Whoops - Three months have passed since I tied myself down to update you on our progress. It's not that there hasn't been anything to say. It's just that I'm at a bit of a loss as to how to break the news that we're looking to sell Island Song and find other ways of travelling the world. (Whew - did it!)I did hint back along that we were taking a few left hooks on our combined chins (plus a few right ones as well ) and were wondering what the future might bring. Problems with the boat have dogged us continually and we don't even have to be sailing! Take last week, for example. We've been sitting quietly on a mooring buoy for some time now. For the uninitiated, to keep our power levels up, we need to start the engine to top up the batteries. Now this is the engine that has motored most of the Atlantic in two trips - that bar one or two episodes has been a faithful workhorse. All of a sudden - a puttering to nothing. Two days of investigation and repair later and we're back in business. A weak governor(?) and a gasket, which I found out was a shoelace - a 10 dollar shoelace! We had the fuel polished and the results nearly made their way onto You Tube! One tank was filthy black with crystallised diesel bits. No one could remember ever seeing a sight like it - we nearly charged for viewings. The boys had to go out and buy a truckload of filters! Fortunately the other tank was clear. So that was why Brian had to do speed changes of filters when the weather got bumpy. As yet we haven't seen the bill for all this in house entertainment!
Three days later
We have just received the bill for the 'in house entertainment' ......... 'nuff said! I would have preferred to pay for a couple of series tickets for this years Proms .....
Another one to bounce back from. It seems to take a deal of effort each time and it may be that to keep going would take too much of a toll on our relationship. And then there is my possible escape from seasickness to consider.....
Suffice to say, that there is still a lot of world out there and it isn't going to escape our notice. Hopefully, it'll provide some more 'entertainment' along the way. Rucksacks ahoy!!
So where are we now?
We're on Tortola in the British Virgin Islands - charter boat heaven. The reason it's so popular for sailing holidays is that, apart from the nifty weather during everyone elses winter months, a lot the islands are within eyeball distance of each other, so it doesn't take too long to find somewhere new. The knack is not to bump into anyone else along the way. You always have to bear in mind that not everyone who charters a boat can actually handle one. That makes for some interesting if teeth grinding water activity that passes for sailing! Between 10am and 3pm, the sea between islands is like a huge motorway but with a percentage that don't know (or don't recognise) the lane rules. You get boat hogs by the dozen. Brian has another term for them but it's not printable! Private cruising boats are in the minority here. You can usually find them anchored in the midst of paying buoys - rebels with a cause, as mooring costs in the Caribbean are huge.
The adverts for BVI, and the rest of the Caribbean for that matter are always pictures of blue skies, blue sea and white sand - the proof is the pic below.
It's a deserted beach with clear, shallow water, no deckchairs, ice cream vendors or rubbish, no restaurants, bars, night life and yet few boats stop here. Given the increase in boat crime all through all the islands you wouldn't want to be anchored alone, but seeing as the big, busy bay next door has had three dinghy thefts in a week ...
Penn's Landing has a special place in our affections. After we bought the Island Song, here in the BVI, we had to come back to the UK and needed a place that would oversee some repairs and then look after her until we returned. Penns was recommended and we now think of it as one of our home ports. It's a tiny spot with one T pontoon that can take 10/12 boats plus a set of mooring buoys ( I can't bring myself to use the American term - mooring balls!) Not many boats, but what boats! Not much under 50 feet but lovely, lovely, lovely. Mainly Canadian and American who's owners come down for the season and to get out of their cold weather, then disappear sailing for a while, reappear for repairs (every boat has them, even the lovely ones!) and then go home for their summer, often to another boat. There are the usual facilities, loos, showers, as well as a bar/restaurant, and Walters staff are on hand for the ubiquitous repairs. The real deal is that when you radio to come in, you are asked if you want some help, either to moor up or to come into the dock. Someone is rushed out in a dinghy and they negotiate the wind, waves, low flying pelicans for you. They will also take the boat out when you leave - with you on it, of course - A sort of valet service, but it makes you feel special ... or really old. There are members of the wrinkly generation who see their boat once a year and forget that it's not a car ..... so the service is probably part of Walter's insurance policy!
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| Penn's Landing dock |
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| View from the dock |
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| From our mooring |
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| One of our dinghy dock masters. We think that this is the female. The male is huge! They use the dinghys to get from the mangroves to land. He chooses one to sit on and sun himself before making his rounds. |
And what of our journey here ...
We were in a bit of a hurry to get up here from Grenada as we had arranged to see a yacht broker to arrange viewings. First stop, St Annes on Martinique.
We checked out of St Lucia and went to fuel up. Remember Dock Master Emerson? He had been brill - helpful, cheerful, generous at the same time as being utterly professional. Such an asset to any company. Well - he got himself fired! This time our collective chin dropped to the floor - not with the weight if problems, but with absolute amazement! Apparently, he had spoken up for one of his colleagues and the management didn't like it. Their loss. We saw him as we left, skippering a Sunsail yacht. We wish him well.
True to form, we didn't get to where we'd planned,. The 30 knot winds and a current of 2 knots beat us again, but we didn't have much further to go to Anse Chaudiers, a weekend retreat for French boats from Forts de France. It was lovely - all you would want. Picturesque with only 5 boats, so plenty of swinging room.
Antigua was our next big stop. We'd planned a series of day sails with a possible overnighter. Given our previous record of not quite making land, anything could happen along the way - a bit like the UK railways. For our non Brit friends, UK rail has a drop down menu of creative reasons for the non arrival of trains , non leaving of trains, getting stuck along the way of trains - leaves on the line, wrong kind of snow, engine on backwards... there is a department ...... For us, it's wind in the wrong direction, current in the wrong direction, the dark came too early, dawn hasn't arrived... fish ...
A brief diversion .... personal notes to self. (But I bet you sailoresses identify with this!)
Brian and I are all sweetness and light 98% of the time, maybe... Brian reckons that grumpiness just comes with age, experience and frustration with your teeth, eyes and hair falling out. He would know. Me - I'm in better nick than I was 30 years ago, except for the eyes and teeth bit.
Back to the drift ... I've always wondered if there is a scale of grumpiness for couples and where we might be on it, but I've never had a level or something to measure it by. Is it just us that growl at each other when anchoring, tying up, putting up sails and the rest? See, ladies, you're nodding your heads aren't you ...
Well, I found the level thanks to an obliging couple (nationality nameless) who anchored close by in St Pierre (Martinique)
I have referred to anchoring as a 'black art' in an earlier blog. The various techniques, whys and wherefores are not relevant here. After all,I am but a mere novice in the practice. But it is a potential flash point ...
St Pierre sits on quite a large bay over which towers a volcano. A pretty significant one, at that, as in 1902 it blew its top and wiped out the town. The effects are still felt in the bay which quickly falls away from the shore and with various wrecks littering the bottom, complemented by the ubiquitous local fishing boats, and lobster pots. The latter are always in the best boat spots! Also, unbeknownst to the anchoree, once in place, you whizz around the compass in the slightest breeze, which means that each boat needs plenty of room to swing. Us being a 50ft boat need plenty of that!
We arrived at 11-30am - goody. We pootled in and from then on we were like a cat trying to make a comfy bed. Details are boring, but it took us 4 goes in 4 different places to get the bloomin' thing anchored. NIGHTMARE! Growling was the order of the day! Eventually quiet was restored and we spent the rest of the day watching everyone else taking 4 goes in 4 different places as well. (A whole new meaning of 'anchor watch' - must put that as a 'something to do when at anchor') The boat that ended up close to us cheered me immensely. As they slowed up, you could hear the lady going on to her man (rightly so, in my opinion- his plan just wasn't sensible) There then came a sudden and deafening roar from him, that the whole bay must have heard and probably registered on the Richter Scale of male roars. She calmly removed herself from the scene and they made 2 more attempts. You could hear the gritting of teeth! I now know that Brian and I are, relatively speaking, like young lovers when it comes to growling at each other.
The real party was after dark. 2 boats raced in and both tried to anchor in what looked like the easiest spot - next to us of course. Everyone in the bay had tried it but there were a lot of little fishing boats and lobster pots that weren't quite visible in the gloom. Someone on the beach could be heard telling them off (in French) so they tried the other side of us and I told them off - politely, of course (in English) And then more boats ..... Looking at the picture below gives little indication of all that is about to happen .... or the arrival of a Samba Band that moved up and down the main street for a couple of hours. Now that does take some stamina!
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| Before the evening rush hour |
We managed one stop on Dominica
This is the island that interested us the most. It's wilder and less developed than the others. Everyone we've met who has been there, passed it, heard about it says they want to return, so we'd better make it a quick return visit. On a more prosaic note, it is also the up and coming place for dental treatment!
Drop down menu in action now. We didn't make it to Guadeloupe. We'd planned to stop at an anchorage at the top of Dominica and then make a day sail to Guadeloupe, but the anchorage was full, so we had to carry on. We'd arrived at 3- 30pm and Antigua was 50 miles away, so not exactly an overnighter. What to do? Haven't we always had a desire to see the Antigua channel from ALL directions - north and south?? Not a nice night. When we arrived in Freemans Harbour at just after dawn, we were met with 'No room, no room' So, next door to Falmouth Harbour where we took the usual 4 goes to set the anchor. I blame the lack of a working depth gauge rather than pilot error (it doesn't save me from the growling tho') a problem now SOLVED! Attach a new transducer to the system and chuck it overboard when required. When you have the boat out replace the knackered one. Thank you Mr Raymarine Man - SOLD!
We enjoyed Antigua. It's famous for being a hidden lair for the English Navy during Nelsons time. He managed to survive a posting and the dockside buildings have been restored and now attract loads of tourists. It also hosts Antigua Race Week - so lots of new and old race boats are around. We watched a lovely schooner sail in and out of it's anchor spot on it's way to practise. There is a cruising community berthed somewhere in between the luxury yachts, so a good mix of people, from us wrinklies to the youngsters who are looking for jobs amongst the posh boats.
It was here that we heard from our very own Russian Bear. Vladimir took 24 days to cross The Pond to Trinidad, AND THE MAN EVEN HAD TIME TO CATCH LARGE FISH! He is a Titan! We had a long mail (interesting English translation) He was very upset at the poverty he encountered and thanked God that he had been born in Russia. Ponder that one ....
Other friends Nikki and Geoff had a fraught crossing which ended with a rigging failure 150 miles out. A high point for them was sailing with Minke wales who came to play. How totally wonderful! Yet another reminder of how privileged we are to see creation in its beauty. You just get lost in gazing at spectacular sunsets and stars. Being in such a huge space means that you get such huge vistas of sky colour and cloud shapes all around you. The same with the stars. I did read somewhere of a guy on watch who happened to look up and four hours later had a neck problem. I can understand that (but of course cannot condone it ..... ) Is it part of the travel thing? Everywhere you go, you feel more part of what the world IS and very much more aware of what is happening to it.
From Antigua to St Maartens is an overnight trip - in one direction only this time! It's an independent Dutch plus French island which makes for an interesting cultural divide. We stopped in Simpson Bay and didn't go into the Lagoon which was very busy. The swell was enormous in the bay and we didn't stay long. Not even to eat Nasi Goreng at our favourite Chinese restaurant.
And onto Virgin Gorda. We elected to spend a couple of days in Virgin Sound before signing in. More wind ..... and a huge number of charter boats -yes - we'd arrived at the 'zoo' as one lady cruiser put it. After registering our presence we set off for Penn's Landing and the rest, is, as they say, a load of ......
So here we are and will be until our visa runs out and we have to leave the country. You get 5 months in any one year - and we're British .... and in the minority .....
What do we do - what we always do - daily shopping. One lady at the check out at the local supermarket doesn't offer us bags as she knows we always have our own. We also climb steep hills for our early morning amusement, visit the beach and READ! Boy, do we read. There is an enormous number of books to choose from here and it's now a well known fact that I can knock off a book between breakfast and lunch. Tolstoy to Jackie Collins, P.D. James, Delderfield, Trollope, Michael Connolly, Patterson, Mills and Boon, Theroux and a host of 'unknowns' I am busy applying for jobs, but as yet no success. All this adventuring doesn't make for the ideal, tick box employee ....... So ...
It is here amongst the sun and blue skies that we contemplate our future .......
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