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

Knee-pads, Goggles and Weanies!

All the way up the Brazillian coast, we have found ourselves amongst a 90% French cruising community. Sadly, apart from 2 couples, their English is no better than our non existent French! It makes a change therefore, to be surrounded by Scandinavian Cruisers, who use Tobago as their arrival point in the Carribean, after crossing the Atlantic via the Canaries, and Cape verde. They then work their way North through the islands, before heading home via Bermuda, and the Azores in May /June.

At present, there are mainly Swedes, Danes, and a couple of Norwegians, plus a few Dutch cruisers here. The big difference, is that they all speek good English, so we don't sit around looking like stunned mullet when they talk to you!! But...... they do things a little differently. For the most part, clothing and costumes appear irrelevant on many of their boats! The Ocean crossers are all over brown, with bleached white hair, while their short term guests vary from transparant white, through pink, to bright red..... with white /blond hair! Our Swedish neighbours of 10 days, left for Grenada yesterday, and it was interesting to see their pre departure rituals !

Skipper puts on his knee pads. (He always wears knee pads, and seems to crawl everywhere . He obviously feels naked without them!) He jumped off the stern , wearing his knee pads, to clean the Aries foil, and then got back on board, and made his way up to the anchor locker, before dropping to his knees again. His son , meanwhile, with pink/white/blond girlfriend in attendance, dives over the bow, wearing nothing but black goggles, and proceeds to "inspect" the anchor chain by doing a series off "duck dives". Meanwhile," Knee pads", still on all fours, then starts hauling up anchor with the windlass, leaving his wife at the helm. They all seem oblivious of the boat moving forward along the chain, to within a metre of the boat in front of them,lying on top of their anchor. "Goggles" proceeds to pull himself up the chain, until he is hanging from the bowsprit, and with bare arse and weenie flapping in the breeze, proceeds to try and push the other boat away with his feet! No sign of fenders: no calling out to the other boat....just skipper on his knees driving the windlass, and the goggle wearing weenie flapper using his feet to stop the crunch! Mom continues to steer, and girlfriend admires! Eventually, the anchor breaks the surface, and goggle man drops down on to it in a scrubbing frenzy. In this fashion the boats works its way to a point 100mts outside the anchorage, and then everyone jumps overboard for a last swim, around the drifting boat! Fortunately there are no sudden gusts, and they manage to re -assemble on deck to now start preparing for departure;.... to lash down the dinghy, to clear the deck of loose gear etc etc. An hour until they are all set, and start slowly motoring on course towards Grenada. Two hours later, as the sun starts promising another lovely sunset, we watch them still slowly rocking and rolling along, without any sign of sails!

Bon Voyage folk!! Good luck in Prickly Bay!

Ille du Salut to Tobago

Attached is the photo of two Big Eye Tuna caught that night at 9 knots! I suppose with the current being what it was, you could say it was really only 7knots!
The last four days from Salut to Tobago were not that pleasant. The wind was generally in the 20-25 knot range, but the sea state was very confused and uncomfortable, making rest and sleep almost impossible. There was about 3/4mtr swell running from the stb quarter, (sometimes 4/5), but on very short intervals, so the boat was being perpetually lifted and twisted, and fighting its way back on course. On top of this, we were running across the widespread ITCZ zone, and were being hit by squalls every hour or so. They were not particularly vicious, only ever getting up to 35kn, but it meant keeping the sails reefed to deal with them, as shaking out, and re reefing each time in that sea was not an option. The nights were very black, and one could often not see them coming until you felt them! And poor little Fredlet, our rubber band Autohelm 3000 back up had a torrid time. We were however incredibly impressed by its performance, and economy, to the extent that when we have finally got Fred sorted( or deep sixed, and replaced!), we will probably use the Autohelm as the primary, and Fred as the backup! I think the Autohelm was only ever expected to cope with a 7500kg boat, and not a 12000kg fully loaded cruiser! We will just take extra belts, and in fact Roy McBride has sent one or two to Crews inn, in Chaguaramus for us. Whereas the run to Ille du Salut (1369nm) took 194.5hrs, (7.02kn avr, 168nm pd), the 600nm to Tobago took 99hrs, ( avr 6.06kn, 145nm pd). The current was still in our favour, but down to 1kn. I think if we had been able to use the B & G hydrolic pilot, we could have carried more sail, and powered through the conditions more effectively. We definitely noticed that when we were in mid squall, doing 8.5kn- 9..00kn SOG, that our tracking improved, and the ride was easier.
Man of War Bay is a charming anchorage, and we look forward to spending a relaxing couple of months here, before going down to Trinidad for Carnival , haul out, antifoul,and refit. We have now done 8880nm in Sheer Tenacity since we left Hout Bay, and whereas the boat has been fantastic, the electronics , many of which were second hand, have been a real trial to us,often causing uncomfortable levels of stress..... No Radar, No SSB, Main Autopilot u/s, Satphone iffy, VHF Radio failed( Fortunately bought an old spare from anaother cruiser to see us through) B & G Wind - direction 100% garbage, wind speed sometimes garbage! ST deserves some better kit!

Ilha da Salut

We made the 1370nm trip from Jacare ( Cabadelo) to Ille du Salut in 8days and 3hrs , which is by far our fastest avr speed for a passage ( 7.02knots !) En route we clocked up 4 days over 170nm, and one incredible 197nm day! But before you all get either impressed, (or disbelieving), it is only fair to point out the amazing current that can assist one on this leg! I would like to roll it up and take it with me wherever we go sailing! It is mostly in the 1.5kn range, but I swear there were times when it got nearer to 2.5-3.0 knots. On our 197 nm day, we had received a boost from a 35 knot squall, which had us reducing sails to 2 reefs and a rag, in good time. But when it was all over, and the wind had settled back to 14-17knots, I did'nt feel the need to shake out the mainsail reefs, as our SOG hardly dropped below 9.0knots. It had to be the most painless way of sailing fast in a 39ft boat imaginable! We kept the two reefs in the main for the full 24 hrs. At 1.00am that night, after another minor squall, both our fishing lines were taken, and we had to furl the headsail away, to slow down enough to bring in the two Big Eye Tuna. Usually, we pull in the lines after dusk, as its not lekker to fight, gut and fillet a fish, just when you have gone off watch, and need to have a couple of hours rest before your next watch! I've also believe, that ones best fishing time is sundown, not midnight! WRONG! Falacy two, Tuna are best caught at 6-7knots .Wrong Again! These were caughtdoing 9-10knots, although it can be argued that the fish were also in a 3 knot current! That said, however, I did catch a Longfin Tuna in the Med, off Zephiro, doing 11 knots! Obviously , one has to slow the boat right down to give yourself a chance!

The anchorage at Ille du Salut is very rolly, and on the day we arrived, windy, dirty, and rainy as well!Lying in our bed that night, I could sworn we were in the middle of another 170nm day!
Yesterday, we spent the day doing all the post trip repairs we could. Genset impeller, High pressure wash down pump, Spinaker pole beak ( A McGyver job), and the fuel transfer pump (again!) Today was spent exploring the ruins of this old french Penal colony. It is only when you wander through the lightless solitary confinement cells , the rows and rows of what were steel frame cots, with their manacle chains in the walls , and the cells of the condemned, does the inhumanity of the Bagne system , (with its "Doublage", to extend by two, the sentence period for misdemenours), really hit home.

It would seem that "Papilon" was rather a collage of various prisoner tails, whereas, the counterfeiter "Flag" Legrange, certainly left his mark in the form of artwork in the chapel and elsewhere, much of it now in the museum in Cayenne. The eventually reprieved Dreyfus, spent a number of years on Devils Island, protesting his innocence from day 1. As we wandered around the complex, we were aware of a great deal of lawn mowing, repainting, etc, when suddenly a cruise liner appeared in the bay. This realy put the gendarmes and workers into overdrive, which left Mary and I free to explore to our hearts content. We collected a good dozen mangoes, as yet unclaimed by the large rodent type animals whose staple diet seems to be mangoes! These animals (Agouti's?), are about the size and colouring of a red duiker antilope, but are some distant relative to cane rats! We watched them fearlessly running around taking a bite out of each and every mango they could find ! We in turn were watched from the tree tops ,by some dark brown lemur like monkeys, as we looked around the old cemetary. These were the last resting places of wives and children of the gendarmes, not the prisoners.... their lot was to be tossed into the sea in an open, weighted coffin, for the sharks to remove ! Legend has it that the coffin was then retrieved , and used time and time again!

We left the Island to the Cruiseliner( "Rotterdam", out of Fort Lauderdale, and en route to the Amazon), and returned for a late lunch of Grilled Dorado, with Mango Salza, and a Caiperinha ,: in time to watch the raucous Macaws do their sundown flypast,while listening to "Fiona's Travelling Tunes", a special collage compiled for us, just before we left last year. We have now been cruising for exactly one year, and its unusual places like this, which make it so rewarding. Tomorrow we leave for Surinam for a few days, and then its on to Tobago.All our fellow cruisers, being French, have gone into Cayenne, but we are likely to all meet up again in the carribean in a few weeks .So long for now!