Mar 1
Today was strictly a social day. We had made plans last night to meet Don & Devin, formerly of Liquid Courage, and their friend Garth who flew in late last night. We were joined at Jimbo's at noon by Mike & Lynn, as arranged, but the guys weren't there yet. After a short wait, we went ahead and ordered lunch, as we were hungry. The guys showed up about half an hour late, as they had a big time after we left them last night. We had a nice lunch and visited for quite a while. We left the guys about 14:00 and went back to the boat for a couple hours before meeting up again at Barnacles for happy hour. There our group was also joined by Chris & Fran from Changes and John & Kim from 2 Awesome. In addition to happy hour, Friday night is a rib night at Barnacles. Since we had lunch out, Barb and Mike & Lynn didn't want to eat out again. But the ribs sure looked good, so I ordered an order to go. As soon as my ribs were ready, we headed back to the boat. The ribs turned out to be the best I have had this season.
GPS N 18-02.434 W 063-05.579 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 10254.
Mar 2
This morning I finished writing the previous website update and then went to Lagoonies to get a good enough internet connection to upload it. I'm sure I have ranted about this before, but it amazes me that on the most developed island in the Eastern Caribbean, getting a good wi-fi connection is such a pain. From what I understand, government bureaucracy keeps anybody from establishing a good strong signal that can be broadcast to the whole lagoon for boaters, so we have to rely on individual bars and restaurants who provide it for their customers. Anyway, to not feel guilty about using their connection, I had to have a beer while I uploaded the website update.
At noon, we took a bus with Mike & Lynn to the Sunset Beach Bar. Sunset Beach Bar is the famous bar at the western end of the airport runway. We are anchored not too far off the eastern end, so from the boat we see the planes as they climb out on their takeoffs. But at the western end, the big planes come in over the ocean, cross the beach and the road maybe 100 feet in the air, and touch down very close to the end of the runway. Any commercial jet is impressive, but there are a few jumbo jets that come here regularly, and they really get your attention. The bus ride from Simpson Bay to Sunset Beach is a dollar per person. The bar was crowded, but we found a table for four. It became obvious that we found this table because it was one of the few without any source of shade over it. We placed orders for beer and food. In addition to the unique view of the airport, the place also has quite good food. I had been looking forward to a rare tuna steak sandwich, which I recalled as being quite nice last time I was here. At the entrance to the bar, there is an old surfboard in the sand where they write the daily flight arrival times each day. I went and checked it, and was disappointed to see that the KLM 747 was not coming in today. It used to come daily, but apparently only does three days a week now, and today isn't one of them. There will be an A340 from Air France landing though, and it's almost as large. We got our food and it was as good as I remembered. We were enjoying watching the planes and the people who like to get really close to them. Even though there are signs warning against it, people have been hurt doing it, and occasionally police run people off, on most takeoffs, some idiots will stand right at the chain link fence and get blasted by the jet blast. Many more will stand just across the street on the beach and get their free dermal abrasion done as the sand gets blown by them. I always thought this was something that was more fun to watch somebody else do, than to experience it myself. After we finished eating, the people at the table next to us, which had full shade, left. We quickly moved to that table, with our waitresses approval. A few minutes later, Don, Devin, and Garth joined us. They had another late night and were just getting going for the day. About 14:45, right on schedule, the lights of a large plane appeared on the horizon. It was the Air France flight. The beach was quite full of people, and I walked out to the road to try and get a good picture of it. Being a large plane, it needs all the runway it can get, so it comes in as low, and touches down as close to the end of the runway as it can. I took a video of the landing. You can also Google "Sunset Beach Bar" and find lots of YouTube videos from there. As soon as the Air France plane had touched down, there was a mass exodus from the beach. Taxi drivers came out of nowhere waving signs that said "Back To The Ship", trying to hustle up fares. Within fifteen minutes, the beach had maybe 25% of the people on it. Obviously the big plane is the draw for the cruise ship crowd. I went back to our table and we had another beer and watched a couple of takeoffs. We wanted to stay long enough to see the Air France plane leave, but we also wanted to go to the other side of the runway and have a drink at the little Driftwood Bar over there. So, we paid our tabs and made our way down the street, timing our crossing the end of the runway with no planes taking off. As we got to the Driftwood Bar, I saw the Air France plane leaving the gate. So while the others went and found seats at the bar, I crossed the street to get some shots of the Air France plane taking off. Where I was standing should have been well to the side of where the jet blast will be as they take off. The plane started to make it's turn at the end of the runway, and then stopped before being lined up on the runway. The engines were pointing right at me. I thought maybe he was going to run up the engines and start his roll from this position, so I moved a little and sat on the guardrail where I could put my arm around a signpost to keep me there. To my relief, after a minute, he moved forward, completing the turn, so I was out of danger. The blast from that little movement was enough for me, and blew sand into the bar where the others were. After a minute the plane took off with a great roar and huge blast of sand blowing people down the beach and into the water.
I joined the others at the Driftwood Bar. They had ordered, but the two girls behind the bar were very disorganized and the place was fairly busy. We finally got drinks and were mildly amused at watching these two girls banter with each other as they tried to keep up. We were going to have a second round, but after fifteen minutes of trying to get their attention, we gave up. What had been fun to watch became just plain lousy service. Neither one of these girls had a clue how to work a busy bar. I wonder how much business they lose because of the poor service and how much money they lose because the girls don't keep track of things right. We said goodbye to the guys, who were going to get a cab back to their resort, and we hopped in the dollar bus back to Simpson Bay.
The bus dropped us in front of Barnacles, where we had left the dinghy. You can't politely walk through a bar where you have tied up your dinghy all day without stopping for a drink, so we did. We ran into Jim & Connie from Plane To Sea, and met some other cruisers, whose names I forgot. We only had one drink there and then went back to the boat for a dinner of leftovers.
GPS N 18-02.434 W 063-05.579 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 10254.
Mar 3
We started the day with haircuts. Kim from 2 Awesome was a hairdresser in a past life, and she offered to do some cutting. We met over at Lagoonies, which is closed on Sundays. Kim trimmed Barb's hair, and gave Mike a haircut, while I used the internet. Even though they were closed, their wi-fi was on, and they have power plugs accessible. We found that the local teenagers are aware of this too, and they gather there to charge their phones and use the wi-fi. Just about the time Kim was done cutting hair, the power went off which of course meant the wi-fi router went off too. So, we packed up and went back to the boat. Being in the haircutting spirit, Barb buzzed me on the stern of the boat.
Something I haven't mentioned before is the boat traffic for the Heineken Regatta. There are probably over two hundred boats here participating in the regatta. That means every day they all go out of the lagoon in the morning to race, and then come back in the evening. Since Thursday, there have been extra bridge openings to accommodate them, but even with those extra openings, the bridge is having to stay open thirty minutes at a time to get them all in or out. We have taken to monitoring the VHF channel that the bridge tender is on, just to hear the banter between him and the boats. There are two bridge tenders, and normally only one or the other is on duty, but they were both working the openings all weekend. One would be in the control room talking on the VHF, and the other was out on the edge of the bridge yelling to the boats on a PA system. Most of the talk was just politely but firmly telling the boats to hurry up and stay close together, but there were a few notable gems. One evening, during a long inbound opening, the bridge tender said "Last boat in buys all the drinks at the Yacht Club". Another time he said "My grandmother drives faster than that!" It was quite entertaining, except for those people stuck in the car traffic that backed up for miles because of the extra long openings. Did I mention this is the only road to the airport?
At 14:00, we went to find the guys at their resort pool. They are staying at the Simpson Bay Resort, which is on the outside of the bridge just south of the Yacht Club. The road to the resort is right across the street from the marina and Jimbo's, so we parked the dinghy at the marina, even though the dock was quite crowded. We walked up the hill, past the Buccaneer Beach Bar at Kim Sha Beach, where tonight's big final party of the Heineken Regatta is going to be held. We knew the guys room number, and had agreed to meet at the pool. We climbed up and up to the top of the large resort and found their room and a pool right outside it. But, they weren't there. We sat down and I was just getting onto the resort's wi-fi with my phone to try and send them a message, when Garth pulled up in a cab. Turned out he had been at Buccaneer Beach Bar watching for us to go by, but had missed us. Don & Devin were at the main pool, down the hill from where we were. So, we got in the cab with Garth and drove back down to the correct pool. We spent a couple hours there sitting at the swim-up bar and visiting. We were also the center of attention for a number of other resort guests who enjoyed hearing about our cruising lifestyle. If only they understood that every day wasn't spent sitting at a resort pool bar.
Late in the afternoon, we were getting hungry, so we walked down the street to the Buccaneer Beach Bar. The big party is going to be on Kim Sha Beach, which is between Buccaneer and the water. There is a huge stage set up on the beach, where earlier we heard The Commodores doing their sound check. There are also lots of beer tents, etc. so Buccaneer itself wasn't too full. We found a table and sat down. There is no table service here, so we went to the bar and got beers, and then to the food building. Because of the event, they are doing a very limited menu today, but it was good. Barb had a burger and I had an order of ribs. They were quite good, and didn't come with sides, so I went back for a second order a bit later.
Since none of us really enjoy large crowds anymore, and after our experience last year at the Mount Gay party in Antigua, we had no desire to actually go on the beach and be part of the party. So, before it was even dark, we bid the guys goodbye and head to the dinghy. We found the dinghy dock even more packed then when we parked here, and of course our dinghy was trapped in the middle of a sea of dinghies. I untied my line from the post it was on, and then climbed down into somebody else's dinghy. I climbed through two dinghies to get to mine. Once in it, I was able to push other dinghies to the side and free it from the mass. Barb, Mike & Lynn walked around to one of the finger piers in the marina where I pulled up and they got in. All in all, it worked easier than it first looked like it was going to.
We got back to the boats and had a pretty quiet evening. We could hear the music from the party, but the stage was facing away from us, so it wasn't too annoying. We had heard that The Commodores weren't scheduled to start until midnight, but we heard some of their songs a little after ten. It sounded like it was all over before midnight.
GPS N 18-02.434 W 063-05.579 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 10254.
Mar 4
With the regatta officially over, there are no extra bridge opening scheduled today. However, all the boats are inside the lagoon, so as you might imagine, the first outbound opening at 09:00 was quite long. There had to be more than fifty boats leaving. The bridge finally closed at 09:30, which is when it is supposed to open for inbound traffic. The bridge tender made the executive decision that inbound traffic was going to have to wait until 10:00 to give the car traffic time to clear.
Our big plan today is to take a bus to Philipsburg. Philipsburg is the main city on the Dutch side of the island, and it's where the cruise ships dock. It's not uncommon to have four or five large cruise ships here at the same time. We were accidentally very lucky, because only one ship is in town today. We didn't plan this, but it's perfect because all the businesses are open, but it isn't packed with pasty white tourists. We have a couple of specific tasks to accomplish on this visit. The first is to get me some new ankle bracelets. I have been wearing an ankle bracelet since we first came to the Caribbean and chartered a boat. But, they all eventually break. The problem with getting ankle bracelets is that they generally aren't large enough for a guy. But, years ago, I found this lady in the market in Philipsburg, who doesn't put the last piece of the connector on until she sizes the bracelet for you. I bought several from her over the years. Her table in the market was our first stop, but it was covered with a tarp. I could tell it was still the same stuff in that booth, but she wasn't there yet. We went on, hoping that we would find her later. The next stop was to the jewelry repair place on the main street where I had my ear pierced years ago. There are lots of jewelry stores here catering to the cruise ship passengers, and there are several of the repair shops that specialize in quick turnaround of things that the store bring them to size. Barb wears the same earrings everyday, and one of them is starting to break. This happened several years ago to the other one, and we had it repaired in Houston for $50 if I recall. We showed the earring to the guy at the repair place and after discussion with one of his workers, they said it would be 45 minutes and $10 to repair and clean them. Can't argue with that.
With that out of the way, we started walking around. Lynn was on a hunt for some jewelry, so we stopped at a couple stores with her. When the jewelry store in these types of places think they might have a serious buyer, they offer everybody a free beer or bottle of water. Even though Lynn was the only potential customer, Mike and I got beers and Barb took a water. After a store or two, Mike and I decided to leave the ladies to their shopping, while we found a bar on the beach to wait at. We found the Big Wood Bar and had a seat. We enjoyed a couple of cold beers while we waited. I was looking at the bottles on the bar across from me, and one caught my attention. I kept looking at it to see if it really said what I thought it did, and sure enough it did. It was a bottle of Big Black Dick rum. You really can't make this stuff up you know. Well, always being on the lookout for a new rum to try, I found a bottle later in a store and bought it. Of course there is a story on the back label of the bottle about this old black guy named Dick who had escaped the sugar cane fields where he had learned how to make rum, and went on to make the finest rum in the Caribbean. In reality, the rum is produced in the Caribbean, shipped in bulk to The Netherlands where it is flavored, blended, and bottled, and then distributed from The Cayman Islands. To read an interesting review of this rum click here.
The girls found us after an hour or so and we went to The Blue Bitch for lunch. We have been here before and it is always good. Again we benefited from there only being one ship in port, as there were tables available. We had a nice lunch and listened to the band that is always across the sidewalk from here. We noticed that since our last visit, they have actually built a palapa for the band to be out of the sun.
After we ate, we headed back toward the open air market to see if the bracelet lady was there. To my delight, she was. I picked out three bracelets and she tried them around my ankle for size. She is going to have to make all three a little longer, so she measured and I told her I would be back in a little while. The others had stopped at a bar down the street called The Kangaroo Court. It is so named because it is across the street from the courthouse. I went back and joined them while we waited for the bracelets. We watched a live developing story on CNN about a private jet with landing gear problems in St. Louis. They covered this live for over an hour, babbling about all sorts of stupid things. It must have been a slow news day, since a small plane doing an emergency landing without landing gear is pretty routine stuff that pilots train for. At one point they learned that the plane was going to divert from the small downtown St. Louis airport to Lambert Field, the main airport. The dumb commentator actually asked on the air, why would they divert from a perfectly good airport and land in a field? In the end, the plane landed without incident, and the live helicopter coverage missed it! We went back to bracelet lady and found her almost done. She tried them all on me to be sure and then tied the final knot in the ends. We then hopped the bus back to Simpson Bay.
When we got near the Yacht Club, traffic came to a stop because the bridge had opened for the 16:30 outbound opening. We paid the bus driver our $2 each and walked the last few hundred feet to the Yacht Club. We were joined there by Don, Devin, and Garth, John & Kim from 2 Awesome, Wolfgang & Denise from Moony, and Jim & Connie from Plane To Sea. I told Jim about the plane in St. Louis and that there was no damage. (Jim's career has been rebuilding and reselling planes that are lightly damaged.) After happy hour it was back to the boat for a quiet evening.
GPS N 18-02.434 W 063-05.579 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 10254.
Mar 5
Mid-morning, we weighed anchor for a big passage. We are finally getting to go into the marina for a few days. We couldn't get in before this because of all the regatta boats. Getting the anchor up proved to be a little bit of a challenge. For one thing, the wind today is different than it was when we anchored, so our anchor may be close to being under Seabbatical. Mike was standing by in case he had to move up a little, but in the end he didn't. As I pulled the chain in, it got tight like it will when I'm up to the anchor. I put it around the cleat to hold it better as Barb powered us forward. I felt it pop loose and saw a big mud swirl on the bottom and gave her the signal that we were free. But then I quickly realized I still had a lot of chain to pull in. Apparently that wasn't the anchor, but instead the chain had been caught on something and come free. I quickly motioned to Barb that we were not free and continued pulling in the chain. Next time it came up taught, it was the anchor. But it didn't want to dislodge from the bottom. I held the chain as hard as I could with it around the cleat as Barb powered us gently forward. It finally popped loose and I hauled it in. I guess we had no need to worry if we were securely set or not. I called the marina on the VHF on the way in to see where they were going to put us. They had us on the same dock we had been on a few years ago, but further out the dock. We got tied up with no problems and hooked up our power and water. After our grueling half-mile passage, we had to have arrival beverages, and since it was only about 10:00 it was a little early for beer. So, we finally opened the bottle of champagne that Peter's BBQ had given us for Christmas and had mimosas.
The main reason to come to the marina is to figure out why we don't seem to be holding our battery charge as long as we should. We have been having to run the motor a few hours every day to supplement the solar power and keep the charge up. Of course the only way to diagnose a battery problem correctly is with fully charged batteries, so we need shore power to get a good charge. Once plugged in, I turned on the battery charger. This is the battery charger that we had repaired in Antigua for the outrageous price, so when it took about ten seconds to start charging, I was getting very nervous. This delay in startup is actually normal, but those were agonizing seconds. I have a list of things to do while we are in the marina, so I got started. The first was to fill our water tanks. If we had not been able to come to the marina today, I would probably had to come in and get another couple of jugs of water to avoid running out. Once the tanks were full, I could tell we had about five gallons left. In the time it took to fill the tanks, the battery charging had stepped down from what's called "bulk" charging, to "accept" mode. This means the charger thinks the batteries are nearly full. That is just another indication of the problem. There is no way they should charge up that fast. My thoughts are that there possibly is a bad connection between the four batteries, so we're really only using one, or perhaps they need to be equalized, which is a procedure that boils accumulated sulfate off the plates and rejuvenates the batteries. Equalizing take eight hours, so I'm going to wait until tomorrow to do that, but in the meantime I checked connections. I took all the battery cables off, cleaned the ends, and tested the resistance of each with my meter. None of the connections looked particularly bad, and the cables all tested good for resistance. So, I put it all back together and tomorrow will equalize.
Another thing I need to do while here is rebalance the wind generator blades. I didn't rebalance them when I got the new hub, and probably should have. I couldn't do the balancing while at anchor for two reasons. One, the anchorage is pretty bouncy, so I didn't want to climb out on the davits to remove the blades. I wasn't worried about the possibility of me falling in, so much as the possibility or dropping the blades in the water. The other reason for doing this at the marina is finding a place to actually do the balancing. More on that later. For now, I climbed out and removed the blade assembly and handed it down to Barb. Nothing went in the water.
Late in the afternoon a small sailboat came into the slip next to us. The boat was maybe thirty feet long and had a couple aboard. They were flying a Swiss flag and probably sailed this little thing across the Atlantic. They spoke a little English, and we helped take a line for them as they docked. Once they were secure we went back about our business of getting ready to go to happy hour.
This morning we had gotten a call from Seabbatical that Lynn wasn't feeling well, so we haven't seen them all day. During the afternoon though, while I was working on the batteries, Don, Devin and Garth had stopped by. We had agreed to meet at the Yacht Club for happy hour. About 16:30, we hopped in the dinghy to go around the corner to the Yacht Club. From the marina we can go a back way through a canal to the Yacht Club and not have to go out in the open lagoon. Once we turned the corner under a little bridge and started to come out into the end of the lagoon, we were greeted with a lot more wind than we were perceiving in the marina. The water was quite choppy. In the corner just past the little bridge was a group of half a dozen kids in Optimists, little boxy sailboats that they learn to sail in. They were struggling with the wind and chop, and we went wide to stay out of their way. Next we saw something that it took a minute to process what was going on. A mega yacht named Spirit was being tug-boated around by several of the large marina dinghies. There were people running on the deck of the yacht, and people running on the dock they were apparently trying to get to. It appeared that the yacht had power, but perhaps had either lost it's steerage or thrusters which help it maneuver. At least six big dinghies were pushing the bow around so they could back into the first available slip in the mega yacht marina just across from the Yacht Club. It made me not feel so bad about having to tow MoonSail with the dingy a few weeks ago. All this was going on during the outbound bridge opening, so in addition to Spirit being in the way, there were several sailboats going out the bridge.
We met the guys at the Yacht Club and watched the end of the outbound parade and saw that Spirit was now safely tied up at the dock. 17:30 came and we watched the inbound parade of boats. Shortly after the inbound opening was complete, we saw Spirit was leaving the dock. Earlier, they had been tied up at Palapa Marina, not the IGY marina where they are now. So we thought perhaps they had resolved the problem and were going back to the other marina. But, they pulled out of the slip and lined up as if they were going out the bridge. Sure enough, the bridge opened just to let them out. Even for mega yachts (other than Limitless), a special bridge opening is a rare thing. They left, and if I understood some comments between folks on the boat with people they knew on the Yacht Club deck, it sounded like they were leaving to cross the ocean to the Med.
We went back over to the marina complex with the guys and we went to Tutta Pasta for dinner. We have eaten here years ago, and weren't sure they were still open until we saw lights there a couple nights ago. They were not very busy and were able to seat us immediately. I couldn't remember what I had here years ago that I liked, but I picked a dish that was bow-tie pasta with salmon and a cream sauce. Once I started eating it, I'm pretty sure that was what I had before. It was very tasty.
GPS N 18-02.043 W 063-05.387 Nautical miles traveled today 0.5. Total miles 10254.5.
Mar 6
We are planning to equalize the batteries today. The process of equalizing is basically to overcharge the crap out of them for eight hours. It is a special function of the battery charger and you have to push three buttons at once to make it start the cycle, so you aren't likely to do it by accident. Before we started, Barb noticed that our power cord was not plugged in where it had been yesterday. There was a cord from the little boat next to us plugged in where we had been, and our cord was stretched as far as it could be to a plug two slips down. I don't care where we are plugged in, but I wanted to be sure the meters had been read properly. I didn't know if the guy on the little boat had maybe done this himself or not. I went and found the dockmaster who had docked us yesterday. He looked at the cords and said he knew nothing about changing us. He called another dock hand on the radio and he knew nothing either. About this time, the guy on the little boat stuck his head outside, and he indicated that he had not moved the cords but one of the marina guys had hooked him up. The issue had to do with the available plug styles and 110v or 220v. The dockmaster told me not to worry, and that he would make sure the accounting was done right.
I started the equalizing process about 08:45. The charger brings the batteries (which are 12 volt) up to about 15.8 volts and holds them there. I was careful to make sure nothing was getting unusually hot and I opened the compartment where the battery charger is so that it got plenty of air. By noon, all was going well, so we joined Mike & Lynn and the guys for lunch at Jimbo's. Jimbo's is right at the head of the dock, so we'll be close by if the boat catches on fire. The guys are leaving today, so this will be our last visit with them. Garth is flying to Austin via Miami and Dallas, so he has no weather concerns, but Don & Devin are flying to Washington, DC via Atlanta, and they already know that their flight from Atlanta to Washington has been preemptively cancelled due to a snow storm heading that way. They spent most of lunchtime on the phones trying to figure out what would happen. Unfortunately staying here another day or two isn't an option. We had a good lunch and returned to the boat after bidding the guys goodbye, to find it still happily charging. I couldn't do much while the equalizing process was happening, since you have to have everything that is 12 volt turned off. Watching batteries equalize is kind of liking watching paint dry. Not too exciting. But at 16:45, the cycle ended and the charger went back to it's normal mode. The volts dropped down to 13.2 which is where a 12 volt battery should be while on shore power. I turned all the 12 volt stuff, like the fridge and freezer back on and shut the battery charger off entirely. I want to see what becomes of the voltage overnight as if we were anchored out.
We met Mike & Lynn for happy hour at Lagoonies tonight. We had heard there was going to be a band, and that happy hour was sponsored by Budget Marine. It wasn't clear what exactly that meant. We got there at 17:00 and the happy hour deal was $2 beer and $3 mixed drinks. About 17:30, we saw people from Budget Marine bring in some boxes and they were setting up a table for something. Next thing you know, people were getting t-shirts from the table. They were just basic white t-shirts with the Budget marine logo on them, but they were free. Even though the last thing I need is more shirts, I got one. At 18:00, we were aware that something else changed at the bar. We saw people getting drinks and not paying for them. We inquired, and learned that from 18:00 to 19:00 it was all on Budget Marine. Nice deal! We have no idea if this was a one-off thing or if they do it weekly or monthly or whatever. But we were glad we happened to be here this time.
GPS N 18-02.043 W 063-05.387 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 10254.5.
Mar 7
I got up early, eager to see what the voltage of the batteries was. It was 12.55 which made me very happy. Prior to equalizing, we would have been to 12.2 or less overnight. 12.2 is considered 50% discharged and is as low as you should routinely go. I think this has proven that the equalization was what we needed, so I turned the charger back on.
My first task today is to balance the wind generator blades. To do this I need a level place, with two chairs, and no breeze. It is dead calm this morning, so that part is good. I carried the blades up to Jimbo's to see if I could find suitable chairs and a place. The bar doesn't open until lunch, so I wasn't in the way. The regular chairs have a woven cane back, so the edge isn't smooth and they won't work. There is a concrete deck just outside the main seating area that had some patio chairs on it with smooth backs. I tried them and they were just high enough to let the blades rotate without hitting the floor. It was then that it occurred to me that this concrete deck used to be a swimming pool. There is still a little piece of water that winds through the restaurant, but it used to be connected to this pool. I wonder why they filled it in? Anyway, I went about the task of balancing the blades. I found that the one blade that didn't have any extra weighting on it was still heavier than the others. Before I made any changes, Barb came up to find me. She had still been asleep when I left. Lynn had called her to see if I could come get her in the dinghy to run an errand. Mike woke up today with the same ailment that Lynn had a couple days ago, and she needs to take some cushions to the canvas shop first thing this morning to get them recovered. So, I went and got her, took her to the canvas shop with the cushions and then took her back to Seabbatical. When I got back, I decided to try my backup set of blades to see how they were balanced. I dug out the other blades and swapped them on the hub. I then went back up to the chairs to try and balance them. Similar to the first set, I found one blade that was clearly the heaviest. I took off the old balancing weights from it, and it was still heaviest. So, I added a bit more balancing weight to the other two blades and eventually got it perfect. I guess the hub itself must be what is out of balance, but it should be good now. I just hope that I haven't hurt the bearings in the generator too much by running it for a month when it was out of balance.
While I was doing all this Barb was taking advantage of unlimited power and water to do some cleaning. She vacuumed the whole boat and gave the galley a good wash down from the salt water bath it had taken on our trip to St. Maarten.
My next task was to do a couple things to the outboard. I took the outboard off the dinghy and put it up on the rail mount on the back of the boat. I am going to put a new propeller on first. The prop that is on it was damaged when we dropped the outboard onto the dinghy back in Jolly Harbor. It has a big nick in it where it hit the dinghy, and that blade is bent a bit. I'm not sure how much it is affecting the dinghy's performance, but we can't get up on a plane anymore. The other thing I need to do is adjust the throttle linkage and idle speed. It is idling too fast, and I don't think we are getting to full throttle, which also could explain not getting up on a plane. I took the old prop off with no trouble, then started to look at the throttle. I need to be able to run the motor in gear to adjust this, so I'm leaving the prop off for the moment for safety. I hooked up the hose to the gadget that lets you run the outboard out of the water, and started it up. I adjusted the idle speed first and shut it off. I then adjusted the linkage and started it again. I put it in gear and revved it up and it seemed to be ok, but I want to try and check the real RPM. I shut the motor off and went to read the shop manual to find out expected RPM. Unfortunately they give things in propeller shaft RPM and not the engine itself, so measuring that will be hard. I decided to just wing it, so I tweaked the linkage a little more and went to start it again. This time it wouldn't start at all. I pulled and pulled and pulled, to no avail. Barb was watching me do this, and eventually said "Where is the fuel tank?". Well, the fuel tank and fuel line were still in the dinghy. I had run it so far just on the gas in the carburetor, which was apparently now gone. Hoping that nobody else witnessed this, I got the fuel tank from the dinghy and hooked it up. Of course it started right up and I finished my adjustments. I put the new prop on and remounted the engine on the dinghy. And yes, I put the fuel tank back in the dinghy too. We took it for a test ride, and were able to get up on a plane now with both of us in it. Mission accomplished.
It was about lunch time, so we rode the now speedy dinghy around to the Yacht Club. We took our hand held radio and called Seabattical to see how Mike was feeling, and he was still down for the count. We had lunch and a couple of beers while watching the world go by.
But, it is a workday and there are more tasks to be done while in the marina. So, we went back to the boat and I started taking apart the port side winch that is used for the jib sheets. The day we sailed between Nevis and St. Kitts, there had been a brown liquid that ran out of the winch onto the deck. There are no liquids inside a winch, so this was a mystery. When we sailed from St. Kitts to here, it did it again. So I took it apart and found that where there should have been gooey grease was watery brown liquid and little chunks of what looked like cottage cheese. Yuck. There was grease on the winch gears, but this watery crap was in the area of the bearings. I don't know how water could get in there, and even if it did, the grease shouldn't break down like this. To once again tell a story on myself, I have not been exactly diligent about servicing the winches. The manual says they should be thoroughly disassembled, cleaned, and regreased every two months during an active sailing season, and once at the beginning of the season and again at the end of the season. This will be the third time in twenty years that these winched have been apart. I cleaned everything up, applied new grease to the gears and bearings, and reassembled the winch. I repeated the process on the other jib sheet winch and the smaller cabin top one that we use to furl and unfurl the mainsail. It's not a complicated job, but it's messy. I used almost a whole role of paper towels to try and not get grease on anything.
I had just finished the winch project when Lynn called on the radio to see if I could take her in to pickup their cushions. I went out and got her and brought her back to the canvas place. We got the cushions loaded in the dinghy and headed back. On the way in with the old cushions we hadn't cared about them possibly getting wet. The new ones are in a big plastic bag, but we were still being more careful of splashes and went slow. When I got back to MoonSail, we decided to just stay aboard this evening. As we enjoyed our first happy hour beverage, we watched a guy on a boat near us go up his mast. This turned out to be an interesting show. The first guy was young and fit, and he scrambled up half climbing and half being hoisted by his buddy with a winch. Once aloft, he was swinging around from place to place, inspecting things and working on one specific piece of rigging that seemed to be the original reason to go up. Meanwhile, across the fairway, another guy started to be hoisted up his mast. By contrast though, this guy was old and chubby, and he didn't do a thing to help get up the mast. He just sat in the bosun's chair and let the winch (probably a powered one) do the work. Once at the top, he messed with his anchor light for a bit before coming back down.
Our other entertainment for the evening was a kid on a boat across the fairway from us. The kid looked to be about four or five, and the concept of an "inside voice" apparently had not been explained to him. He wasn't crying or yelling in anger or defiance. It was just that every sound he made was yelling. This went on for a good two hours, sometimes on deck and sometimes down below in the cabin, where we could still clearly hear him. Perhaps the parents are deaf and don't realize the problem. If we had been any closer to them I would have had to say something.
We did see notes on Facebook that indicated Don & Devin were still in Atlanta today. Not sure if they ever got out today or are still waiting.
GPS N 18-02.043 W 063-05.387 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 10254.5.
Mar 8
This morning we went to the grocery store. This new store we found is very convenient, especially when you are in the marina. It's right across the street. We got quite a bit of stuff, expecting that we may be leaving here in a few days. It has been raining off and on today, so we timed the store visit between showers. Today has been the first significant rain we've had in a couple weeks.
After they left I tackled the one last project that I want to do in the marina. I need to adjust the valves on the main engine. I have never been convinced that the guy who did the major work on it last year adjusted them correctly. I had the one that he hadn't tightened the locknut on, that I fixed last year, so I wanted to recheck them. Sure enough, none of them were adjusted to the spec they were supposed to be. So, I was glad I checked them.
Barb & I went to Jimbo's for lunch. The food was good, as it usually is, but the service was pretty poor. There was only one girl waiting on tables, and one guy at the bar. There were only four tables occupied, so it wasn't too busy, but the girl didn't seem to feel well, as she sat down between table visits, which meant she wasn't visiting tables nearly enough. When she brought our beers, Barb's wasn't cold. She had ordered a Coor's Light, which has an indicator on the label to let you know it's cold, and it clearly wasn't. Mine was ok, but I took the Coor's over to the girl, who had sat down, and told her. She came back a minute later and said all the Coor's Lights were not cold, so Barb got a Presidente like I had, which had been cold. Don't you think wait staff should be trained to not even bring a warm beer to the table? Especially when you just have to look at the label to know? It took awhile for our food to come, but when it did it was good. While we were there another heavy rain shower came through. Jimbo's is a fairly open-air kind of place, but we were fine where we were sitting. We did notice several leaks in the roof that would have been problems if the tables under them were occupied.
Mike & Lynn stopped by to fill some water jugs from our hose, and to use the good internet connection that the marina has. When they were done, it was happy hour time, so we went to Jimbo's since it is right here. We hadn't been to their happy hour this year. Once we were done, we knew why. Our tab for the four of us was $50. Their happy hour deal is 2 for 1 on anything, and they specialize in margaritas. So Barb, Lynn and I were drinking margaritas, while Mike stuck with beer. The margaritas were apparently $7.50 per pair. They were good, but barely worth $7.50 for two. I would have been pissed if I paid that much for just one.
We went back to the boat and Mike & Lynn went home. It was only about 17:30 when we got back to the boat, so the inbound bridge opening had just happened. We soon were treated to a show of about fifteen charter boats, all manned by Russians, invading the marina. They were part of the Sail and Fun Trophy Regatta. They had obviously been expected, as all the dock staff were out taking lines. Most of them were grouped together on a dock that had been cleared for them apparently. But a few got put in individual slips near us. They didn't seem to understand the concept of one-at-a-time, and the dock hands were very busy catching the lines of the next one before they had the previous one secure. We started enjoying a light dinner of tuna sashimi while watching the show. Suddenly we noticed three Russian guys messing with the power pedestal we are plugged in to. Then our shore power went off. I quickly climbed off the boat and went to confront them. A - they shouldn't be messing with the power without the dockmaster's direction. And B - You never just unplug somebody else to plug yourself in. I sternly told them to plug me back in and they just ignored me and spoke in Russian. I went off to find the dockmaster. When I found him and told him what was going on, he quickly walked back with me. As he walked he said how he hates these regattas, because the Russians are rude and act like they own the place. We had the same experience with the Russian Regatta in Jolly Harbor last year. When we got to our slip, the dockmaster started asking them what the hell they were doing? By then they had plugged us back in and they were still looking for a place for their plug. The dockmaster apologized to me for the inconvenience and I wished him well in dealing with them. Surprisingly, the whole regatta party did not turn out to be a loud problem later in the night.
GPS N 18-02.043 W 063-05.387 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 10254.5.
Mar 9
We plan to leave the marina today. I topped up our water tanks and disconnected our hose and power. The Russians are still here, but I suspect they will be leaving in time to get out the 11:00 bridge. We are going to wait until they are gone to check out and leave. Mike & Lynn came by for one more internet connection and a trip to the grocery. We went to the grocery too for a couple things we forgot yesterday. As we went to the grocery, I had told one of the dock guys that they could read our meters. When we got back I stopped at the office and found the meters had not been read yet. So, we went to Lagoonies with Mike & Lynn for lunch and will check out later. There doesn't seem to be any noon check-out rule or anything. After lunch, we got back and I got checked out. I'm not sure if the electricity was measured right, but it was a reasonable amount so I didn't worry about it. I went back to the boat and started the engine to warm up. After a few minutes, one of the dock guys was coming along picking up garbage, so I asked him to help us cast off the lines.
Back out in the anchorage we found that somebody had taken our spot near Seabbatical. We motored around checking depths looking for a nice place not too close to anybody. The anchorage is not at all crowded, so it shouldn't be a problem. We motored over a large area where the depth went to twenty feet instead of the ten feet or so that most of the lagoon is. We passed over this spot and were back in nine feet when I dropped the anchor. We backed up, letting out chain as we went until we had about eighty feet out. The anchor grabbed and we stopped. I secured the chain and had Barb give it more power in reverse to make sure the anchor was set well. It held for a second, but then it broke loose and we were moving backwards. I gave Barb the signal to shift to neutral, hoping the anchor would hook again. It didn't quickly, and then I was concerned that the anchor may be near the deeper water. It is important to know how deep the water is where the anchor is, because that determines how much chain you let out. So, I motioned Barb to come forward and I hauled the anchor back in. I went back to the helm and we drove around some more a little bit further west of where we had been. I found and area that was all ten feet and not near the hole. We dropped the anchor again and this time it set and held right away.
The wind in the Eastern Caribbean almost always blows from the east. It might be some north of east of some south of east, but it's almost always east. Well, because of a large cold front to the north, the wind here has been light and variable for a couple of days. Today, the front has actually passed us, and while it is no longer "cold", the wind direction today is north and even a little west of north. So, as we anchored, I had to plot not only where we will lie today, but how we will all swing around when the wind returns to the east. These odd winds have had another effect on local activities. Without the normal strong wind from the east, planes have more latitude regarding their landing and takeoff direction. All the big planes are still landing from the west, but many of the little planes are coming in over the lagoon and land from the east. The real odd part, which is cheating Sunset Beach Bar customer out of half the show, is that most of the large planes are taking back off to the west. So by the time they get to Sunset Beach Bar, they are well in the air, and nobody is getting sand blasted.
We joined Mike & Lynn at the Yacht Club for happy hour. We got there just in time to see the outbound bridge at 16:30. With the regatta over, the crowd at the Yacht Club is noticeably smaller and for the first time we were able to get seats at the rail to watch the parade. We ran into Jim & Connie from Plane To Sea, and a couple we recognized from the day we were at the resort pool. They are returning to Detroit tomorrow, so they are out for their last night. At 17:30, the bridge opened for inbound traffic, and of course a police vehicle with lights and siren on pulled up shortly thereafter. The bridge rarely closes while there are still boats to go, even for emergency vehicles. The boats were coming in and an ambulance pulled up with lights and siren going the other way. (At least they turn off the sirens when the wait on the bridge.) To our surprise, the bridge tender stopped the boats, and closed the bridge to allow the emergency vehicles to pass. Of course, once he opened the gates for them, the rest of the cars took off too. He let the traffic clear for about ten minutes, then opened the bridge again to allow the remaining four or five boats to come in.
We returned to the boat where Barb made us pizza for dinner.
GPS N 18-02.447 W 063-05.608 Nautical miles traveled today 0.5. Total miles 10255.
Mar 10
I spent most of today getting caught up on writing the logs. The weather this week has been quite pleasant, in terms of not too much wind, but there has been a large north swell coming into the Caribbean. This means a lot of boats that might normally anchor outside the lagoon, in Simpson Bay or up in Marigot Bay, are seeking shelter from the swell inside the lagoon. Each time the bridge opened today there were boats coming in, and they all seemed to want to anchor near us. Nobody is too close, but where we had no close neighbors last night, we now have plenty.
One of the boats a few hundred feet from us, has a German Shepherd aboard. Whenever a dinghy comes close to their boat, the dog is out on deck doing his job to protect the boat by barking. What is really funny though is that when the people aren't onboard, the dog howls any time an emergency vehicle goes down the road. He also howls when a plane takes off. What makes this even funnier, is that the guy on the next boat over from them howls back at the dog. Which, of course, just keeps the dog going longer. We are far enough away that it is cute and not annoying.
Everybody takes pictures of the planes coming and going from Sunset Beach Bar, but I thought it might be interesting to try and get a few shots to illustrate just how close we are to the other end of the runway. I took a series of shots as the KLM 747 took off, and also a couple when the Air France plane landed and came all the way to the end of the runway to turn around and go back to the terminal. There is supposed to be a no-anchoring zone straight off the end of the runway, and most people adhere to that. But in reality, as soon as the planes lift off, they start banking to the south, which takes them right over the length of the lagoon, and right over our heads. I'm very glad that the first big plane to leave in the morning isn't until 09:00, and they stop taking off in the evening about 19:00.
GPS N 18-02.447 W 063-05.608 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 10255.
Mar 11
I tackled a big project today. I added a third electric bilge pump to the boat. The boat came with two electric bilge pumps, but in Catalina's infinite wisdom, they are both mounted to starboard of center. That means if we are heeled over to the pot side, the bilge pumps are worthless. This was not a problem coming south, because we would have always been heeled to starboard. But heading north, with the constant easterly winds here, we heel to the port. This is why Barb was bailing water from the galley on our last passage. So, to help alleviate the problem, I have taken three steps. One, was to tighten the packing nut on the rudder in the hopes that will stop or slow down the water intake in the first place. Second, I found a large hole from the port side of the bilge to under the port settee which was there to allow a hose and a couple wires to pass through. I think that is how the water gets from the bilge under the fridge and stove and then to the galley floor. I sealed that hole. Lastly, I am installing this third bilge pump on the port side of the bilge. I installed it a little bit higher than the one on the starboard side, so it should only run if we are heeled to port. I was barely able to squeeze the new hose past the starting battery and over to the other side where I put a t-fitting in the original hose and connected it. I put check valves in both sides of the line so the water doesn't back up through one pump when the other one runs. This project required removing all the main saloon floorboards, which I had just screwed back down before leaving Antigua. It sounds pretty easy, but it took several hours to accomplish, and three trips to Island Water World. Hopefully we have seen the last of water in the galley now.
After the project, we went to a well deserved happy hour. We met Mike & Lynn, Adrianne & Sam, John & Kim and Bruce & Connie. Remarkably, it was a bit chilly sitting out on the dock with the breeze. It's hard to even say that, given it is March, but once you've been here a few months, if it drops below 80° it fells cool.
GPS N 18-02.447 W 063-05.608 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 10255.
Mar 12
I started the morning with a small boat project. The heat exchanger on the motor is where cool sea water get circulated in one chamber while the hot engine coolant is circulated in another. This cools the engine coolant. The heat exchanger has a zinc in it to keep the salt water and any electrical current from eating the bronze or copper that the chambers are made of. This zinc is supposed to be checked monthly, and of course I remember to change it a couple of times a year. It's pretty easy to change. I just shut off the valve for the sea water intake, then unscrew the zinc. The zinc is a round tube, a couple inches long and about 3/8 of an inch in diameter, with a threaded end. When you unscrew the old one, there is usually nothing left but the threaded part. But, chunks of the old one are probably laying in the end of the heat exchanger, so you have to also remove the end cap and use your finger to brush out any debris laying in there. The only hard part of the job is that you have to blindly reach up alongside the engine to get to the zinc and the end cap. It would be a good time to be double jointed.
For lunch we headed up to Marigot for pizza. Mike & Lynn went too, but we took two dinghies. It is about a mile and a half to Marigot. To take your big boat to Marigot requires navigating a narrow, shallow, poorly marked channel. As we were approaching Marigot, we saw about a 45 foot sailboat that appeared to be aground outside the channel. We detoured over to see if they needed help. The captain spoke a little English, but his wife spoke good English. I was thinking of just trying to push the bow around as he powered forward, which sometimes helps. But, they already had all their dock lines tied together to a spare halyard from the masthead, that they wanted me to take out to the side of the boat and try to tip them enough so the keel came out of the mud. That wouldn't work on MoonSail, because we have a big flat wing on the bottom of the keel. We tied the line to the bow or our dinghy and backed away from the boat until the line came taught. By now Mike & Lynn had also gotten there, and Mike pushed against their stern, as I powered backwards as hard as I could tipping them, while the captain had full throttle forward. The boat didn't seem to be moving. After a couple minutes, we stopped and regrouped. Mike & I suggested they were going to need a larger boat to pull them off, but the captain pled with us to try again. Thinking it was a waste of time, we backed away again and repeated the process. This time, the boat did seem to be moving ever so slowly through the mud. We kept pulling and all of a sudden they were moving. We quickly came back to the boat, with Barb coiling their lines into the dinghy as we went. We untied their line from the dinghy bow and said goodbye. We wanted to get out of there before he possibly ran aground again. We had pointed out to him where we thought the channel was, but neither Mike nor I have ever gone up there in our big boats, so we weren't sure. Later we saw them tied up at the marina in Marigot, so they made it back.
We found the place where we wanted to have pizza. It is right on the marina edge, but had moved from where it was a few years ago when we were here. The pizza were good and we had some 1664 French beer to go with it. Somehow we escaped Marigot after lunch without any shopping being suggested. We waved to the guy we had helped as we left the marina basin.
We all met up later at the Yacht Club for happy hour and boat watching. Mike & Lynn, and John & Kim, were there and Kim's mom and cousin had joined them today from the States. We also met a new couple, Jim & Ali from L'Esprit du Nord. Mike & Lynn knew them from years past. The boat parade is nothing now like it was during regatta week, but it is still fun to see who comes in every evening.
GPS N 18-02.447 W 063-05.608 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 10255.
Mar 13
We had learned last night, that Jim & Ali on L'Esprit du Nord, are considering putting the boat into charter next year, and may be looking for a couple to crew it for them. We immediately thought of Adrianne & Sam, who are no longer working for Tradewinds Charters. We made a plan with Jim & Ali to meet tonight at Barnacles to introduce them. But now we have to get that message to Adrianne & Sam. They are either on their boat at Booby's Boatyard or on the last Tradewinds boat they crewed which is next to Bobby's at Simpson Bay Boatyard. Both places are around the corner from where we are anchored, towards the airport. We dinghied around and were lucky enough to find them right away. We passed the message along and told them we'd see them later.
We then dinghied back the length of the lagoon to Simpson Bay Marina. We left the dinghy there and went to the pharmacy. I have a medication that I am going to run out of in a week or two, and it's so much easier to get some here than worry about getting our mail forwarded in time. I just took the empty bottle from my current prescription in and asked for a months supply. No muss, no fuss, and only $9. Sweet.
We then decided to eat lunch while we were ashore. We walked just down the street a bit to Toppers. We have never eaten here before, but their menu looks good. It was only a little after 11:00, and we were the first customers there. Topper himself greeted us and gave us menus. Topper is from the States, but has been running the restaurant here for many years. He is a scruffy looking guy, but very friendly. He told us the brisket was their specialty. While we were deciding, he asked if we liked rum. Well of course we do, so he gave us each a shot of his private label flavored rum. He pointed out a huge pile of boxes covered with a tarp across the parking lot and said those were empty bottles from the rum that he didn't know what to do with. They are a custom bottle and would be cool to fill with vinegar and stuff for decoration. He told us to take a case with us. We told him we didn't have room for that such thing, but thanked him. I ended up having the brisket dinner, which came with gravy, mashed potatoes, and carrots. It was like a good Sunday dinner at Grandma's house. Barb had a brisket sandwich with French fries. Both meals were very filling.
After lunch, we stopped at the grocery store and picked up some rum. St. Maarten is a cheap place to buy liquor, so we are stocking up a little before leaving. They have one-liter bottles of Captain Morgan for $8. We got several and headed back to the boat.
At happy hour time, we went to Barnacles with Mike & Lynn. Adrianne & Sam got there and shortly thereafter and so did Jim & Ali. We introduced them and they spent a good hour talking, while we visited and met several other folks we knew.
GPS N 18-02.447 W 063-05.608 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 10255.
Mar 14
When we got up this morning, I noticed something very strange about the boat next to us. This boat had come in last night while we were at happy hour, and in the dark when we came back I hadn't noticed, that it had apparently lost it's mast somehow. The owner had apparently salvaged the boom, and then jury rigged it as a short mast. I've heard of this being done, but have never seen it. It's a pretty new looking boat, which leaves you to wonder how the mast came down in the first place. Makes our troubles not seem so bad.
After the morning nets, we loaded up our laundry and took it to Lagoonies. We plan to leave St. Maarten tomorrow, so we want it all done. We took Seabbatical's also to save them the trip. The laundry lady said she could have it done by 13:00 for us.
We came back to the boat and we changed the engine oil. I had noticed when looking at my records that it was slightly overdue, and there is a good chance we will be motoring all the way to the BVI tomorrow, so I'll change it now. I also know where to get rid of the used oil here, so that is a plus. Barb got out all the stuff we need to change the oil and I got after it. It only takes about fifteen minutes to do, and I didn't even make a mess. Once that was done, we decided to go to the fuel dock and fill up with diesel and water. I don't like to weigh anchor unless I have to, but the alternative is to try and weigh anchor early enough tomorrow afternoon to get to the fuel dock, hope it is clear, get filled up, and then get out the bridge at 16:30. If we miss the bridge we are stuck another day. So, rather than have to time that all right, we will just do the fuel today. We weighed anchor without too much trouble. It wasn't as buried as it was last time. We got to the fuel dock just as another boat was leaving and pulled right in. The fueling went easily, without any spillage, and we topped up the water tank. Fuel was $5.00USD/gal, which was actually cheaper than Antigua had been. Good thing I only use about fifty gallons a season. I was recently reading about the new largest privately owned yacht in the world, and it costs $650,000 to fill it up. Yikes!
We got back out to the anchorage, and anchored in a slightly different spot than where we had been. We are closer to Palapa Marina now, where we can pick up their wi-fi signal. Although, so far today it hasn't been cooperating with me to get e-mail. We had lunch aboard and then about 13:30 went back to Lagoonies to pick up the laundry. We made a brief stop at Budget Marine where they have a used oil drop off, and then got the laundry.
We did our final happy hour in St. Maarten at the Yacht Club. It was just us and Mike & Lynn, as far as people we know. The boat traffic both out and in was light, but on the inbound there was on mega-yacht that came through very fast, with several girls in bikinis dancing on the upper deck, and towing a three-person blow up thing with kids in it. They have obviously done this before. We were back to the boat by 18:30 for a quiet evening.
GPS N 18-02.387 W 063-05.599 Nautical miles traveled today 1 Total miles 10256.