Chaguaramas, Trinidad

We left True Blue in the early afternoon on the 27th, and made an afternoon stop at Hog Island, to have a swim and a rest before the overnight passage to Trinidad. It was a good sail, but a bit on the "good exciting" side of the scale; the winds were around 20 knots or so from the east, and the seas on the high side of the forecasted 5-7 feet. We did what I think of as our usual watch schedule: Susan 1800-2200, Leigh 2200-0200, JP 0200-0600. No one slept much; it was hot and a bit bouncy below decks, and there was a squall around 1130 and then we needed to stay a mile away from the Hibiscus oil and gas platform that is about 30 miles off the coast of Trinidad, so JP stayed around after the squall for that maneuver.

JP put the engine on about 10 miles from the coast, as the wind was both "variable" and squally, and we came through the Boca de Monos into Chaguaramas around 0700. We were on the dock at Customs and Immigration by 0830; the process was pretty painless and we were in our slip at Crews Inn at 0920.

Here are some Grenada and Trinidad pictures:

2011 06 Grenada

It is hot here, as expected, and we 1) do not have an a/c because the pump was on its last legs so JP took it out in Grenada (a new one is on order and due here on Friday) 2) do not have POWER during the day because the electric company is working on things at the marina from 0800-1400(ish) during the day, so the a/c we rented after chasing one all over town isn't much help and 3)it rains regularly and sometimes HARD so having the hatches open is a problem. Not a great start to our planned several month stay here, but I will probably feel better when the a/c and power problem is resolved (fingers crossed, by Saturday sometime).

We have prepared the maintenance list and are getting ready to take it to the yard to get the process started. It's kind of a daunting prospect to think of leaving her here for nearly three months anyway, and when I look at the list I am even more anxious. This has been the plan all along, but now that it is "real", it doesn't look so easy to do as it was to say all these months.

On a funnier and more positive note, a story. Years ago, my friend Joan gave me/us a copy of the book "An Embarrassment of Mangoes", by Ann VanderHoof. Ann and her husband, Steve Manley, are a Canadian couple who took a two year Caribbean sailing sabbatical (about 15 years ago) on their 42-foot sailboat Receta; she wrote about the adventure when they got back to Toronto, and I am sure one can find many a dog-eared copy of the book in the collections of many folks who have done or want to do the same thing - me included. They got back to the Caribbean on a more or less full time basis about five years ago, and last year, around the time we were getting ready to head out, she published a second book, focused almost exclusively on the food of the region, called Spice Necklace. (EOM had a lot of food stuff too, including a number of Island recipes and cooking stories). I have both on my Kindle.

It has become a running joke on Raconteur that I consult "Ahhhnnnn" the way other cruisers consult people like Van Sant, Street, Chris Parker, Herb Hilgenberg, et.al. "What does Ahhhnnn say?" "Ahhhhnnnn says...." "Ahhhnnnn and Steve said...." etc. Even our fishing technique borrows a (jokey)bit from them.

SO: maybe nine years from Joan's gift of the book, several charters, the purchase of Raconteur, the voyages to and from the Chesapeake and Lauderdale and the Bahamas, and the 3,200 miles of this cruise later....we pulled in to the dock at Crews Inn (I was struggling not to be sideways and not to hit Blue Horizons, the boat in the next slip), I looked up, and saw....Ann VanderHoof, walking down the dock toward Receta, in the slip opposite and two slips away.



Kind of a nice coda to this leg of the journey.

Covering a few nautical miles

We have been mostly on the move since my last post. We hopped through Puerto Rico and the Spanish Virgins, then spent a few nights in the British Virgin Islands - including a quick haul-out for the required out-of-water survey for the insurance company, which we were able to do at Nanny Cay on Tortola in the BVI - and then took another long (41 hour) passage from Virgin Gorda to Des Haies, on the northwest coast of the French island of Guadeloupe.
We arrived here on Friday morning the 27th, spent a quiet day and then rented a car on the 28th to see some of the interior. On the 29th (yesterday) we headed for Iles des Saintes, off the southern coast, and tomorrow will we move on to Portsmouth on Dominica (after trying to find fuel at Baie de Marigot, just around the corner; we have not taken on fuel since Soper's Hole in the BVI).
Some of our photos in Guadeloupe are here:

2011 05 Guadeloupe

We are forecast to have some stronger wind and seas over the next few days, until Friday, so we will likely stick around Dominica until then, before heading to Martinique for next weekend.

Great passage, and...

We set off from Ocean World/Playa Cofresi on Thursday around 1030, intending to land at Mayaguez on the west coast of Puerto Rico by Saturday morning. Contrary to all conventional wisdom, the gods were smiling, we had great conditions for nearly all of the dreaded Mona Passage, and we were able to come on around to Ponce on the south shore instead, by early afternoon on Saturday after about 50 hours underway. We were tired but delighted to have another 280 nautical miles behind us.
The weather and sailing conditions since have been mixed at best, but mostly yukky. We spent the weekend at Ponce Yacht and Fishing Club, enjoying a but if Puerto Rican music, food and drink at the nearby malecon (seaside) boardwalk, doing a little light provisioning, and then heading about 8 miles south and east for what was meant to be a day of R&R at Isla Caja de Los Muertos.
We found a set of moorings maintained (?) by the park service, and got one fairly easily. It was Monday so the place was deserted; we gather it is a favorite weekend spot for locals. There was a LOT of roll, but it was just one night so no worries (?). JP and Susan swam to the beach and explored the island for an hour or so. After they returned, the weather kicked up a bit more from a smallish squall, at which point JP noticed first that we were lying in an odd position to the mooring ball, and then that in fact, the ball was no longer attached to anything and, therefore, neither were we. We started the engine PDQ and Leigh drive while JP and Susan attempted first to get the mooring on board (to keep it from becoming jetsam) and then, when that proved impossible, to detach from it. There is a second anchorage area on the island, so we went there and spent the night uneventfully.
Left around 0500 to head for an anchorage at Puerto Patillas; good sailing for about two hours followed by major squalls and downpours for the next FIVE hours it took us to finish the 30 or so miles.
Heading around the corner to the east coast tomorrow, hoping for better but the forecast is not encouraging.
Neptune giveth, and Neptune chargeth for the gifts.

Ocean World Marina and Boat Repair?

We left Provo on Saturday 30 April and headed across the Caicos Bank. It is very beautiful, we think...the ride was too uncomfortable to prove it by us! We knew we were heading into a less than ideal crossing, but had hoped to get all the way to Big Sand Cay south of Grand Turk, to stage for our trip to the Dominican Republic. Alas, much too much headwind and banging around for that, so we stopped first (for two nights) between Big Ambergris and Little Ambergris, right on the southeastern edge of the Caicos Bank, then headed along to Big Sand on Monday the 2nd. It is a lovely, lovely uninhabited island (we took an unbelievable number of photos, even for us); you can see them here:

2011 BigSand

Last evening, after talking about the weather window with Chris Parker, the cruisers' weather guru, we headed out from Big Sand intending to go all the way to Samana on the east coast of the DR. Alas, after a fabulous sail for the first 8 hours or so, the wind started to clock and to die, AND we confirmed that our batteries were either not charging or charging inconsistently from the engine, AND we already knew that our generator, which would otherwise provide battery charging as an alternative and back up to the engine, was on the fritz. So, we bailed for the north coast, and Ocean World Marina, at Cofresi, four kilometres or so from Puerto Plata.

The gen problem JP and Susan were able to diagnose:



Note thoroughly shredded belt. The engine problem awaits the arrival of the resident mechanic and electrician tomorrow; he is already at work trying to find a replacement belt. We are hoping we don't have to order it.

We will spend at least a few days and maybe as much as a week here, because we want to take care of our little problems, and see some of the DR, probably by car. Here is a little taste of the place; it is so different from the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos, but really beautiful:






For anyone keeping track, we are now 1,186 nautical miles from our Kent Island home marina, "as the crow flies". Raconteur and her crew are NOT crows, and we have sailed and motored many more miles than that, though I will have to consult Susan and the log to find out exactly how many. We have about 762 crow miles from here to Chaguaramas, in Trinidad, to cover between now and early July...yes, that means we "flew" 1,186nm in seven months, and need to "fly" 762nm in seven weeks. Some serious island hopping ahead.

In port!

They just arrived to Southport Marina near Cape Fear, NC (and Bald Head Island), about 45 minutes ago. All is well; they had wind on the nose for much of the night, so decided to bail before Beaufort. They will clear in, do the field repair, have a good meal, and at least one night's sleep (more likely two) at the marina. Winds are looking much more favorable starting Thursday. I'm sure Susan and Stan will be taking advantage of being in cell phone range (that's for you, Elsie, Cal and Lois!).

I'll post again when they are getting ready to go out - if no post tomorrow, that means they are still in port!

Plan B: Heading on to Beaufort, NC

They hit some thunderstorms last night (only casualty a hatch screen!) and the wind wasn't playing for going into Charleston, so they are riding the gulf stream and some decent wind (and a beautiful day) to head on to Beaufort. That's still 200+ nauticals from their current location, off Hilton Head Island, but there are a couple of other inlets (at Wilmington, which is where we came out from the ICW in November) if the need arises. Looks like good winds today, perhaps dropping some tonight through Wednesday; if this plan works out, they will be in Beaufort around 0600 on Wednesday morning. That will leave another 220 to the Bay, and another 120 or so to Annapolis. They've done about 370 from Friday 1630 through Monday 1030, for reference, for an average of 5.6 kts. With an overnight in Beaufort, they could be in the Bay on Saturday.

On their way into Charleston

They are about 120 miles to the south and east of Charle3ston, having some pretty good wind for a change. They need to do a field repair and re-fuel; they should be in Charleston Harbor sometime tomorrow (Monday) around 7 in the evening. They have good long days now, so that helps.
The repair is to a broken outhaul ring at the back of the boom. The mainsail is fine as long as they take at least one reef, so not a big deal but they do want to get it fixed. Everyone is well and able to maintain their watches, so no one is too exhausted yet.

I feel a bit guilty reporting on MY weekend, but here goes. I had an enchanted two days in New York City, seeing my friend David and his parents and sister, her husband and their two boys (I have not seen her in probably 30 years - it was really terrific). We saw the fantastic revival of West Side Story last night, and today I had an exquisite lunch, with service our French friends would appreciate, at The Modern, overlooking the sculpture garden at MOMA. Spent time in the museum after, seeing an exhibit of works on paper (an interest of mine) and flew back this evening.

Saturday afternoon, still no wind

So here is the Saturday afternoon position. They are still mostly motoring, and JP says they are seeing wind from north though the observations and forecasts all say it should be SSW or WSW. Ah, weather forecasts. SO helpful. They made about 50 nautical miles or so since this morning, or so I'm estimating. All is reported well, no bad weather - just no wind!

Saturday morning update

JP called around 0630. JP had a couple of hours under sail, and Susan was prompt for her watch at 6, so all was well. You can see their location (plotted by lat/long) at the time he called me. The front seems to be weakening, and may only affect them with some moderate north winds on Monday. That would allow them to keep going, and take full advantage of the Gulf Stream.

I'll post a Gulf Stream map a bit later; can't get my preferred version to load using Firefox.

They're underway

I heard from JP around 4:30 this afternoon; they had just set off from Marsh Harbour after an intense day of provisioning. There's a front coming from the north early week, so they are trying to get to Fernandina to tuck in before it comes through. They may be there a few days, because it is forecast to "stall". I talked with him again a little after 9, on the satellite phone this time. They are off Whale Cay passage, in dead calm, motoring. Susan was on the 6-10 watch and I had a text from her saying the watch was a lot nicer in June than in November. JP says the stars are gorgeous - he will be on the 2-6 watch, so Stan must be on "my" watch tonight, 10-2.
I'll talk with them again in the morning - hoping for some wind so they can shut off the iron sail.

Soon to be Raconteur, Northbound

HOME PORT

BAHAMAS

Susan and JP, with a crew member who is coming from Calgary, will be in Lauderdale tomorrow and then on to Marsh Harbour on Thursday. They are planning, weather holding, to set off from there for Annapolis and our new home base at the Annapolis Landing Marina (5 minutes from our front door) on Friday the 19th or Saturday the 20th. They hope to tuck into the Bay sometime the following weekend, the 27th or 28th, and then take a couple of more leisurely days to sail the final 100 miles.

I'm holding the fort in DC, although I'm sneaking away for this weekend, to NYC, to see my friend David and his parents and sister and her family, and my mom is coming to Annapolis next weekend.

I'll be the blogger, since they will be out of range for much of the passage.

Fernandina/Amelia and Port Canaveral

Susan has STILL not posted about their wild night from Charleston to Fernandina, but here's the photo that says it all. That flag has survived at least three Chesapeake summers, including a dunking and recovery at Zahnisers, over 400 ICW miles, and the 150+ mile passage from Wrightsville to Charleston. This is what it looked like after the trip to Fernandina.

Susan here. That flag was absolutely rigid and vibrating with a sound like a helicopter approaching. I’m finally posting about the Charleston-to-Fernandina/St. Mary’s passage because I came across a picture of what it felt like, thanks to Japanese artist Hokusai. See that tiny little boat behind the first wave and under the second?

At about 3 am on the 21^st, JP was standing watch and I was the ‘watch below’. I woke up and things seemed pretty active so I went up to see if JP needed help or maybe just company. Above, things had that static yet completely in motion quality of a long reach. We were on a beam reach with a following sea that we occasionally outstripped, resulting in “banging” as we came down off a crest. JP was intentionally spilling wind a bit to minimize that – no problem, as we were still going more than 6 knots. I sat for a while, then went below for a last nap before my 6-12 am watch.

When I came on deck, things had changed. Still a beam reach, still a following sea, but winds were gusting in the high 30’s and the waves were 6-7 feet. The combined effect of a gust and a wave, when they happened together, was some fairly exciting pitching and rolling. JP had furled the jib (even so, we were going over 7 knots) and was waiting for me to arrive to take a reef in the main. I started the engine (bless you, Mr. Engine, Sir!), took her off autopilot and steered her about 110 degrees to starboard to head into the wind. This also headed us directly into the waves. Images of the Gloucester fisherman statue came to mind as I wrestled with the wheel and peered through the spray and darkness at the waves sweeping toward us. JP took the reef, which involves lowering the main by about ¼, then retensioning the sail by winching down on the reef line and up on the main halyard, complicated by the wild flapping of anything the wind can get hold of, and the pitching of the boat through 80-90 degrees with every wave. Next, I steered back to the original course (waves and wind on the starboard stern quarter) and reset the autopilot. It was getting lighter at this point and the gusts seemed to be lessening a bit, so JP headed below, leaving me on watch.

As the day dawned, conditions at first seemed to be getting better, then not. Gusts gradually increased to 50+ knots, and the waves were running 7-9 feet. All around were huge green waves with white crests. On the wave slopes, the wind created a network of foam “veins” across the entire surface. Beyond the waves, there was just grayness. One rogue wave somehow penetrated the companionway and sent a few gallons of water into the cabin. Several drenched the cockpit (and me). I hung on and focused on depowering the main slightly with the traveler when gusts hit. JP to the rescue! After less than an hour off, he returned, we repeated the reefing drill, reducing the sail area by another 1/3 or so, and ran that way for another 3 hours at 8+ knots. Our course was determined by the wind/wave direction – luckily it did not send us toward Africa. At about 10 am, I said to JP, “Well, I WAS complaining about not getting a shower before we left.” Within about 45 seconds, another rogue wave flooded the cockpit and, just for fun, somehow went directly down inside the collars of both of our jackets (and continued downward….). This completely new trick was Father Neptune’s last punch, though. About 15 minutes later, JP said hesitantly, “Do you think it’s a little better?”. I nodded silently with fingers crossed. We now understand why sailors are superstitious. Around 11 am, JP finally went below again and I finished out my watch. Looking at the chart, I realized we were only a couple of hours out from St. Mary’s Entrance. That’s one way to make a swift passage. [Susan out.]

With that night behind us, we decided to stay several miles north of the Fernandina inlet, at Amelia Island Yacht Basin. It's located behind one very scary looking tiny channel off the ICW but we found enough water to get in and made sure we went out on a slightly higher than mid tide to be safe. Nice quiet place; it's a little far from the downtown so the first night we walked (crossing A1A - almost as dangerous as sailing outside in 40-50 knot winds) to a nearby restaurant, but on day 2 we took a very friendly cab ride to downtown, window shopped, found another great wine bar / wine store, as we had in Beaufort NC, and then had dinner at a place called 29 South which was excellent - and quite full. We went early, without a reservation, because we were leaving in the morning for the passage to Port Canaveral, the longest of the four passages at 169 nauticals.

The exit from Fernandina was a nasty one - tide and wind in opposition to one another, trying very hard to slam Raconteur into every wave - but once outside, we had a great run. We didn't turn the motor on until after 4 a.m. on Monday morning, when the wind had dropped below 10 kts (no, she does not like light airs). We were at Cape Marina in Port Canaveral before noon, our earliest arrival. We took on fuel and then docked at a lovely T dock, and spent a lazy afternoon exploring the "back alleys" of the port, but finding a brand new restaurant, Milligan's Reef, where I took this picture of a relaxed Captain JP.


We're now en route to home port. We left Canaveral around 830 this morning, so expect to be {yes, I'm knocking on all the teak in sight} in Lauderdale before nightfall tomorrow, the day before Thanksgiving. I'll post when we arrive, and I'm working on a slide show of the trip.

and jumping back in

The two best moments on a passage? Setting off (see Wrightsville inlet sea buoy, on the right) and arriving in the next port (see Charleston inlet buoy, on the left). The forecast said NORTH west winds...more like WEST Northwest, at best. The forecast said seas 2-3 feet...more like 4-6! Nevertheless, we did pretty well, Raconteur was a champ, and we arrived in Charleston after about 30 hours.
We'll do the same again starting tomorrow morning, aiming for Fernandina (again, this time perhaps with a more realistic timetable given the amount of WEST in the NW!). The ICW from here has some pretty significant shoaling in a number of spots, and the captain says we've had our share of groundings already (I win with two; JP one, Susan one, both on softer ground). We'll finish the trip with a series of passages, if the weather cooperates. I'm not making any more timing predictions, however, and since we still think Raconteur is a PLEASURE craft (or so says JP, anyway) we'll be trying to limit the passage length to around 30 or so hours.
I'll post some more pictures in a separate post.

Jumping-off place!

Susan here. JP and I took a few of these bird-and-sunrise photos this morning while we were readying the lines for departure - JP actually took this one - so Leigh decided it was time for my first blog posting.

We don't have a photo, so you will have to picture the next scene for yourselves: Raconteur tied up port side to a dock, 25-30 kts of wind blowing directly from the port side, rain beginning, various valuable boats lined up about a boat length away to starboard, the entrance of the marina directly to stern with 2 large 'shrimpers' protruding from one side and shoals from the other, Stooges standing around in 'foulies' (rainpants and jackets, JP bright red, Leigh bright yellow, Susan blue and gray). After a debate about ALL the possible alternatives (including waiting until tomorrow), we decided to go for it. Susan and JP walked the boat from cleat to cleat (between gusts) backwards down the dock, around the end and got the bow pointed in the general direction of the exit, jumped on, released the lines, and Leigh blasted out, expertly threading between the shrimpers and the shoals. Just another boring old start to a day on the ICW.

No fog today, just high winds on the nose, and the same elusive ICW channel. JP and Susan both recorded groundings today, luckily just 'touches' in soft bottom. We also got some practice in 'creative waiting' at 2 of 3 drawbridges: the first one we just made (the bridge tender waited for us), the second one could not open for an hour because of the high winds, and we arrived either 10 minutes late or 50 minutes early for the third one (depending on your point of view). On the bright side, it was warm (about 70 F), the grasses along the ICW were beautiful (we are now shoreline connoisseurs), and dolphins visited us. We tied up at Seapath Yacht Club in Wrightsville Beach at about 3:15. The wind, still with us, added a big push to the docking process (I think we bounced at least once - on fenders, of course) and is STILL pressing us against the dock 6 hours later.

The forecast still looks good for a weather window after midnight, so we plan to exit the Masonboro inlet tomorrow morning. It's just under 300 nauticals to the sea buoy at Fernandina Beach (our tentative destination), around 60 hours at 5 kts avg, so we'd be looking to arrive in port early Wednesday morning. Of course, there are lots of variables... We're excited about the offshore experience. Especially Leigh and I are wondering how well we will deal with the 24 hour watch-on-watch situation out of sight of land and the extreme conditions of wind and wave out there. Keep thoughts about fair northerly winds and low wave heights coming our way!

As a sign-off, here's a photo of the Surf City Swing Bridge (almost as cool as its name...) closing behind us today.