A Different Paradise

We have found a different kind of paradise! After the dense lush green rain forests of Trinidad and the Windward Islands, only pictures can truly describe what we are enjoying now. From the cockpit is a panoramic view of a desert landscape dominated by red and yellow cliffs, showered with gray & green cactus, bordered at the shore by mangroves. All this in an incredible lagoon that is a little more than 2 miles long. The lagoon is full of enough little nooks and crannies to easily harbour a couple of dozen boats AND you would never see your neighbour. Several years ago the lagoon protected over 150 boats who sought shelter here from a hurricane that threatened Grenada. Today (September 24th) there is only one other boat in the lagoon and she is out of sight from us.
Over night the water is so calm it is like a mirror. It’s wonderful to have good night sleeps after the poor rolly anchorages we experienced in Porlamar and Trinidad. In the morning we are woken by the sound of baby goats bleating as they search for their mothers on the craggy hillside & the swoosssh of wings of the Frigate Birds as they scoop up the fish that swim in the shade of Rhiannon’s Hull. In contrast the splash of the Pelican is loud enough to startle you. Pelican’s are graceful flyers and they glide silently forever above the surface of the water but when they land, it is the most hilarious crash landing imaginable. Occasionally the peace is broken by the sound of an outboard motor as the local fishermen slowly cruise by in their wooden pirogues. We always receive a big wave and Holá as they pass by. There is a small fishing village of about 5 families that live in one of the bays near the entrance to the lagoon. They live a very simple life and seem very happy. They often come by the boats looking for swim masks to help them dive for mangrove oysters. Next time we are in a city we will buy a supply of masks to give them. Maybe trade for some Spanish lessons? Hardly anyone speaks English so we are desperately trying to learn a few words everyday. Meanwhile sign language is usually the most effective means of communication.

I think we will stay here until our food and fresh water runs out. Until next time
Fair Winds
Miriam
10°35.1’ N
64°02.0’ W

Laguna Grande,
Golfo de Cariacou,
Venezuela

Isla de Margarita

September 3rd
Our permission to stay on Los Testigos for 4 days was over so we headed to Isla de Margarita. It was a calm day and we ended up motor sailing the 50 miles to the anchorage in Bahia de Guaraguao. It is a huge bay surrounded by the city of Porlamar & is home to over one hundred cruising boats. Some cruisers stay here for all of the hurricane season while others (like us) come to visit and restock our ship’s stores.

Porlamar is a duty free port and is a shopaholic’s dream come true. (I really HATE shopping). I have never seen so many big malls and shopping districts in my life. The hardest part about shopping other than the crowds of people is getting used to the local currency. We changed $500.00 and became instant Millionaires. One US dollar is worth 2150 Bolivares at the bank but some businesses will give you a much better exchange rate, as they need the US$ to purchase goods & services outside of their country. Needless to say, everything is very inexpensive compared to the rest of the countries we have visited in the Caribbean. It is a real treat to pay 1500 B’s (about 40 cents) for a beer in a bar or 850 B’s (22 cents) in the grocery store, or 12,000 B’s ($4) for a nice bottle of wine. Taxi’s average about 7000 B’s a ride (less than $2) so we didn’t experience the local bus system here. One day we hired a taxi for 35,000 B’s an hour (about $9) to take us to a half dozen little shops in the different areas of town. We would never have found these places on our own. Needless to say we thought we would save money and get back on budget once we arrived in Venezuela; however it is easy to spend a lot of money here too. On the other hand, we were able to fill our lockers with non perishable food and refreshments, and the fridge was overflowing with fresh produce when we left. Hopefully we will encounter some Gold Star Days soon. (A Gold Star Day is what cruisers refer to as a day you don’t spend any money).
Marina Juan and the Rum Bar each offer a “free” dinghy dock for you to “park” your dinghy while going ashore, however you are expected to Tip the dock boy about 2000 B’s for looking after your dinghy. Marina Juan is also the pick up point for a free bus service 3 times a week to one of the local shopping malls plus he has a Happy Hour every afternoon. It’s a great spot to meet other cruisers. At 1000 B’s for a beer, everyone wants to buy a round. We ran into some old friends and acquaintances and made some new friends as well.

It seems that we always stay longer at places like this than intended, usually due to boat maintenance or repairs. One of our propane tanks ran out and while changing to the other tank, Pat noticed that the fitting on one of the hoses was leaking. This turned into a full 2 days of searching for a replacement. We finally ended up having a shop make a new hose for us. While we were at it, we decided to install a fitting for the Bar-B-Q so that we could run it off our main tanks instead of using those little green disposable propane bottles. This was truly a nice upgrade, one that we had been talking about doing for a long time.

Not all areas we visit are paradise. Porlamar demonstrates the contrast between the rich and the poor of this country. The economy of Venezuela is in question as the gap between the rich and poor widens. Venezuelans from the mainland come here to shop and to holiday while the Barios (shantytowns) get hidden behind concrete walls.

The army comes in and builds and paints walls with doors & windows in them to surround & hide the rubble and shacks that people live in. At first they look like neat little neighbourhoods until you peer through the open doors. It is hard to imagine that people live in such hovels. It’s also hard to get a really good handle on the local politics when you don’t speak the language. One thing is clear, that the people either really love or really hate Presidente Chavez.

Sunday September 16th. It’s time to move on & in the company of Cheers, we head to the Golfo de Cariacou. We first met Bob & Zan on Cheers in New York City September 2005. We were new to the cruising life while, at that time, they had been out for 2 years. It truly is an incredible cruising community. As much as we miss family & friends from our land home, we form new friendships as we go, only to say goodbye & then meet up again in some other foreign port. One of the reasons to go to the Golfo was to catch up with Bev & Ross on Raft, a couple from the Barrie area in Ontario whom we first met in Georgetown in the Bahamas, January 2006. Since then we have crossed wakes many times.
Till next time,
Fair Winds
Miriam
10°57.1 N
63°50.0’W

Tropical Storm Felix

Islas des Los Testigos

A small portion of Real Beach to the left and the cut between Testigo Pequeno & Testigo Grande.

The swell coming through the cut looked like reversing waves crashing towards us.

As always, our plans are due to change, usually dictated by the weather.
Friday August 31st we slept in and woke up to a weather forecast of potentially nasty weather. It was too late to run to the mainland so the anchorage between Isla Iguana and Isla Cabra looked like our best option.

We left the beach area and got settled for the coming storm. At this time it was just a Tropical Depression but something not to fool around with. We set 2 anchors and sat back to relax & wait. It was really fun watching all the activity as the local boats started to arrive. They have beautiful fishing trawlers that double as their major form of transportation. Some of the boats brought the locals back from their mainland shopping trip while other boats brought people over for the weekend party. They set up tents on the beach and played load Spanish Music. It was fun for awhile. By 3:30 am the first rain squall blew through (no wind) and the shore party continued despite the rain. The second rain shower at 4:30 calmed the party. By 6:30, the next downpour brought the wind. Felix was then officially a Tropical Storm and the centre of Tropical Storm Felix passed 25 miles to the north of us.
With 2 anchors down, the company of 2 other sailboats, 21 fishing trawlers, and over a dozen pirogues, we Comfortably rode out the storm.

Looking West: View of the village before the Storm. Looking East: View after the worst of the storm was over.

By 11 am the worst was over; by 2 pm the sun peaked out and the locals started going about their business setting traps and fishing. The weekend visitors emerged from their tents on the beach and continued their party. Such is life after a storm. Later that afternoon we enjoyed Happy Hour and Dinner with a young couple from Holland on board Tranquillo. Such is cruising life.

We just Love these Boats!

When we last visited our land home, the 2 most common questions were; Did you run into any pirates? & Did you run into any bad storms? So far the pirates are behaving themselves (since the Venezuelan Guardacosta have increased patrols in the high risk areas) and Felix passed us by before turning into a Hurricane. Our luck will continue.

Fair Winds,

Miriam

11°21.4’N
63°07.8’W

P.S. I forgot to mention how really fabulous these little islands are. It's too bad we lost a couple of days of exploring while waiting out Felix. It is another place we would love to return to some day.

Sand dunes on the East coast of Testigo Grande

Intriguing driftwood anchored in the sand

Goodbye Trinidad

The North Shore of Trinidad

One of the numerous caves in La Vache Bay. There were much biggger ones but our camera battery died. Great dinghy exploration though.

View from the anchorage in Scotland Bay

We have had an interesting time in Trinidad since arriving from Tobago July 30th. As one definition of Cruising is “Boat Maintenance in Exotic Places”, we thought it time to take advantage of all the facilities here. Chaguaramus Bay is a Yachting Haven with over 5 marinas and even more boat yards, numerous chandleries and all kinds of service providers. It is also a commercial working port so there is always lots of activity going on. The anchorage in the bay is the absolute worst we have ever been in. Not only does it suffer from a horrible southwest swell, the water is terribly polluted and is a dark brown colour from the silt of the Orinoco River. The humidity averages around 97% and is unbearable at times. You can’t swim to cool off but the marina we stayed in for a week had a nice little pool. It is also the rainy season, so guess what. It rains every day. Needless to say we have gotten lots of boat chores done, added some improvements such as a 150 watt solar panel, and still managed to have fun.

Rhiannon's New Solar Panel

Jesse James is the local Cruisers Guru. He runs Members Only Maxi Taxi service, does tours on request, has regular runs to the Supermarkets and the Fruit & Vegie Market, helps anyone in need and is a genuinely outgoing friendly guy. While in Chaguaramus we went on a day tour to the Asa Wright Nature Centre, saw tons of birds and a snake in the rainforest before getting drowned by a torrential rainfall. That afternoon was a boat tour of the Caroni Swamp to see the Scarlet Ibis, a beautiful gorgeous red bird.

It is also very easy traveling around by Maxi Taxi, the local public transport system. Port of Spain is the Capital City of Trinidad with more than a million people. It made for very intriguing exploring one Saturday Morning.

The Lighthouse in Port of Spain

painted to resemble the Trinidadian Flag

Monday August 27th marked our 2 year anniversary. That was the day Rhiannon, Pat & I sailed away from the Rothesay Yacht Club. WOW! It’s really hard to believe sometimes. I still wake up thinking it is all a dream. Needless to say we celebrated by going out to the Lighthouse Restaurant at Crews Inn for a nice seafood dinner. To celebrate our last evening in Trinidad (Tuesday August 28) we took Jesse’s bus to Port Of Spain to the Movie Town Complex, complete with 9 cinemas. It was probably the nicest Cinema we have ever been in. We were able to sit back in reclining chairs with more leg room than at home, and enjoy The Bourne Ultimatum. What a good action packed film that was.

Wednesday August 29th. We cleared out with Immigration & Customs Wednesday afternoon and by 4:30 pm we were waving goodbye to Chaguaramus. The forecast was for light winds and calm seas. We motored for about 2 hours then the wind picked up and were then able to sail all the way to Ilas de Los Testigos, 108 nautical miles in 20 hours. The only down side was the fear of Pirates off the North coast of the Peninsula de Paria, Venezuela. To avoid these guys, you leave the Bocas in Trinidad and set your course heading North, so they think you are going to Trinidad. We sailed north to 11° , about 20 miles off the coast and then altered course to 270°, West with an East Wind. Now Rhiannon does not sail the best directly downwind, and since it was blowing 18 knots plus, we ran all night under a reefed main. The genny would have helped cut the roll a little but we furled it in as you don’t want to run the risk of being overpowered at night with a short handed crew (2). During the night we were able to alter course, thanks to the Radar, to avoid a big squall, and enjoyed the company of an almost full moon. By 12:30 pm, Thursday August 30th, we were anchored off a little village on Isla Iguana. We Made it to South America! (Although not the mainland yet) Isla Iguana is one of the small islands that make up Los Testigos, a group of small offshore islands with about 160 inhabitants. There is no customs here, no one speaks English & we don’t speak Spanish, but the Guardacosta gave us permission to stay for 4 days. Yeh!!!. 4 days of playing on sandy beaches and snorkeling. We haven’t done that for a while.

Fair Winds,

Miriam
11°21.4’ N
063°07.8’ W

Hurricane Dean

Hi From Trinidad
It is bright and sunny, almost no wind and we are in a slip at Coral Cove Marina, Chaguaramas, Trinidad. All the worrying about Hurricane Dean is over until the next tropical wave/depression arrives, which happens to be at approx. 19 deg N, 38 deg W. This will have an impact on us probably next Thursday/Friday, if we are still here, which I hope we ain’t. We firmly believe that the best “Hurricane Preparation Plan” is to be somewhere else! So, Venezuela looks good, hopefully heading in that direction in the next day or two.
Some models of Hurricane Dean’s position on last Tuesday had Trinidad & Tobago in it’s direct path. This would have been the first Hurricane to hit here in 120 years. We were in the midst of some boat work, and we did not have time to escape to a “hurricane hole”, plus we were convinced that it would veer north. Not only us, but about 350 other boats in the various marina’s and anchorages in Chaguaramas would have taken a serious hit, probably one that would have destroyed everything. As it was, Dean did veer north and passed between Martinique and St. Lucia, leaving a path of destruction. Unfortunately later today, Sunday 20th, the eye of Dean will be 30 miles off Jamaica then Cancun, Mexico as a Catagorie 4/5 Hurricane. The destruction will be massive and we hope the people have taken the time to seek refuge.
Cruisers who have spent some time here in Chaguaramas warned everyone on the Wed. and Thurs morning “Cruiser’s Net” (VHF radio broadcast @ 8am) of the exposure to the Southeast in the anchorage and some of the marinas. A lot of boats left for refuge elsewhere only to be replaced by boats arriving from Grenada and other places north escaping the storm. The place was packed! There is very little room to anchor here, most of the space taken by moorings which are spaced way too close together. We appraised our situation and decided to stay at the dock.
The ocean swell of Dean was felt here about 8 hours after it passed our longitude. In Coral Cove Marina there are strong concrete docks which don’t move when big waves hit it. But that doesn’t mean that the boats tied up to it don’t move.
First thing after morning coffee was to visit Budget Marine and buy 120 more feet of nylon rode to prepare Rhiannon for the predicted swell. We always felt fairly confident in our “ground tackle” and assumed that we would ride out situations like this on our anchors. We are never in a marina, never tied to a dock and only have dock lines that keep is tied in minimum forces. Not for what we were expecting this day.
Within 30 minutes of adding the extra lines, she started to roll. There were boats on moorings that were breaking loose and piling into other boats, boats on anchor were dragging onto their neighbor and big waves were bashing into boats in the marinas.
Rhiannon was rolling from side to side, (with me watching from the stable concrete dock), but not as bad as our neighbor boats which were closer to the wall of the marina and getting the back wave after it hit the marina wall. The swell lasted about 3 hours and it was awful! Masts banging other masts in fact two hit about 10 or 11 times. Our rig hit the shroud running between the main mast and the mizzen mast of a 54’ ketch beside us only once but broke our wind instrument.
About 200 yards away more openly exposed to the waves a few boats in the marina were litterly picked up and smashed onto the marina wall! The local boat businesses went all out running down with huge fenders, lines and people to help out. All this and not a breath of wind, it was amazing! You might check out www.guardian.co.tt then go to archives for August 18th , which is at the end of the list. This is the local newspaper and the cover page has photos of what was happening. We were too busy to take any pictures ourselves.
Our boat projects are complete now, installed one 150 watt solar panel, added more insulation to the fridge and re-worked the propane locker and we are setting sail to Venezuela, minus our wind machine, where we hope that we will never have to experience what we went through here in Chaguaramas, or the potential disaster that it could have been. First Rule in Hurricane Preparation, Be Where It Ain’t!
See Ya, Fair Winds and Seas
Pat & Miriam
S/V Rhiannon3

Carriacou to Tobago

Thursday July 5,2007
Tyrrel Bay is on the Island of Carriacou, which is part of the country of Grenada. It is a very large but pleasant anchorage with a mangrove swamp in one corner of the bay. The mangroves become a popular spot to “hang out” in case of an impending storm. Fortunately, we do not have to make use of the protection of the mangroves. The anchorage was very crowded when we arrived on Thursday but a lot of boats left Friday morning for the south shore of Grenada. We decided to stay and with more room in the anchorage, let out a lot more scope on the anchor. Saturday morning was very calm and the morning forecast called for the rains and wind to start around 3 pm and expected to last till about midnight. Pat & I took a bus into Hillsborough, to the only Gas Station on the island, to fill up our jerry cans with Diesel (total of 7 gals). One of the drawbacks in a lot of the islands is the lack of “convenient” facilities. There are no wharfs to pull up to to refill fuel and water tanks; so jerry jugs are an essential piece of boat equipment. We bought some fresh fruit & veggies but were anxious to get back to the boat.
Saturday afternoon had a very eerie feeling as everyone was hunkered down on their boats. Waiting. Nobody stirred. Then around 4 pm, the sun came out and all of a sudden dinghies & people started moving about everywhere. It was really weird. The storm missed us!! I will not complain. Apparently Grenada, 20 miles to the south got a lot of wind and rain. Go figure. The unpredictable power of nature will always amaze me and always warrant respect.
We had a nice surprise Sunday morning when we heard about a boat launch that was to happen that afternoon in the village of Windward. We shared a “taxi”, as the buses don’t run on Sundays, with a couple from Toronto, and enjoyed the half hour drive to the north part of the island. Carriacou has a history of boat building and the Carriacou Sloop has a very good reputation. Several Carriacou Sloops participated in the Antiqua Classic Yacht Regatta last April. They are very fast, sturdy wooden boats with an aesthetic beauty all their own.
So what is a boat launch? Well, the boats are built on the beach and when complete, the whole town and all the surrounding villages show up to participate in the launch. The women and children are singing and chanting while the men prepare. Logs and giant timbers are stratigically placed under the keel, a giant rope is wrapped around the hull & gunnels and the supports from the hull are removed. There is lots of yelling, singing and general merrymaking as the hull is eased down the beach on top of the logs; one at a time a log is moved from the stern as it emerges & placed under the bow of the advancing hull. Really fascinating to watch. We stood in the water to observe and take pictures. But as all things related to boating, it did not go smoothly. At one point, the boat slid forward too quickly. After lots of yelling and lots of suggestions from the men, the situation was remedied and with the assistance of a big power boat and several pulleys, she was dragged through the shallow water on her side and eventually floated upright on her belly. It was so exciting to watch such a traditional event. It will be hard to top this one.

July 12th comes to quickly and we are moving on with our goal to make Tobago still in the forefront of our plans. We head back north, clear out of customs at Hillsborough and beat our way to the island of Petite Martinique. There is a lot of current and strong wind against us. Our knot log shows we did 13.7 nautical miles to cover the 7 nm route. But that is what sailing is all about, taking the easy sails along with the challenging ones. We ended up anchoring off the beach at Petite St.Vincent (PSV) as it looked calmer than the anchorage at Petite Martinique. PSV is a privately owned island that has an exclusive resort on it and is only accessible by water. It only costs $500.00 US a night to stay there but certainly offers seclusion and rest and relaxation. Friday morning we dinghied across the channel to Petite Martinique to have a look around. It is a very quaint fishing/boat building village with friendly people & a population of about 1000.
2:40 pm We drop anchor to start off on another leg of our voyage. The wind is predicted to be NE and we seem to have a decent weather window for a night passage. Well the weather co-operated, we did not hit any squalls, but the wind stayed out of the East. Due to the NW set of the Equatorial Current, our speed over ground averaged about 4.6 knots even though it felt like Rhiannon was flying through the water at 7 knots. It was a long hard slog to windward to cover the 90 miles to Tobago (not to be confused with the Tobago Cays). Despite the wind and the current, we made it all the way on one tack to end up less than a quarter of a mile to the west of the entrance to Man of War Bay. Several short tacks bring us into the bay. By 1 pm, we’re anchored off a lovely sand beach in Pirates Cove in Man of War Bay surrounded by steep lush hills and coral reefs.

The trees are constantly alive with the sound

of birds. The fishermen cruise by in their

pirogues on a regular basis.

Was it worth the long hard SLOG?

Most definitely!
Till next time.
Fair Winds,
Miriam
11° 19.7’ N
60° 33.1’W

St. Vincent & the Grenadines

Friday June 29, 2007
Last year we visited Wallilabou on St. Vincent. This was the harbour where parts of Pirates of the Caribbean 1 & 2 were filmed. The “boat boys” were very aggressive & unrelenting therefore we did not have a pleasant stay. There have been problems with thefts and violence against cruisers & “tourists” so decided to bypass the island this year.

The Grenadines are a group of islands that are part of the country of St. Vincent. Our destination this morning was the island of Bequia, pronounced Beck-way. As usual, we had a romping sail across the passage between St. Lucia & St Vincent, at times reaching 8.4 knots (with a little boost from the current). By 5:15 pm we were anchored in Admiralty Bay on Bequia. Port Elizabeth is a quaint but bustling little town and is very welcoming to cruisers (and no boat boys!!). The waterfront is attractive with stone walkways and flower gardens, dotted with lots of restaurants, bars, little shops and a new dinghy dock. Names like The Frangipani, Gingerbread, & Solana’s help paint the picture.

Saturday morning we went into Port Elizabeth to clear Customs & Immigration and also to pay a visit to the market for fresh veggies and fruit. The market is run by Rastafarians and they can sometimes be very aggressive in their marketing techniques. When we were here last year, I was not happy with the reception we got at the market as every vendor demanded that you buy something from them. This year it was a very pleasant experience.

Cruising involves the endless boat chores and maintenance as well as sightseeing and lazy days. The vinyl windows in our dodger had deteriorated so badly by UV damage that it was impossible to see through them, and since the stitching was also coming apart (threads rotted by the sun) we thought we might as well replace the vinyl rather than spend the time restitching it. We found Alick’s Sail Repair and Canvas Shop. Alick was too busy to do the repair for us but he was kind enough to sell me the material to do the job myself. Now I am a capable sewer and the little machine I have on board handles the heavy material fairly well but will not take the heavy duty thread required for a proper application. Therefore when I sew something for the boat, I end up double stitching everything, which means double the time necessary to complete the project. So after the better of 2 days, our dodger now has crystal clear windows. What a pleasure to look through! It was well worth the time.

Monday July 2nd
It was getting too late in the day to pick our way through the countless reefs surrounding our destination of the Tobago Cays so we stopped in Charlestown Bay, on the island of Canouan. It is essential to have good overhead light when sailing in reef strewn waters. Between the hours of 11am and 3pm seem to work best for us.

Tuesday morning we arrived in the Tobago Cays, often referred to the Bahamas of the Caribbean. We anchored in 10 feet of crystal clear turquoise water nestled among 3 little islands that are protected from the ocean by a treacherous reef that stretches for miles.
The Tobago Cays are a protected marine park and offer beautiful scenery, excellent snorkeling and of course a chance to play Bocce Ball on the beach. Unfortunately all good things seem to be cut short by the weather. (It’s hurricane season so we are particularly watchful) Weather systems referred to as WAVES cross the Atlantic Ocean after originating in Africa. Each wave has the potential to turn into a Tropical Storm &/or Hurricane. We keep a close watch on the wave at 48° W as it may combine with a Low Pressure system at 9.5°N 38° W and turn into a Tropical Depression. Time to change plans! We had wanted to go from here and explore the islands of Mayreau and Union Island (all part of the Grenadines) and then leave for Tobago &Trinidad (do not confuse Tobago with the Tobago Cays), instead we head to Carriacou, Grenada on Thursday July 5th. I guess we’ll have to come back next year.
Miriam