Elvis is alive and living in St. Lucia

Well we made it into View Fort, St. Lucia after a 0350 departure from Wallilabou. The weather has been iffy the last couple of days and forecast to get worse. We needed to get to St. Lucia to pick up the Fowler family Monday and the later we waited, the greater chance of not making it across the channel to St. Lucia. Winds were forecast 25-30, higher in squalls and seas to 15 feet. Not what we wanted to deal with. I decided to motor sail this leg of about 35 miles to minimize the mutiny factor. The early departure graced us with a couple hours of moderated weather and running up the St. Vincent coast very close to get the lee was easy going. That all changed when we got to the north end of the island. The guide warns of very high winds until about 6 miles north of SV. We got them at 40 knots and the 5 meter sea/swell combo as well. These were really incredible to look at. The period of the swell just long enough we seldom buried the hulls but all the visual excitement and feeling of a roller coaster. Good thing the rest of the crew were sleeping. They wouldn’t share my fascination. Like the good book said, 5 miles north the seas moderated and we blasted into View Fort about 0945. Not bad for 36 miles.
We spent the next day basically lounging waiting for Rocket and his family to show. This was by far the worst anchorage to date. The winds blasted down the hill frequently to 40 knots and would change direction all day and night causing serious strain on the tackle. We let out extra chain to compensate but got too close to the reef so moved away to allow some dragging room. There were a dozen boats the first night but only us the last night. All left for calmer pastures. We watched the Fowler flight land on time from the boat and Donna and Alex went to scoop them up. I couldn’t leave the boat for fear of dragging. Turns out it was all for not.
The next day we prepared to get underway and while pulling anchor the chain came up hard right from the start. The windlass was only able to recover a few links at a time and our fear of snagging another anchor or worse were confirmed. Seems we hooked a shaft, strut and stuffing box from a wrecked ship. It was about 14 feet long and weighed a bunch. The windlass strained to get one end up to the surface and with the aid of both of our mast winches we raised it up to the chain locker height. Donna was in the water hooking up lines and trying to untangle the mess. She got all the wraps off the struts but the chain was woven between all the lag bolts running the length of the shaft and too much to attempt with snorkels. We ran out the spare anchor to relief strain on the chain and minimize the constant swinging from 30 knot blasts off the hillside. Despite heroic efforts by Donna, and after the shaft slid down part way through the strut we were secured to, the situation was too dangerous to attempt from the surface with our equipment. The windlass supports were cracking and we lost two rivets in the port mast winch from the attempt. I threw in the towel and went searching for a diver. We found one in the fishermans harbour who worked for fisheries St. Lucia. He would gladly take a look for us during his lunch break. I picked him up two hours later and after suiting up he went down and five minutes later had the chain clear. We thanked him, paid him and yes his name is Elvis.
The sail up to the Pitons was only 12 miles but what a blast. We finally got to reach and with 25 to 30 knots of wind and a double reefed main alone we were comfortable doing between 7 and 9 knots. Fred and Dylan doing turns at the helm while the rest of the crew bounced around up forward and sitting on the cross beam with waves rolling under. The Pitons are a couple of very tall and steep mountains. This area of the coast is a marine management area where anchoring is prohibited. Mooring bouys are in place for a small fee. The whole area is very beautiful amplified by the friendly people we have met. The St. Lucians are proud of their island and willingly share the special places to see and do while here. We are looking forward to it. An unexpected bonus having the Fowlers here and sharing domestic chores is now I can go twice as long before it’s my turn to do the dishes.

Wallilabou, St. Vincent

Well this 15 mile trip like others before had certain similarities. The wind was on the nose (getting used to it but not liking it), We did way more miles than the rhumb (see previous similarity), and our daughters social life and being responsible parents dictated we leave soon as possible. Much of Bequia’s young men lie in mourn.

Even sailing hard on the wind is great aside from the fact you are pointing everywhere but where you want to go just to get there. We hit a squall midway in Bequia channel and just like the cruising guide cautions; wind and wave have taken many from this channel. Winds were strong to 40 knots and mixed with rain is impossible to see. An hour later the wind dropped to about 5 knots and we motored for an hour. Then the wind returned at 25 knots on the nose and we’re back sailing again. And so it goes.

On our approach to Wallilabou, a "boat boy" was frantically waving to us and rowing his small craft to intercept despite some evasive maneuvers by me. Doing about 5 knots under sail we passed close buy and he said he was Shaun and worked for the restaurant. Did we want a mooring and shore line? We yelled back that we wanted to look around first and didn’t know what we were going to do. I fired up both engines and sped to about 7 knots to distance myself. The guide says they try to get you to tow them back to port to take a line ashore for you and if anything happens along the way you pay for it. Not wanting to be approached, I fled the scene. Over my shoulder, Shaun was frantically rowing his little boat in pursuit with little chance of catching me. Or so I thought. He stayed close enough astern we could make out his facial features. It was determination! As I approached the anchorage, my thoughts turned to where we could moor. This bay is extremely deep and we lacked enough anchor chain to anchor. The standard practice here is to pick up a mooring buoy and then take a line ashore to arrest swinging into the guy that is moored too close to you already. We didn’t have a long enough stern line to reach shore either but there was a buoy open near the wharf that was close enough. Before I was able to complete my turn to get the buoy, who should pop up over the bows to grab our line but a winded and sweaty Shaun. Incredible. This lad could row. He earned his sheckels this day. After the tie up ballet, we were approached by every vender on the water. They were on surf boards, in boats and kayaks. My favorite was "Crazy Man". The two Ronnie’s offered mechanical and restaurant services as well as guiding and line tending. Lots of fun.
The sets from Pirates of the Caribbean were fresh in our minds after just watching the movie. We were stern tied to the wharf that Johnny Depp stepped onto at the beginning of the movie as his boat sank from under.

Very early Saturday morning (about 0400) we will depart here for the 35 mile trip to View Fort, St. Lucia to pick up our friends the Fowler family. Another hard sail that could take a day to get there.

Bequia

We have had a lot of fun on Bequia. Lots to see and do, great beaches and wonderful hiking. The people here have been friendly and helpful, a pleasure to get to know. While here, we enjoyed a tour of the Old Hegg Turtle Sanctuary; where they catch the young turtles as they hatch from the eggs. These hatchlings are caught right off of the beach in front of the sanctuary and interestingly enough they release the turtles in various locations around the Grenadines, but the turtles still return to the same beach to lay their eggs. This photo is a baby green turtle.

Ron and I also took an amazing tour of a complex called “Moon Hole”. This is a strata type development where all the homes are made from and on rock, built high on a rocky hill, with no electricity (other than solar), no painted walls (inside or out), rainwater catchment systems, very little straight lines and absolutely nothing was square. The first home was built in the sixties in the centre of a natural rock arch where the full moon shines through twice year, hence the name “Moon Hole”.

Our stay here was extended slightly by Ron’s discovery of a worn out fresh water engine cooling pump. Luckily we were able to have one sent over from St. Vincent on the ferry and Ron successfully installed it last night. While in the process of repositioning to try to receive wireless internet on the boat we had the port engine over temperature alarm go off. The problem turned out to be the salt water cooling system which had ingested the impeller tips. I can’t imagine being on a boat without someone who can fix things.

It’s been fun in Bequia and the girls would like to stay, but it is time to move on. The girls have made quite a few friends; Bubba, Bushman, Rummage, Dumpling and many more. I am not sure where the Bequian girls are, but we have certainly seen a lot of the Bequian boys. Tomorrow morning early we are heading over to St. Vincent to check on one of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” sets and then off to St. Lucia

Port Elizabeth, Bequia

Port Elizabeth, Bequia is a delightful little ocean side town. The community seems to welcome the cruising community with easy access facilities for garbage, water, and fuel. There is a sidewalk that skirts the bay with gentle waves lapping at the sand beach on one side and interesting boutiques, restaurants, shops and accommodation on the other side. This is the beach front in front of where we are anchored about 100 feet from shore.

Our trip down from the Tobago Cays was fairly uneventful. The winds were between 22 and 28 knots on the nose, so again we did a lot of tacking with 62 sea miles sailed to make 24 land miles. Again, Jenessa put out her fishing line, though this time she had it out for at least 4 hours. As we got close to Bequia, she again announced she had a fish. This one was quite a bit smaller than the last one. When she flipped it into the dinghy, it became apparent she had caught a barracuda. They say small barracuda are good eating fish and this one was about 18 inches, but after a bit of discussion, it was decided that she wanted to let this one go.

We have been doing laundry in a bucket for almost three weeks and today we decided we would splurge and have our laundry done. To use the laundry facilities is $20.00 E.C. ($8.00 C per load) or the service will pick up the laundry from the boat and deliver it back for $25.00 E.C.($10.00 C). This one was an easy choice for me.
This picutre of the yellow skiff is of the laundry pickup and delivery boat.

We have again met up with another family that we met in the Tobago Cays from Comox, B.C. Their boat is called “TEMBO” from their children’s favourite story. Interestingly enough their children are doing NIDES as well, so this gave us lots in common. They have been on their boat for more than a year and were planning on being back to Comox this coming August, but are now thinking about going an additional year.

We plan to stay here for about a week and a half and then head up to St. Lucia to meet our good friends, Fred, Kendra, Dylan & Justine from Sidney, B.C.

Better than being in an Aquarium

Swimming & Snorkelling

We are sitting in a National Park called the Tobago Cays. Out the window to our starboard side is the island called Petit Tabac. For those Pirates of the Caribbean fans this is where Johnny Depp & Kiera Knightley were marooned. The gaff rigged sailboat above was also in the movie.

The Cays are world famous for its amazing snorkeling. As we were heading off in the dinghy this morning for a snorkel we had a turtle sighting. So Jenessa, Alex and I high tailed it out of the dinghy to see it. It was a Hawksbill Turtle, they are common in areas around reefs where there are grassy areas. We were able to swim and follow it around until we tired. It was quite interesting to see how easily it glided through the water. It turned out that there was at least five in the same area. And according to Aunti Kelli a bunch of turtles are called a rafter, bale or a role. Turtles are air breathers and come to the surface usually three times in a row when they require air. This makes them fairly easy to see from a boat.

Besides the turtles the highlight of snorkeling so far here in the Cays has been:

Goldspotted Snake Eel - Jenessa & Donna spotted one that was about 24” long. They live in shallow burrows under the sand and eat small crabs and crustaceans. The book that we were reading about them says they are not aggressive and have gentle inquisitive natures. It is known as a Sea Snake, but actually there are no known sea snakes in the West Indies.

Tarpon - While snorkeling at Petit Tabac at about a depth of 10 feet we were surprised by a Tarpon that must have been about 3 – 4 feet long. He wasn’t very interested in us so he didn’t hang around long for us to see him for long. Tarpon grow to a length of 8 feet and are considered a game fish here.

Scrawled Cowfish – We have spotted a few of these interesting fish. They have these funny looking appendages that look like horns over their eyes. Their bodies have wonderful almost iridescent squiggles running all over it. They grow to about 18 inches. The ones that we have seen have been between 10 to 14 inches.

Trunkfish – Are fairly common, but always fun to see. They have very triangular shaped bodies with small tails. They seem like they are very inefficient swimmers.

Barracuda - Jenessa and I spotted one when we were snorkeling around a small island. She almost drowned me by trying to hide behind me. They really are non aggressive, but do have an impressive set of teeth.

Lots of Spadefish, Squirrelfish, Tangs, Blenny, Damselfish, Butterflyfish, Goatfish, Trumpetfish, Basselet, Grunt, Wrasses and Parrotfish

The other amazing sight here in the water is the variety of corals. Just in this small group of islands there is Elkhorn, Sea Fan, Pillar, Finger, Brain, and Staghorn. There is also a variety of sponges like vase and tube sponges.

Swimming here is like being in a gigantic aquarium. I apolgize for no photos, but we do not have an underwater camera. Up to now, I thought it wasn't worthwhile having an underwater camera, but I wish we did now.

New Years in the Caribbean

Clifton, Union Island is a very pretty seaside Caribbean town that caters to the cruising crowd with lots of small vendors, internet cafes and restaurants. For New Years eve (the locals called it the “Old Years Farewell”) we joined Ed & Judy and went into Clifton for dinner and for a wonderful street party. Gramma added a little bit of excitement to the night and an opportunity for us to check out the local health facilities. On route to the restaurant Gramma stepped sideways to allow a taxi by and disappeared into a very large storm drain. The potential was great for serious injury but Gramma proved hardier than one would expect for a 73 year old. With ice on her arm and in a fair bit of pain, Ron and I accompanied her to the local doctors home where he checked her out, gave her a shot in the arm, with her arm in a sling we walked back to the restaurant for dinner. With a couple of glasses of wine she was ready to boogie.

Close to 11:00 p.m. the party crowd in the street was growing, the music was great and without any encouragement Gramma and Judy were dancing down the street with Alex and Jenessa giggling behind. It wasn’t long before a local had attached himself to Gramma and the party began with her shaking her booty. By the time Gramma tired out which wasn’t too long, the girls joined Judy dancing in the street while Gramma kicked back with a couple of pina coladas. As before Alex and Jenessa were very popular with the young and older men and received over a half dozen invites to parties by locals

Tobago to Union Island, SVG

Ron was in his glory sailing from Tobago to Union Island. We left Charlotteville, Tobago at 20:15 with very light winds. For the first time we put both the main sail and head sail up without a reef as the winds were about 15 knots from the northeast. Our speed sailing was at about 6.5 knots on a close reach. During the night the winds picked up 20 to 25 so Ron dropped the head sail. We then sailed with just the main until the winds gusted up to 30 when we then put the second reef in the main. It was a great sail with us cruising between 7 to 9 knots with amazing bursts taking us over 12 knots. We arrived in Union Island at 9:15 doing 95 miles in 13 hours at an average speed of 7.2 knots. So as I said Ron was a happy camper doing what he likes to do. Gramma stayed up again to keep him company while the kids mostly slept and I dozed with one ear always open to assist when needed.

Just after dawn Jenessa asked if she was allowed to fish. She wanted to get out her Christmas fishing rod but Ron convinced her to use heavier line and just stick a pink squid on the end. With about 60 feet of line out, you could see the lure bouncing behind us in the wake of the boat. She was quite content to sit there and play with the line. After about an hour Ron suggested she might consider pulling in the line as we were sailing at about 10 knots and he thought that was too fast to catch a fish. It couldn’t of been 5 more minutes when were heard a very excited little voice saying, “I caught something, I caught something!!” Without a reel and without gloves, it took both Ron and Jenessa to pull the line in and sure enough she had caught a fish. We estimate it was between 5 & 7 pounds. We had bought the same kind of fish off a fisherman the day before, and he called it a king fish. Just after anchoring, low and behold a couple that we had met from Grenada pulled in behind us, so we celebrated by having Judy & Ed over for barbecue fish for dinner.

Alex had her hair braided on Christmas Eve in Tobago and while we were exploring Clifton, we found a 14 year old girl named Patrice who was willing to braid Jenessa’s hair for 30 EC which is about $12.00. She did a great job and was lovely to talk to about her school, community and family.