TELLING YOUR ASS FROM YOUR ELBOW

                  

                           10.1.2012

I’ve frequently thought that some people have great difficulty telling one from the other……… especially when anchoring! Now at last we have found a painting which proves that I am not entirely alone in this perception, although in this case the confusion seems to be between the painters Ass and his vegetable garden!

One of the reasons for hanging around in Rodney Bay, was for Mary to have a front tooth repaired by a dentist who came highly recommended. In trying to untangle fishing lines, she resorted to using her teeth in addition to hands, fingers and toes, and one tooth objected, leaving her with an amalgam smile. I offered to fix it for free, using Pratley quick setting epoxy putty, but she turned me down! Yesterday she had this done by the local expert, who charged her about R500.00 , and used his own version of Pratley’s Quick set Epoxy putty. Now, as they say on that terrible TV advert, she can “smile broadly again!”  (Incidentally, the little catamaran on the front left of the photo, is “Ti Kanot”, which belongs to Chris Doyle, the author of the cruising guides used by most people in the Caribbean) 

We took a bus ride into Castries, to visit the local market, and to stock up on Fruit and veggies. We also got the coconut man to open up 5 coconuts with his panga, and fill up a 1.5lt bottle with coconut water, which makes a very healthy and refreshing drink, full of antioxidants, vitamins and things. Its even better when chilled and mixed with rum for sundowners!

Another reason for staying in St Lucia, was to get the Life Raft serviced. It’s a ridiculously expensive exercise, wherever one has it done, but , unlike RSA, where it is supposed to be done annually, the interval here and in the US is every three years. So we are now good for the next three years!

The waiting has also allowed us to look out for “Green Flashes”, which can only be seen on clear, cloudless days where the sun sets over the sea. We have seen two while here, and I again tried to capture one on camera, but missed the moment! Either that, or cameras do not work like human eyes! Some people believe it is just an illusion, as ones eyes adjust to the disappearance of the suns bright source of light. I disagree, because, on many occasions now, when watching with groups of people , there is a simultaneous “YES”, when it happens, and a few disappointed “No’s” when it does not!

On this last occasion, Larry and Marlo, who had just sailed up from Bequia on “Beatrice” (ripping their mainsail in the process), and were anchored about a half a mile away, also saw the Green Flash, and asked us the next day if we had seen it. Fortunately, they had already arranged for their son to bring out a new main from Quantum, when he delivers a catamaran from Cape Town next month. So they are just going to stick it together with “Sticky Back”, and hope it gets them to St Martin ok!

 

  

  

Seeing the New Year in with a Bang….. or two!!

30/12/2011

After checking into St Lucia at the Rodney Bay Marina, using the new ESeaClear system, (an internet driven pre arrival advice system, which cuts out all the form filling and duplication), we moved over to anchor on the Pigeon Island side of Rodney bay.

We found ourselves in front of the Sandals Resort, with some rather interesting sailing companions and boat vendors.

We will let the pictures tell the tale, and wish all blog readers a very happy New Year, and all the best for 2012!!

Swimming upstream like a Salmon!

29.12.2011

Many people imagine the Caribbean to be a collection of sun drenched, palm tree lined, golden beach islands, lapped by crystal clear waters, and gentle cooling breezes. It can be all the above …….sometimes!!! It’s very rarely like that when passage making!!

During the November to Feb winter months, the temperature might be a degree or so cooler, but the prevailing Easterly trade winds pick up to between 18 and 25 knots, and clock back to NE. During the summer months, by comparison, the winds are usually in the 12 to 17knot range, from the SE. (Excluding hurricanes of course!) These gradient winds are generated by the position of the North Atlantic High, which resides closer to the equator during the winter months, and further north in summer.

On top of these gradient winds, one has to allow for the various island effects, the Cape effects, katabatic winds, inter island funnels, coastal acceleration zones etc. All too often, the seemingly manageable 18-25 knot beat can end up as a 35-40 knot thrash in wild seas, and ripping currents, on certain passages.

The point of this digression, is to explain the importance of picking the right windows! While some of these passages might just be possible, its definitely not fun!! People and boats get broken and wrecked. More to the point, I have no desire to become yet another lonely old male single hander! Cruising is supposed to be FUN, and therefore Mary must enjoy it and not just tolerate the lifestyle!

About 3 or 4 times a month, a brief window of opportunity presents itself, with winds dropping to the 14-20kn range from the East or ENE. These windows are often triggered by the cold fronts that move eastwards from Nova Scotia towards Europe, causing a hiccough in the steady clockwise circulation of the north Atlantic high. Some windows are better than others, but the message is… If you see the window..…use it or lose it!! Assess how’ usable’ it is, get your timing right, prepare the boat, and GO!

Tuesday 28^th was “GO” day. It was also a public holiday, and the single official on duty had to deal with plenty of yachties, all with urgent clearance needs! We escaped by 11.30am and headed for Bequia, some 35miles north. The weather was spot on, and we enjoyed a fast romp to Bequia, arriving at 17.30 with a Barracuda in the fridge.

We left Bequia at 6.00am the next morning, and got into the lee of St Vincent, after a good fast sail. We had to motor up the lee, up to the infamous St Vincent /St Lucia channel, where once again we found ourselves beating into a 27knot headwind . The sea was a short sharp 2/3mtr swell, which made for a wet and tiring passage. All the way up, we were forced to watch and wave to 30 or 40 yachts, all going the other way, enjoying a fabulous broad reach, sipping their beverages in relative comfort, as we slogged our way north, hard on the wind. We felt like Salmon, but without their urge to procreate!

We were happy to reach the Pitons at 15.30, in good time, only to find that all the mooring buoys were taken. As anchoring is not permitted there, we had no option but to push on for the next 20 miles up to Rodney Bay. Fortunately, the wind picked back up to 20-25knots, and in the flatter lee of the island, we made good time. At Castries, we passed in front of the Queen Mary 2, at anchor, making it the third time we have seen her since we left RSA.

As we passed her bow, still hard on the wind (on a starboard tack), we were again confronted by yet another Clueless Bareboat Charter Cat, bearing down on us, sailing with full genoa, and nobody on watch to see around it, instead, all eyes ogling the QM 2! At 200m, we were still on a collision course. We had our crash tack plan in reserve, but this time I decided to give them a full blast of the air horn. Heads popped up like meerkats, but they still did not know what to do! In the process of Horn blowing, I kicked my big toe a “hellse skoot” on a block, and was busy screaming about Blue Frogs!! Thank goodness for Mary’s Very Expressive Bitch Wings and her life long urge to be a Traffic Controller….. She indicated in no uncertain manner, exactly where they should go!

Like good little meerkats , they listened!!

Farewell to Tyrrel Bay !

28.12.2011

We spent almost a month in Tyrrel, sorting out numerous little jobs on the “To Do” list. One not so little job was the remake of the Bimini/Raincatcher, which, after one very heavy downpour, threatened to implode. Water pump needed a new impeller, watermaker needed new “o” rings, and the prop needed scrubbing after a month’s holiday!

We never tired of the sunsets, and were able to catch up with cruising friends all heading out in different directions. Carriacou tends to be our period of enforced budgetery restraint, there being no chandleries, and very few basic shops! We do however squeeze in the odd visit to the Slipway Pub and Restaurant, and buy the odd lobster from the fishermen.

We were also lucky enough to enjoy a Christmas dinner with Ruth and Niels Lund, who had sailed up on Baraka, from Grenada for Christmas. Jeremy and Yvonne were also with us, and the Danish traditional ham and caramellised potatoes, served by Ruth, saved us from our own, never to be repeated, Caribbean ham experience! We had seen these Hams hanging from the ceiling in nearly every shop in Grenada, (from fishing shops to hardware stores). We made the mistake of assuming they must be good, and bought one as a Christmas treat! “Smoked and Cured”, all the way from Smithfield USA!! It also came with a crust of mould which had to be scrubbed off…. needed to be boiled three times, with the water thrown away each time to get rid of the salt. It then lost half its mass when the skin and fat was removed, and needed to be carved with a hacksaw! We ended up paying a kings ransom for a sows ear!!

After Christmas, we were on fulltime watch for the elusive weather window, as set head northwards!