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Mike’s Page 1 May/June 2007 - March 2008 Mike’s Page 2 April 2008 - March 2009 Mike’s Page 3 April 2009 - March 2010 Mike’s Page 5 April 2011 - April 2010 We sailed from Les Saintes almost due North to Guadeloupe and to Pointe a Pitre. It was a tight reach and a lot further than it looked. As soon as we neared the coast of Guadeloupe we started to encounter the fish traps, or at least their floats. Here they usually have two floats about 10 to 20 metres apart connected by a floating line. Many a yacht has caught these around their prop especially during a night passage. In fact the Pilot Book states that weaving through the fish traps would challenge the reactions of an avid Pac-Man fan!! So we had to have out wits about us. We picked up the buoyed shipping channel and followed in to anchor just past the marina entrance in about 5 metres of water. Being a French Island there were plenty of services and I even found a Nanni agent so that I could replenish my stock of spares and filters. There was a little language difficulty as he was just about the only guy in the complex that didn’t speak any English, but after a lot of sign language I managed to get what I needed. We stayed for just over a week waiting for a weather slot to move further north but then moved out to an anchorage by the Ilet du Gosier, and wished we had moved before. This is a small island a few hundred yards from the shore with a reef making a sheltered enclosure. Sadly we spent just one night before we left. We had a good easterly wind when we lifted the hook and set off to round the south west of the island and up the west coast to Deshaies which is on the north west of the island in a little bay that is sheltered from the swell but not the wind. We do in fact look for windy anchorages as we need a good blow to charge up our batteries and keep the freezer going. We only stayed here for the night as we needed to take advantage of the weather slot that had presented itself but we liked the look of it and will return, either on our way back south or next season. The next day we headed for Antigua. It was almost directly north but the wind had backed a little during the night, so instead of a good beam reach the we enjoyed the day before, it was another tight reach and a bit of a lumpy swell had also developed. So it was not the most pleasant of journeys. We headed for Jolly Harbour which is about half way up the west coast. Once we got past Johnson Point and Pelican Island, we were a bit more sheltered and enjoyed the last few miles. We rounded into the bay just outside the marina complex and anchored again in about 4 metres of water. I checked in the next morning and here met up with Dave and Eileen from Guiding Light who we had met in La Gomera in the Canaries. We then heard from Narwal that they were in Deep Bay, which is just a few miles further north. So we upped the anchor again and sailed round. Here there is a wreck of the ‘Andes’. This was a ship carrying pitch from Trinidad and looking to collect crew in Antigua before sailing on to Peru. Being as pitch was a dangerous cargo they were refused permission to enter St Johns, the capital, and so went round to Deep Bay where they noticed smoke coming from one of the hollow masts. It was suspected that the friction of the movement of the cargo against the masts caused excessive heat. So when they opened the hatches, the rush of air into the holds ignited the pitch which was never going to be extinguished. The wooden decks burned off the steel frames and the vessel sank. The stump of one of the masts still pokes a foot or so above the surface and the once ornate bow is just a few inches below. So this makes a good snorkel site which we enjoyed as she is now encrusted with sponges and coral and is the home to a wide variety of tropical fish. We are now becoming sub-aqua twitchers!! We returned to Jolly Harbour for a few days before sailing round to the south of the island and Falmouth. We dropped anchor in the middle of the bay in about the only space we could find. This is literally next door to English Harbour and Nelson’s Dockyard. However our main reason to visit was to see the Antigua Classic Regatta. There were some splendid craft here, including a couple of the ‘J’ Class Yachts. My real interest though was in the more traditional craft and I wasn’t disappointed. We wanted to get a few photos of the racing so we raised anchor to go out to the start line. However we hadn’t really studied the chartlet of the harbour before setting off and as we were heading for the buoyed channel to take us out to sea, we came to a grinding halt on a sand bank! As we tried vainly to reverse off an American couple came across in their dinghy to help. He remarked that low tide was at about 1200 hrs and this was 1000 hrs. The tidal range here was about a foot so I didn’t think we would come to much harm. However the wind was behind us and likely to be pushing us further on so we deployed our stern anchor and tried also to use it to kedge off. We thought we were getting somewhere at one stage but we were heading for a large expensive looking catamaran and I didn’t fancy an insurance claim with that joker. The owner was not on board at the time. Our kedge anchor is a Fisherman and we have used it before with great success but as we thought we were coming off there didn’t seem to be time to get the anchor in and still avoid the other boats (this was a particularly crowded anchorage) so I tied a fender to the rode ready to just throw it overboard with a view of retrieving it later. Of course I still had the engine ticking over in astern to keep us from going back on to the sand bank when the inevitable happened, the rope got round the prop! Luckily we were only ticking over at the time so we managed to stop the engine before much damage was done. So it was out with the diving gear and down to remove the rope. It wasn’t too tight and I managed to get it off whilst just kneeling on the bottom!! Eventually the owner of the cat returned and offered to pull us off. Apparently he had been pulling people off all week, so we weren’t the first. He had an 18 ft RIB with a 90 hp outboard. “Just give me your halyard and I will heel you over and you will come off easy”. Well I did believe that this would be a problem with our unstayed masts but reluctantly I gave him a line from our foremast and he promised to take it gently and stop if I asked him. He started pulling and we heeled over and started to move. The mast bowed a little but we came off the sand bank. However we were still attached to the anchor, and as I dropped the rode overboard, I dropped it the wrong side of the dinghy painter so we were still tied. I had to untie the dinghy and abandon it there with the anchor. We motored back to our previous spot and I donned face mask and fins and swam back to the dinghy which luckily was still tangled up with the anchor rode. That was Friday. On the Saturday Sunderland were playing (so of course I would be without crew), so it was on the Sunday when we successfully managed to get out to the start line. The weather had turned a little and it wasn’t really a good day for photography. We left on Monday to go back to Jolly Harbour to meet up with Pepe and Bear on ‘Beez Neez’. On the way out we sailed through the fleet and unfortunately we were on port tack so we had to avoid some pretty fast boats but I did manage to get a few pictures. Back in Jolly Harbour we had a couple of days with Pepe and Bear and a couple of social evenings. However we had planned to go to Montserrat so the evening before we went ashore for a goodbye evening but when we returned to the anchorage, we could not see ‘El Lobo’. Shock - horrors, she was definitely not where we had left her. We eventually spotted her about 300 yds down wind from where we were anchored. The anchor had dragged! Ours is an imitation CQR anchor and we have used it in many iffy situations without problems. We were anchored in the Guardiana where the tide would run at up to 3 knots and turn 4 times a day. We anchored off Fortaventura in winds well into Force 9 when nearly all the other boats were dragging. So why we dragged here is a little of a mystery. We were in 4 metres of water with over 25 metres of chain out. Luckily there is a shelf here that extends about 3 miles out to sea where the depth is no more than 6 metres so she will have moved slowly! Anyway, no damage done which again was lucky as the anchorage was well populated at the time. Well, the next day as planned we set off for Montserrat. The winds were from the South East and Montserrat is to the South West of Antigua so we had a good sail across. We had read that the only anchorage available is at Little Bay, to the north of the Island, well away from the volcano. However is it subject to swell especially from the North. The swell was Easterly when we left Antigua but seemed to be a little confused so imagine our disappointment when we rounded the North end of the island to see a large smooth Atlantic-style northerly swell travelling down the island. The surf along the cliffs was spectacular and as we reached Little Bay we could see that we were not going to be able to stay here. The ferry was at it’s small pier and was having difficulty staying still whilst being loaded. Even if we had anchored there we would have been more than a little uncomfortable and it would have been impossible to have landed the dinghy without damage to dinghy and person. So reluctantly we raised sails again and left. The next decision was where to go now. Our next destination was to be Deshaies on Guadeloupe but the wind still had some South in it. It was 1600 hrs and Deshaies was 40 miles away. It was still a beat back to Jolly Harbour but that was only 20 miles away. Nevis was to the North which would have been a more comfortable sail but that was taking us away from where we were intending to go. We only have two months now before the start of the hurricane season and because of the warmer waters this year, it is expected to be a busy season. So we opted for a trip back to Antigua. Beating back put another ten miles on our journey but the ride was not too uncomfortable. On April 23rd, St George’s Day, we hoisted our St George’s flag to celebrate what should England’s National Day if not for the PC brigade. And guess what, nobody asked us to take it down and we didn’t offend anyone!! A message to send to the brainless PC thickies. We waited for a couple of days for the wind to back a little before setting off for Guadeloupe and set off early in the morning. Contrary to the forecasts we had been following the wind had backed very little and once we rounded the south end of Antigua we were on a tight reach to maintain our course to Guadeloupe and I really wanted to get some easting to counter the current that runs between the islands. It is a west going current and runs at about a knot so we really needed to get a course further east. We managed to stay on the rhumb line for most of the morning and soon the wind backed a little and we could free off a little and make our easting. We were now on a more comfortable run down to the island. As we got within about 5 miles of the island the seas started to get a little rough and the winds increased so we reduced sail for the last part of our journey. We anchored at Deshaies which is a small fishing village and a port of entry. It is noted to be a bit of a wind funnel so that suits us as the strong winds will keep our batteries well charged up. We are at the time of writing in deeper water with 40 metres of chain out so the anchor had better do its job this time or we might find El Lobo in Mexico without us!!
May 2010 We lifted anchor in Deshaies without incident and headed south eventually making for Grenada where we hope to be able to watch the World Cup Football. So we need a bit of time to research where the best place is to watch it (Pat’s priority!!). We headed off in company with ‘Ventoso’. We were looking for day-sails with an anchorage overnight. We made for Les Saintes again. Here we met up with ‘Bellatrix’ again. They hailed us to say that Gerwald had caught a fish that was a little too large for them to eat themselves so could we help them out!! ‘Ventoso’ had stopped at Basse Terre but we contacted them again the next morning, said our goodbyes to ‘Bellatrix’ and headed to Dominica. We had arranged to stop at Castaways which is just a couple of miles south of Salisbury where we had stayed before. We picked up a free mooring and had a restful night. Our next stop was Case Pilote on Martinique which was about half way down the island and our next stop was La Marin which is on the south of the island. La Marin is a large anchorage with many facilities as well as some good supermarkets where we could get stocked with some decent cheese and sausages!! We could also fill the water tanks and take on fuel. We stayed here for a couple of days before heading off again to Rodney Bay on St Lucia where we met up again with Titch and Stella on ‘Whistler’. We had a favourable weather forecast but once again the wind was such that we were close hauled most of the way. However as we approached the island the wind backed a little and we had a couple of hours of a beam reach and a good sail into the anchorage. Our reason for getting here was for the Cricket!! The 20-20 World Cup was here in the West Indies and the semi-finals were to be in St Lucia. There is nowhere in the world to watch cricket better for atmosphere than in the ‘Windies’. We enjoyed 4 days of cricket with as well as the Women’s Semi Finals. The finals were in Barbados but the wind was in the south east so sailing there was out of the question, so we watched the finals in the bar!! England wins!! After another few days of getting the boat sorted and fuelled up we set off south again. ‘Ventoso’ wanted to visit Marigot Bay which we had visited on the way up and felt it was a little expensive for what it was so we continued south to Vieux Fort, which is the 2nd largest town in St Lucia. We intended to just stay overnight and sail on the next day. The next day we lifted anchor and headed south again to St Vincent, but after a couple of hours the wind veered and with Atlantic current we were being pushed west by quite a margin and our speed over the ground was down to about 1.5 knots. So discretion being the better part of valour we turned back to Vieux Fort. The next day the wind had backed so we decided to give it another try. The sea was up a bit but at least we were sailing. We headed for Wallilabou which is a port of entry in St Vincent. We were a little apprehensive about St Vincent as we had a night in Chateaubelair just north of Wallilabou when we slept with the security frames in place for the first and only time so far. As we approached Wallilabou we were approached by a few ‘boat boys’ who were wanting to help us with a mooring and to take a line ashore. Once tied up we were again pestered by more ‘boat boys’ wanting to sell us fruit etc. and we were even offered some ‘ganja’!! However once we had bought a few fruits we told them to go away and we were left alone. Wallilabou was the setting for ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ and much of the set is still there. There are facades of buildings which still look genuine from the outside but scaffolding supporting it behind. Once past the ‘boat boys’ we found the people really great. We stayed a couple of days and had intended to head down to Bequia which is the next island down and part of the Grenadines. However we liked what we had seen of St Vincent at Wallilabou so we decided to stop at the south end of the island and see a bit more. We headed south again and round the corner to Kingstown and towards what is called the ‘Blue Lagoon’. However the sea was still up and the channel into the lagoon is not well marked and the depth is a little borderline for our draught, so we managed to pick up a mooring in Young Island Cut, which is between Young Island and the mainland. The channel is about 500 metres wide and a fairly strong tide runs through. This is the first time we have swung at a mooring through tides since we left The Guardiana in Spain/Portugal! We stayed a couple of days here and then left for Bequia. This is the northernmost island of the Grenadines. The Grenadines are a group of around a hundred islands and large rocks, some inhabited and some not. The northern islands are governed by St Vincent and the southern part is governed by Grenada. Bequia has always been a favourite for cruisers with Admiralty Bay being the main anchorage. However just recently there have been a spate of thefts from boats so many have left. We heard this news on the local radio so were prepared. It is too beautiful an island to miss out. We had a nice gentle sail for the eight miles across and as we entered the bay we ghosted around the anchorage until we found a spot. It was almost sacrilege to drop the anchor into the crystal clear turquoise water. We anchored in about three metres and I could literally just pick my spot and the anchor landed in a patch of sand between some small boulders. At night we haul the dinghy up on to the deck and lock it on. I also sleep with a loaded flare gun by my side. I have also taken a leaf out of Joshua Slocum’s book but instead of using carpet tacks I just place a few empty beer bottles along the deck that will make a lot of noise it they are knocked over. If anyone tries to get on board El Lobo uninvited, they will have a bit of a shock.
June 2010 Well, our stay was peaceful enough in Bequia with no attempted boardings. Our anchorage was peaceful and the weather calm. The winds however stayed with us so that we managed to keep the batteries well topped up. We explored the island on foot, having sold our rather rusty bikes in St Vincent. We decided to have a closer look at the South coast so we upped the anchor and sailed round to Friendship Bay. There are a few reefs and islands on the South coast so careful pilotage was necessary especially into the bay itself. We spent a couple of peaceful nights here. There are hotels along the sandy beach but it is now out of season so there were hardly any guests. We then set sail for Union Island, which is the most Southerly Island of the chain that is governed by St Vincent where you can actually check out of the country. Petite Martinique is a little further south which also belongs to St Vincent but there are no facilities for customs and immigration there. The trip south from Bequia was through some rather beautiful islands, again reefs abound. We were making for Clifton, which is the main town on Union Island. The anchorage there is on the south east of the island and therefore would normally be exposed to the Easterly Trade winds that are prevalent here. However, the anchorage is protected by another reef as well as two inside!! After a couple of days the winds got up, and the anchorage got a little uncomfortable so we checked out and headed south again, this time for Carriacou. Carriacou belongs to Grenada and the capital, Hillsborough, was a distance of about 12 miles from Clifton. There was quite a swell coming from the east so we were rolling a little, but with the strong beam winds and several reefs in the sails we averaged a good six knots across the channel. A sports fishing boat took quite a time passing us in that sea, and that was a boat capable of nearly thirty knots in a calm sea. We checked in at Hillsborough and then sailed round to Tyrrel Bay where we knew our friends on ‘Demara’ were anchored. We also intended to watch the World Cup there, but the TV reception there was not too good so after a couple days we decided to head on further south to Grenada, an island we both love. The trip is around 20 miles and also means passing quite close to ‘Kick Em Jenny’ which is an undersea volcano and is also rated as ‘still active’. So we gave it a wide berth, just in case. We anchored just outside St George’s, which is the main town but we also intended originally to move round to Prickly Bay, but the Grenada Yacht Club sort of got us hooked with a good wide screen TV for the footie and a 10 minute ride in the dinghy. At the Yacht Club we also met up with ‘Captain Badger’ who, during our last stay, indirectly and accidentally caused a little damage to El Lobo. He offered to pay but I really didn’t think that I wanted to charge him anything or to have money changing hands so in the end we had agreed he would give us a free fishing trip. However let me just fill you in on a few details. Captain Badger (we never got to find out his real name!) is reputedly one of the islands top sports fishermen and he is originally from Saaff London. By sport fishing we mean fishing for the big ones. Blue Marlin, White Marlin, Sailfish, Swordfish, Tuna etc. He knows the spots and has the boats to do it. Well I mentioned to him the agreement we had made back in February and he readily honoured our ‘deal’. We arranged a day, when England weren’t playing of course, although why we bothered about that in retrospect I will never know, and managed to persuade Pat to come out as well. Badger came out to El Lobo at our anchorage and collected us and off we set. We cruised out at about 20 knots to the 3000 ft contour line and set up the lures. Badger had his regular crewman on board, Joseph, who set up the rods, seven in all. The object is to present the lures in a pattern as well as a few ‘dummies’ that will attract the big fish from a fair old depth. Badgers boat, ‘Surf ‘n’ Turf, is equipped with two outriggers that will take two lines each. The line is taken out from the rod and once the lure is set at the appropriate distance from the boat, the line is taken through a quick release clip to its position on the outrigger. When a fish strikes, the line jumps out of the quick release fitting so that the rod and reel are then in direct contact with the fish. Two other rods are positioned at the corners of the transom and one in the centre high up behind the bridge. Another attractor was also deployed on a heavy line which was trailed to be active behind the wake of the boat. It all sounds a bit scientific and to a certain extent I suppose it is. We cruised at about 7 knots and I studied the pattern of the lures we were trailing. The lures themselves were varied of course but they were basically a sophisticated type of plastic squid with solid heads and were presented on the surface so that a ‘smoking effect’ was presented. That really means that the lure produces a trail of fine bubbles as it is towed through the water. As an added attraction, Badger also baits his lures with fresh dead-bait. These are generally fish that he buys from the locals and are generally of a size that would look good on our barbie!! Badger spotted a flock of diving birds in the distance and turned the boat towards them. Neither Pat nor I could see them but he kept his heading (I reckon we will have to get some distance glasses!!). When we got to within about 500 yds of the birds, one of the reels started to scream, and the action started. I was hustled into the fighting chair and my adrenaline was up. The reel was screaming as line was peeled off at an amazing rate. Joseph was busy winding in all the other reels to clear the sea for action. I tried winding in the reel but line was still being peeled off. Meanwhile, Joseph and Badger strapped me into the chair and clipped the harness on to the reel. Eventually, by ‘pumping’ the rod, I managed to begin retrieving line back on to the reel. I was winding and pumping one minute and the next, more line was being peeled off. Badger had stopped the boat and was starting to back up slowly. I could feel the fish, and it was big. Joseph had some heavy duty gloves ready for the fish to come alongside. By the way the fish had struck, Badger said it was definitely a Blue Marlin. I was getting excited and kept working, thinking ‘I’m too bloody old for this sort of thing!!’ I was tiring. My arms and shoulders were starting to ache. However after about twenty minutes (it seemed more like hours) the line suddenly went slack. I had lost the bloody fish!! I actually felt that I had let the side down. I was the centre of the activity to whom all the efforts of the crew were concentrated. I had hoped that the fish would have surfaced, and Pat was ready with the camera, but we never got that shot. Disappointedly, I reeled in all the line and Joseph set up all the other lures again. As any angler will tell you, there are no guarantees when fishing and that was to be the only excitement for the day, apart from a Sailfish grabbing at one of the attractors we were trailing. All in all, we had a good day out and I also feel that we have made another friend in Badger. If anyone comes to Grenada and wants to try his hand at the ‘big ones’ then I can thoroughly recommend Captain Badger on Surf ‘n’ Turf. The Port at St George’s is quite busy and we do tend to get some wash from the pilot boat going out to meet the ships. There is a reef at the entrance to the harbour which is well buoyed, as long as you remember that the buoyage over here is slightly different from the European buoyage in that when entering a port or river entrance, the green buoys or lights are to be left to Port and red to Starboard. I think I have just about got used to that now. However the skipper of one mega-yacht chose to ignore it on his way in to the posh marina. He went the wrong side of several red buoys, in broad daylight and went aground. It was a sight to see with the crew, all in their white uniforms, crawling out along the 30 odd foot boom to try to heel the spotless yacht over to lessen their draught in order to be able to get off. It didn’t work. Eventually a launch from the marina came out to take the guests off and then come back and eventually managed to tow it off. Don’t you just love it when that happens to someone else, especially a so-called professional!! Whilst we are here, we keep a good eye on the weather. We are now in the hurricane season and also the rainy season. We log on to the Hurricane Centre Web Page daily and look out for the reports. Hurricanes usually start off as a system over the Cape Verde’s Islands off the West coast of Africa and develop as they cross the Atlantic usually following the line of the Trade Winds. Hurricane Alex is now a full blown hurricane which passed over us as a tropical depression. It didn’t develop into a hurricane until it had reached the west of the Gulf of Mexico. It is generally believed that this hurricane season may be a little more active than usual as the water temperatures are a little higher this year. As far as the rainy season is concerned, we have managed to collect some rainwater to fill our tanks, but we need to extend our system. Our friends on Demara boast that they have used only rainwater for all their domestic water for the past two years. So that would be our target. I am experimenting with bits of tarp, stringing them to the guard wires and the masts. As we have unstayed masts, we have no rigging stays to attach the tarps, so we need to be a little more inventive. We also have to allow for the wind getting under the tarps. Once we have the shapes made up, we will make the finished articles from better material. From here we will go round to the south of the island and a little further east and then wait for the wind to get a little north in it so we can make it to Trinidad and approach the Boca from the east. This basically is a ploy to avoid the Venezuelan pirates that have been plaguing these waters. We will be lifting out again in Trinidad but just for the usual maintenance this time. Most of the work I plan this year will be done on the water. Pat will be flying home for a couple of months and leaving me to it.
July – October 2010
Well, where to start? When Pat left for the UK, I had three main projects whilst she was off the boat, two water tanks to build and to reinsulate the freezer. The reason for changing the tanks was that we had had problems with the bladder tanks that we originally installed. The Plastimo tanks are made of a thin PVC material and if a crease occurs, then a leak will soon follow. The Vetus tanks are much better built and of course much more expensive but I had problems with the inlet and outlet fittings working loose. This of course meant we were losing water and filling up the bilge without knowing it. One tank is in the main saloon and so fairly straight forward, but the other is in the fore cabin, under the main berth. That one was always going to be a problem, so I tackled that one first. I had to squeeze myself in and under the berth to work, contorting my body into shapes that I’m certain it was never designed for!! Whilst working out how to build the tanks I was aware that the most difficult part of the job was going to be to be able to seal the top, especially in the forward tank. So I built a ledge around the top of the tanks so that I could still have access to the join between the top and the sides, to be able to apply copious amounts of sealant, (should have bought shares in Sika!!), and then just screw down the lid. Well things never really go to plan on a boat and I still got leaks. So then it was to go to work with epoxy putty. I had made access panels in the lids so that I could get at most of the tank and that proved to be useful. So now we have one of the tanks in service and the fore tank still to solve. The tanks were built from plywood and fibreglass with one baffle and they will both hold about 30 gallons each, Imperial gallons that is, you can get caught out over here as the American gallon is a lot smaller. I also painted them with a tank guard paint which is formulated for potable water. The breather pipes I led through to the shower compartment so once full the excess will just flow into the shower drain then to be pumped off the boat. The other project was to reinsulate the freezer. We have had a problem with the freezer for some time now, unable to get the compartment down to temperature even with the unit working constantly. One thing I hadn’t done when I built the compartment was to install a vapour barrier and a heat shield, apparently both important components for marine refrigeration. The vapour barrier prevents condensation from reaching the insulation. Our insulation had become waterlogged and so quite ineffective and needed to be replaced. To strip out the compartment I needed to take off the front which also meant carefully removing the hardwood trim around the work top and then the front panel. Once the front part of the old insulation had been removed, I could then remove the evaporator plate. To do that I had to disconnect the pipe work to the compressor. Now this unit came fully charged with the refrigerant gas with self sealing couplings. Unfortunately. One of these self-sealing couplings didn’t self-seal and I lost a lot of gas in the process. Anyway I carried on and stripped out the rest of the insulation. It was sopping wet, no wonder we had problems. I cleaned out the compartment and then epoxied the whole of the interior (epoxy is a lot cheaper here). I had been discussing my problem with a number of other cruisers and got several pieces of ‘advice’ most of which I had to ignore of course, but I followed up one line and went to see a guy called Peter, an ex-pat. He had a product which I believed he called Astro Foil. This is a material, very much like bubble-wrap (only you can’t burst it!!), which is ¼ inch thick with aluminium foil on either side. One inch of this stuff is equivalent to about three inches of polyurethane foam insulation. So four layers of this and two inches of closed cell polyurethane and I would have sufficient effective insulation and in fact a little more space in the freezer to boot. It sounded too good to be true, so I investigated further and heard no complaints from those who had used it other than one guy who said that his beer had frozen!!. Good enough for me!! This stuff isn’t cheap, about $2.50 US per square foot and I would need 80 sq ft. but I went ahead with it. I lined out the compartment with PVC sheeting and stuck it with compact adhesive to the epoxied sides and floor. All joints were sealed with aluminium tape to ensure continuity. The Astro foil was then installed, each layer fixed in position with compact adhesive and all joints on each layer again taped. I had to identify each layer with a marker to make sure I knew how many layers had been installed. It was a slow painstaking job, punctuated with long spells on deck to get away from the fumes!! There was only one place on the island that sold the closed cell polyethylene insulation that I had been advised to use. The problem was that it was down the other end and transport was going to be an issue as I only needed one 8 x 4 sheet. After much chasing around I still had to pay nearly as much for the transport as for the sheet. Also bearing in mind that I was still out in the bay on a mooring, getting it out to the boat was a bit of an adventure!! The foam I cut carefully to size and again as advised I epoxied each piece, to prevent them absorbing moisture. Once in place I injected some spray foam to make sure there were no cavities. I then bought a 6 x 4 sheet of 1/16 inch aluminium to line out the compartment with angles to fix and seal the corners. This time I also added a drain. Then it was a case of fitting the evaporator plate and rebuilding the front in reverse as to the rest of the compartment. I reconnected the pipework and started it up. Everything is working OK but the lack of gas means that it is still not efficient so I am sorting out an engineer who can recharge the system. Pat has now returned and we are now out of the water on the hard at Power Boats. We have had a problem with the stern tube all summer so that was one problem to sort out. Also I felt we needed to replace the main seacock. It was a nylon one and of course no corrosion, but it was beginning to allow a seepage of water through when turned off. Also it was a ¾ inch which originally just supplied the engine cooling direct. However I had fitted a further manifold to enable a supply to our domestic salt water feed to the sink and a supply for the deck-wash high pressure pump. I have also fitted a further line to the bilge as an emergency bilge pump. So I am now fitting a one inch seacock and thru-hull fitting to allow a better flow. I had made the original manifold out of copper pipes and fittings but this is not available here so I am building the new one from the plastic water pipe that is the norm here in Trinidad. Hope it works!! Now that we are out of the water there are the usual jobs to do, scrape the hull, and repaint. We are going to do the topsides again although the paintwork has survived well in the conditions. I was especially pleased with the adhesion this time of the bottom paint. Until now, when lifting out and pressure washing, paint had come off in sheets. Last year I epoxied the hull and when we lifted out this time, the majority of the paint stayed on, so I was well pleased with that. I had dived on the hull when in Grenada and she was fairly clean but we had used the soft antifoul and I could signs of the barrier coat showing through so it was wearing thin. When we lifted out after two months on a rocky mooring in Trinidad, we were covered in barnacles, even the prop. That also presented a problem. One night the wind got up to well over 40 knots and there was a serious situation developing in the anchorage/mooring area. Boats were dragging, even those on moorings(which says a lot for the quality of the moorings!!) and it seemed as though my mooring was not holding. I had let out plenty of scope and lowered my anchor into the water ready to deploy. I then started the engine to drive against the wind and ease the strain on the mooring. However I could get no more than about 1500 revs and the engine straining. I thought the shaft was seizing but could not hear the tone of the engine above the noise of the wind. I stopped the engine fearing I would be doing damage to the transmission, leaving me to the mercy of the weather. Several boats were damaged that night including the patrol boat. The storm lasted for another three hours and El Lobo survived without a scratch. When we lifted out, the prop was covered with barnacles and some had attached themselves on the shaft and ground into the cutlass bearing. No wonder the engine had a problem turning it!! I mentioned the patrol boat in the last paragraph; well there is also a story here worth mentioning. Since our arrival and a few weeks before, there had been a spate of thefts mainly of dinghies and outboard motors. The local businesses, fearing a mass exodus of cruisers and a decline in their businesses, mounted a night patrol on the water with a fast motor boat lent by one of the businesses. They staffed it themselves and patrolled through the night until dawn, which here is about 0530 hrs. Whilst the patrol was in operation no thefts were reported so it was apparent that it was working. However it was obvious that this sort of set-up was not sustainable as these guys had to work next day, so Alan (from Freya of Clyde) and I spoke to a few of the other cruisers and we volunteered to help staff the patrol boat in order to maintain continuity. Here in Chaguaramas we have two coastguard stations with boats of all sizes but they were either unwilling or unable to assist in this matter. So the patrols continued. It was a long night on patrol, but you do get to play with a fast power boat!! And we kept the thefts down. Both of our dinghies need a bit of TLC. The hard dinghy is showing its age and has some de-lamination and the inflatable has a few leaks. So plenty of work still to do although we still plan to be back in the water before the end of November.
November 2010
December 2010 The call came out over the Cruisers’ Net on CH68 for crew to assist the skipper of Bob’s Joy to take the boat to Antigua as he was on his own. We talked this over and realised this would be a good opportunity to be able to extend my Visa, as once my passport was stamped in another country, an almost automatic three months would be available for me to stay in Trinidad and the possibility of a further extension. We wanted to stay for the Carnival which is to be in March. So I went along to meet Bob. Bob is well into his seventies and his wife, Joy, no longer sails offshore after an accident she had last year when she fell down the companionway steps. So he needed crew to take the boat up to Antigua where he has spent the last 18 winters among friends he has built up over the years. Joy is to fly out from UK to join him once the boat is there. We planned the trip to start that weekend as there was a weather slot, a break from the stormy conditions we had endured for the last fortnight or so and the winds were supposed to veer more to the south. I looked the boat over and she seemed sound. She was an Endeavour 43 ketch with a 100 hp Volvo main engine and although she had some age on her, there were all mod cons we would need for the trip including a freezer which meant a good supply of cold drinks!! As far as navigation equipment was concerned though, all he had was a handheld GPS, wind direction indicator and a binnacle compass. No log and no depth sounder. Bob said he had been doing this trip for the last 18 years and didn’t really need a depth sounder as he knew where we were going. I then learned that Bob had been Commodore of the RNSA (Royal Navy Sailing Association). He was obviously a sailor of some training and experience. The more I learned about him on the trip, the more I felt in awe in his company, but more about that later. The weather broke on Thursday night and on Friday we went together across to Customs and Immigration. Here I was transferred from El Lobo to Bob’s Joy, passport stamped and then we made our way back to our boats, intending to call at the duty-free shop on the way. However it was closed, we should have taken that as a bad omen!! So back on El Lobo, I got my things together and stuffed my passport and return letter from the boatyard into my bag and walked over to Bob’s Joy. Pat was there to cast off the lines and we set off without further ado. The wind was on the nose as we motored across the bay and also as we headed north through the Boca and out into the Caribbean Sea. As we cleared land the wind set around to ENE and we set sail. We needed a course of 010 degrees for a direct route to Antigua and we struggled to hold it for quite some time, but we were close hauled and being pushed west by the Atlantic Current and we had 380 Nautical miles to go. We had set the Genoa and a reefed mizzen with no main but we were well balanced and sailing comfortably. Then I started to feel the effects of being on land too long. We had recently learned from a dear Aussie friend of the existence of the Australian surfing god called Huey. He starting to tug at my stomach!! We decided to keep 3 hour watches through the night and reefed in the Jenny to keep things reasonably safe. The rains then came down and I then discovered that the good looking bimini that offered all round protection was leaking and the worst leak was of course at the helm position! The next morning when we went to set the sail back to full, we noticed that the furling line had parted and we were already at full sail. There was weather system forming on the horizon to the east so this was not a job we could leave. It has been a long time since I could claim to be the youngest and fittest of the crew, but this was now the case and it was down to me to get out on the bowsprit and wind on the furling line. This line normally runs back to the cockpit and then with some to spare. So on this boat it is about 50 feet long. I had to wind this 50 or so feet round the drum pulling the whole length of the line though for each turn. All this time the boat was pitching in a swell that had died little since the stormy weather we had been experiencing for the last week or so and I was getting wet!! My stomach wasn’t faring too well either and I had to pause a couple times to make the proverbial offerings to Huey. After about an hour or so out on the bowsprit, I had the job done and it was then a crawl back to the cockpit. "Well done, sir,” was Bob’s comment with typical RN bearing, as I stumbled back into the cockpit. “Urrggghh” was my reply as I flaked out on the leeward seat of his enormous cockpit. The time out on the bowsprit and my seasickness had all but drained me. Bob rallied me by brewing up a cup of OXO and I gradually got my strength back. Our course was still being set to westwards and as we passed Grenada we could just make out the island from a distance of about 15 miles. Not really where we needed to be. So there was no real letup, we had to remain close hauled and make the best course we could and hope the wind would veer a little to the south in the next day or so. Whilst Bob was down below doing his heroic galley duties (he wasn’t 100 per cent either) there was a loud bang which at first we couldn’t trace. Then later we noticed that the fridge was no longer working. So the terrible chore was then to drink the beer before it got warm and eat the steaks as they thawed. It was a hard job, but somebody had to do it!! I was feeling a little better by now. On the third day the wind did indeed veer a little and we were able to make some eastings and a better course for Antigua. By dusk that night we were just about 50 miles from our destination at Jolly Harbour and coming up under the island of Montserrat, when the wind backed again. In hindsight we probably should have put the engine on and headed to the east side of Montserrat and clawed our way through the night. However the coast of Montserrat has altered since the last charts were published due to the volcanic action and the lava slides which have extended a fair way out to sea. So Bob decided to keep well to the west coast and then head east once we had reached the north end of the island. We had had no sun on our trip and with the accompanying cloud cover we had zero visibility at night and the rain made spotting shore lights difficult to impossible. The wind dropped as we slowly clawed our way northward to the latitude that was the north end of Montserrat. I was on watch and trying to spot the lights of Jolly Harbour that should have been visible to me. I could see nothing. By this time I was managing a course of 030 which should have been giving us some east in our course even if not directly to our destination. Jolly Harbour was now almost due east and still 38 miles away. We were still being pushed west. As dawn broke the Island Rock of Ronda was dead ahead just half a mile away. So now it was time to put sail away and rev up the 100 hp Volvo and punch some seas. No sooner that we had done this than the wind increased along with the seas. Even at his normal cruising revs, we were averaging about 2½ knots. Then down came the rain, it was torrential. At times we could barely make out the foredeck and with no radar we were sailing blind, a situation that I always try to avoid. Bob’s comment was that there is often a sting in the tail in most voyages; this one was to have two. We kept slogging east with the assurance from both handheld GPS’s that were directly on course but we were just half a mile the coast land before we could make out any landmarks but at least they were the right ones. We motored in to the anchorage just outside the harbour, almost the same spot that we had anchored El Lobo earlier this year. That night we ate the remaining thawed steaks and drank the almost cold beer as a celebration of our safe arrival and Bob revealed a little more of his history. Bob spent his infant years on Guernsey during the German Occupation and by 1943 the island was starving and had insufficient agriculture to support the population and around 70,000 German troops. Eventually after the Normandy Invasions negotiations were made that a few ships could be sent to relieve the population but Bob eventually left the Island a virtual skeleton. In those years he was raised by a French lady of little means. He left school at 15 and immediately joined the Royal Navy. He had had little effective education but had an aptitude for repairing radios and televisions. He therefore specialised in communications and worked his way up through the ranks. Eventually he made Officer status and achieved the rank of Lt Commander, no mean feat. He was also assigned to the RNAS (Royal Navy Association of Sailing) when he skippered many of the RN’s sailing fleet. He was skipper in the infamous ’79 Fastnet race when he rescued the crew of a French yacht which sank almost as soon as he got the last man off. He was subsequently honoured by the French Government. There are many other things I could tell you about Bob and I believe an autobiography would make interesting reading, but for now I will leave it at that. The next morning we raised anchor and headed in to the Customs Dock to check in. Then we found the second sting in the tail!! I went to produce my passport and found to my horror that I had accidentally picked up Pat’s passport. Whatever colour I may have regained must have drained from my face. We explained the situation to the lady in Immigration who announced that I was technically an illegal immigrant. I phoned Pat to verify that my passport was in fact still on our boat and at the request of Immigration, she faxed a copy of the face page of my passport to the office. I then got the address of the British Consulate, relayed it to Pat who would then Fed Ex it on. In the meantime I was to remain on the boat. The attitude of all the authorities here were excellent and polite. That was on the Tuesday. On Wednesday night we learned from ex-pats that the British Consulate had in fact closed down and had moved to Barbados due to the lack of work on the island. Thursday was National Heroes Day, a Bank Holiday, so nothing moved. On Friday I went to the local Fed Ex office and they traced the package to be still on the van for delivery. The girl said that she could divert it to that office. Hopefully that was it. However as I was leaving the office she had a phone call and she called me back. The package had been delivered. ‘Where?’ I asked thinking that the address was no longer valid. She explained that there was an office in the Price-Waterhouse building in St John’s, the capital of the island, where there was still a British Attaché. He was the sole representative for Britain on the island. So I got a bus to St Johns which is at the other end of the island and sought out the address. Once the passport was in my hand I felt a great deal of relief, but now I had to get to Jolly Harbour, our port of entry, and produce my passport. The chief Immigration Officer was not present when I arrived and a note had been left that once I had produced my passport, it had to stamped at their head office back in St Johns. So this being Friday, I would not see my passport again till Monday. Anyway Bob arranged my trip back to Trinidad and I arrived to much ribbing about passports etc. but with a story to tell!! Now of course my visa was automatically started again with a further 90 days to stay plus the option of a further 90 days. So now it was back to work. We were almost ready to launch before my trip to Antigua but delayed until I returned. I still had to finish off the sea water manifold and we had the remains of the antifoul to apply. The Sea Hawk 44 we used last season had performed well until we returned to Trinidad. After over two months on a mooring we accumulated a fair colony of barnacles which had also covered the propeller. However, Sea hawk is expensive so we were contemplating an alternative when another boat announced on the ‘Net’ that they had some surplus Jotun’s Sea Queen antifoul, there were three gallons left in the drum and we also acquired another gallon from another boat. So our budget for the antifoul was greatly reduced. We applied two rather thick coats initially and then two more coats to the area from the waterline down about three feet where most of the growth occurs. Now that I have a full set of diving gear, I intend to dive regularly to keep the bottom clean. Back in the water I discovered a tiny leak through one of the bolts that hold our anode. It had come loose whilst I was working on the hull. I stuck it back in with plenty of epoxy, let it set and intended to then epoxy a back-nut on the inside. Well, the last bit got forgotten!! So when I fitted the new anode I must have loosened it again and we had a tiny bit of seepage. However with an oversized washer, an ‘O’ ring and some epoxy putty all is now well. We are still getting some water in the boat which seems to be siphoning back through the discharge pipe. With the greater weight we re now carrying, the outlet is now just below the waterline. So the next job is to fit an anti-siphon loop. I have a couple of non-return valves in the line but that is not quite enough. Trouble is that the goose neck is behind the bulkhead which is behind the nav station. Not easy to get at. Other jobs to do are to sort out the LED masthead light which has somehow failed and to re-gas the freezer. We also have the decks to paint and some more work on the varnishing. The rest is just the normal maintenance work. We intend to stay here for carnival which is in the beginning of March, so the pressure is now reduced. People have often asked us what we do all day living on a boat. Well I can tell you that it is not all swimming, sunbathing and gin and tonics. In fact far from it. Things go wrong ALL the time and you ignore these faults at your peril. So quite often when you are thinking of a day off to go on a trip, something fails and has to be dealt with there and then or you risk your boat. You need to be an electrician, plumber, mechanic, rigger, joiner and general problem solver, unless you have extremely deep pockets, and we don’t. Regarding the freezer, I must say that the support that we have had from Penguin Refrigeration back in the UK where we bought the unit, has been fantastic. Any query I have sent them, they have responded swiftly and guided me through any technical difficulties. Both here and when we were having troubles in The Cape Verde’s, they were on the ball and responded to my e-mails. Though how we would have managed without the internet, I don’t know. So now we are back on schedule, it remains for me to say that I hope you all had a good Xmas and to wish you all a Happy New Year.
January 2011 Work has continued but as always not as planned. There are still some jobs on the list not done but this month coming we should have time to finish things off before setting off North again. When we launched we managed to get a slip at Power Boats but just for a limited time as they were well booked in advance so we had to move to make way. We are now across the water a short way in the luxury of Crew’s Inn Marina. I still have a little of the varnishing to finish off and the port side decks. We are moored starboard side to so that we are at least offering our best side to view!! All in all though, El Lobo is looking as smart as she has done for some time. Our bow now sports two CQR anchors (painted white) with two Danforth types on the fore deck. We also have a fisherman anchor at the stern. So we are well equipped with ground tackle. The main chain started to look a little rusty when raising the anchor through the back end of last season but on inspection it didn’t seem as bad as I thought, so instead of replacement I simply reversed it so hopefully we can make it last a couple more seasons. Over here in the Caribbean, the climate is quite harsh on chains. The growth after just a week or so is surprising and that will have an effect on the galvanising. Much of the seabed here is broken coral and that also is abrasive and we hear of chains being totally destroyed within four or five years. Our chain is good old Scottish chain which we got from Trident at Gateshead seven years ago. People here are sometimes surprised when we tell them the age and they see the condition. We have also heard the horror stories of people who have been tempted into changing to stainless steel anchor chain thinking that that would answer all the problems with chain. It doesn’t! Believe it or not, stainless steel constantly below the water line suffers badly from pitting and corrosion, especially on chains. Every link is welded, usually with an automatic welding system but the heat has to be locally at melting point for the weld to work thus altering the properties of the steel at that point. I have seen sections of stainless steel chain that have pitted so badly that there were holes completely through the metal surrounded by rust. If you only intend to anchor overnight then there doesn’t seem to be much of a problem but if, as cruisers do, you usually spend some time at anchor, then there is a problem with stainless steel chain. It is very suspect. One of the major chandlers over here still sells stainless steel chain, but states in their catalogue that it should not be used as anchor chain. So be advised if you are considering changing or upgrading your chain. We had a new bimini made which is more like a tent that encloses our cockpit and stern deck. The previous one we made ourselves but for some reason this season we (and many others) were hit by a dose of mildew that turned our white canvas black within about 6 weeks of being here. We reckon that the high humidity finally took its toll. Poor Shaun from Superb Canvas had a real challenge with our gantry and rig, but I have to say that he did well. We have had a few minor issues with chafe on the sails and some adjustments needed and so far I have sorted out the foresail and re-arranged the sheeting system. I’m still experimenting here and one day I’ll get it to my satisfaction but that is part of the fun of any rig I suppose, the fine tuning and experimentation. The weather here has been pretty foul just lately with heavy rain most days (this is supposed to be the dry season here!!) and to hoist the mainsail I need to take down the bimini so I will have to wait for a dry day. We also have some cordage to replace. Whilst checking other systems I have found that two of our four solar panels are faulty. The original panels on the doghouse are starting to delaminate with moisture getting in between the top protective layer of plastic and the cell plate. The original glue has gelled and turned brown so blocking out the sun. I am carefully peeling back the protective cover to full expose the cells and hopefully I can find some way of protecting the cells until we can find and afford a replacement. On panel is still producing power but the faulty one is only putting out about 5 volts resulting in a discharge showing on the ammeter. Also one of our other higher output panels has blown a wire so I am trying to solder it back into position but the wax protection is causing problems as heat is applied preventing the solder from ‘tinning’. Therefore the solder will not properly attach the wire, need to go to plan B!! Many other jobs have been done, many minor and too many to mention. Mending sails, repairing canvas work, servicing engines and tools, splicing ropes and helping other cruisers all seem to fill up the days The air pressure switch that I fitted to the bilge pump seems to be working well so far and I will keep you updated on that one. It just remains for me to say that I hope that you all had a Happy New Year and that the year will take you to where you want to be. It has for me!!
February 2011 We are now safely moored in the luxury of Crew’s Inn marina with a lot less movement from the swell. So work is a little easier, not that many here actually work on their boats as far as I can see!! The issue with the solar panels is still not resolved. The higher powered one is a write off as is one of the semi rigid ones and the other semi rigid one, although still giving us power, is well on the way to the same condition. The manufacturers are saying that it is six years old and so far are not making the right noises despite their claims for a life of at least 20 years. We shall see. Once the matter is decided I will certainly advise and if necessary, ‘name and shame’. So much for free reusable energy. It’s costing us dear. A similar situation has occurred with our mast head LED navigation light. It cost a small fortune and worked for precisely two weeks. We were late in claiming warranty as it was some time before we fitted it after we bought it. I am gradually going away from so called energy saving devices as they don’t seem to last and need more regular replacement therefore saving nothing and adding to our so-called carbon footprint. Whether you buy torches or LED replacement bulbs, I don’t believe they have got it anywhere near right yet and I am sick of being a guinea pig for some fat cat who hasn’t done his research and testing. So we are probably going back to the normal masthead light that we know will work with a normal filament bulb that can be replaced for a lot less than US$350! We also had a problem with the EPIRB which transmits a signal indicating our position in an emergency so that rescue services can locate us. When we tested the battery it was dead and on closer inspection moisture had got into the unit. We tried to contact the supplier back in the UK but guess what, they were no longer contactable by e-mail or telephone. However we had better luck with the manufacturers who are in Australia. GME Innovative Electronics reacted positively and sent us a replacement. There is a six year guarantee on the battery and we have had the unit for four years. They upheld that warranty and we can confidently recommend them. Although this is supposed to be the dry season here, it has rained nearly every day so that working on deck has been a challenge. It was impossible to plan the painting of the decks as it was a matter of choosing the moments and going for it when the opportunity presented itself. The decks are now painted and the boat looks pretty good if I say so myself. The freezer is also working again and we can now enjoy cold beers and of course the good old rum punches with ice. We have replaced the main halyard which was showing signs of wear and I have adjusted the standing parrels. Last year I experimented a little allowing the sails a little more movement which was great on a reach but as we came into the wind, we lost efficiency. So I have adjusted and retied them and whipped all the rope ends. Quite a chore when the wind is behind the boat and on the dock!!! So hopefully we will be sailing as we should this year. As you will gather from the main pages we will be here until the end of the Carnival and watching for a weather slot to head North again. Our plan this year is to go as far as St Vincent and work our way back down again and spend a little more time in the Grenadines. They are a group of islands between St Vincent and Grenada with some beautiful beaches and good snorkelling. Hopefully we will be able to post some spectacular photos. So at the moment we are watching the weather to look for a suitable slot to head North as soon as the festivities have finished.
March 2011 Well here we are in Grenada. We left Trinidad once the Carnival had finished and we had rested sufficiently. We had hoped to get a better weather window but the wind had been coming consistently from the north to north-east for a few weeks and was unlikely to change. The wind had lessened a little and therefore the swell and as our visas were coming to an end we decided to risk it. We motored round to Scotland Bay which is just into the Boca which is a channel that separates mainland Trinidad with Monos Isle, one of the islands that almost link Trinidad with Venezuela. We waited for the tide to turn whilst in Scotland bay and then set off in a northerly direction. There is an east-west current that flows from the Atlantic into the Caribbean. There are no tidal atlases that we could find that tells us the rate of the current, but local reports say that it varies between 1 and 4 knots depending on the phase of the moon. The wind was ‘on the nose’ all the way’ we tried pinching the wind to get as much easting as we could but with little success. Our progress was slow to say the least and even when motor-sailing we were still only maintaining about three knots or so. The journey took 32 hours and we were running the engine on fumes by the time we arrived at St George, Grenada and we went into the Port Louis Marina for a couple of nights. Port Louis, although a brand new marina built to cater for ‘super yachts’, does not have a fuel berth for us mere mortals, so I had to go across the harbour to the yacht with my jerry cans to replenish the fuel tanks. We then sailed round to Clark’s Court Bay which is one of the many inlets on the south of the island where we knew a few friends were anchored. I had my suspicions that the alternator was not giving us full charge and this was confirmed when we had a couple of cloudy windless days and our batteries were starting to look a little unhappy. I put my meter on and found that it was generating only 8 volts at 2000 rpm, so we went into Clark’s Court Bay Marina to keep the batteries topped up. Whilst in the marina they held a pool tournament on the Monday night, $5 EC per entry, winner takes all. I needed a drink so I went to the bar and also put my name down. They were playing 9 ball which I had never played before and wasn’t sure of the rules, but after a few games which I won, I was through to the final which I also won. Beginner’s luck eh! I went back to the boat $75 richer!! So after enquiries we found that there was a guy to the north of the island who was a bit of a whiz with electrical equipment so I contacted him. I was instructed to leave the alternator at the Mitsubishi Garage in St George’s and he would get it collected. It sounded a little clandestine but I went round and dropped it off. The guys in the garage knew all about it and it seemed a regular occurrence. I phoned the guy up the next day and he told me it was just corrosion and he had cleaned it up and tested it and it was OK. ‘How much?’ I asked. ‘40 dollars’ he replied. I assumed he meant $40 US as they seem always to quote US around here and I thought it was reasonable. However when I went to collect it, it was $40 EC which is about £10 sterling. So I was well pleased with that. Regarding our power situation, the issue still has not been resolved. Barden UK have not exactly covered themselves with glory so far so we are still two solar panels down and needing to run the engine far more than we should need to. As I said last month, this so called free energy is costing us a fortune. The panels in question are made by Solara and so far all the panels we have bought from them have let us down including a couple of solar vents that yellowed over once we got into some real sun. I am still trying but the responses seem to be slowing up somewhat. With our previous experience with the LED tricolour and anchor light we have gone back to our original light but have fitted LED replacement bulbs so hopefully at least we will still have something that we can maintain or repair. I am now waiting for a reasonable day with less swell so I can go back up the mast and fit it. We have also had issues with our inflatable dinghy. The original on that we bought from UK finally fell apart whilst in Trinidad and we bought another second hand to tie us over. However when we got here this one also started shedding its floor. Something else we have learned that PVC dinghies do not fare well in this climate. We were looking at getting a Hyperlon dinghy but the prices were way beyond what we could afford, especially as we still have not resolved the solar panel issue. As luck would have it there was a Quicksilver dinghy advertised on the cruisers’ net and we snapped it up. It still cost us $450 US but it is in good condition but a little smaller than we have had before. We intend to make some covers to protect it from the sun, so hopefully this one will last us a little longer. We also managed to find a home for the old one. It’s nice now to be able to go ashore and arrive with dry feet!!
Mike’s Page 1 May/June 2007 - March 2008 Mike’s Page 2 April 2008 - March 2009 Mike’s Page 3 April 2009 - March 2010 Mike’s Page 5 April 2011 -
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