Splish Splash and into the water we go.........
andromeda of plymouth
Susan and Andrew Wilson
Sat 26 Nov 2011 03:05
Our last trip, the Saturday before launching, was a hike to the Marianne
River and water fall. This involved a crack of dawn departure and, because
other folk were out and about, we nearly ended up on the wrong bus and at
the market instead of the northern mountains. Our guide was “Snake” and a
larger than life character he proved to be. A stop for a break-fast of
Doubles saw us energised for the hike.
After driving for about two hours along roads well served by pot-holes and
many bends round the northern coast (with a stop for photos of course as
well as a brief stop at the swing bridge further down the river we were
due to explore) we arrived at a small car-park. We were practically on the
opposite side of the mountain that we had been on during our visit to Asa
Wright.
We were quickly on our way up the path where a big tree stood. This was a
Padoo tree and we ate some of the fruit – large pods containing seeds that
were surrounded by a high sugar content coating which provided a bit of a
sugar rush. Pretty soon the trail was virtually invisible and was lined
with razor grass, which is, you may like to know, as sharp as a razor, as
our arms and legs soon testified. Up we climbed with Snake blazing and
hacking our route using his very large knife. Naturally as we were
approaching the river the rain started – well we were in the rainforest
again – but this didn’t matter much as we spent some time traversing the
river back and forth, clambering over roots and rocks, getting even
wetter.
Eventually we approached the waterfall, hearing it then glimpsing it
through the trees, and making our way over the huge rocks to the pool it
fell into. It was wonderful, particularly as the rain had stopped and we
all had a very refreshing swim – hope the pictures do it justice. The
water wasn’t as cold as on the other side of the mountain, a bit of a
puzzle as the pool was much bigger but we all had great fun swimming there
and climbing up and sitting behind the falling water before having a bite
to eat.
Following the swim it was back down the river, this time quite literally
as several miles of the hike involved us walking in the water (in some
places up to our thighs) and the rain decided that we should be thoroughly
soaked from head to toe so started again – wonderful, and it even prompted
several people (guess who was one?) to sing all the appropriate songs they
could remember. ... Singing in the rain...Raindrops keep falling on my
head....etc. Curiously we came across a CD of Paranoid by Black Sabbath at
the side of the river bank – quite why it was in this remote spot is
interesting in itself and I’m sure there’s a story there somewhere, as
there is behind the can of Carib beer and a quarter full bottle of Johnny
Walker Black Label whiskey that came floating past. The small toad however
was quite understandable. After crossing the river for the last time we
all carefully took our shoes and socks off and washed all the fine grit
out of them so it wouldn’t chafe as we finished the walk on drier terrain
and in sunshine.
Back at the car park and after a welcome change of clothes we were in the
maxi-taxi again on our way back to Chaguaramas – the hike had been
challenging, wet, interesting and altogether something very different for
us, and we thoroughly enjoyed the experience. However one of the best
parts was to come – we stopped in Maracas Bay, a beautiful beach on the
north coast, for some Bake and Shark and boy was it fantastic! Absolutely
wonderful shark (yes it really was shark) freshly fried, loads of toppings
to put on, and a meal in itself. We needed nothing else for the rest of
the day! The beach beckoned and the sea was warm but there was no time
for another swim unfortunately but Susan managed to get her feet in
anyway. Altogether, a really great day out.
And so launch day arrived. Naturally, what was supposed to be a routine
launch turned into something of a palaver. We had arranged for the folks
responsible for the prop-shaft, engine and thru-hulls to be around when we
went into the water.....just in case. Whilst Andromeda was in the slings
ready for the water and the last bit of anti-fouling, the engine guy saw
the thru-hull strainers on the engine and generator intakes and insisted
they were the wrong way round and unless they were changed we would have
serious engine problems at some stage. The folks who had done the
thru-hulls thought otherwise and so began a slightly heated argument. One
of the strainers was turned around, the other re-drilled and then, an hour
later than planned, we were launched. The crew from the boat behind us
waiting to be launched, French, started some wild gesticulation about
their thru-hulls, but we’re not sure what happened. Two different factions
from the company that did the through hulls started an argument between
themselves – perhaps it’s the after-shave?
Anyway into the water Andromeda went and true to form we had a leak from
one of the main cockpit scupper thru-hulls – cue an inch or two of water
in the bilges. It was locked off and the thru-hull folks said they would
return the following day to sort it out as it was now getting on for 4pm.
Thanks to Nick, Peakes allowed us to use the berth usually reserved for
their own yacht, Adriana – an 80 foot classic – for a day or so while we
waited for the sails to be bent on, so we gently went along side and tied
up. After heaving a sigh of relief and tidying up we went across to the
Wednesday barbeque where word of our launch was already well known!
Returning, Susan was in the saloon thinking of how nice it was to hear the
water lapping against the hull again, when she thought it sounded a bit
close and noticed some water in the forward head, lapping back and forth
as Andromeda bobbed up and down. We mopped it up and discovered it kept
coming and eventually realised we had another leak! (we were very puzzled
as all the sea cocks were closed). It was past 10pm so we took turns
emptying buckets every few hours until the morning – I say buckets to be a
bit melodramatic as we filled about 8 in 10 hours – and in the morning the
guys coming to sort out the main scupper returned. This time they were
very sheepish and apologetic – one of the thru-hulls could not be turned
off completely as a stringer was in the way and no-one had spotted it plus
when a piece of pipe was replaced a valve on the head wasn’t reseated
properly. Three hours later saw both thru-hulls repaired. Wheew – what a
relief.
On Thursday came the sails – at last – two new sails and a stak-pak were
fitted – hurrah! They look fantastic and the crinkle sound is wonderful
and we were complimented on them by several other boaters.
Friday morning we were going to try them out but there was no wind (3 to 5
knots) so after a little meander through the anchorage we motored over to
the fuel dock with Vicki from Cinnamon Teal on board and after refuelling
headed down to Crews Inn marina for a few days to provision up and look
for a weather window to head north.
Crews Inn is a small marina where boats can stay on the water and still
have good access to the supermarkets, Customs and Immigration prior to
leaving Trinidad. It also has a very, very nice swimming pool that we were
looking forward to using. However, as is usual with us, things are not
simple. Because the marina was fairly full they didn’t have any of the
appropriate electrical connectors left so we had to source an electrical
plug ourselves to get shore power and this was not straight-forward – four
visits to the Chandlers finally resulted in us getting shore power
connected and we could make sure the fridge was ok. (It is by the way).
Saturday saw us cleaning the boat from all the dust of the yard and
getting a fuel can from the chandlers (the one we bought in Barbados had
sprung a leak) before having a quick evening meal at the Wheelhouse Pub of
“Bake and Shark” with Sue and Malcolm from Piano, who are heading south to
Surinam shortly. Sunday saw us re-checking the thru-hulls and bilges only
to find lots and lots of diesel down there! And on a Sunday when nobody is
around!!!!
You can imagine how we felt, we didn’t know what was going on and in order
to distract ourselves went off to play Mexican Train Dominoes over at
Coral Cove Marina where we sought advice on what we could do and who to
contact. As is usual where a large group of cruisers congregate Trinidad
has a great cruising network. There is a daily radio net offering help
and advice on all sorts of subjects and a wealth of local knowledge to tap
into from the cruisers who have been here for years, so during the game we
were given a contact for the following day.
We were up bright and early on Monday morning and at 8 o’clock when most
of the businesses start work were on the phone and although not being able
to get hold of the guy who looked after the engine we did manage to
contact the folk who lifted the engine to do the prop shaft. Andrew also
contacted the company that would be able to get rid of the diesel. Once
again we had a boat full of people and all the sole up and at first
everyone was as puzzled as we were, then to our relief a filter on the
diesel return pipe was spotted leaking and the cause of our problem found
– somehow the glass bowl on the filter was missing a washer or similar
allowing diesel to not be returned to the tank but instead get pumped into
the bilge. We are hoping that this part will be fixed by Friday. Meanwhile
the guys from the cleaning company were inspecting the bilges and after
giving a quote for the job got to work removing the diesel for us.
Because of all the fibre glass work done for the thru-hulls the diesel was
very contaminated and not recoverable but at least by the end of Monday it
had all been removed and some detergent and cleaner washed through as
well.
The rest of the week has seen us taking several trips in Jesse’s maxi
taxis to provision up and Susan wanted to make sure that Andrew didn’t
feel he had missed something by not visiting these places before we left.
Between this and visiting the very nice pool frequently the time has flown
by with other odd distractions such as the ‘baby’ iguana that decided to
go aboard Piano then hang around on the mooring post overnight. He was a
beautiful green colour as you can see.
Today Thursday we and 16 other cruisers went down near the airport to
Bhagwansinghs a store very like B & Q and then over to Trincity –
Trinidad’s largest mall – and we were duly impressed with the size of the
place, about 4 times the size of the Oracle in Reading but not quite as
big as the Trafford Centre. Needless to say we walked quite a few miles
but didn’t spend a vast amount and it was nice to see what was there.
Here we are now ready for tomorrow (Friday) when Andromeda will be made
ready for our trip north to St. Lucia so we will have a busy day stowing
and washing etc. to be able to leave on
Saturday...............................
More in due course
Andrew and Susan
Andromeda of Plymouth
Trinidad
