30 Dec 2014

[Captains Blog] Bequia

We returned from Tobago Cays yesterday after a two-night stay tucked in tight under the lee of Petit Bateau while most of the other boats were exposed to the winds that were blowing strong out on the reef. We were ideally positioned to be able to see all the comings and goings of the fleet of small craft making their way through the channel to the main anchorage, but missed out on the breeze. The water got a little rolly overnight on the first night, which meant that Debra didn't sleep, so she spent the next day catching up snoozing out in the cockpit. We went for a tour around the anchorage in the dinghy, pulled it up on the strip of sand where the turtle sanctuary is, and I had a snorkel. No turtles, but some huge starfish at least 18 inches across.

The trip back was boisterous, and with the winds and tide against us we were being pushed away from Bequia, which, coupled with the current that was directly on the nose, the last couple of miles were achieved with the engine on. Strangely, a ship was aground in between two islands, and it looked to us as though the skipper had tried to run between them and failed. Any charts would have told him that he was stupid to try. It was a hard lesson for someone to learn, and an expensive one to boot.

Our power management is holding up surprisingly well at the moment, it might have something to do with the constant winds blowing the aerogen round, but since we had the fridge attended to in Le Marin we have been able to turn the control right down to its lowest and the keel cooler is doing the rest. Less power needed means more in the battery bank. When we get the solar panels fitted in January, we should have what energy we need from nature, less usage of the engine/generator and less diesel. The water maker is working well and we run the generator for an hour or two a day to run it in 230v mode to keep the water tanks topped up as well as the batteries.

There are fireworks here in the bay tomorrow night at midnight, should be good! Happy new year everyone!

28 Dec 2014

[Cruise News] Tobago Keys, The Grenadines

We headed down here yesterday and have anchored tucked behind the island of Baradel which offers some protection should a squall come through .... don't want a repeat performance of Christmas 2010!  The Keys are just as lovely as we remembered them with crystal-clear waters, sands so white they almost blind you, and fish and turtles ... a true paradise for snorkelling.  It's pretty busy but most people try to anchor behind the reef so we are afforded a bit of peace and quiet.

We'll be heading back to Bequia tomorrow to get a place to anchor in time for NY Eve - it's always a popular place to be!

26 Dec 2014

[Cruise News] Bequia

We've had a great couple of days since we've arrived back in Bequia with friends old and new.   When we were heading into town in the dinghy on Christmas Eve we spotted Pandora (the boat we rented 2010/11) at anchor with someone leaving in a dinghy and heading the same way.  We detoured to catch them up and lo and behold it was Mike and Nicola, owners of Pandora.  This was a big surprise as we thought she was out on charter so we had a quick chat and arranged for them to come over to Tumi that afternoon to see her and for a proper catch-up.  

Rum cocktails and rosé wine later, having put caught up on a lot of news, we headed over for drinks and dinner on the boat of some friends from this season, Tim and Paula.  We got to know them in Martinique spotting that they were flying a Devon flag and stopping by to say hello and being invited on board for a sundowner.  They live in Kingswear, just across the River Dart from Dartmouth, and are crossing the Pacific early next year, so we had a lot in common and to chat about.  Anyway we enjoyed a lovely Christmas Eve balmy evening with them with the backdrop of lots of twinkling mast lights and colourful lights ashore .... really pretty.

During the night the heavens opened and washed off all the salt encrusting Tumi from the rather boisterous sail down here on Tuesday but Christmas morning dawned still and calm with the sun shining.  We joined six other British sailors for a late lunch at a local restaurant, sitting out on a verandah with a Swedish chef's interpretation of a traditional Christmas meal.  Well we got the turkey, stuffing and sprouts as we expected, but the potatoes were somewhat on the spicy side (a big understatement), the sausage wrapped in bacon gave the good old chipolata a run for its money and we had a side order of corn bread.  What really made us smile was the extra gravy, plenty of it but served from a tea-pot!  Anyway lunch was a relaxed and tasty affair, if a little different.

Being our third season in the Leeward and Windward Islands, we're not going to be posting as many photos this year as we've probably photographed them all before ... and we probably looked better then than we do now!  So only a few highlights will appear until we're in new territories, the first photo of the season being the aforementioned Christmas lunch .... just to show we're not forgetting our British roots!!

We're pick up Paul's son and his girlfriend on 1st January to tour the Grenadines so have 6 days to reacquaint ourselves with our former favourite spots so we can give them a good holiday.  We think we'll head down to the Tobago Keys tomorrow to get the ball rolling but will be back in Bequia for New Year's Eve when there is a big firework display and party.  Should be fun.

[Captains Blog] Bequia

We have put Tumi through her paces on the way down from Martinique to Bequia, and she sailed beautifully between the islands, reaching nearly 10 knots at times, even triple reefed. We kept up with the larger catamarans and even outpaced some of the smaller ones that were racing down the leeward side of the islands trying to get here before us to pick the best anchorages. It was a very satisfying trip with winds of over 30 knots on the beam. We and the boat ended up here covered in crusted salt from all of the spray our bow wave created along the way, so an immediate shower was in order on arrival in Bequia to feel human again. The boat had to wait for a rain shower to achieve the same effect.

On the way, we noticed that the sea birds have adapted their hunting techniques to make the most of the boats like ours ploughing through the water and disturbing the many shoals of flying fish that scatter off to the side of our bow skittering over the waves to find a safe distance before splashing back in. The brown boobies (there are a lot of them around in the sunshine, and not all of them have wings) ride the winds, soaring just above the wave ahead of the boat waiting, and once the flying fish break surface, they swoop down, diving into the water, slicing through the surf and emerging a second later with a fish in their beak. Then it is onto the next one and the next one. I saw one bird chasing down a larger fish that glided for about 200 metres, but the fish was lucky on that occasion and got away, much to the booby's chagrin. For me, it was fascinating to see how creatures continue to develop their skills and evolve, Darwin eat your heart out!

 Once here we dug the anchor well into the seabed on the western side of Admiralty Bay and made sure that we weren't moving, then it was my job to get the dinghy down from the davits, put the outboard engine on, and go ashore to clear in. It was after 4pm when I got ashore and so we suffered the extra cost of overtime payment which I wasn't expecting, but the immigration lady was very pleasant, which softened the blow.

Bequia is just as we remembered it from 4 years ago. The familiar waterfront, the Rasta fruit and veg market, the restaurants, bars and various stores are all still there, and it is a real pleasure to be back. It seems that the island hasn't been spoilt in our absence. The technology available has moved on, and we now have a Bequia phone number, which we purchased along with a data plan so we can access emails and the internet over the phone network, and now we have a Tumi network all of our own to hook into. It makes life so much easier as we don't need to go ashore and have a drink in one of the bars just to access the web. I'll just have to stock more beer on the boat!

24 Dec 2014

[Cruise News] Admiralty Bay, Bequia, The Grenadines

We're back in Bequia and very glad to be so.  After the disappointment of visiting Grand Anse D'Arlet, which seemed rather down at heel this time - sad to see - it;s lovely to see Bequia thriving and just as we remembered it .... charming, friendly and beautiful.And a real surprise this morning was to bump into Mike & Nicola who very much started our Caribbean sailing experience when we rented Pandora from them in 2010/2011.

Anyway, we'll post more very soon but just wanted to say Merry Christmas to everyone.

22 Dec 2014

[Captains Blog] Martinique

We are going to be leaving Martinique today or tomorrow to head down to Bequia, possibly dropping into St Lucia for a rest on the way, in transit with the yellow flag up. We have been in Martinique for long enough and now it feels time to make a move. We have corrected a few bits that needed correction, such as putting hooks on the backs of the doors to stop them slamming on passage as the ones supplied by Jeanneau were not up to the job, replaced the uphaul line that I robbed Peter to pay Paul when I had to cut the jib furling line that jammed. We put sail repair tape on the parts that had some wear from the passage, and I have been along the waterline to remove any critters that were trying to establish a hold on the line where the coppercoat ends and the gelcoat starts. 
  
We have sorted out some of the larger issues too - we found out that the solar panels were not performing as we had expected, and on investigation it appears that the ones fitted were way under powered from what we expected, so we have had to get some more powerful ones to do the job. This will require a steel arch to be fitted 22/12/2014 Martinique.

We are going to be leaving Martinique today or tomorrow to head down to Bequia, possibly dropping into St Lucia for a rest on the way, in transit with the yellow flag up. We have been in Martinique for long enough and now it feels time to make a move. We have corrected a few bits that needed correction, such as putting hooks on the backs of the doors to stop them slamming on passage as the ones supplied by Jeanneau were not up to the job, replaced the uphaul line that I robbed Peter to pay Paul when I had to cut the jib furling line that jammed. We put sail repair tape on the parts that had some wear from the passage, and I have been along the waterline to remove any critters that were trying to establish a hold on the line where the coppercoat ends and the gelcoat starts. 
  
We have sorted out some of the larger issues too - we found out that the solar panels were not performing as we had expected, and on investigation it appears that the ones fitted were way under powered from what we expected, so we have had to get some more powerful ones to do the job. This will require a steel arch to be fitted on the stern of the boat on which the new panels will sit, and this is being made in time for our return to Martinique on the 16th January so that it can be fitted. The whisker pole solution will involve new ends and/or new mast fittings. We are being sent a mixture of ends and mast fittings from which we need to achieve a proper working solution. It will be good to be able to use the pole again for downwind sailing. Fortunately, during the next few weeks, we shouldn't need it as the winds are more on the beam. 
  
We had a really good sailing day yesterday, moving from Grand Anse d'Arlet to St Anne. 35 knots of wind at times and we were buzzing along at speeds up to 9 knots with reefed sails. It was a really good feeling helming when Tumi performed like that. Hopefully we will have many more such days going forwards.on the stern of the boat on which the new panels will sit, and this is being made in time for our return to Martinique on the 16th January so that it can be fitted. The whisker pole solution will involve new ends and/or new mast fittings. We are being sent a mixture of ends and mast fittings from which we need to achieve a proper working solution. It will be good to be able to use the pole again for downwind sailing. Fortunately, during the next few weeks, we shouldn't need it as the winds are more on the beam. 
  
We had a really good sailing day yesterday, moving from Grand Anse d'Arlet to St Anne. 35 knots of wind at times and we were buzzing along at speeds up to 9 knots with reefed sails. It was a really good feeling helming when Tumi performed like that. Hopefully we will have many more such days going forwards.


Atlantic Odyssey

Day 4 - Sailing tonight has been just like riding on a rollercoaster blindfolded. Exhilarating to say the least. We were on a beam reach with a scrap of sail out in a force 8 skimming across the water at over 8.5 knots, not being able to see anything ahead of us, but hoping that the ride would never end.  The weather has been challenging to say the least, we were almost knocked down yesterday morning when were hit by a sudden squall and the blast of wind that took us broadside reached 52 knots in an instant.However Tumi pulled herself back  upright and  we reefed down the sails PDQ.

Day 5 - The SSB radio has proved to be invaluable. We have joined the AO cruisers net with enthusiasm and we appear to be able to hear most of the other users' transmissions so we end up relaying positions etc through the net. It is already establishing a bond between the sailors and we will build on this as the voyage unfolds. Most of the boats suffered some discomfort in last night's storm and the forecast tonight was for a weather front to pass through. We made a conscious decision to head west and meet this front head - on with a view to getting through it as quickly as possible. It didn't materialize so it looks like we have made a good call. We found that one of the ends of the whisker pole had twisted and was springing off the bracket on the mast. This is a fault in the product and we will be looking to get it replaced under guarantee when we are back near land and able to sendphotographs to the broker for him to sort out. In the meantime we will try to jury rig a solution to be able to use the pole during the rest of the crossing.

Day 6 - Today was a day of two halves. It started quietly with zero wind and we were running the engine to make some headway. It continued like this until dusk when we finally got a blow and could sail again properly. However, the day wasn't wasted. There were a few housekeeping chores to be done to make right the few things damaged by the storms we have been through. That said, we are really pleased with the way Tumi has performed throughout the trip to date. She sails fast when the conditions suit, and remains stable and solid on the water.

Day 7 - We were visited by a large pod of dolphins today, and they stayed with us for ages, showing off while skimming through the water just under the bow. They seem to glide effortlessly through the water at great speeds with the merest flick of their tails,  really are a joy to watch, and they seem to have a permanent grin on their faces. We are making reasonable progress and according to the daily position reports, we are not doing badly at all. I have developed a spreadsheet that takes the daily position email and plotsthe relative positions of all the boats in the fleet. It somehow makes it more tangible to know where the other boats are. The daily net is something we look forward to participating in too, and we are active contributors to the exchanges, although some of the calling stations are difficult to hear at times and relaying of details need to be done.

Day 8 - Today started well, with steady northeasterly winds and we bowled along at an average speed of over 7 knots. The cruiser net was a failure as no one could hear or talk successfully with the net controller. Then overnight, the winds died down nothing and we slowly crawled along with the sails flaccidly flapping overhead. We topped up the fuel tank from the jerry cans today too, so we are back up to 7/8 full with a further 66 litres in reserve just in case. We still have just under 2000 miles to go to Martinique so we can't be frivolous running the engine too much. We need to be able to recharge the batteries every day.

Day 11 - The jury rig snapped on the whisker pole today so we rigged  a different solution from a safety harness this seemed to work ok and we were back in business. Hopefully this one will last us the duration of the crossing. The internal door magnet catches are clearly not up to the job when the boat is heeling over, and as a result they have been slamming shut. This in turn has caused the frames to shift and the doors won't close at all. Trusty tool box and me to the rescue ... All sorted and working properly again.It's amazing what you can achieve with a Magnum ice cream stick!

Day 13 - We are beginning to realize that we are not going to make it to Martinique in time for Andy to get his planned flight home. Without the whisker pole we are having to sail much of the time under mainsail alone as the winds are pushing us from behind, and the jib just keeps collapsing in on itself. However, we are still making reasonable progress. The issue for today was a reefing line jam in the furling mechanism. We couldn't shift the jam, no matter how hard we tried, so I had to cut the line to remove it. That meant having to find a replacement from somewhere. As the whisker pole is out of commission we don't need an uphaul line to stabilize it, and so I robbed Peter to pay Paul and fitted that instead.

Day 14 - Without the whisker pole we have not been able to sail Tumi as well as we would like with the wind behind us. The mainsail has been the main driver and the jib has been furled away. However, we rigged up a barber haul today, tying a line between the jib sheet and the mainsail preventer to keep the jib inflated. It seems to work and our progress has improved. We estimate that we have 1100 miles to go and that the remainder of the trip will take us between 6 and 7 days. This is cutting it fine for Andy to gethis flight home. Hopefully the winds will continue to blow for us. Some of the boats reported only 5 knots of wind today during the daily radio net, but we have been lucky by comparison.

Day 15 - Something of a depressing day today. The winds have been flaky at best and right from behind which has meant that we couldn't really use the barber haul properly. We have tried to maintain speed but it has been a struggle. Less than 1000 miles to go. We were so down this afternoon that we had a g&t each to perk ourselves up. No cruisers net today either.

Day 16 - A really slow day. Not much wind at all, and so thank goodness for the equatorial current that pushes us along at a steady 1.5 knots. At least the weather is warm and the tan is improving, even though we are not sitting in the sunshine. Papy Jovial, one of the AO boats passed within 20 feet of our stern, then tacked back away to the south. We were in sight of them for most of the day before they disappeared over the horizon with their spinnaker flying.

Day 17 - We finally managed to get the whisker pole jury rigged today by binding the end to the mast fitting. It is a very temporary solution but it appears to work with a reefed jib so that there is not too much pressure on the pole or the mast fitting. The webbing rig I fitted to the outboard end is still operating too, so hopefully it will last for the remaining 600 miles. At least we feel that we have done our best to sail there. I spliced the fender lines to the fenders as well today with some help from Andy who washaving a masterclass. He did pretty well for his first attempt.

Day 18 - The wind returned today, most unexpected but very welcome, and from the south which put us on a beam reach. We have been able to set the sails without the need for preventers or barber hauls and we have made good progress throughout the day. The miles to go are dropping away and at last it feels like we are getting there. Long may it continue.

Day 19 - Another bonus day with the winds. We came close to a two-masted sailing boat with a square rigged foresail that we left behind us. It looked as though it was heading farther north than us, maybe Antigua. We dodged a few showers today, including lightning off to our starboard this evening. Hopefully tomorrow will be kind to us weather wise too. One more good day's sailing will see us very close to Martinique.

Day 20 - There was a terrific lightning storm all last night, sheet and fork lightning bolts at very regular intervals off to starboard. This continued a short distance from us seemingly on a parallel track Tumi. However, the morning brought a change and the storm closed in on us from all around. We looked at the radar and realized we were hemmed in on all sides with no escape, so we chose the point of least resistance and went for it. One and a half hours later we came out the other side, unscathed. Sadly for Papy Jovial who were in the same storm they were hit by lightning and suffered a complete wipe-out of their electrical instruments.

17 Dec 2014

[Cruise News] Le Marin Marina, Martinique

We're still in the marina just over one week on, though not planned.  Over the weekend we came back down to earth after the euphoria of the arrival and subsequent celebrations and set about getting Tumi ready for departing ... a good clean, inside and out, and a few small maintenance jobs.  It also crossed our minds again that on the trip over we'd run the diesel generator more than we'd thought we'd need to.  So we checked the regulator for the solar panels, which should kick out up to 15Amps in full sunlight, only to find it recording one tenth of that at best!

A long story short, it turns out the panels fitted for us were not the right ones, so we've entered into a round of discussions with the Jeanneau dealer in Plymouth over this, with a practical solution yet to be finalised but in progress.  Add to this the discussions over the whisker pole (now resolved although still to be corrected once replacement pole ends arrive from the UK, with the installer finally admitting that they used a pole from one manufacturer with fittings from another) and the fact that the compressor for the fridge was "sweating" and this condensation puddling in the bilges (also now resolved ... the system was over-gassed)   And so we remain marina-bound, the sensible option given Le Marin is the biggest yachting centre in this part of the Caribbean.

On the upside, twenty of us went out for dinner last night to a local restaurant - great fun had by all - and we have been contacted by friends we met out here 4 years ago who have invited us to join them for Christmas dinner.  We've also enjoyed sharing our knowledge of the Caribbean with many of the other boats that completed the Atlantic Odyssey with us and look forward to meeting up with some of them again in the months to come.

So hopefully, after a steel fabricator comes tomorrow morning to discuss the practical solution to the whisker pole fittings and solar panels (we might have a stainless steel frame made to fit off the stern of the boat) we'll be able to leave ... not before time!

13 Dec 2014

[Cruise News] Le Marin Marina, Martinique

Well it's 5 days since we arrived and life is settling back down into what will become the normal routine for the next few months: Get any boat jobs done before 9am as any later than that and it gets far too hot.  Actually being in a marina means we don't benefit from the breeze we enjoy at anchor so we'll both be glad to get out once our free week is up.  In the meantime we're making the most of the post-rally social events, local marine facilities (chandlers, engineers etc) and well-stocked French supermarkets.  We won't be going hungry for Christmas this year but the traditional roast will definitely be off the menu!

Had our hair cut this morning by a lovely local lady who didn't speak any English but our pigeon French got us through.  And it's salsa dancing tonight but in this heat (over 100 every day since we've been here) I'm not sure how much dancing we'll be doing.

We're going to stay in Martinique another week to ten days, revisiting one of our favourite anchorages at Grand Anse D'Arlet and trying out a new one at St Anne so we can explore the southern tip of the island.

1 Dec 2014

[Cruise News] Second Atlantic crossing .... A summary

New and bigger boat, quicker crossing.  Well that was the plan: 18 or 19 days at a steady 7 knots.  The reality didn't quite work out that way with nature conspiring against us to deliver SW winds for the first week when we wanted to go south-west, and then not giving us the consistent trade winds when we finally got down to the Cape Verdes to blow us across to the Caribbean.  Plus an incorrect installation of a key piece of equipment needed for downwind sailing didn't help.  So between the natural and man-made shortfalls it actually took us 2.5 days longer this time.

On the plus side the three of us worked very well as a team, covering our watches and thinking creatively to work-around any mechanical hitches along the way.  I loved having the SSB radio this time which allowed us to speak to other boats in the rally (nice to know their actually are other boats out there) and to send/receive emails throughout.  Incredibly this works better after dark ... less active ions in the atmosphere apparently!  We ate well but our collective bread-making skills left a lot to be desired .... thank heaven for part-baked bread.

We didn't experience the same dramatic sunsets, meteor showers or marine life, but we had one spectacular lightning storm which ran parallel to us through the night before moving south to engulf us at dawn  We saw more boats this time, and once again had one pass within a few feet of us out in the middle of nowhere.  One other storm so us experiencing wind speeds of more than 50 knots with 5m seas, but Tumi and her crew sailed through brilliantly.

I think because it was our second crossing it didn't feel such a big adventure but that's not to take anything away from the achievement of crossing the Atlantic for the second time (third for Paul of course!).  And now we've got a winter in the Caribbean to look forward to  .... lucky us!