Hello from Andromeda tarrying a while in Trinidad
andromeda of plymouth
Susan and Andrew Wilson
Sat 11 Jun 2011 23:30
We are now out on the hard with the joy of climbing up a ladder again, at
least the ones here don't look like they might fall apart unlike some we
have had in the past. We are also getting used to sleeping on terra firma
again but do miss the gentle rocking.
1. Short Version- Trip to Trinidad
Bumpy trip ,making over 7knots through sea, Susan seasick for about 8
hours, 5 hours after dark, bang from main halyard, sail tied up till
morning. Navigation lights playing up so emergency ones located and
deployed. Making over 6 knots under genoa well into Wednesday then motored
sailed to Trinidad. Arrived off Boca approx. 7.30am and tied up for
customs 10am. Horrible time docking because of cross wind. Booked in, got
ice, enjoyed the showers and meal in Zanzibar. Slept like logs. Up early
and ready for lift, which went well, been exploring and love the
chandlers.
This ends the short version, next is the long version if you want to carry
on.
2. Long version from * to *
* As soon as we left Shallow Draught, after a great bit of reversing and
springing from the dock, we started rolling and Susan was really hoping
that once we were pass the harbour wall that things would calm down, but
it didn't and by the time we had tidied the lines away and stowed the
fenders she was feeling very dopey. It was such a delight to hoist the
mainsail, so smooth and the winch - well it’s definitely the way to this
girl's heart, and as for the clutch.......joy. Needless to say Susan has
never felt so in control of the hoist, and she even remembered to loosen
the lazy jacks.......just need to install a new winch pocket and it will
be perfect.
Once Susan had completed this task she then had to lie down. Fortunately
Andrew is used to this now although they had hoped that the Atlantic
crossing had got rid of it for once and all but we guess the combination
of waves, wind, excitement, anxiety, etc. just took its toll. Andrew in
the meantime was in heaven - the look on his face as we drove through the
sea – well you can imagine. In no time at all we bombing along at just
over 7 knots so you can imagine the shock we had, when once again Susan
had just gone below (perhaps she should stop doing that) and heard a bang
and came back up to the news that the mainsail had come down. Our first
thought was that maybe it hadn't been cleated off properly but having
headed out to the mast to check it out, we realised it was something to do
with the main halyard and so tied the mainsail down. Thank goodness Clint
had taken the time to install the temporary lazy jacks, they worked a real
treat.
We decided to leave things till the morning when we would be able to see
what the problem was and as we were still trucking along at over 6 knots
with just the reefed genoa up. Then as we were settling down again Andrew
noticed that the forward starboard navigation light had gone out (these
had all been checked out before we left Barbados). Off Susan went to get
our back up battery powered set (good job she had re-tidied the locker
very recently) and we then saw the port one go out too, just as we spotted
lights out in the dark so in went the batteries and the lights were taped
to the guard rails in time for them to be very useful.
By now we were a bit hypersensitive - and we were bound to be on this
first trip - but were starting to realise that we had different creaks etc
that we now had to identify as normal.....well we knew we wouldn't sleep
much anyway. Aside from all of this Andromeda was working her charm and
felt so good through the water.
Daylight came and we were able to investigate the main halyard and saw it
had chaffed through so decided not to use the topping lift in case it did
the same. Fortunately we were still moving pretty well through the water
though when the wind dropped later on in the day we put the motor on just
to give us a lift, especially as we had a significant current throwing us
off our course. Andrew also decided to drop us down nearer to Tobago which
we saw through the mist.
We spotted Trinidad during the evening having left Tobago behind and were
accompanied by dolphins swimming alongside glowing with phosphoresce. We
were just where we wanted to be, close to the Bocas channel, as the sun
came over the horizon. Two other vessels headed down the channel in front
of us so all we had to do was follow, which was quite nice, although we
had a 2.5knot current against us. The customs dock here was occupied by
two local charter boats so we borrowed a Crews Inn berth (behind the two
other yachts). Immigration and Customs were interesting and fortunately we
had taken a drink with us as a couple on a Dutch boat had said we might be
some time, and so it proved. We were now free to take down our yellow ‘Q’
flag and raise the Trinidad and Tobago national flag and go along to
Peakes. We had done a recce as we went pass earlier, so went back up to
their dock and discovered that the water taxi had tied up on the outside
of it, but were informed he was just leaving. We were now keen to repeat
our backward going motion that had served us so well leaving Barbados but
try as we might the wind and cross tide just kept taking the bow until
somehow we got two lines astern to the dock and one of the guys from the
yard took our bow line to the buoy and thanks to strong lines and winches
we slowly got ourselves in the right position - obviously more practise
needed with this manoeuvre.
Once ashore we booked in and were immediately offered a lift out on Friday
so we thought we might as well get all the moving out of the way,
especially as we were warned that it was due to be really bumpy over the
weekend. We took the sails off and once again oh how so easy did the genoa
come down (the cross wind now faded away to nothing of course) and we
bundled it up ready to fold nicely. The main came off the boom with a
little more effort and was almost rolled neatly due to those lovely lazy
jacks again.
We went off to get ice and saw Nick Gomes who said that Clint had called
and that he had let him know we had arrived. Nick is in charge of the yard
operations here and is a great guy to know. The showers were investigated
then we went for a meal in Zanzibar’s (now that is an island to visit,
when Susan lived in Kenya as a girl of 7/9 the family had two stints of
staying there for 3 months). After our meal we fell into our bunks
exhausted.
We were up bright and early next morning to get things ready for the lift
and to try the internet out, we have found that with our aerial its good
most of the time but having investigated the Internet cafe have decided
that is the way to go for a long session as it is so cool in there and no
dropping out as we sometimes get with wireless.
Our lift out went very well and Andromeda was very clean on the bottom, as
we had expected after our haul in Shallow Draught. Whilst watching
Andromeda come out we were approached by another couple who have a Contest
42 ketch (Sturmvogel) up in the yard. They lost their furler on their
Atlantic crossing and made landfall in Barbados in January. However they
had a new furler fitted in Martinique having been told there was no rigger
available in Barbados! We caught up with them later to find out all the
gory details!
We have been exploring and found the various shops and boy oh boy, the
CHANDLERS - we like Peake's chandlery but have to say Susan’s heart gave a
little leap when we walked into Budget Marine. Andrew is busy perusing
the catalogue as Susan writes - and his wish list is getting longer.*
So since our arrival we have arranged with Nick for the hull and deck to
be sorted, the sprayhood and cockpit canopy are being cleaned, parts for
the fridge are on their way, the SSB will be fixed next week, the
electrics are being looked after, the engine service, replacement of the
stations and guard rail will be arranged shortly. And we have hired AIR
CONDITIONING aboard, mainly to keep the humidity away from below decks but
we are enjoying the side effects greatly. The new sails are being cut and
will be delivered here. Busy, busy, busy....
On Wednesday had a fantastic evening out, watching Giant Leatherback
Turtles haul themselves up the beach to lay their eggs on Maturo Beach on
the eastern coast of Trinidad (the Atlantic side). These fantastic
creatures are larger than we thought – each weighing up to 700lbs, mostly
from eating jellyfish, and laying between 80 and 120 eggs at a time. They
lay 5 to 7 times a season, each season being separated by two years or so.
They can live up to 90 years and can dive to an incredible 4000 feet or
more – the depth gauge attached to one gave out at this depth – when
escaping predators. The shell is very leathery to touch which is where the
name comes from and not hard like the Green and Hawksbills we saw in
Barbados. They are so ungainly on land it’s difficult not to feel sorry
for them but they are remarkably strong and very gentle – they knew we
were there – but remained unconcerned.
The turtles are put off by white lights and photography flashes so it’s
only when they lay their eggs and go into a 15 – 20 minute trance that its
possible to take pictures. The “tears” that seem to come from their eyes
is actually excess salt and not a reflection of the effort of getting up
the beach, digging the nest, laying eggs, filling the nest, camouflaging
the site and heading back to sea – however you’d could see the alternative
view. Red lights are used to give folks a sense of what’s going on. On the
way back to the taxi after the female had made it back to the sea we saw
tiny hatchlings heading down to the surf and another female began the haul
up the beach. At peak season there can be up to 300 females laying eggs
each night – remarkable. However only 1 hatchling in each seasons’ laying
may make it to adulthood so the attrition rate is very, very high. Quite
special indeed and all under the gaze of the Southern Cross and many
thanks to the volunteers at Maturo and to Jesse James (yes really) the
taxi driver who organised the trip.
So now it’s back to getting Andromeda ready for the work over the next
couple of weeks, Nick has been really helpful getting things organised and
the right people involved, and our return to the UK – flights have been
booked and we are filling in the myriad amount of paperwork required to
leave a boat in Trinidad for a trip home. We may have a little time spare
to do a bit of exploring, its so very different here from Barbados but we
have only really seen the coast from the sea and the yards here in
Chaguaramas.
More in due course............
Susan and Andrew
s/v (newly remasted) Andromeda of Plymouth
Trinidad
