it was a live band playing, and not recordings. We grabbed the camera, hopped in the dinghy and went to the main dock. Sure enough, there was the Police Force Band set up under the almond trees giving a Christmas concert. There were about twenty members, all dressed in their white uniforms. The show had two parts, the first was about fifteen selections of traditional Christmas music, and the second was about a dozen island/reggae style songs. The crowd was almost all local folks, with just a handful of boaters. The locals all politely stood through the first half, but really got into the second half. There were four people in particular who were part of the show, even though they weren't supposed to be. They would probably be characterized as the town drunks or town nut cases. They were dancing to the music, right in front of the band. It was pretty amazing that the band leader and the band members were not distracted by them. One guy in particular seemed quite agitated as he danced around, but he never did anything real bad. There were some other police around, but they made no effort to remove the guy. During the show, a little boy was standing at his Mom's feet next to Barb. He reached up and held onto Barb's wrist. Barb looked down and smiled at him at which point he extended his arms for her to pick him up. She looked to Mom for approval first and next thing she's holding a five year old with a New York Yankee's cap on. I was unaware of this until I turned around and saw her holding the boy. Eventually he got tired of her and put his arms out to me. I held him until I was tired and gave him back to Barb. He was in hog heaven getting held, and we chatted with Mom a little in the meantime. Mom's name was Iona, and the little boy was Mario. Mario was very happy with us holding him until Mom said she was leaving and for him to enjoy his new mommy and daddy. He got a little concerned with that idea and left with Mom.
After the concert we went back to the dinghy. I gave it a pull and it almost started but sputtered to a stop and kind of chuffed back through the carburetor. I pulled again and got nothing. I pulled many more times, playing with the choke and the throttle, but it smelled as if it was flooded. Since there's not much you can do but wait when an engine's flooded, we walked to the nearest bar for a beer. After the beer we went back and I still could not get it to fire at all. Out came the oars. Hard bottom inflatable dinghies come with oars, but it's really a joke. They are about the same to row as a bathtub would be. But, row I did and got us back to MoonSail. With tools available, I pulled out the spark plugs and blew them off. I reinstalled them and tried to start it, but still nothing. A job for tomorrow.
We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening aboard reading. We were still full from our delicious lobster pizza at lunch, so we skipped dinner. I was nearly done with my book as the sun went down and the full moon rose, but I didn't want to stop. I have a flashlight that straps to your forehead for working in dark places, so I strapped it on to finish the book. I could have gone below where there are lights, but it's much more pleasant out in the cockpit with the evening breeze.
GPS N 13000.049 W 061-14.372 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 9642.
Dec 13
After the radio nets, I spent most of the morning writing logs. It's amazing how quickly I can get behind a few days. The one thing I did do first was give the outboard a few pulls in the hopes it had healed itself overnight. Nothing happened. There was no attempt to start, and it always starts on the first or second pull. Around noon Barb warmed up the left over lobster pizza from yesterday for lunch. It's as good the second time as the first.
Feeling the need to accomplish something, I figured I better look into the outboard. We hoisted it from the dinghy to the rail mount so it wouldn't be quite as bouncy to work on. If I drop something it's still going in the water, but maybe with a steadier platform I'll reduce the chance of dropping in the first place. First I removed the plugs again. I tired this yesterday to no avail. They were wet again, indicating gas was getting to the cylinders. I set them aside and set about determining if I had spark. I hooked up my meter to the spark plug wire and the ground and pulled the cord. The meter indicated there was spark. The magneto pickup looked clean, and the belt that keeps everything in time was good and tight and didn't look like it could have slipped a cog. I remember once my Harley kicked back when I tried to start it, and it blew out the gasket between the carburetor and the manifold, resulting in so much air getting in that it wouldn't run. So, I pulled the carb off one more time. Nothing looked amiss with the gasket, so I disassembled the carb. I can about do this with my eyes closed now. Again, nothing looked wrong, and I put it all back together. I put the plugs back in and gave it a pull and it started right up. I adjusted the throttle linkage, which is the trickiest part of removing the carb, and put the cover back on it. Nothing I did really makes sense as to what solved the problem, but it's not the first time I've just taken it apart and put it back together and it's worked. We lowered the motor back onto the dinghy and I took it for a test drive. Everything seems fine now.
We decided to take a little longer test drive and visit some friends that came in today. We crossed over to the north side of the bay where most people who anchor go and started at the back of the pack so we could see boat names on transoms. First we came to Seabbatical, with Mike & Lynn onboard. We met them last year as they passed through Grenada. We visited with them for a little bit and moved on. Just up from Seabbatical we saw Beothuck. We met Phil on Beothuck our first hurricane season in Grenada. He came north last winter, and if he came back to Grenada, we weren't aware of it. He may have been here all this time. The boat was open and we called his name but got no response. He may have been napping or something, so we moved on. Back on our side of the bay near the front of the moored pack we found Ta Natura. Jim & Johnnie and their son were in Grenada longer than us. Johnnie filled in some days as host of the local VHF radio net, and when Luke from Whisper Cove Marina had to go away for a month, they helped him out by running the place in his absence. We never had a chance to get to know them well, until shortly before we left when we visited with Johnnie a couple of times. We chatted with Jim a few minutes today, and they are happy to be back out cruising, same as we are.
Back at the boat, I picked up a new book. It's another James Patterson one that Barb said I should read while the other was fresh in my mind. This one is Beach Road, also set in the Hamptons. I started reading about 14:00, and finished it about 21:30. If you haven't read it, there is quite a twist at the end. The only significant event that happened during the afternoon was that Bequia Express I, the ferry that broke down and had to be towed back twice last week, went out for a test run. It went out quite slowly, and had no passengers on it. That was a good thing, because once out in the open water, it died again. It sat out there drifting for half an hour or so, and then Geronimo, the boat that towed it back the first time, went out and towed it back. How embarrassing. 0 for 3. I wonder if they are looking for a new mechanic.
GPS N 13000.049 W 061-14.372 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 9642.
Dec 14
My task for today is to try and repair the dinghy. It has had air leaks and water leaks ever since we left Grenada. I had tried to patch the air leaks before we left, but the one in the front tube is still leaking, and it's gotten worse than ever. We have to carry the air pump with us and pump it up every time we get in. The water seems to be leaking between the tube and the floor somewhere near the stern. We had a leak there a couple years ago that I fixed, but perhaps that fix has come off. In order to properly do this, the dinghy needs to be out of the water. We hoisted the motor off and put it on the stern rail mount. Then we unloaded all the crap we carry around in the dinghy on deck. That would include the air pump, the water pump, two anchors, the battery that we don't use anymore, the oars, the seat, and the gas can. Once everything was out, I brought the dinghy around to near the bow on the port side of the boat. Barb handed me the spare halyard which I clipped to the bow ring of the dinghy. I then climbed aboard the boat and hauled on the halyard. I was able to pull the dinghy up almost out of the water by hand and then needed the aid of the winch. With Barb hanging onto the dingy, I winched it up the last few feet to get the stern over the lifeline on the boat. Did I mention that there was quite a stiff breeze blowing at the time? That made it quite a challenge for Barb to keep the dinghy from becoming a big kite. Especially when we got to the point where her handhold was too high over her head. I wasn't looking and almost lifted her off the deck too as she wasn't letting go. We lowered it a little and got a line on it so she could hold the line instead, and then I lifted it high enough to get it on the foredeck. The first thing to do was pull off the original patch. It came off without much of a fight, which could be part of the problem. I used my Dremel tool with a sandpaper wheel on it to clean all the old glue off the dinghy. I then cut a new piece of patch material and mixed the glue. I hate two-part glues, because they never give you a proper way to measure the two parts. The instructions, which were poorly translated from Italian said to use 10% the amount of activator as glue. How do you eyeball that? I did my best and applied the glue to the patch and the dinghy, let it dry for ten minutes as instructed, applied a second coat, let dry for ten minutes, and then applied the patch. Unlike previous attempts at fixing this leak, I had let all the air out of the tube this time, so I could press hard and flat on the repair. The instructions now say to let it dry for seventy-two hours. We may give it forty-eight.
After an hour, we flipped the dinghy upside down on the deck to look for the water leak. There are limited places water can get in, and I'm pretty certain it's not coming from the drain plug. I scraped the remains of the goo I had patched this leak with before off, cleaned the area with some nasty chemicals we have, and rinsed thoroughly. After a period of drying, I slathered some 3M 4200 all around the potential areas of leakage. I told Barb later that repairs are much easier when you don't give a darn about what the finished product looks like. Only the fish will see the repair. Now there's nothing to do but wait.
I spent the whole afternoon on a new book. It was a Clive Cussler book called Lost City. I have never read Clive Cussler before, but Barb has read them all. I read until dark and got about halfway through the book. I had used some of the leftover dinghy patch material and glue to fashion a pad on the inside of the strap-on headlamp I have used to read at night before, but I was ready to stop at dark anyway, so I didn't test drive the new light.
GPS N 13000.049 W 061-14.372 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 9642.
Dec 15
Since the dinghy is out of commission for a couple of days, there was not much to do but read today. I finished my book by early afternoon, while watching the normal stuff go by in the harbor. One of the big sailing cruise ships came in early in the morning, and a small mega-yacht that had come in overnight moved around trying to find a more comfortable place to anchor. The wind today is quite brisk and from the northeast. It is generating a swell that is making it around the corner and into the bay. Where we are, we are getting a little of the swell, but the boats further out from us are rolling pretty good. Several sailboats have moved to the other side of the anchorage where the swell won't get them, but it's already pretty crowded over there. Late in the morning, a large, fairly new Jeanneau sailboat came up on our starboard side. One of the boat boys was trying to give him a mooring, but the guy was waving his arms a lot indicating he was going to anchor. There were four guys on the boat, and it was flying a flag that told us it has just come across the Atlantic in the past few weeks with the ARC race. The ARC comes from Europe to St. Lucia each December. The finish and huge party is in Rodney Bay, St. Lucia. About two hundred and fifty boats participate each year, and then they fan out throughout the Caribbean after the parties are over. I was a bit surprised to see that the parties must have ended already, but I wasn't really keeping track of when the boats arrived in St. Lucia. Anyway, this guy anchors off our starboard side, and in the style of a charter boat, he doesn't back down on the anchor to see if it's set. They called the boat boy over and had him ferry two of them to town, I guess to check in with Customs. The other two guys retired to the cockpit and seemed to be unaware that in the stiff breeze, they were slowly moving backwards. Actually, it wasn't really that slowly. We just watched them go by and after passing another boat they finally got the hint. One guy went to the bow and let out some more chain. He stood there watching as they continued to drag. Finally after moving a good five hundred feet from where they started, they raised the anchor and went way to the back of the pack where they waited for their buddies to return. After they were onboard, they left the harbor. One less bad anchorer to worry about overnight.
In the late afternoon, we got a call from Mike & Lynn on Seabbatical wondering if we wanted to join them for drinks at Frangipani. We said we'd love to if they wouldn't mind giving us a ride. They picked us up around 16:30 and took us in. While we were there I recognized a person walking across the courtyard. It was Phil from Beothuck. I went over and said hi and we caught up with him. He will be here through the holidays too, and has been here many times before at Christmas, so he ought to be able to fill us in on what to do. We were back to the boat pretty early and had a light snack. The roll in the anchorage is getting a little worse, but we still seem to be just on the edge of the worst of it.
GPS N 13000.049 W 061-14.372 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 9642.