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| The old |
The best laid plans of
mice and men. On the morning we were planning to depart I decided to
investigate a small leak on the galley sink drain. Those familiar
with the humour of the Royal Navy will understand the phrase “It
came away in me hand Chief”. The pipework was completely rotten,
made up using ordinary chrome plated brass domestic plumbing
fittings! I was amazed it lasted so long on an open to sea drain.
After a fruitless search of the local chandlers and a quick trip to
the nearest plumber's merchant (useless!) it was down to a quick trip
to see my friend Mitchell at South West Fabricators again, to find a
solution.
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| and the new. |
I simplified the design and he agreed to make it up in
stainless steel, hopefully by close of play the next day (Saturday)
or at latest by Sunday mid-day.
Notwithstanding our
enforced delay in departure we went to check out with Immigration and
Customs on the Friday afternoon before the 1600 deadline for overtime
payments (Customs clearance is free before 1600 Friday but after
that, until 0800 Monday, it costs TT$265 ~ £30; not a lot but
annoying as it is based on your planned time of departure not your
time of clearance!). Immigration happily gave us 24 hours grace to
depart (in most islands it is 48 hours) but customs have different
rules! If we were not departing until tomorrow afternoon then we
would “have to come back tomorrow and pay overtime charges”; as a
consequence our “plans” changed immediately to a near
instantaneous departure! From here to the duty free shop for
essential stores and we were set to go; almost! From 1600 Friday,
onwards, we were illegal immigrants in Trinidad! In the event
Mitchell was good to his word but unable to complete by Saturday
close of play and so it was just after mid-day Sunday when we finally
slid quietly and inconspicuously out of Chaguaramas, via the fuelling
jetty to refuel, before heading to Scotland Bay to anchor overnight.
We departed Scotland
Bay at 1100 next day after stowing for sea and a leisurely swim. It
was to be a relatively lively fetch for us to be able to weather
Grenada and then bear off for Union Island, our planned entry point
to the St Vincent Grenadines. Shortly after we departed the
Trinidadian coastline we conducted an impromptu man overboard
exercise, my sun hat blew overboard! That retrieved we continued on
our way. I chose to go to the east of Grenada for two reasons,
firstly I thought the winds might be better than in the lee of the
island and secondly it kept us further away from the reputed hunting
grounds of the Venezuelan pirates. Initially all went well and, as we
left the coast of Trinidad behind, the wind veered putting us on a
comfortable close reach; too good to be true. Notwithstanding the
occasional squall and associated rain we made good progress. By 1800
we were almost level with the southern end of Grenada; then the wind
headed us! Too late to opt for the leeward side of the island we were
stuck with a beat up the windward side! Fortunately the wind rarely
got over 20 kts and so it was still a relatively comfortable, if
longer than expected, passage.
By 1100 next morning we
had crossed the north of Grenada and were headed up the leeward side
of Carriacou (belongs to Grenada) and into the anchorage behind
Frigate Island, outside Ashton Harbour, on Union Island (belongs to
St Vincent) where we picked up a mooring at 1300. Ashton Harbour is
rather a misnomer; the harbour is a derelict marina development that
was only ever quarter finished and then abandoned, most of it is less
than 2m deep and therefore not accessible to us. To compensate for
the lack of a marina a few moorings have been laid outside the
“harbour” in the lee of Frigate Island and the man made sea wall
that connects it to Ashton. Here we had a quick lunch and then
settled for a relaxing afternoon, to catch up on some sleep.
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| Clifton Harbour, Union Island |
The next day we motored
the two miles into Clifton Harbour, the main port of Union Island and
clearing in venue for St Vincent for yachts. As usual when entering
we were escorted in by a boat boy, Tevin, who offered to find us a
mooring and assist in the process of picking it up, all for EC$20 ~
£5.50! We accepted! On departure from Scotland Bay we had discovered
that we had a problem with the windlass and had to weigh anchor
by hand. For that reason we weren't keen to anchor, at least until I
had had a chance to investigate the problem. That took it's place
behind the holding tank macerator pump which had suddenly decided to
spring a leak and was making life in the forward heads rather
unpleasant! My plan was for both of these jobs to be done, whilst at
anchor in Tobago Cays, in the next three days. The immediate problem
was to officially enter St Vincent and get some credit on the data
SIM card so that I could search the internet for any spare parts
needed. We engaged Tevin again to act as a water taxi to ferry us
ashore, not having to get the dinghy out and inflated was worth
EC$40! A full 30 minutes in Customs and Immigration and we were in.
After that it was Digicel, for the SIM, followed by lunch ashore and
finally a trip to the supermarket before heading back onboard and
enjoying another lazy afternoon catching up on rest.
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| Downwind in favourite seagoing attire |
Early on Thursday
morning we set off, again under engine, for the 3 miles to Tobago
Cays. Lazy I know but, although we could have sailed the first 2
miles, the final mile was directly to windward, between the reefs,
and not a passage to be negotiated under sail unless there was no
other choice. Once anchored off the beach on the SW side of the
island of Petit Bateau we came to realise that the water discharge
from the fridge had stopped! Defect number three – they always come
in threes! As the fridge was relatively full of fresh food this
became top priority. Fortunately it was nothing serious, the system
had become blocked with marine growth during our time in Trinidad
and, after a lot of disconnecting pipes, sucking and blowing, it was
eventually cleared. One down! Next the sh*t pump … uggh!
Fortunately I had managed to run the pump and pump out the contents
of the holding tank before having to disconnect and remove it …
phew! Closer inspection revealed that three out of four of the bolts
holding the pump together were corroded through or sheered. A Jabsco
pump (i.e. supposedly near top of the range) made for the purpose and
their choice of metals means that it corrodes away in no time.
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| Repairing the windlass |
This
little used pump had lasted less than 5 years and had failed for
entirely preventable reasons, if only the designers had gotten their
material choices right! Fortunately it can be bypassed until such
time as I can get parts or a replacement. Time for a swim....
Next day it was the
turn of the windlass, conveniently located in a small locker, in the
forward cabin, right up under the bow. Houdini where are you? The
good news was that after me having played the contortionist for two
hours I had it dismantled only to find that the clutch had jammed not
broken; hence, with a bit of filing and polishing, it was possible to
render it serviceable again without the need for spare parts. As a
precaution I will however get a new piece for the clutch in order to
replace the bit that jammed the next time it happens; and it will!
After that it was a leisurely swim to clean the last of the
Chaguaramas grime off the hull, and there was plenty.
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| Salt Whistle Bay, Mayreau |
There can be few better
anchorages in the Caribbean than the Tobago Cays and hence, to make
the most of it, we moved moorings to a new and more sheltered
position for the morning. After lunch we moved again to Salt Whistle
Bay, in Mayreau, for the afternoon and night. The night was not as
calm as we had hoped and so on Sunday morning we moved around to
Saline Bay and in the process met up with Kalvin, he was one of the
two guys who hitched a lift with us to Union Island after our last
visit in June. We were greeted like long lost friends. Dinner on the
beach consisted of a fillet of white fish (name unknown) and a whole
lobster between two, excellent, accompanied by rice, plantain chips
and potato salad sides and all washed down with several cans of
Hairoun, the local beer. Guaranteed to make anyone sleep well! It was
from here that we planned to return to Union Island the following
day, Monday, in order to be able to check out with the authorities
and make an early departure that morning.
As planned we departed
Saline Bay at 0700 and were secure on a mooring in Clifton Harbour,
Union Island, by 0800. 0830 found us outside the Customs and
Immigration building at the stated opening time but it was not to
open before 0900, they were otherwise engaged at the airport! After a
coffee, a trip to the bank, the supermarket and then back to C&I
we were set to leave. By 0930 we were on our way and sailed under
genoa alone round to Chatham Bay where we took shelter to prepare
food etc. for the forthcoming three day passage. By 1230 we were
ready for departure and sailed out of the bay heading for Bonaire, a
400 mile passage down wind. With the wind behind us it was looking to
be a fast passage with Kurukulla easily doing between 7 and 8 knots
continuously. Late in the afternoon of the first day we passed a
school of whales lazily moving east, probably 20 or so but difficult
to tell as for most of them all we saw was the spouts as they broke
surface to breathe. Later that same night I was also given a rude
shock when, in the pitch dark, I was suddenly struck on the side of
the neck by a wet flying fish the size of a medium mackerel! It was
one of several who met their end on the decks of Kurukulla during
this passage!
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| Bonaire waterfront |
Although we had
estimated a three day (72 hour) passage, hence the mid day departure
from Chatham Bay, with our better than predicted average speed it
turned out to be only a 58 hour sail and hence a late night entry
into Kralendijk, the major town of Bonaire. Fortunately it is a very
easy port to enter and there were several vacant mooring buoys along
the waterfront from which we could take our pick (once we had
identified them in the dark!). Next morning we headed for Customs and
Immigration to register our arrival (the most efficient and polite so
far) followed by a light lunch and a walk about town. Being a tax
free haven Kralendijk is a popular stop off for cruise liners; hence,
the town was relatively crowded with tourists but fortunately they
departed before sunset, allowing peace to descend!
Next day we were
greeted by the rather more picturesque view of the sailing ship
Mandalay who was alongside along with a Dutch Navy corvette. The day
was spent moving into the Harbour Village Marina and then researching
Kralendijk on foot finally ending up with an excellent (if somewhat
overpriced) meal at an Italian restaurant, “Italy in the World”,
near the waterfront. A pre Christmas treat! Next morning we moved
into the Harbour Village Marina for a three day stay, partly to make
re-victualling and watering easier and partly to make welcoming Nick,
a friend of Christoph's, onboard; he was to stay with us over
Christmas and New Year, departing from Aruba on the 9th of
January.
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| Sorobon Beach, Bonaire |
Our five days in
Kralendijk passed quickly. Because of the regulations requiring no
anchoring and no overnight mooring, other than off the waterfront of
Kralendijk, we spent a couple of days cruising the coast of Petite
Bonaire and the southern coasts of Bonaire but being required to
return each night rather limited our range. On one day we hired a car
to see the bits we would otherwise miss.
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| Slave houses, Bonaire |
Even so Bonaire was an
enjoyable stopover and worthy of a visit even if it was tuned more to
the demands of the cruise ships than the yachting fraternity.
On 22nd of
December we set sail for Curaçao and enjoyed a pleasant downwind
sail (despite one brief but torrential downpour) carrying a poled out
genoa all the way to the southern tip of Curacao. A brief reach up
the coast and we were at the entrance to Spanish Waters, our intended
anchorage for checking in to Curaçao.
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| Spanish Waters anchorage, Curaçao |
The anchorage in Spanish
Waters is divided into four areas and we chose area A, it was the
most convenient to the two possible dinghy landing points. The next
task was to set off for the capital, Willemstad, to get ourselves
legally into Curaçao.
The following morning,
Sunday, our taxi took us straight to the Customs offices for the
princely sum of US$30 only to find out, after he had departed, that
the Customs organisation had temporarily moved to new premises four
hundred metres away. Not so bad! From there it was to the Immigration
Offices which were of course over a mile away and on the far side of
the harbour, across the pontoon bridge which opened as we approached.
Fortunately there is a free ferry service which steps in whenever the
bridge is open. After immigration it was the Harbour Master's Office
for the anchoring permit but of course they only open on weekdays and
close early on Friday; it was Sunday! The harbour was open and
functioning but no permits could be issued outside normal working
hours; we never did get one!
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| Pontoon Bridge, Willemstad, Curaçao |
We were all singularly unimpressed with
Willemstad, despite it's being a UNESCO heritage site, some of the
architecture was colourful and preserved the original feeling of the
town but much more was shabby or newly constructed with a facade
which tried to replicate the original Dutch style. The shops, despite
their reliance on cruise ship trade, seemed to be stuck in the last
century and many of the window displays were faded and seemed to have
been untouched for many years. A strange mix! By 1700 we had had
enough and caught a bus back to Spanish Waters.
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| Fuik Bay anchorage |
Christmas eve we paid a
brief visit to the local supermarket, a mile north of our anchorage,
to provision all the necessities for Christmas dinner, before leaving
Spanish Waters and heading the three miles south to Fuik Bay, a much
quieter and more pleasant anchorage if you ignore the cement works
that dominates the entrance. Once in the northern part of the
anchorage it is a tranquil haven with only the chimney of the cement
works visible.
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| Christmas dinner, aboard Kurukulla |
Here we stayed for
Christmas day and Boxing day before heading north to Santa Martha
Lagoon, another quiet anchorage, accessed via a narrow entrance
formed by a natural spit on the north side and the collapsed
waterfront of a now defunct Sunset Waters holiday development to the
south. The pilot advised a minimum depth of 12 – 15 feet (3.7 –
4.6m) but that was some years back before the collapse of the
waterfront; they also warned of a cross current running across the
entrance. As we entered we had to do a slight jig to port to avoid a
new spit forming at the inner end of the resort waterfront and
recorded a minimum depth of 3.4m, sufficient to allow us a margin of
1.3m but shallow enough to get the heart pumping somewhat as there
was no way to back out once we had committed to such a narrow
channel! Safely inside we anchored on the north side, on mud with
good holding, and stayed there for two days. The pilot was scathing
about the anchorage “nothing compelling to bring you here” but we
found it one of the best we had found since being in the ABC islands.
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| Departing Santa Martha Lagoon, Curaçao |
The Sunset Waters resort, although derelict and in parts collapsing,
was the remains of someone's dream and far from the eyesore it might
become.
Two days later we
sailed under genoa alone, northwards, towards the anchorage at Santa
Cruz Bay which was only three miles further north. The bay is open
but west facing and is therefore a good anchorage unless the wind
uncharacteristically turns to the west. During our stay it varied
from 5 to 35 knots but consistently in the east. Our arrival was
greeted by a torrential rain storm with near gale force winds but we
managed to get the anchor to hold at the second attempt. The
apparently sandy bottom is in fact mixed with a few coral outcrops
and some areas of flat rock thinly covered with sand where holding is
suspect.
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| Santa Cruz Bay |
That evening we decided to take the dinghy ashore and visit
the beach bar for sundowners before returning onboard for dinner. On
arrival we were greeted by the very effusive owner of the somewhat
eclectic beach bar. Happy to sell us three beers he was also keen to
depart to the local supermarket to replenish some of his stores. Not
to miss an opportunity I volunteered Christoph and Nick to go with
him and get some stores for us too. Little did I know! They climbed
aboard his 300HP, Ford, off road pickup and enjoyed the ride of their
lives, his driving style was unique and consisted of foot flat on the
floor whilst holding a face to face conversation with the back seat
passenger. After reaching the “supermarket” in one piece they
quickly grabbed what was needed before setting off back to the beach
but en route they had to stop for him to get further supplies from
his local “coke” supplier (not the Cola variety).
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| At anchor, Santa Cruz Bay |
The reason for
his erratic behaviour was becoming rather more obvious! At this point
the snarling Ford died, not to be coaxed back into life, and so all
were pushed into a friend's vehicle for the return journey; quite an
experience! After a further beer at his bar we quietly took our
leave! We did not return...
The next day was spent
quietly enjoying the bay before an early morning (well 0730 anyway)
departure the following morning to head south east towards
Willemstad. It was a 15 mile beat to windward with a foul current
running against us; hence, it was 1430 when we finally entered the
channel leading into Piscadera Bay, another inland lagoon which
reportedly had a marina in the eastern corner. Sadly this enterprise
seems to have hit hard times and during the time we were there we saw
no sign of life. The fisherman's “marina” has been moved from the
entrance of the bay to a position alongside the Royal Marine
Marina/boatyard to make room for a new waterfront development. In
this yard there was more obvious activity.
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| New Year's night feast! |
New years eve was
planned to be a meal ashore and so at 1900 we set off in the dinghy
for the restaurants we had seen at the entrance to the bay. Not one
was open! Fortunately one was in the process of closing and the
delightful Venezuelan owner reopened for us despite having a family
celebration to go to, it was her father-in-law's birthday as well as
being NYE. We dined in solitary splendour, right on the waterfront,
devouring a pair of BBQ'd Red Snapper each along with a mountain of
fries and a mixed salad. That plus 3 beers each came to US$38 (£31)
a head, not a bad price given the circumstances; however, before we
were allowed to leave we were presented with a bottle of Venezuelan
beer each as a parting NYE gift.
New Years day passed in
a leisurely fashion, our only task was to find a source of potable
water. We requested approval to fill up with water at the fisherman's
marina and it was granted but there was no alongside space available;
we temporarily hung by the bow from the end of one of their jetties
to take water, fortunately the wind was in the right direction! This
completed we went back to anchor and relax in a slightly more
sheltered part of the bay. It was after all a public holiday!
On the 3rd
of Jan we set off early for Willemstad intending to complete our exit
from Curaçao with the authorities and then visit the well renowned
“Kura Hulanda” museum of slavery which proved to be the highlight
of the day; it factually presented the horrors of slavery and the
involvement of the church and government agencies in the
encouragement of this trade in human misery. I was also surprised to
see, for the first time, a chronological list giving numbers and
approximate dates for the slaves taken from northern Europe by the
Corsairs working from the Mediterranean coasts of North Africa.
Although the numbers were no where near the numbers transported from
Africa they still numbered over a million! Sufficient to justify the
English monarch forming the “Royal Navy” to defend the
population! Following an excellent lunch in the restaurant
“Gouverneur de Rouville” situated on the waterfront in
Oltrabanda, the northern half of Willemstad, we set off back to
Kurukulla via a supermarket to re-victual. That done we were ready
for an 0600 departure for Aruba the following morning. If the
forecast was to be believed it was going to be an exciting downwind
slide in 25, gusting 40 knots of wind, i.e. force 5 gusting 8.
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| Surfside (airport) anchorage, Aruba |
In the event we
departed Piscadera Bay at 0600 in a relatively gentle F4 and sailed
the 60 miles downwind under a single reefed mainsail and the No2
genoa. Quite sufficient sail area for the conditions and verging on
too much in the occasional rain squall. By 1400 we were rounding the
SE tip of Aruba, passing the refinery and commercial berths (not
exactly attractive scenery), and by 1530 we were berthed alongside in
Barcadera Harbour ready to visit Customs and Immigration authorities.
An hour later and we were officially in! All very efficient with
offices conveniently situated 100m apart. From here we exited the
harbour for the 2 mile sail downwind to Oranjestad, the capital.
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| Oranjestad waterfront, Aruba |
The
recommended anchorage was Surfside (airport) anchorage but it is one
of those anchorages where if you are lucky and arrive as a long
established resident is leaving you can drop on the patch of sand
vacated by them, if you are like us and arrive to find all the
patches of sand occupied you spend the next hour or two trying to get
your anchor to break through the web of weed on the bottom or
avoiding the rocky surface with a thin layer of sand. Even in 2.5m of
water with 60m of chain out we were still dragging. At the 5th
attempt we got the anchor to hold, at least until the next morning
when the wind increased again! Then we were off again.
A quick radio call to
the Renaissance Marina confirmed that they had a space available and
so we opted to spend the next few days in the marina so that we could
leave Kurukulla unsupervised. Unfortunately when I called up again to
inform them that we had arrived at the entrance I received abject
apologies and was informed that they actually did not have a space
available but one would be available the next day! Great.
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| Oranjestad, Aruba |
We went off
in search of a better anchorage, trying several areas of Bucuti
Lagoon (south east of the airport) but finally opting to return to
the Surfside anchorage. Attempt no 5 and we again got the anchor to
hold; here we spent the night.
Saturday morning we
weighed anchor and set off into the marina, this time successfully!
The berth was OK but not the most protected in the world, bow
attached to a buoy and stern to the jetty. The compensation was that
the berth came with free access to the two Renaissance 4.5* hotels,
their swimming pools and the beach resort on the outer islands,
accessed by the hotel launch service.
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| Entrance to Renaissance Marina, Oranjestad, Aruba |
Here we were destined to stay
until Nick's departure the following Wednesday. Our timing was good;
that evening it was the Carnival celebration of the “Flaming Torch”
which seemed to be an excuse for a competition as to who could
produce the loudest sound system (there were articulated lorries
loaded with loudspeakers!) and which float could attract the greatest
number of followers in their “T” shirts or regalia. Sadly very
few brightly coloured carnival costumes. Fun whilst it lasted.
Carnival parades are apparently an almost weekly tourist event in
Aruba. From here we moved on to a night club to continue the
celebrations.
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| Departing Oranjestad, Aruba |
Oranjestad town is an
unimpressive cruise ship venue overstocked with high priced tourist
shops but with little of its original charm left. Not a place I will
be rushing to come back to. In my view the best island of the ABCs'
is the smallest, Bonaire. That said we enjoyed some good meals out in
Oranjestad.
Following Nick's
departure on the Wednesday morning Christoph and I set about
preparing to depart. Stowing the dinghy below decks, a trip to the
local supermarket to re-victual and making the final payment to the
marina before we could leave with a clear conscience.
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| Departure anchorage at Arashi Beach, north end of Aruba |
It was then a
trip southwards to Barcadera again to clear out before we set sail
for the northern anchorage at Arashi Beach to spend a quiet night
before our early morning departure for the British Virgin Islands
again for a second visit. The voyage was likely to be a five or six
day beat to windward .....
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| Aproaching the USVI |
And it was, five days
on the wind and we arrived in Tortola, BVI having passed close to
Puerto Rico and through the US Virgin Islands.
More when we leave the
BVI ….
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| Road Town, Tortola, BVI - Still lots of wrecks to be seen... |
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