Christmas Day Antigua

In Antigua the tradition on Christmas Day is to head down to Nelson's Dockyard for some champagne. People come from all over the island to walk the docks and look at the boats while enjoying a glass of bubbly. Huge tubs of ice are filled with different types of champagne. This is not a by the glass affair. Oh no, you select the bottle of your choice. Seasoned veterans of this affair bring their own flutes from home, but as first timers we settled for the plastic cups that come with purchase. They let you stroll around with your bottle...no problem. Bill from Voyager C was supervising our progress.

Next, we gathered on board Dream Maker, along with crew from Daniell Story, Cheetah ll, and Voyager C, for the full Christmas Dinner. Kathy and Bill (Dream Maker) were denied their turkey dinner last year, so this season they were on a mission to make it happen. Of course, everyone brought enough food for three dinners. This is just the desert buffet. Apparently we all thought this was hilarious.

Along with desert, Roy decided to make the "True" rum punch for everyone.

The recipe reads: 

one part sour =  Lime

two parts sweet = Cane Syrup

three parts strong = Rum

four parts weak = Ice

Garnish with bitters and freshly grated nutmeg.

Go ahead a try this at home. It will make you happy.

Sweet Life Drags Anchor

The Le Marin anchorage in Martinique is huge. There must be over 300 boats here at anchor and over 500 in the various marinas. Amazing and a little dangerous we found out. Tuesday night we woke up to quite a strong wind gusting through the anchorage. There were a couple of quick rain showers and then the winds calmed right down. A few hours later Roy got up to have a look around up on deck and I hear him call out, Michelle, you've got to come and see this. I climbed out of bed and looked at the clock: 4 am. Up in the cockpit I could see immediately that our neighbour, Sweet Life, a 40 foot sailboat, was sitting about 8 feet off our port side. Eight feet is crazy close. They had dragged anchor in the night and had somehow not smashed into us as they came to a stop beside us. How long they had been drifting there beside us? How had they managed not to skewer themselves on our bowsprit on the way by? Many questions and "what if's" flooded through my mind. Better get out some fenders was my next thought. Roy grabbed the big million candlepower spot light and beamed the light on their deck and into the ports. Now they were drifting even closer. Roy hands me the spotlight and goes to grab a boat hook so he can maybe push them off our side if we end up touching. I call out Sweet Life! Sweet Life! Finally a woman's face appears in the forward porthole as a man surfaces in the cockpit. In true French style the guy walks up on deck, looks at the situation, and calmly asks us in French if we have dragged. We point out that he is the one with the dragging anchor! Finally he get his engine started and moves away from us to anchor in a new position. We watch this process from our cockpit and can not believe how lucky we were to have not a scratch from this extremely close call.

Pitons and Rum

Back up to St. Lucia and the fabulous Pitons!

Roy and Bill checking out the Rum in Martinique

Mt. Pelee Volcano in Martinique

Nautical Bequia

Here is a nautical scene if I ever saw one! This is a cruise ship that calls into Admiralty Bay in Bequia. It's half ship and half sailboat. Part of the Star Clipper Line, there are a few of these around the Caribbean.
Don't let those masts fool you. The two in the back of the boat are smoke stacks. But still, this is an impressive thing to see. Roy and I jumped into the dingy and drove along side to take these pictures on Friday at sunset.



As you can see from the water, the sea was as still as can be! Perfect conditions for blasting along after this massive boat with our little 8.9 outboat engine. As I was busy snapping away pictures, we noticed that the whole crew and passengers were gathered along the back deck. There were getting a group picture taken, so no one noticed us buzzing by their stern.






While we have been here in Bequia we had a bit of work done on the boat. Winfield is a local who does fantastic work on boats. We had first met him when we were here in May. He did some work on our friend's boat Losloper. We had him spruce up our teak toerail. This involved stripping off the old finish and then sanding and applying a few coats of teak oil. He did a great job and it only took a few days. Here you can see Winfield's own boat "Friendshipside II".

Mustique

Mustique is a magic place. Manicured, yet rustic, it is the beautiful island of the rich and famous. Roy and I discovered the Firefly Resort last time we were here, and we wanted another look and taste of this wonderful spot.

Steve took this pic from Pendana with his telephoto lens.
This place takes you back to what I imagine the "old caribbean" looked like. Beautiful high ceilings with dark wood. Fantastic views and it even smells great here.

Potato Volcano

We spent our last days in Grenada anchored right outside La Phare Bleu Marina, just off the coast of Calvigney Island. It is still unbelievably hot this time of year with very little wind. Swimming in the impossibly clear water is the place to be for most of the afternoon. With so many cruisers waiting around before they head north, there are various goings on organized throughout the week.
One event is the cooking competition at the marina. A specific ingredient is picked - in this case it's potatoes - and announced on the radio net. Anyone can enter and anyone who shows up can sample the dishes and help judge. Roy couldn't seem to get inspired to participate, so we showed up as judges. This is the chef's entry: a potato volcano. While it looked great, the overwhelming taste and smell of the Sterno hidden in the crater sent it to the bottom on most judges cards. Other entries included chocolate cake with potato icing (yuck) and several variations on Scalloped potatoes (yum).

After tasting 14 different dishes our carbohydrate quota for the month was definitely met.


Another activity at the marina is playing domino's. Not just regular old domino's, this is Mexican Train domino's. Yes, it involves little plastic trains, domino's that number up to 15 instead of the usual 12, and any number of people. While Roy and I are not great games players, when in Rome...

Going to Extremes

Just when we started to believe that hurricane season was finally coming to an end – something had to happen. We had been anchored in the Lagoon at St. Georges so we could be near the Island Water World store while we did some work on the boat. With that completed, we decided to head back to Prickly Bay once again. While motoring around Point Salines, we enjoyed near calm water. This is unusual to say the least. Most trips that we’ve made around this pointy piece of land have been rough, choppy, and uncomfortable because you must head into the wind and waves while clearing lands end. Smooth, smooth waters mean little wind, so we enjoyed a quick motor into the bay. The wind happened to be coming out of the West when we set the anchor; opposite to the usual flow from the East.

A couple of days later we woke up to squally weather. I was going to meet some people onshore and head into St. Georges, so Roy dropped me off at the dock and went back to the boat. A particularly nasty looking line of black clouds was looming and as the wind and rain raked through the anchorage, I felt pretty anxious standing there at the dock thinking about how when we anchored the wind was blowing in the opposite direction. About 10 minutes later I could see Roy coming at full speed in the dingy. We dragged anchor and I had to reset it! He said as I jumped back into the dingy. Yikes.

We raced back to the boat. As soon as we got onboard we pulled up the anchor again and reset it. I have no idea how Roy managed to start the boat, operate the windlass (thank goodness we have a control panel at the helm) and then pull forward into a new spot – further away from the catamaran that had ended up about 10 feet off our stern. Like I said, Yikes.

Once that piece of bad weather passed the rest of the day was uneventful except for the 2 to 3 foot swell that spilled into the anchorage. We spent the day rolling back and forth and not in a peaceful sort of way. And then, just before sunset, another purple-black line of clouds began to gather again to the South. This is a picture that you do not want to see especially after dragging anchor once that day.


We switched on the radar and you can see the big orange blob on the radar screen beside me. That indicates where the heaviest rains are and the screen also displays the speed and direction they are traveling. Thankfully, this storm line paralleled us- moving past us at a distance of about 2 miles. We got sprinkled on for about 5 minutes and that was it! Well, that was it except for the waves that followed keeping us rolling almost all night long and not in a good way. The next day we pulled up the anchor and made a beeline for the coveted anchorage at Hog Island. Coveted, because it’s almost completely surrounded by mangroves and reefs that have the power to keep out the swells. Now we could get some shut eye without rolling right out of bed.

Hash House Harriers

I had heard about the HHH at various times and places in my travels, but never had the chance to check out an actual "Hash" until last Saturday. The premise appeals; a gathering that involves some type of remote hiking/running adventure cummulating in beer drinking and Barbecue. Other sailors were going too and transportation to the start point was available for a reasonable 20EC dollars. So, with the torrential rains that poured down most of the morning dissipating, we piled into Cuddy's taxi and headed up to Petite Etang, in St. David's parish

The van climbed higher and higher into the mountains, past small farms and clusters of houses until we caught sight of a giant inflatable brown Carib beer bottle poking up through the trees. A sizable clearing opened up revealing the staging area for the event. Plenty of parking, two shade tents for the bar and food service area, a generator keeping the beers cold, and a sign-in table. Today's event was a celebration of the 600th Hash for the Greneda chapter. Grab a commemorative T-shirt before they're all gone, an organizer advised us, and don't forget to sign-in: Hounds sign on the one sheet and Virgins on the other one. Virgins? Hounds? 600 Hashes? What kind of parallel universe had we stumbled upon I wondered?

Once the membership had assembled, Rudolf Hoschtialek the Hashmaster, took to the podium. Ok, he actually climbed into the back of a nearby pick-up truck and began to shout through his cupped hand while holding a Carib in the other. Club business was handled first with the thanking of members, the presentation of plaques, the bestowing of nicknames and then the particulars of this Hash were outlined. Participants could choose from one of three trails; the ironman trail that involved climbing up the valley we were currently in, heading along the ridge line and then descending down through the rainforest to reach back to the start; the runner's track that followed a similar path with what sounded like a less rigorous decent; and the walker's route which stayed in the valley, but promised an exciting stream crossing. He assured all hounds and virgins that most of the razor grass had been cut down along the trails, but to be careful of the slippery mud filled slopes. He reminded us again that everyone had to sign-in and then sign-out as they returned. That way they would know if they had lost anyone. It was unclear what if any action would be taken if this proved to be the case.

Gaging from the mob of people surrounding the pick-up truck and by quickly glancing at the sign-in sheets, I'd guess that there were around 200 people . Off everyone went as the start was announced. Some running others strolling - Roy and I were a bit stunned by the sheer number of people. Hiking for us isn't usually a group activity. We followed near the end of the line up - and at squeeze points we really did have to line up to pass through. The overwhelming feature of the trek turned out to be the mud. Rich, dark brown, slippery mud. Sometimes ankle deep. Sometimes threatening to suck the Keens right off my feet. Natually slippery slopes mean falling and sliding. Soon not just the feet and legs are mud covered. Hands and arms and especially backsides get a coating too.



I learned that this is the delight of these HHHers. They love the ordeal of the muddy mess. Once back at the sign-in point the swilling of the Caribs and the munching on Barbque begins. A fellow sailor told me this was his third Hash and each event had been a mud fest. Wet - muddy - unexpectedly fun.

Where to next?

Bonanza is back in the water and all is well. So far we've sailed around to a few anchorages on the south coast of the island while we make sure that everything is working properly. We were treated to this great sunset outside the lagoon at St. Georges the other night. Nice restored wooden boat takes you back in time. Today we are in Prickly Bay where we have easy access to marine shops and a few restaurants. We are anchored in front of Mystic Journey. Guess where they're from? Yup, Fort Macleod, AB.

Grenada "On the Hard"

We're back in Grenada after a whirlwind three month break. We found Bonanza right where we left her back at the beginning of hurricane season.

So far Grenada has breezed through with only a few rainy and windy squalls. It feels good to be back in our own home even though that means living up on stilts for a few more days.

See the yellow webbing straps that are attached to the back and front of the boat? These are hooked into concrete blocks that are embedded in the ground. So if a storm comes through this area, the boat is secured to the ground. The hope is that all the boats in the yard will stay put! We're glad that this system wasn't put to any major tests so far this year! Today the painters should finish up with the bottom paint and then Roy and I can start putting the canvas and sails back on. Working on the deck actually feels quite precarious. I never worry about falling off the topside when we're in the water, but staring down at the gravel six feet below really changes the scene.

Dealing with the ladder is another aspect of living "on the hard" that is well... hard. Most chores that involve water now have to be done off the boat either by the tap in the yard or in the washing/bathroom area. Imagine the trek to the bathroom after a few beers in the evening. Mornings are even more entertaining when I make a beeline to the shower and back before the truckfull of 15 to 20 workers arrive. Yes, it is their bathroom too!

Plans to go to Venezuela have been cancelled. We really enjoyed our time in Margarita, Los Roques, and Banquilla last time we sailed down that way. But, we've heard from many boats that the security situation is a real problem. Boats are being boarded, robbed and all manner of crimes happening. So, we'll just stay in this neck of the woods for now.

Summer Boat Break

This is the place to be during hurricane season.

Far away from possible storm surge and flooding.

Far away from tropical depressions taking on names like Katrina, and Ivan and Gustav.

Far away from riding out four foot waves in the anchorage.

Sure, a few thunder storms and cool Southern Alberta nights crop up. But I'll take 'um.

Haul Out in Grenada

Here we are at the beginning of this year's hurricane season safely in Grenada. Because of insurance coverage rules we have to keep Bonanza below 12 degrees latitude until November.

Getting a 40 foot boat out of the water and secured on land is a spectacle. It involves driving the boat into a slip where the Travelift can come along side. It wheels in the huge slings that slip under the hull. This set up allows the boat to be lifted out of the water and maneuvered into a parking space in the work yard.

Moving along the Windward Islands

We've been working our way down the Leeward and Windward Islands. The sailing is becoming much easier as the wind is now more on the beam, which makes for faster and smoother sailing. Since we've sailed in this area before both on charter and in the original Bonanza, we are feeling very comfortable visiting our favorite places and enjoying familar anchorages. We have lost track of most of the other boats that we saw all along the Bahamas and Puerto Rico and are meeting new people - many who are also heading south. Finally we caught up to our friends on Losloper. They are a family from Calgary who are enjoying a cruise on their new boat as well.

They were very happy to find that the flag/fruit man of Martinique had a South African flag in stock. SA is where they are orignally from. Too bad there were no Canadian flags for us to buy. Our very undersized example is blown almost to bits. Too many gales on the way down I guess.





After we enjoyed Rodney Bay in St. Lucia for a couple of days we headed down to the Pitons. This is a spectacular area where the mountains raise up right out of the water. Naturally beautiful with unbelieveably clear water. We had the chance to visit the waterfalls that flowed with heated water...not exactly what you need after hiking in the tropical afternoon sun, but a great muscle relaxer for sure.

Thar She Blows...Whales

Living onboard means you spend many hours looking at the water. Whether you are simply gazing at the never ending blue or keeping a sharp eye out for the plastic floats that mark the tangling lines of fish traps, you are always watching water. Suddenly something exceptional happens - WHALES. Roy spotted them first just off the port bow. Large, black backs just breaking the surface. I counted two, then three, then four of them. The largest one in the lead followed by two others and then what looks like a younger one. We can see them blow water. Then they disappear and reappear even closer to the boat. Then they dive and two slip directly under the boat. We see the disappearing white water patches they leave behind as they plunge beneath us. Next we spot them on the other side of the boat. They continue on and we wonder if they even really noticed us. Finally, we see the smallest one's tail flick out of the water as in swims after the others. Really cool

Look Out!!

Here's a sight that you definately don't want to see. Yikes! Luckily we were safetly anchored in St. Thomas when this cruise ship pulled out of port. The closest that we usually get to any vessel this size on the water is about a mile and sometimes even that feels awfully close.

We've put a lot of miles under the keel since I last updated this blog. From Samana we headed out across the Mona Passage for the trip over to Puerto Rico. This is a 24 hours undertaking and it all went pretty well. We arrived in Boqueron Harbour just as the sun set feeling a great sense of accomplishment. With the Mona behind us, we have the majority of the upwind parts of this journey behind us. Now, most islands are within sight of each other and can be reached in an easy day sail. After the many night sails along the Dominican Republic we are looking forward to being out and about in daylight. By the way, all the night sailing is due to a weather thing...of course. Winds drop significantly at night along the coastlines of large islands - making it much easier to make progress into them. Once we reached Puerto Rico we continued along the South coast in short hops...Cabo Rico to Ponce to Salinas. From there we got incredibly lucky with the weather and we were able to head straight for the Virgin Islands in one go. We stopped in St. Thomas for a night and then continued on to Soper's Hole, Tortola. Now we'll take the opportuntiy to visit a bunch of beautiful anchorages that we know well. Roy already bought the Pussers Rum Painkiller Kit and we are going to have a special toast to the BVI...