Saturday, July 19, 2008

Time to Move On- Grenada & Trinidad Here We Come

Sunset in Admiralty Bay , Bequia


Saturday July 5th,
We had a very rolly night. Randy read on Navtex Tropical Storm Bertha is heading to the Bahamas and chances are she is turning into a hurricane. We have decided we need to take advantage of the weather window and go as far south as we can. We’re sorry to have had such a short visit with Idyll Island and Rum Runner but this is what cruising is all about; as we will look forward to all meeting up again some time in the future.

Moonhole


















Leaving Admiralty Bay we tried to get as close as possible to see "Moonhole" founded by American architect Tom Johnson. These "homes" literally grow out of the rocks; have no windows or electricity and actually continue to be rented out as vacation homes.



We’ve got a 1 ½ knot current against us, foresail and main are up but engine is on. We want to do an average of 5.5knots. The seas are turning into a gentle swell instead of a chop so it looks like we have a short reprieve from the strong currents.

By 0900hours we’re about 4.8 nautical miles off Canouan so we have decided to carry on to Carriacou instead of stopping. Our ETA is 1400hours.

At 1105hours we are off Union Island with the Tobago Cays to the East and we have 10nm to Carriacou. We have been told how beautiful the Tobago Cays are but we will leave them for next year.


As we go around the Sister Rocks into Tyrell Bay, Carriacou we see birds everywhere; the most birds we have seen in the last year and a half.






















We have decided to anchor in Tyrell Bay, Carriacou after a pleasant seven hour motor sail. We have read Carriacou is an island with over 100 Rum shops and only one gasoline station. We’ve decided to leave early tomorrow morning so we will not launch the dinghy. We haven’t heard any roosters. Their cockles have been replaced with dogs barking and goats bleating,. We had three vendor boats come by; one asking did we want any oysters. We had read the oysters are from the nearby mangroves so we passed---we did not want to take a chance on getting sick. The next local wanted us to go to his restaurant on shore. We said maybe next time. Last, was Simon who is written up in the Cruising Guide. We did purchase a bottle of Chilean wine from him.
Sunday, July 6th

0545hrs, It’s 36.7nm to Prickly Bay, Grenada which will take approximately 7 hours. We’ll be giving “KICKEM JENNY” her 1.5 km exclusion zone. She is an active underwater volcano off Isle de Ronde, approximately 4 miles north of Grenada. Randy has read this morning Tropical Storm Bertha has turned into a hurricane still heading in the direction of the Bahamas.






Map showing location of "KICKEM JENNY"




























0700hours we are traveling 6 knots; the winds are between 10-15knots and we’ve got up to 2 knots of current off Port along with a three foot swell.
















0900hrs.. Winds are light off Grenada. On all of our passages I have gotten into a routine of each hour taking the lat and longs charting our course. So it is here that we find we have “Victoria” off our port with 17.5nm to Prickly Bay.

1100hours.Finally the winds have picked up off St. George and we had a screaming ride across the Bay.







By 1230 we are anchored in Prickly Bay N11*59.848 W61*45.850 and this is the view from the boat and dinghy.



















A nice surprise---Taima, Phoenix III and La Bete are here. Shortly after our arrival Song Bird also came into the anchorage. We tried checking into customs, but being a Sunday had no luck. Of coarse we all had to get together over Pizza to get caught up on all our whereabouts. Our “French Connection”—Taima, Pheonix III and La Bete say they will head to Trinidad either Monday or Tuesday. We tell them we will check the weather and possibly join them.

Monday July 7th. We check into Customs and then check the weather. The weather looks good for a night crossing this evening. Checking with Taima they too agree to-night would be a good choice, so we all go back to our boats to get ready for the approximate 15 hours crossing. We also go back to Customs to get our Clearance papers. We again have read Grenada would be a good island to tour; so we’ve added it to “next year’s list”. Prickly Bay is a very rolly anchorage. If we had stayed longer we would have put out a stern anchor to keep us into the swells.

By 1715hours we have pulled up anchor. This will be an approximate 80nm trip.



Watching another beautiful sun set….Again hoping to see a Green Flash, but no luck. We have eight boats in our company tonight. We have heard many stories of boats being boarded in this general area; so we feel good having “safety in numbers”!! We will also make radio contact with one another on a two hour rotation.

The first few hours were good sailing but sure enough the winds died down to the point if we wanted to keep up with the other boats, which we did, the motor had to start.

2200hours. We are trying to take turns resting/ You probably remember without “AUTO” (Autopilot) one of us has to be at the helm at all times. So, each hour we each take a turn at the helm with Randy usually taking over before my full hour is up. We had a large meal just before we pulled up anchor so I feed us snacks on a regular basis; cut up fruit, cheese and crackers, water, juice, yogurt.

We check the Radar at regular intervals watching mainly for freighters. The moon has already disappeared so it is pitch black out.

0115 What looks like a huge freighter has come up behind us so we drastically change coarse to give it a wide berth and hail the boats to our port to let them know.

0200hrs. Off our port side we are coming up to the large 'Hibiscus", a stationery natural Gas Oil Rig Platform, 26m off Trinidad. It is lit up like a Christmas tree, absolutely enormous. Off our starboard a good 4nm away is another structure that looks like the Eiffel Tower.

Something has hit us!!! It is absolutely pitch black out and we felt three really strong thumps along the starboard side. Because it is so dark we have no idea what it is. It felt as if we went aground, but of coarse that is not possible as we are in 72 fathoms of water. Randy goes below to check on the hull and everything is okay.

0600hrs. July 8th; and we can see the Trinidad coastline.


We see Fish boats
































Natural gas tanker

























And lots of caves; all types of birds and dolphins.

The gradual swells remind us of when we were entering Luperon, DR.

0845 and we’re docked at Crews Inn Marina. Two gentlemen helped with the docking; bow first. We re at B31. FIRST IMPRESSIONS; Great!!! Customs and Immigation was very straight forward and friendly. And who should walk in to Immigration but Kerry (Bellagio) so of coarse it is off to breakfast with him and Kathy to get caught up on all their news. We will be watching their boat for them while they go back to Canada to see the new twin Grand babies.

BEQUIA

July 4th, 2008.

Bequia is part of the Grenadines and how refreshing; Jet Skis are strictly forbidden and there is a five knot speed limit in the harbor. The currency is the EC.

Bequia is approximately 4 miles long and 5 miles wide at its widest part.




We had a wonderful day re-uniting with Cathy and Derek (Idyll Island) along with Jay and Jennifer ( Rum Runner). We rented an open air van; basically a pickup truck with a canopy and seats in the back for a three hour tour Bequia.








Jay and Jennifer (Rum Runner) with Rand















Market









Bequia also has the remains of a small fort with a few canons. Looking down onto Admiralty Bay. The roads on this island are very narrow and steep—many were two strips of cement with dirt/pebbles in the center or many large ruts.







Our next stop was an Old Sugar Mill.

What was interesting here was the local Government had leased this mill to an English potter. When he went to renew his lease it was rejected..We find this interesting because many friends have asked us over this past 18 months would we purchase land in any of the countries we have visited and we have always said no primarily because to us there never would be any guarantee that the local government would not step in and take said land away.---THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE HOME.













More beautiful scenery.









Then on to "The Old Hegg Turtle Sanctuary".
This Sanctuary was founded in 1995 to assist in the conservation of the endangered Hawksbill Turtle. The Hawksbill Turtle are usually returned to the beaches where they originally hatched when they reach five years of age.



This one has had an ointment (dye) put on it so others in the same tub would not bite it. They do not like the taste.




















The Red Legged Tortoises love fruit but also feed on mushrooms, grasses, greens, and flowers. The females lay two to four clutches of five to fifteen eggs each year.




















More pretty views.













The Bequia Whaling and Maritime Museum where we met Felix who explained the whaling industry to us. He had himself been on fourteen expeditions. The whaling season is from February to April. He explained how they are allowed a total of four whales a year but usually they only get one. They hunt the Humpback Whale in an open sailing boat, using hand held harpoons,.



After a great tour we went for a local Roti lunch.

Monday, July 14, 2008

Bequia Here We Come



July 3rd. 2008

We’re up at 0500 and watch as squall after squall cross over Rodney Bay. By 0630 the skies start to brighten and with the weather not looking any better or worse for the next number of days we’re on our way. We’ve hailed Rum Runner who left Martinique at 0400hrs. They said it’s “do-able” seas are around 6 feet and winds around 15 knots. Sounds good to us.

Cruise Ship that we watched entering the Castries Harbor. We saw a double rainbow here.








Off the PITONS (peetons)—As beautiful from the seas as they were from land.


Rum Runner have caught up to us so we decide not to stop at the PITONS but carry on at least to St. Vincent.











Off St. Vincent we have squall after squall which brought lots of rain to the point visibility was poor---but the squall had no wind!! We actually become be-calmed.
This freighter passed us on the inside off St. Vincent. Interesting not an hour later the sea was full of plastic. What a mess to dodge through. From the freighter??? Who knows for sure.
It began to really get late in the day and we didn’t think we would make Bequia before night fall because of the lack of wind and the strong currents. We hailed Rum Runner to see how they were doing. They were about 8nm ahead of us in the Bequia Channel. They said they were doing quite well as they finally found some wind and the current had slackened; so, we decided to make a run for it.

By 1800hrs we’re doing 7 to 8.5 knots…YEAH; the motor is off and we’re flying. We’ve got 2.9nm to go.

1850hrs The anchor is set in 14.2 feet of water, it’s just starting to get dark and we have a wonderful surprise of being welcomed into Admiralty Bay by not only our friends Rum Runner by Cathy and Derek off Idyll Island. After a 12 hour day we are definitely in need of a rest, but we’re happy to be in Bequia.

Last Few Days in St. Lucia


June 24th, 2008

Cathy joined us on one last trip to the Castries Market where we purchased a Tuna. For an additional 5EC we had it filleted.









With the stormy weather we moved High States into the Lagoon. It certainly was closer to the amenities.






























There are so many docks being built in the Lagoon we don't think there will be any available space for anchoring.





















This is part of one of the homes being built in the Lagoon.




















After checking out of Customs we anchored back out in Rodney Bay off Pigeon Island to get ready to head south. It continues to be very blustery but it is so nice to be able to swim.
















July 2nd. Off Pigeon Island----

Thunderstorms continue. We seem to get one Tropical Wave after another postponing our departure.









We hope to leave tomorrow.