Further notes on completion of our first year aboard. Sorry, this didn`t get updated on May 1 with
the original blog.
During our first full year aboard we sailed (or motored) a
total of 2677.75 nautical miles.
We visited the following countries:
1. US Virgin Islands
2. British Virgin Islands
3. St. Martin
4. St. Bartholemy (St. Barths)
5. St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Nevis
(2 separate islands but one country)
6. Guadeloupe (including
Ile des Saintes)
7. Martinique
8. St.
Lucia
9. St.
Vincent and the Grenadines , including
Bequia
Mayreau
Petit St. Vincent
10. Carriacou and Grenada (2 separate islands but one
country)
11. Trinidad (did not visit other island of this country
that is also called Tobago )
12. Venezuela ,
including
Los Testigos
Isla
Margarita
Puerto la
Cruz
Cayo
Herradurra
Los Roques
Aves de
Bartolomento
Aves de
Sotovento
13. Bonaire
14. Land trip to Peru
It has been a year of learning lots of new things about our
boat home. Sailing her has become easier
as our experience on this particular boat has grown. We both feel far more confident handling this
boat than we did a year ago.
We have fallen into patterns of behavior that just come
naturally to each of us – Bill does some tasks and I do others. He changes the engine oil and runs the
watermaker and does most of the exterior cleaning and I do the laundry and most
of the interior cleaning most of the time, but we also switch roles sometimes
without discussing it. I still do most
of the meal preparation; but when I don’t feel like bothering with it or am not
hungry on Bill’s schedule (especially breakfast and lunches) then Bill fixes
something for himself. Just because we
live together 24 hours per day in the confines of a small boat does not mean that
we do everything together all the time.
We have met many cruisers during the past year, several of
whom have become good friends and others that we will never see again. Such is the life of cruisers since most of us
are continually on the move from one place to another. Sometimes our paths cross again and sometimes
not.
We have missed our kids and their wives and especially the
grandchildren. Since we all lived in the
same city we saw one another frequently and we do miss that. The grandkids Zachary and Elisabeth (BeBe)
have grown a lot during our absence and that is time we have missed and cannot
share with them. Hopefully they each
will remember some of the times they spent with us before we left Houston . We very much look forward to both of them
visiting us on the boat at some location in the future.
To all our family and friends who said we would never last a
year: you were all wrong! We are still enjoying this cruising life and
look forward to many more years of it.
May 2, 2007 Wednesday
12.52.728N; 061.11.316W Sailed
13 NM
The MANDALAY left Bequia
during the night and three more Windjammer ships arrived early this morning –
the YANKEE CLIPPER, POLYNESIA , and
LEGACY. YANKEE CLIPPER was flying a
pirate flag and was firing blank shots at POLYNESIA ,
who returned fire at will. Smoke flying
from both and cheering on both sides.
YANKEE CLIPPER won by reaching her anchoring spot first. Sounded like a good time was had by
passengers on both ships. The LEGACY
remained well outside the bay while these shenanigans were going on. LEGACY is such a bastardized, ugly,
hodge-podge of a ship that she shouldn’t play with two ships that still look
like the old clipper ships that they once were.
Winds were still howling but Bill and I both were ready to
move on. We had a great send-off from
Bequia. Several of our cruiser friends
were on the upper level of the ferry leaving Bequia en route to St. Vincent . They
loudly yelled “BEBE” and waved frantically at us. They were taking the ferry over just to spend
a day in St. Vincent . No one wants to sail over there because the
boat boys are so “enthusiastic” in wanting to “help” you. So a day trip on the ferry is a good way to
see St. Vincent . It was a fun sail hard to windward to Mustique;
all sails double reefed and seas at 6 to 8 feet; Force 6 on the Beaufort Scale
for all you sailors. We forgot to note
our times of departure and arrival, but our average speed had to be over 7
knots. We enjoy this type of sailing as
long as it doesn’t last too long.
Thirteen miles is the perfect distance; twenty-five miles would be
tiring.
Notes to sailors about this area: The charts indicate there is a flashing light
twice every 15 seconds on the buoy that marks Montezuma Shoal just east of Britannia Bay
Boats less than 70 feet in length are not supposed to anchor
at Mustique; instead, they are required to pick up a mooring ball. The moorings are very sturdy and well
maintained but they do not have pennants or painters. You must attach a line through the eye on top
of the mooring ball. Bill used our heavy
wooden boat hook to literally pick up the mooring ball and raise it high enough
to run a line through the eye and then dropped it back into the water while
holding onto the line. He cleated it off
and we were set. Chris Doyle’s sailing
guide does an injustice to Mustique because he says that it will cost $75 for a
mooring for 3 nights; he fails to mention that it is really $75 EC – which is
less than $30 USD for 3 nights on a mooring.
That is a very, very low price for a mooring and we are glad to pay
it. Chris also mentions several times in
his guide that the bay is rolly. Well,
it is but it is a gentle “rock me to sleep like a baby” type of roll.
Bill had called Basil’s from Bequia and made a reservation
for dinner tonight. Basil’s normally has
a “jump up” on Wednesday nights but not tonight. That was fine with us because we knew what we
wanted to eat at Basil’s – LOBSTER! Hard
to believe that we have been on this boat for a full year and have not eaten
lobster even once. After we arrived in
Mustique we went ashore and visited the bar in Basil’s for a quick beer and to
confirm that they had our reservation and that lobster would be available. Answer from the bartender was yes to both
questions.
So we donned our best attire and arrived a few minutes early
so we could enjoy before dinner drinks.
I finally tried a Sex on the Beach (I know, a decade or two late in
this). It was made with gin and
Cointreau and passion fruit juice and tasted darn good. Should have tried this drink long ago. Bill stuck to his normal Hairoon beer (local
beer of St. Vincent ). Then we learned that the restaurant manager
had made a last minute decision that they would serve a buffet tonight, so no
menu service. There went our lobster
dinner! Neither of us likes buffets so we opted not to eat dinner at Basil’s
tonight after all. We made a reservation
for tomorrow night and confirmed that they would service regular menu service;
then returned to BEBE and had leftovers for dinner.
May 3, 2007 Thursday
Early this morning found us walking around Mustique. We wanted to get started on our walk before
the day heated up. We had planned to
pick up pain au chocolat and croissants at Sweet Pea Bakery for breakfast, but
when we arrived we found that they were closed for the entire week. Tuesday was Labour Day in SVG and several
businesses used the excuse of this one holiday and closed for the entire
week. We walked about two hours and saw
everything that we wanted to see; reviving memories from our last visit so long
ago.
Last time we were on Mustique we walked all over the new
house under construction that belonged to Mick Jagger. It reminded us of a Japanese jigsaw puzzle,
as it was built somewhat like a maze. There
were long hallways that connected separate bedroom suites to a main house; very
unique. His original house was also
there on the grounds – a tiny wooden pier-and-beam house raised a couple of
feet off the ground. And his large
trampoline under the palm trees that he used for exercise. There was a great view of the sea and some
rocky tiny islands. We wanted to see if
we could find this house again. The
bartender at Basil’s told us last night that Mick had been on the island for
quite some time but had recently left.
We walked through the grounds at The Cotton House, the most
exclusive and nicest hotel in the entire Caribbean . There have been many new homes built since we
were last on Mustique. There were only
27 homes when we were last here. They
belong to people like Princess Margaret, Raquel Welch, Mick Jagger, and other
celebrities or rich and famous people.
Today there are more than 90 homes on Mustique, and they are all really
nice and very large. I particularly like
the white one on top of the hill on the southwest tip of the island; looks like
a version of the Taj Majal when viewed through my binoculars from our
cockpit. Mustique is a very well-kept
island. The other difference we found is
that there are “private drive, please do not enter” signs all over the
place. We stayed strictly on the roads
or paths that were not marked as private.
We found what we think is Mick Jagger’s house – or at least a similar
styled house in the location that we remembered.
Nearby is an empty small lot that is not marked as private,
so we walked out to the beach. And there
we found what appeared to be a stone bench located beneath the palm trees and
facing the sea. It was a beautiful
location and the bench appeared to be placed so that one could sit and watch
the ocean under the shade and enjoy the breeze.
Turned out that this is a gravesite for a man who was a sailor. On the seat of the bench is engraved the poem
about “a sailor home from the sea” and the back side of the bench is signed by
what appeared to be his grandchildren.
What a lovely location for a final resting place for anyone who loved
the sea.
Bill was entertained most of the afternoon. He became the self-appointed mooring line
helper for arriving boats that looked like they needed assistance. Some boats could handle picking up a mooring
ball with no painter attached, but most could not. Have to remember that there are a lot of
charter boats down here with people who are not experienced with all facets of
boating life. Bill would watch a boat
approach the mooring field and see how they intended to handle the situation. If they were obviously confused or
short-handed, then Bill would jump into the dinghy and go help them attach
lines to the ball. Gave him something to
do and people to talk to. He also was
entertained by a girl on the beach. The
couple are apparently staying someone on the island, not on a yacht. A driver brought them to the nearby beach and
left them there for a couple of hours.
After swimming the girl walked back onto the beach and promptly stripped
out of her swimsuit and not is a modest manner.
She pranced around a bit as if she were on a stage and then donned a
cover up top. Stunning girl and provided
Bill with entertainment.
Looking forward to our special treat lobster dinner
tonight. We are considering this our
anniversary dinner to celebrate our first full year living aboard.
May 4, 2007 Friday
ARROGANT BRIT WITH POOR SEAMANSHIP
Early yesterday afternoon a British yacht arrived and
dropped a huge anchor about 40 feet behind our boat – right inside the mooring
ball field! He dropped that anchor to
the inside of 5 moorings. Bill happened
to be in the dinghy assisting another boat moor, so when he finished with the
first one he went to the Brit to see if he wanted any assistance. Bill thought the Brit was just putting down
an anchor to hold the boat in place while he took his dinghy down from the
davits so that he could do his own mooring line. But this was not the case; the Brit intended
to anchor – right in the middle of the moorings! Talk about poor seamanship, not to mention
safety issues and simple rudeness. The
Brit said he planned to drop far back (he didn’t; he ended up lying aligned
evenly with the last mooring ball).
Yachts longer than 70 feet are allowed to anchor, but only well behind
the mooring field; yachts smaller than 70 feet are required to use
moorings. This is a requirement for
conservation reasons to protect the marine life and bottom. Yachts that are anchored are still required
to pay the $75 EC conservation fee, same as if on a mooring. So it made no sense that this guy was
anchoring right in the middle of the mooring field since he was going to have
to pay anyway.
Bill: “I think they
will make you pick up a mooring.”
Brit: “I don’t think
they can make me use a mooring. That
isn’t legal.”
Bill, smiling and with a shrug, and motoring away: “It’s Mustique.”
I was concerned about where he had dropped his anchor and
the fact that he did not let out enough scope and was lying too close to moored
boats. Anchored boats swing on their
anchor lines differently than moored boats swing on mooring balls. The anchored boat has a much greater arc of
swing because he has longer scope. If
the winds had changed during the night as so often happens then that Brit would
swing into one or more moored boats. But
he was far enough away from us that our boat was not in any danger, so we let
the situation alone. Not our problem.
Before we went in for dinner last night Bill watched the
harbor master do his nightly rounds to each boat to collect the
conservation/mooring fees. The guy on
the British yacht spoke with him for awhile and then the harbor master handed
over a piece of paper. The British guy
did not pay but did accept the paper from the harbor master.
We went into Basil’s and didn’t give the Brit a second
thought. Basil’s is open air like most Caribbean restaurants, and it is built out over the
water. We were seated at a corner table
with a beautiful view of the bay as the full moon was rising. While we were enjoying our pre-dinner drinks
(another Sex on the Beach for me; I’m developing a taste for that gin and
passion fruit juice), Bill noticed that the arrogant Brit was pulling his
anchor. Only thing we can figure is that
the harbor master gave him a copy of the local laws regarding anchoring and conservation
fees in Mustique; the guy still refused to pay; and the harbor master said that
he would have to leave. We watched his
stern light as he sailed away toward Canoaun in the darkness. Can you believe that someone on an expensive
yacht would chose to sail away at night rather than pay less than $30 USD and
stay on a mooring for 3 nights? Makes no
sense to us. Sheer arrogance: nobody-is-going-tell-me-what-to-do type
attitude.
We enjoyed our lobster dinner last night. It was a real treat and grilled
perfectly. For those who don’t already
know this tidbit, lobsters are basically marine arachnids, meaning that they
are sea spiders or sea bugs. Sounds
yucky to think that you are eating a spider, but the darn things taste so
good! We definitely prefer the
warm-water Caribbean lobsters over the traditional cold-water Maine lobsters.
We also had a little surprise. Our waiter used to work as the bartended on 2
of the Windjammer cruises that we took back in the 1980s. What a small world. His name is Aussie and he has had a number of
jobs in a number of different places since then. Funny that we should run into him here. Bill remembered him well because Bill spent a
lot more time in the bar on the Windjammer cruises while I was prone in our
cabin due to seasickness. Aussie told us
about several of the other Windjammer employees who have since passed away –
like Ingrid who worked in the dining room on the POLYNESIA
and Offshore Eddie who was old even back then.
Offshore Eddie was a real character.
He was a master sailmaker and could repair sails by hand and could make
basically anything from canvass or sailcloth by hand. He worked on the Windjammer ships for living
quarters and all the food and rum and beer that he wanted to drink. A real old codger who did not want to give up
his life on the sea.
Aussie explained to us the employment arrangements of
working for Basil’s. The workers are
provided with housing, food and even uniforms.
They must remain on Mustique and work for 30 days and then they are
allowed to leave the island for 4 days.
Kind of reminded us of a modern version of slavery, but the workers seem
happy with this arrangement.
BTW, I bought a small container of sour cream
yesterday. Cost $9.80 USD for a
container of about 6 ounces. Good thing
that Basil’s provides meals for their employees because they certainly could
not afford to buy their own food on Mustique.
Later on May 4…….
The sail was so nice that we skipped right by Canouan. We decided there was no good reason to stop there. Bill had bought a loaf bread in Mustique this
morning so that was taken care of, and we had no intentions of visiting Raffles
resort or casino; so why stop? Then we
heard a hail on the VHF “BEBE, BEBE, BEBE; ALLELUIA!, ALLELUIA!” Our friends Tito and Roberta were on their
way from Bequia to Tobago Cays and could see us. We decided to sail on to the Cays rather than
stop in Mayreau.
So that we where we sit this afternoon. Sailed 20.5 NM in F5 conditions on a broad
reach. The way sailing should always
be. We are at 12.37.890N; 061.21.385W in
the heart of the beautiful Tobago Cays, anchored behind the long southern reef
with less than a meter of water beneath our keel and facing the Atlantic Ocean.
Oh, one other thing about today. When we approached the Cays there were
several boats arriving at the same time so we were forming into a line to pass
single file in the narrow passage between the 3 islands. Two boats ahead of us in line was the same
British yacht that had refused to pay the mooring/conservation fee in Mustique
last night. He chickened out of the
tight and shallow passage and we all had to wait for him to turn back and
re-track his course. This boat has no
name on it, but it was definitely the same boat. He has 2 wind generators mounted way out to
either side on the stern; the boat is easily identifiable; and we want to avoid
him as much as possible. I think it is
funny that the arrogant expert was afraid to negotiate the difficult passage and
turned around. At least that means that
he is now anchored on the western side of the little islands rather on the
eastern side with the rest of us. We
have dubbed this man the Anchor Guy.
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