Christmas Winds

Over the past 8 seasons we have enjoyed sailing in the Caribbean enjoying the Islands between Grenada and Antigua.  Several times over the past several years we have run into people who have stayed in one spot for the entire season due to "Christmas Winds".

Chris Doyle defines these winds as "When the isobars get tight, the wind increases and is sometimes very fresh (25-30 knots). We call these Christmas winds. This high pressure is offset by cold fronts that come down from the northwest. They almost never make it as far as the Windwards, but as they approach, we often get very calm and sunny weather followed by wind and rain, as their tail ends affect our area".
 
Our experience over this time period has been the same - the winds will pipe up for a few days and then fall off as cold fronts spill of the US and enter the Atlantic. 

Several days ago we had another of these encounters - this time with a Canadian woman who was on a large Cat sitting in the Rodney Bay Marina.  She complained that they were unable to move last year because of the "Christmas Winds".  No amount of discussion would convince this woman that there are opportune times to move all season as long as you pay attention to the weather.

So we have been watching the weather and we are heading to Antigua from here with stops along the way at St Pierre, Portsmouth, and Deshaies. 

Happy holidays.

Moving North

We left St Lucia yesterday morning and had a blustery trip to Marin.  Winds and waves higher than forecast but the trip is les than 4 hours so we were fine.  We came in past the Club Med beach resort and anchored in our favorite spot off Cap Dusquene.  Even got some free very low level wifi so were able to check weather and email.

Went in to the Port Captain office and cleared in and out then picked up a few boat parts and some local groceries before moving out to St Anne for the evening (and lunch ashore a Snack Bou Bou).

On to St Pierre tomorrow then Dominica (yellow flag), Deshaies, Guadeloupe (Clear out only so that I have the form for clearing in in Antigua the following day).  We've had some great weather for moving North so far and want to get as far as we can before hunkering down if need be for weather.

We have a reservation at a Marina in St Croix beginning the 10th of Dec - hope we have good weather.

Lesley had a discussion with a cruiser lady in St Lucia about weather and Christmas winds - a story for next time................

Dinner Ashore

We met a friend here for happy hour yesterday afternoon (Vision) and said our goodbyes.  We first met Vision when we hired him to take us on a tour up into the Edmund Forest Preserve 5 years ago and we have remained friends since.  Vision does boat work here in Rodney Bay - usually teak, waxing and polishing and is a very nice fellow.

After  cocktails we had dinner ashore at our favorite Indian place.  We each had a samosa chat and then split an order of chicken biriyani and a side of garlic naan.  Everything was great......

Came back to the boat and watched 2 episodes from the first season of the old series Northern Exposure. We lived in Okinawa Japan when the show first aired and I think that we first started watching Season 2 or 3 on AFRTS.  Good show....  Love our Western Digital Media Player.

The broken pin

Here is a photo of the pin that broke off at the masthead wind speed/direction sensor.

My plan for the repair originally was to feed this wire back through the connector and then splice it in to the cable.  Could not feed the wire through so ended up digging the wire out of the connector slightly then tack soldering the pin to the wire.

Anyway, everything is still working so we plan to move on to Martinique tomorrow and then continue up to Guadeloupe next week early.

Wind Speed/Direction working

Three trip ups the mast, major surgery on the cable and connector, extra parts, soldering iron swap out, SUCCESS!

First, up the mast to see if I had enough slack to access the cable and I was able to pull about a foot up the mast and tie it off.  Then I took the masthead mount loose and took the connector apart to see what I had in store for me....  Molded soft rubber connector so rather than work up on the mast I cut the connector off and brought it down to do the temporary repair.

Down the mast and took the connector apart.  Cut into the connector to expose the wire from the broken pin.  I used an ohmmeter to confirm that it was the red wire and then tack soldered the wire and connector and put everything back together.

Second - up the mast with the repaired connector and parts, tools, soldering iron, extension cord etc.  Plugged the soldering iron in and started attempting to splice the 6 conductor cable - Trade winds to strong for the small soldering iron cooling it off so Lesley sent the 100watt iron up.  Spliced with wires and shield, reinstalled the unit at the mast  head and then started putting the wind vane cups and direction vane back on.  Dropped one of the nuts and watched as it made a one point landing in Rodney Bay.  Verified that the wind direction was now working and then went through the calibration procedure.  Back down the mast - need a replacement nut for the wind speed head.

Third, back up the mast and managed not to drop anything this time.

Finished, Success, we now know where the wind is coming from and at what speed.

This is a temporary repair that should hold till we can make it to the USVI to pick up permanent repair parts.

This morning in Rodney Bay

The plan for today was to start off by going up the mast to repair a connector on the masthead wind instrument - wrong.  Overcast with rain showers so will wait till it dries out to attempt the repair.

In the meantime I replaced the keyboard on my laptop.  We started having trouble with it while we were still in Grenada so ordered a replacement, shipped to a friend in Florida who then shipped the part to us here in care of the Marina.

Old keyboard out!

New keyboard in!

Now, over to Island Water World to offer a sacrifice to the Boat Gods.

Bequia walk around

We had been hanging around Bequia with the intent of moving a WiFi Access Point but the "Local Ladies", even after 1 year of planning still could not get a plan together.  So we took of early yesterday and walked over toward the Old Hegg Turtle sanctuary. 

Along the way we noticed that the local health center was undergoing major renovation.  Not sure where the temporary facility is located.

Garden on the side of a hill.  Pigeon peas, corn, yams, etc.

Some of the unusual plats that we saw on our walk.

It was to late for "Bread Fast" so we had a Roti instead. 

 Firefly Plantation.

Now we are chilling out having just arrived at Rodney Bay Marina (we beat the ARC).

Pizza, salad and a nice Chianti for dinner and then it is time for bed.  We left Bequia at 0300 this morning - way before I'm ready to even growl.

Bequia

We arrived here yesterday afternoon and just as we started to anchor we got a nice free boat wash - love those short rain showers.....  I went in and cleared Customs and Immigration and then back to the boat.  Tried to setup access to WiFi but some issues with my preferred provider so switched to another.  Have email access so arranging customs clearance of a new laptop keyboard in St Lucia and shipment of a new masthead wind instrument connector to the US VI.

Had a nice dinner of leftover stuffed peppers and read for an hour or so in the cockpit - love our Library and the Kindle - what a way to read while out here.

Tonight I'm making Szechuan Beef and spiced snow peas over buckwheat noodles.  Shower time now and poised for another potential green flash!

Tomorrow - reading and some minor boat maintenance - then a break for ice cream ashore.

Carriacou

I went ashore shortly after anchoring and cleared out at the new port of entry.  Still some bugs to be worked out as only an Immigration Officer mans the facility and he has to call into Hillsborough frequently with questions on Customs.  With us we the problem was a 30 day cruising permit that we purchased when we reentered Grenada with the boat this past April.  The permit is good for 30 days and days spent in a yard or marina do not count.  We had used 12 days of our permit but the Officer tried to charge us another $50EC.  Several phone calls later and we were good to go without having to pay for the additional permit.

Once I got back to our boat we had a great evening.  Started out with the best Green Flash we've ever seen, then after showers we had grilled burgers with all the sides we like including Serrano peppers.

We organized the boat and made ready for our trip to Bequia the following day.

Leaving Grenada

Well, the Chicken Ship made it in yesterday so we have eggs.

WE left Grenada at about 9:30 this morning and had a great trip up to Carriacou.  We anchored on or very near the spot that we usually use and I took the dinghy in to clear out.  Nice to have the Immigration Office here in Tyrrel Bay now but the Officer is still sorting everything out, having to call into Hillsborough with and Customs related questions.  Today the officer tried to charge me $50EC for a new cruising permit (the old one was still valid).  After a phone call and some hemin and hawin I was told that I was OK - THIS TIME......

Nice breeze here now and after a swim and hopefully a green flash it is burger time on Gra'inne.

Chicken Ship or Chickens on Strike!

Each season here in the Caribbean we find that there are things that we just can't find.  This time it is eggs - pretty sure that the chickens have gone on strike or the "Chicken Ship" didn't leave on time!

In the meantime we plan to move on North and hope that we bump into the "Chicken Ship" somewhere along the way.

We did stop at KFC and think that from the crowd that maybe all the chickens were here instead of out laying eggs. 

Splash down - Houston we don't have a problem, mon.....

Like Greg said - but someone is still looking after us!  We walked into the office this morning about 9:15 and told them we were ready to launch and if they could fit us in that would be great.  Raquel said "right, now, is anyone behind you?"  We said no she called the travelift guy and 20 minutes later we were headed for the lift well!

We did not even tie up in the lift well, verified that there were no unusual water leaks, we had already test run the engine, so switch on the freezer and electronics and we headed to LePhareBleu.

After a trip in to town we picked up beer at the brewery, LLB, Pepsi's etc, oil, a new handheld, some propane bottles for the grill and we are now back at the hotel enjoying a cool adult beverage!

Isn't life great? 

Ready to Launch

We finished waxing the hull today and are now ready to splash.  Boat computer and screen are in, Flat screen TV reinstalled, fridge/freezer checked and ready, and loose items secured for our move around to Le Phare Bleu.

Will try to go in one day early - will see what the yards God can do for us tomorrow.

Working, Part time!

We were at the boat at 9:30 this morning and started off on the port side hull using our buffer to apply Collinite Cleaner Wax then wiped that off by hand.  Started over with Collinite wax and finished in short order.  We were back at the hotel before noon!

Taking it easy now and plan to head in to Grande Anse to Carib Sushi for dinner this evening.

Another nice day in the yard, not to hot, not to humid, etc.  We had a rain shower later yesterday afternoon so the yard was not dusty at all for a change.

Making progress, Day 2

Another half day today, the weather cooperated again and we got a lot done.  Bottom job is finished, engine is serviced, belt retightened and test run.  Started right up and ran for about 5 minutes.  Clothes have been removed from vacuum bags, damp rid containers are cleaned and stowed, water filters changed, some waxing on the topsides completed.

We had a few sprinkles this morning but then the weather cleared and we had nice weather for the remainder of the day, not to hot, not to cold, just right.

We are headed to the beach now.

Boat work today

We started out with a nice breakfast here at LaSagesse.

Office

Manor House where we stay in the Pink Room (Always).

After breakfast we called Chris for a pickup for our rental car.  Chris's wife, Marylyn came about 20 minutes later and we rode in to the police station at the Carenage so I could get my temporary drivers license.  About 10 minutes and $30EC later we were head to Port Louis Marina where we picked up a few things from this years shipment.

We stopped off at Spiceland Mall and picked up a few things (drinks mostly) then headed back toward St Davids.  We decided to stop at LePhareBleu Marina and check on some cushion work that we were having done and then have lunch.  While we were there I walked out to IP38 Blue Pearl to say hi but no one was home so I left a note, we finished lunch and headed to the boat yard.

We arrived and check on the boat at Grenada Marine and it was in great shape.  Interior was fine and some green mold on the hull near the cap rail drains but otherwise fine.  We spent a few hours washing the UV polish off the boat and then put the canvas up before heading back to the hotel.

We were back here by 3:30 so a nice easy first day back in Grenada - tomorrow we will paint the bottom and get ready to wax the hull and topsides.

In the bar ready for a cocktail - the clock on the wall is wrong - it is really beer thirty!

Pictures are posted but I'm really jet lagged!  One hour time difference and all.

 

We're here!

We enjoyed our Thanksgiving subs, celery, carrot sticks and cheese and some wine enroute.  Several nice slices of fresh roast turkey, thick sliced cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, dressing and gravy all on a seedy ass bun...  Kind of like a Big Mac but much better.

Arrived Maurice Bishop International Airport ahead of schedule and were able to get through Immigration quickly, claim our bags and pay the small duty for our spares and were out in a jiffy.  Cuddy was waiting for us as we left the terminal and we were sitting at the bar in LaSagesse in no time at all.

This evening is cooler than it has been on our return for the past several years with some sign of rain showers and the tree frogs are really happy.  We are relaxing now and ready to start recommissioning again.
 

Heading for Grenada

We left Burnt Store Marina this morning in our one-way rental car headed for Miami and  later this evening Grenada.  We checked one suitcase and our rolling ice chest with this years "Meat" supply.  Down from the normal 50lbs to about 42.

Our 2 barrel shipment of boat stuff and provisions is sitting waiting for us at Port Louis Marina and we are booked into La Sagesse for a week as we prep the boat for launch and movement around to Port Louis.  We have a car reserved at Le Phare Bleu with Chris for pickup tomorrow and will head in to St Georges to pick up some stuff we need for launch prep.

We had "Thanksgiving" dinner this past weekend and Lesley used the left-overs to make two Thanksgiving subs for our trip to Grenada this evening, yum!  Cuddy, a local tour operator, will pick us up at the airport this evening and will be bringing with him the Grenada C-14 form for Customs entry of some of the items we are carrying back with us.

The past several days have been relaxing as we finished putting things away in the house and I even had time to drive up to Port Charlotte and meet a fellow IP owner, Ron.  Ron has an IP-38 and we plan to get together with him on our return to Florida next year.

We've already made reservations for my Birthday Dinner, 11 Nov, at Le Chateau, near the Spiceland Mall.  Will also crack open a bottle of cold champagne to celebrate!

More to follow as we put things together and enjoy ourselves in the Yard at Grenada Marine and later each day on the nicest beach in the Islands, La Sagesse Bay.

Enjoy the winter!  We certainly will.

Boat Condition

I was walking around the Marina today looking at boats (IP's?) and I was amazed at the way most people care for them.

 

And the way some people don't!  Oh well.......

We are having thanksgiving dinner tonight.  Turkey with all the trimmings a nice bottle of La Crema Chardonnay and a chocolate sundae for desert.  Lesley will make thanksgiving subs with the left overs and we will take these with us when we fly to Grenada next Wednesday.

Happy Thanksgiving!