When will we ever learn?

22/11/2010
In my last blog I was crowing about being in danger of being able to see the tunnel, (not the light at the end of it, mind you !), but we then had the temerity to set sail on a Friday nogal! I justified that by declaring it a “Fishing” trip around to St Georges, as opposed to a “Passage!” Klaus (see pic of the 4 of us at La Sargesse) says we still broke the rule, so what did we expect? But he’s German and inflexible!!
Our leisurely trip started well with a barracuda in the bag even before we reached the drop off line, some 7nm south of the point. On the run back up the line we were hoping for the odd Tuna and Dorado. Fat chance!
As we turned the 270deg to head back, the fresh water pump started screaming like a banshee, sprouting water and generally declaring itself U/S. We were forced to sail the 9 miles back, against the 2.0 knot current, with only 6 to 7 knots of wind on the nose!
We nurdled and tacked our way backwards and forwards, using every little black cloud we could find, and managed to make about 5 miles in 5 hours towards St Georges. Just as we were showing signs of progress, with our perfectly trimmed sails, (making a whole 1.5knots), then the wind stopped… as in zero ! “Shwopper” had to be launched, and lashed alongside, with the little mercury 3.3hp going at full taps. We resumed our progress at a credible 1.4knots, and were able to drop the new Rocna in the often poor holding area outside St Georges. On arrival , I dinghied in to Port Louis and arranged for a mooring, a tow in at 10.00 am next day, and for a mechanic to then visit us at 11.00am. A quick dive on the anchor indicated that it was lying upside down like a wanton woman… Without an engine or breeze to help set it, we could only hope that when push comes to shove, as it were, it would turn around and dig itself in alright!
By 10.30 the next morning, there was no sign of our arranged tow. My phone call at 11.00 only elicited a promise to phone me back! This came at 12.00 with the news that Management Policy had now changed, and they were unable to offer this service. When reminded that we had done the same thing three weeks earlier, I was told that the Insurance policy rules made it impossible now. You will have to make your own arrangements we were told !
Fellow cruiser‘s love a challenge, and are often more useful than Marina hands anyway, so it did not take long before we were safely moored thanks to a fellow cruiser with a 15hp dinghy, while we were watched by the Marina staff from their High Risk twin 60hp Port Louis Marina boat. By now we had missed the mechanic, and were forced to rearrange his visit for Monday.
Day one in the new superyacht berth saw a vicious swell ricocheting off the dock, which caused a terrible jerking and snatching on the docklines. The midship cleat began to move, allowing the pouring rain to soak all our manuals, and when the bowline snapped, we ended up with a deep scratch down the side! I would hate to be in here in a hurricane!

Needless to say I was underwhelmed with Port Louis this time around, and decided to check up on the “policy” stories with the GM, and at the same time offer him a couple of choices.! He could either admit to poor management who failed to a advise their Dock Manager and staff about the “new” policies, ( they had no idea about this when I made the plans with them), or, he could tell me there had been no change of policy, and his team were just slack assed liars! I ran into him in the Marina offices, and asked him to take his pick! He chose a third option! No change of policy: The dock manager forgot to tell the experienced boat driver, who then also failed to pitch up for work. The new boy did not want to rat on his mate once I started phoning, and he did not feel competent enough to do it alone, and leave the marina unattended, and therefore became creative with his excuses. Sorry says GM! i.e. slack assed liars! (S.A.L’s)

The week end brought a cruise ship, a rainbow and a little R & R in pretty St Georges, before we placed the order for a replacement pump from Tortola on Monday. It arrived in Grenada on Wednesday morning, but took 6 days to be cleared.. This despite daily follow ups, and a Friday promise that I would have it by 10.00am on Monday ,….and that it would be fitted that afternoon! More S.A.L’s ! Having received it at 5pm on the Monday, the fitment was rescheduled for the next day. On Tuesday, however, we learnt that this too would not be possible as they had other commitments! It took an x -rated tantrum , before the plan was revised, and another mechanic was sent to do the job.
Meanwhile “Lord Perkins Sir Diesel”, has now been officially demoted to “perkins”, until he shows a change of attitude and behaviour. When the new pump is fitted, we will give him an oil change and a few new belts, and put him on “Final Warning”. Perhaps he will see the error of his ways, and behave a little better as we restart our trek north!
“Swhopper” *, on the other hand , was given a smart new UV protective cover, by Mary, as a thank you for his valiant efforts ! The scratch has been fixed, and toe rails re-varnished, so by tomorrow evening we hope to be back to square one, but just a bit more platsak! Visitors from the Cruise liner polished our egos too, by declaring Sheer a really beautiful boat!
But before the mechanic arrived we were asked to move to another mooring, to make way for “Party Girl”… the biggest luxury charter yacht in the Caribbean . (Look it up on Google!! 146ft of opulence.) This confirmed that the no tow policy was nonsense, as we were given all the help we needed, to make room for Party Girl!

*
“Swhopper” is the Gemini dinghy given to us

by Alan Cook, who gave it this name after seeing Terminator 2 , and hearing Arnold Schwarzenegger tell all his men to “get into the Schwopper” ( Helicopter)

Waiting for "Tomas"

June too soon, July stand by, August you must, September Remember, October its Over!! So they say!
24th October saw us beating our way back to Grenada, only to find ourselves in the first stages of a Hurricane panic! “ A large area of Low pressure tropical disturbance, associated with a tropical wave 1050nm south east of the Windwards, has a 20% chance of becoming a tropical storm within the next 48 hours!” This was the National Hurricane centre report that we faced on the 25th October. The next day it jumped to an 80% probability, and the models projected paths ranging between Venezuela, and Trinidad to St Lucia in the North.
Where to duck to……. What to do… ?? People upping anchors and heading North , South, and West! Hyper activity everywhere!
Our planned strategy has always been to run south at the first definite tracking signs of a tropical storm. It was not yet a storm, and the track projections too varied, and we still had 72 hours at least before it reached our longitude. So we prepared the boat, and sat tight in a rapidly emptying Prickly Bay, and decided to make our call the following day, based on the latest information. “Tomas” was named the following day as a Tropical Storm, and a probability of escalating to a Hurricane during the next 48 hrs…. but more significantly, the projected path was showing a more North Westerly track, and indicating a passage through St Lucia. Being in the SE quadrant as it approached , meant that we should miss the worst of it by just staying put, and at worst , it might just give Grenada a glancing blow!

Hurricane holes and mangrove swamps were filling up fast, despite maximum expected winds gusting to 40knots. We moved to a slightly more protected area in Prickly Bay, and deployed our 30kg Bruce on 50mts chain to port, and our new Rocna, also on 50mts at 60 degs to Starboard. Our 25kg CQR, on 20 mts chain, and 60mts nylon warp, was coiled on deck in event of an emergency.
Shops were emptied of water and foodstuffs, and the island waited….. The Grenada Emergency Authorities instructed all non essential service workers to stay at home….and still the island waited. Talk show hosts on radio ratcheted up the hysteria to fever pitch… and everyone waited…. “H” hour came , and went….. No wind…. No rain…. Tomas twitched further north West, punishing Barbados , and heading through St Lucia and St Vincent.
Cruisers start checking the well being of their mates further north. A few boats were damaged, but thankfully all our friends were safe. Mike and Lesley ( Extasea) were in Bequia, and winds maxed out at 50knots, and a few boats around them dragged sustaining some damage. They had a charter group on board, who were just disappointed not to be spending their time at the Cays.
The seas got up a bit for us, but the winds never came! We swung around, and around, and around on our twin anchors ,and created a great big steel koeksister, which took far longer to untangle than it took to deploy! The biggest wind that came our way, was 24knots…… two days after Tomas had passed. A normal sailing day in Hout Bay!
Without doubt, the biggest blessing for cruisers these days, is the incredible advance warning and forecasting services available via wifi and internet, which enable cruisers to make informed decisions and plans. I am including a number of the actual images we saw, as events unfolded. Most of these are thanks to the National Hurricane Centre in Miami, plus the satellite based Grib files.
Tomas came, and went, and we were left unscathed , and better prepared for any future threats , and will stick to our rule not venture further North than Bequia in the Hurricane Season!

Little things come together to make a BIG difference

My blogs have been a bit scarce of late, but our chores and boat work are collectively coming together, and improving our peace of mind, and cruising lifestyle!
We did a night run down to Trinidad a few weeks back, with a big list of things to do, buy, and people to see! Replacing Lord Perkins timing belt, ditching the Mase genset, buying a wet /dry powerful small vacuum cleaner, a Honda 2kva Inverter generator, a 25kg Rocna anchor, new windlass gypsy, momentary foot control switch for the windlass, a new push button Eco stove, security grids for the butterfly hatch, updating the software on the Mastercharger… etc etc!
Amazingly, we nailed it all in two weeks, and still had time to organise a South African cruisers braai at Crews Inn Marina! We were joined by Nick and Lynette Marvin ( Ukulele Lady), Mike and Lesley Blamey (Extasea), Larry and Marlo D’Aguiar ( Beatrice), Walter and Jackie ( Jean Marie) Joop & Jaqualette ( Goody), plus Steve (Cinnamon Girl) and Ralph (Uvubu)
We had a great evening discussing launch dates, plans and routes. While we were busy jolling however, unseen by us, a cruiser moored below, was broken into by ever more brazen crooks, and relieved of computers, cameras, cell phones and cash. Sadly, this is no longer unusual in Chaguaramus, as, two days later, another neighbour had his 14ft dinghy and 40hp outboard stolen one night, even though it was “lifted and locked”. Police and authorities don’t seem to be doing much about it, and the local business folk are resorting to patrols and neighbourhood watch type efforts, to protect their businesses, which are battling in the general economic down turn, combined with worries about crime and Piracy issues. Made me feel like we were back in Hout Bay !
We helped Ukulele Lady to splash (our sister ship Shearwater 39), after a very extensive and professional refit, and two days later, were able to sail back to Grenada in the company of a smart and shiny repainted “Beatrice”. We left at 4.00am for a mostly daylight passage ( so that we could fish), and made Prickly Bay 13hrs later with two Dorado each!
No sooner were we back in Grenada, than a widespread general depression decided to grow into Tropical storm Tomas, which put all jobs on hold, put everyone in a tizz, and caused a lemming like exodus from Prickly Bay ! More about Tomas in the next blog! We battened down the hatches, deployed two big anchors, with a third on standby, and started planning our route up the Island chain in time to join Tom and Johness ( Springtime) in St Martin for Christmas.
Once Tomas had passed through, it was back to the job list, where a new big 185w 24v solar panel was added to the array. The 2 X 85w 12v panels were put in series, and then put in parallel with the new 24v unit, and regulated via a new Blue Skies MPPT Solar controller. What a huge difference!! It pumps in between 18 and 24amps for about 5 hour a day! We have also fitted new “Silent” blue carbon fibre blades to the wind generator, and it too is more efficient, as well as quiet! Together with our little Honda genset, and high output alternator, it seems that we are at last beginning to win the power struggle!!!
The new Rocna anchor , which sets incredibly, the new footswitch, and rust free anchor chain ( courtesy of a Nick Marvin discard!), are all helping to simplify and clean up our anchoring routine. Whereas we only ever knew about the light at the end of the tunnel, because we were told it was there…. We are now in real danger of seeing it!
We have booked our haul out for August to November 2011 in Grenada, and will be flying back to RSA for Oct/Nov, after overseeing the re-spray in August. Between now and then, we hope to explore the Leewards, the Virgins, and possibly the Bahamas, before making our way back to Grenada.

Are you showing your balls in Paradise ?

22/08/2010

All yachties have them of course. They are necessary bits of our safety equipment without which we are deemed unfit to go to sea. But….. do you ever use them? Daytime anchor balls, that is.
In among the hundreds of designated anchorages, and the many thousands of yachts with whom we have found ourselves at anchor, we have only seen seven boats displaying Anchor Balls by day. One was by a very diligent Dutchman, in a well prepared ketch, (who ruined the whole image with gaudy bright blue cockpit lights at night !) Another was shown by a very serious old salt flying the red “duster”. All the other five were displayed by fearful Americans. I use the word fearful advisedly, as I was informed by one, that it was not that they thought they would be invisible in the anchorage by day without said balls, but in the litigious society from which they come, they know that no matter how guilty another party might be in case of a dragging or ramming incident, they would lose all rights to compensation, if the guilty party had an American lawyer, and they were not displaying their balls!
So, the further north we sail, and the more we encounter some of the alarmingly incompetent bareboat skippers, many who hail from the USA, the greater is my inclination to pull out my balls from the locker, and dust them off ready for display!

These past ten days have been really fantastic, as we have explored the bays, anchorages and islands which were only hearsay and romantic dreams before we left. From Tyrrel bay (Carriacou), we checked into St Vincent and the Grenadines, at Union Island. On our first approach to Clifton, we were forced to turn, run, and take refuge behind Frigate Island, by a huge black thunderstorm, accompanied by torrential rain, zero visibility, and big winds. The entrance into Clifton harbour is protected by reefs, and is tricky at the best of times… and downright foolish for first timers! An hour later, the sun came out, and we were able to find our way in to a good spot, without the help of the ever present boat boys, always wanting to “take a line” or sell you a mooring buoy. Checking in was a breeze, and we were able to watch the sun set from the unique “Happy’s Bar”, built on to the reef.

We then sailed up to Mayreau, where we anchored in Salt Whistle bay for a couple of days, before spending time in the amazing Tobago Cays. Although the water was not its normal turquoise blue (it had a green hue), it was still very clear, and snorkeling around Horseshoe reef, and amongst all the turtles was very special . It was for Mary a real highlight and sense of achievement. She had always been petrified of swallowing the ocean, and never believed she would be able to get back into the dinghy again! She is now a pro!

We are now in lovely Bequia, where we will spend about a week before heading south again. This is as far north as we wish to be in hurricane season. Even with all the excellent weather information available , we want to be able to run south for 24 hours, and be well out of its range at the first sign of a “nasty” being on track to ruin the dream!

Tales from Tyrrel Bay..............and waterbuck!

The first week of August saw a host of activities, on both land and sea, all packaged around the Carriacou Regatta. .These ranged from Karioki competitions, to Mexican dominoes, on land, and Round the Island keelboat races , as well as the all Island open workboat competition. Most of the land based activities were to raise funds for the Carriacou Childrens Education Fund, and all the yachties a do their bit to help the kids.
We had heard all about the local, no handicap, open workboat sailing races, and were on Paradise beach, ready and waiting for the 11.00am Le Mans style start.. By 11.45 there were still no boats on the beach!!. As the local beach pub barlady explained to me, “No problem mon, dis 11 ‘oclock Caribbean time.! All de boats dey sail frum Bequia, Union, Petit St Vincent, Windward to get here. Be here soon” They started arriving at about 12, some of them having sailed 30 odd miles down from Bequia, just for a morning race! With inter island pride at stake, and good prize money, they take the races very seriously. The boats are beautifully prepared , and are 22 to 30 ft, and crewed by 6 to 8 BIG guys. Each boat needs at least two huge men out on trapeze, as they carry big fully battened lateen mainsails, and genoas, with only a drop down centerboard. Human ballast is everything! The last crew in were given 15 minutes to rest, and time to buy another case of beer, before the race was called.

No count down, no race flags,…. Just a blast on the Vuvusela (yes,it really was taking the place of a conch shell) and a bellow, and they’re off… down the beach , to launch, drop the centre board and go! The race was around most of Carriacou, past Windward, across to PSV, back to Windward , and back to the finish at Hillsborough, a distance of about 20miles, which they cover in about 1hr 30min ! Great spectacle, and great skills!
In terms of our land activities, we were coerced into a Mexican train Double12s Domino’s game, with a bunch of Americans. The game proved to be a mixture of skill, luck, and shit stirring! It came, of course, quite naturally to Mary and I, and we did quite well! We also met a number of extremely interesting fellow cruisers. One fellow, who was nick named “Rocket Scientist “ all day, particularly when he screwed up or got sneaky, turned out to be just that! Gordon just happened to be the chief computer programmer in charge of Nasa, when John Glen did the moon walk!. US Presidential citations and all!!
Maintenance is an ongoing chore aboard, and Mary decided it was time for me to strip and repaint the toilet seat and lid. Having carefully taken it all apart, and painted the tops with my best International Brightside paint, I decided that the easiest way to paint the undersides, was to re assemble it and fit it back to the toilet, paint , and close it so that the wet paint was not exposed. We had been asked out for the afternoon, so it would be dry by the time we got back to the boat. Mary, at the last minute decided that a quick trip to the heads was required before we left, and having ascertained that the seat was dry, on top….. she assumed the position….only to find when she was done, that she now possessed a perfect white waterbuck –like bum ! I was of course abused and reprimanded, but also required to remedy matters. This required her to present her rear in a rather undignified manner, while I undertook a delicate and jointly hysterical paint removing challenge !!
The joys of a cruising life!

Caribbean Anchoring Styles

20/7/2010

Mary and I reckon we are quite slick on Sheer Tenacity ! First we check out the anchorage, select an anchoring position, check the depths, the swing radius, head to wind, drop the hook on a tickey, lay out a good 4-5 times depth scope, in a straight line, set the hook, attach the bridle, let it take up the slack , motor astern to re-check the anchor setting on the bridle …….all accomplished using well rehearsed hand signals. We then sit down smugly, open the anchoring beer, and wait for the applause!! Sadly, there’s always a deafening silence!

We have meantime, become admirers of the techniques of others! We have consolidated some of them into the following types:

1 ) The Dog Turd Droppers ( DTD’s)
2 )The French way
3 )The Ice breakers
4 )The German buoys
5 ) Bareboat Cat Clowns

The DTD’s sail under many National flags. They approach their final chosen spot, drop the anchor, with the entire chain right on top of the anchor ! That’s it. Job done! Invariably they have no idea of depths, swing radius, or whether rocks, reefs or neighbouring yachts could be a problem. The first time the wind pipes up, straightening out their chain, is usually marked by the signs of panic.

The French are very laid back , and their approach is often evidenced by sneaky jinking in and out, between closely anchored boats. Using this stealth approach, they creep right up behind some unsuspecting souls transom, drop the hook using a minimum of scope, pulling up a few metres from someone else’s bow. Setting the anchor is regarded as a waste of time, so its hardly surprising that we have seen more French boats drag than any other flag! Any suggestion from another cruiser that they might be a bit close, could earn one a single digit salute! The saving grace for the French, is that they CAN sail, and that they are often accompanied by lovely topless crewmembers, at far closer range than normal!

The Icebreakers come from Cape Horn , or the Baltic, arriving in big steel yachts, sprouting anchors all round. Disconcertingly, they tend to approach the anchorage downwind, dropping the hook on the run, sailing over it in a slight curve, before locking up the windlass at the required scope, allowing the forward momentum to straighten the chain, set the hook, and swing the boat around 180 degrees, to settle in with all the other boats. To their credit, we haven’t seen them make a mistake yet!

The Germans often seem to prefer buoys ( that’s as in mooring ! ) They will frequently commandeer a buoy, even if it is way too close to an anchored yacht. The principle of “he who anchors first has prior claim” does not apply. Their approach is that the buoy was there first, so “Youz mus Mooff!”, even if you have been anchored there for two weeks. This is an interesting debate! Does an unused buoy put down by a diver, or marina, in a designated public anchorage, have a prior claim to space in maritime law? I doubt it, unless that buoy is marked as “occupied " by a certain named boat. We had one such German yacht arrive , and pick up a buoy about 20mts off our beam. We had been anchored there for two weeks, and had let out an additional 10mts of chain during the previous days big blow.

Once he had picked up the buoy, he was uncomfortably close given the wind direction., and I wished to discuss this with the skipper. He however, rubberducked away as soon as he was tied up, leaving his attractive young wife on board . She chose this time to strip naked on the sugar scoop, and start neatening up her “bikini” line. Being a sensitive and discrete gentleman, I decided to leave her be until she had completed her bush clearing exercise This took a while, and kept delaying my approach. In fact, it took most of the day, by which time she had an extremely neat and well groomed bikini line. She was obviously so proud of it, that she started prancing around the deck, displaying her lovely body and clean new lines to the rest of the anchorage. Clearly, as Mary told me, she would not have minded in the least if I paddled over to discuss our proximity. Just as I was about to do so, the wind swung back, and the gap increased to 50 mts and safety. Damn!
The big mystery to me remains! Why would she spend so much time perfecting her bikini lines, and then not wear the bikini?

The last , most entertaining, and potentially most dangerous group, is the Bareboat Cat Clowns. They are often crewed by successful yuppies, and approach the task of anchoring by forgetting everything they must have learned to become successful achievers! Planning, organizing, delegating and controlling …. The very essence of business success! Gone in a flash! There are often 6 skippers on these cats, one for each corner, one to drive, and one on the windlass. They all issue instructions, nobody listens, and the cat roars backwards and forwards at full power, often trailing the anchor like an oversized fishing lure. It usually starts off with windlass man lowering the anchor, and another skipper suggesting going astern. The anchor has probably only dropped 1 metre , and they are already doing 5 knots astern. The anchor finally touches the seabed 50 mts later, but hasn't got a snowballs chance of holding, as there is still only 8 or 9 mts of chain out, and they are now approaching other boats, jetty’s, rocks etc ,at 7 knots ! More skipper commands from all corners, accompanied by “Its Dragging”, Not Holding etc” Their solution? Full speed ahead, up anchor and start all over . After two or three more failed attempts, they decide to try elsewhere , because the holdings obviously no good here!! Funny, I was about to suggest just that , in the hope that they would move well away from us!

However, we have just had a nasty squall roar through the Tyrrel Bay anchorage, gusting 35 -40, and despite all the interesting anchoring methods , only one boat has dragged…Surprise,surprise....... A 50ft luxury motor launch. It is currently impaled on the bowsprit of a big traditional sailing schooner, with the owner nowhere to be seen ! The 50 odd yachts, of all types and sizes, from all corners of the earth, have shown that their various techniques were OK , this time!

Farewell to World Cup, Friends and Prickly Bay

19/7/2010

As soon as one settles into a routine of events, people and places…. Then it’s time to move on again ! The World Cup in RSA is done and dusted, and by all accounts both here and back home, it appears to have been a great success, not withstanding the Vuvuzelas, which we hear have now been banned in Europe! Can’t think why, with Europe winning the top three places !
Watching the matches on De Big Fish screen in Prickly Bay was great fun, with every match entitling one to a Happy Hour Bucket of 3 beers for 10 EC ! With all the Nationalities ( real and adopted) it created lots of fun and amusement! We were Dutch, wearing orange ( Mary was a Blomkamp after all!).We all agreed that Spain deserved to win, having played better all round football. Some of the Dutch players would appear to be frustrated Rugby players!

There was an almost a lemming like exodus from Prickly Bay after the World Cup, with boats hauling out, setting off for Trinidad , and Bonaire, to leave boats there for hurricane season. A few intrepid souls heading back north as far as the Grenadines. Its still close enough to run South in the event of a hurricane, and also gives a better point of sail.

Alan Cooke and his two nephews William and Tim flew back to Cape Town after a quick dash around the Cays, and a few good braai’s and meals together. Sad to see them go. We can fully understand why Alan has almost adopted Prickly Bay as his other home. However, he departed leaving us with a few very welcome tips and gifts ! Fishing spots, a bottle of Chilean wine, and “Schwopper”! “ Schwopper” was Alan’s Gemini rubber duck, named after a line in an Arnold Swartzenegger movie, in which he urges all his men “Lez ahll getz in ze Schwopper” ( Helicopter !) Alan subjected Schwopper to some serious abuse, wakeboarding behind it with a 15hp engine, (design spec 8hp) and literally tore the transom right out of it, for the second time! Hyperlon is relatively easy to repair, but it takes 72 hrs to cure each stage, and with the Handimans lifestyle, there was no guarantee it wouldn’t rip out again! Alan replaced it with a new RIB, with an aluminium hull and transom, which is light , tough, dry, and probably the way all RIB’s will go in future.
Our Tinker was behaving rather like a cross between a submarine and a mobile swimming pool, so Alans gift was accepted with alacrity. Schwopper is now repaired, and rides again…. This time with a 3hp motor!
On our trip round to St Georges via the southern point of Grenada, we detoured over the drop off reef that Alan had told us about, and bagged ourselves a nice sized Big Eye Tuna ! Sushi for dinner for days! Thanks for everything Al!!

A few days later we headed up to Carriacou again, where we planned to meet up with Mike and Lesley from Extasea, who were picking up a charter for 8 , around the Cays. On the way we landed a really nice Dorado ( Mahi Mahi, or Dolphinfish), so were able to invite them to take a break from their boat, and have a Dorado night with us.

Also on the trip up ,about 4miles before we turned into Tyrrel Bay, a big Tuna hit the lure, as I was trying to drop the sails in the face of a big black squall. Great timing! On with engine, slow ahead, drop sails, while the tuna strips line, and we are drenched! Miraculously, when we are all shipshape, the fish is still taking line, and the fight begins ! After about 10 minutes I’m very grateful for the rain, and showing signs of making some progress with the monster, when it threw the hook! In fact, I was not too disappointed, as the fish was way too big. We would have needed to share our bounty with all the cruisers in Tyrrel Bay, and all we really felt like, was putting down the hook, and opening the anchoring beer.!

We had just completed an enjoyable and productive sail up from Grenada.! I still had the Dorado to clean and fillet, and the Tuna would have needed an abattoir!

Our three month visa in Grenada expires shortly, so we are heading up to Union Island, Mayreau, the Tobago Cays and Bequia, before coming back to Carriacou . As always, we keep an eagle eye on the weather, in case we have to run!

Views of Carriacou............lovely place!

Friday Night at the Tiki Bar

The rainy season is here, and already there have been four named tropical systems ; none of them thankfully near us. Prickly Bay has been transformed from the karoo /bushveld dry scrub, to a lush green tropical paradise . Its easy to keep the water tanks full, without having to buy water from the marina. World cup soccer, and the pubs happy hour specials during matches has brought all the cruisers together in a fun way ! The current status of the teams is being likened to a repeat of the Second World War ..... France capitulating without a fight, Italy running away from any action, Germany and Britain slugging it out, America joining in late.. etc etc All in jest of course, and lots of laughs.

Friday was Larry D'Aguiar's birthday, and all the SA contingent were invited to the Tiki Bar for a party that night. The Grenada cruisers net at 7.30am is very good, and keeps everyone up to speed with weather, social events, technical services, and treasures of the bilge. Fridays net controller was "Miss Kitty", who is a Texan lady with a Dolly Parton sing song voice, and a wicked sense of humour. She introduced the weather update as follows: " Now Jonathan sweetpea honey, its been raining like a cow pissing on a flat rock in Texas for the last few days... can we expect more?" The answer was Yes, and it did ! But that did nothing to ruin the Tiki bar jol.

After the weather report, Alan Cook ( of Hout Bay Handiman) who is almost a permanent resident here, pitched up in his dinghy, and demanded my participation in singing Happy Birthday to Larry. It set the tone for the day!

A Steel Pan band play every Friday evening, followed by a dance band. The dance area was initially highjacked by a very smiley, happy fellow , whose lift obviously did not reach the top floor. He danced with a rum in one hand , cigarette in the other, earphones on his head, a collection of wooden pigs, and a inane grin on his face. He was followed by a group of Oklahoma happy clapper teenagers , in Grenada "to do Gods work". They formed a big circle and gyrated in a very Carribean and UnGodly sort of way,! This could lead to great" sin and wickedness", and be a bit of a challenge to their leader Pastor Paul!

The music was very good, and one of the highlights was the Bob- Celli medly, where they performed a fusion of Bob Marley's "No woman , No cry", with Andrea Bocellis "Time to say goodbye". Cruisers , young and old , kids and locals, were singing and dancing along ..all having a great time. The rain would come and go, without a beat being missed! I suppose it was helped a bit by the rum, beer, and Tequila's When the band packed up, and we all took to the dinghies, I was full expecting to sign up new members of the Cormorant club! Nobody, it seems, fell in the drink, last night... so no new members! We must be growing up at last ! Both Alan and Larry, however claim to be members of an even more elite club.. The Penguin club. They both claim , on previous occassions, to have waddled up to a dinghy dock, and tried to jump into their dinghies, missing them completely!

Birthday in Grenada!

Finding ourselves all alone in St Davids Grenada, with no cruising companions, and Kate back in RSA, we decided to plan a really c o o l Carribean birthday celebration.

We would start off the morning taking a brisk walk up to the main road, pick up a bus to the nearby Rum Distillery Estate, do a little sightseeing, taste a little rum, return to the Marina for fish and chips, and a cold Carib, take in an afternoon nap, before dinghying over to the beautiful Belair Estate Restaurant, where we had booked a table for a romantic dinner ! Things don't always work out as planned!

The 15min walk up to the main road was a bit hot and sticky, but nothing like as uncomfortable as the bus ride which followed! That was white knuckled, sweatpouring raw fear! Ever since the drivers of Grenada traced Lewis Hamiltons roots back to Grenada, they have tried their utmost, to prove that he is not the only guy around who can drive fast. Despite having asked the boychick/ conductor/fare collecter that we were getting off at the Westhall Rum Estate, we sped on past in a cloud of dust and shattered nerves, only managing to get off many miles further on. We crossed the road, and flagged down a bus going back the way we had come: Thankfully not a Lewis Hamilton wanabe! Our guide at the Rummary was an encyclopaedia of Grenadan history, and we learnt about a lot more than the art and science of rum production, including quite a lot about the American invasion of Grenada, when they showed too much of a liking for Castro. Ironically, the Westerhall rum distillary makes and exports a brand of Rum called "Havana" specifically to the Cuban refugees now living in Florida. The Havana rum recipe, which includes elements of coffee, tobaco, and vanilla, was leaked to Westerhall for this purpose, when Castro nationalised the original rum distillary in Havana.

After a little tasting, we managed to flag down the Island Water world delivery vehicle , en route back to St Davids, where they have a shop. The local electronics expert, who was testing the new, and faulty Raymarine chartplotter, needed to conduct some tests on the boat, while talking to the Raymarine technical guys in USA. Having done so, they concluded that it was indeed faulty, and needs to be replaced. Unfortunately,,,,, they dont have any in stock at the moment at Raymarine, so we will just have to wait, .. my fears confirmed.

This messed up the fish and chips and afternoon post rum nap part of the plan, but what the heck, we still could look forward to dinner ! The first thing we had done in the morning was to up anchor and move, once our German neighbour had hauled out, and moved out from above our anchor. The new spot we had chosen proved rather too shallow as the the wind swung 180degs, and a few bumps on the rudder indicated that it was time to move again! So a quick relocation, anchor, swim and cockpit shower, before heading off to the Belair Estate Restaurant . The only other two patrons, in this very elegant establishment , with open air dining overlooking the bay, were two serviette wielding Frenchmen, swatting legs, arms and faces, as they were attacked by mozzies. Smuggly armed with our "F off" insect repellant, we thought we would be spared.. No such luck! With the French yelling "Zay are Vampires ", we were soon re applying "F off" to every bit of exposed flesh, while we ordered our meal., Grilled snapper for Mary, and Creole shrimps for me. We knew it was a "B" price range restaurant, but said birthdays come but once a year. Mary's two Snapper fillets came to R150, and my 6 little shrimps and a blob of rice about R180. R30 a shrimp!! Add four rums and a tip , and your'e over R600 down the tubes for a very modest meal for two! And to add insult to injury, the vampire mosquitos attacked us through our clothing, so we had to leave in a rush to apply anti itch lotions all over back on the boat! Not quite the celebration we had planned!

Grenada & Carriacou

Grenada consists of three Islands : Grenada itself, often called the Spice Island, Carriacou 40 miles to the north, and Petit Martinique, 4 miles to the east of Carriacou. During the past month, we were lucky to be joined by Kate, taking time to chill out before starting her new job, and to checking up on her old folk, to see how they are adjusting to this new cruising lifestyle. We moved around in a respectably slow and leisurely way, doing our best to show her some of the sights and delights of Grenada. We anchored in Prickly Bay for a few days, before going round to Hog Island for a few more days, and where we went to Rogers Sunday Beach braai and opskop. We then returned to a different ancorage area in Prickly Bay, and found ourselves anchored next to Klaus on"Ti Bay", (the cat that wiped out half our Hout Bay Marina in a big blow). We then went round to St Georges, anchoring outside the harbour entrance and visited the markets, yacht club, and shops by dinghy. We treated ourselves to a couple of days of real luxuary at Port Louis Marina,( which I had seen in June 2008, when asked to help sail the 76ft Zephiro to Sardinia from Grenada),and where we watched England murder Australia in the T20 final.

We then sailed up to Tyrrell bay in Carriacou, where we spent a full week. What a lovely place! Simple and unspoilt. About 7000 people live on the island, but there are about 20-30 000 living in England, and a further 15 000 in New York. A number of these folk return to Carriacou when they retire, and build impressive mansions alongside the little dwelling where they were born/brought up. Martin, (or should we call him by his Island name Bramble?) took us for a tour of the Island, which took a whole three hours, including the hour for lunch in a liitle local restuarant in Hillsborough! The Islanders are a proud and industrious people, involved in farming ,fishing, boat building or tourism activities. Crime seems not to exist there. We came across a few really intersting Island Names .... Sexy Romantic Venus, was one belonging to an eldery, toothless, fruit seller! "Warrior",was another belonging to the little old oyster seller, who would demand a beer or rum, before trying to sell oysters.Afterwards, he would then ask for another, to "seal the deal"! The only battle he was ever involved in was rowing back to shore after his evening selling session.

The water there is crystal clear, warm and inviting, and hourly swims were the norm to cool down. We went to the legendary little Lambi Queen restuarant, where we tried Curried Lambi ( Conch shell), Lobster & fish. All too soon we had to sail the 35 miles back to St Georges, so that Kate could catch her plane back to the Real World. It was a good brisk sail and we got there 6 hours later, just as the Rainy season arrived with a vengeance! We checked in to Port Louis again, which was just as well. Trying to negotiate getting Kate, her luggage and her Mom, from the anchorage to the airport, via dinghy, in a tropical downpour would simply not have been possible!

Even walking the 100mts from the mooring to the Taxi was a wet affair.

So now its Derby and Joan again.Meanwhile, we are waiting for a replacement Raymarine Chartplotter, as our brand new one seems to have a Page Button problem. Budget marine were the suppliers, so we are hoping that the Trinidad Installer, will arrange for a replacement swap via the Budget Marine in Prickly bay.When I placed the original order, it took 4 days to reach me from the US. So far its been 6 days and counting since we reported the problem... Will let you know what transpires !

Gauntlet to Grenada . . .

Whenever one talks to folks cruising between Venezuela, Trinidad, Tobago and Grenada, the topic of piracy inevitably comes up. There have been a few confirmed cases over the years, and a few near misses.... But not very many. Its a bit like the probability of shark attacks while swimming or plane crashes while flying. In reality, more people are killed in car crashes, but the hype and fear of that fact does not carry the same impact.

Thats not to say that one should ignore the threat.... that would be like crossing the road without looking left or right! The last confirmed case was in December last year, where a German yacht was boarded, and the crew robbed and traumatised, 37miles off Trinidad, by Venezualan fishermen ( More likely, drug runners).The Coastal Marine authorities in Trinidad and Grenada, assisted by pressure from the private yachting services groups,Ysatt and Mayag, are making efforts to advise sailors of best stategies and time to sail, offering contact numbers , email addresses, and offering advice and updates in the sailing publications.

As no attacks have ever taken place at night, we decided to make a night passage. We hid our second passports, our handheld VHF, most of our cash, a GPS, and decided on what our appropriate level of resistance should be in the event we were attacked. We wanted to sail across in stronger winds, and boistrous seas, believing that there would be less liklihood of the bad guys wanting to be out there in open power boats, and, reasoning that if they were, they would find it impossible to board a yacht carving through those seas at 7knots.... and if they did try, it would most likely be one guy at a time..... giving me a chance to fire a couple of parachute flares into their boat to distract them, while Mary threw the helm over .We would have been filling the emergency waves, VHF ( DSC), and SSB all the time, giving positions, descriptions and situation updates.... and simply hoping for the best!

We checked out in the morning, and then holed up un Scotland Bay until 17.00, where we were going to be joined by another yacht, heading down to Colombia . The heavens opened at 17.30, and we had a serious squall, which delayed our departure, making us rethink our 1 reef strategy. A 2nd reef was taken, and we headed out through the Boca, into the sunset, to find a lumpy sea, and no wind! We motored on for half an hour , feeling sure that the weather forecast was wrong, and wondering when to shake out the reefs. Suddenly, 20knots from the east and we were away! It stayed between 18 and 25 knots all the way to Grenada. Our planned route was a 27mile beat taking us to the east of the Hibiscus and Pointsetia oil rigs, about 30 miles out, after which we could bear away by 40degrees, and hopefully enjoy an easy broad reach down to Grenada. We knew there would be a fair current from the east, but underestimated how strong it could be when combined with the outgoing tide at springs. Instead of clearing the Hibiscus rig by 10 miles as planned, we passed it with 3 miles to spare, having given away 7 miles leeway in 27 miles of beating hard on the wind. Well, that took care of 25 degrees of my planned dogleg route,so we eased off just 5 degrees, leaving about 10 in the bank, and thundered along in freshening winds, and a short choppy 2 to 3 metre swell. Its in conditions like this that one appreciates once again, that a Shearwater is a fantastic sailing boat! With 2 reefs in the main, my tiny staysail, and about a number 3 sized headsail, there was no stopping her. She ploughed through the swells, hardly wincing when we hit a big one, and we maintained a steady 7knots . I seriously doubt if any a pirogue pirate would have been able to get close!! Mary said the crashing down below was alarming, but then she has never sailed in a Farr 40 in rough seas!!

We also really enjoyed all our new equipment, which perfomed well, after being asked some serious questions. We really liked having the Radar side by side with the chartplotter, and AIS as we piloted our way between the oil rigs. We were followed out by a big Danish Galleon, and were able to watch as her echo and nav lights fell further and further behind us, and we then caught up an echo that turned out to be Hunter 46, when we anchored in Prickly Bay. We were picking out yachts in poor conditions up to four miles away, and this was of some comfort too, as we kept our eyes on the look out for the bad guys!

And so , as we sit back savouring our traditional anchoring beer, feeling very pleased with ourselves and our boat, for having "run the gauntlet", we are also forced to admit, that about 6 yachts per day do exactly the same trip, so whats the BIG Deal????

Back in the Water!

After nearly six weeks of hard work "on the hard", we are finally back in the water, and doing sea trials. We are thrilled with our new white non skid deck, which is so much cooler, and all our new equipment which is up and running, including ( I think) the SSB radio ! Mary kept reminding me, when I moaned about the dust, the heat, the sweat etc, that we did not come to Trinidad for a holiday! We came for the boating infrastructure, and to make sure everything on our checklist was done ..... until we start the new checklist!

It was certainly the right call to come to Trinidad, and we saw enough to want to spend more time here during the hurricane season, and perhaps seeing a bit more of the Island. Our visit to Caroni swamps was interesting and worthwhile, although it certainly made us appreciate once again, the rich and wide biodiversity we have in RSA.

We saw the Spotted Caymen, one only......, and were lucky to see a little silky anteater, curled up in the fork of a tree ( all 500gms of it). The flocks of Scarlet Ibis were impressive, and their vivid colouring is such a bright contrast in the mangrove swamps, where the carotene in their staple diet of crabs , produce the bright red feathers. We also saw a number of Blue herons, and little four eyed fish ! Actually, four retinas.... two for below the sutface, and two for above the surface! But that was it, really! We could not help but think about what we would have seen in a four hour boat trip through the mangrove swamps of Mapelane, or the St Lucia Estuary. We really have been lucky to have done and seen so much in Africa, but it takes a trip into other Ramsar Heritage sites, like Caroni Swamps, to appreciate it all over again!

On our first day of sea trials, we discovered the alternator pully was incorrect, and chewed up the belt in an hour, and the water pump which was rebuilt in Brasil, sprung another leak... But we did manage to spend a day up in lovely Scotland Bay. We went back to Chaguaramus, where all the problems were tackled, and while there, we witnessed a real Pelican Pig out . There is a huge resident population of Brown pelicans, who spend all day fishing around the anchored yachts, and sitting on every available post. There is also a big live bait netting industry, for the fisherman going out in search of game fish and Tarpon. When the net keepers turn their backs, or retire for the day, the Pelicans think its Christmas!! Hundreds of greedy Pellies squabbling and bickering in twenty square metres of keep nets!

We are now back in the quiet, calm, and beautiful Scotland Bay, with about 6 other yachts. Here the water is clean , and inviting . The only sad thing is to see all the litter around the shore line, and its not from the Yachties , but the locals, who just dont seem to care. There is a tempory fishing camp on the shore, about 100mts away, and we watched in fascination and horror, as one fellow just raked the rubbish from the clearing , into the surrounding bush. There is a big green notice around the corner on a little beach, which says NO LITTERING, punishable by XYZ, but the rubbish just piles up around it, and the locals just keep going there and doing zipo Sad!! Today we head back to Chaguaramus, for dinner with friends, and to stock up prior to clearing out with Customs and Immigration on Monday/Tuesday for our sail to Grenada, where we are looking forward to being joined by Kate, who will be flying over to be with us. More from Grenada!

Time out in Trinidad!

As we head towards Sheer Tenacity's 3rd birthday, (A Bring Beer and Braai outside the Roti Hut at Power boats on 11th April), we are beginning to realise why we have been working so damn hard! After a wonderfull month in Tobago, chilling out with Steve and Kim, who flew over from Mozambique, we desperately needed to haul out and tackle a refit that just grew like Topsy!

We have repainted ,all the chicken pox patches caused by the incorrect colour touch ups necessitated by of our friend Frog's ( Stainless steel genius with problems!) work in Hout bay. We have repainted the bootstripe at the correct level, and repainted the non slip deck with Epiphanes White, to replace the too hot, and uselessly slippery International Interdeck pale Grey( ! X grey, mixed with 4 x white).So far, we are very impressed with the improved non slip as well as the new cool deck, and cooler interior. We have reluctantly replaced all the B & G network kit with Raytheon; Not because we think it is superior, but because it has the best representative coverage and warranty situation around here. There are just not enough agents who carry spares for the old B & G kit At this stage I probably know as much about the inner workings of B & G Autopilots as anyone, but we have had just too many failures to keep the faith! I have however kept the B & G Hydrolic Ram ( Serviced and reconditioned), as well as the B & G Network Pilot, the PCU.and Switch, which is fully connected with a cross over link, as a backup to the new Raymarine Kit! We have also had to replace the Furuno Radar with a Raymarine Chartplotter/Radar unit, and fitted new Tridata and wind instruments. We have done all our own wiring and fitment, but have to allow the Raytheon Installer, to do the final connections, so that we an get the warranties signed off! The problems with the Icom 710 SSB have also been diagnosed, but the parts will not be available from Icom until May, so we are fitting a new, old Icom 700, to use until then, at which point we will repair the 710.md sell the 700. We have converted the Mase Genset from an Impeller water cooled unit to an electric pump water cooled unit, because I am sick and tired of crawling into spaces too small for an old man, to change failed impellers, in a stupidly designed position ! We are also fitting a High Output Alternator(100a) and Smart Charge regulator, which was suppossed to be a direct swap on the Perkins, but isn't! Two days of re engineering, and we are getting close! We are also waiting for the replacement heat exchanger rubber elbows to arrive from Miami for the Perkins. Nick Van Zylen told me they were useless ,expensive, and would fail, and he was right!! The Perkins version cost 4 x the price of the almost , but not quite, identical Westebeke ones!

We have however , also had some fun!! Right alongside us in Power Boats, we have "Ukulele lady", well know to Hout Bay sailors, and have become very close to Nick Marvin & Lynette, who have arrived here after the2004 Cape to Bahia Race and are doing a total, and very good refit.Many of you will remember how Nick Taylors video, "Singer and the Sea" kept me going as I laboured through the building of "Sheer Tenacity". Rumour has it , Via Piet Van der Westhuisen, who zipped through last week, that Chris Hull, and Sea Lion could be heading this way too! And we know of two other Shearwater 39's in the Carribbean as well, so it it could beShearwater rally time in the near future!

We have had to learn new words, expressions and accents ..eg,.. "She Vex me!", Bus up Shot, Lime, Wine, Bacanal, etc etc We squeezed in a day trip to Maracas Bar, where we had traditional "Shark 'n Bake", at the famous Richards. ( Basicaly a deep fried chunk of shark in a damn great Vetkoek,) with a huge choice of salads and spices! On another occasion we drove over to Macqueripe bay, where the tourism authorities have done a very impressive job, with Walter and Jacqi, South Africans (from Jean Marie), for sundowners. Tomorrow, all the South African contingent are heading towards Caroni swamp to see the Scarlet Ibis population, and hopefully the Silky anteater.

And lest you think its all been one big "jol", there has been a fair bit of physical pain and anguish,(to go along with the financial anguish!) I trod on a triangular scraper with my bare feet, which made a pigs mess of the boat and my foot! Should have been stiched, but it was a Friday evening, and Mary was a whizz kid with steristrips and plaster, and three weeks later I am back to walking normally! I lost a thumb nail to a Rivet gun while up the mast, and actually managed not to drop the damn thing in the process! I also managed break a molar eating peanuts, which, because of the way it broke required extraction last Saturday! At the moment I have some tropical malaise, which has the glands in my armpits behaving like painful acorns !!!!! All this is playing havoc with my blog writing, for which I feel duty bound, to apologise.

We hope to get back in the water next week, to do sea trials with the new kit, and to share a few days in Scotland Bay with Nick and Lynette, who also need reminding , that boats are meant to be sailed!!

It sounds like we've had masses of equipment failure but bearing in mind that most of the electronic kit was fairly elderly and that we have just completed a 9000mile shakedown sail, we can't complain too much. If one seeks perfection, one is in danger of never leaving homebase...............and there's a big and exciting world our there just waiting to be explored!

Tribulations in Tobago!

Man of War Bays local Rasta musician sings about "Great Tribulation" in Tobago, but that is mainly in respect of his opinions regarding the Tobagan Government, who , he feels are doing "No justice A Tall" for the local people! In comparison, my tribulation was minor, less serious, and slightly embarrasing!

It happened on the day we were about to haul anchor, and head down to Store Bay, when one of the local Fisherman knocked on the hull, to offer us a fresh Tuna.We were keen to buy, as we had finally, after 7 weeks, just finished the last of our own Frozen catch. The problem was , that it was quite early, and we were not yet up and ready to conduct a business transaction in a business like manner. For starters, we were both still naked, as we are wont to be by night, and I was still dentally disadvantaged, with my front tooth still immersed in Sterident. I lept out of bed, grabbed a Kikoi to wrap around my waist, and headed for the cockpit.

"Tho how muth you want for the fith?", I lisped to Dash, the fisherman. Now they also speak a funny sort of English here, but this was beyond his understanding. I managed to get Mary to pass me my tupperware with denture, and proceeded, to insert it and try again. Now this requires both hands to fit properly, and as chance would have it, this was the moment my kikoi wrap decided to fail me, and fall down! Dash must have wondered about this strange Whitey, trying to buy his fish, with one hand in his mouth, and the other trying to cover his manhood! He did'nt bat an eyelid, but he must have felt sorry for me, because he agreed to a price about half of what it should have been! Later on, when I gave him a lift from his mooring to the shore, he still offered to take Steve and I out fishing when we get back to Charlotteville !

The trip down to Store bay takes about 5-6 hours, and we had to clear out with Customs, before we left. Even though one is already cleared in to Tobago, one cannot move out of ones anchorage into another bay, without their permission. We knew all their rules, and had got to know Raphael , the cricket crazy customs officer in Charlotteville, quite well. He is a real gent, and took care to explain the rules to us, and gave us permission to stop over en route in some of the bays on the way down, and asked us to confirm our arrival with the Scarborough Officials, once we got there. As I only expected to reach Store Bay at sunset, I specifically asked if it would be Ok to check in the following morning. No problem said Raphael! BIG PROBLEM said the huge, and beligerent official in Scarborough, who set upon me like the Spanish Inquisition, and refused to hear what I was saying. He assumed I had just arrived in Trinidad, and had not already checked in to Tobago, demanding to know why I had not checked in the previous night when we anchored. He went balistic when I replied" Because I did not have to!", quoting rules and regulations, and trying to shout me down, without either looking at the papers, or listening to what I was trying to tell him. Because I knew I was right, my voice probably transmitted my annoyance, which raised his volume a further decibel. This attracted the attention of his boss, who thankfully intervened, demanded silence, asked two questions of me, looked at the papers , before confirming that I was correct, and quite legal ! I had just experienced my first and only incident of bureacratic, (racial??) abuse in Tobago. Not a nice experience. It really seems that some customs people the world over, have got a power ego problem. They fail to realise that they are in the forefront of a visitors opinion of a country. I am equally sure that they need to be efficient and strong people but refuse to accept that that gives them the right to be rude and obnoxious, and to assume that all visitors must be harrassed. Get a life guys!!

Tomorrow we head back to Scarborough to check out, and, to listen to the Steel Band Carnival Finals. Now that should be fun!!

Safety for Cruisers

A comment I overheard yesterday from a local Tobagan,directed at a new arrival, prompted me to write this blog, as it helps put things into perspective! It is all too easy to avoid places on hearsay, (and facts, in situations where the prudent cruiser should never find themselves!) One also does not often hear "good "news about safety and crime, so it is with pleasure that I repeat this mans comments at the end of the blog!

We set sail from RSA, with crime in the headlines, Hout Bay battling with renewed outbreaks, World Cup Security worries,while Xenophobia, highjackings, and Rape and card "phishing " are almost uniquely RSA issues. We headed for Brazil, where "City of God", and other films and reports indicated similar levels of violence and crime there, quite apart from Salvador muggings and the murder of 2 cruisers! We were then to head up past Venezuela to the Carribean, where we were warned about "boat Boys", Racial abuse, Dinghy theft, and Piracy, and rip off prices!! Indeed, on the 6th of December, a German crewed yacht, "Triton", was boarded by armed suspected Venzualan pirates 37nm from Trinnidad, en route to Grenada. They were unharmed, but traumatised, and had everything of value stolen or broken(VHF Radio ,SSB), before being allowed to sail on .The news of this incident spread like wildfire, and everyone of the100 plus, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Dutch, French cruisers who have arrived in Charlotteville from Cape Verde, ALL decided to avoid Trinidad, and head directly to Grenada from here. One can hardly blame them, and their decision will have a knock on effect with other sailors from those countries.

So, it is well worth reading about his incident on Noonsite, and reading about the manner in which the Trinidadian and Grenadan authorities are planning to take protective measures :Long range VHF radio rreception, Cell phone beacon on the Hibiscus oil rig( mid way between Trinidad/Grenada), Radar cover, and Helicopters on stand by which can cover the route in 30min etc.Trinidad is hugely dependant on its Yachting infrastructure, so it is reassuring ,to see them taking steps to protect it.

We spent time in Salvador and Itaparica, not long after the Cape to Bahia race muggings, and the murder at Itaparica.To us, Itaparica felt very safe and relaxed while we were there. This incident had caused the Brazilian authorities to change the Police staff on the Island, who took a zero tolerance attitude to known criminals. The murderer was identified and arrested very quickly, and the Islanders were all very happy with the new set up! The area between the Old City, the Elevator and Centro Nautica remains a mugging hotspot, but mainly late at night.

But what were our experiences? Yes we avoided known hotspots, avoided late night revelry (ashore), and lifted our dinghy every night. That said, we felt
totally safe and comfortable. The local Brazillians could not have been more helpful , caring and supportive- often going out of their way to show you where to go, when our linguistic abilities failed us! Yes, we did hear of people losing dinghies and outboards, but these were nearly always on mainland harbours ,and near poorer fihing community areas, and, when people did not lift and secure them at night.

We have also met some Brazilians from Vitoria, who have told us about a new "flyjacking" trend, whereby an armed thief jumps into your car at a robot, and orders you under gunpoint, to drive to a particulat ATM, where they force you to reveal your pin, and draw the limit. !0 of their 11 best friends have all been flyjacked, including themselves. Banks have responded by reducing withdrawel limits to $R100 ( R400), at night, with the result that everybody complies, and gets given their cards back!
They also told us of "Busjackings", where armed youths jump on a bus, and rob everyone off all cash and valuables , But,it seams,nobody gets hurt unless they refuse.

We were pleased to see the presence of police patrolling up and down trains all the time, and strong police presence at , and inside all banks, whenever we had to make unavoidable trips into the big smoke! One is aware of a much greater police presence, in general, than I was accustomed to in RSA.

If anyone were to read about the crime situation in RSA before deciding to sail there, nobody would go there!! And yet, so many of the cruisers we have met, who have spent time in RSA, rate it as either "the"highlight, or certainly one of their best stops.In Fareness, it must be pointed out that, these cruisers all stayed in secure marinas from Richards bay to Hout Bay, and hired cars to visit Game Reserves, and other inland beauty spots. The only negative comment came from a German cruiser who complained to a black manager about why it took so long to do a simple job in Africa, and was told, " You whites have got the watch---- but we've got the time!"

We have also heard of a few dinghies and outboards being stolen in French Guyana , and apart from strong currents, muddy water and mosquitos, Surinam receives favouable comment, in terms of safety, shopping, and Hurricane hideout!

And Tobago? In the words of a local Rastafarian musician, named Sqezy, "Tobago Sweet, Tobago Nice, I tell you mon, it Paradise!" Its very laid back, and very relaxed and slow--- nothing will ever get done in a hurry! BUT, after being here nearly 6 weeks, nobody lifts or locks their dinghies, and if a newcomer arrives at the dock, and proceeds to start locking up his dinghy, he is likely to be told what I overheard yesterday.

"Yous wastin yo tahm mon, No need lockin stuff hea, We doan do no shit hea mon!"

How refreshing, and after my time here, I believe him. They are very proud of their reputation , which you will hear confirmed by one and all, including Customs and Immigration! So, we intend to enjoy it a little while longer, before heading North , where careful and sensible vigilence will once again become the order of the day!

Views of Tobago

Snaptails caught in the anchorage!


Pirates Bay Anchorage

Man of War Bay

Fishing Boats at Sunset

Dutch Schooner Eendrag

Charlotteville