So.......here we are back in Trini.
Which news do you want first? The bad,the worse or the worst?
Well today's news is that the water in the yard was suddenly turned off for the third day in a row just as I was rinsing my hair so I had to stand under a hose and get it finished by one of the cleaners!
Er.......we were all set to leave Guyana on schedule last week and head north to Grenada with the generator in bits to get it fixed there.... Then the trouble started when the engineers in Grenada said they wouldn't fix it and neither would any of the other engineering firms we tried there.Then the other problems started........ the echo sounder wouldn't work properly so we closely followed
Pete again on Troutbridge downstream. The GPS was also playing up with an internal battery going. So much for that.
So...we turned north west instead as we left the Essequibo River because Chaguaramas would probably be the only place nearby that could do anything to help.
I have to say that we had a wonderful sail doing around 200 miles in 24 hours albeit with the help of a strong current! THEN, we turned the northern tip of Trinidad and lost the wind and current as expected. Trouble was, we also lost the engine (it just suddenly died). Eek!! Thank goodness for Pete on the good ship Trouters. They were only a mile or so away and so took us in tow into Chaguaramas and safely onto a mooring buoy.
SO, this is where we now sit....... with so much going on and NOT going on too. All very frustrating.
Watch this space for updates....the boat isn't being abandoned........yet!
Thursday, 29 October 2009
Friday, 16 October 2009
Photos next...
A close up of the falls at Kaieteur... they start about two feet away from where I was standing 741feet straight down!
Just a nice rainbow...
Obligatory posing shot....we all had one!!
From the islander aircraft as we circled round the falls.
This is a gold mine!!
We are due to leave Guyana tomorrow and head north westish for Grenada where we have to have some important boaty things fixed (the generator!) and then plan the trip west to Blanquila. I've enjoyed being here a lot for all sorts of reasons. The people are so nice and the wildlife is spectacular. The weather has also been spectacular. Thunderstorms nearly every day and blistering heat inbetween.
The problems on the boat made things a little difficult as we couldn't take the boat to other islands nearby...so I didn't get to see anteaters or armadillos but we did manage a trip to the zoo in Georgetown before we left and although it was a little old and run down in places, the animals looked quite happy and well fed. They had a jaguar there too!
I shall be out of touch for a week or so but hope to get back online in Prickly Bay, Grenada where the wifi is excellent.
Thursday, 15 October 2009
Being in Guyana.
Sooooo.....We were all set to move a little upriver on Saturday to the lovely little island of Baganara having stopped off in Bartica to buy fresh supplies en route and having spent a wonderful day on Friday visiting islands in the middle of the Essequibo and then sitting underneath a series of waterfalls at Barracarra after a mini trek through the rainforest..... Then the trouble started! First thing was the engine not starting; and it looked quite serious. Help! Suddenly we felt rather isolated as really are no "yacht" facilities here at all.
So Dick phoned Dom, the Amerindian who drives the little boat into Bartica and lives and works at the resort "Hurakabra" nearby. (Photo in earlier blog). He came straight across then taxied to Bartica to pick up his friend and mechanic, Raymond, an Indian muslim (non practising, eats pork, drinks beer!). They spent the rest of the afternoon buried inside the engine and found a problem which they fixed. Hoorah!! Except that it wasn't the whole problem and when we tried to start it up again next day, it was a no go once more. Then the wind suddenly shifted quite violently and the rain arrived in sheets and we started to drag the anchor alarmingly close to the shore.... Phone Dom again dragging him from his Sunday lunch to give us a shove downstream towards safer and deeper water!
Next day, he brought Raymond out again and having found the real problem with the engine (which was quite a big one and would have cost an absolute fortune anywhere else), it was off to Georgetown (Capital city of Guyana) for Dick and Raymond for the day via water taxis, buses, taxis and ferries to find the man, possibly the only one in Guyana (?) who could fix it...... This took all day. In the meantime, I was having a lovely time ashore doing the most enormous pile of washing (photo of facilities in last blog!) while simultaneously dousing myself in deliciously cool rainwater. Indescribable!
The man in Georgetown knew his stuff and the new parts for the engine came back. Dom and Raymond then spent the next day fitting it all back together and phew, it worked!! Then, they started on the next problem which was fixing the generator leak. This meant taking the infernal thing out of its hidey hole and dismantling it. It was at this point that we left our miracle workers on the boat and set off via water taxi to Georgetown to spend a couple of days on an organised tour of the Kaieteur Falls.
Now we're almost up to date having done the tour yesterday. The trip was rather exciting in the end and very nearly didn't happen after some lack of communication on the part of one or two people or perhaps too much communication even! There were some heated exchanges but we all eventually stuffed ourselves into an "Islander" aircraft for the one hour flight to the falls. An "interesting" trip as most of it was over dense rainforest and through heavy downpours. The falls were incredible and the photos don't do them justice. I felt quite privileged to be one of a relatively select few to have actually seen them for real.
We stayed there for a couple of hours and then had lunch before the flight back. Islanders are very noisy as any Guernseyman will know but I fell asleep for a while anyway on the way back!
We are due to leave Georgetown shortly for the hour and a half boat trip upriver back to the boats. There are eight of us on this particular trip. It is possibly the biggest gathering of yachties that Guyana has seen!
We have made our mark here it seems and have become the talk of the little town of Bartica, so much so that we have been asked to meet the Minister of Tourism on Monday to talk about our experiences here and to discuss possible future changes to make Guyana more yachtie friendly. Coo!!!
For my part, I have really enjoyed being here...the weather, apart from horrendous but short daily downpours, has been a lot more tolerable then Trinidad. The wildlife is quite simply amazing. So many colours and sounds, toucans, macaws, howler monkeys, the "ocelot on the beach" (well it was dark so I couldn't see any colours but it WAS a big cat). The people are just lovely, so friendly and helpful, at least in the little towns and settlements. I know we heard several gunshots yesterday evening while eating dinner at the hotel, but hey, you could hear that in any capital city couldn't you??!!
We are due to leave Guyana midweek and sail back to Charlotteville, Tobago. The trip back should be much shorter and pleasanter, thank goodness. After Tobago we will head north for Grenada and then west for Blanquila, an island off Venezuela. Venezuela is not considered safe anymore for small boats though this particular island seems to be OK. Will let you know.....!
So Dick phoned Dom, the Amerindian who drives the little boat into Bartica and lives and works at the resort "Hurakabra" nearby. (Photo in earlier blog). He came straight across then taxied to Bartica to pick up his friend and mechanic, Raymond, an Indian muslim (non practising, eats pork, drinks beer!). They spent the rest of the afternoon buried inside the engine and found a problem which they fixed. Hoorah!! Except that it wasn't the whole problem and when we tried to start it up again next day, it was a no go once more. Then the wind suddenly shifted quite violently and the rain arrived in sheets and we started to drag the anchor alarmingly close to the shore.... Phone Dom again dragging him from his Sunday lunch to give us a shove downstream towards safer and deeper water!
Next day, he brought Raymond out again and having found the real problem with the engine (which was quite a big one and would have cost an absolute fortune anywhere else), it was off to Georgetown (Capital city of Guyana) for Dick and Raymond for the day via water taxis, buses, taxis and ferries to find the man, possibly the only one in Guyana (?) who could fix it...... This took all day. In the meantime, I was having a lovely time ashore doing the most enormous pile of washing (photo of facilities in last blog!) while simultaneously dousing myself in deliciously cool rainwater. Indescribable!
The man in Georgetown knew his stuff and the new parts for the engine came back. Dom and Raymond then spent the next day fitting it all back together and phew, it worked!! Then, they started on the next problem which was fixing the generator leak. This meant taking the infernal thing out of its hidey hole and dismantling it. It was at this point that we left our miracle workers on the boat and set off via water taxi to Georgetown to spend a couple of days on an organised tour of the Kaieteur Falls.
Now we're almost up to date having done the tour yesterday. The trip was rather exciting in the end and very nearly didn't happen after some lack of communication on the part of one or two people or perhaps too much communication even! There were some heated exchanges but we all eventually stuffed ourselves into an "Islander" aircraft for the one hour flight to the falls. An "interesting" trip as most of it was over dense rainforest and through heavy downpours. The falls were incredible and the photos don't do them justice. I felt quite privileged to be one of a relatively select few to have actually seen them for real.
We stayed there for a couple of hours and then had lunch before the flight back. Islanders are very noisy as any Guernseyman will know but I fell asleep for a while anyway on the way back!
We are due to leave Georgetown shortly for the hour and a half boat trip upriver back to the boats. There are eight of us on this particular trip. It is possibly the biggest gathering of yachties that Guyana has seen!
We have made our mark here it seems and have become the talk of the little town of Bartica, so much so that we have been asked to meet the Minister of Tourism on Monday to talk about our experiences here and to discuss possible future changes to make Guyana more yachtie friendly. Coo!!!
For my part, I have really enjoyed being here...the weather, apart from horrendous but short daily downpours, has been a lot more tolerable then Trinidad. The wildlife is quite simply amazing. So many colours and sounds, toucans, macaws, howler monkeys, the "ocelot on the beach" (well it was dark so I couldn't see any colours but it WAS a big cat). The people are just lovely, so friendly and helpful, at least in the little towns and settlements. I know we heard several gunshots yesterday evening while eating dinner at the hotel, but hey, you could hear that in any capital city couldn't you??!!
We are due to leave Guyana midweek and sail back to Charlotteville, Tobago. The trip back should be much shorter and pleasanter, thank goodness. After Tobago we will head north for Grenada and then west for Blanquila, an island off Venezuela. Venezuela is not considered safe anymore for small boats though this particular island seems to be OK. Will let you know.....!
A few photos from Guyana. News later.....
Below is a colony of oropendula nests. These black and yellow birds are everywhere and very noisy!!
Next picture is the rainwater "laundry" at Kit Nasciemento's place. Plenty of water and elbow grease and the washing hasn't been so clean for ages. 
Left is the waterfalls at "Barracarra" which we all spent ages sitting under and enjoying a good soaking! Below is the best picture I could come up with of this "bird" but you can still see what it is. They are very common around here and make a noise like a little dog yapping.
No comment! It says "welcome to Bartica" on the wall behind though...
Next picture is the rainwater "laundry" at Kit Nasciemento's place. Plenty of water and elbow grease and the washing hasn't been so clean for ages. 
Left is the waterfalls at "Barracarra" which we all spent ages sitting under and enjoying a good soaking! Below is the best picture I could come up with of this "bird" but you can still see what it is. They are very common around here and make a noise like a little dog yapping.
No comment! It says "welcome to Bartica" on the wall behind though...
Tuesday, 6 October 2009
Greetings from Guyana!!
Dom, Amerindian at 30 knots.
Jim, Aussie at 30 knots!
The lovely resort where we had lunch. See how brown the water is? But you can swim in it!We left Charlotteville, Tobago last Tuesday, heading around the north end of the island before striking out more or less southwards against the wind and current towards Guyana. Nearly four days later after a hard sail to windward and a lot of motoring, we ended up at the mouth of this enormous river, Essequibo, Guyana. We knew we were there because the water had turned a lovely shade of pale brown although it would be several more hours before we spotted land. We are almost pioneers in sailing here as so few yachts manage the long windward passage from the Caribbean and it’s off the beaten track for Transatlantic crossings.
We anchored for the night at a suitable spot where I was immediately attacked by millions of vicious biting things who had no doubt not tasted fresh “meat” for some time…but enough of my tales of woe!
We set off at the best time for the tide to take us upriver next morning, closely following Troutbridge whose chart plotter was still working (Moonshiner’s wasn’t: more tales of woe), to Bartica where we eventually anchored just before dusk. The trip upriver was a little hairy as the sandy bottom continually shifts leaving some parts of the channel extremely shallow. We did actually touch the bottom a couple of times…luckily, it’s very soft sand and mud.
So here we are now in Bartica, a sort of frontier goldmining town….it really does have that kind of atmosphere. There are cows wandering about the streets. It’s a wonderful mix of people, Amerindians, Portuguese, Afro-Caribbean etc. Some people charge around in high powered colourful riverboats, many used as water taxis…no pictures yet… I can’t recharge my camera…yet another tale of woe! Other tiny wooden boats carry whole families squeezed in, anyone big enough to, wielding a paddle. They cross the river, which must be over three miles wide here, and also have fierce currents to overcome. No helpful navigation lights or buoys anywhere.
The locals are incredibly helpful and friendly and we are managing to get things fixed by degrees thank goodness. The father and son electrician team and the local computer man have been wonderful even coming out to the boat and hardly wanting to be paid either. We had a visit from Kit Nascimento and his delightful jack of all trades righthand man, Dom who have both been brilliant. Kit, born locally, is well known throughout the country and has been an MP among other things. His wife Gem is also local and arranges tours into the interior, the rainforest and waterfalls etc. We hope to charter an aircraft (cheaper as a group!)and fly up to the Kaiteur Falls next week. These are the longest straight drop falls in the world at over 700feet….much more spectacular than the dribbly Angel Falls in Venezuela so I’m told. We also hope to see jaguars, sloths, caymen and possibly a manatee in the jungle and swamps en route.
Kit and Gem invited us all to lunch at their little holiday resort across the river. Dom picked us up in the boat which must have done over 30knots. We all really enjoyed zipping across the water like this…..a change from pounding into lumpy seas at 2knots max! We had an interesting lunch, local dishes included…think we ate something like capybara…it was described to me as a large rodent! Tasted “a bit like chicken” (well, pork actually) and was perfectly acceptable, quite a delicacy I suppose.
We had gone ashore our first night in Bartica and met some real prospectors who spend the week in the mines digging or panning for gold. I have the phone number of Pierre, a New Yorker who has made it big out here in the goldmining business. He said he is more than happy to drive us out to the mining areas. I’d love to find a small piece of native gold, not interested in jewellery, just a nugget will do!!
So I like Guyana. My bites are even starting to heal a little as I write!
We anchored for the night at a suitable spot where I was immediately attacked by millions of vicious biting things who had no doubt not tasted fresh “meat” for some time…but enough of my tales of woe!
We set off at the best time for the tide to take us upriver next morning, closely following Troutbridge whose chart plotter was still working (Moonshiner’s wasn’t: more tales of woe), to Bartica where we eventually anchored just before dusk. The trip upriver was a little hairy as the sandy bottom continually shifts leaving some parts of the channel extremely shallow. We did actually touch the bottom a couple of times…luckily, it’s very soft sand and mud.
So here we are now in Bartica, a sort of frontier goldmining town….it really does have that kind of atmosphere. There are cows wandering about the streets. It’s a wonderful mix of people, Amerindians, Portuguese, Afro-Caribbean etc. Some people charge around in high powered colourful riverboats, many used as water taxis…no pictures yet… I can’t recharge my camera…yet another tale of woe! Other tiny wooden boats carry whole families squeezed in, anyone big enough to, wielding a paddle. They cross the river, which must be over three miles wide here, and also have fierce currents to overcome. No helpful navigation lights or buoys anywhere.
The locals are incredibly helpful and friendly and we are managing to get things fixed by degrees thank goodness. The father and son electrician team and the local computer man have been wonderful even coming out to the boat and hardly wanting to be paid either. We had a visit from Kit Nascimento and his delightful jack of all trades righthand man, Dom who have both been brilliant. Kit, born locally, is well known throughout the country and has been an MP among other things. His wife Gem is also local and arranges tours into the interior, the rainforest and waterfalls etc. We hope to charter an aircraft (cheaper as a group!)and fly up to the Kaiteur Falls next week. These are the longest straight drop falls in the world at over 700feet….much more spectacular than the dribbly Angel Falls in Venezuela so I’m told. We also hope to see jaguars, sloths, caymen and possibly a manatee in the jungle and swamps en route.
Kit and Gem invited us all to lunch at their little holiday resort across the river. Dom picked us up in the boat which must have done over 30knots. We all really enjoyed zipping across the water like this…..a change from pounding into lumpy seas at 2knots max! We had an interesting lunch, local dishes included…think we ate something like capybara…it was described to me as a large rodent! Tasted “a bit like chicken” (well, pork actually) and was perfectly acceptable, quite a delicacy I suppose.
We had gone ashore our first night in Bartica and met some real prospectors who spend the week in the mines digging or panning for gold. I have the phone number of Pierre, a New Yorker who has made it big out here in the goldmining business. He said he is more than happy to drive us out to the mining areas. I’d love to find a small piece of native gold, not interested in jewellery, just a nugget will do!!
So I like Guyana. My bites are even starting to heal a little as I write!
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