New month…time for a new country and time to get this Caribe Cruise underway so late afternoon 02 Feb we upped anchor and departed Carlisle Bay, Barbados on the planned overnight 130 mile passage southwest to Grenada.
Before we departed we had been talking of going to the island of Bequia so as the wind started veering to make Bequia a more comfortable passage we changed course for that destination. A few hours later we started to experience squally conditions and associated very uncomfortable inconsiderate seas that was making even Bequia difficult so we changed course again, this time for St Lucia.
What sort of sailors are we becoming ? Well to be honest after conquering the Atlantic Ocean without any signs of mel da mer B was knocked over by this little passage which was totally unexpected so we opted for the (slightly) easier option, and why not.
Dawn offered the impressive sight of the Pitons, two tall peaks rising upward on the coast of St Lucia, a little like Fiordland NZ, but oh so much warmer. We had a magic upwind sail north along the east coast of St Lucia to Rodney Bay in 20/25 knot winds sailing with a reef in the mainsail coupled with our staysail (the small sail hanked on the inner forestay behind the big genoa on the forestay) using the new track position that reduces the slot between the staysail and the mast. This allows us to point much higher into the wind (30 degrees) and achieve 8+ knots boatspeed that for a cruising girl probably weighing in at 24+ tons all fuelled and watered up plus our travelling circus gear is more than respectable. This is the first time we have sailed to windward since the Moroccan Coast and the first time we have road tested the new staysail deck fittings we fitted in Lanzarote.
Rodney Bay St Lucia is an extremely busy crossroads for yachts cruising through and around the Caribbean and for P this was a notable milestone.
Milestone…..
Sailing into Rodney Bay 03 Feb 2012 Musketelle's incoming wake from points East crossed the long since lost but not forgotten Westbound wake left by Lion NZ of 24 June1995 so completing the skippers circumnavigation of the big orb !! So from here on the second lap commences for him.
Time for reflection….17 years to sail round the world is not really impressive but making the decision to buy Lion NZ in Florida back in 95 was a life changing decision and most of those 17 years and 40,000 sea miles have been on these two fine Ron Holland designed vessels. Voyaging has included visiting 35 countries
between 41 degrees north and the southern ocean at 50 degrees south. Good times and not so good, he says he would not have swapped it for anything.
Back to Reality
After a couple of weeks dinghying ashore to shop and check out the immediate sights, relaxing and swimming at anchor we went into the work berth at Rodney Bay Marina and removed the forestay to repair the Furlex furling unit that had failed on the Atlantic crossing. Some new ball bearings and much sweat and all was well again.
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| Musketelle alongside with forestay removed |
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| Getting down to business repairing furler |
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| Manual on ground reminds it was a mission |
Cause of damage… mid Atlantic the furling line had wrapped itself around the furling drum and as we furled in under darkness the furling mechanism unwound itself internally when a tiny thread locking grub screw appears to have let go under the extreme pressure of furling. We had thought running two headsails on the twin luff groove foil might have caused the problem but we think unlikely.
Rodney Bay was a hive of activity being a must stop for cruising yachts escaping mid winter to the north with Canadian registered yachts out numbering US vessels by a large margin which was a real surprise. At a chance meeting with Canadian cruiser Daryl of the yacht 'Vimi' last sighted in Marmaris we agreed 10 years
earlier it would have been the other way around and he suggested this was a clear example of the financial crisis in the US and a reflection of their economy.
Lets Go French
20 Feb sailed 30 miles north to the French island of Martinique and for 10 days we have been having a very pleasant time here doing food, boat and tourist things. Being French, food just has to be mentioned because we are back into good tasty bread and cheeses (including very smelly ripe camembert) and classy French cooking. Its all a bit of an oddity given we are in the Caribbean but not surprising when you learn Martinique is a department of France and part of the EU with all the trappings and benefits.
In the 17th century the French eliminated the locals, took over and clearly have ploughed major investment into the island since. Seems France must have insisted Martinque be afforded special treatment when the EU was formed.
Boats Boats and more Boats in La Marin
Le Marin is a large enclosed bay on the southern coast of Martinique dedicated a Marine precinct with a 1000 yachts plus the majority of which seem to be catamarans. Unlike Rodney Bay where yachts of all nations can be sighted French flagged yachts account for the majority. La Marin is a sailors nautical heaven
with a range of competing services and chandlery stores chock full of stock all vying for our business. The electronics man was getting the attention of our wallet because our mast mounted 48mile radar scanner has gone on the blink and he tried to fix it but was snookered and could only offer us a replacement 24mile range scanner which we have had to accept - navigatoress B is most unhappy at the prospect of not being able to pick up those squalls at 48 miles. If we can get a 48 miler further up the line we will.
Being a Tourist has its Risks
We are forever reminding ourselves to be careful out and about in the knowledge one trip or slip could completely scupper our cruising plans. And don't we just know !!
We sometimes hire cars for a day or two to get around and see as much as we can
and do bulk supermarket shopping as the independence and flexibility suits us. We did this last Friday and drove around half Martinique in a neat little brand new Renault Twingo. About 4.30pm we were heading for Fort du France on a sealed rural road through lush tropical vegetation, driving along with the air con off
and the windows down it was so pleasant.
All of a sudden as we approach a sharp bend we hear screeching tyres and slow down almost to a halt when next moment a car comes from around the bend ahead sliding under brakes across onto our side of the road and ploughs into a concrete power pole about 40 metres in front of us. Hot on the heals of the
crashing car was another car that continues on and comes to a stop unscathed opposite us.
By now also at a stop we are looking to see if there is any sign of life inside the crashed car ahead when next thing the teetering power pole falls down hitting the bonnet and all but missing the cabin falling on the drivers side with power lines going in all directions over the road including both sides of out little Renault but well clear of us. We put the hazard lights on, B hops out to wave down cars behind us and yelling for a lady standing on the balcony of a nearby house to call for an ambulance (in English).
Next thing the driver of the pranged car appears from the wreckage staggering in a daze towards us as P is yelling to him (in English) to mind the wires he was dangerously close to before he changes direction and collapses in shock at the kerb. The young male driver of the other car runs up and it is obvious they might be mates as he rushes to his side. We speculate they were racing each other. Looks like the young driver is traumatised with shock and not injured, luckily just a case of lost car and lost pride on this occasion. As we waited for the emergency services to arrive we took a deep breath and contemplated what might have been if we had been driving with the aircon on. There but for…...
Disaster for another Kiwi Cruiser
Most mornings at 0900 Caribbean time 1300 UTC we tune in on the SSB (single side band) long range radio to a loose network of mostly Kiwi and Aussie cruisers for chit chat, information sharing and safety. Its called the Magnet (short for Magellan Net). We used this net for our Atlantic crossing even though we were behind the majority of those crossing at that time. One boat that was out there with us on the Atlantic was a Kiwi boat called Chinook Wind with Dick and Mary from Thames whom we had met first in Lanzarote and later in Las Palmas.
On Tuesday morning 28 Feb we tuned in to hear Dick report that Chinook Wind on passage from Grenada to Curacao in the Dutch Antilles (part of what is known as the ABC group) hit a reef last night off the Venezuelan Coast and that they were waiting to be rescued. He gave the position as 12.00.000 N 67.25 000 W which we plotted as a reef named Islas de Aves. Dick was cool and calm but clearly under stress saying they had gathered their valuables and awaited rescue by the Venezuelan Coastguard with Chinook Wind seemingly beyond salvage as she is being pounded further on to the reef by big seas. They set off the EPRIB which worked well and notified the US authorities who then contacted Venezuelan Coastguard.
To add to the concern Venezuela is known as a pirate/thief haven with illegal activity and attacks on cruisers well documented and law enforcement unreliable.
However the Venezuelan Rescue Authorities were up to scratch and rescued Dick and Anne although they could not take any gear with them. We have since heard from another two NZ yachts who have just passed by that Chinook Wind is lying on the reef and has already been stripped - not surprising but disheartening
nevertheless.
