Sunset, Friday evening, Charlotteville. Colours accurate. Perfect!!

Just a bar we passed on the bus on our way into Scarborough, Tobago.

The Atlantic coast of Tobago.

The bay we are currently anchored in. Boats somewhere in the middle.

Jim (Delicado) dangles in Trouter's rigging in Charlotteville, Tobago inspecting broken bits!

SO….We finally managed to leave Chaguaramas after just three hot, humid months there during which time the boat was totally “sorted out” in order that we may sail happily into the Pacific next year absolutely problem free!! Ha!! Famous last words…. Nothing is ever that straightforward with boats!
We set off in company with “Trouters” and her complement of four. Pete has been joined by crew member KayDee(?)...she’s American so spelling doesn’t necessarily follow (!) and our delightful Aussie friends, Pam and Jim from Delicado (so we’re very happy). Troutbridge encountered a problem with her”yankee” en route (that’s a sail to non yachties, not a reference to KayDee!!) and we encountered a problem with one of the rowlocks for the new dinghy in that it is now at the bottom of the sea. Oops! (It wasn’t me by the way who dropped it!)
Problems aside, we had three convenient overnight stops in Trini on our way round the north western corner of the island and then a longish daysail north east to Charlotteville, Tobago where we intend to stay anchored in the delightful bay for a week or so. We were accompanied by dolphins for a few minutes and I took a very nice short video which we will probably never watch again but never mind!
Charlotteville is lovely and seems to be more like the Caribbean used to be according to those who have been here before. The sea is very clear, warm and mostly calm so I have been in several times already. It makes a change from the choppy and very dirty waters around most of northern Trinidad where no one aside from the locals dared to swim.
Apart from the dirt, humidity, heat and insects, I actually enjoyed being in Trini though. There is a very good social scene for cruising yachts and we were there for long enough to make several new friends from different parts of the world with whom it will be nice to stay in contact and perhaps meet up with again.
I also enjoyed the best birdwatching so far there, thousands of screechy parrots aside, and even had Dick occasionally spotting new species high among the rainforest branches. These birds are a real delight to see….so colourful and with such weird calls We caught a few glimpses of the crested oropendula...you know...the ones that build those amazing hanging nests. I wish I could get better photos but will have to leave that to the professionals although I keep trying….!
The locals here in Charlotteville are very friendly, something we didn’t always find in Trini. The part of the island we stayed in used to be mangrove swamp which was cleared by the Americans during the war. The native “swamp dwellers” were resettled further inland but not everyone is happy with this; one individual in particular is always arranging protests hoping to reclaim his land and he resents the yachtie presence. On the way into town on the bus, we passed graffiti saying “ yatchies go home”, “yauties go home” or even “yautchies go home”..We got the message but stayed anyway!!
Yesterday (Friday), we took the local luxurious airconditioned coach from here into Scarborough, the capital of Tobago. The trip took nearly two hours and was virtually an island tour as we travelled from north west to south east up and over the mountains, through the dense rainforest and then zigzagged down the whole of the east coast. The whole trip was wonderful. Lots to see en route and the island is so clean in comparison with most of the other islands. I spotted a MotMot at last (look it up on Google!) and a purple gallinule (look that one up too!!)
We will have been here a week by Monday when we plan to sail south east for Guyana in company with Troutbridge. This should take five days or so and ought to be fairly pleasant and trouble free, but you know how it is with boats…. I think we will get wifi there which is pretty amazing as it’s supposed to be one of the last few relatively unspoilt places left on the planet. I know this because of the recent BBC documentary…Ahh….that’s why we now have connections with the 21st century there. Never mind; it’s still quite unusual for yachts to get there.
Hoping for some interesting tales and photos with my next blog entry then………

Incredibly fast and free wifi here in Tobago!!

We had a very expensive but very nice "indian" somewhere in Port of Spain...the house wine cost £22! Eek!! The other pair are Mike and Pat from "El Lobo", Geordies who have sailed across from the UK in their concrete boat.

This tern with injured wing landed briefly on the boat as we sailed towards Tobago...but it flew off just as I was going to feed it some lovely red snapper.

I tried to get a decent photo of a pelican but this has been the best so far...it was just about to dive, or rather "plop" into the water after fish.

Taken at the "Pan" on Independence Day. Our amazing tour organiser, Jesse James is in the middle with me and Elaine (Virgo's Child) on his right and Pete (Troutbridge) and Pam (Delicado) on his left. Dick is "lurking" at the back as usual!

At last, a photo of "Pete's rock", a massive lump of coral that his top of the range anchor (Rocna) managed to tie itself around. It took quite a lot of undoing!

Photos to go with the previous post.... I hope!!

One of the steel bands we saw on Independence day....pity I can't add the music too!

These women danced and sang...I don't know how they coped with the heat. It was stifling.

Waiting for the bus to take us to the "Pan" on Independence Day. L to R.. Elaine aka Ned Kelly, of "Virgo's Child"...Aussie if you hadn't guessed!, Dick, Pete, Pam and Jim. It was raining by the way!!

The brand new and very shiny dinghy gets pumped up for the first time.....it also floated some time later.....

Just a photo of an amazing thundercloud taken from the boatyard. We saw lots of lightning inside it but I just couldn't take a photo at the right time for some reason....... Anyway, it was rather spectacular.

I am waiting patiently yet again for these photos to upload....this must be the tenth time I've tried but at least I'm sitting in airconditioned comfort this time. And hoorah..because it worked this time...at last!

We are still moored in Chaguaramas Bay and just have to get a few more things sorted out with the new dinghy which has caused a hiccup or two... Then.....we plan to sail around to a quiet and clean bay on the north coast before setting out for Tobago where we plan to stay for a few days before striking out for the 300 mile trip to Guyana and the 40 miles up the Essequibo river

Pete on Troutbridge should be coming with us but he is out of the water again for a day or so while the boatyard people redo his antifouling. This antifouling which Moonshiner also has now (American "State of the Art", extremely expensive and on which absolutely nothing is supposed to grow...guaranteed for a couple of years... except that it doesn't appear to work in these warm, fertile waters!) is possibly going to be a cause for concern until we can get into cleaner water.

We have been on some serious stocking up shopping trips.....tins and bulk things like flour.... as we don't know what we will be able to buy in Guyana. Pam and Jim from Delicado are planning to join Pete on his really quite luxurious and very spacious catamaran(!) for this trip and I'm looking forward to their company. Guyana is still relatively unexplored by yachties...it is also therefore prudent not to go there alone?

We sailed on Troutbridge last weekend to a little island west of here, Chakachakaree (or something like that!). This island was a leper colony until they found the cure for the disease about 30 years ago and abandoned the place, leaving it to become a wilderness again. We wanted to go ashore but there was too much swell in the bay so we just contented ourselves with enjoying the peace and quiet for a couple of days......no photos would do it justice except the one that I shall try to upload after this post.....Pete has an anchor which is supposed to be the best in the world.....called a "Rocna"...that's "ancor" backwards...just in case you hadn't noticed. Past experiences have shown us that this anchor is really attracted to rocks and seems to attach itself to them whenever it can....just look at the photo when it arrives! We had one hell of a job to untangle it as you can imagine.

OK....more later but I just don't know when!!

Independence Day!

We, (The usual Suspects...see photo...sorry can't get photos to upload yet. Editor!) had planned a day trip, organised with precision by the delightful Jesse James, on August 31st, Trinidad's Independence day to see the steel bands, known as the "Pan" and then to watch the fireworks at the "Savannah", the huge open space inside the world's largest roundabout!
It nearly didn't happen as the heavens opened during the morning causing flash flooding in many places. I wondered how a steel band would sound when the drums were full of water? In the event however, it more or less cleared up in the early afternoon and we had a lovely day out. Some photos of the Pan above...... There was a surprise draw....lucky tickets under our seats.... our party was extremely lucky as we picked up two of the prizes (xxl T shirts...see photo later) out of only eight given! The music was varied and very good too. We didn't fancy any of the food though having observed the BBWs (big beautiful women!!) spread out in front of us, eating what was on offer.............chicken feet! Absolutely no way, in spite of so often being told by the locals how good they really are....I've seen what chickens love to walk in...........
After the Pan, we had a chinese meal which I shall not comment on (chicken feet may have been preferable) though everyone else enjoyed their choices. The fireworks started at 7.30 so we sat on the grass in the Savannah and waited..and waited, forgetting that Trinidadians do things at their own pace. They did start of course and were very good. I took photos though goodness knows why....one firework going off looks much like another..... it's the bangs and flashes at the time that you can't capture!
All in all though, a lovely day out. Thankyou Trinidad.
We are due to go back into the water at any minute so I'm taking advantage of the electricity while we're still connected. The aircon has gone so the galley fan is on full blast. The temperature in here has already risen 3degrees in about 10 minutes.
I shall post another blog before we leave for Tobago and possibly Guyana...I say possibly because we aren't sure yet..... I'd love to go but........Watch this space

Just a little more work to do

Jim and Dick admire the "shiny thing"


This is the sort of thing I get excited about!! The first loaf I baked with my new silicone "tin"....definitely NOT shiny!


A lot of work has been done on the boat in the last few days. She is now antifouled with the strongest stuff you can buy...essential for these fertile waters. It was expensive but worth it I'm told. The hull is shiny again after all the rain washing dirt off the deck and leaving brown streaks eveywhere. Jim from Delicado has been very helpful lending a very practised hand to removing then cleaning up and replacing three of the hatches which were leaking....not good with the recent wet weather! The main hatch forward which is huge was especially awkward to do....took three days in all....very unpleasant in the heat and impossible in the rain.




The boat now has a new dinghy which will sit on the still incredibly shiny new davits and a rather splendid, new, equally shiny outboard, a Tohatsu 9.8 HP......As far as I'm concerned, this means that Moonshiner's tender is now the equivalent of a BMW compared with the old one which was more like a Trabant! It will make dinghy trips ashore a lot faster and drier. No more spending the evening sitting in salty damp shorts




The boat is due to go back in the water in a couple of days. it'll be nice to be afloat again...no more having to clamber down long ladders to go to the loo, fewer mozzies around and hopefully a cooling breeze most of the time. We plan to stay around Chaguaramas for just a couple of days because the water here is so dirty and oily...it'll quickly spoil the nice shiny hull!! Note how many times I have used the "shiny" word...this is because all the men around here seem to be especially attracted to all boaty things that gleam....chandleries are just too full of this stuff and are just impossible to pass by without buying something else shiny to add to the collection! Hmm..



We haven't done any organised bus trips to other parts of he island while so much work is being done but we may have time to do something next week. Monday the 31st is Independence day here, a national holiday with lots of events being staged. We plan to visit the Savannah (an open recreational space inside the world's biggest road roundabout near Port of Spain) where there will be lots going on all day, steel bands and fireworks etc. If we go, I'll try to get some photos.



OK, that's it for now. back to work......

So here we are back in dear old Trini…..just about to pour with rain for the afternoon just as it has been doing every day since we left….at least everything is looking very green as a result.It was also raining as we left Gatwick…there’s a lot of water up there at the moment!! At least three proper tropical depression/storms are also currently threatening the more northerly Caribbean Islands but we’re quite safe here as storms don’t reach this far south though we may experience some of the rain associated with them. The yard workers tell us that lots of yachts will be heading this way to shelter. I’m watching the progress on Wikipedia!

It’s nice to be back after some major travel hassle on the way here, thankfully now resolved. We flew Virgin Atlantic to Tobago then on via Caribbean Airlines to Trini which sounds simple enough except that my bag (with my whole life in it of course!!) got left on the Virgin aircraft along with several other unlucky passengers and so I experienced Caribbean bureaucracy tinged with inefficiency, which is quite normal I’m told except that it hadn’t happened to ME, yet……

My bag eventually turned up after two days at Piarco (Trinidad airport) and that was as far as anyone involved was prepared go so I had to get a taxi there and back….each way takes over an hour by road on a good day. At least the trip was cheap, only about £25 total…I don’t think that would even cover the petrol in the UK? My things were a bit squashed but otherwise undamaged thank goodness. I had some 100% Deet in there which would have been a disaster if it had leaked…….melted through the fuselage I should think!!

So, now settling back into life in the slow lane after five weeks visiting friends and family scattered across England and Guernsey. Everyone was very kind in putting me up and putting up with me too. I didn’t get to do half as much as I’d intended….far too much catching up to do…lots of socializing, eating out as well as watching all those awful but compulsive viewing TV programmes….I hope I will get regular updates from now on via email on Big Brother and Eastenders….well, not seriously you understand!

I was sorry to miss quite a few people while I was in Guernsey as I’m not sure just how long it will be before I am able to fly back from now on…it gets incredibly expensive as we head west beyond Panama. I am hoping that one or two people may actually be able to fly out to see us as we have fixed dates in some of the Pacific Islands with the Blue Water rally which we join in December in the San Blas Islands.

The boatyard workers were supposed to be getting on with a lot of work while we were away but it doesn’t look as though they’ve done much at all… (oh dear!).Pete on Troutbridge had the same problem when he returned. It’s been pretty busy though since our return and the boat now has a very nice shiny set of davits which were needed for the new dinghy…..hoping THAT will arrive soon along with a much more powerful outboard….fairly essential for the long dinghy rides around the Pacific Island coral reefs. I don’t fancy having to row those distances!

I have tried out the amazing new, vibrant orange (!) silicone bakeware set that I bought via the internet… I think the place is QVC, a shopping channel no less, but it works. The baking sheets make very good trays with the rigid edges and are very heat resistant too. No more burnt knees as we sit in the cockpit in the evenings eating dinner! It’s going to be brilliant too when we sail…nothing rattling around in the lockers and no more rusty tins to scrub. Maybe I should get a job promoting this stuff to other yachties?

The other thing that I’m looking forward to doing is making my own ear candles….don’t knock it ‘til you’ve tried it! I have beeswax and calico and just need a little trial and error and a willing guinea pig or two!! On that note, more to follow with some up to date photos soon.....NOT of people having their ears done you will realise!!

Our plans are otherwise just to get the boat fit for relaunch as soon as possible maybe in about ten days. I’ll miss the airconditioning but not the noise it makes and just hope that we are moored far enough outside the mozzie belt….yes, they ARE still biting, mostly me of course……Hmm.

Somerset in the Rain!

Katharine at "Rivas" restaurant where she treated me to a very nice lunch!

Jen and Min at 8 Belmont Rd in my old workroom, now a living room....very nicely decorated too!

Exeter 24th July, Richard with his "not quite so cheesy" grin!

Posing after the ceremony, now officially R Hall (MEng)

Lunch at Wetherspoons.....I had a Guinness, Jenny and Richard had fruit juice!!!

Here I am in Othery, Somerset at Mary (sister) and John (brother-in-law)'s home having been driven here yesterday by Richard (son) after his graduation at Exeter Uni on Friday. Richard is now an MEng and we are all very proud of him and his achievement after four years of hard slog......well sometimes anyway......no, seriously, it was a lot of hard work I'm sure! He just made it look easy!! He has also recently passed his driving test at first attempt so it was a double celebration.

He is starting a temporary job in his chosen career in a couple of days and is looking for more permanent work soon, hoping that engineering in some areas hasn't yet been hit too hard by the recession... He and his girlfriend, Jenny, are staying in the Exeter area for another year but expect to move after that and to travel perhaps. Jenny has a maths degree from Bristol so they are quite a pair!!

I have been in the UK and Guernsey for a couple of weeks now, seeing family and friends, trying (and succeeding!) to bore them all with my Caribbean photos and tales of sunshine. It's been so good though to see everyone again and to spend time in the National Trust shop selling sweets etc. I made quite a few cello bags for the sweets...I haven't lost the knack yet(!) and even managed to get some knitting done in between all the very necessary chatting!

I have spent rather a lot of time on this, my wonderful little laptop, sourcing essential things for the boat such as ear candles.....don't laugh.....just wait 'til you try them! Everyone seems to have a broadband set up now so the internet is free and FAST and I have been able to win things on ebay.....it's been quite hard not to get carried away after a seven month break from my "addiction" to the site....but I must try to stick to lightweight things. I'm very unwilling to pay excess baggage again... so I'd better stop............ NOW!

The weather has unfortunately been mostly fairly awful since I've been back but then it's quite a nice change from the heat and humidity in Trini except that I hope I don't become too deacclimatised... if that's a real word.... before we go back on August 13th?

Richard is driving up here again tomorrow from Exeter to take me across to Holbeach, Lincs to see my father for a few days then I am training down to Chichester to see friends there before ferrying back to Guernsey. In Holbeach, I hope I'll be able to persuade my father to go online so that he can stay up to date with my travels via this blog. You simply can't say it all on a postcard these days!

There will be farewell parties with friends and family back in Guernsey as I have no firm idea when I might come back next time. As we sail west later on this year, the distance and difficulty to fly back increases and the fares rise well beyond my reach until we are in Australia.

I'm really looking forward to the trip island hopping westwards across the Pacific...it's supposed to be so much nicer than the Atlantic! Not too sure about the long distance from Trini to Panama though with the stories of pirates and big seas and not too many safe havens en route anymore...but at least we won't be alone!